Knight in Shining... Ch. 02

Ariana stared at her closet. She had nothing to wear!

"Just pick something!" Macy said from her bed. "You're not going to a ball! It's just a party for crying out loud!" Ariana smiled slightly to herself. It might just be a party, but tonight someone was coming that she wanted to look special for. She had always known Kasen had a crush on her, she would often catch him looking at her. However, a few months ago, when their senior year had started, and they had been put together in Biology, Ariana had began to feel something new. She couldn't explain it, but when he was close she found herself trying to catch his attention.

She no longer thought his crush was cute, but rather reveled in catching him watching her. She loved the way he looked at her.

Today, when he was been gathering his stuff with his head down she just couldn't help herself. She wanted to get closer to him. When she grabbed his wrist she felt something go through her. She couldn't explain it, but it fueled her desire. Then, when he had smiled at her, she knew she couldn't go on the way they had. She needed more from him. She just didn't know what or why.

Finally, in the back of her closet, she found a top she had never worn. Macy had made her buy it a few months ago, and on a whim she agreed.

It was dark green, perfect for her red hair. It was a little low cut, hugging her breasts before flowing down over her torso. The sides were tied together with a brown leather string, giving little glimpses of her ribs. There was another string that tied behind her neck so the front pulled up above her navel, leaving her back and shoulders bare. She decided simple jeans, and heeled boots over them, were the way to go. However, the jeans she pulled out were far from simple. They were a dark blue, and formed to her thighs like a second skin.

Adriana smiled as she bent over to pick up her boots and felt the jeans go tight over her ass. She heard Macy wolf whistle behind her, and quickly straightened and turned.

"What?" She asked, innocently. Macy gave her a look, not buying the good girl act.

"Why don't you just paint your legs blue and tell him it's the newest look in high fashion?" Adriana rolled her eyes. Macy wasn't stupid. She knew the instant Adriana picked out the green top, that she was doing it for a boy.

Adriana plopped down on the bed beside Macy to pull her boots on over the bottom of her jeans. She decided to leave her hair down with it's natural curls, and just brushed it all behind her shoulders.

A few minutes later, both girls looked at each other as they heard the doorbell ring downstairs before the sound of bottles clinking, music starting, and people laughing, signaling the beginning of the night.

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Adriana was never a big fan of parties, but this one wasn't that bad. So far. It was only about 8:30 but the music was so loud she was afraid the cops would get called. There didn't seem to be many new people coming, and she would know if there were because she was standing on the balcony above the front door, waiting for him to walk in.

Just then, a smile crossed her face. She looked down and found him a few feet from the bottom of the stairs, watching her. He had an strange look in his eyes. It looked like a mix of pain, desire, and something else she couldn't identify.

Her face brightened when caught his eye. She smiled, and a warmth spread through her when a small smile graced his lips in return.

She descended the stairs, jumping over the legs of a couple on the bottom two steps, landing right in front of him. She actually had to steady herself on his shoulder, and his head immediately went to her back.

"You came!" She practically had to shout. Kasen just nodded. She wanted to get him somewhere quieter so they could talk. "Come with me!" She said, over the music. She wove her fingers between his and pulled him behind her to the kitchen down the hall. It wouldn't be a whole lot quieter in there, but she might not have to shout to talk to him. She smiled to herself when she felt him jump at the feel of her hand in his, but she had her back to him so he didn't see it.

She maneuvered them around the people clogging the hall, until they made it to the large kitchen. There was empty two liters of Coca-Cola bottles and alcohol bottles all around the island and counters. She got him a cup of beer from the keg and jumped up on a bare space on the counter before downing some of her beer in an attempt to calm the butterflies in her stomach.

"I don't really drink.." She heard him say, quietly. Smiling, she pointed to the empty pop bottles.

"Sorry, we're out of everything else. People don't come for the virgins." A puzzled expression crossed his face for just a moment before it was gone. "It means non-alcoholic drinks." She laughed. "I guess they don't really come for the virgin people either, though." She said, more to herself than to Kasen. "I'm glad you came." She smiled at him, making him blush. "I wasn't sure you were going to."

"You asked me to." He stated simply. As if it was obvious. Adriana liked that.

"Look, I know we've never talked much, but I hope we can be friends?" Kasen nodded after a moment of staring at her. "I'm sorry." Kasen looked startled.

