His Survivor

7. The Party

Ashley's POV

It is the night of the party and we are getting ready at Hannah's place as she had suggested we do it. The place where the party is being held is like a few blocks away from here, so it will be easier for us. We are having a sleepover here because we didn't want to wake up Martha or Ian in the middle of the night and as Chole said, the boys are going to get shitfaced so we rather not piss them off. 

"Ashley, you and Evander are on better terms now? I don't see you guys fighting much anymore", Hannah asks as she applies eyeliner. I swear, I have no idea how they do it with such perfection. All I can o is apply lip balm so Hannah and Chole did my hair and make up but I chose to dress comfortably, much to their dismay. I chose a black ripped jeans along with a spaghetti strap golden top which has glitter and all that jazz with a black leather jacket on top. My hands still have a few bruises here and there even though they are faded so I would rather not have the entire world see them. I am pumps as when it comes to heels, I can't even stand let along walk for hours together. 

"We don't see eye-to-eye so we avoid each other as much as possible", and it is true. That guy has an ego bigger than that of the entire American continent but his attitude is what angers me. He uses girls like tissue paper and I swear, if it was up to me, I would have kicked his ass, hard.

"We all can see that", Chole laughs and Hannah joins her while I scowl at them before looking at my phone which pinged, indicating a message. 

"Arnold and the guys are downstairs", I tell the girls and they nod before slipping onto the heels or otherwise known as torture machines for your legs. 

"Let's get going then", we all go downstairs as we hear all the guys laughing about something. Evander stands near the door, looking bored as hell. Our eyes meet and they stay locked until Arnold comes to stand in the line of my sight. I give him a small smile and he smiles back. 

"You look beautiful", he compliments and my cheeks warm up a bit. I am not used to people complimenting me and when somebody does, I get all flustered and don't know how to respond to it. You can definitely tell, I am an introvert now. 

"Thanks, I guess", he chuckles before leading me towards others. 

"We are taking Evander's and Arnold's cars so, who's going with who?"

"Ashley can come with me", Arnold says and I look at him before nodding and others, too, choose the cars and we all get in. 

"Ashley, if you feel uncomfortable, just let Arnold or Evander know and they can bring you back home, yeah?", Hannah says and I nod my head.

"Will you be drinking?", I ask Arnold who shakes his head in denial. 

"Evander and I are the designated drivers tonight", I nod and look out the window. I can already hear the music as we come close to the mansion and I swear, the amount of people there make me want to go back home right away. 

"Come on guys", everybody gets out of the car and I begrudgingly step out, straightening my top and wrapping my jacket a little tighter around my body. We all together head inside, while I hang back, not wanting to attract the attention from people. 

"If you want to go home, let me know", Evander tells me as he walks alongside me. I turn to look at him and try to understand why he is behaving like he cares. 

"You are new here and I don't want you to get lost", he says and shrugs as if it isn't a big thing.

"Why do you care?"

"You are my best friend's sister and I wouldn't want you to get hurt", he says and all the while he is looking around, waving at random people who greet him. 

"Thanks", I whisper and he acknowledges it with a nod. 

We both enter and he leaves my side right after, more like, he's dragged by some girls. I roll my eyes before trying to find Chole or Hannah and thankfully I spot Ryan talking to some guy along with Hannah. I make my way towards them while dogging sweaty bodies. 

"Hey Ashley. Where have you been?"

"I was searching for you guys", Hannah hands me a red cup but I shake my head and give it back to her. 

"I don't drink but thanks", she was about to persuade me but Ryan stops her. 

"Coke's okay for you?"

"Yes. Thank you". 

"Most welcome", we all continue the conversation until Chole and Blake find us, along with Arnold. 

"Let's go and dance, come on", Chole drags me to the makeshift dance floor and for once, I comply. Dancing has always been something I loved dearly but due to my condition, I have to avoid overstraining myself as the drugs and chemo sucks the life out of me. I start moving to the beat and soon enough, I loose myself. My brain and body let loose and I enjoy myself for the first time since I came here. I feel like a bird who was set free from its cage after a long time. Dance is a therapy for my brain and I swear, I miss it more than anything in this world. I will probably ask Dr. Ken if I can join again as the cancer is at bay as of now. 

After dancing for what seems like forever, I feel the need to go to the bathroom because of the numerous cups of coke that I drank which probably is bad but right now, I don't give a s**t. 

"I am going to the bathroom", I yell over the music and the girls nods before telling me the way. Apparently, this Kyle dude organizes parties every other weekend so they know the entire house by now. 

I finally find an empty bathroom because the last two ones were occupied by horny teenagers who couldn't even be bothered to lock the door from inside. 

"Damn these people", I finish my business and as I am about to head downstairs, fingers wrap around my wrist and pull me to a sturdy chest. The breath of that person stinks of alcohol, telling me that he is drunk out of his mind. 

"What the f**k? Leave my hand, right now", I try to wiggle out of his grasp, but he holds it tighter. 

"Come on baby, I can show you a really good time", he slurs. 

"Leave me the hell alone", I stomp on his foot and he curses loudly before his grip loosens on mine and I yank my hand away, glaring at him. I have never this guy before in school but I am new, so who the hell knows, right?

"You b***h. You are going to regret it", I mentally scoff at him before backing away from him. I really don't want to hurt him anymore than I already have. 

"You don't know who you are talking to". 

"Are you going to call some knight in shining armor now, like a damsel in distress?", he mocks me and my anger flares again. 

"I am a f*****g independent woman who doesn't need a guy to come and save me. I can do that myself". 

"Is that so?", with that he tries to punch me but I easily dodge it and punch his jaw and a cracking sound is heard. He groans loudly and goes to swing at me again but I kick him in the stomach before pushing him on the ground and standing on top of him.

