A/N: Hey guys! I'm back =)) I realized I was being a bit harsh to Raf&Ali, and after a while their story started to bug me…so I'm back, and my new year's resolution is to get this finished =D

Thank you if you ever reviewed/favourited etc. Please keep doing so. =)

(& another thing, if you find any inconsistencies in the 'Americanism' of this, I should warn you, it's because I'm English)

I hope you like it, and please, please review!

P.S. I don't own anything famous mentioned here. =D All I own is the plot & characters.

Chapter 5

It'd be a lie if I said that I was enjoying this all friendship thing – all it entailed was Rafael practically treating me like a stranger. If he saw me in the halls at school, he'd smile and nod; nothing more, nothing less. I don't know what I'd been expecting but this wasn't it. I realized that with senior year, he had to bump up his grades and that meant showing up to his lessons, that added to band practice and being on the student council as well as the basketball team, pretty much ate up his schedule. I knew that, since my own brother wasn't around anymore; Connor was almost always too busy, either studying or at basketball-slash-band practice. Connor had now joined Rafael's band – which I thought he should have done back when Rafael had started the band and asked him to join. The reason he'd agreed now was because they had no one else, as their lead guitarist had left and Connor finally liked the idea of being in a band. I just wished they would both spend more time with me. Cassie too, was caught up in Steven, and James never came down on weekends from Charleston. I felt alone – with only Beth and Mattie to keep me company. I'd always been content with having only them as my friends but I'd forgotten that I had three siblings and one extra who were always there as well. I wasn't always as alone as I thought I was.

I'd had too much after a month, and I made up my mind to confront Raf. His basketball practice had been cancelled – I knew, cause Connor was home, and his car was parked in the driveway. I knocked on the door, hoping he would answer, so we could talk on the doorstep and then I could leave. That wasn't going to happen though, and Harley was the one who opened the door. Usually, I wouldn't actually have knocked anyway – it was more a case of me walking into the house whenever I felt like it, but the house wasn't just Raf and Mr. Roberts' anymore, it was Harley's too, and I didn't want to do something that I wasn't sure that she approved of.

"Hello," She said, smiling at me from the doorway.

"Hi Mrs. Percy-Roberts, I'm Alisha, from next door?"

"Oh! Yes, Alisha! I remember you from my wedding, you were with Rafael!"

I blushed, remembering that night, "Yes, I was,"

"You two looked perfect together! And you looked beautiful darling, navy is definitely your color!" She gushed. "I thought I'd see you around more often since you and Rafael are dating…" She was practically shouting, and I didn't really understand why she thought I wad deaf. Aside from that, she seemed nice enough.

"Erm…well, we're not dating," I said awkwardly and it was her turn to blush.

"Oh, sorry. I just assumed you were. You're here to see Rafael aren't you, and I've been keeping you! Sorry, sorry! Go ahead, he's in his room!"

"Thank you, Mrs. Percy-Roberts," I replied politely, walking into the house.

"You're quite welcome dear, and please, call me Harley," She smiled and walked off in the direction of the kitchen, as I made my way towards the staircase.

Going up the stairs, I noted the pictures hanging on the wall. Most of them were of Rafael and I, and some of us with my brothers or with Raf's parents. There was a couple of just Rafael and I, and then a couple of just him and his parents. After a while, the pictures of Rafael and I stopped – there were only a few more of Rafael and his dad, and then one of last Christmas, when Raf and his dad had come over to ours; Raf and I both are smiling, but you can tell how fake the smiles are, and how tense we both are, sitting next to each other. That staircase is a pretty accurate representation of our life, I realized. It was sort of funny in an ironic sense how it portrayed something that was so large in our lives, as such a small thing; just a couple of pictures.

