The dance was more fun than I expected. Tony was a perfect gentleman! He was a very good dancer, letting the music control him, having the rhythm flow through him, instead of being very uptight trying to keep the beat like most guys in high school do. The slow dances were the best, though. I loved being so close to him, just hearing the music stall before a power ballad, like My Heart Will Go On, made me grin with expectation. He pulled me close, wrapped his arms around me, buried his head in my hair (my face resting against his shoulder), and swaying gently to the beat. I made my heart beat faster, and as cheesy as it sounded, I may have been on the floor if he hadn't been holding me up. I was fourteen, cut me some slack, I was naïve back then, we all were.

After the dance, some of Serena's friends, Jake and Ryan, were having a house party. Jake and Ryan were Tony's friends, too, and I was slowly beginning to know them, so we all went. It was wild before we even got there. There were kegs set up, boys were watching two girls make out (I quickly realized they were the two most popular girls in school, both fake strawberry blondes, and "best friends for life"), cheering them on, kids were snorting coke on the stairs, others were smoking weed by the bushes. It was your stereotypical high-school house party. Pathetic, huh?

I felt Tony tighten his grip around my small hand and I couldn't help but smile. He was so protective of me sometimes.

Serena ran up to us, already stripped of her dress and wearing a baby blue tank top and teeny white shorts, holding a beer in one hand and a joint in the others. "He-ey, you two! Glad you could make it! Pick up a beer, light up a joint, and enjoy the party, it's gonna be a wild time!"

She had had quite a few, we could tell. Tony and I exchanged looks and he let go of my hand to wrap his arm around my shoulders.

After Tony and I had made a loop around the party to say hello to our friends, we grabbed two rum and cokes and found a spot on an armchair, with me on his lap.

"This is ridiculous," he murmured in my ear, sipping his drink.

I nodded in agreement. "I've never been to anything like this before."

"This is the kind of bullshit that Jamie used to drag me to. I hate it. It's only a matter of time before the cops raid this and anyone caught doing anything illegal will get fucked over by the cops and probably thrown in for a few hours this time."

I bit my bottom lip, tasting what was left of my lipgloss. I hated that he always brought up Jamie. "Do you want to leave?"

Tony shook his head. "Not quite, yet. I want to make sure Serena stays okay. She almost got herself into trouble the last time we went to a party. You don't mind, do you, April?"

I shook my head and sipped my drink. "I don't want her to get hurt."

He looked me in my eyes and smiled. "You're a good person. You don't mind if I leave you here for, like, five minutes to go search for her, do you? You are more than welcome to come if you feel uncomfortable."

I chuckled. "I'm fine. Go find our girl. I'll just wait for you here."

He squeezed my leg and switched me places in the chair, before he got up and went upstairs in search of Serena.

I don't know how long I was there by myself, but I know that Tony had left me for a least twenty minutes by that point and this guy, whom I never really spoke to, came up to me to chat. His name was Brad; he was a junior, a real charmer. By then, I had had three drinks and was a little tipsy.

He had pulled me onto his lap and was gently kissing my neck. I was giggling, having never really been kissed or given this much attention before, and soaking it up. Brad had his hands on the small of my back, pushing me closer to him, his pinky fingers just barely brushing my butt. Again, by then I was probably too drunk to care.

The next thing I knew, I was on Brad's back and he was taking me upstairs. I knew in the back of my mind what was about to happen, but I didn't care. I wanted it to happen. Brad was a great person, a sweetheart, funny; he really cared about me.

He flopped me down on the bed and I giggled, almost dropping my joint. "I can't see!"

Brad giggled and turned on a black light. "This is my best friend's room."

I could see a poster of Princess Leia in her slave outfit, Carmen Electra, and other various boy posters. The floor was a mess with clothes; there was a basic black alarm clock with the time lit up in red. It was 1:23am. Brad began kissing my neck again, making grunting and moaning noises. I breathed heavily, making soft little whimpers with each wet kiss.

I soon felt him gathering up the material at the hem of my dress so that he could get his hand under. I frowned; this wasn't right. I groaned and pushed his hand away from the waistband of my underwear. He felt the need to grind his crotch into me. That pissed me off more than it aroused me. I pushed his hands back down away from my crotch. "No…"

"Oh, come on, Ril, it's not bad. You'll like it. I'll be gentle."

Ril? What the hell kind of nickname was that, anyway? I squirmed under the weight of him. "No!" my voice was getting louder.

"April?" I heard from outside in the hallway. That was Tony.

"I'm in here, Tony! Help me!" I was crying now.

Brad pinned me down and tried to kiss me. "Come here, little bitch. Are you too afraid?"

I was sobbing now. How could he still want to do this when I was crying and screaming? I obviously didn't want it! How could he do this? He seemed so nice…

The door burst open and Tony stepped in, looking tired and rumbled in his suit. "Get off of her, Brad."

Brad froze. "Back off Tony, she's mine, you're not in this…in more ways than one."

What the hell did that mean? I lifted my thigh with force, hitting him in the balls, quite effective. Brad squealed and Tony pulled him up by his shirt and threw him on the floor. "Stay the hell away from her or I will break every bone in your body. I'm still capable."

Brad didn't say anything, for once and Tony held out his hand. "Come on, April, let's go."

I was still sobbing as I rolled off the bed and straightened my dress. I took Tony's hand and he covered me with his suit jacket. I didn't even know I was shivering. He led me out to his car and opened the passenger-side door for me. I slid in and he went around to get in on the driver's side. He started the car and we had been driving for a bit before he looked at me. "I told you to wait for me in the living room, April."

"You had been gone for so long…" I started.

"I know, but you've never been to one of those parties before. I should have taken you with me. That was my fault."

We were silent for a few moments, except for my occasional sniffles. I was so embarrassed! I felt like I'd been plucked out of a bad episode of Degrassi: The Next Generation or a melodramatic teen novel. I couldn't believe I had done something so stupid. I used to know better, what had happened to me? I broke our silence first. "Where's Serena?"

"She went home with her date. I made him take her home."

I nodded. "You're a good person, Tony."

He shrugged, keeping his eyes on the road. "I've just seen what that kind of lifestyle can do to a person, and I love you and Serena too much to let that happen to you. So, I just watch over you two the most."

I smiled and put my hand on his. "Thanks, for caring so much."

He smiled. "It's fine. Let's clean you up before I take you home."

"Would you mind staying with me? I don't see my mom's car in the driveway."

Tony nodded. "Sure."

Tony waited patiently in my room while I threw up all those beers and rum and cokes, brushed my teeth, showered, and put on pajamas. We then went downstairs and watched TV until my mother came home.

I walked him out to his car. "Goodnight, my handsome prince."

He laughed. We had been watching Aladdin. "Sleep well, Princess."

Cue romantic kiss…not quite. Tony broke the stare and got into the car. "I'll see you Monday, sweetie. Stay safe this weekend."

I nodded and he kissed me on my forehead before driving off.

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A/N: Drama, eh? Yeah, I couldn't resist. Anyhoo, I have writer's block. You're more than welcome to help by sending mail to: or commenting at my LJ ) . You can also find updates on my LJ. I hope I didn't make this chapter too horrible. Please R/R and let me know how I did. Thank you! Much love! Oh and check out Bonnie McKee, she's awesome. I'm in love with her CD. R/R! Please and thanks.