Clubs and Chocolate.

The door slamming against the wall has Jesse falling off the bed, leaving me bare and spread eagle.

"Oh hey there Rapunzel. Didn't know you'd be busy."

"Dude! Get the fuck out!" Jesse hisses, getting up from the floor.

"Now why should I? Your party's boring without my angry little Spaniard." He turns to me. "You should probably cover up. Wouldn't want me getting a little excited now, would you? That would be a bit weird."

A shoe hits the door a second after Aaron dodges and I cover myself up with the sheets.

"Not cool, dude. Anyway, Tequila, your mum called. She's not having a night shift today and wants me to bring you home."

I groan into my hands.

"Fine. Get out so I can change."

His brows go up but he concedes and shuts the door behind him.

"I thought you locked the door." I say to a clearly frustrated Jesse.

"I thought I did too. Do you need to go? I can drop you."

I pick my bra up as I scan his room for the rest of my clothes.

"No, it's alright, enjoy your party. My mum called him so she must want to see him for God knows what, anyway."

He nods solemnly and picks his shirt with a sigh.

"Hey." I whisper. "We can do this some other time. Just call, alright? Or I will. Aaron was just being a dick." I put on my shoes and sigh in relief. It was easier putting on my clothes than it was removing them.

"Naw, it's alright. I get it."

My gaze drops to his excited anatomy.

"I could help relieve you though. My mum can wait some minutes."

His eyes light up in eagerness.

"Please?"

I laugh at his puppy dog eyes and reach down to his waist when the door swings open again.

The sudden light irritates me and my glare is both due to annoyance and partial blindness.

"Man!" Jesse groans.

"I'm pretty sure the boy can finish himself off, Rapunzel. Your mum is not happy. She found out about Kingsley." Aaron says, ignoring Jesse's outburst.

I scramble off the bed so fast, I almost trip.

"Shit! What about him?"

He just shrugs.

"I'on know. Just said I should get you home right now because you have something to talk about. Said something like, 'that foolish girl and her boys'.

"How the fuck did you even open the door? I locked it."

I scrutinize Aaron as I walk towards him, eager for his answer.

"I picked the lock. Up your security, man."

Once I get to the door, Jesse stops me with a hand to my shoulder.

"Be safe, alright? I'll call you?"

I smirk. "I did say you should."

He leans in and gives me a sweet kiss.

We both ignore Aaron's fake gag and deepen it, until the idiot whispers 'Mummy dearest'.

"Let's go, dufus!" I grab his hand and steer him away.

Far away from Jesse who seemed to be considering murder.

The party is still in full swing as we cross the dancefloor.

"Wanna dance?" I roll my eyes as I pull the idiot along.

"You just cut my time with Jesse short and you expect me to dance with you."

Outside, the chill permeates my shirt and I glare at Aaron for the umpteenth time.

"Well hurry up! Where's your car anyway?"

"Oh I brought my Bike. Wouldn't come to a silly party with the car."

"Okay, snobby."

He starts the bike and we fly out of the parking lot when Karma Chameleon blasts from my phone.

"Hey Himari."

"Hey babe! Where are you?" She has to shout above the bass.

"I'm on my way home. I was going to call once I arrived. Mummy is asking for me."

"Oh, alright. Well, I will be awaiting your call; I need details about your little escapade with Jesse!"

"Of course. I can't escape you, can I?"

"You know it! Hey Tyler, stop ogling Penelope and kiss her! Your prudeness is disturbing!"

Tyler yells something intelligible and Himari tsks.

"I know prudeness is not a word, Tyler. And now I know why you and Tequila get along so well." My chuckle seems to bring her attention back to the call.

"Alright, Killer, say hi to Fiona for me."

"Will do."

I growl after putting my phone away.

"Aaron, guess what I just realized."

"Your alarming level of stupidity?"

"No. That I have a perfectly good phone that my mother could have called me on had she wanted to see me. I see no missed calls from her."

I should have known. She didn't call either me or Himari and I didn't find that strange. How foggy has my mind been?

Well considering your little session with Jesse, I would say quite foggy.

A session Aaron so rudely interrupted. And for what? A ride into the moonlight?

"Whoopsie. I might have lied about the reason I wanted you out."

"Drop me here. I'll walk back to that party."

The bastard just laughed.

"Now where's the fun in that?"

"Where are we going, Aaron?"

"We're already here."

I look around as the motorcycle slows down.

Three empty benches sit adjacent one another and back beautiful shrubbery.

The benches are of different sizes, being big, bigger and biggest, or small, smaller and smallest depending on your view.