The door to Raf's room was closed, and although no music was playing, he didn't answer when I knocked on the door. I knocked again, and once more, and when he didn't answer both times, I waited for ten seconds then pushed open the door, stopping in my tracks when I saw what he was doing. He was lounging on his bed, whilst Chelsea Brighton was straddling him, his mouth glued to hers. Her shirt was almost off and she hastily pulled it down as soon as she saw me standing in the doorway. They pulled apart, and she openly glared at me – I didn't care if a whore was pissed, it did not hold much importance in my life – whilst Rafael just looked confused. He ran a hand through his hair, frustrated, and shifted on the bed uncomfortably.

"Er…what the hell?"

"I could say the same to you," I replied, anger bubbling up.

"What the fuck do you mean?"

"I'm just gonna leave, cause you're evidently busy, and I'm clearly not wanted here," I gestured between him and Chelsea, who was still glaring at me. Well, it would have boosted her popularity – having slept with Rafael, but if she was looking for commitment, she was with the wrong guy. Stupid girl.

I was halfway out when he spoke up, "Wait. Chelsea, leave."

She stared at him in shock, whilst I turned around. After a moment's silence, she gathered her stuff and huffed out of the room, deliberately shoving me as she walked out of his room. I chose to ignore it, after all, it wasn't even like she was his girlfriend – all she was pissed about was the fact that she couldn't tell everyone that she'd fucked Rafael Roberts. Boo hoo, what a shame.

"So?" He leaned back against the wall, crossing his arms over his bare chest – obviously he wasn't bothered by it, at least not as much as I was. I forced myself to look up at his face instead of his well defined chest and carefully composed my face so that it remained stoic.

"What? If you wanted me to leave, you could have said so – you didn't have to send your whore away," I shrugged, smirking slightly.

"Actually I kinda had to – you pretty much ruined the mood," He glared a little and I smiled.

"So sorry about that,"

"Yeah, right. What do you want Alisha?" He was frustrated and he didn't care if I knew it.

"Just wanted a question answered Rafael – why the hell are you treating me like shit? What did I do to you?"

"How exactly am I treating you like shit? Is being nice to you shitty?"

"No, because that's all you were doing! I thought you said you wanted to be my fucking friend, and if that means you're gonna treat me like I'm some chick you fucked, that you barely glance at in the hallway, then I don't want to be your friend," I yelled. The door was still open, and I knew Harley could hear it, but I also knew that she was too nice, and too polite to say anything.

"Fuck you Alisha! You have no fucking clue do you? If you'd actually paid any attention…"

"So this is my fault now? Oh aren't you mature!" I scoffed, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Look! I've got stuff going on, okay? I've got some stupid whore living in my house, who fucking won't go away! She tries so fucking hard, why doesn't she understand that I don't want to talk to her?"

I didn't say anything; it was all starting to make sense now. Rafael looked away, turning his head to look out of the window instead from which he could clearly see my room. I took the chance and stepped fully into the room, sitting down on the bed next to him.

"Rafael, you know that she's not trying to replace Maria." He didn't answer. "Has she tried interfering with your life? Telling you what to do? Stopping or chastising you? No, so what makes you think she's trying to be your mother? She's not. All she wants to do is get a shot with you – she just wants to be your friend, she wants to be who she is, your step-mom. And she can't show you the kind of person she is, if you won't let her."

He turned to look at me, and all his reserve was gone – I could discern all the emotions he felt in his eyes, "You think I should give her a shot? What makes you think she deserves one?"

"What makes you think she doesn't? She's just in love with your dad, Raf," I pointed out and he sighed.

"You're right, I probably should have listened to you, I'm sorry for all the shitty things I've done, I was a shitty friend, right?"

I chuckled, "Could you repeat that again please?"

"What?" He had a confused look on his face, "I was a shitty friend?"

"No, not that bit, the first bit," I shook my head, laughing still.

"You're…right?" He still looked puzzled and I laughed outright.

"Yes! Actually, on second thoughts can I get that in writing?" He finally got it, and grinned at me, shoving my backwards slightly.

"Argh. Go away Alisha!" He complained, wrinkling his nose like he usually did when he was irritated.

