Out of Luck [T]

[Maya Avery Scott]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style,background-color; efefef; width: 390px; height: 450px; opacity: 0.8; border-right: #F288AE 15px solid; border-left: #F288AE 15px solid;] can we just forget the morning, like nothing went wrong When he asked her to go to the party, she had no idea what that would entail. Maya stood in Jer's bathroom, cutting her eye to the bathroom mirror to try and sneak a peek at what Santana was doing to her face. "Hold still, My. I don't want to blind you with this mascara wand." Santana said, trying to carefully put makeup on Maya's lashes. "Not sure how Zaine would feel taking a cyclops to a party." Maya smiled at the mention of his name. She tried her best to mask it so Santana wouldn't see her inward excitement, but it was pretty obvious that any time Zaine was mentioned, she was happier. Santana, who had been so focused on Maya's eyelashes did not notice, but she did not need to notice the smile in that instance to know that Maya lit up every time he was the subject of a conversation. Even if she mentioned him in passing, she wore it like a scarlet letter. She might as well have had a giant "Z" tattooed onto her forehead. "So, is this your first party?" Santana asked, putting the mascara wand back into its bottle and twisting it tight. She fiddled through her makeup bag for awhile for something, and Maya watched, nervous about what other little brush or bottle she was going to come up with. "Yeah, I..." She scratched the back of her hand and looked over at herself in the mirror. "...I guess I've never been invited to one. I mean, not counting birthday parties." Santana smiled, and pulled out a little tube of translucent pink lip gloss, opening it and gently applying it to her lips. It tasted like cotton candy, and that was the only thing she could say she liked about makeup. "You like him, don't you." Santana said, smirking. "Like him? Of course, he's my friend." Maya replied. "No, I mean, like you like him, like him." Maya's brow furrowed. "Like him like him? Like, like him?" Santana nodded, chuckling a bit. Maya blushed, her face almost terrified. Was she really that transparent? Yes, she liked Zaine like a friend, but because that was how he liked her. He was one of the first and only guy friends she had at Easton. At least, the first one with her best interests in mind. She wasn't really sure of Phong and Jon counted, since they were trying to convince her that party drugs were candy. That brought her thoughts back to Zaine, who had seemingly kept her away from them. He he hadn't stepped in that day in the school chat, she would probably have gone to that party. Now she was going to this one, but Zaine was with her. He made her feel safe, and like she didn't have to be scared to step out and be social. "Maybe...I like him like him. But I don't know if he likes me like that." Maya said with a timid smile. "Well, if he's inviting you to go with him to a party where all of his buddies are going to be, I'd say there's a good chance he does." Maya opened her mouth to comment, but before she could, she heard a knock at Jer's door. She had told Zaine to meet her there since she practically lived in her brother's room most days. "Ok! You look hot. Let's go--" Santana grabbed Maya's hand and pulled her into the living room like a proud momma sending her daughter to prom. But Maya was already nervous without Santana's exuberance making her more anxious. Perhaps it was best if he didn't come in. So, she waved at Santana, then slipped out of the door into the hallway where Zaine would have been standing. "Hi." She said, gently shutting the door behind her. He was handsome, but it nothing out of the ordinary for him. She hoped Santana hadn't made her look too flashy for a simple party. [style= font family: arial; font-size: 10px; text-align:center; color: #252525; padding-bottom: 8px;] tagged: Zaine | outfit: coming | notes: none [/style]

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made by donte

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[Zaine Andrew Harper]

keep me up 'till the sun is high, 'till the birds start calling my name , i'm addicted and i don't know why

