F o u r :  Let the evening be-Gin

A pair of warm hands cover my eyes, and the dimly lit room suddenly becomes entirely dark. The fast-paced music swells around me like liquid and I stiffen in alarm, until I hear the low, familiar chuckle behind my ear. "Guess who?"

I bite the inside of my lip, tugging my smile back into a neutral expression. My voice strains over the ambient noise. "Do you happen to be tall, blonde and terrible at football?"

The hands are removed instantly, and I hear a scoffing noise behind me.

Unable to restrain my grin this time, I twist around on my heels to stare up into the accusatory eyes of Dylan Merrick. Dylan has been one of my closest friends since I first joined Lindale High. We bonded in the freshman track team, started running together and never really stopped. He's achingly attractive to everyone at school- with cool grey eyes, tan skin and messy blonde hair. Unfortunately for me, I think any possibility of a romantic connection between us died the minute we started doing yoga together.

"I'm many things, Erika, but terrible at football?" Dylan repeats, shaking his head. He leans down to collect his beer from the coffee table beside us. "Bull. You must have heard that we won the game. You're winding me up."

I survey his grey football jersey and damp hair. "I didn't hear it, I just smelt you across the room. The stench of sweat was so strong that I figured you must have won."

Dylan's grey eyes spark with amusement. "I showered."

"Oh." I widen my eyes. "Should that not be a regular occurrence?"

Dylan pushes my arm teasingly and takes a swig from his beer. "Very funny, Ricky."

We're at Sophie's party, in a cosy detached house on the nice side of Lindale. It's too small for the number of people that were invited, and everyone has spilled into the yard. The glass doors are open, and outside is a decking strung with fairy lights. I'm situated in what must be the living room, judging by the couches that people are gathered on. The beat of the music dances in the soles of my shoes and the room is warm and smells oddly sweet.

"Erika!" Another voice in the crowd greets me.

A pair of slender, dark arms loop around my neck. Kebe from cheerleading. Miko is hanging around somewhere with the cheerleaders, but I lost her ten minutes ago. Kebe begins to swing her body behind mine, singing along to Sigma loudly in my ear. After ten or so seconds, she kisses my cheek and disappears into the crowd again. Another fleeting greeting.

I take a sip from my plastic cup, containing a weak mix of gin and pink lemonade that tastes like candy. The alcohol is already beginning to take effect: I can feel the lulling weight in my head, note the tiniest lack of focus in my vision. That means I'm ready.

I check my phone. 7:58pm.

"Dylan?" I clear my throat and quickly slide the phone back into my pocket. Dylan, who had been greeting one of the other football team members, quickly turns back towards me. "Do you happen to know where Chase is? Chase Thatcher?"

His grey eyes instantly narrow. "How do you know Chase?"

I wave a hand dismissively. "Just from around school."

"Please tell me you aren't about to make a drunken mistake with one of my friends."

"Hey!" I protest, prodding a sharp fingernail into his chest. "You know I never make mistakes. It's one of the symptoms of always being right, remember?"

Dylan raises his eyebrows.

"I'm not interested in him," I state simply. "Now, do you know where he is or not?"

With his eyes still narrowed accusingly, Dylan points towards the open glass doors on our right. I thank him with a smile, before turning and stumbling my way through the crowd towards the exit. A guy tries to grab my hips as I walk past, laughing raucously in front of his friends. I silence him promptly with a heel on his foot, and the hands release.

When I finally step outside into the cool evening air, it's hard not to breathe a sigh of relief. I love parties, but out here...the music is dulled, the heat diminishes into the cool evening air and everything is so much more peaceful. Nearby, a crowd of boys are gathered around a ping pong table, whooping loudly. Clusters of people are scattered across the deck.

"Looking for me?"

The skin on my bare neck tingles, and I spin on my heel to see Chase. He's sitting on a low brick wall at the side of the house, with a green bottle in his hand which he raises to his lips. He maintains eye contact briefly as he takes a swig, but as the bottle lowers again, his gaze rolls over my exposed skin. I'm showing more than usual, in a bandeau top and tight black jeans. My skin is faintly tanned, textured with eczema in the bend of my arms, and I'm wearing it proudly. That doesn't mean I want Chase to ogle it, though.

"Has nobody ever told you where you can find a person's eyes?" I ask dryly, taking a sip from my cup. The gin warms my mouth and throat, even diluted.

Chase rolls the cap of his beer between his fingers, the corner of his lips tugging into an infuriating smile. "I wasn't trying to look at your eyes."

