(CH) Chapter 4: Rags and Riches

Brianna walked silently beside Alan as they walked towards Erica's large house. The manor stood at the edge of Sapphire Park where most of the rich lived in the city. The further in one got the richer the people became and the larger the mansions. She was a bit nervous about visiting the neighborhood as she had never had reason to visit it before. Her hands in front of her, she carried her purse like a suitcase.

"You didn't have to walk me all the way here." Brianna told him.

Alan grinned, "Madison would want me to walk with you. She believes that no one with money can ever have good intentions."

She chuckled, "I know. Sometimes I wonder if she's jealous, but then I remember how they treat her at school. So, I guess she has a valid reason."

"Valid or not, she would have a lot more friends if she smiled more and snapped at everyone less."

"You've suddenly become very anti-Madison. What's the matter?"

Alan put his hands in his jacket pockets and shrugged, "I don't know. I think I'm bothered by this whole mess today."

"What do you mean?"

"She's always telling us to watch out for these people and that we are the only people she can trust. Then today she goes with them and ditches us. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I have no idea who she is."

Brianna had been looking at Alan, but turned her eyes to the sidewalk under her. "I think about that to. She never talks about herself, expect what is happening to her presently. Says she is an orphan and doesn't add anything more."

"I fear pushing the issue. I think I'm afraid that she has a really tragic past and I'll never be able to look at her the same again."

She nodded, "There will always be that pity, I know. Me too." Brianna suddenly smiled and looked up at him, "You know what? When she is ready to tell us, she will. Does it really matter what happened to her before? She's our friend now and a good one at that. So, let's not stir things up."

Alan grinned, "I suppose you are right."

"Here it is!" Brianna squealed as they came to a large gate.

"Smaller then I imagined." Alan mumbled.

"Yeah, looks like a big Victorian house with a large yard." She shrugged, "Oh well, doesn't really matter. My house is like a fourth this size, who am I to complain?"

He smiled as Brianna pushed the intercom button at the front gate.

"Yes?" A male voice said softly through the system.

"Hi, I'm Brianna Sweyne. Erica Sumpter is expecting me."

There was a long pause, "Who is the gentleman with you?"

Brianna pushed the button again as she spoke, "Alan, he's a friend of mine."

"Miss Sumpter thought you would be alone." The voice replied.

She rose her eyebrow curiously at Alan as she remembered Madison's paranoia about these people always being up to something. "He walked me here to ensure my safety."

"Bria," Erica's voice came through the intercom, "sorry, Martin is a little anal about these things. You and your friend come right in."

"Oh, Alan was just dropping me off." Brianna told her.

"Nonsense, he can come in for a quick drink, can't he?"

Brianna looked at Alan to see if it was alright with him, he gave a nod. "Alright."

There was a loud buzzing noise and the gate opened for them to make their way up to the manor. Erica was at the door when they approached, she wore a short pink summer dress with blue flowers, and her red hair was tied up into a neat bun. When Brianna got close enough Erica threw her arms around Brianna's shoulders for a hug. Brianna returned the hug with just as much energy and enthusiasm.

"I'm so happy that you could come!" She stepped back but kept a firm grip of Brianna's hands. "Oh, good news! I changed it to a casual dinner, so you don't have to worry about getting all dressed up." She winked, "But I can still loan you a nice dress and do your hair if you want to."

Brianna's smiled widened, "That would be so much fun!"

Erica squealed, "I was hoping you would say that!" Her eyes turned to Alan, "And who is this handsome man that you brought along?"

"Oh, this is Alan Mendoza, he and I were suppose to meet with Madison today, but she stood us up."

"Oh, a friend of Madison's." Erica shook his hand, "Nice to meet you. Any friend of Bria's is a friend of mine… and the whole group inside too." She stepped into the house, "Come in, come in. I'm sorry, I was so excited that you came that I lost all my manners."

The two stepped inside the manor and were surprised to find that it seemed so dark and gloomy. Dark furniture and dark wood furnishings, it didn't match Erica's happy demeanor at all.

"Everyone!" Erica announced as they entered into what appeared to be a recreation room. Two televisions were present one for watching shows and the other which was connected to video game devices. A pool table and a bar were in the back corner from the window the backyard pool could be seen. "Brianna is here and she brought a friend!"

The first to stand up was a tall, thin blonde male named Charles. He had been the first to approach Brianna during school; she had thought he wanted to ask her out. Instead, he asked her over to his group for lunch. She had never seen them around lunchtime before, but they informed her later that they had their lunch times switched due to issues with some other students.

"Brianna, it's great to see you again." Charles smiled and turned his attention to Alan. "I don't believe we've met."

Erica jumped into the conversation at that point, "This is Alan. He's friends with Brianna and Madison."

"Oh, it's great to meet you." Charles shook his hand.

Brianna could tell that Alan was out of his element, as the rest of the group came over to make their greetings.

"Where is the big one?" Brianna asked, even though she already knew the answer. "The one that has a twin. He was with you guys the other day."

"Ari doesn't like these types of parties. He spends his weekends with his brother since they don't see each other much on the weekends." Winnie informed him.

"Breaks my heart." Erica grabbed her chest and giggled. "Come on, Winnie. Bria says we can dress her up, let the guys do what they do."

