(unedited)

Life's a game but it's not fair
I break the rules,
So I don't care.
So I keep doin' my own thing,
Walkin' tall against the rain.

"Run This Town" - Jay Z ft. Rihanna & Kanye West


"You know," Jacen said. "I'm really starting to think you hate me."

I rolled my eyes and ignored him.

"That, or you're secretly, desperately, hopelessly in love with me."

I shot him an incredulous look. "I'm supposed to make your sister's boyfriends brother fall in love with me and you thi-"

"It was a joke, Elena," he said, glancing at me from the corner of his eye, so he could still watch the road.

"Has anyone ever told you that you're really not funny?" I asked, turning to stare outside.

"Sure," he replied without missing a beat. "Keira, Vanessa, Skylar, and now you."

"You should really listen to them," I told him, not looking away from the window. As the houses we sped past grew bigger and bigger, I asked myself, for the fifth time during the fifteen minute drive, what the hell I was doing in Jacen Winston's car, on my way to Vanessa Merrick's house, for a party with the Elite?

When I had agreed yesterday, I hadn't actually believed it would happen. But it did. Jacen had shown up at my house at seven with gleaming eyes and a wide smile. Raine and Kaden had been at a doctor's appointment, thankfully, so they hadn't witnessed the disturbance Jacen had caused dragging me into his car. I guess I hadn't helped either with putting up a fight. I had left a note in hopes that Raine and Kaden wouldn't worry, or go into my room. Jacen had made a bit of a messy going through my clothes to grab stuff I needed to bring for the party.

It was all by the orders of Vanessa, he had claimed.

"It's raining," I said, hoping that would somehow get me out of this.

"Vanessa has an indoor pool," Jacen replied. "We're here," he sing-songed a moment later, pulling into a long driveway lined with perfectly but bushes. He parked in front of the elaborate white house a moment later. He got out, then to my slight surprise, came around to my side and opened the door for me as I was grabbing my bag.

"Thanks," I said, stepping out of the car. I glanced around, wondering if I would make a run for it. It was a little more intimidating now that I was actually here.

Jacen looped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me towards the door, almost as if he had heard my thoughts about escaping. He didn't let go of me, not when he pressed the lock button on his car's remote, or even when he typed a long sequence of numbers into a keypad/intercom near the door.

"Hello?" Vanessa's voice came through a moment later.

"Hey Vannie, I brought her," Jacen said.

"Don't call me Vannie," Vanessa replied. "Door's open," she added after a soft series of beeps and clicks.

When we were inside, Jacen still didn't let go, instead changed his hold so he was guiding me by the shoulders from behind. We climbed a set of stairs and went through a couple hallways before he finally stopped at a pale pink door.

And I thought Kaden and Raine's house was big.

The volume of the coming music coming from inside the room became almost painful when Jacen pushed open the door.

Vanessa sat cross-legged on her bed in jean shorts and a bright turquoise bikini top, flipping through a magazine. She glanced up when we came in. "Quiet," she said. Instantly the music lowered. I glanced around. Her room suited her. It was bright, and girly, and pink. Two pale pink nightstands were pushed against the large white bed. Pink fabric draped from the ceiling, and the walls were decorated with posters and fairy lights. A TV, mini-fridge and collection of bean-bags sat in the corner of the room.

To my surprise, Vanessa jumped off the bed and came over to give me a hug. I awkwardly hugged her back, causing Jacen to snicker at me reaction.

"Where's my hug?" he asked jokingly when Vanessa pulled away.

She stuck out her tongue. "You don't get one," she said, then squealed when he wrapped his arms around her, stealing a hug anyway. Vanessa shoved him away, reaching back to smooth out her hair.

I watched the exchange, eyebrows raised. There had been rumors that something was going on between Jacen and Vanessa a year or two ago and it almost looked like they were true, but something was off. Jacen might've been interested in Vanessa, but it didn't look like she returned the feelings, if they were even there in the first place.

"You brought a swimsuit, right?" Vanessa asked, turning to me.

"Yeah." I paused and glanced at Jacen. "I think."

"You did," he replied, a wide grin stretching across his face.

Vanessa looked between us. "Okay then," she said, drawing out the words. "You can change in the bathroom." She pointed to a door a few feet from the bed. "The others should be-"

And as if on cue, the intercom beside her bed beeped. Vanessa leaned over and hit a button below it. "Hello?"

"Hey," Nathan said. "I have Keira and Sky with me. Ash is coming later." I didn't hear the rest since I ducked into the bathroom to change. Hmm, so Ashton wasn't with them. Briefly, I wondered what he was doing, but quickly shoved the thought out of my mind. I was here because Jacen dragged me into his car, not to take part in their game and make him fall in love with me.

