Calista

Harper's black rimmed eyes peered at me from over her red solo cup.

"What's wrong?" The music threatened to drown me out. Even in the kitchen the vibrations managed to rattle my chest.

"These ridiculous fangs are coming loose," she said, slapping her cup down on the countertop. The amber liquid sloshed about, a little drop spilling over the edge.

"Again?"

Harper lifted one shoulder in a lazy shrug. I could see it in the glossy look on her face. She was way too buzzed to care about the state of her outfit. To be honest, she didn't care much before, but now all regard was definitely out the window. "This is the final time I comply with Ella's scheming."

"C'mon," I said. "You have to admit, the Hex Girls was an awesome idea."

She yanked out one fake fang before fiddling with the other. "In theory."

I grinned over the rim of my drink. "There goes the rest of your costume."

"I managed to stomach that atrocity for a solid forty five minutes," Harper said, flinging the plastic triangles over her shoulder. "I'd say that is a success."

One of the fake canines landed in a cushion of fuzzy clown hair. The corner of my lips twitched and I brought my own cup up to disguise my smile. Harper didn't look distressed in the slightest, waving goodbye as the frazzled clown and his leprechaun friend stumbled by.

"You better hope Ella doesn't notice," I warned, trying to contain a giggle. "You have destroyed her vision."

Harper gathered all of her hair and tossed it over one sleek shoulder. Ella had convinced her to keep it down, and style her natural, curly mane. It was stunning, and I wish she wore it like this more often. Since we were in high school, I had always thought Harper was effortlessly beautiful. Even now, her freckled skin looked flawless under the strobe lights.

"Ella's too far gone to notice if I magically transformed into a toad."

Even in her drunk stupor Harper's precision was that of a katana. She directed my attention through the wispy smoke that enveloped the next room over. The bodies over there were packed together more tightly than a can of sardines. I was sweating just watching them. The open sliding door in the kitchen did nothing to cool down the main floor flooded with college students.

I spotted Ella in the ocean of people, her blonde pigtails bobbing in and out of sight as she danced with a guy she had met within the first five minutes of us arriving.

"I think she's perfectly entertained, don't you?" Harper shouted, nudging me to bring my attention back.

"Yeah," I said, lifting my hair and fanning my neck. Maybe dresses would have been a good idea after all. "You're probably right."

"How about you?" Harper peered at me from her peripheral. "Are you going to go find yourself some entertainment?"

I scoffed. "I could ask you the same question."

Harper and I exchanged glances before we both burst out laughing.

"Yeah, probably not," Harper said, taking a sip. "Boys stink."

"Well," I started, giving my best friend a wiggle of my eyebrows. "No one said anything about getting with a boy."

Harper's cheeks flushed a deep red that rivalled her hair. "I'll consider it."

She pursed her lips as I gave her a mischievous grin. The last remaining gulps of beer tickled on the way down. A nice buzz danced its way onto my temples.

"I'm dry," I stated.

Harper glanced into her own cup before turning it upside down. She gave it a little shake. "Me too."

A graveyard of empty liquor bottles dotted the kitchen counter. The party had been in full swing for the last couple of hours and everything was slowly running out.

"Should we try the keg?" Harper slurred. "Maybe they brought a new one out."

"I doubt it," I said, coming around the counter and tugging on her hand with sticky fingers. "Beer pong it is."

I ignored her protest, leading her deeper into the smoky haze. Ella had been reassuring us that all of it was coming from the single fog machine stationed in the living room. A deep breath told me otherwise. The house music went right through me, playing around with my insides. I loved the feeling. Pausing at the edge of the dance floor, I created a mental note to accept Ella's invitations to sorority parties more often.

I swayed on my own as Harper wiggled her way through the ring of people around the beer pong table. With my hands free I yanked at the tight black bodysuit. The sweat from my neck and chest sticking to it. Deep red lipstick was smudged onto the back of my hand, along with some of the fake blood I was helping Ella apply earlier. It was all too much effort for the amount of time it stayed put.

When a third body bumped into me I craned my neck. Where did Harper go? My vision spun a little as I tried to locate my best friend. It didn't take long to spot her mass of curls. She had joined the crowd, shoulder to shoulder with a girl with long, ebony hair. The point of the girl's black nails grazed over the back of Harper's hand.

Well, there goes my beer pong partner.

"Do you bite?" Someone shouted into my ear. Their hot breath fanned over my neck, fluttering up my nose. The stench of rum had my stomach doing backflips.

I turned on my heel, coming face to face with a guy who barely appeared nineteen. A folded blue bandana covered his forehead. He was clad in an orange jumpsuit, a white undershirt tight across his chest.

The beer had fuelled my confidence. "Only if you piss me off."

"Well, in that case, I don't mind if I make you a little mad." His hand reached out to touch my waist. "I like things rough."

"Yeah," I said, batting his hand away. "No thanks."

"Are you sure?" His hand snaked out again. The lust in his eyes made me nauseous.

"I think you heard her properly the first time." Ella's blonde head appeared between us. "Why don't you take a hike back to whatever rock you crawled out under?" When he didn't move she pressed on. "Well?"

The guy's face scrunched in distaste as he wandered back into the crowd. The distance stopped the constricting of my lungs. It was a sense of relief. Until his blue eyes scraped along the length of my body and he licked his lips before disappearing deeper into the smoky room.

"I hate little boys who can't take no for an answer," Ella said as she spun around to face me. Her costume was still in pristine condition—no hint that she had just been in the middle of a dance mob. "Where's Harps?"