---***---

Alan watched as Brianna was taken out of the room by the two girls, he was left with the males who had introduced themselves as Drew, Ian, and Charles. They offered him a seat on the couch, and even though Alan was almost certain they weren't of drinking age, they were all drinking beer from a bottle. He didn't mention their ages, as he didn't want to ruin anything for Brianna.

"You dating Bria?" Drew asked as he sat down next to him. Like Charles, Drew was thin and tall, but with dark brown ear length hair. He looked tired, but Alan decided that was just his facial expression.

"No, we are just friends." Alan answered as Charles offered him a beer before sitting down beside him.

Ian, who was no taller then Brianna, sat down in the large recliner next to the couch. He looked angry, though Alan joked to himself that he would be angry too if he was that short as a guy. Ian ran his fingers through his brown hair and over his face, "You want more though, huh? Why else would you walk her all the way here?"

"Because our mutual friend would kill me if I had let her walk here alone." Alan answered as he took a drink.

"Mutual friend?" Drew asked, "Oh, Madison?"

"Yeah." Alan responded.

"Oh, so you're dating Madison then?" Charles asked.

He shook his head, "No, I'm not dating either of them. I'm just their friend."

All three boys brought their brows together, before Ian asked the question. "Are you gay?"

"I'm not gay. I'm just their friend. You guys have two girls in your group, are you dating any of them?" Alan snapped.

"No, but we aren't friends by choice either." Ian informed him. "We have to hang out together to keep the assholes at school off of us. We are also in a lot of classes together, so it's just a mutual benefit type friendship."

"Not that we don't want to date them," Drew added, "but we all need to be friends in order to make it through school. If two people in the group started dating and things didn't work out, that would cause problems for us all."

Charles nodded, "That's why we made the no dating each other rule, and we all agreed to it."

Alan took another drink of his beer, "Rather mature of you, if not sad."

Ian shrugged, "Winnie has been trying to get Charles to change his mind about it, because she wants to date him."

"Yeah, but I can't do that. It would ruin everything, and her selfishness needs to come second." Charles told him. "That's why she is kind of in a pissy mood today. I told her once and for all that this is the way it is."

"Admirable to put others before yourself, but there is a line. You should make a deal that if it doesn't work out, which one has to leave the group or promise that it won't cause issues." Alan leaned back in the couch.

"We can't risk it. You don't have to deal with the problems we have everyday. Nothing can be risked." Drew said with annoyance in his voice.

Charles could tell that Alan's advice was getting on Drew's nerves. "Are you interested in one of your gal pals?" He asked before Alan could respond to Drew.

"Nope. Just friends." Alan answered quickly. "Why are one of you interested in them?"

"We think Aries might have a thing for Madison, because he watches her at school sometimes." Charles shrugged, "But whenever we ask he says he doesn't like poor girls, and we drop it at that."

"What about Brianna?" Alan looked towards the exit that his friend had left through.

"She's going to be part of the group, even if we wanted to we can't." Drew answered.

"Sounds to me like you guys are putting yourselves in an awkward situation." Alan took another drink of his beer. "You make friends with these girls and then announce they are off limits. How are you ever going to get dates if you don't date the girls that you know? Just walk up to random girls on the street?"

"We just don't date girls that go to our school, it's that easy." Drew hissed.

Alan tossed his free hand up in the air in a shrugging motion, "I was just giving you options, don't get angry with me."

"Ignore, Drew. He has his own issues with this rule." Charles said with a smile.

There was a short pause in their conversation, before Ian jump started the flow. "I can't believe you don't think about getting with Madison."

Alan rolled his eyes, "She's my neighbor and we are more like brother and sister then anything."

"You live next to her?" Drew smacked himself in the face, "I don't know how long I could stand it to have that chick living next door to me and to never make a move."

"You know, I've had enough talk about Madison today. Let's change the subject." Alan tried not to sound upset.

Drew chuckled, "Oh, you tried and got rejected, is that it?"

"I didn't get rejected!" Alan barked. When he realized that he had yelled, he cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, you didn't deserve that."

Charles patted his shoulder, "Don't worry, Drew is known for getting under people's skin like that. Like I said, just ignore him."

Ian looked towards the door, "I wonder how much longer the girls are going to be."

The others shrugged in reply.

"Do you have anything planned other than sitting around for the rest of the day?" Alan asked.

"Yes, we are going to a club." Charles grinned, "Don't worry about money, I'm paying."

"I'm not exactly dressed for clubbing." Alan informed him and looked down at his t-shirt and blue jeans.

"You're wearing pretty much what I am." Ian pointed to his button up shirt and jeans, "You'll be fine."

"Brianna isn't twenty one…" Alan began.

"Don't worry about it. We slip the guy at the front a couple hundreds and he looks the other way. No stamp to inform them we can't have alcohol." Drew waved his hand. "We go there all the time."

---***---

Brianna slipped on the dark red dress with spaghetti straps. It fell just above her knees and was loose enough to walk around comfortably. Erica had said it was the perfect dancing dress, but Brianna didn't know why she had mentioned dancing. Winnie giggled as she helped curl some of Brianna's straight hair, before they piled it on her head.

"It's like an opening flower." Erica said to describe what the hair style would look like.

"On my head?" Brianna asked.

"On your head." Erica giggled. "Don't worry, you'll look stunning."

