9. Breaking The Rules

Part 2

"Dude, you're coming home for summer break right? Shit's not the same with you gone. I mean yeah it's your fault you're here but that Henry kid is annoying as fuck!" Trace sneers, shaking his head in displeasure.

I smile, folding my arms across my chest as I stare at my best friend.

"He's enjoying my life huh?" I muse, causing Trace to groan. "Yeah I'm coming home for summer break, but I gotta go back for one more semester after that to complete the full school year."

"This Henry kid you traded lives with knows nothing about fashion, so asking him his input on the fashion line is pointless. He questions everything...incessantly. In fact, there was a time when I was so irritated with him, I literally stormed out of the office one day. Rachel was there; she can vouch for me. J, man, we need you back. Fuck, I miss you. I said it. Isn't there any way you can get out of this ridiculous challenge?" Trace inquires and I shrug, looking at Rachel who's giggling softly at Trace's distress.

"No. Johnny made an appointment with the school for me to be interviewed by the media on campus just before summer. We don't exactly watch television here but I have seen some of the shit going on on the internet. People are eating this up Trace. I have to see it through. I can't back out now. My image and reputation are on the line." I voice earnestly, my head mindlessly bobbing to the music playing in the background.

I still can't believe Delilah called them out here for my birthday.

She sure is something.

As much as she puts on a front like she doesn't care, I know she does. She cares a lot. She's just scared of showing it.

"You can't back out Justin or you don't want to back out?" Rachel asks, a mischievous grin forming on her face and I know that look.

"What Rach?" I groan, already knowing I'm not going to like what she has to say.

"I think you like it here now. I think you like it here because of your new friend Deli-lah." She says teasingly, stressing Delilah's name and I chuckle, shaking my head in disbelief at her.

"Took you long enough huh?" I muse.

"I never disappoint." She smiles. "But for what it's worth, I like her. I mean I don't know her, but what I see is cool. I could see us hanging." Rachel adds in and I nod in agreement.

"Yeah, if I could actually convince her for us to stay friends." I mumble.

"Wow man, if she invited us out here just so your birthday could be a little more fun and meaningful then she cares and you all are friends." Trace states but he clearly doesn't know Delilah.

"I wouldn't be so sure. She's a mystery that one, tough to figure out and crack." I divulge, rubbing under my chin in thought.

"What's with you Justin? Why do you always like to challenge yourself like this? You see something that's hard to accomplish or acquire and you get sucked into it, making it your sole mission to conquer. If Delilah is like that, she's like that for a reason. Don't try forcing your way into her life if she doesn't want you to. You've got to be careful J." Rachel warns me but I totally ignore her, her warning falling on deaf ears.

"Rach, it's not that serious. I just like the girl and think she's cool and I think that it wouldn't kill her if she just lived a little and learned to open up some..." But before I can continue my rant, Trace interrupts.

"Then why don't you invite her out to visit you on summer break in Cali? If she's like a hermit or something, maybe the change in environment will help her to open up and come out of her shell." Trace voices and actually, that's not a bad idea. "Plus, she'll get to see you in your natural element. Not stuck here as some student in Fort Knox." He jests and I chuckle.

"It's too soon to ask her something like that though. We have a few months before summer." I suggest.

"Then you have time to build a friendship and get her to say ‘yes' to come out and visit. I'd like to know more about her since for some reason she caught your interest. I know you said you all got stuck together or whatever at the start, but nothing's forcing you to care about her Justin. You've willingly made her a part of your life whether she realizes it or not. That's huge, especially for you." Rachel concludes and Trace and I watch her blankly for a moment.

"What are you drinking Rach? This isn't like you. You should be ragging on Justin right now, teasing him and even threatening to tell Jessica." Trace laughs out.

"I have my moments." She beams proudly and I cringe slightly at the memory of Jessica.

I know Jess said we were on a break but is it bad that I haven't even thought about contacting her since I've been here? I don't know. I don't really care right now either.

"Hey speaking of Delilah, where is she? I need her to give me the dirty little embarrassing moments you've had since you've been here Justin. I know your ass won't tell me, but she will if there are any." Trace jokes and I shove him good-naturedly, shooting him a death glare.

"Whatever bitch. I'm cool here." I state.