"For what?"

Adriana shrugged and said, "I've never been very nice to you. I know you and Macy are kinda friends, and we have sat next to each other in class all year, and yet this is the longest conversation you and I have ever had. You're just always so quiet. I never know what to say to you." Kasen stared for another minute before a small smile broke out on his face.

"That all?" Adriana's brow wrinkled. Is that all? what was THAT supposed to mean? Kasen actually laughed at the look on her face. "Adriana you have nothing to apologize for. You've always been nice to me. At least, I've never felt offended. I'm quiet with everyone. I always have been." He chuckled to himself. "Actually, when I was younger my parents thought there was something wrong with me. I never had friends over, and I used to spend hours in my room, just reading and drawing."

"You draw?" She asked. Kasen nodded slightly before blushing profusely.

"A little."Pushing his hands in his pockets, Kasen looked down at his feet.

"Will you show me some later?" She asked around a smile. Again, Kasen just nodded. Adriana opened her mouth to ask when, but the sound of a commotion in the other room, and people run around the corner to the living room cut her off.

Adriana took one look at Kasen, and they quickly followed the crowd. In the living room the dance area was deserted as people were in a circle around a pair or fighting boys, one of which Adriana quickly identified as her brother.

"Sam!" She screamed when she watched him take a punch to the face. She couldn't tell who he was fighting. "Stop it!" She wanted to break them up but she wasn't sure how. There was a break when Sam stumbled backward against a table, the other boys back was to Adriana as she reached out and grabbed his arm to stop him from going after Sam again. "Hey!" The boy turned, and she saw exactly who it was.

Ryan was her ex. She had no idea what he was doing there, but the sight of him made her freeze. Ryan had turned around to hit whoever had grabbed him, but when he saw it was Adriana he stopped.

"Adriana get away. This is between me and your brother."

"Like hell! You're fighting in my living room! What the hell is going on?" She asked Sam around Ryan's shoulder.

"This asshole," Sam said, wiping blood from his lip, "has no right to be here."

"I came to talk to you." Ryan explained to Adriana.

"Well, maybe I don't want to talk to you, Ryan." She crossed her arms over her chest. She was very angry now.

"Adriana-" Ryan started.

"She said no Ryan." Sam came closer, and put his arm around his sister's shoulders. "Get out."

"Look, I'm sorry, OK?" Ryan ignored Sam. Before Adriana could respond she felt Sam's arm leave her shoulder.

"I said get out!" Sam pushed Ryan's shoulder.

"Sam..." Adriana tried to stop him.

"Well, I don't really care what you said! I'm not leaving here until I talk to her!" Ryan pushed back.

"Ryan!" Adriana saw the fight escalating again.

"Oh yes you are." Sam pushed Ryan harder this time. Ryan didn't even respond before punching Sam across the face. The force of the hit sent Sam flying backward, into her. They both hit the ground hard, with Adriana partially under Sam.

She heard the circle of people all gasp at the same time. Looking up, she watched Ryan hit the floor. Before she even had a chance to register what had happened she felt arms under her, lifting her from the ground.

"Oh, my god. Adriana are you OK?" Sam asked, getting up. Turning her head, Adriana found herself in Kasen's arms. She had completely forgotten about him! He steadied her on her feet again before he turned to the dazed Ryan.

"Get out." He said quietly, but with so much cold threat in his voice that Adriana flinched for Ryan. After a split second of hesitation, Ryan walked to the door. He turned around once and looked back at her, then he was gone.

"Adriana, I'm so sorry." She turned her attention back to her brother as he checked her over for breaks or injuries.

"I'm fine, Sam." Then, she turned to Kasen who had a hard expression on his face. When she caught his eye it immediately softened. She quietly slid her arms under his and around his middle. After a moment of surprise on his part he wrapped his arms around her shoulders, too. She felt so small there, but she also felt safe and a warmth spread through her. For a moment she forgot about everyone else. That is, until her brother broke their spell.

"I'm sorry, but who are you?" Sam spoke to Kasen. Adriana pulled back some, but she left her arms around his waist.

"Sam, this is Kasen. Kasen, this is my brother, Sam." Kasen nodded once at Sam.

"Sorry about that." Kasen said, quietly.