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: e8e8e8; width: 388px; padding-top: 2px; padding-bottom: 2px;] People weren't quite Zaine's thing. In fact, they weren't any Harper's thing. To find a Harper who said they liked being around vast amounts of people would be as rare as finding a living, breathing dinosaur at Easton zoo. But parties were something different for Zaine. He was often out with the rest of the rugby team even if he thought half of them were complete and utter morons. He still wanted to get out and have fun, that didn't mean you had to like the people you were going out to have fun with. But this time was different, this time he had invited someone to come along with him, somebody whose company he actually quite enjoyed, even if he didn't like to admit it. His friendship with Maya had developed pretty rapidly and he found himself spending increasing amounts of time with her. He liked to tell himself it was just for the cookies. But tonight did not involve cookies. It involved having fun and getting Maya involved in that fun. He thought it was important to have more friends than just him and her brother, even though he wasn't exactly a social role model himself. But just maybe she could do something else than hang out with him or play her guitar or whatever else she did. Partying was an important part in teenage-hood or so Zaine thought and when you were shipped off to a boarding school it was even easier to participate in that side of life. It was one of the things he had thought about when his parents had first brought up the possibility of sending him here. He knew what his limits were and he wasn't the kind of kid to get into drugs or anything quite like that. But it was nice to be able to have the odd beer and stay out late without his mother breathing down his neck. He knew he didn't have to invite Maya along he could easily have gone without her and spared himself this uneasy feeling he felt in the pit of his stomach. He had never thought about how he was dressed before this evening put he had found himself thinking about it when he had slipped on his shirt. He hadn't changed it, of course not. But he had still thought about it and questioned it, which was something completely new to him. He didn't automatically link it to Maya though, no, he had just told himself to stop being a girl and get out the door. Which he had done and he was now walking down the hall to Jer's room, where Maya had told him to meet her. He'd gotten used to her being there so much by now. But he figured anybody would do the same to get away from Kal. He reached the room, knocked and stood back, shoving his hands in the pockets of his jeans and shuffling his feet a little in boredom. He was the kind of kid who always needed to do something in order to keep his brain entertained, he couldn't sit still for the life of him. Zaine looked up when the door opened, smiling a little when he saw Maya slip out. She looked good, really good, but he wasn't going to tell her that in true Harper fashion. He couldn't go around complimenting people. Inviting somebody to a party with him was bad enough. "Alright." He responded, his tone light as he started to walk back down the hall. "Booked a taxi I have, should be here now in a minute." The Welsh. They never did make much sense. [style= font family: arial; font-size: 10.5px; text-align:center; letter-spacing: -1px; color: #000000; font-variant: small-caps; letter-spacing: 3px; padding-bottom: 8px;] tagged: daisymaisy | outfit: coming | notes: wee! [/style]

[Maya Avery Scott]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style,background-color; efefef; width: 390px; height: 450px; opacity: 0.8; border-right: #F288AE 15px solid; border-left: #F288AE 15px solid;] can we just forget the morning, like nothing went wrong "Oh uh...okay!" Maya said, not entirely sure what Zaine meant, but from what she could gather, he had called a cab and it would be waiting for them downstairs. And honestly, she was excited. She had never taken a cab anywhere before. If she didn't walk, she took the bus, and both of those were rare as well. Her brother couldn't drive, because, well that would be a disaster waiting to happen, and Santana could drive, but she didn't have a car. They all usually caught rides with other people. As they went downstairs, she realized this night with Zaine would be full of firsts, like her first party, first cab ride, and if Santana had anything to do with it, their first "date". Maya wouldn't have called it that though. She had no clue of what something like a date would consist of anyway. When they arrived downstairs in front of the building, she stood there, arms folded. It wasn't cold like it usually was in Easton, but the first remnants of spring had decided to sweep the town. It wasn't by any means hot, but her light jacket was enough. So when she stood there with her arms folded, it looked as though she were cold, but it was actually her introversion kicking in, sealing her in her bubble. There would be so many people there tonight. If she as going to have to be around a bunch of rugby player and the ridiculously beautiful girls they seemed to attract, she would just stick close to Zaine and try not to say something dumb. After a few moments, their cab pulled up in front of them on the curb. "Shall we?" When they arrived, Maya got out of the cab and stood in front of the apartment building. It was a fairly well known part of town because this is where most of the university students lived if they didn't stay on campus. As the walked in and up the stairs to the floor the party was supposed to be on, the more her heart started to race, and the clammier her hands became. She was a high school freshman going to a college freshman's party, and if they were on the Rugby team at the university, there was no doubt there would be older guys there. It all terrified her. "So this is the place?" She asked, looking at the apartment number, then looking up to Zaine. She figured Zaine would have knocked, but before he could, the door flew open and the same blonde senior from before came stumbling out with two girls on his arms. It was Chad. "Yooooo, Harpeeeerrr, sup bro? What took you so long?" He removed his hand from one of the girls to pat Zaine on the shoulder. "Oh yeah, how rude of me. Harper, Harper's girlfriend--" he said, nodding to Zaine, and then to Maya. "This is Tatiana and...uh...wait don't tell me, it starts with a G...uh..." The girl rolled her eyes and smacked Chad hard across the jaw before adjusting her purse on her arm and walking down the hallway. "Ow, oh, crap. Her name was Kirsten. Where the fuck did I get 'G' from?" The other girl laughed and gave a tiny wave to Zaine and Maya. Maya, unsure what to do, just slowly shifted herself behind Zaine. [style= font family: arial; font-size: 10px; text-align:center; color: #252525; padding-bottom: 8px;] tagged: Zaine | outfit: coming | notes: none [/style]