Brianna wasn't facing a mirror as the girls didn't want her to see what she looked like until they were finished. Erica's room wasn't as gloomy as the rest of the house. It was instead all pink with yellow ducks and teddy bears both painted on the wall and in stuffed animal form. It looked like a room for an elementary student not the college student that she had just met.

"Is this really your room?" Brianna inquired as she looked around.

Erica laughed, "Everyone asks me that. It's weird, I know. I always wanted a room like this growing up, but we were never able to buy anything nice."

"How did your family come into money?"

Erica's smile left her face, "It's a sad tale, you don't want to hear it."

Brianna rose an eyebrow.

Winnie was the one who answered, "Erica's family owned a large farm that was divided up between her father and his brother. The brother was in a car accident and didn't make it."

"Oh, what about his family? Didn't he have children?" Brianna asked.

Erica walked over to her bed and sat down, "My grandfather asked that the land remain only to his sons and their children. My uncle was married, but he never had any children. So the land went back to my father."

"Her father wanted his sister-in-law to stay and live on the land, but she was so angry that nothing of her husband's was hers after he died. So, she moved out." Winnie told her. "Her father was so upset about it and angry with his father and with the loss of his brother that he sold the farm for several million dollars."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Brianna looked down, but Winnie forced her head back up.

"We own a few businesses now and our money is growing, but my aunt wouldn't accept any money that my father has offered her. She said that we were never family in my grandfather's eyes, so she didn't want anything to do with us now." Erica had a comb in her hand and she picked out the hair.

"It makes Erica upset, because she really loved her. She took care of Erica after her mother's death, and now she won't even talk to her."

Brianna tried not to cry when she saw the pain on Erica's face, "That's so terrible. To go through all that and to continue to lose people that you loved."

Erica sat quietly on her bed, while Winnie continued to fix her hair by putting in hairpins to keep the curls up. Suddenly, Erica jumped from her bed with a smile. "This is going to be so much fun. I'm going to dance with Charles all night!"

"We are dancing?" Brianna asked.

"Yes. Didn't we tell you? We are going to a club that Ian's family owns, the doormen let us in if we slip them a couple hundreds."

"Oh, I don't know if I should go to…"

"It'll be fun, Bria. You don't have to do anything but dance and have fun." Erica smiled. "Hey, did you invite Madison? I guess she said no."

"I was going to invite her today while we were at the movies, but she had plans and had to cancel with us." Brianna grinned back. "She normally keeps her word, but I think this was something beyond her control."

"Oh, so she's trustworthy, huh?" Winnie was the one who asked.

"Yeah, if she says she'll do something, she always does. Only person in my life who I can rely on a hundred percent." Brianna told her.

"Except today, right?" Winnie spoke the words with some venom.

"She had a good reason and it was not within her control." She began to twiddle with her fingers.

"Like a date with Ari?" Erica giggled.

Winnie grinned at her friend.

"Huh?" Brianna looked between them.

"Ari was bragging all day yesterday that she had agreed to go on a date with him today. He was also saying how jealous his brother was." Winnie told her.

"Well, she was with them when she called."

"Them?" Erica questioned.

"Well, I talked to Arion on the phone. He said that he needed her to pick out a gift."

Winnie and Erica looked over at each other and giggled.

"Sounds like Aries was pretending to be his brother to make up an excuse for Madison, so you wouldn't think she ditched you for a guy." Winnie gently tapped her shoulder.

"No, Madison would never do that. She's very honest, sometimes painfully honest." Brianna sounded offended.

"We didn't mean to upset you, Bria." Erica patted her hand. "I'm sure that she was honest. It must have been Ari who was lying to us all day yesterday."

The two girls went back to fixing Brianna up for their night out. However, in Brianna's mind a seed of doubt had been planted. She knew that Madison was not deceitful and that she would have told her if she had a date. Yet, Madison always told her that she wasn't interested in dating, but perhaps a guy had come along that made her interested. Madison wouldn't want to seem like a liar, so she hide her dates with him. Was that why the four guys had been showing up at the café? No, because that was Arion not Aries, and it was Darick who liked her in that group. Was Darick making such moves to steal Madison away from Aries?

After talking with Alan about Madison, and how much she was obviously not telling them. She realized there was a great deal that she didn't know about her best friend. Perhaps there were things that she was hiding and didn't want her to know. Could she not trust her? Brianna trusted her with everything. There was nothing that she hid from Madison. Could Madison not be as good as a friend as she thought? Of course, Brianna was her only friend. Maybe she was just hanging around with her because she was her only option. The two were like polar opposites. Did Madison even like her?

---***---

Madison opened her eyes to see the curtain drawn around her bed. The familiar sounds of a hospital entered her ears and there was little doubt of where she was. Though the reasons behind why she was there were a mystery to her. All she could remember was being pushed over. Her eyes narrowed as she questioned if that selfish horse's ass had pushed her over.

She realized after a moment that someone was holding an ice pack to the left side of her face. She turned her head to see Darick sitting in a chair beside the bed. "How are you feeling?"

She didn't say anything, but instead tried to sit up.

"Stay down for a little while longer. They are bringing your tests back soon." Darick pushed against her shoulder to keep her down, and Madison didn't fight him.

"Why did you push me?" Madison mumbled the question before thinking it through.