"Highly doubt it man. At the core, you're a nerd. I would know." Trace jibes and I frown at him before my blues start scanning the room for Delilah.

Wow, for real though, where the hell did she disappear to? I was so caught up with Trace and Rachel I totally forgot about her.

"Hey uh, guys I'm gonna go look for Lilah. You all will be ok for a bit right? The people here are cool, you can mingle or whatever." I state, excusing myself and getting ready to leave.

"We're good J." Rachel assures, giving me a knowing smile and I simply quirk a brow at her.

"When you find her, tell her to holler at me with Michelle's digits since Michelle is too fucking gone to tell me herself." Trace snickers and I wave him off laughing before leaving him and Rachel to converse.

I walk to the other side of the room and I notice Sandra sitting on a chair next to Michelle with Michelle lying passed out on her lap.

"Sandra have you seen Delilah?" I question, grasping her attention.

"She went to the vending machine down the hall to grab a bottle of water for Michelle. She should have been back by now." Sandra voices.

"Ok don't worry about it, I'll get her." I supply and Sandra nods in return before diverting her attention.

I give ‘my party' one last glance and smile at the fact that we're actually able to kick back and have fun in this place even if we're breaking a mountain of rules.

Who cares though? I sure as hell don't.

Swinging the door to the room open, I quickly take a step out into the hall and shut it gently behind me.

My gaze travels up and down the hallway wondering in which direction the vending machines are since I can't seem to remember ever seeing them.

"You're such a liar!" Someone shouts.

"Lilah?" I frown in confusion, allowing my feet to take me to the sound of her voice.

"Come on Delilah, I'm not lying to you!"

"Yes you are! How can you stand there and tell me what you did was unavoidable?"

"Look I'm sorry ok!"

"Don't yell at me and keep your voice down; people are trying to sleep!" She snaps.

"You're yelling too!"

Who the fuck is she talking to?

My pace instantly speeds up but when I reach to the end of the hall and round the corner I freeze.

Well I've located the vending machines.

I've also located a very pissed off Delilah holding a bottle of spring water in her hand while glowering at none other than Ethan.

My brows instantly crease into a frown as I glare at the both of them.

She looks like she wants to hit him with the bottle. I wouldn't be surprised if she was thinking about it.

"What's going on?"  I voice lowly, grabbing their attention.

Delilah's orbs drift in my direction and Ethan spins around to look at me with a scowl on his face.

"Shouldn't you be in your dorm room Timberlake?" Ethan hisses.

"He's part of our study group and don't talk to him like that Ethan." Delilah snaps at him and I smile smugly.

"You're defending him now? Unbelievable." Ethan groans.

"Uh, Lilah, come on let's get back to our study group. We've been waiting for you to continue the homework questions." I voice, my blues never leaving Ethan as I stretch out my hand for Delilah to take. I know he's not supposed to know about our party so I'm not about to give it away.

I don't care about the fact that I interrupted whatever argument they were having. What I do care about is why they were arguing at this hour out in the halls of the girls' dorm rooms of all places. What the fuck is Ethan even doing here? You know, something's not adding up, but I can't think about that now.

I give Delilah a look, waiting for any type of reaction from her.

She hesitates at first but then slowly walks over to me.

Unfortunately, before she can grip my hand in hers, Ethan stops her, grabbing her arm and pulling her towards him.

Bad fucking idea dude.

"Ouch, let go Ethan!" Delilah whines.

"We're not done yet Delilah. We need to talk this out. We need to solve this. We can't keep being like this with each other..." That's as far as Ethan gets before I close the small gap between us and I jack him harshly in the chest sending his back slamming against one of the vending machines.

He releases his hold on Delilah in the process and I watch as she winces in pain, rubbing the spot on her arm where he grabbed her roughly. But, she doesn't say anything else. She remains quiet with shock and slight embarrassment on her face.

"What the fuck is your problem man? This doesn't concern you!" Ethan growls angrily, rubbing at the sore spot on his chest where I shoved him.

"You never put your hands on a woman man...no matter the fucking reason. Never!" I spit, pointing my finger in his face. "If you ever do what you just did again, I'll break your fucking limb. I'm not afraid of you Ethan." I sneer, our noses almost touching since I'm right in his face.

He's staring at me angrily, gritting his teeth but I'm not backing down.