A lone lamp casts its light on the winding cobbled path and bathes the park with soft luminance.

"Why are we here?"

He gets down and motions for me to do same.

"Because I wanted you away from the party."

"What?!"

He cautiously moves backwards and raises both arms.

"Don't kill me but I just wanted to talk to you, away from the party."

"And away from Jesse." He adds as an afterthought.

Jesse's words ring in my ears.

'He had that stupid boy in love look.'

No, it can't be.

"What do we possibly have to talk about that's so important, you cockblocked me?"

He sighs, grabs my hand and steers us to the smallest bench. He doesn't let go even as we settle down.

"John wants me to date Georgette again. He and Mr Sylvester have gotten it into their heads that the more time we spend together, the easier we will find it to get married. I don't want to marry her, Tequila."

"They have always wanted you two married. Where's the news?"

"No, you don't get it. They want me to propose, latest graduation. They don't fantasize about it anymore, Rapunzel, they are commanding it."

My face drops.

"What?" Of course John would want his son to get married to the girl who broke his heart into a million pieces. "Why?"

"They want power. An alliance between two powerful multimillion dollar companies is the dream. They do not trust each other so marriage is a sealing bond, especially when the participants are their puppets."

He looks down at our conjoined hands and sighs, his face so breathtakingly beautiful. So broken.

"But you're just eighteen."

His chuckle is low and bitter.

"Old enough to be engaged."

"Is he the reason you have not had a girlfriend after Georgette?"

I have been eager to know the reason for his relationship celibacy since the 'big breakup'.

"God, no. I have been free to date whomever I wanted to. Still am. I just need to put a ring on Georgette's finger as I 'play around with my tramps'. His words. I just never saw the need to get into a relationship."

I always knew the Fletcher family had some serious tyranny going on, but I did not know how bad it got. Choosing who Aaron would marry? That's too much but unfortunately, not that surprising.

"What's he holding over your head? It can't be school. You'll get a scholarship."

He looks up, wide-eyed.

"Please don't hate me."

"I would never-"

His lips taste like chocolate. My eager response scares me a little as my fingers reach into his hair.

The kiss is slow and timid: testing, searching. I break away as his fingers dig into my hip and look away.

"Feel better?"

"Yeah." He sighs and rubs his face with a palm as he leans back.

Grateful for the space, I find my bearings.

"What is he holding over your head, Aaron?"

"A suicide attempt."

Like the screeching sound a rusty bike makes when the brakes are pressed hard, my heart drops.

I snatch my hand away from his and glare at him. This fucking bench doesn't leave enough space to shift away from him.

"You promised you would never-"

"I know, Tequila. I would never break my promise. I would never do that to you!"

"Then why?"

"He threatened to hit mum again if I didn't listen. I was so mad, I stormed off to think up ways to end it. I felt drowsy but I couldn't sleep." He grabs my hand again.

"I just wanted to sleep. To forget it, not to forget all. I took my sleeping pills."

"You OD'd."

"I did. It was a foolish mistake, but I swear it was not my intention."

"So he knows and he's holding it over your head."

It was not a question. I know how much John wants Aaron in Nirvana.

"Yes. He called in the family doctor after taking as many pictures of the scene as he saw fit. I was lying prone next to an empty pill bottle and he took pictures with the intent to blackmail me."

"What an awesome father figure. I forgive you. Just, never do that again, okay?"

"I won't, I promise."

I let him hold my hand for longer until I sense he is calm before standing to leave.

"Well, I have to g-"

Karma karma karma karma karma Chameleon

You come and go

You come and go

"What is it Joey?" I snap into the phone.

"Hey, Alicia can't make it today so I need you to fill in for her?"

"No way! This is my day off."

"I'll pay you a thousand to climb the stage and you know you will get much more from the audience. Fridays are wild but Mondays are catastrophic!"

"I was in at a thousand. I'll be over there soon."

"Not soon, now! ¡Ahora mismo!"

"Who was that?" Aaron asks as he stands.

"My colleague slash boss. A coworker is MIA so I'm taking her place."

"I didn't know you worked."

"Yes. Drop me off at Stacy's. I'll find my way from there."

"No, I'll take you to your work place. Wherever that is."

"Pros and cons.. pros and cons.."

"Did you just-"

"Fine, let us go. But I will kill you if you utter a word about this to anybody."

"Wow, you get weirder each day."

"We need to be at De'Luna's right now. Hit the pedal."

"We are going to a club? Wait, you work at a club!" He starts the bike up as I roll my eyes.

"Don't make me regret letting you know."

"Woohoo! Let's get frisky!"

"Let's not."