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Chapter Two

Authors Note: Okay, so Chapter two up. Reviews please. And this chapter should be slightly more interesting.

Charlie was up earlythe next morning, wanting to make sure her mother didn't wake up Eve on her way to work.

"Is she okay sweetie?" Her mother whispered as she checked through her handbag.

"She'll be fine. She was just sick when we went out celebrating last night."

"Oh god, Charie. You haven't been out drinking with those friends of yours again have you?" She had stopped looking through her handbag and was now looking at Charlie with concern.

"No, mum. We won the football match yesterday - which you would have known about if you would've come - and we went out for a Chinese. Besides, I'm 18, and I can drink if i want." She folded her arms stubbornly and her mother just sighed.

"I know sweetie, but I just worry about you. And I would've been at your match yesterday, but there was an emergency at work. Another woman went into labour just as I was about to knock off." She paused and kissed Charlie on the cheek, "A fifteen year old girl, can you believe it? I hope you won't ever be as stupid as that. Now, I'm going to be late home tonight, so I expect you to be home when I get back."

"Oh, about that. Bradley's having a party tonight so I'll probably be staying at Eves." Her mother said nothing and just shook her head before leaving. The door closed behind her as she headed for her car, and Charlie sloped back into the living room. She lay back down on the floor in her sleeping bag, where she had slept the previous night incase Eve was bad again, yet she slept through the night; which was more than could be said for Charlie. She had stayed up most of the night thinking, and her mind kept wondering back to when Alex kissed her.

"Did it mean anything?" She thought, "No, probably best not to go down that road again. I've been hurt way to many times." Her mind then began to wonder towards her first boyfriend, Seth. He was the first guy that Charlie had fallen for, and when she turned 16 she had finally had sex with him; in the back of his van. Not the nicest of places, but Seth had been pressuring her into it for a while. When they had finally done it, Seth saw it as his moment to dump her, not even five minutes since he had been inside her. She had cried for ages, thinking she would never find anyone she loved ever again. Then Eve came along...and it wasn't long before Charlie fell into bed with Eves older brother, Marc. Eve never knew about the pair; as nobody did.

When Charlie turned 17, Marc ended thier 'relationship', leaving Charlie hurt and confused once more. Marc soon moved away, but not before sleeping with his sisters best friend a last time. A groaning noise soon pulled Charlie out of her thoughts, and she began tending to Eve.

"How're you feeling?" She asked, sitting down next to Eve on the leather sofa.

"Like fucking shit mate. Did I drink yesterday or something?"

"No, but you did try and get me drunk with a bottle of vodka before my game. Did you drink it?"

"Not that I remember, I think it' still in my bag." She leaned back on the sofa, covering her face with her hands and groaning.

"Are you going to be up for Bradleys party tonight?" Charlie asked, now picking up the TV remote and flicking through channels on the 42" plasma. Finally settling on some re-run of a show she used to watch when she was younger. "Eve?"

"You know me, always up for a party!" Suddenly Eve seemed ten times better at the mention of a party, and Charlie couldn't help but laugh; typical Eve. "So who's going to be there tonight?"

"Well, Me, you, Bradley obviously, everyone from last night, some of Bradleys friends from Rugby and thier girlfriends, a few people from town, and some people we don't know." Her voice strained as she thought about the previous night, how Alex had kissed her and how her whole body ached for more.

"Anyone worth hooking up with?" Eve asked. Typical; she was always looking for a one night stand, and nothing more. She never seemed to have a relationship that lasted longer than a couple of weeks, and even then it was based mostly around sex and foreplay.

"Maybe you and Bradley should hook up again." After saying those dreaded words, Charlie wished she could take them back. Before Eve went from bed to bed, she had been in a long term relationship with Bradley, but when he slept with someone else at a party, Eve was utterly heartbroken. She saw the stricken look on her face and decided on pleading for mercy. "Oh god, Eve, I'm so sorry!"

"It's okay, I know you didn't mean it. Besides, me and Bradley are on great terms now. Strictly platonic. What time do we have to be there?"