"Heh! Actually, I am going to go now. But, remember what I said, yeah? The minute you let her under your skin, then it'll begin, to get better,"

He grinned again, and started singing, "And anytime you feel the pain, hey Jude, refrain; don't carry the world upon your shoulders,"

"For well you know that it's a fool who plays it cool; by making his world a little colder," I finished, realizing that our voices were in perfect harmony.

"We should sing together more often," He smirked, no doubt remembering the night he'd challenged me to sing at Elixir.

"You wish," I grinned, a thought came to me, "Hey, did you know that Harley thought we were dating?"

He snorted, "No, why?"

"Well she told me that she thought we were…and she was practically shouting my name…I think she thought I was deaf or something..."

Rafael chuckled, his expression turning amused, "You're an idiot Alisha. It's cause she knew what's-her-name was in here, she wanted to make sure I knew that you were here too."

"Chelsea, her name is Chelsea," I said, both of us laughing uproariously.

"Right, okay,"

"You seriously didn't know her name?"

"I did, I just forgot," He shrugged, and I wondered if there would come I time when he'd forget my name as well.

I wasn't the only one who was surprised when Rafael approached me in school that next week. Granted, I had talked to him that day, but we hadn't really talked about our issues. In fact, I'm not even sure I cleared up what exactly our issues were. Evidently, Rafael had either guessed them, or been aware of them all along, since now he was walking towards me in front of everyone in the middle of the hallway.

"Mind if I walk you to class?" He asked with a brilliant grin, green eyes flashing with mirth.

"Sure," I knew that I probably looked really confused – the source of his amusement – but I wanted to act like this was normal for us. Many girls along the hallway were giving us strange looks, most of which were actually really dirty and probably meant to make me intimidated, but they were doing anything but. I think they were all forgetting that I was Alisha Hamilton, and I could kick their butts halfway to Kentucky if I wanted to. Not to mention the fact that most of them were actually in love with my older brother as well – and saying something to his sister? Probably ruin any chance that they might have with him – which if they weren't Callie was slim to none.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Rafael asked, obviously trying hard to be a gentleman.

"Are you that cheap?" I retorted, and he chuckled. "The whole polite thing really doesn't suit you Raf; I much prefer our banter."

"True, and I do too. So, I'll see you in Spanish, and we can fight some more?" He wriggled his eyebrows, stopping because we'd reached my class.

"Sure," I replied, "I'll hold you to that Rawr,"

"'Course princess," He grinned, winked and walked away, leaving me grinning like an idiot.

Connor was adamant that I was most definitely not allowed to go to the party. The first time I'd actually been invited to one, and he was refusing to allow me to go; which actually made no sense, because he went to them regularly, and he was so not the boss of me.

"Connor! You're really just being stupid! Raf will be with me!" I protested, glaring at my older brother. Never before had I been excited to go to a party; actually never before had I been invited to one, but I hadn't cared before now if I had been invited or not. I just didn't want to go. Now, that Rafael had asked me to come, it sounded like a lot more fun. Plus, I'd actually get to see what was so great about these parties that everyone got so hyped about. This one was at Chelsea's house, and I was pretty sure that she didn't really want me there, but it didn't matter much as she was Trey's latest plaything, and so she was happy just to have the second hottest guy at school. The prince to Rafael's king would do for the beggar.

"No Alisha! You have no idea what goes on at those parties!"

"Rafael will be with me!"

"And? You can't look after yourself!"

"Oh, that's rich, coming from one of the guys who actually taught me how to look after myself!"

"This isn't the same Ali! This isn't you using a few self defense moves to get yourself out of a stronghold that one of us might have, this is on a whole new level!" Usually Connor wasn't so protective; it was James who was the overprotective one, but this whole thing with Callie was seriously tearing him up, he was all out of whack.

"And I told you, if you're so concerned, come with us!" I told him for the billionth time that day. He was silent, we both knew the reason he wasn't going was because he didn't want to see Callie there, and I was sick of it. He really couldn't have it both ways. I stormed off, back to my room, to sulk.