"I didn't push you!" Darick growled, the anger quickly drained from his face. "Sorry, I didn't push you. My dog knocked you over and you hit your head. The doctor said you should be fine, but they did a few tests to be certain." Darick spun around and patted the bed, "Sinclair come."

The large dog was sitting on the ground next to Darick. Madison didn't want to know how he had convinced them to let the dog into the hospital. The large mastiff sat on its back feet and placed its paws on the bed near her knees.

"He's sorry." Darick said and put his arm over his nose.

The dog mimicked him by putting its head on the bed before placing its paws over its own nose. Madison giggled at the sight.

"So, very sorry. So, ashamed." Darick said and the dog kept reapplying his paws to his nose after every sentence. "Good looking girls are the bane of his existence. He just can't stay off them." Darick patted the dog's head.

"Like his owner." Aries said, he was sitting on the window sill. Madison hadn't noticed him until then. He stood up and leaned against the wall, then put his right arm over his nose. "He's sorry, though. So, very sorry. So, ashamed." Aries looked at Darick and chuckled.

"Shut up, I don't need your damn help to apologize." Darick snapped, then turned his eyes back to Madison. "I'm sorry."

She nodded her head and threw the covers off her legs, "I need to get home. I've missed a lot of valuable study time."

Both Darick and Aries came at her and pushed her back down on the bed. "Wait until the doctor comes back with your tests!" Darick snapped. "You could have a serious concussion or be bleeding into your brain, stupid!"

The look on Madison's face showed her uneasiness with the entire situation.

"I'll take you home after the tests come back." Aries sat down on the bed beside her, "We have your book bag; you want to study while we wait?" He grabbed the backpack that was laying on the ground next to the bed.

Madison went to take the backpack from him, but he pulled it away.

"What book do you want? I'll pull it out for you."

"I can take books out of my own backpack." She growled.

Aries gave a wide grin, "Maybe you shouldn't be lifting such heavy things right now. Now which book?"

"It's a small blue book for psychology." She watched him unzip her backpack and pull the small book out, before he returned his hand inside to pull out one of her notebooks. "I don't need that."

"I want to draw." He frowned and opened the notebook to the inner cover. "It'll be my gift to you for taking you to Darick's house to be assaulted by both dogs that live there."

"Hey!" Darick snapped.

Madison giggled as Aries took one of her pencils and returned to his post at the window sill.

"The doctors were trying to call your family, but no one with the last name of Knox had ever heard of you." Darick told her as she opened up her book.

"I'm an orphan. There is no family." She cleared her throat and began to read.

Both men looked up at her as she spoke, but had no idea what to say to her on the matter. "What happened to your parents?" Darick asked as Aries went back to his drawing.

"They're gone." Was her only explanation.

"You don't have any siblings or aunts and uncles?"

Madison turned her eyes from her book to Darick, "I said I have no family. Leave it alone."

"Alright." Darick laid his hands on the bed next to her.

"Do you have to watch me?" Madison asked him.

He diverted his eyes towards her feet. With a roll of her eyes, she returned to her studies. She wasn't in the mood to argue with him about how uncomfortable it was for him to watch her.

The curtain drew back some and Arion stuck his head in with a wide smile, "Hey, you're awake!"

"Yeah."

"I have to steal Aries for a moment." Arion looked towards his brother, "Come here."

"I'm doing something." He mumbled as he continued to draw.

"Come here, you'll be glad you did."

He jumped down from his perch and left the room with his brother. Madison was nervous that the two had left her alone with Darick again. She didn't want him to notice her uneasiness and returned to reading her book. After a moment, her hand felt somewhat moist from sweat which she decided was caused by her nervousness. She ran it over her leg on top of the blanket and before she was able to pull it back, Darick took her hand in his.

She looked up to see that he had laid his head on the bed with his face turning towards the end of the bed. Both his hands laid over her own and for a brief moment, she wanted to rip her hand out of his. She wanted to tell him never to touch her again.

"I'm glad you are alright." Darick mumbled. "You were acting strange on the way here. Trying to stand up in the car, and you weren't making any sense when you talked. I thought there was something seriously wrong with you."

The tenseness in her had dissipated, and she felt touched. "I'm not going to sue you or anything, so…"

"I wasn't concerned with that. I was worried that you were seriously injured and would never be the same again."

Madison ignored his comment and returned to her book, after a moment she needed to turn the page. She yanked gently on her hand and Darick released it, but looked up at her as he did. "I need to turn the page."

"Oh, right." He sat back in the chair.

After she turned the page, she returned her hand to the position on her leg, but Darick didn't take her hand again.

---***---

Inferno was a large dance club that catered to the middle class of the city. It served a wide variety of drinks for reasonable prices. Ian had gotten them in without any incidents and immediately went to purchase them all drinks. Even though it was his father's club, he was still forced to pay for them. He couldn't have too many people knowing that their boss' underage son was drinking in the club.

It was dark except for the flashes of light that came from the dance floor. Everyone made their way up to a VIP booth that blocked out most of the noise from the club. A pool table, a couch, a television, and a private bar were among the luxuries offered to them. It made Brianna wonder why Ian had gone to the main bar to get their drinks. She hadn't wanted any alcohol, but Ian didn't seem to listen to her request. He just announced that she would enjoy a Cosmo, before rushing off into the crowd.