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made by donte

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[Zaine Andrew Harper]

keep me up 'till the sun is high, 'till the birds start calling my name , i'm addicted and i don't know why

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: e8e8e8; width: 388px; padding-top: 2px; padding-bottom: 2px;] For Zaine, the evening was actually rather mild, verging on warm, hence why he was able to stand outside of the dorm building in only his polo shirt and not a goose bump in sight. He attributed it to the fact that he was Welsh. He knew what real cold felt like, when the wind ripped across the valleys and froze your bones as well as your fingers and toes. The so called 'freezing' temperatures here in Easton were nothing along with the rain. In his opinion you don't know what real rain is until you've seen it fall sideways, now that was a real downpour. And people wondered why the Harpers could be so...Harper like, they were a tough bunch after having grown up in one of the wettest, coldest places on Earth. But as he glanced over at Maya (despite the slightly awkward silence between them as they stood waiting) he couldn't not notice that she had her arms folded across her body. Was she cold? He didn't know, she wasn't shivering so it couldn't be that bad but...she didn't exactly look warm either. But he didn't know what to do, normally he might consider to offer his jacket, that seemed like the gentlemanly thing to do, the thing that might be expected of him. But alas, he had no such thing to offer her, and he wasn't about to offer her his polo shirt. For one, he didn't really know what good it would do her and secondly, it had taken him forever to iron the damn thing, or to even learn how to use the iron in the first place. He didn't want to risk creasing it already. So instead he let her just stand there, they would be in the taxi soon enough. And sure enough it swiftly pulled up. He nodded and smiled at her when she spoke, stepping forwards to open the door for her before closing it and going around to the other side to get in himself. And oddly he found himself hoping she wouldn't think the night was a total bust. ---------- The music could already be heard thudding away even as they came up outside the building. Zaine paid the driver before climbing out and following Maya, glancing up at the building as he came to her side. He hoped he had the apartment number and floor right, it would be embarrassing for him if he had it wrong, however he was quite sure they could just follow the noise and constant flow of drunk people if they got lost. He flicked his head in a follow me gesture and headed inside, holding the doors open for her as he went. It was disconcerting him, why was he being so nice? He was sure she could open doors for herself but he supposed that was his inner gent seeping through. All the Harpers had one, just some were hidden deeper than others. They arrived on the correct floor, thankfully for Zaine, the music had gotten louder and louder with the more stairs they climbed and was steadily growing in volume as they walked down the hallway to the apartment. "I'm not sure. It sounds like they're sleeping in there, right?" He replied, his sarcasm creeping out again before raising his hand to knock. He was about to bring it down on the door before it was flung open and Zaine immediately took a step back, liking his personal space too much for somebody to just invade it, but it was Chad, he was going to do that anyway. "Alright, mate." Zaine replied half heartedly to the blonde haired boys greeting, subconsciously putting himself slightly in between him and Maya. Not that he didn't trust the guy not to touch Maya with him standing right there. He just didn't like the guy. Zaine didn't even attempt to correct him on the whole 'girlfriend' thing. He knew he was probably doing it just to wind him up, either that or he was too drunk already to realise he was doing it. Whatever his reason was, it was stupid and he refused to rise to it with anything other than a sarcastic one liner if he felt it was warranted. Well Chad deserved more than a witty one liner directed at him but Zaine would leave somebody else to do that, especially in front of Maya. He'd already been beaten up once recently, he didn't need it happening again when the bruising on his face had only just gone down. And the dramatics that played out in front of the pair only received an eye roll from Zaine's part, looking at Chad with an unimpressed expression. He really was an arse. "Oh. Tidy. Well. Party is in here right?" Was the only response he gave him before nodding at the senior and turning back to Maya slightly. He put a hand on her upper arm, the one nearest to him and guided her inside, staying close to her because she did have the look of a frightened deer at the moment. "Its alright, they aren't all like that I promise." He reassured her, speaking loud enough to be heard over the music and other people but also quiet enough so as not to deafen her by shouting in her ear. "Come on, lets go get a drink." [style= font family: arial; font-size: 10.5px; text-align:center; letter-spacing: -1px; color: #000000; font-variant: small-caps; letter-spacing: 3px; padding-bottom: 8px;] tagged: daiisy | outfit: coming | notes: ahhh [/style]