I jutted a thumb towards the beer pong table. "Getting in line for beer pong. But I think she might have found a new partner."

Ella raised a sharp brow. "Really?" She craned her next neck, trying to peer into the ring of cheering people. "How drunk is she?"

"She's at a prime level of intoxication," I mused. "Let her have her fun."

Ella must have spotted our ginger friend because her grin matched mine.

"Now," I said. "If you'll excuse me, I have to pee."

"Do you want me to come with?" Ella offered. Her hand grazed my wrist before I could move out of the crowded living room.

I waved her off, shouting a quick, "don't worry about it" as I headed towards the stairs.

The line outside the washroom was short. I guess most people found other, more creative places, to relieve themselves instead of having to wait. When it was my turn, I took my time, using the facilities before fixing my makeup in the mirror. I relished in the amount of personal space I had now that I was locked away from the rest of the party-goers. It was nice not having sweaty bodies brushing up against mine, even if it was only for a little while.

Taking in a breath, I opened the bathroom door and prepared myself to re-enter the chaos. Once the door clicked shut behind me, I silently wished I had stayed there.

"Well hello again."

The foul smell of rum caused the hair on the back of my neck to rise. I straighten my posture, trying to seem unphased by the body millimetres from mine. His chest was puffed in bravado, his head a few inches above mine.

"Didn't I just tell you to leave me alone?"

He hummed, tapping a finger to his chin. "I don't recall."

There was a slight slur to his words and a glint in his eye. It was enough to cause warning bells to go off in my mind. I side stepped, moving into the middle of the hallway so that my back was no longer pressed against the door.

"Really? Because if I remember correctly, my friend told you to crawl back under the rock you came from." I attempted to move around him and into an area of the house with more people around.

He mirrored me, blocking my path. His blue eyes sparked at my words. "Ahh, yes. You're friends with the rude cunt." He placed a hand over the white wife beater he was wearing. "She really hurt my feelings."

"That's really unfortunate," I murmured, trying to move around him again.

"Maybe you can make it up to me."

I couldn't fight the panic that was rising in my chest. "No, I have friends waiting for me downsta—"

"I'm sure they wouldn't mind waiting a few minutes."

Without hesitation his calloused hand snaked around my wrist. No one would be able to hear me over the music, but was he drunk enough that I could fight him off long enough to get away? Until someone else came up to use the bathroom? Maybe I could slip his bandana down enough to cover his eyes and run back down the stairs to safety?

I drew in a shuddering breath, preparing to put some sort of half-baked plan in motion.

"She said no," a rough voice emitted from behind me.

The guy in the criminal costume leered over my head before he brought his glossy gaze back down to me. "How many bodyguards do you have?"

I took a step back, tugging my wrist out of the stranger's grasp. It was weird to say, but I felt Lincoln's presence before he uttered a word in that dimly lit hallway. There was something about him that my body recognized. A buzz of energy that was indescribable. I took another step back, moving closer to him on instinct. His hard chest brushed up against my back. My body flashed with heat at his proximity.

"Why don't you fuck off?" The guy in front of me growled, spit landing on my face. "We're busy."

"Like hell you are Silva," Lincoln bit back, positioning me behind him.

"You're such a fucking bore. We were just going to have some fun."

Lincoln didn't respond, but his shoulders were tense. His hands scrunched into tight fists before releasing.

"Come on Pierce. How about this..." Silva started, a scummy smile breaking out across his face. "Let me have a go at her, then I'll leave you two alone and you can have your turn."

Lincoln barrelled towards him, ramming Silva against the wall next to the bathroom door. The wall cracked under the pressure, a fracture line appearing behind his head. Lincoln's hand white-knuckled around Silva's throat. Despite his face turning a sickening shade of red, Silva smiled. It was a sickly grin that made me consider his sanity.

"Lincoln!"

If he heard me, he didn't react. Instead his hard gaze bore into Silva's. "Don't—not for one second—think that I'm anything like you."

"I think we're more alike than you care to believe," Silva sputtered, still grinning.

Silva's back was stretched straight to meet Lincoln's stormy gaze. The two were in a deadbolt. Lincoln held on for a tormenting moment longer. Then released Silva's throat, but stayed rooted to his spot. Silva greedily sucked in the stale air of the sorority house. His hand rubbed at his neck. The pair were still chest to chest, continuing their stare-down.

The tension in the narrow hall was too much. I held my own breath, hoping that nothing would escalate further.

Thankfully, I didn't have to hold on much longer.

"I'll see you around." Silva shoved at Lincoln's chest, creating a sliver more of space between them. The pair kept eye contact until he descended down the stairs. From the railing, I watched as Silva snaked through the group of people at the bottom before leaving the house all together.

I drew in a calming breath. Adrenaline caused slight tremors to rack my body. Lincoln remained where he was. His eyes trained on the fresh crack in the wall.

A pregnant moment passed. The two of us standing alone in the dim hallway. "Lincoln?"

I was about to approach him, thank him for helping me, but before I could say anything further he was walking away.

* * * * *

author's note:

Silva's back and messing things up already.

I hope this chapter made up for the two short ones before it! Let me know what you're thinking and if you liked this update of Extra Credit. We're almost at 10k reads! I'm so excited about that. To celebrate reaching the halfway point of this story I'll be hosting a AMA over on my Instagram  next Friday! I can't believe we're already almost halfway there. If you would like to ask me a question about this story (or anything!) go and follow me over on Instagram @luisadituriauthor and keep an eye out for the AMA post in my story.

It's a rollercoaster from here on out.

Have an amazing weekend!