Brianna took a seat on the couch and Alan soon followed her. The two girls left to find themselves what they called dates, while the other two males began to play a friendly game of pool.

"I'm sorry that you got dragged into this." Brianna whispered into Alan's ear.

He was hunched over with his elbows on his knees. A smile crossed his face when he heard her apology and turned his eyes back to her. "Don't worry about it. Actually, I'm glad that I am here. Madison would freak out if she knew you came here alone with these people."

"So, you came as a favor to Madison?" She folded her hands and sat back, "Could have at least lied and said you worried about me."

Alan chuckled, "I would have worried about you." He winked.

Brianna stuck out her tongue at him which caused Alan to laugh. The conversation went dry between them as Brianna focused her thoughts on Madison. She had been bothered all evening about what the girls had said to her. She wondered if Madison would have really cared if she came here. Why did Madison think she couldn't take care of herself? She wasn't a defenseless puppy that needed Madison to protect her all the time.

"Here is your Cosmo." Ian put the drink down in front of her, "And your beer." He offered it to Alan.

"You carried everyone's drinks up?" Alan asked.

"No, a waitress did. I had her leave them on the table and passed them out." Ian grinned before he sat down next to Brianna. "Where did the girls go?"

"To find dates, they said." Alan answered before taking a drink of his beer.

Brianna looked at the red drink in a martini glass that had an orange rind curl hanging over the side of the glass. The rim of the glass had sugar following a thick line around the glass.

"You aren't going to drink it, are you?" Alan asked when Ian stood up after remembering he hadn't gotten himself a drink.

"I don't want his money to go to waste, but…"

"He forced it on you, screw him." Alan grinned.

"I know, but I keep hearing my mom's voice telling me not to waste food."

He laughed, "Well, don't look at me. I can't stand fruity drinks. I'm not big on sweet stuff."

"Probably why you are crushing on Madison."

Alan choked on his beer when he heard the words. "You made beer come out my nose." He coughed.

Brianna giggled, "People don't over react like that when stuff isn't true."

He slowly turned his eyes to her, "I told you earlier, I'm not interested in her like that."

"Hey! Dark haired girl!" The voice called from behind her.

Alan watched Brianna's eyes grow large. He wasn't certain if it was from excitement or horror. She slowly turned her head to look behind the couch at Brad and Grady, along with three other men and four women who entered into the booth. Immediately Brianna turned around and grabbed her drink as Brad come over to her.

"Hey! I didn't expect to see you here." Brad sat down in Ian's former position.

"Yeah." Brianna mumbled as she took a sip of her drink.

"Hey, it's the guy from the café." Brad held out his hand to Alan. "Café guy!"

Alan shook his hand, but watched as Brianna kept taking sip of her drink. Obviously, it was an attempt to look busy.

"You two dating?" Brad asked.

"Yes." Alan answered before Brianna could pull the drink away from her lips.

Brad frowned, "That's too bad. I was hoping to get you for myself." He grinned as he looked up at Alan, "Well, she isn't married yet. So, watch yourself. I'll swoop in the moment you make a mistake."

They both thought Brad would leave at that moment, but instead he smiled and continued to sit next to Brianna.

"You mean you are waiting for me to make a mistake tonight?" Alan asked.

Brad laughed, "I'm waiting for when ever you choose to make it. Besides all the girls here tonight are dogs and I like to sit next to the pretty ones." He turned his eyes to Brianna, "I guess you lose out."

"I need another drink." Brianna mumbled.

"I've got it." Brad grabbed her drink and headed over to the private bar.

Brianna didn't say anything to Alan about his covering for her, because she didn't want Brad to overhear. However, she hoped that she would be able to get to Madison before Brad did. She was certain this would be something that would upset Madison if it wasn't explained properly to her. Then again, she wasn't really sure what Madison's feelings toward Alan were.

---***---

Two hours passed and Brianna had suckled down several Cosmos in her effort to keep Brad away. It became redundant though, as he was the one getting her drinks, so she was constantly having to thank him for making them for her. There was no way she could go home in the state that she was in. Her mother would throw a fit if she stumbled in smelling of booze and was obviously drunk.

Alan seemed to be more together after his beers, and helped her along down the sidewalk. The group had all gone their separate ways for the evening due to hook-ups and some rather dramatic moments, where a couple of girls had fought over one boy or the other. Brad didn't leave Brianna's side the entire evening and even snubbed a few girls who tried to talk to him. Brianna knew that Alan was staying by her side because of Brad, and she was certain he would have had a better time had he not had to baby-sit her.

"I'm sorry." She mumbled as Alan walked with her left arm in his hands to hold her up.

"For what?" Alan asked right before she fell into him and knocked him into the fence beside them.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I lost my balance!"

He grinned, "It's alright. No damage done." He helped her to stand again, "What were you sorry about before?"

"That you had to sit there and watch over me because of Brad. I should have been strong like Madison and told him off. I should have dealt with my own problems. Madison always tells me that I need to start doing that, but whenever I am faced with a problem…" She continued to mumble and Alan only got a small portion of what she was saying.

"You shouldn't compare yourself to Madison. She's a different person. Some people in this world are the ones people rely on and there are others who rely on people. There is no shame in being in either group, and sometimes we jump from one to the other." He put his arm around her shoulder so she could lean on him.