A moment after I flicked the lock into place, there was a knock. I opened the door to see Vanessa on the other side. "Come down stairs once you're done, okay?" she said. "Just follow wherever the noise is coming from."

"Okay." She flashed me a quick smile then turned to leave as I shut the door again. I walked back to the bag I had put on the counter, pulled out the swimsuit Jacen had packed for me- and stared.

Of all the swimsuits I owned, he had to have picked this one. Of course.

I didn't even have that many, but all of my swimsuits were plain and pretty modest. All, that is, except one. Trust that one to be the one Jacen picked.

It had been a joke Christmas present from Kallie, Kaden's sister. The bikini was pink and silver, and the skimpiest thing in my closet. Two triangles of pink fabric tied together with a jewel encrusted silver ring. Two silver strings tied behind my neck, holding it all up. The bottom was also two triangles of pink fabric, held together by five thin strings. The only thing that really kept this from looking like a cheap stripper outfit was the quality and design. It was from one of those high-end swimwear boutiques.

I glared at the fabric. I really should've thrown it out, feeling of guilt be damned. Scowling, I changed into the bikini, then pulled on the jean shorts I found at the bottom of the bag. I pulled on my sweater, as a bit of extra cover up, but left it unzipped.

Then I walked to the door and twisted the doorknob- but it didn't open. The handle turned halfway before jamming. Like it was locked. Except, the lock was on my side and it wasn't in place.

After trying it a couple more times, I backed away from the door and leaned against the counter, tapping my fingers on the porcelain as I tried to think of a way out.

I could yell, but there was no guarantee anyone would hear me, especially if they were downstairs, with music on. I could wait it out, but what if Vanessa and the Elite didn't remember I was up here?

I had my phone, but the only people I could call were Raine and Kaden. And that would lead to questions as to why I was hanging out with the Elite. Questions I didn't really feel like answering, because I didn't know most of the answers myself. They would be a last resort.

The door had a lock on the inside, so I couldn't look up a tutorial online and pick the lock. I wasn't even sure if the door was really locked since, as far as I had seen, there hadn't been a lock on the other side. Breaking the door definitely wasn't an option.

I hadn't reached that level of desperation yet.

There was the window... If someone was outside, by any chance. I checked the door again, hoping the handle-jamming thing had been some kind of fluke.

No luck.

The wind whipped the rain in as soon as I pried open the window. I quickly scanned the ground below me, shivering against the cold. It was dark, and from what I could see, there was no one out there.

I could always climb out; there wasn't any netting in this window. I reached out, feeling around. The house had ridges. It wasn't impossible, but it'd be pretty damn difficult with the rain and the darkness. It was either this, or calling Raine and Kaden.

Suddenly a pair of hands grabbed my waist, pulling me away from the window. "What the hell are you doing?" a partially-familiar male voice hissed in my ear. I whipped around to see Ashton standing behind me, an almost murderous look in his dark eyes.

"Are you insane?" he demanded as I jerked away from him, almost crashing into the wall. He leaned over and jerked the window closed, effectively cutting off the sound from outside. The wind and rain had been loud enough that I hadn't heard him come in.

"How'd you get in here?" I asked. I had checked the door just a couple minutes ago, and it had been jammed.

"There's something called a door. Commonly used to exit ro-" he started.

"I know what a door is," I snapped. I stood on my tiptoes to look past his shoulder. The door was wide open. It had been jammed from the outside, though... "It wouldn't open."

"There was a chair under the doorknob," he told me.

"Why'd you ask what I was doing with the window, then?" I demanded, throwing my hands up.

"You were trying to get out through the window and climb down a two-story house? In the rain?" It hadn't seemed like such a crazy idea a couple minutes ago. But when he said it like that, it sounded idiotic and suicidal.

Still, I stood my ground. "What else I was supposed to do?

"I don't know, call one of us maybe?" he replied.

I scoffed. "Okay, using the magical phone number I'm supposed to pull out of my ass."

He sighed. "Let's go." He grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the bathroom. I winced at his tight grip.

So well-mannered.

Then I remembered something he had said, but I had stupidly never asked about since I had been distracted by arguing with him. "You said there was a chair against the door?" I asked as he turned us down another hall. That meant it hadn't been accidental. Someone had actually wanted to lock me in there.

He nodded.

"Do you know who did it?" I sped up a little until I was beside him, then matched his pace, so I could watch his expression as he answered.

"I have some ideas."

