I swung my feet in the air, my chin in my palm as I continued to read the book lying on the hood of the car, along with myself.

I looked over my shoulder when I saw Eros roll out from underneath the car, brushing his hands off on his bare abdomen.

I shot him a smile, lifting an eyebrow.

"We've got a lot of work to do," he said, nodding up at me.

I giggled and looked back down at my book.

"In vain I have struggled," I quoted, in a perfect British accent, "it will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you."

He smiled up at me, wiping each finger off with his towel.

I watched as he stood, biting down on my lip. He softly brushed his fingertips against my back, keeping his eyes locked on me the entire time.

"I just shaved my legs, you can't give me goosies," I whispered.

He braced his palms on the hood of the car, making me push myself up and off of my stomach. I arched my back, grinning over at him as I sat up on my knees.

He looked down at my bare legs, the pad of his thumb brushing against my thigh. "Doesn't it get cold wearing those skirts?"

I shook my head. "Nope. Do you have a problem with my skirts?"

He grabbed my hips and pulled me closer to him, eliminating the space between us. "Not at all."

I dropped my book and wrapped my arms around his neck, pressing a kiss to his lips. I trailed my hands down his abdomen, stopping at his hips.

He threw his towel across the garage and unbuckled his belt, making me let out a sigh of relief. It was way out of character for Eros and I to go this long without sex.

I leaned back against the windshield of the car, watching as he pushed his jeans down. I trailed my hands up my body and stopped at my chest, my eyes locked on his as I bit down on my lip.

He roughly pulled me down to him, making me giggle and wrap my legs around his hips. He pulled away from me, closing his eyes. "A-are you okay with this?"

I pulled his body back down to mine, locking eyes with him. "Yeah, I am."

He kept his eyes on mine as he massaged the inside of my thigh, earning a moan from me. I looked down at our bodies, but he grabbed my face and kept it against his.

"I want to watch you," he said, making me nod.

I leaned my head back, wrapping my hand around his wrist. I moved myself against his hand, biting back the moan that was eating at me.

"O-okay, Eros," I said, sitting upright, "I want you in me. Now."

"Yeah, I can do that," he said, ripping my underwear off of me. He lifted my skirt and I pushed his underwear down, my lips pressed against his.

He pushed me down on my back and thrusted into me, making me moan into his mouth. I cupped his face with my hands, his thrusts sending me forward with every second it seemed.

He placed his hand over my mouth, obviously enjoying himself. "M-my parents are inside."

I nodded, pushing his hand away from my mouth. I wrapped my arm around his neck and pulled his lips to mine, both of his hands gripping my hips.

"Eros," I moaned into his mouth, blinking back the tears that had come to my eyes.

It'd been so long for both of us, it really wasn't a surprise that we were both so close.

"Josie," he grunted, attempting to keep his voice down, "Josie, god damn."

He buried his face in my neck, and my head fell back. He wrapped his arms around me and thrusted into me so passionately, in a way I'd never really felt him do so before.

"E-Eros," I said, beginning to panic, "you don't have on a condom."

He paused, looking down at me. "I'll pull out."

In the moment, it seemed like a great idea. Anything to finally get the release I'd been waiting on.

We both climaxed and he fell against me, our breathing heavy.

"Eros, that was so irresponsible," I whispered, looking up at the ceiling of his garage.

He looked down at my stomach. "It's not like I came inside-"

"Eros, that doesn't matter," I said, pushing him off of me, "oh, my God."

"Babe," he muttered, sitting down on the hood of the car after he got fully dressed and I'd stood up.

"A-and we had sex on the hood of your fucking car," I said, "p-people can see in your garage, you know? What if someone saw? What if I'm-"

He pulled me into him, resting his hands on my hips. "Relax, Josie."

He rubbed my back gently, looking up at me. "You're okay. Everything's okay, yeah?"

I looked down at him, tilting my head over. "Of course it seems that way for you. You're the one that got to, you know, hit it raw."

He leaned his head back with a sigh.

"And who's to say a little drop didn't get inside?" I asked.

"Baby, I will buy you a plan B. How about it?"

I looked up at him as he stood up, folding my arms over my chest. "Lunch of champs."

~*~

I hadn't gotten whatever had been eating Fran alive out of her earlier, and I felt like a failure.

Was I not being supportive enough? Had I said the wrong thing?

I stood at the kitchen counter, taking a sip of my water. Only the light over the stove was on, and the rest of the house was pitch black and silent.

I began to pour out my water when I heard delicate footsteps, and I knew they were either Fran's or Mom's. I peeked around the corner of the kitchen, seeing Fran standing there.

"Hey," I softly said.

She smiled a broken smile, walking over to me. "What are you doing up?"

I looked over at her as she leaned against the counter.

"Worrying about you," I said, my eyes locked on her.

She looked up at me, folding her arms over her chest. "I can't stop shaking."

"Have you experienced anxiety before this?" I asked, rinsing out my glass.

She shrugged. "Not like this."

I leaned against the counter.

"If I talk to you, do you promise to keep your cool?"

I looked over at her. I knew if I said no, she'd never tell me. But I also knew myself well enough to know that if it even struck a nerve, I'd go ballistic.

I nodded subtly.

She let out a shaky sigh, and I could see her eyes sparkling with tears.

"Fran, don't tell me anything you're not comfortable telling me."