[Maya Avery Scott]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style,background-color; efefef; width: 390px; height: 450px; opacity: 0.8; border-right: #F288AE 15px solid; border-left: #F288AE 15px solid;] can we just forget the morning, like nothing went wrong When Zaine turned to her to reassure her and guide her in, she felt much better. She tried tuning Chad out altogether, seeing as how he was still drunkenly muttering something to Zaine, even though Zaine wasn't paying him any mind. The pair walked inside, and Maya nodded as Zaine suggested a drink. "Wait...Harper--" But before Chad could say anything else from the hallway, a few more pairs of party goers crowded out the door and shut it behind him, and Chad was swept away in a sea of laughing, drunken college students. Maya had paid it no mind, focusing only on following Zaine. The two went to the kitchen counter where there were drinks of all kinds: Jameson, Vodka, Everclear, Bourbon, Smirnoff, Mike's Hard Lemonade, a few wine coolers for those with lighter palates, assorted bottles of soda, fruit juices, and a couple of bottles of Merlot. They were all mixed up by now, no rhyme or reason to their organization. There were a few red cup stacks on the end of the counter, and a bowl of ice. On the floor in front of them was a cooler full of ice and assorted beers, canned and bottled. She walked up slowly to the counter full of bottles and stared at the different drinks she had to choose from. Then, she looked around at the people at the party. The place was packed. The only real space was in the kitchenette area where they were standing, and there were a couple of people there she recognized from Easton -- guys and girls -- nursing their red cups. Over in the small dining area where the table was, older guys were excitedly playing beer pong. She had no clue that's what it was, but she knew it was a game of some sorts involving alcoholic drinks. This wasn't what she expected. A part of her wondered if students their age should have even been there. Then again, it was for the rugby team at Easton and whenever you mix teenagers, college students and alcohol, it was bound to feel someone feeling uneasy. That someone just so happened to be Maya. "Wow...this place is packed with so many people." She grabbed a cup, then scooped out some ice from the bowl and looked through the drinks. She decided to stick to the apple juice that was in the back of the group of drinks, never even opened. As she poured her drink, she turned to Zaine to see if he wanted anything. But before she could even ask, one of the brothers who was throwing the party came around the corner, tossing his arm around Zaine. "Harper! Glad you could make it buddy!" The male said, not even noticing Maya. "Chad told me you were coming. I gotta let you meet my brother. He was Rugby captain at Easton last year, and this year they're already looking at putting him in as a starter." He nodded toward the living room. "I told him you're one of the best new players we have this year! He wants to see Zaine Harper in the flesh!" Maya looked at Zaine, giving him her 'go ahead' face. She knew this party was really for the players, and she didn't mind letting him go mingle if he had to. [style= font family: arial; font-size: 10px; text-align:center; color: #252525; padding-bottom: 8px;] tagged: Zaine | outfit: coming | notes: none [/style]

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made by donte

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[Zaine Andrew Harper]

keep me up 'till the sun is high, 'till the birds start calling my name , i'm addicted and i don't know why