"Well, we need to go and get some alcohol first. So if we leave at about 6, we should get there before 8."

X X X

The time came around for them to leave, and Eve seemed immediately better. Borrowing some of Charlies clothes, she wore a short black skirt that hadn't seen daylight since Charlie was 16, and a plain white vest top. On the other hand, Charlie looked more relaxed as she wore her back knee-length shorts, which were more of a faded colour after being in the washing machine too many times. She combined this with a simple pale yellow halter neck and her favourite flip-flops - Who said you couldn't bring summer home?

"What are you doing with your hair?" Eve asked as she straightened her own messy red curls. Charlie didn't reply, and Eve peered at her through the mirror. "Charlie?"

"Uhh...Nothing?" Her brown curls had become out of control from sleeping on the hard wooden floor all night. She looked up to find Eve staring at her intently, yet she chose to ignore this and took her earrings out.

"That's shit. Come here." Eve put the straighteners down on the table and pulled Charlie over to the chair, ignoring her protests. "I'm going to straighten your hair for you. So shut it." Charlie reluctantly did as she was told, even though she hated her hair straight; it just didnt look natural. Twenty minutes later, Eve had made her brown curls perfectly straight, and had even taken the liberty to do her make-up for black eyeliner was faint, but combined with the green eyeshadow it made her eyes stand out. Overall, she looked completely different. She looked and felt beautiful.

X X X

They made thier way to the party, a crate of lager in Eves arms and a bag of spirits in Charlies. They may have looked like complete alcoholics or completely crazy, but neither of them cared; having consumed the entire bottle of vodka from Eves bag earlier. By the time they arrived, they were already slightly drunk, and Bradleys neighbours stared at them out of disgust from thier windows, the loud music enough to keep the street awake.

"Whatt arfe yoou staring att?" Eve yelled, her words slurred already. Charlie giggled as the elderly couple disappeared from the window, and they both finally headed inside. They were greeted by some of thier friends, who took the alcohol away from them and towards the kitchen. A few couples were in the hallway, making exhibitions of themselves as the music pounded loudly from the living room. A young man, about 19, approached Charlie, snaking his hand around her waist and leading her towards the kitchen. She had no idea who he was, but leaned against his body for comfort and support. She could feel his muscles under his shirt, and she looked up into his deep blue eyes.

She was pushed against the kitchen worksurface, and was suprised that barely any people were in there. Her back stung from where it connected with the surface, but she had no time to register what happened as a pair of lips came crashing down against hers; the random guy that approached her. She placed her hands against his chest and pushed firmly, but it did nothing, he was too strong. His hands crept up her shirt, making her gasp.

"Noo..."She managed to force out, pulling away from his lips. He continued to persist, and she kept trying to push him away, "I said no.."

"I know what you want baby..."The nickname made her feel sick; it always did, making her feel like she was inhumane, "I've heard rumours about you..." He planted kisses along her neck, and she continued to try and push him away, but to no prevail. One hand stayed firmly up her top, and the other began trailing down towards her shorts, trying to creep its way inside.

"Please, noo..." Her voice was slurred, mixed with emotions as tears threatened to spill from her completely. Why was nobody coming to help her? She closed her eyes and tried to ignore the pain as some stranger tried to get into her pants, her pleas falling dead on his ears. His hands were immediately pulled from her, and she peeled her eyes open long enough to see Alex punching the guy senseless.

"Don' . ." The words came out of him as he kicked the guy, who now lay crumpled on the floor, trying to protect himself from Alexs beating.

"Alex! Stop!" She forced her way between him and the stranger, and flung her arms around his chest, pulling him in as close as she could. She inhaled his scent; he had just washed because he smelt of soap and aftershave. She closed her eyes as Alex wrapped his arms around her, telling the guy to leave. They were alone in the kitchen now, and tears sprung from Charlies eyes, soaking his grey shirt. "I...I thought..."Her voice trailed off as she didn't want to think what would have happened if Alex hadn't turned up.