"Thank you." Sam said, sticking his hand out. Kasen took it a moment later. Adriana watched the whole exchange with an odd feeling. She didn't have a chance to ponder it, though, as blue and red lights flashed across the wall before they heard the siren.

"Cops!" Someone shouted. And just like that chaos erupted as people broke their silent circle to run for back doors and windows. Nobody wanted to be caught underage drinking, including Sam and Adriana.

"Shit, we gotta go." Sam said. Adriana grabbed Kasen's hand. She wasn't ready to end their night together yet. They would run together.

The three of them headed to the back of the house. Running out the back door, Sam headed to the back of the yard and climbed over the fence. Kasen lifted Adriana over before jumping up and over himself. They were in a strangers yard no but they didn't stop long enough to care. They quickly ran through their back gate and through the tiny space along the house, out onto the street in front of the house. The trio ran down the street in the opposite directing of the lights and chaos.

They ran a few blocks, Sam leading with Adriana following and Kasen bringing up the rear. Sam kept turning down foreign streets until they were thoroughly lost.

Finally, he slowed and stopped under a tree at a turn at the back of a street. All were out of breath as they bent with their hands on their knees.

After a moment Sam began chuckling slightly. It quickly grew to an outright laugh. Soon he was roaring with laughter. Kasen and Adriana just watched him for a few minutes. Then, Kasen began laughing, too. Adriana smiled. Soon, they all had tears in their eyes as they held their aching stomachs.

"Why are we laughing?" Adriana got out, finally. It was a while before either of them could do anything but shake their heads. They were now on the ground. Sam was propped against the tree trunk, and Adriana and Kasen were sitting on the curb. Adriana fell backward so she was laying out on the grass with her hair splayed out softly around her head and neck.

Finally, they all sighed as the laughter subsided."Well, that was fun." Sam said, after a moment. Adriana chuckled again.

"Oh, please, don't make me laugh anymore! It hurts!" She held her stomach.

"Who called the cops?" Kasen asked. Sam shrugged.

"It could have been anyone. Someone might have called them when the fight broke out, or it could have been an annoyed neighbor." He looked down at his watch. "Yep, it's about 10:00"

"Oh, it's not even that late." Adriana sat up. She looked around. "Well," she sighed. "what now?"

"Come one." Kasen stood up and held his hands out to help her up, too. "I have an idea." Sam stood up beside them.

"Well, I hope it's not far, because we don't have a car, and I'm not much of a walker." Sam chuckled. Kasen shook his head.

"No, it's not very far. I think..." He looked around as if he wasn't completely sure where they were. Adriana smiled at Sam as they began to walk down the street. She was enjoying herself very much. She held Kasen's hand as they walked.

"So, where exactly did you come from?" Sam asked after a moment. Kasen shrugged.

"When he pushed you and you fell on Adriana I just reacted. I didn't even stop to think. When I saw her go down my fist just reacted on it's own." Sam threw his head back and laughed before stopping and grimacing with his hand on his stomach.

"No, I mean, why? I've seen you around school but," He motioned to their locked hands, "I don't really understand when or how that happened." Adriana blushed as she looked down. She wasn't even sure what THIS was, herself. Kasen didn't say anything, obviously leaving the answer up to her.

"He sits next to me in Biology and today I invited him to the party. We were talking in the kitchen when we heard the fight break out in the living room." Adriana shrugged. Sam gave her a strange look.

"Uh huh..." He glanced at their hands again. She felt Kasen try to drop hers but she held fast. She wasn't going to let Sam scare him off.

They walked in silence for a couple of minutes. "Where are we going?" She asked when Kasen stepped off the curb, crossing the street.

"There's this old place I used to go. It's at an old factory. It's not a large one, but it's large enough that some of the guys I used to know could have a kind of club." Adriana was a bit surprised. She wouldn't have thought Kasen was the clubbing type.

She didn't see it until Kasen had stopped. For a moment she looked at Sam, confused. Then she watched as Kasen pounded on the wall beside them in a pattern, like a code. Adriana jumped about a foot in the air when the entire wall moved a few feet to the left, leaving a hole big enough for someone to walk through. Kasen looked at Adriana in amusement at her shock.

He grabbed her hand more firmly. She felt reassured by the feel of his fingers tightening around hers.

She followed when he pulled her through the whole, Sam was right behind her. It was pretty dark inside, and they had to walk down a sort of hallway. She could see flashing lights at the other end. When they reached the end, a large man materialized in front of Kasen.