Cassie came into my room unannounced, and plopped down on my bed next to me.

"What's up?" She asked, blue eyes staring back at me innocently.

"You heard everything, why are you asking?" I replied caustically, and she sighed, unaffected by my cold attitude.

"Okay, here's the deal. You get dressed, tell Rafael to meet you outside the house, I'll distract Connor and then you sneak out of the house and go to your party. You're happy, I'm happy, and Connor's happy, as long as he doesn't know," She spoke levelly, a slight smile on her face. Cassie was a plotter – there weren't many things we had in common, and we didn't always get along, but Cassie was always there for me when it mattered.

"Okay…but don't you think he's gonna notice that I'm gone?"

"I'll just tell him that you're at Elixir with Mattie and Beth," She shrugged, she'd thought of almost every detail.

"Right," We grinned at each other, identical, mischievous grins.

I was dressed and ready, and Rafael's car was in the driveway, waiting for me to come out. Cassie was standing in my doorway, and she beckoned me towards her.

"Just be careful okay Callie? And I'll apologize for Connor, he's just a little…stressed. Him and Callie both," She said, and I nodded.

"'Kay, thank you so much Cassie! Love you, bye!" I whispered, and she nodded, smiling.

"Love you too, see you later!" And with that, I was gone. I shut the door, not quietly, after all I was supposed to be leaving for Elixir, and jumped into Rafael's car. He looked me over appreciatively once, and I hit his arm.

"Just drive moron! Connor will have a fit if he sees us!"

"Connor?" He raised an eyebrow, but did as I told him.

"Yeah; he's acting crazy lately,"

"Cause of Callie?"

"Yeah, I guess. Do you know what's going on with them?"

"No idea, apparently it's to do with them, and Perry and whatnot. I really don't like Perry, she's too controlling, and Connor's a pushover when it comes to her," Rafael shook his head, and I nodded.

"Yeah, me too. But he thinks he loves her, and that's enough for him,"

"He's stupid – even I realize that he loves Callie,"

"I know, even you realize that! And you're a moron, so what does that make my brother?" I said, laughing and he agreed before realizing what I said and smacking my arm with the back of his hand.

The party was in full swing by the time we got there, and Rafael parked and we headed out, towards Chelsea's house – which pretty much classified as a mansion. There were some people who were already drunk, passed out or making out along the hallway, and then in the kitchen, where we ended up.

"Don't take any drinks from anyone, okay?" Rafael was looking at me seriously, protectively, "And don't leave your drink unattended either."

"Yeah, Raf, I know, I'm not five," I replied.

"Yup, you're definitely not five," His eyes roamed from my head to my toes, hands stuffed into his pockets as he looked at me, causing me to blush.

"Whatever," I mumbled and he laughed.

"Okay, let's mingle!" He handed me an OJ, got the same for himself and dragged me by the hand towards the living room.

I'd lost Raf somewhere in the crowd, and so I decided to head towards an empty couch. As soon as I sat down, someone else plunked themselves next to me. I turned to find a handsome senior that I'd seen around before, but didn't really know that well.

"Hey gorgeous," He said, smiling slightly. I noticed he had dimples, but his weren't like Rafael's, which only showed up when he smiled genuinely. His eyes were hazel, not the pure green that was Rafael's, and his skin was pale, as pale as mine.

"Hi," My voice was bored; I didn't even look at him, focusing my eyes on the wall instead.

"You here with someone babe?" He was starting to irritate me, as I took a sip from my drink. It tasted different, probably because the random guy was breathing the same air as me.

"Yeah, Rafael Roberts," I answered, hoping it'd get him to back off.

"You mean Raf, over there?" He smirked, there was a sneer in his voice as he inclined his head towards a corner. I saw Raf; pressed up against the wall with Chelsea of all people. I shook my head disappointedly, and took another big gulp of my drink, turning back to random guy with a smile.