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: e8e8e8; width: 388px; padding-top: 2px; padding-bottom: 2px;] It was quite easy for Zaine to ignore somebody if they were annoying him and Chad was no exception to that, no matter who he thought he was. He'd like to keep Maya away from him as much as possible. He didn't know where this protective streak had come from, well he always had it with Kal and Beth to a certain point. But they were family, he was meant to be protective of them, it was expected. But this, this he didn't expect. If it was any other girl he wouldn't care if another guy was hitting on them, he really wouldn't pay much heed to it, within reason at all. However he was quickly finding if any guy even looked at Maya in the wrong way he wanted to jump to her rescue. He had no idea what that was. He surveyed the area behind them when they reached the counter, nodding before realising she wouldn't be able to see his nod as she was busy doing something. "Yeah we won't stay long, just figured I should show my face, y'know." Zaine knew about half of the people here, mostly vaguely, some others he knew by name and a handful he might actually consider friends. Or as close to friends as Zaine got. But then that brought him right round to Maya again, if he ever had friends they weren't people like Maya. But maybe this was a good thing, maybe having a friend like Maya would help him in some way. He didn't know what way but just maybe. "I don't get the obsession with red cups." He noted, nodding over at the little plastic cups on the side. He really, just did not get it. Why did they have to be red? Why plastic? Were people not trusted with glass any more? Maybe not, they were American after all. He was about to grab himself a beer. He was only going to have one this evening, he wasn't planning on staying for long anyway and he didn't exactly want to be drunk around Maya. Not that two or three beers would get him drunk, it would just make him easier to ply with more alcohol and he really did not need Maya helping him home if he got too drunk that would just be embarrassing. But he didn't get a chance to get his refreshing beverage. Instead he was quickly leapt upon by one half of dumb and dumber. At least this guy was a better option than Chad. "Uh, yeah sure man." He said hesitantly before looking over at Maya. "You'll be alright? I'll be two ticks." He promised her, giving her a look in order to let her know if she wanted him to stay then he would. But she was also giving one which told him to go so...he figured she could handle herself and he'd only be on the other side of the room if she needed him. "Two ticks." He reassured her again before being dragged off by the older guy to go see this brother of his. "Hey darling. Your boyfriend left you already?" The older, taller guy said as he slid up next to Maya, his friend moving around the other side of her, blocking her in. "I wouldn't leave you alone if I were him." Chimed in the other as he leered at her. The two guys were clearly not invited to the party but had managed to sneak their way in anyway. There were so many people here that as long as people weren't fighting, nobody really cared. "I'm Brent by the way." The first guy introduced himself as well as sliding a hand around her waist and pulling her closer to him. The second just laughed and sipped on his beer, this was all just a fun game to them and if they got something at the end of it then all the better. [style= font family: arial; font-size: 10.5px; text-align:center; letter-spacing: -1px; color: #000000; font-variant: small-caps; letter-spacing: 3px; padding-bottom: 8px;] tagged: daiisy | outfit: coming | notes: ahhh [/style]

[Maya Avery Scott]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style,background-color; efefef; width: 390px; height: 450px; opacity: 0.8; border-right: #F288AE 15px solid; border-left: #F288AE 15px solid;] can we just forget the morning, like nothing went wrong It happened so fast. One minute she was saying goodbye to Zaine and turning to sip her drink, and the next, she was boxed in by two guys reeking of booze. Maya was startled by their sudden appearance, and almost spilled her juice on the one who called himself "Brent". When he slipped his hand around her waist, she knew that this wasn't good. "Uh...hi." She said, sliding his hand away and trying to back up, only to back into the perpetrator's friend. "And I'm Kevin." The friend said. "How rude of my friend here not to introduce me." Maya tried to move from between the two and broke free, but Brent reached out and grabbed the wrist of her free hand, as she did. "Wait, wait, wait. Where do you think you're going? We just want to talk." That was unlikely. Maya may have usually thought he best of people, but she knew when she was in a situation she should probably get out of. The first thing she did was observe the two who were hassling her. The first, Brent, was and older guy. He looked like he was in college, or maybe just a local, but he was definitely older than most of the people here. He had closely cut dark hair, almost shaved all the way off, and he was dressed in jeans and a U of E blazer, prompting her to believe he was either a senior or perhaps a graduate student. He swaggered around like he owned the place and he pulled her back to him, leaning back on the counter and pulling her close. As he wrapped his arms around her in an uninvited embrace, she cringed. The second, Kevin. This one didn't look like he was an upperclassman, although appearances are never what they seem. His hair was a little longer and fell at his eyes, and he wore faded blue jeans with a Metallica T-Shirt, and a pair of Chuck Taylors. He laughed, then pulled his buddy's arm from around Maya. "Can't you see she doesn't like you, Brent? Let her go." The guy said. Maya began to feel slightly relieved, because even though she didn't know Kevin very well, he seemed to be coming to her rescue. Brent let Maya go. She backed away and clinched her drink, fixing her clothes on her correctly. All she wanted to do now though was get to where Zaine was and stick to him for the rest of the night. Without saying anything, she turned to leave. "Hold it." Kevin said as she walked out of the kitchen toward the common area. The living room was packed with people, and she couldn't see Zaine, but even if she did, she was yanked back into the kitchen anyway by Kevin. The boy pulled her so hard, she spun and spilled her drink on both him and herself. The top of her dress was covered in apple juice, and so was his crotch. Brent let out a wail of laughter, so amused he snorted a few times and slapped his knee. "Ah you look like you've gone and pissed yourself, ahaha!" Kevin growled, but looked back at Maya. She hadn't said one word. Not even that she was sorry. "Well, are you going to apologize?" He asked. Maya stared at him, mortified. She was soaking in apple juice, several of the guys playing beer pong had stopped to stare at the scene, Brent was doubling over with laughter and Kevin was still gripping her wrist. "Well?" The words wouldn't come. For the first time in her life, the words wouldn't come. And even if they had, she had no clue what she would have said, because it wasn't her fault and she wasn't sorry. "I have to go..." She finally said, trying to pull away, but Kevin tightened his grip. "No, I think you need to make this up to me." He said yanking her close to him again. Maya cringed as he put both of his hands around her and on her rear. "Get off of me!" She exclaimed, finally. Several of the beer pong buddies laughed, as well as Brent. "Zaine!" Kevin scoffed. "Ha, Zaine? Who is Zaine? You should be shouting Kevin, if you're gonna yell." [style= font family: arial; font-size: 10px; text-align:center; color: #252525; padding-bottom: 8px;] tagged: Zaine | outfit: heeeere | notes: none [/style]

