The doorknob rattles. "What the hell?" I hear an irritated voice mutter from outside. Oh, no. No, this can't be.

It rattles again. "Is someone in here?"

Crap, I've got to get out of here. My heart thumps against my chest as I look around for an escape route. Nothing except the window comes to mind, with the curtains flowing wildly to the breeze.

The voice growls. "If anyone's in here, unlock this door right this second!

I start to panic. Maybe I could jump out the wind...and fall splat on the pavement. I open the closet door. Could I hide in hear?

A loud sound echoes around the room, and I jump out of fright. I hear it before I see it.

Crystal smashes on the floor, little bits scraping my feet and small drops of blood well up to the surface. They scatter all over the white tiles, glinting beautifully in the sunshine. But the destroyed picture frame isn't what I'm worrying about.

"What was that?" she shrieks. "Open this door!"

Pain and anxiety swirl in my stomach and the room starts to spin. No, not here, not now...

I jump onto the bed again, trying to avoid the pieces of glass on the ground. I need to stop panicking, to think. I need a plan.

I could try the window – but I'd rather not risk breaking a bone. Though if it's my last resort, it's all I can do.

I slide off the side of the bed, entering the bathroom. It's like any usual bathroom, except – God seems to be on my side today. I grin. Grabbing hold of the doorknob, I try to pry it open, but no such luck. It's locked.

I hear a male voice from outside now, talking with her. She complains loudly and he speaks back in a soothing tone, comforting her. I listen as he hits the door. And again. I'm thankful this is such an expensive house – the walls and doors are pretty thick and strong.

He grunts with effort and I hear something that makes me start to panic again. The sound of a screwdriver.

I run out of the bathroom, only to see the horrifying sight of a nail twisting through the door. Key, key, key! I open all the draws, swing open all the cupboard doors, nothing. I'm about to just jump out the window and hope for the best when a shiny object catches my eye. I drop to the ground, and reach my hand under till I grasp it – yes!

All in my favour, the key slides easily through the hole and turns. I race to slide all the bolts and locks and slump against the wall, relieved. I press my ear against the door and listen in.

"There's nothing here." The male voice says.

"What...how?" she grumbles. "I heard them! What would they be doing in my room? How did this happen, then?" I imagine her gesturing to the mess on the floor.

"It might have just fallen down. Its fine, babe." Babe? It must be Troy then, Serena's boyfriend.

The sound of kissing that follows after makes me mutter, "I need a pillow.", and open my eyes. Instead I'm greeted with a disturbing sight. We lock eyes.

"T-Troy?" I stutter.

He solemnly nods, throwing me a pillow. I catch it but let it fall into my lap, abandoning it, too stunned to actually use it. "You're here...but she's...?" I say, though it's more of a question than a statement. Not that I'm too surprised, after all, it's Serena. He nods again, and my suspicions are confirmed. "Who?" I whisper, softly, scared that if my voice was even the tiniest bit louder, they would hear me.

He just shakes his head, and I drop it. "It's all the time, and I don't know how to stop it."

His confession makes my heart reach out for him, but I don't know how to sympathise with a person I've known for less than a minute

He stares down at his lap at the sounds of giggles. I want to say, 'you know what you asked for when you got Serena', but I also don't. Nice, sweet people like him get sucked into so much...and for what?

"I'm sure it's just a fling." I say finally, and he looks at me like I'm an idiot.

"Just a fling? We're all flings. The only difference is I have a label, the rest don't." I watch as a single, slim line rolls down his cheek, and he wipes it away immediately, turning away.

Something inside makes me stand up, and walk over to him. I flop onto the bed, bouncing it slightly and making us make eye contact. I grab his hand, forcing him not to break it.

"You are so much better than her." I watch as his eyes start to fill up again, but he blinks them away. A scowl enters his face and he shakes from my grip.

"How would you know? I could be this awful, terrible, deceiving person...and you would have no idea."

His choice of words make me smile. If not for his popularity, he would definitely be a nerd. "I can tell." I say. "I can see that you care about people more than she does, that you're not doing anything to make her regret it or feel bad from what she's done...you're the good person here, Troy."

A moment of silence passes. Finally the hint of a smile breaks through. "You've noticed a lot about me."

I blush and dip my head. He presses his fingers on my chin, tilting it up, and presses his lips to mine. There's an awkward moment when I don't know to do, when my mind's entirely blank, when I haven't processed what's happened, and them my natural instincts take over and I start to kiss him back.

His lips travel over mine, literally taking my breath away, and it's not like with Jax. It's not anything like that, it's a beautiful, a glorious sensation, and it helping me forget, about anything, everything. And it feels better than I'd ever think it could.

Suddenly he's on top of me. How did that happen...? Everything's so slow and bleary, blurred, and all I can think about is the feeling, the feeling of his fingertips on my jaw, the feeling of my hands in his soft, smooth hair...

His fingers glide up my neck, my hands slip down his pants, and once again, our mouths collide, gasping for air and coming back for more. Everything happened so quickly, it's hard to recall what exactly took place...