"Madison is never in both." She sighed. "My mom is going to kill me."

"No, I'll let you into Madison's place, if she isn't home yet. You can call your mom and tell her you are spending the night." Alan cleared his throat, "Though we need to get you a little more sober before talking to dear ole' mom."

"Good idea." Brianna looked around, "How long have you planned this?" She asked when she realized they were already on Madison's street.

"Since you took that first sip. Madison told me about how strict your parents are. I knew you'd need a place to hide out."

She giggled, "Sounds like I am a criminal on the run."

"Pretty much."

She looked up at Alan and smiled, "You're a nice, thoughtful guy, Alan."

"Thanks."

"Have you ever asked Madison about her feelings towards you?"

Alan was quiet as if he was deciding whether or not he wanted to answer, "No, but I have a good idea."

"Yeah?"

"I'm a brother. Nothing more." He looked down at Brianna, who was still staring up at him. She didn't really look like she would remember any of this. Despite her mumbling; her words were well constructed and not slurred, but she was drunk of that there was no doubt.

"You'll never know until you ask."

"I told her that I asked you out that day I walked you home from work."

"Huh? You never asked me out." Brianna looked confused, "Right?"

Alan grinned, "No, I didn't. I just wanted to see if it would get a reaction out of her, and she was completely fine with it. I told her that we should be together and she thought I was making a joke."

"Of course, she did! You just told her that you asked me out! That was practically saying that you liked me! By asking her out after that, it would like you were asking her to be your number two!" Brianna slapped herself in the forehead. "Gah! That was dumb of you! I thought you were smarter than that!"

Alan was laughing so hard that he had to stop for a moment to catch his breath.

"What's so funny?"

"I'm not laughing because it's funny. I'm laughing because I'm embarrassed." Alan said between breathes. "You're screaming that out to everyone… and we are near the apartments. I hope Madison isn't home or I'm sure she heard that."

Brianna covered her mouth with her hands, "I'm so sorry!"

He shook his head and continued forward.

"That's a really weird way to handle embarrassment, Alan."

"I've always done it. Probably to make people think that I'm not bothered by whatever has happened."

Brianna sighed, "You know… Madison wouldn't have laughed at you if she had thought you were being serious."

Alan swallowed, "I know. The whole point is that when I asked that question, she couldn't believe that it was a serious question. To hear me ask that question to her, it had to be a joke on my part."

Brianna stopped walking, "Don't say things like that! You don't know that! She may have wanted you to be serious, but was afraid if she said yes that you would have laughed at her or tell her you were only kidding!"

"Why are you so worked up over this?" Alan put his hands on her shoulders. "I just have to accept that Madison sees me as a brother. If that's the only love that I can get from her then I will take it. Besides she has all these rich men coming after her. What woman would look twice at a poor guy like me?"

Brianna shoved him against the fence, "You're a great guy! Just a little stupid and you put yourself down too much! You are thoughtful, kind, considerate, and much more! What isn't there for a girl to want?"

"How about that I can't even afford to take a girl on a date? All my money goes to things I need to survive or my family!" Alan yelled back.

"Then make due with what you have! Any girl that deserves you would!"

"No girl would do that!"

"I would!" Brianna barked.

Alan was about to retort until he understood the meaning behind Brianna's words. His shoulders slouched and his head dropped, "No you wouldn't. You would be happy with it for a little while, but you want a guy with money. A guy who can buy you everything you want."

"I've liked you since the first day we've met! That's why I've been so uncomfortable around you all this time!"

He looked up from the ground, "Don't say that!"

"If you want Madison that's fine! I'll help you get her!" Her voice calmed, "I won't stand in your way."

"Bria… I didn't know you felt that way."

"Of course, you didn't. I did the Madison thing and hid everything from my friends." Brianna dropped her head.

Alan's hands touched her shoulders before slipping up to her cheeks to turn her face up towards him. "I'm sorry that I said anything."

Brianna shook her head, "I shouldn't have pushed the issue. I'm sorry."

Both sat staring into each other's eyes and for a brief
moment, Brianna thought he might kiss her. A car horn sounded behind them and they both turned to face the Mercedes Benz. Brad's face smiled out of the window and he held up Brianna's cell phone.

"You dropped it at the club!" He yelled.

Brianna grabbed it from him.

"Madison called on it. She's in the hospital. Want a lift?"

She turned to face Alan to see what he would say, but he had already run around the side of the car to get in. She followed behind him, all too aware of the look of concern upon his face.

---***---

"Go get something to eat." Arion said as he came into the hospital room. He was tired of Darick's constant watch dog actions. He hadn't left Madison's side since they had arrived.

Madison looked up with a frown as Arion walked over to Darick and shoved him in the shoulder. Darick glared up at him annoyed by his friend's behavior but didn't respond.

"Go! She'll be here when you get back!" Arion shoved him a bit harder and this time Darick stood up.

He mumbled something about being right back, before he stepped out behind the curtain.

"Your tests should be back soon." Arion told her as he sat down in the chair that Darick had previously occupied. "If Darick wasn't so glued to your side right now, he could probably have had them put a rush on it."

Madison dropped her book into her lap, "Why are you guys still here? I don't need you people to wait for tests." In truth, she was annoyed that they were making her stay here to charge up a debt.