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made by donte

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[Zaine Andrew Harper]

keep me up 'till the sun is high, 'till the birds start calling my name , i'm addicted and i don't know why

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: e8e8e8; width: 388px; padding-top: 2px; padding-bottom: 2px;] All the while, as Zaine chatted to his friends, he couldn't help but keep thinking about Maya and wondering whether she was alright by herself or not. And he just kept thinking about it,not that he wanted too of course. He was sure she was fine, she was a big girl and able to look after herself maybe some of the girls from the party had gone over to keep her company. There were a few girls here from Dulcinea after all and it was possible that she at least vaguely knew them. People were always a lot more chattier at parties and generally easier to approach, he just hoped she was alright. He was mid conversation with his friends and thinking about getting to Maya when Chad walked up to him again a stupid smirk slapped on his face and the same girl from before still hooked around his arm. Zaine inwardly groaned and ignored him, although he could see him from the corner of his eye, pretending to be more interested in the current conversation than what he actually was. He thought he had gotten rid of him for the rest of the night, why was this guy so damn attached to him all of a sudden? It wasn't like he gave off the 'hey lets be friends' vibe, it was quite the opposite actually. "Hey, you're going to lose that girlfriend of yours if you're not careful." Chad said as he approached the group. Zaine turned to give him a look. "What are you talking about?" It was a struggle for him to hide the irritated tone and he almost didn't manage it but it was still clear that he was annoyed. "Your girl-" But Zaine had already started to walk off back in the direction of the kitchen. His friends, confused by his sudden departure, followed behind him, giving Chad a look before doing so. There were at least four other guys trailing behind him if something was wrong they would have no trouble sorting it out amongst themselves. And apparently there was trouble to be dealt with. He saw it as soon as he stepped around a group of people, a guy pulling Maya close to him when she quite clearly did not want to be there. He heard her call his name and also heard what the guy said. But he was just so angry. He rushed forwards and smacked the guy full force around the back of his head, the other guys had also seen what was going on and jumped in on the action. Kevin had let go of Maya when Zaine attacked him and the scuffle continued between the guys with Maya safely out of the way. Kevin and Brent did not last long before they were thrown out, growling and shouting at Zaine about getting him back or whatever. But he didn't care his focus was on Maya. "Are you okay?" He asked her, as he went over to her, clearly concerned. She probably wasn't okay but as long as she wasn't hurt. He noticed the drink that had been spilt down her and reached behind her to pick up a tea towel and offer it to her. "Here." He said as he passed it to her. "We'll go now, if you want?" [style= font family: arial; font-size: 10.5px; text-align:center; letter-spacing: -1px; color: #000000; font-variant: small-caps; letter-spacing: 3px; padding-bottom: 8px;] tagged: daiisy | outfit: coming | notes: getting closer [/style]

