Henry's POV
Going in, I saw that they were back. "Yooo, our very own Disney prince is back! Rescue any new princesses today?" said
Mason. "No, but I would have rescued you if you were in danger," I said sarcastically, to
which the others burst out laughing—which was funny, except for Andrew, who just
kept staring at me. Julian noticed my gaze toward him and asked, "Anything the
problem, Andrew?"
"I don't know what you guys found funny in what he said," Andrew said. "You don't have to," I replied, looking at him. "Not everyone wants to make
everyone as miserable as he is." Andrew got up abruptly, making me flinch. "Dude, chill," Ryan said, but Andrew just stared at me and walked out of the room. "I'll meet you guys at the party," he said as he left. Mason said, "Not cool, dude. Not cool."
"He started it," I said in my defense. "Just let it go," Julian said. "That's how he always is. Just make sure to say sorry later
when you see him, okay?"
"Yeah, will do," I responded. "Hope you're coming to the party."
"Yeah."
"Good, because it won't look good to talk big and not attend," Julian said, laughing. "For sure. I'll be there—you can bet on it."
"All right, see you at the party."
"All right," I said, as I started getting ready for the party. Andrew's POV
I don't know why I lost my temper earlier. I normally ensure I have control over
myself, but he just ruins every bit of self-control I have. Seeing him smile and laugh
with the guys, while he looks at me with some sort of challenge in his eyes, puts me
off. I don't know why he keeps pretending not to remember me—it makes me lose
my mind over and over again. As I was walking, Julian's call came in. "Where the hell did you storm off to, man? You scared the shit out of him back there.
Is everything alright?"
"Yeah, everything is okay. I just lost my temper a bit there."
"Get your shit together," he said. "The party is about to start. We'll see you there?"
"Of course, on my way."
"Cool, man. Get it together, idiot. Behave yourself and don't chase him away again,"
I muttered to myself as I made my way to the party. Henry's POV
The party was louder than I expected. The music, the laughter of people, bodies
packed together, and the flashing lights—it was all becoming too overwhelming. Luckily, I had Jenna by my side, and she dragged me further inside the party. "Let's get drinks," she said.
I asked, "What type of drinks?"
"Alcohol!" she yelled over the music. "You know I don't take alcohol."
"Come on, loosen up—it's college! Your mum isn't here to nag at you, you know,"
she said, laughing. "Yeah, I know. So let loose," she insisted. We got drinks and moved to a corner together, then there it,then there it was—that strong and
unmistakable gaze. I didn't even have to guess who it was, staring at me like that. It
was Andrew. Andrew stood at a far corner of the room, staring at me with a drink in hand, looking
like he owned the place. You wouldn't think of him as a guest—he had that type of
aura, the type I instinctively avoid, but here I was, still drawn to him. His sleeves
were rolled up, exposing his forearms, veins bulging. He really did have a great body, I admitted silently to myself. His gaze on me was strong and he made no effort to
hide the intensity of it this time around. Something in him had changed. His attention always seems to make my heart flutter and tie knots in my stomach. I
thought he'd ignore me after what happened earlier, but here we were, both of us
staring at each other like only the two of us existed in the room. Jenna nudged me and said, "Who's that? I noticed you guys wanting to eat each
other."
"You're wrong. If anything, he wants to kill me. Call me stupid, but I think I'd know
the gaze of a killer if I saw one—and that is no gaze of a killer," she said, laughing. "He gives a dangerous but hot vibe—the kind you'd want, knowing he could hurt you, but you'd still do it anyway."
"Yeah," I said, swallowing. "I don't think I'm attracted to him that way."
"Really? You do know who you're speaking to, right?" she said, staring at me. I felt
heat in my cheeks. "There you go," she said, smiling. "It doesn't hurt to go over and say hi, right?"
"Yeah, it does," I responded quickly, because I knew her—she might drag me over
there right now. "That's my roommate I told you about."
"Who?" she asked. "Andrew," I responded. She said, "Oh." Then a bigger "OOH. That Andrew."
"So I don't think he's into me. He wants to kill me, I said."
"Nope, that's the eyes of someone who's interested, not some imaginary killer you
have in your head. Oh well, you do you. I'm going to go find Lena," she said, leaving
me alone there. The music changed from fast-paced to slow, with a heavy kind of bass that gets your
body moving. People started grinding against each other and kissing; the whole air
became thick with sexual tension. I had to find my way out of there soon. Moving
around, I was able to get to the balcony and take a breath of fresh air. Closing my
eyes, I took a deep breath. Opening them gave me one of the biggest jump scares of my life—Andrew was right
beside me, staring at me. He didn't say anything; he just walked to the railing and
stood there, his eyes never leaving my body. Stepping closer, he said, "Is this how
you always run from parties?"
"I wasn't running," I said. "I just needed air."
"You always need air," he said. "Why does it matter?" I asked him. I noticed his jaw tightening. "It doesn't matter. I just noticed," he said to me, and I was shocked—Andrew
noticing something about me. "Wow, you never seemed like the party type to me. So that's why," he clarified. "And you do?" I asked. "I know how to play the part when needed," he said—with emphasis on the word
play. "Pretend. Play, huh?" I said. "Is that what you are doing here? Playing your part?"
He didn't answer immediately. I saw his eyes darken as he stared at me. "Maybe," he
said.
I was stunned because I felt a little bit of honesty from him.