"You're not so tough without your boys are you?" I add in when he remains silent just looking at me with an evil glimmer in his eyes.

"Why don't you put your fist where your mouth is?" He growls back.

"Gladly..." I begin but I drift when Delilah grips my hoodie and starts tugging on it roughly to pull me away from Ethan.

"Justin, it's not even worth it." She voices softly, still pulling until I relent and take a few steps back.

I turn to look down at her for a moment before my vision travels back to Ethan.

"Just leave dude. I'm sure you all will continue this conversation another time." I say sternly to him and he huffs, brushing off his shirt.

"You shouldn't have done that Justin. This doesn't concern you." Ethan warns but I simply turn my back to him.

"Get stepping man," Is the last thing I say to him before I grip Delilah's hand gently and pull her with me to walk.  

She allows me to lead us back up the halls and away from Ethan silently.

My mind is spinning with all kinds of thoughts and scenarios from what I just witnessed but I'm not going to say anything. Not yet anyway.

When we make it back to the party, I stop outside of Delilah's door and turn around to face her, dropping her hand in the process.

She's looking up at me with wide glassy eyes completely mute.

"Well, aren't you going to say anything?" I ask her and she bows her head in shame. "What the fuck was that all about anyway?" I ask again, looking at her intently.

"Nothing..." She mutters weakly and I scoff, shaking my head in protest.

"Nothing."  I repeat. "Lilah, I know there's more going on with you and Ethan than you're letting on. I know there's shit you're not telling me. Don't lie and tell me it's nothing." I hiss.

"It's nothing you need to worry about Justin. Just, stay away from Ethan. You don't want to get mixed up with him."

"I think that ship has sailed Lilah!" I grunt. "But I would like some insight into what I'm dealing with if you don't mind."

When she doesn't respond I sigh in frustration. "Shit Lilah, what's going on with you? You know, you can trust me. You can tell me anything. That's what friends do." I say gently, gripping her chin and lifting her head up. "Hey look at me." I demand and her gray-browns finally meet my blues. "You can tell me. Whatever it is, I won't judge you."

"No Justin, it's fine..."

"It's not fine Lilah and you're clearly not fine either." I pause, thinking this entire situation over. The last thing I want is for her to close off completely because she thinks I'm pressuring her. "Look, I'm not trying to force you to tell me. I'd like you to tell me about yourself when you're ready. But, I would like to know eventually. You can't keep shutting me out. I'm not going to leave you alone." I joke and she smiles weakly in return.

"So I'm stuck with you?"

"Pretty much." I chortle, already forgetting about our Ethan encounter. Yeah, fuck him. He's an asshole. I'll deal with him when I have to.

"Then, if you don't mind giving me some time...I'll tell you what you need to know." She swallows hard before licking at her lips and that same urge I had of wanting to kiss her a few days ago suddenly overwhelms me again to the point where I back away from her slightly.

This is wrong. I can't be having these thoughts about her. I mean, it's not like I'll get anywhere anyway. It's Delilah. We're barely friends to begin with. I'm just going to say it's because I haven't been laid in a while. Not since I've been here. Yeah.

"That's all I ask." I finally speak up and she nods still looking a little embarrassed by all this.

"Are we...cool? Are we ok?" She inquires, staring at me hopefully.

My lips slowly curve into a large smile before I pull her towards me and I swing my arm over her shoulders. "Yeah we're cool." I admit, leaning down to give her a light kiss on her cheek which stuns her momentarily.

"O-o-ok." She stutters and I laugh loudly.

"You're cute when you're embarrassed." I coo and she simply rolls her eyes at me before smirking.

Yup, she's back.

"Whatever Justin." She sniggers.

I give her a quick glance before swinging the door open so we can strut inside and rejoin the party.

I spot Trace and Rachel eyeing us with amused expressions on their faces when we walk in but I ignore them, giving Delilah my full attention as I escort her over to Sandra and Michelle.

"We have some time still before my birthday is officially over to make up for the fun we missed." I tell Delilah.

"Ok, then we should have a dance off." Delilah pipes in while handing Sandra the bottle of water in her hand.

I burst out laughing, trying to catch my breath so I can respond to her. It doesn't help that she's grinning at me goofily.

"You're speaking my language girl. You're so on!"