"Don't ever try to force another girl to meet your f*****g needs. If you are a man enough, get a girl for yourself rather trying to force them, understood", with that, I turn around just as Evander comes out of the room, his clothes wrinkled, letting me know what actually he was doing and just to prove me right, a blonde comes out of the room, fixing her clothes which are several sizes small on her. 

"What happened? I heard the commotion", he asks me and I shrug while pointing at the guy lying there, blood coming out of his mouth.

"Just taught that asshole a lesson about what happens when he forces girls", his eyes scan my body once, probably to check for injuries before looking at the guy and cursing loudly. 

"He is one of the students from the rival school. They aren't even supposed to be here", he curses before bending down and looking for his pulse. 

"He will live. I wasn't that rough", I say and he looks at me. 

"You did significant damage. I am impressed". 

"Thanks", I look at him, now sitting and glaring at me. I bend down to his height and smile sweetly before gripping his jaw. 

"You are lucky I didn't harm your disgusting jewels so if I were you, I would stop glaring", he stops glaring and stands up before going inside the bathroom, probably to clean himself. 

We three stand there, looking at one another, which was awkward as hell. Evander's eyes are trained on me while the blonde is busy glaring at me probably because I interrupted their session while I look at my knuckles which are bleeding a bit and again, the fear of bleeding out grips me even though its nothing. Dr. Ken has time and again told me that I would not bleed out as my leukemia is different but that has never calmed my nerves, ever. 

"Ashley, look at me. Concentrate on my breathing", Evander is suddenly in front of me, holding my hands and telling me to breathe and that is when I realize that I am f*****g shaking. I go to sit down but he slowly guides me to the wall and I slide down, my head between my thighs, trying to breathe normally. 

"Deep breaths. In and out. Slowly", he says and I follow his instructions before I fully calm down and raise my head, looking at him in the eyes. I can see the concern and I mentally scold myself for having a panic attack in front of him of all the people. 

"You breathe one word about this to anyone and I will be the one to cut off your baby making machine", I warn him and he chuckles at the choice of my words. 

"I promise not to tell anyone. Let's get you home, shall we?", with that he helps me stand and I let go of his hand before walking in front of him. He ignores the blonde who is red from the anger, looking like a damn tomato and I mentally laugh at her but I still have my resting b***h face on.

"Ashley, I was so worried. Are you okay?", Arnold asks as he sees us both approaching them. 

"Ashley?", Blake looks at me but I keep my gaze trained down. 

"Evander, is everything okay?", I look at him but he doesn't answer Blake. 

"I want to go home", I whisper and the girls immediately agree, sensing something was wrong with me. From the corner of my eye, I see Evander nodding at the guys and they all get up as we head to the cars. 

"You are coming with me", Evander says and takes my hand in his. I flinch a bit but he holds it tighter and gives it a reassuring squeeze. Arnold was about to say something but Blake stops him and they all pile up in Arnold's car while only I and Evander go towards his. 

He opens the door for me and I sit down inside, before he closes it softly and get in the driver's seat and starts the car. We sit in silence for a few minutes but I can tell he wants to ask me things. 

"Spit it out". 

"What?"

"Spit out whatever you want to ask". 

"Did he hurt you?", his knuckles turn white as he grips the steering wheel too tightly. 

"He didn't the chance". 

"How did you learn to fight like that?", he asks. 

"I lived in a small town in California where it was a necessity", he curtly nods before concentrating on the road and that's when I realize something. 

"This is the first civil conversation we have had since I arrived", I see the corner of his mouth lifting up in a smirk. 

"I guess", I can hear the strain in his voice as he speaks and I understand what really is happening here.

"You are blaming yourself for what happened tonight", he exhales sharply before stopping for a red light. He turns to look at me and I see the guilt in his eyes before he covers it up. 

"I was the one who literally challenged you to come here. So, yes, I am partly responsible".

"Bullshit. You weren't the one who tried to force me, that asshole did. It is not your fault and I took care of him already", he stats the car again but doesn't reply.

"Stop blaming yourself. You saw I hurt him bad and I am sure he won't be forcing girls from now on. Drunk or not, that doesn't give him an excuse to r**e a girl".

"He won't. I will make sure of it", he whispered it to himself but I let it go and concentrate on him, his guilt. 

"I am not mad at you". 

"You should be". 

"Well, I am not so f*****g deal with it", I huff and I hear him chuckle and I sigh in relief. 

"I already messaged Kyle and he will take care of Gian. As I said, he is from the Wales Highschool which is the next best school, after ours and it is the cliche rivalry between us since decades especially because of soccer and the dance team. We have won every tournament against them and they have held the grudge since forever". 

"The stereotypical high school drama", I shake my head and he chuckles again. 

"It is a big thing around here though. People die to see a fight brewing between the rival school. Its like they live off of the fights and the soccer games are a sight to behold for some of them. There is atleast one fight during the game, I assure you". 

"You play too, right?"

"Yep. I am the captain". 

"Damn. I pity the team", I laugh while he snickers before ending up laughing. 

"You don't see to have the Australian accent like the others". 

"Aren't you Miss.Observant? And to answer your question, I was born and brought up in North Carolina before we shifted here", he abruptly ends the sentence and I don't mention it. It was probably personal and I don't want to pressure him or something. 

"I am sorry about your mom. Blake told us". 

"Yeah", I reply and look out of the window and he takes the hint. We sit in silence and fortunately, it is a comfortable one. I replay the events of tonight in my head and all I want is to lie down on my bed and forget this ever happened but I have a feeling that, everyone will be asking me questions about it and the way Evander said about the rivalry, it probably will be all over the school. 

Just f*****g great!