My Brother's Best Friend

Chapter Three

Brooke's POV

The first week of school was already flying by, and before I knew it, Friday was here. Not that I was complaining. Chris and James were already throwing a party; the first party of the year. Our parents were gone for the weekend, taking a nice trip for their anniversary, and Chris took the opportunity straight away. I was slightly dreading it, only because I wasn't in the mood to socialize and I wasn't too fond of cleaning up the house the day after. On the bright side, at least my friends would be there. But first, we had to get through the school day. I grabbed my books and headed in to biology. James was already seated, much to my surprise. He was typically late, or very close to being late. Him beating me here was one of those things that never happened. I pulled out my seat, and sat down, opening my books up to the homework. James quickly scooted his chair over quickly.

"I need to copy your homework." he said in a rush, scrambling to copy down answers. I frowned, but shoved my notebook over to him anyway.

"Why can't you do your own homework." I asked, watching him frantically copy it down. He looked up, slightly apologetic.

"My dad was gone last night without warning. I had to pick my sister up from preschool and watch her." he quickly looked back down at his notes. I had to be fair; he normally was pretty good for doing his homework. As he finished copying down the last answer, he let out a sigh of relief.

"You- are a lifesaver." he breathed, handing my notebook back. I stared into his eyes, and gave a small smile, taking my notebook back.

"Anytime." I responded, breaking our eye contact.

"So, are you excited for the party tonight." he asked, and I shrugged.

"I don't know. Not sure if I'm going to like all the drunken guys hitting on me every two seconds. Maybe I'll stay in my room."

"Aww c'mon. Live a little. I'll make sure to keep an eye on you. I'll scare the drunk guys away." he winked at me, a crooked smile taking its place on his handsome face. I smiled back.

"My hero." I said in a mocking tone. "I guess I can have a little fun." James smiled victoriously before turning to face the front as Mr. Hanson walked in. Maybe tonight could be fun.

----

Loud music pounded in my ears as I made my way into the kitchen for the 5th time. I was definitely letting loose. I poured myself another cup of the spiked punch and made my way back into the room where my friends were sitting. Kaeli jumped up as she saw me, and stole my cup from my hand.

"Hey!" I protested as she took a gigantic slurp and then shoved it back into my hand. She sent me an innocent smile before getting distracted with a guy she had bumped into. I glanced around the room, and I felt my stomach drop as I noticed James talking with Cameryn. Cameryn had curled her blonde hair, and she was wearing a very revealing top with very short shorts. Her boobs and butt were practically sticking out. James kept glancing down at her boobs and I rolled my eyes. She let out a high pitched giggle at something he said, and then ran her fingers down his chest, leaning in to whisper into his ear. I looked away, unable to watch anymore and instead focused on Dean, who was heading right for me.

"Hey." I smiled as he came up to me, putting a hand on my shoulder.

"Hey Brooke. Enjoying the party?"

"Definitely. You?"

"Ya, especially now that I'm talking with you." he said, giving me butterflies in my stomach. He was wearing a nice pair of jeans with a form fitting t-shirt, and it was making me really appreciate his looks. His eyes penetrated mine as he stared at me, his hair pushed to the side.

"I think I may have had few too many drinks though." he chuckled, shaking his head. I giggled, silently agreeing about the fact that I too had probably had too many.

"It feels good to let loose." I responded, shaking my hips to the beat of the music.

"You like this song?" he asked, staring at my moving body.

"Ugh I love it. The beat is so good." I responded, bobbing my head.

"This is like my favourite band." he said, smiling.

"I like your music taste." I said, motioning for him to join me.

"You want to dance?" he asked, chuckling. I nodded, and he began to dance alongside me, our arms randomly hitting each others. As my head grew cloudier, I began to have more and more fun. I let out a loud giggle as Dean began to lip sing the song, using his empty cup as the mic.

"Stop it. You kill me." I breathed, laughing uncontrollably. He grew serious, coming up to stand in front of me.