"Darick feels bad about the whole thing. So, if we're forced to stay by your side until you leave." He put his hands behind his head and leaned against the chair.

"I don't need your sympathy or his." Madison growled. "I just want to go home."

Arion shrugged, "Then leave. No one is forcing you to stay here."

"I beg to differ. Whenever I tried to leave Aries and Darick stand in my way."

"I would think that a girl like you wouldn't let anyone stand in her way." Arion yawned. "Besides, they aren't here now and I won't stop you."

She grabbed the blankets on her legs and threw them to the side. "Where are my clothes?"

"Over there in that other chair." Arion lazily pointed towards the second chair before he closed his eyes, presumably for a short nap.

"Madison!" Brianna voice screamed out as she threw back the curtain. "What are you doing out of bed?" She grabbed Madison's upper arms and sat her back down.

Madison left out a deep sigh before laying back down and glaring at Arion out of the corner of her eye. He held a smug grin on his face while his eyes remained closed.

Alan was right behind Brianna with his arms folded, as Brianna threw the covers back over Madison's legs. "What happened? Are you alright?" Brianna asked frantically.

"Have you been drinking?" Madison asked.

Brianna immediately covered her mouth and looked over at Alan.

"It's a long story. I'll tell you later." Alan informed Madison and she seemed satisfied with the answer.

"Light haired girl!" Brad shrieked as he jumped out from behind Alan. "You were mauled by that filthy dog and Sinclair all in the same day!" He walked around the bed to stand next to Arion, "Poor girl."

Neither Alan nor Brianna noticed the large dog laying on the floor behind the bed that Brad was forced to step over.

"News gets to you fast, doesn't it?" Madison asked him.

"I called Aries on the way over here." Brad grinned and leaned his hip against Arion's chair.

"You know what? Fuck this!" Madison snapped and grabbed her backpack from the floor. "I'm going home. If anything is wrong they can call me."

"Madison, don't…" Brianna began, but stopped when she saw the look of annoyance on her friend's face.

"I've been waiting here for four hours! I'm done!" Madison snapped and grabbed her close from the chair. "I'm changing and I'm going home!" She threw open the curtains and went to the bathroom to change.

Brianna looked over at Arion, who still held a smile on his face but his eyes were closed. Brad seemed to be slightly stunned by Madison's outburst, and Alan didn't look any better. Brianna decided to go talk to her and knocked on the door. After hearing Brianna announce herself, Madison let her in.

"What's going on?" Brianna asked as she leaned against the door and locked it.

Madison took off her hospital gown and began to dress herself. "I am sick of those rich boys!" She growled. "All day long they have been dragging me around. Making me buy their mom gifts, then they drag me over to Darick's. The last person in the world that I want to see!" She pulled up her pants and began to zip them. "And why the hell do you smell like alcohol?"

"The Rags took Alan and I out to a club. Ian's father owns it so we were able to get alcohol."

Madison frowned.

"I wasn't going to drink until Brad showed up, and then I got nervous. You know how I am. I chew on stuff or drink stuff when I am nervous. I have to do something!" Brianna sighed and slipped down to the ground. "Then Brad asked if I was dating Alan, and Alan said yes to protect me… and I am not really sure if that is what I wanted. It's so confusing."

"My lips were raped by Darick, I was tackled by his dog, and those rich asses have forced me to stay here waiting for my tests." Madison grumbled as she pulled on her shirt. "I win."

Brianna giggled, "Ok, ok. We'll deal with your situation first. I get it." She stood up, "I'll open the door and we'll make a run for it, ok?"

Madison grinned. "What about Alan?"

"He's strong. He can handle himself."

She threw her backpack over her shoulder as Brianna opened the door. Both girls took off into the hallway, but the boys had drawn the curtain back and didn't see that they had left. As they turned a corner, Aries and Darick were walking towards them. Darick caught Madison's arm as she ran past.

"Where are you going?" He asked.

"Tests say I'm fine. I got to get home. Emergency and all that." She yanked her arm out of his hand. "Thanks for the help! See you on Monday!"

Darick smiled as Madison continued down the hall.

"What are you so happy about?" Aries asked. He still had Madison's notebook in his hands.

"She said she would see me on Monday." Darick grinned.

Aries rubbed the top of his head, "Take it as face value. Come on, let's get the others and go home."

Darick gave a nod and followed behind his friend. As they turned the corner the familiar doctor smiled at them. "Mister Mitchell, glad I caught you. It seems my patient left before I could give her the test results."

Darick's grin faded, "Oh, did she?"

---***---

Darick walked into the white room with Sinclair walking beside him. When he laid down on the couch, the dog walked over to his bed in the corner of the room. Darick took a deep sigh and closed his eyes. The guys had said they would be on their way after they took Alan home. He wasn't sure at that moment that he really wanted company anymore. His mind was fixated on the lie that Madison had told him in effort to escape his presence.

"That didn't go too well." Maxine said as she entered the room and tapped on Darick's legs so he would lift them. She sat down underneath them and he placed his legs in her lap.

"That bitch! After I took her to the hospital, paid for it, and sat by her bedside the whole time, she fucking lies to me and runs away from me. Doesn't even accept my apology." He kicked the end of the sofa.

"You can't expect her to forgive and forget just because you said you were sorry." She leaned back in the sofa, "And besides all this happened because she was physically injured by your dog, which wouldn't have happened if you hadn't acted like a dog."

