"Fuck off!"

The voice was familiar and came from the room at the end of the hallway. It was high pitched and panicked, and I could've sworn it was Lucy's.

I looked down over the rail downstairs and spotted Madison. She was where I'd left them, but Erik was sitting next to her where Lucy had been.

I turned back to the room and slowly walked towards it, putting my beer down. There were no more sounds coming from it, but that just raised my concern. I put my hand on the doorknob and slowly opened the door.

My blood ran cold. Lucy was pushing Ben away from her while he had her pinned against the wall, trying to pull her shirt down. His hand was clasped over her mouth and I saw frightened tears running down her cheeks as she fought against him.

Lost for words, I ran towards them. His head snapped, and he stood to his full height, turning to me.

"Get the fuck away from her," I spat and grabbed the front of his shirt, pulling him away with all my might. I shoved him towards the doorway. I was sobering up, quickly.

Ben was much bigger than me so I was surprised when he stumbled to the ground outside the room.

I continued towards him, my anger was only building as my mind processed what he'd been doing. He slowly got to his feet and glared at me, swaying. I shoved him again and he stumbled backwards, nearing the stairs.

Had he not been drunk, he definitely would've knocked me unconscious by now. I'd seen him beat the shit out of multiple guys a few years back over nothing. The chatter below us quieted as people started to notice the commotion.

I felt Lucy grabbing my arm, lightly pulling me back, but instead I took a step forward and got in his face.

"Don't ever go near one of my friends again."

I saw anger flash in his eyes and he gave me a hard shove back, pushing me into Lucy who stumbled a bit.

"Get out of my face you fucking fag."

With that he swung at me, but in his drunkenness, he stumbled to the side and his fist landed on Lucy instead. She cried out and fell to the ground, clutching her face. I heard gasps down below.

Anger consumed me like fire and I used all my strength to shove Ben away from us. His hands flew out behind him to catch his fall, but he was met with stairs as he lost balance. I heard a few screams as everyone watched him tumble down the staircase, but I turned to Lucy instead.

She was sitting up with a hand on her face, watching with wide eyes as Ben fell to the bottom.

"Hey, are you okay?" I asked, crouching down in front of her. There was a large red welt on her left cheekbone and I lightly moved her hand away so I could see it. "You're gonna need ice, come on I'll help you down."

She didn't say anything and just nodded, putting her arm around me.

I helped her stand up and wrapped my arm around her waist as we walked down the stairs. Ben was on the ground groaning and clutching his arm.

"I'm gonna fucking kill you Evan-" He yelled out as we passed him, causing Erik to run over and start yelling at him.

Madison and Alex rushed towards us, Madison immediately putting her arm around Lucy and asking her a million questions.

I heard Erik swearing at Ben's moaning figure on the ground. People started chattering again, loudly talking about what had just happened. I let Lucy go and went to the kitchen, finding a plastic bag and filling it with ice from Erik's freezer.

I made my way back to them and handed Lucy the bag, which she lightly pressed against her cheek. Alex was cussing out Ben sending death glares at him, and Madison was rubbing Lucy's back nodding along to him.

"Let's go outside guys." I led them to the front door into fresh air. There were a lot of people hanging around the porch, so we went across the street and sat on the sidewalk.

Lucy cried into my shoulder, and I rubbed her back as Madison comforted her. Alex was still spewing profanities about Ben when a thought popped into my head. When had Lucy gotten to that room? She must've passed me in the hallway with Sam...

My face reddened, remembering what Ben had called me moments ago.

"Luce," I started, worried to hear her answer. "How did Ben get you up there?" She sniffed and rubbed her nose.

"I spilled beer on my shirt after you went to the bathroom, so Erik said I could grab a shirt out of his closet. Ben followed me."

She'd probably seen me with Sam. How had I not noticed them come up?

"Fucking bastard." Alex spat out.

I nodded, pulling Lucy closer into a hug. I didn't want to imagine what he would've done had I not heard them.

We sat in silence for a few minutes, before a thought popped into my head.

Why on earth is Rowan friends with a guy like that?

As if on cue, I heard a loud engine speeding down the street. A black Benz screeched to a halt in front of Eriks house, and Rowan emerged with a deadly look on his face I'd only seen once before. He turned towards the house and stormed in, the kids on the porch moving quickly out of his way.

"Uh oh." Alex said from above my shoulder. "He looks pissed." I nodded in agreement, and moments later the front door burst open. Rowan shoved Ben down the few steps onto the lawn ahead and followed him down. Ben cussed as he landed on the grass and cradled his injured arm.

"Go inside." Rowan said in a quiet, deadly voice to the few groups on the porch and they quickly obeyed his order, closing the door on the way in.

We shuffled silently so we were hidden slightly from view by a car, watching the scene unfold in front of us.

"That asshole you were with the other day broke my fucking arm-" He was cut off as Rowan swung his fist and connected it with his jawbone.

"What the fuck are you thinking?" Rowan yelled, before swinging again. I felt Lucy flinch next to me as we watched Ben get beaten. Rowan took a step back after another hit and watched Ben roll over on the grass, coughing and gasping for breath.

"Fuck you, Rowan." I expected Rowan to hit him again but he crouched down instead. I had to strain my ears to hear him.

"What the fuck are you doing beating girls at a fucking high school graduation party?"

"That was an accident..." He mumbled out. I saw Rowan's fist clench.

"What the fuck were you doing here in the first place Ben?" Ben groaned and grabbed his head with his hand,

"Erik invited me."

"We both know that's not true. Don't fucking lie to me." Ben stayed silent and Rowan stood up, pulling his phone out. He tapped on his screen for a minute before putting it away. "Stay the fuck away from high schoolers Ben. Don't make me tell you twice."