[Maya Avery Scott]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style,background-color; efefef; width: 390px; height: 450px; opacity: 0.8; border-right: #F288AE 15px solid; border-left: #F288AE 15px solid;] can we just forget the morning, like nothing went wrong Things were a blur. Before she really could grasp what was happening, Zaine was there as swift as lightning, hitting the guy in the back of the head. The guy stumbled into the Rugby players that Zaine had been talking to and that had followed him to the kitchen. Two of them grabbed Kevin, and took him to the door. The guy who had been throwing the party gabbed Brent and shoved him out too. Everyone stared, some of them mortified, and some of them confused. "I'm sorry, Harper. They weren't even invited." The host said, walking over to Zaine, who was tending to Maya. "Anyone else here not on the guest list, huh? If not, you had better go now before you get tossed out on your asses as well!" Several of the guys at the beer pong table looked at each other and scoffed, then headed to the door. The room was quiet, save the music that was still playing. "Anyone else? We're good now?" Everyone looked around, shrugging and laughing and some shaking their heads in disdain. "Okay then. Carry on." The party host then nodded to his boys to follow him out of the kitchen and leave Zaine and Maya to themselves. When Zaine asked her if she was okay, she nodded, then shook her head no, then nodded again. Her arms were folded tightly and her heart was beating out of her chest. She had never been treated that way before. Maya could still feel their hands all over her. She felt like the stink of the alcohol had permeated into her clothing. It was terrible. "Can we please?" She asked, her voice cracking a little. She didn't want to be there. Everyone would be staring at her like she did something, she just knew it. It was like there were judging eyes all around her, and if she could just get away from them, she would be happy. The two of them walked to the door of the apartment. "Hey Harper! Where you going? You've only been here like 15 minutes!" Chad called, his girl now nowhere to be found. Maybe she had smartened up and ditched him. [style= font family: arial; font-size: 10px; text-align:center; color: #252525; padding-bottom: 8px;] tagged: Zaine | outfit: heeeere | notes: none [/style]

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made by donte

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[Zaine Andrew Harper]

keep me up 'till the sun is high, 'till the birds start calling my name , i'm addicted and i don't know why

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: e8e8e8; width: 388px; padding-top: 2px; padding-bottom: 2px;] He just nodded half heartedly at the guy when he told him those idiots hadn't been invited. He was't really listening after all, he was busy making sure Maya was okay. And she wasn't, the look on her face told him that. He might have been a people person, but his father had already proved you didn't have to like people in order to be able to read them. His dad probably had all of five friends and even those he didn't really like but he was a psychiatrist, which was an odd job for a guy who could barely tolerate other people. But Zaine was the same as his father in that respect, more than he would care to admit. And he could tell that Maya wasn't happy. Zaine was really regretting bringing her to this party, he should have known better than to leave her alone, he should have dragged her along with him, or told them to come to him if they wanted to meet him. He knew there were going to be idiots here, he just assumed she would have been safe with him and he had failed her tonight. He'd make it up to her, there had to be a way he could make it up to her. But he'd never had to make something up to anybody for, he had never cared enough to do so. But he know he needed to make it better, somehow. He nodded when she asked if they could go, Zaine could only nod his head and put his hands on both her shoulders, guiding her gently towards the door, his stance more protective than it had been before. He shot a glare at anybody who dared look their way and they quickly averted their eyes. They were nearly out when he heard Chad's voice above the music. He groaned and turned to look at him. He supposed he should hear him out, after all he had alerted him to Maya. "Yeah, maybe next time mate." He told him, giving him a nod before leaning over to open the door and guiding Maya out into the hallway. "A taxi is going to take a while, I think we should just walk." He told her as he walked now by her side, his arm around her shoulders. ---------- They walked for a while, Zaine made sure to keep to well lit streets unless they really had to stray from the main paths. He just wanted to get her home as fast as possible and just forget about what happened and hoped she still trusted him. "This way is quicker, come on." He said turning down a back alley which he knew led to a car park which they could then quickly cut through. [style= font family: arial; font-size: 10.5px; text-align:center; letter-spacing: -1px; color: #000000; font-variant: small-caps; letter-spacing: 3px; padding-bottom: 8px;] tagged: daiisy | outfit: coming | notes: ahhh [/style]