"That much was clear." I twist and lower myself onto the wall beside him. He looks annoyingly attractive tonight, in a tight black t-shirt with his hair styled into an immaculate mess. "So...where's your honey? Did you two come together?"

Chase covers his scowl with a swig of beer. "Shut up."

"What about that talk we need to have, Mister 'come at eight and don't be late'?" I tease innocently. "You did want to discuss my proposal, didn't you?"

"Of course." Chase leans down, resting his elbows on his knees and ruffling the back of his dark hair with one hand. I watch with strange fascination as his lips falter for a second before he starts talking, as if he's struggling to find the words. "What exactly is it that you want me to do, Erika?"

I hesitate. "I guess I want you to show me what you do to catch attention."

"How bad are we talking?"

"Expulsion kind of bad."

His head cocks slightly as he examines me. "You're really serious about this."

"Deadly serious." I cradle my plastic cup in my hands and maintain my steady expression, masking the hammering of my heart. "Box jellyfish serious. King Cobra serious."

Chase rolls his eyes, but it seems well-humoured. Straightening up, he angles his body to face me and rests his palm on the bricks behind him. "Why me?"

Blink. Take a drink. Answer.

"What do you mean, why you?"

Chase lifts his hand, beer bottle and all, and gestures around the small yard. "You know a lot of people; you could have asked anyone."

Before I can even open my mouth, he's talking again. "In fact- why did you even ask? You're clearly confident and smart-mouthed, it doesn't seem like you need me for anything. So, why bother? Why ask me?" He watches me with dark, curious eyes and my mouth instantly dries.

He's got you stumped there, Monroe.

I take another long sip of alcohol, then tug at the back of my lip with my teeth. "Okay, if you want to play that game then what are your reasons for helping me?"

He frowns.

"I'm not your friend, you don't owe me anything," I continue. The plastic cup makes a cracking noise under my hand and I realise how tightly I'm gripping it. "You say you don't like to waste your time, so it seems to me that you must have a reason for saying yes."

A lingering second passes before he responds. "Okay. You win, gorgeous."

"I win?"

He smirks. "I won't ask if you don't."

"Deal." I nod, focusing my gaze back on our surroundings and ignoring the tickle in my stomach from his half-hearted compliment. "So, what exactly is your plan for me?"

Chase chuckles dryly. "You're at a party. If you want to ruin your reputation, this is the perfect place to start. Get drunk off your ass, make out with a random guy and come home with a tattoo. I wouldn't object to being that guy, if you're running low on material."

Ew.

"Do you often do that?" I wonder aloud, rolling my near-empty cup between my fingers and watching him curiously. "Do you flirt with everyone without meaning it?"

Chase's dark eyes flash with sudden, startled emotion. He stares at me for a couple of seconds, before leaning towards me. The smirk returns to his face. "Why? Do you want to know if I really think that you're gorgeous?"

I shake my head. "Whoa, hakuna your tatas. I don't care what you think about my appearance. I'm just curious if this whole empty-flirtation thing works for you."

"Well, is it working on you, gorgeous?"

"Stop calling me that. You're making a dumb point."

Chase leans forward, his eyes alight with challenge. Slowly, his lips part and he breathes a singular, maddening word. "No."

Before I can respond or push him away, his gaze shifts to something beyond me. I turn and follow his line of vision, and for the first time I notice Chase's friends approaching us. Alec Ryder and his girlfriend Riley are at the head of the group, his arm slung over her shoulder casually. Joe Travis is walking slightly behind them, focused on his phone like a classic third wheel. I suddenly feel very out of place, sitting on this wall.

"Hi," Riley greets, her blue eyes flitting between Chase and I as if suggesting something. Her face is soft with kindness, framed with auburn curls. "I'm Riley, one of Chase's friends. This is Alec and Joe."

Alec, her boyfriend, is dark haired and tanned, considerably taller than her. They look like complete opposites, somehow, yet they go so well together. I don't fail to notice the way his arm tightens around her shoulders. "Hi, I'm Alec. Who are you?"

Before I can respond, Riley has elbowed her boyfriend in the ribs. "Oi, grasshole, you can't just ask someone who they are! It's rude."

Alec smirks down at her. "Would you prefer I introduce myself in another way?"

"No!"

Joe pushes past them both and comes to a stop directly in front of Chase and me. His bright, mischievous blue eyes are trained exclusively on me, in a way that somehow makes me feel like a rabbit in headlights. "You don't need to ask. She's the girl from the car."

"Erika," I respond, grinning. "At your taxi-service."