"You're really pretty you know." he said, reaching a hand out to tuck my hair behind my ear. I looked up at him shyly, the butterflies pounding away in my stomach. He put his other hand on my waist, pulling me closer to him. There were a lot of people around us, but at the moment, it was only us two in the room. He stared down into my eyes, close enough to me that I could see the speck of yellow in his left eye. His lips were a nice pink colour, and I found my eyes were drawn to them. I looked up back into his eyes, and he reached his hand out, cupping my chin. He slowly leaned down, getting closer to my face. His lips brushed against mine, and I reached an arm out to wrap it around his neck, pushing his lips against mine. He kissed me gently, and then more aggressively, slipping a tongue into my mouth. Just then, someone stumbled into us, interrupting our kiss.

"Oh sorry dude." James stood there, a sloppy grin on his face as he stared Dean down. I glared at James, unimpressed that he had interrupted our moment; our perfect moment.

"Why are you glaring at me? I told you I would protect you from drunk guys." he smirked. He was distracted as Cameryn came up, reaching up to kiss him on the lips, her boobs pressed against his chest. They began to pretty much make out in front of us, and I looked up at Dean, who was already looking at me.

"You're so beautiful." he said, making me blush. James broke away from Cameryn, and came to stand beside me.

"Ok sister. You're done here." he grabbed my arm and led me away, me protesting the entire time.

"Ugh James stop! I was having fun!" I whined. He ignored me, leading me to my girlfriends.

"Stick with your friends so I won't have to save you." he drawled, obviously drunk off his ass. Cameryn distracted him yet again, and so I turned to go back to Dean, but he was gone. I sighed, turning to talk to Kaeli.

"BROOKE! I missed you." she screamed, totally drunk. I let her hug me as I scanned the room. I spotted Chris completely making out with some random chick, making me scoff. Kaeli finally let go of me, and she raced to the bathroom, hand over her mouth. I walked back into the kitchen, pouring myself a glass of water so that I wouldn't wake up with too big of a headache in the morning. I chugged it down, and set it on the counter. I jumped as I felt a pair of hands slide around my waist, the person sliding themselves up close to me, pinning me against the counter. I could smell the heavy reek of alcohol, and I turned myself around, finding myself trapped by Josh Matthews; a complete asshole but yet a very attractive guy.

"Hey baby." he said, his glassy eyes staring into mine.

"Let me go." I stated, struggling to free myself.

"You don't really want that." he stated, pushing himself closer to me. I could feel his friend in his pants, and I started to panic.

"Stop it. Let me go." I pushed his chest away, and he angrily grabbed my arms.

"Stop fighting me b***h. I know you want it. All you stupid t***s want it." I felt the panic bubble up in my chest as memories began to flood their way into my mind.

Bruises.

Manipulation.

Not in control.

Weakness.

Fear.

Pain.

I screamed, tears pooling in my eyes. Suddenly, the weight of Josh vanished, and I opened my eyes. James stood over him, punching him.

"Leave her alone!" James roared, giving him a final punch before he came back to me.

"Brooke, are you ok?" he asked, looking worried. I nodded, letting out a few sobs. He cursed, pulling me into his chest, hugging me.

"C'mon, let's get you upstairs." I let him grab my hand, and he led me towards the stairs. He stumbled the whole way up, making me smile through the tears. He led me into my bedroom, and sat me down on my bed.

"Get dressed, and get some rest. I'll make sure no one will bother you." he said quietly. He waited until I had come out of my bathroom, dressed and ready for bed before he tucked me in. He leaned down and kissed my forehead, before he left the room, tripping over my shoes in the process. He closed the door and I let out a breath. James had just kissed my forehead. It gave me butterflies, and I smiled as I touched a hand to the spot. It had felt really nice. I groaned as I turned over, annoyed with myself that I had liked it. He was like a brother to me. The worst part about the whole thing was that he was drunk. He probably wouldn't remember anything. It meant nothing to him.