Okay, so clearly he wouldn't be giving me an actual answer. Another thought crossed my mind as we walked down the stairs. "What were you doing in Vanessa's room?" Everyone should've been downstairs.

"She asked me to get you." I could start to hear the faint sound of music as we reached the bottom of the stairs, but still trailed after Ashton since Vanessa's house was huge, and probably pretty confusing and I didn't want to get lost. There was something about the way he had said everything that made me believe, for sure, that he wasn't telling the truth. Or, if he was, he wasn't telling the whole truth.

Ashton led me to the room with an indoor pool where the rest of the Elite were waiting. They were all in swimsuits, but by the looks of it, no one had actually gone in the pool yet, instead just lounging around on the chairs beside the pool. They looked up when we entered.

"What took so long?" Nathan asked. "You guys were up there for fifteen minutes."

"Nothing," Ashton and I said at the same time.

Jacen raised an eyebrow. "Doing stuff you don't want to tell us about?"

I shot him a flat look. "Are you gonna make dirty jokes all night?"

"Wait," Vanessa said, raising a hand. "Do I have to put my sheets through the wash?" she asked. Her question made Skylar snort, Keira roll her eyes, Nathan and Jacen laugh and me blush a little, though I was trying my best to hide it. I would've thought she was joking from her words and their reactions, but she actually looked genuinely confused.

"No," Ashton said. "You don't."

I took a seat next to Vanessa, because even though she was probably the most clueless of the Elite, she was the nicest. That I knew, at least. Nathan was supposedly really nice as well, but I didn't want to approach him when Keira was on his lap, and they were all tangled up together.

"Hey," I said quietly as Jacen started talking about some weird thing that had happened to him last week. Vanessa turned to look at me as I continued. "Were all of you down here?"

She nodded. "Yeah, you didn't get lost, right?" She glanced at Ashton. "Ashton went up a while ago to find you."

Did she ask him to go up? Had he actually been curious to know where I had been? Or had he been using me as a cover to do something else? "Uh, no, the bathroom door wouldn't open."

"Oh. Yeah, it jams sometimes," she said. And I suppose a chair moves itself under the doorknob as well. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah!" I exclaimed, scrambling to find a quick lie. I looked around. "I'm just not used to, you guys," I told her. Before she could reply, Jacen called Vanessa's name. I tuned out of the conversation, thinking about what Vanessa had told me. If Ashton had been the only one who had been up there... Was it possible that he was the one who locked me in the bathroom?

But why? Why would he help me right after? And why would he do it in the first place? Why would any of the Elite do it, period?

I snapped back to attention when Ashton stood up and left the room. "Where's he going?"

Skylar raised an eyebrow. "Getting vodka and glasses."

"I'll go help him," I said, jumping up. I hadn't finished with all my questions when we had been cut short by the rest of the Elite.

"Ooh, getting it on, already," Jacen hollered.

I didn't turn around, just gave him a somewhat rude gesture involving the middle finger of my left hand, which only caused him to laugh even more. I caught up to Ashton by the time we reached the kitchen.

"Did you put the chair against the door?" I asked as he opened a cupboard.

His head snapped up, but he didn't look at me. "Why would I do that?" He pulled out a couple bottles to check the labels, then put all except two back.

I shrugged, even though he couldn't see me. "I don't know, as some kind twisted joke or something."

Ashton stepped away from the cupboard and went to a different one, pulling out glasses this time. "No, I didn't," he replied, balancing seven glasses in his hands. "Grab those," he told me, nodding to the bottles he had pulled out earlier.

I grabbed the alcohol and followed him back down the hall. "How can I trust that?" I asked.

"You can't," was his simple reply.

We were almost back to where the rest of the Elite were waiting. "You really think one of your friends did it?" I asked quietly, stopping just inside the door.

Ashton shrugged.

"Why?"

"The reasons would have to depend on who they are," he replied.

I resisted the urge to groan. Talking to him was like talking to Kaden when he and Raine were trying to keep something from me. "Can't you give me a straight answer?"

"Everybody has at least one dark, twisted secret," he said. He smiled, but there was nothing nice or happy about it. It only lasted for a second before disappearing.

I swallowed, forcing ­­myself to keep my expression impassive as I met his eyes. "What's yours?"

"Come on," Jacen yelled from the pool. "Are you guys doing sappy eyes at each other already?"

We both ignored him.

Ashton chuckled, and flashed me a brilliant, dangerous smile. "They're secrets for a reason, Elena."

-- ♡ --
Ashton on the side --->
Teaser: "What the h-" Before I could finish, his mouth slammed down on mine.