"Anyone who drives my best buddy home is already in my good books." Joe gives me a beaming smile and leans on Chase's shoulder. Chase, scowling playfully, shrugs him off, but Joe isn't deterred. His voice lowers to a whisper and he leans towards me, gesturing back at his best friend with his thumb. "He doesn't like me friend zoning him."

"Shut up, you." Chase groans, smacking Joe on the back. Everyone in our year is aware of the bromance between the pair: they've been friends since they were children, but they act more like brothers. It's easy to tell which of the two is more approachable to newcomers.

Joe, seemingly reading my mind, adds: "He thinks he's very hard with this badass façade. Don't worry, it disappears as you get to know him better. He's a big ol' teddy bear around me."

Chase glares menacingly at his best friend, and I can't help but laugh.

"This is Erika, everyone. Everyone, Erika," Chase introduces me, taking another swig of beer. "She's irritating. So are all of you. You should get along perfectly."

"Didn't I hear you call her gorgeous before we came over, Thatcher?" Alec asks, his cobalt eyes glinting with amusement as they flit between us.

"She doesn't like me flirting with her. I did it to annoy her."

"It's true," I pipe up.

"You two are so convincing."

Even Riley can't seem to contain her laughter. "Is Chase being rude to you, Erika? I can kick his ass in a heartbeat if you want me to."

Chase snorts. "Riley, you're like 5'3. I could sit on you and you would die."

"I am small but mighty. Like a bullet."

Alec makes a scoffing sound, rubbing her hair. "Okay, Greene."

It's weird to watch Alec Ryder being so sentimental. Last year, Alec had a bit of a bad reputation and everyone is still adjusting to his changed ways. He and Riley have become the new 'it' couple of Lindale High: all of Alec's previous jealousy-ridden admirers have now transformed into hard core fangirls. I never got involved with that whole debacle, but it's scary how much things have changed.

"Where's Violet?" Chase grumbles, running a hand through his hair.

"She's just grabbing a drink," Joe replies.

"You'd like Violet," Chase says to me, tugging at the label on his beer bottle and evaluating me with dark eyes. "And Riley, actually. You all share the same annoying sarcasm and sass traits. It's going to be annoying having three of you to deal with now."

Riley winks at me and I smile.

"Here I was, thinking that you were a player, Chase." Alec says. "And here you are, proving exactly how to get girls not to like you. What's happened to you?"

"Like you can talk, Alec." Joe drawls. He twists and leans on the brick wall beside me, his tanned arm only inches away. "You did the same tactic with Riley: winding her up to get a reaction. This is Chase's way of flirting with Erika, don't ruin his little progress."

I raise a singular eyebrow and Joe shoots me a cheeky smile. In the meantime, Chase is groaning and muttering about how irritating his friends are and how he 'doesn't know why he hangs out with these imbeciles.' Slowly, the sulky idiot places his empty glass bottle on the wall beside him and rises to his feet.

"Flirting is not the word I'd call it," he says finally. His eyes flicker to meet mine for half a second, and a small smirk curves his lips. "We mutually irritate each other."

I nod. "That's definitely what it is."

"Throwback," Riley whispers softly to Alec, looking up at him from her position nestled under his arm. "We were like that, do you remember?"

Chase makes another grumbling sound. I watch him as he scratches the back of his neck, nodding a quick goodbye before disappearing into the crowd on his way indoors.

"It was fun meeting you all." I say with a smile, slipping off the wall. "I should probably go after him; we have some stuff to talk about. I'll see you around?" My voice ends on a hopeful note. They seem like nice people.

"Definitely. Have fun talking," Joe replies mischievously, nudging my arm.

Rolling my eyes fondly, I hop down from the wall and begin to walk back towards the house. I can feel the bass in the floor already, the rise of chatter and the heat. Despite the increasing noise levels, I somehow manage to hear another of Riley's murmurs to Alec.

"I think that's the first girl that Chase has ever actually introduced us to."

That girl really doesn't know how to whisper.

*~*~*

"Do you want another drink?"

Miko slurs into my ear. She smells like coconut rum and floral body spray. Holding a mostly empty plastic cup in one hand and swaying slightly, she looks at me with hopeful expectation.

"I'm all good!" I reply, holding up my newly filled cup. "Are you drunk, Mi-Miko?"

"Nah, I'm fine." She hiccups, then grins sheepishly. "Are you?"

"Sobriety is not in my vodka-bulary," I pronounce. Miko erupts into giggles, bending over her knees, and even I can't seem to stop my laughter spilling over. I'm so funny.

As my eyes wander around my surroundings, I sip more and more of the candy-tasting poison. Mom warned me not to have too much and to pace myself. Miko's mom wouldn't condone her drinking at all, which is why she needs to be especially careful.