She sniffled, looking down. "Hero, my life has been uncomfortable for these past few weeks."

I felt my anxiety flaring up. I could feel myself start to shake, and my teeth began to chatter.

"Th-that party," she began, blinking a few times, "I went with Dylan."

I clenched my fists. Even the sound of his name had always lit a fire under me.

"And I-I screwed up. I got a drink spilled on me, so I went upstairs to the bathroom."

I could feel it. I knew what she was going to say, the gut feeling made me want to throw up.

"And he followed me, and I was so stupid, Hero," she cried, wiping her cheek, "I took my shirt off in front of him. I was wearing this short fucking skirt, and this bra that-"

She cut herself off, covering her face with her hands. "You're never going to look at me the same."

"Francesca," I said, "this isn't your fault. I don't give a shit what you were wearing. What did he fucking do to you?"

"When you start cursing," she sniffled, her eyes meeting mine, "that's how I know you're-"

Solely the look on my face cut her off.

"He-he didn't get far enough," she said, "he touched me, I asked him to stop-"

I pushed myself off of the counter, making her run after me. "Hero, please."

I scrambled around for my keys, slipping into my tennis shoes before walking to the door.

"Dad!" Fran yelled, making me rip the door open.

"Dad!" She yelled, even louder than before. I walked outside, leaving the door open. I unlocked my car and got in, seeing Dad jogging towards the front door.

I sped off, trying to steady out my breathing. I knew I had a temper, it was something that, unfortunately, I couldn't have run from even if I'd tried. I was hereditarily a fucking hothead.

I got stopped at a red light, making me lean back against my seat and take a few deep breaths.

"Fuck!" I yelled, slamming my hand against the steering wheel.

As soon as Fran came into the world, I knew it was my job to protect her. My job to keep lowlifes away from her, and I'd felt like I'd failed miserably.

I stepped on the gas pedal, completely disregarding the speed limit. I was focused on one thing, and one thing only- making my way to Dylan.

I knew exactly where he lived, not by choice. But, it was coming in handy currently.

I made my way into his neighborhood, grimacing at the sight of his house. I pulled into his yard, opening my door and stepping out.

His dad opened the door, his eyebrows knitted together. "You're on my lawn, you piece of shit."

"Bill me," I angrily said, rolling up my sleeves.

I brushed past him and inside his house, making him follow after me.

"Is that you, King?" His father angrily asked.

I ignored him, walking over to the couch where Dylan was sitting, wearing a pair of headphones.

He looked up at me, knitting his eyebrows together. "Hero? What the-"

"Why don't you take a walk with me, Dyl?" I asked, making him stand up with a chuckle.

"You can leave."

I pushed him so hard that it sent him stumbling towards the door, making me push him yet again, which sent him outside. He fell off of his porch, looking up at me. "Bro, what the fuck is wrong with you?"

I kicked him in the side, making him cough. "Bro, what-"

I kicked him again, leaning over him. "You're a pussy!"

"Hero," he coughed out, making me kick him again.

"What, you piece of shit?" I yelled, "actually, that's an insult to a piece of shit."

I knelt down, chuckling. "How's it feel, man? Really?"

I got on top of him, punching him in the face. I'd known that once I'd started, I wouldn't be able to stop.

And I wasn't wrong.

Punch after punch, blow after blow, my adrenaline was pumping through me.

"Come on, you pussy!" I yelled, "fight back!"

I froze, hearing a gun cock. I felt my blood run cold at the feeling of the barrel pressed against me, the sensation something I'd never experienced before.

"Hey!" Dad yelled, making me look over at him.

"Get that gun off of my fucking son's head, you piece of shit!" He yelled, throwing a punch at his dad.

I stood up, backing away from Dylan as I tried to steady out my breathing.

"Your son was beating the life out of mine!" His dad yelled, making Dylan lean up and spit out a tooth.

"Teach your son to fucking fight, how about that?" Dad sneered, only a few inches between him and Dylan's dad.

"And while you're at it," I said, "teach him what fucking consent is! Teach him how to be a man!"

Dylan leaned his head back, standing up. "Fuck."

"Tell everyone why I'm here, Dylan!" I said, "man of the fucking year, right here!"

Dylan laughed, wiping the corner of his mouth. "Oh, my God. Is that what this is about? Did your fucking bitch of a sister-"

"You watch your fucking mouth!" I yelled, lunging at him, but Dad grabbed me.

"Dude, I barely touched her," he said, "I didn't even get in. She's hosting a pity party for herself."

"What?" Dad asked, his voice weak.

"Your daughter's dramatic," he said, "and plus, she was dressed like a cheap whore."

"Dylan," his dad said, looking over at him.

I threw one last punch at his face, making his dad grab him and Dad grabbed me.

"Fuck!" I yelled, "go to hell, you motherfucker!"

I felt my breathing becoming heavy, and it felt like I had no control over my body. I walked over to my car, raking my hands through my hair. "Dad, I almost killed him."

"Hero, calm down," he said, jogging after me.

"Dad," I shakily said, sitting on the hood of my car to catch my breath.

"We need to get out of here," he said, "can you drive?"

I nodded, bracing my elbows on my thighs. I panicked, looking back at Dad's car. "W-where's Fran? Is she here? D-did she see me-"

He leaned down, shaking his head. "She's at home with Mom. No one saw but me."

I stood up, opening my car door. "I'll see you at home."

~*~