Page 5 of Only Forever

I wasn’t surprised to see that there were a lot of people upstairs, many of them just mingling in the hallways. I didn’t think there was a room in the house that wasn’t filled with people.

I sighed in relief when I opened one of the doors in the hallway, revealing an empty bathroom. I relieved myself, almost thanking God for making it without incident. As I washed my hands, I studied myself in the mirror. My cheeks were flushed from dancing, and sweat was making the pink sweater cling to me even more. I pinched the front of the sweater and fanned it back and forth, trying to cool myself down.

There were even more people in the hallway when I exited the bathroom. I was about to go downstairs when I heard someone call my name.

“Hey, Daphne.”

I turned around, slightly frowning when I saw it was a boy I didn’t recognize. I had no clue who he was.

“Yes?” I answered uncertainly. The boy got closer, smiling at me. He was attractive in a nondescript way, but I grew even more puzzled as his smile widened while I looked at him in confusion. Our school wasn’t that big, and I didn’t think there was anybody I wouldn’t at least recognize, even if I didn’t know their name.

“I’m Caleb.” He pushed his hair back from his forehead, looking down at me since he was much taller than me. “I asked around about your name because I thought you were so beautiful.”

I grimaced. This was exactly one of the things I didn’t like about parties. Icky guys hitting on you.

“Hi, Caleb,” I said, trying not to show my disgust. He was just shooting his shot and seemed nice enough. I just wasn’t interested. “Sorry, but I’m here with friends and I need to get back to them.”

“Hey, hey, hey,” he said, as I was turning away. “I just want to talk. Are you still in high school? I go to Darrenston College.”

“Yes,” I said shortly. I moved to walk away when he grabbed my wrist.

“That’s fine as long as you’re eighteen.”

I looked back at him, giving him a look of disgust. His friendly expression had turned leering. There was no need to be polite to him anymore.

“Get your hands off me,” I retorted, pulling my wrist out of his grasp. He responded by grabbing my wrist again and pulling me close to him.

“That’s not playing nice,” he spat out. I could smell alcohol on his breath and his eyes looked menacing. I was starting to get scared but tried not to show it.

“Fuck you,” I hissed, trying unsuccessfully to pull my wrist out of his hand. “Let go of me!”

Before he could respond, a small object whizzed by and hit him on his head. I almost laughed at the stunned look on his face. I turned my head and saw Shelby Cross with her arm still out after she had thrown what looked like a cat toy. I was sure it had done Caleb no damage, except for humiliating him.

My amusement disappeared when I saw the look of rage on his face. “You bitch,” he snarled, letting go of my arm and lunging towards her.

“No!” I shrieked involuntarily, grabbing the back of his shirt and pulling him back. There was no way I was letting him do anything to Shelby after she had tried to help me. Shelby was a fellow senior and super quiet, barely speaking at school. I had gotten to know her last year when we had math class together, and I realized under that super shy exterior was a funny, dry personality. I had tried to ingratiate her as a part of our friend group, but she was too shy to join in on anything. Still, we had stayed friendly, and now she had stuck her neck out for me.

Caleb turned back, his fury now directed towards me. “Let me take care of you first,” he seethed.

Before I could say or do anything, I saw a flash and a body was suddenly in between us. Then I heard the thud of flesh hitting flesh. Jason had appeared out of nowhere and punched Caleb straight in the face. Caleb stumbled back, the wall behind him preventing him from falling. His face was red with rage as he pushed himself off the wall, throwing himself at Jason.

Soon fists were flying, and they were grappling on the floor. I was horrified by what was happening but didn’t know what to do. Jason obviously had the upper hand in strength, but Caleb was still getting punches in. I was afraid if I tried to stop Jason, I would distract him and Caleb would get more punches in. The last thing I wanted was for Jason to get hurt because of me.

The people around us simply crowded around them, watching as if it was a spectator sport. I was relieved when I saw Marcus Santos, Jason’s best friend, breaking through the crowd.

“Guys, guys!” he yelled, trying to break them apart. Chris, a fellow lacrosse team playmate, was behind him, and he put his foot on Caleb’s chest so he couldn’t get up as Marcus pulled Jason off of him.

“Jason, you’re going to kill him,” Marcus said.

“Let me go,” he growled, not taking his eyes off of Caleb, who was moaning on the floor. “That’s exactly what I want to do.”

I grabbed Jason’s arm, trying to shake some sense into him. “Jason, please stop. He’s not worth it.”

Jason snapped his neck around to look at me, and I saw the anger dissipating from his eyes, replaced with worry. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” I said. “He was just being a jerk, but I’m okay.” I turned to look for Shelby. She was leaning against the wall, looking terrified, her face pale and her eyes wide. “Shelby stopped him before he could do anything.” I grinned, thinking of her shot. “Defeated by a cat toy.”

Shelby smiled tremulously back at me, but Jason didn’t seem to see the amusement in it. Chris, a beefy guy at 6’4” and made of all muscle, had already picked Caleb up. He shoved Caleb towards the stairs. “Get out of here.”

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