Not that she is.

She exhales sharply beside me, recapturing my attention. Despite my blurry vision, I can see that her eyebrows are furrowed and she's glaring at something outside. I follow her gaze and instantly I realise exactly why she's so tense. Kai, Miko's younger brother, is stood on the decking with a green can of something in his hand. He's relaxed, his free hand tucked loosely into his pocket, and laughing at something with a group of older guys, from our year group. A sophomore amongst seniors.

"What is he doing here?"

"I don't know." Miko responds. She's stopped swaying. The role of responsible older sister has sobered her up almost instantly. "Haha would kill him if she knew he was here."

Saying that aloud seems to switch something on in her brain, and Miko grabs my hand and tugs me towards the glass doors. We step out of the doorway into the colder air. The music is quite muted out here, but the conversations are louder.

A group of rowdy boys cheer and crow at each other from opposite ends of the ping pong table. There are lines of cups filled with urine coloured liquid on the green surface. Beer pong. Kai is stood nearby, under the fairy lights and chatting to four senior guys. His skin is creamy like his sister's, his eyes are dark and narrow when they finally fix upon us. Immediately, he rolls them. I'm pretty sure Kai rolls his eyes more than he breathes.

"What are you doing here?" Miko hisses, storming to a halt in front of him. "You're a sophomore! You're underage."

"Yeah, so are you!" Kai hisses.

"I'll keep this from Okaasan if you leave now."

"I don't want to leave, Miko."

The four senior guys exchange looks and step away, sensing the shift in atmosphere. I offer them a little nod in thanks. My hand is still in Miko's and she's squeezing it tightly. I know how much she hates doing this. Fights with her brother never work out well.

"This isn't fair, Kaito. You can't keep doing this to Okaasan, she worries about you."

"I can look after myself, she doesn't need to worry."

"You're sixteen!" I can hear the pain and frustration in Miko's voice. The dispute is catching quite a bit of surrounding attention. The beer pong game has quietened.

I tug on Miko's hand to draw her attention and mutter softly. "You may want to go somewhere a bit more private."

Miko glances around instantly, and her pale skin flushes pink as she notices the attention she's gathered. She nods and drops my hand to grab Kai's forearm instead. Any contact with her brother seems to cause her immense stress currently. Her voice is strained, a complete contrast from her happy giggles only three minutes earlier.

"I'll see you in a bit," she says to me, tugging Kai back into the house.

I take a sip of my drink and sigh. Miko only wants to protect him, but he's going through a difficult stage currently. Any intervention is met with defensiveness, shouting and the slamming of doors. It can be really aggravating to see how upset she gets. Sometimes I want to shake Kai and show him what his actions are doing to her and her Mom. Other times, I feel like the boy needs a hug and somebody to tell him that he's worth more than the path he's choosing right now. It's a constant coin toss.

"Quite a scene."

I look over my shoulder with a smile. "Spying on me, Thatcher?"

Chase smirks slightly and leans back against the brick wall behind him. "Only if there's drama involved. Who was the kid?"

"Miko's brother, Kai," I murmur. I dance back a few steps and lean against the wall beside him, angling my head back against the rough brick and admiring how everything is out of focus, slightly fuzzy when I've been drinking. Colours seem brighter, and everything feels warm and inviting and funny. "He's going down a bit of a bad path right now."

"We'd probably get on like a house on fire, then."

I glance at him. "I don't know what you're talking about. You're an angel."

Chase does something I didn't expect, then. He laughs.

"Chasey-boo," says Joe, leaning out from the open glass doors and peering at us. "I've been looking for you everywhere, man. Don't suppose you two would be interested in some drinking games?"

Joe smiles merrily, his eyes glittering as they bounce from Chase to me.

"I definitely am," says Chase, pushing himself away from the wall to follow his friend back inside. He halts at the door and both boys look to me for my answer. Miko won't be back for a while, so I guess it could be fun. Drinking with new people is always fun.

"Go on then," I say, rolling my eyes. "You've coerced me."

Then, I follow them inside.

A/N: Hii! Quick question: is everyone enjoying the book so far? I'm seeing less comments than usual and it's making me nervous D:

SO this was the first sight of the ABBSMB gang, and don't worry there's LOTS more to come! For anyone who would like to familiarise themselves with the characters again, the first three chapters of ABBSMB have been re-uploaded to Wattpad :) ALSO for those who read the original copy of The Anti Delinquent System- don't worry! All of the original scenes are still being included, I've just added some extra stuff in so the chapter numbers have changed slightly :)

lots of love,

Cherry x