"It's okay, I'm here now." He pulled her tighter, her head resting under his neck as he smelt her hair; coconut. How many times had he done that before? He gently pulled away from her embrace, his green eyes still glowing with anger. He gently took her hand and lead her away from the kitchen. "Come on, I'll help you freshen up." He lead her up the stairs, carefully avoiding couples entwined along the landing. The music had quietened down, and that was most likely because Bradley had gotten lucky and didn't want any interuptions.

He held her hand tightly and led her towards the bathroom, opening the door only to see two people wrapped up in each other on the bathroom floor.

"Okay, maybe not in here." He muttered, closing the door and leading her up into Bradleys parents room; the only room which was locked, and which had an en suite bathroom. Of course, being Bradleys best friend, Alex knew where the key was; he reached up onto the door frame and found the key. Congratulating himself on his victory, he opened the door and locked it after them, so that no wandering couples would decide on frolicking in the bed.

"Right, well. You go in the bathroom. Take a shower, sober up." Alex waved his hand in the direction of the bathroom, yet Charlie just stood in the middle of the room, her eyes now dry as she had stopped crying.

"Alex..I thought he was going to rape me." She said, wrapping her arms around herself as she fell to her knees on the floor, her eyes almost flooding with tears again.

"Charlie, it's okay." He ran over to her almost immediately and sat beside her, wrapping his arms around her as he pulled her into his lap, comforting his best friend. "Shhh, it's okay." He cooed as she cried into his shoulder. They stayed like that for a while, Charlie crying and Alex soothing her. Finally her crying subsided as she fell asleep in Alexs arms, and he gently picked her up and pulled the covers back, laying her gently in the bed. She stirred as her head hit the pillow, the scent of jasmine overcoming her nose. Opening her eyes slightly, she saw Alex moving towards the door.

"Alex..."He paused and turned around to her, gently asking if everything was okay. "Stay with me." She said, pulling the covers back. He hesitated, not knowing what to do for the best. Her eyes pleaded with him, and he finally gave in, settling behind her on the bed after taking his shoes and top off.

"Is this okay?" He whispered, his breath tickling her ear. She rolled over to face him, her head snuggling against his bare chest.

"Hold me? Please?" He wrapped his arms around her, willing her to go to sleep and hoping she wouldn't notice that his heart was pounding in his chest. When he finally dared to look down, her green eyes staring up at him. His breath caught in his throat as her lips hovered gently over his, slowly touching as she placed her shaky hand on his cheek. "Alex..." Hearing her say his name was enough to weaken Alex, and his lips came crashing down on hers. She responded enthusiastically, her tongue licking his lip gently as he opened his mouth. Her heart seemed to beat faster and faster as the kiss deepened, neither of them wanting to break apart. Her hands began to roam his warm skin, reaching further and furhter down until she began unbuckling his belt.

"Charlie...We can't..." Alex said, reluctantly pulling away from her kiss. Her eyes peirced into him, "I feel like I'm taking advantage..."He said, rolling onto his back and away from Charlie.

"Don't be." She said, moving closer and hooking a leg over his chest, so that she was placed on top of him. She kissed him again, her hair tickling his bare skin as she grinded down on top of him. He moaned her name into her mouth, which made her grin as she trailed kisses down his chest, finally reaching his trousers.

"Charlie..."His voice was full of doubt, but his eyes were wishing her to continue, the desire etched in his face. She unbuckled his trousers, leaving him in only his boxers. She kissed him on the lips again, not giving him the full pleasure and playing with him. He rolled them both over so he was on top, and he rushed to pull her top and trousers off, leaving her in only her underwear. "God, you're beautiful..." He said, before trailing hot kisses down her body, pausing only to take her bra off and kiss her breasts gently. She fumbled to take his boxers off, freeing him completely. Only when did he take her panties off did he look her in the eyes. "Are you sure?" He whispered, his hands roaming her body.

"Yes..."She replied, and as he entered her she couldn't help but scream his name...

Authors Note: Okay, it was embarassing writing that. But please, review and I'll write more (: