Sadie's POV

I better get ready, it’s already six and it started in an hour. Today was the longest day to work, 'um'ing and ah'ing' about whether to go to this party or not. Yet, when the shop reached closing time, at the precise moment of 5:30, I felt a giddy rush storm through my body. I wanted to run home as quickly as possible so I could get ready to leave. The feeling had taken me back to my teenage days of the excitement of a house party, it had been so long since I ventured out into the social world. My mind was such a butterfly, whatever distraction I chose for myself, my mind kept fluttering back to the thought of a party, seeing Brian, even meeting the guy he set me up with.

The question now stated, what do I wear? I bounced through my closet looking for something- sexy? Or was that inappropriate? Casual? Is sexy-casual an option? Besides, sexy got me into trouble in my teenage days, so I shouldn't make the same mistake twice. After all, my mom was turning up. I decided to slide on some shined black tights, a large Sepultura tee, and slipped into my black denim pinafore. I couldn't seem to keep still, my eyes constantly shot over to the clock on my wall, I was time watching to the extreme. I freshened my makeup, adding more dark to my eyes, making sure my eyebrows were pointed at the ends, my bronzer re-darkened my pale cheeks, and I applied a dark red lipstick. This was extreme makeup for me, but I wanted to look good. I checked the time once more, and it was almost half 6. Half an hour early is acceptable, right?

Brian's POV

"So... what you're telling me is-" Zacky thought hard trying to unwind what I'd just said to him. I hoped he didn't unwind it too much. "-I can't- see this girl again?"

"..basically.." I nodded slowly, looking into his confused eyes.

"The girl- you just set me up with?" he frowned, rubbing his thumb over his bottom lip. "But- you've just set me up with her-"

"I know-" I interrupted, trying to fathom an excuse. "It's-" I thought. "It's her mom.." I lied, his face turned into a complete shock. Clearly, my lying skills were decent. "She- doesn't- like you"

"Man," he snapped. "I haven't even met neither of these women yet and I already have rules with them?" I couldn't help it. As tough as it sounded, if I couldn't have her, my best friend couldn't. Suddenly, the doorbell of Johnny's house rang. It was shrill and it jangled my nerves with each new guest that arrived. Only 3 had turned up so far, and I had been waiting in anticipation to see when, and if Sadie would arrive. We heard Johnny rush through from the kitchen to the hallway where he answered gleefully. I waited for the guest to find their way into the dining room, where me, Zacky and Matt were hanging around, drinking beer- me forcefully acting casual for whenever she walked in.

"I'll bring you through-" I heard. Johnny walked through with his arm around her. She was here. My not-so causal stance suddenly tensed, I shot up like a bullet. I was once leaning against a wall, now- I was upright as if ordered to do so by a sergeant. She briefly gazed at me, but the gaze slid swiftly to the side.

"Dude- is that her?" Zacky murmured quietly in my ear. He sounded as allured as me.

"Oh wow- I'm really early-" she laughed embarrassingly, tucking a curl behind her ear. The same curls she had in from work this morning.

"You gonna introduce us Syn?" Zacky opened, his cockiness didn't take long to shine through, he approached her with a devilish smirk that I wanted to slap right off his face.

She briefly looked around, identifying who 'Syn' was and why they were introducing her instead of me. "Yeah- sure" I nodded. "Sadie, this is Zacky-" I nodded.

"Hi," she blushed, reaching her hand out to Zacky, who gently accepted. He shook her hand gently and slowly, I watched her as she gazed into his eyes. Great.

"This is Matt," I pointed abruptly. "I'm getting a beer" I sighed, wanting to get as far away as possible from them.

Then a thought bubbled inside my head, it told me you over and over, 'there's something about this'. It was essentially forbidden, but I gravitated towards what was capturing my attention. I was super exposed to it, and the more I learnt about her- I was scared it could potentially bloom into something more. After I grabbed a beer for myself, and one for her, I strolled back into the dining room where Sadie was sat, legs crossed, tapping her short black painted nails against the wooden table. Her hair, although it had been like that all day, was so neat and precise. Every wave matched the other. Zacky pulled up a chair and set next to her, and looked up at me. Almost as if he knew, and wanted to watch me rub it in. He smiled in the tense way he did when he was about to go against something. He had no reason to hold back, however. There was nothing romantic between us, and there never will be.

I soon realised it was a mistake telling him to stay away from her, as he'd more than likely do everything the exact opposite. He'd go the extra mile to make her mother love him, even though he probably wasn't that interested. Zacky loved proving a point.

"So, uhm-" he began, acting innocent. "You're Syn's.. girlfriends.. daughter, right?"

"If Syn is Brian, then y-yes I am" Sadie took a sip from the freezing glass bottle of beer, trying not to loose all of her lipstick on the rim. She then let out a small teasing giggle.

I decided I wasn't hearing any of his small talk and made myself scarce. I walked outside, where the party would eventually move to. I sat on the grassy ground, I had found a comfortable spot for a dash of peace and quiet before the storm later tonight. It had been a somewhat stressful day, I'd just been thinking about what Zacky is capable of. He was a nice guy, but- there was only one thing he wanted right now, and it wasn't to settle down and knowing what Sadie has already been through, I didn't want her hurt and I didn't want the responsibility of her getting hurt. I had to keep reminding myself it was none of my business. I was finally enjoying the calm empty vibe, until it started. A noise. It was like an annoying itch that just wouldn't stop. It was the laughter of Zacky, the laughter of Sadie haunting me. How could I hear it from the garden? It was almost unbearable, it made me want to scream. I was about to stand up, to move further down to the garden so the noise would shut up. But I heard Matt's footsteps behind me.

"You alright dude?" he asked concernedly. "You look a bit stirred up" he handed me a small glass, a quarter full of whiskey, and sat down with his own.

"I shouldn't have set those two up," I sighed, ditching the beer for the something stronger. "It was a huge fuckin' mistake"

"Why? There's no harm" he spoke, circling his glass around so the ice clashed together annoyingly.

"He's just-" I began. "He's gonna hurt her"

"No he's not, he's not an asshole" Matt admitted.

"He is with women," I snapped. "Look what happened with Kirsty-" I enlightened. "He just dropped her like she was nothing- I don't want that to happen to Sadie- she's been through enough with guys- I just want her to have someone like m-" I stopped. "She just deserves more"

"Why are you so bothered?" Matt questioned. "I get she- could possibly be your step-daughter one day but-" with that, the largest groan escaped from my mouth. It made me feel ill. He stared at me waiting for an explanation of the god awful noise I just made. "She's not your daughter, you shouldn't feel responsible"

"Just stop calling her my daughter, or step daughter" I shuddered, thinking I was super obsessed with my 'step daughter' right now.

"Is there somethin' else to this? Or are you just being over protective over her for Agnes?"

"Like I said-" I sighed. "I just don't want her to get hurt again"

"Again?" he interrogated. "Dude, you've met her like what, once?! She's none of your business, she can do what she wants and all you can do is- keep your nose out about it." It was safe to say I was mortified. I just shrugged and took a hearty sip of whiskey, swilling it around my mouth before swallowing and accepting the burn it followed. "I'm gonna ask you something, you gotta be completely honest, you gotta not kick off.." he eased.

I looked to him with solemness. "And what's that?" I rolled my eyes, and looked back at the blades of grass I was fiddling with.

"Are you sure you- wanna be with Agnes?" when he asked, my heart did a few spins. I looked up briefly, took a breath, and looked back down. I'd never felt myself blush before, I knew as soon as Matt saw the pink in my cheeks he'd know something serious was afoot. I felt a frustration in me, I almost thought I'd explode. I wanted to shout, rant, have a tantrum and beat my hands on the ground like a toddler. I needed to vent and to let it out, but I didn't want to bring myself to say the words. Not to him, Agnes, Sadie or myself. It's so easy to be truthful but cruel in the moment. So many times I've wanted to unsay things, take them back.

"I wanna" I lied. I knew he was figuring me out, and I didn't want that to happen. "Just- concerned about her daughter"

Notes

I'm home! Sorry for the wait! Hope you guys like this chapter, I'll update once more tonight and it will still be at the party! Xx