Kasen stood frozen as he and the man seemed to be having a stare down. Suddenly, the large man burst out laughing. "Damn, Kasen! I haven't seen you here in a long time! Where you been man?" Kasen smiled and slapped palms with the man.

"Sorry, I kinda dropped off the radar for a while."

"Yeah," The man looked down at her. Adriana thought she should be afraid, but for some reason, with Kasen beside her, she wasn't at all. "Who is this? Don't tell me she's with you?" Kasen looked at her without saying anything. "Damn, boy!" The man laughed again before turning to her, "What you doin' with this boy? You're too fine to be running around with a nerd like this." He laughed at the shocked look on her face.

"Hey now!" Kasen spoke up, acting offended, but he had a smile on his face. "You gonna let us in, or do I have to call Don?" The man rolled his eyes and stepped to the side.

"Good to see you again man." He said as they started walking again. Adriana looked back at him over her shoulder and gawked when he winked at her suggestively.

The place was nice. There was a bar along one wall, a DJ at the back, and the rest of the place was a giant dance floor, with about ten tables pushed to the walls. Most of the tables were empty as the dance floor was completely full. Adriana couldn't help but smile. She felt Sam standing beside her, and looked up at him with her smile broad on her face. Sam wasn't smiling o much, but looking down at her, he couldn't help it. It was a pretty cool place. Kasen pulled on her hand and they walked over to the bar. She knew they were underage, but the bar tender still brought them drinks after he and Kasen greeted. It was obvious that Kasen knew this man too, but unlike the other man, the bar tender didn't make a big deal out of seeing him. He just brought them the drinks that Kasen ordered. Adriana wondered for a moment how Kasen knew these people. Were they family, or just friends from years ago? Who was Don? She thought, remembering Kasen's threat earlier. Was he the owner of the club? She sipped the drink Kasen handed her. It was good! She never thought that alcohol other than beer was very good, but this was a little fruity and slightly creamy.

"What is this?" She asked over the music. Kasen smiled and shrugged.

"House special. No one really knows what's in it, they just drink it. Don't worry, you're not going to wake up in some bathroom somewhere. It'll just give you a bit of a buzz. As long as you don't drink too many of them that is." Sam had something similar in his hand, but his was green instead of blue like hers. Looking back at Kasen, she saw that he had an orange drink.

"Why are they different colors?" She asked.

"They do that here. They change the drink colors. I'm not sure why. Don just thinks it's less boring, I guess." Adriana nodded.

"Who's Don?" Sam spoke for the first time in a while.

"He's the owner. He also happens to be my cousin." Kasen replied. Adriana kinda ignored them after that. They began talking about the club and how it was started, but Adriana was more interested in watching the dance floor. Some of the girls out there moved in ways she would have been too embarrassed to do in public. There were a few couples out there that looked more like they were having sex standing up, than dancing. Adriana's eyes almost popped out of her head when she noticed one girl literally humping another!

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Kasen talked to Sam, but she kept an eye on Adriana. He was amused at the looks that crossed her face. This place could be a tad racy sometimes.

"So, why did you stop coming here? This place is awesome!" Sam said, oblivious to Kasen's distraction. He looked around the large room with a huge grin. Kasen's smile dropped a little. He wasn't ready to think about that. Right now he just wanted to enjoy the good side to being back. Granted, 90% of that good side was standing next to him, looking at the dance floor in horrific wonder, but he was still enjoying himself.

"Some things happened. It's really complicated, but let's just say there are some people I know who weren't like I thought they were." Kasen said, nonchalantly with a shrug. He prayed Sam wasn't the prying type. He wasn't. Sam let the subject drop and turned to Adriana.

He opened his mouth to ask her what she thought of the club, but the look on her face stopped him. She wasn't looking at the dance floor anymore. Instead, her attention was focused on Kasen. Neither person said anything for a moment. Then, Adriana reached up and hugged Kasen. Kasen looked startled for a split second before he relaxed and accepted the embrace. Sam stood awkwardly to the side.

When she pulled away Adriana said she needed to use the restroom. After pointing the way, Kasen watched her go. He was deep in his own thoughts when Sam cleared his throat pointedly. Kasen jumped and turned back to him, blushing. Sam had a huge grin.