"I'm Brandon," He said, smirk back in place.

"Alisha," I replied, grinning at him.

I didn't know when along the line I'd ended up kissing Brandon, but his hands were everywhere now, and they were rough, like his lips on mine. His tongue pushed through my teeth, into my mouth, and he tasted like alcohol. His unwelcome hands pushed my top over my stomach, as his tongue wrestled with mine. I gave up after a while, I couldn't get him off me, he was too strong, every time I tried I couldn't. I pushed as hard as I could, yet he wouldn't budge. I knew I was stronger that this…how was this possible? My head was spinning, and starting to go cloudy as I realized what would come next, since I couldn't stop him. Panic set in, and I tried to pull away, trying to scream, but no sound came out of my mouth as he clamped his lips back on mine. I was praying to every God I had never believed in, urgently wishing for some savior. As he pushed me even further and started on my low rise jeans, I felt his weight lift off me, and I sat up suddenly, feeling dizzy from the sudden movement. I saw Rafael, towering over Brandon, his features set in stone; he was beyond pissed. Brandon was sneering and saying something, and although Rafael's face looked cool and composed I could see the anger and turmoil in his eyes. Out of nowhere, his fist flew towards Brandon's nose, connecting with a dull crack. Blood gushed out of his nose, wiping off his self satisfied grin. He cursed Rafael, and hobbled off, nursing his broken nose.

"Are you okay?" He was hovering over me, a concerned expression softening his handsome features. I nodded, and he helped me up, holding on to my arm firmly as he led me out of the house and towards his car. Only once we were inside his car and he was speeding back home did I realize what had almost happened…and what Rafael had stopped from happening.

"Oh my God," I started chanting, tears falling down my cheeks steadily. Rafael looked over, and then stopped by the side of the road abruptly. He turned the engine off, and twisted sideways uncomfortably. He hesitated, not knowing what to do, before reaching over and pulling me into his lap. My sobbing increased and I buried my head in his chest, not caring anymore about how pathetic I was, and how uncomfortable it was to sit on his lap in his small sports car. His woody, forest smell enveloped me, as his thumb slowly rubbed soothing circles on the small of my back. He was whispering in my ear, saying things in Spanish; all those things Maria used to do when I'd hurt myself. That just made the tears come thicker and faster and Rafael started to panic – he wasn't really sure what to do anymore. I lifted my head from his head, looking up to meet his troubled pine green eyes.

"I…sorry. Your shirt is wet," I said stupid.

"You are an idiot Alisha, I'm so sorry…I should never have left you alone," He shook his head, the guilt evident on his face.

"No, it's not your fault. You were pretty busy," I said, trying to keep the bitterness from my voice.

"It is though; Chelsea cornered me and started kissing me, I came over as soon as I could after getting rid of her…but I was still too late," His tone was guilt ridden, but I didn't blame him for anything that happened. "I swear, if I catch that hijo de puta…" (A/N: means SOB in spanish =])

"No, you punched him…and he'll have Connor and James after him too if they find out. You can't tell them. Nothing happened. It could have, but it didn't, so you can drop it." My voice was serious and determined, but the tears were only just beginning to dry on my cheeks. He pulled me closer once again, burying his face in my neck.

"I'm so sorry Alisha, I am so, so sorry," He kept repeating, over and over again.

I opened the door, trying to walk in as nonchalantly as possible – I hadn't even been at the party for that long, only an hour and a half. Imagine my surprise when I saw Connor standing there, arms crossed over his chest, James next to him at the end of the hallway.

"Oh shit," I cursed, getting myself ready to face the firing squad.

"Before you say anything!" I held up my hand. "It's Rafael's fault." That said, I raced back out of the door and towards Rafael's driveway where he was getting out of his car. As soon as he was out of the car, I began dragging him towards my house. Definitely not the best backup in the world…but it was all I had, so I was going to make do. If I was going down, he was going down with me.