Darick looked down at her, his frowned deepened as he was getting tired of being compared to his dog. "How did you know… one of the twins. Those two need to not to tell everyone…" He sighed as a way to release his anger. "I'm an idiot." Darick grabbed the sofa pillow from behind his head and dropped it on his face.

"You don't think things through, that's for damn sure." She smiled.

"I'm an ass." He replied back.

Maxine pressed her lips together and began to rub his arm that was placed over his stomach, "Was she really that upset with you?"

"She'll never let me be alone with her again."

"Good, because you lost your mind when you were." Maxine chuckled. "Don't feel too bad. You can make it up to her."

"I have a lot to make up for. I think I screwed myself."

"You just need to realize that just because you feel something, doesn't mean that the other person feels the same way." Maxine stood up which dropped Darick's feet to the ground, "Anyway, tomorrow is a new day… actually, give her a day to rest. Try again on Monday. After being mauled by you and Sinclair, she needs a little break."

"Mauled." Brad laughed as he entered into the room, the twins were behind him.

Darick sat up to glare at him, as everyone took their seats around the room. Maxine cleared her throat to get Darick's attention and pointed her index finger at him, "Remember what I said." With that she exited the room.

"Where is Grady?" Darick asked as he leaned back in the couch.

Brad shrugged, "When I left the club, he said he wanted to stay." He looked at his watch, "Already eleven. No wonder I'm so tired."

"Go to bed then." Darick grumbled. His eyes wandered over to the twins, who were quietly talking to each other in the corner. It wasn't unusual for the two to go off on their own, but he still hadn't talked to Aries about what happened with Madison that day.

"Arion!" Brad yelled across the room.

Arion turned to look at him, "What?"

"Quick game of G.O.W. before bed?" Brad grinned.

With a quick nod, both guys jumped from their positions and ran out of the room. Darick shook his head as Aries came over to the chair that Brad had previously occupied.

"You haven't said why you invited me over." Aries said as he sat down.

Darick swallowed as he looked at him out of the side of his eye, "You can hang around here, but not at school."

Aries nodded. He didn't like such an arrangement but knew that Darick's trust was hard to earn back. He would take the little steps that his friend offered him. "I didn't know you wanted her. If you would have just said…"

"Enough!" Darick barked, "We won't talk about that slut again!"

He gave a firm nod, "Alright. It's dropped." He went quiet for a moment, "Wait, I know I said it's dropped, but I have to know one thing."

Darick turned his eyes from the blank television screen to his friend, "What?"

"Grady and Brad have taken girls you liked before. You didn't throw them out of the group. Granted you beat the shit out of them, but you beat the shit out of me too. Why did I get thrown out?"

He looked down at his hands while Aries waited for the answer, "She told me…" He began but stopped him, "Doesn't matter now."

"It does to me. I want to know why I suffered these past months."

A look of annoyance crossed over Darick's face, "She said that she liked me, alright? Kissed my cheek, hugged me, she was just playing fucking games with me. She was no better then Kate!" Darick stood up. "All she wanted was one of us and she didn't care who she got!"

Aries frowned, "I'm sorry. I know how hard it is for you to get close to people. Next time, tell us. You know we'd do anything to help you. All of us owe you something… hell, we all owe you a lot. Without you, we'd all still be suffering. Just tell us and we'll help you with anything you need."

Darick sat back down, "I told you not to bring that shit up again! I did it just because and I don't want any reward or back payment."

He leaned back in his chair, "Darick, she's not the girl for you."

Darick folded his hands together, "Who?"

"Madison." Aries answered. "She's not right for you. I mean personality wise, sure. She can stand up against you and she would never let you get away with the crap you pull with others." He leaned forward, "But she's not from our world. Your parents would never let this happen and they would make life hell for you and her. So, if you have any plans of making her anything more than a quick fling, drop them now."

Darick tensed up noticeably, "Why? Because you want her for yourself?"

"She doesn't like me. She likes Arion. She was all over him today. I had to pretend to be Arion for a while just to give him a break. She's a big pain in the ass."

His frown increased in intensity, "I think it's best left up to me on whether or not I want to deal with my parents. Besides, she isn't interested, so that's not a bridge I can cross."

"You shouldn't cross it at all."

"I don't know what I would feel if we ever got together. That means I can't tell you if it is something worth fighting for yet."

"Need I remind you that you barely know the girl? How can you be so intense with your feelings towards her?"

"Because with Darick it's all or nothing." Maxine said as she leaned against the doorframe.

Both men looked at her and she gave a smile to Darick.

"You know how passionate Darick can be. He never goes into anything cautiously or with only half a heart. He puts everything he has into something or he deems it not worth doing." She slapped a small hand towel against her leg, "That's his charm."

Aries grinned, "Yeah, I suppose so."

Darick snorted and fell over on the couch, "You both are idiots."

Maxine chuckled, "He's also very shy despite how he acts." This time she hit Darick's feet with her towel. "Like he said, he can't know how he'll feel about his parents until he knows how he feels about her. You should give him your support until he makes his decision."

"I wish it was as easy as that." Aries retorted.

Maxine shrugged and turned around to leave the room, "Maybe it is."

Chapter 5: http://rkphunt.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=328