Troy's arm pushes against my breast, and a small moan escapes my lips. The tiny noise that brings me back to reality, that makes me push him off me. I jolt up, horrified.

"What are you doing?" I yelp, one shaky finger pointed at him. "How could you..."

His mouth hangs open. "What did I do?"

I scoff, though still gawking at him. "You know I have a boyfriend. You kissed me!"

He mutters, "I did a bit more than that," and I cover my mouth with my hand.

"I can't believe you! I just...cheated...on my boyfriend, and so did you! You're doing the exact same thing Serena did!" I start pacing around the room, tears threatening to spill. "How...how could you?"

"Me? Really? You kissed me too, you did more than just that...and why are the guys always to blame?"

I lower my finger, glaring at him. He did make a valid point, I'm as in the wrong as he is. But... I couldn't help myself, I forgot about everything...

It takes me a second to realise I'm just making up excuses for myself.

"This never happened." I demand, trying to stay strong. "Don't tell anyone." I hold his gaze for a moment, before turning away. I make a run for the door, but he jumps in front of me.

"Hey!" he snaps. "You don't get to just...do that...and leave!" He lowers his voice. "Don't tell me you didn't feel that."

I shake my head at him, reaching for the door, but he stops me again. "Look at me."

Once again, my eyes meet his, and he asks softly, "Did you feel it?"

I don't know what to say. Did I? I don't remember much, just that it felt really good...was that what he was talking about?

I shake my head again at him. "I don't know." He slumps away from the door, a look of disappointment in his eyes. I squeeze the door handle, debating whether to leave or not. Pulling it open, I force myself out. Barely a millisecond before the door shuts, I let out the word, "Maybe."

In that millisecond, I see him glance up, eyes filled with hope, and it makes me smile.

I don't know what I want right now, but I'm working it out, I pushing my way through things. I'm finding out more of myself then I knew for the last sixteen years. I'm trying.

I lean against the door, letting goose bumps travel up my skin – memories from places I'd been touched.

"Hey – what are you doing?" I jump as I see Noah standing beside me, his warm, husky breath on my bare shoulder. My jacket...oh no, I left it in there. I'll have to come back for it later.

"Huh...what?" I mumble. His eyes flick to the door, filled with suspicion. Moving away from the door, my eyes widen and I give him the fakest smile I've ever given anyone. "Oh, nothing! Just looking for my jacket. Not in there, I must have left it downstairs."

"Oh. Can I help you look for it?"

I give him a slight nod and a weak smile. "Yeah. Thanks."

He gives me a broad smile and leads me downstairs, passing a dozen other couples on the way. Below it's way less crowded than before, and I can't spot Rebecca anywhere. I give a half-hearted yawn and wipe my eyes. "Maybe I should just go home. I'm sure Serena will return my jacket if she finds it." I say, meaning Troy. He nods.

"Should I find Jax for you?"

I sigh. "Yeah. That would be great." He goes off to find him, and I go over to the food table again, seeing if there's any of those amazing cupcakes left. No such luck. They must have been more popular than I thought.

While I try a cream bun, I feel a hand grab my waist and a face next to mine. "Hey, baby,"

I quickly wipe the crumb off my face and greet him with a huge, guilty smile. "Hey!"

"You wanted to leave?"

I nod, still smiling from guilt.

"Cool, let's go." he says, juggling his keys. I follow him but then stop.

"Wait, aren't we going to go with the others too?" I ask.

He shakes his head. "I'll come back for them later. It'll be fun to be alone, anyway."

I hesitantly follow him, worried about the words 'alone' and 'fun'. Not that I can judge, I just cheated on him.

This time, I take the front seat and he jumps into the driver's. I don't even bother to ask if he's legally allowed to be driving. Probably not.

About ten minutes later, we park into the curb next to my house. "Thanks for driving me."

"No problem." He grabs my hand. "Will I see you next week?"

"Yeah, definitely!" I beam and lean close for a quick kiss on the cheek. Instead, he intercepts with his lips, tongue-kissing me. I relax against him, exhausted from such a long day. I don't even keep track of what's happening, I must be more tired than I thought. Fluttering shut, my eyelids close. He slides his arms under my shirt and I can't be bothered to stop him. His fingers remove from mine, making me frown from the empty space. What is he up to?

I feel as his shirt starts to slide up a bit. Oh, no. He can't be serious. Can he? Right in front of my house? Where my Dad is probably opening the curtains every second to see if I'm home yet?

I gently pull down his hands, as if I hadn't noticed what he was doing, and hold them. "Uh, Jax? I should go inside now. I think my Dad-my brother's waiting for me."

"Oh. Cool." he grunts, unable to hide the frustration in his voice. Should I even been judging him, after what I've done today?

I give him a half-smile and a wave, and climb out of the car. Surprisingly, there's no Dad looming over me just yet, no punishments just yet. My hand rests on the doorknob for a moment before I turn it. Blinking rapidly, realisation of Jaxon's motives come to mind.

Was he taking advantage of me?

Finally turning the doorknob, I smile.