Ben laughed, rolling to his side and sitting up.

"Remember Rowan, I know what you did. And I'm not afraid to tell anyone."

Rowan became deadly still, an empty expression washing over his face. He said nothing for a minute before crouching down again and meeting Ben at eye level.

"And I won't hesitate for a second to do the same to you."

Ben's face paled as they glared at each other, and he stayed silent. A minute later, I heard the sound of an engine come close and a grey Prius pulled up next to Erik's house.

Rowan grabbed Ben's shirt and aggressively pulled him up, then shoved him towards the Prius. Ben stumbled towards it without looking back and got in. It slowly drove away, leaving Rowan alone on the grass, looking furious.

We watched him as he pulled out his phone and tapped away at the screen for a minute, before walking back to his car.

Alex inched away, trying to hide better behind the car, but he stepped on a few dry leaves, resulting in a loud crunching noise. Rowan's eyes snapped up and met mine.

I felt frozen to the spot, like a deer in headlights. He didn't move, and his expression was unreadable. But now he knew what I'd seen and heard. I could practically hear the wheels turning in his head, and felt my heart beating strongly.

His expression softened after a minute, and he studied my face, before giving me a quick nod and turning back to his car. I released a breath and stared at him as he got in and drove away.

"Rowan is one scary dude." Madison said, breaking the silence.

"Nah, he's not that bad." Alex said, moving back to where he sat earlier. We all looked at him and Madison snorted.

"I'm sorry, is this coming from the guy that blew our cover trying to hide?" She said, raising her eyebrows at him.

Alex rolled his eyes as we laughed.

"I was only hiding so he wouldn't know we'd just spied on him."

"That worked out well. I think he only saw Evan though. Anyway, what the hell was Ben talking about, he knows what Rowan 'did'?" She asked, using air quotes.

We all shook our heads. Erik's front door opened as people started to trickle back out, seeing that Rowan had gone.

I thought about how Ben's face had paled when Rowan threatened him. He seemed terrified.

"Whatever it is, we should just forget it." Alex said, his voice firm.

"Why? You're not even a little bit curious?" Madison countered, looking at him as if he were crazy. He rolled his eyes again,

"Of course I am. But this is Rowan Williams. I'm sure whatever it is, it's best we stay out of it. I doubt he'd be kind if he found out we're trying to snoop."

Madison shoved him lightly,

"I doubt he'd ever hurt you, you're friends."

"Friends? We used to be teammates. He was cool, but he's really secretive." Madison shrugged and dropped the subject.

I saw the front door open, and Erik came out holding something in his hand. He looked around before spotting us across the street and walked over.

"Hey Lucy," he started, crouching down to our level. "I'm really sorry about Ben. I didn't invite him, he's fucking weird." Lucy shrugged, giving him a smile.

"It's not your fault." She said quietly. He gave her a warm smile.

"Well, either way I'm sorry. And I got you a shirt if you need," he said, handing her a large folded black shirt. She smiled as she took it, slipping it over the one she had on. It had large letters spelling Green Day, with the American Idiot album cover centered.

"Thanks, Erik." Her voice was lighter and her face tinted pink. She slipped her arms back in the shirt and quickly pulled off her own from under his, tossing hers on the ground. His was a bit large on her but she didn't seem to mind.

"Of course, here's this too if you want, it's a bit cold out." He handed her his old team hoodie which had Wildcats Basketball displayed on the front.

She took it and slipped her arms in, hugging the rest of it close to her body.

"Thanks a lot Erik." She said, giving him a shy smile. "This was honestly a good party, don't feel bad about Ben." He nodded and picked up her stained, torn shirt from the ground,

"Do you want me to wash this? I can get it back to you sometime." She looked at it and shook her head.

"No, it's ruined. You can just trash it." He nodded and picked it up, reaching over and giving Lucy's shoulder a light squeeze.

"If you need to talk to anyone I'll be here." He said, before giving us all a smile and heading back. Lucy sent a small smile at his retreating figure.

We watched him walk back inside and Madison let out a loud squeal, making me jump.

"Oh my god Lucy he's totally into you!" Lucy gave her a confused look,

"No way, he was just being nice."

"That's not true, he gave you his basketball hoodie, I bet it smells like him too." She leaned forward and sniffed the fabric and let out another squeal. "It smells so good, right guys?"

Alex and I exchanged looks.

"We'll take your word for it." Alex said, and I thought I saw a flash of annoyance cross his face. I may have imagined it.

"Lucy, I swear I can tell he's into you." Madison said, looking longingly at the hoodie.

"Even if he was, it'd do us no good now. We're all going to different places." Lucy said, a hint of disappointment in her voice.

I studied her face and she genuinely seemed upset at the mention of leaving for college. I put my arm around her, giving her a slight squeeze.

"Let's get you home." She smiled up at me and nodded. Alex called us an Uber, and we got to Lucy's house. Her and Madison walked in after saying bye and Alex and I got another Uber to my house.

The ride was silent and I noticed Alex seemed irritated about something.

"What's up?" I asked, as the driver pulled up to my place. He shrugged, getting out of the car and following me up the driveway.

"What the fuck was Ben thinking?" I shook my head, unlocking the house.

"He's a fucking creep. I'm really glad Lucy's okay." He nodded,

"He'd be six feet under right now if she wasn't."

We quietly made our way up to my room and I pulled out a blanket and a mattress from my closet for Alex. He plopped down and angrily stared at the ceiling, pulling the blanket over him.

I tossed him one of my pillows and got in bed. We stayed silent, I was thinking over the night's events. I heard a light snore come from Alex and turned to my side.

I know what you did. And I'm not afraid to tell anyone.

What had Rowan done?

I won't hesitate for a second to do the same to you.

😭