[Maya Avery Scott]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style,background-color; efefef; width: 390px; height: 450px; opacity: 0.8; border-right: #F288AE 15px solid; border-left: #F288AE 15px solid;] can we just forget the morning, like nothing went wrong Maya hated the dark. She never ventured into it alone and of course she wasn't alone with Zaine, but somehow tonight felt different. As she led her from the building out into the flood of streetlights that encompassed the apartment parking lot, all she could think about was those two guys coming back. Never in her 15 years of life had she been so humiliated, so violated. She could still smell the alcohol on their breath, his hands on her behind, groping her like she was some kind of object, some kind of toy to be played with. She had never in her life been in a position like that with a boy, much less a guy who looked older than Jer. Even though they weren't supposed to be at the party in the first place, she knew that this would probably be the last party she' go to in along time that wasn't for someones birthday, and even then she was keen on just sending them a card. "Uh Zaine..." She said, as they walked along. She knew that he was doing his best to protect her. He always had. And she never questioned that. But tonight, she felt like something just wasn't right. When they turned down the alleyway, she wanted to stop him, tell him to turn back, but she didn't. They made it to the other side of it quite alright, and into another well lit area. But that wasn't enough to keep them safe. As the reached the center of the parking lot, she could see the sidewalk near the main road that would have taken them downtown if they just walked a couple more blocks. That's where they had a Starbucks and a Taco Bell, and all kinds of public places with lots of people. Maya wasn't really a people person per se, but this was one of the few times where she was not fond of it being just her and Zaine. "Zaine..." She said again quietly as they kept their pace up, but then suddenly, something caught her attention out of the corner of her eye. A dark figure got out of one of the cars and closed the door, and began to approach them. "Hey, look. Its pretty boy." The voice said. It sounded so familiar. Was that...one of them? Another figure got out of the same car on the passenger side. "Yeah that looks like him. And his little girlfriend." Maya froze with a look of terror in her eye. She had felt this was a bad idea, but she had no idea how bad. Two more guys got out of the back seat. "Well, now that you don't have all your little Rugby buddies here, what are you gonna do tough guy?" [style= font family: arial; font-size: 10px; text-align:center; color: #252525; padding-bottom: 8px;] tagged: Zaine | outfit: heeeere | notes: 483 [/style]

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made by donte

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[Zaine Andrew Harper]

keep me up 'till the sun is high, 'till the birds start calling my name , i'm addicted and i don't know why

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: e8e8e8; width: 388px; padding-top: 2px; padding-bottom: 2px;] He hadn't really thought when he had turned down the alley, his aim was to get her home and as quickly as possible. He thought nothing of darting down a dark alleyway at night, he would do it at home so why wouldn't he do it here? Obviously he wasn't quite used to the way things worked in America and how different it could be. If his cousins had been with him they probably would have scolded him for his rushed and misguided decision and forced him to not go down the unlit pathway. But they weren't here and he was the one making the decisions, apparently the bad ones. And yet, they emerged from the alleyway in one piece and untroubled. However...it wouldn't be that way for much longer. Zaine looked over at her when she said his name for the second time he was going to say something reassuring, something to put her at ease and make her feel a little better. They were in the car park and at least he knew the area around them, well, vaguely knew the area. But he didn't get the chance to do that because he also saw what Maya had. The car, the larger male figure and all of a sudden he had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. He immediately felt trapped and worse, Maya was with him. And he knew who it was too and what was worse...they knew who he was. This wasn't going to end well, he knew it, he just had that feeling without them even saying anything. Scared wasn't even the word for how he felt right now but he needed to keep his cool, for Maya. He swallowed hard but his throat had gone dry, he said nothing to them and instead grabbed Maya's wrist, hard, and pulled her around, spinning her and walking back in the other direction. "Come on." He said, his voice steely as he walked quickly, keeping his body behind her. Obviously this move was met with protest from the guys behind them. "Hey where you going, pretty boy?" "You're not sticking around?" "We want to get to know your girl a little better." And then he felt a hand on his shoulder. Zaine turned around immediately and threw a punch with it, his fist swinging and colliding with the guys face. The other boys were a couple of meters behind the first, who he recognised as Brent, giving him a bit of time to get Maya to safety, or at least tell her where to go. "Listen to me, go back to the alley and hide behind anything you can find, bins, anything. And do not come out until I tell you to. Now go. Go!" He kept his voice low for the first part of the instruction before letting go of her wrist and pushing her forwards lightly, encouraging her to move quicker, or even better, run. He watched her for a moment, making sure he followed his orders before turning back around to face the guys who had now closed in greatly. He knew they weren't going to want to talk this through. One went to go after Maya and Zaine immediately blocked him, grabbing hold of his shirt and shoving him back. The other guys shouted as the two scuffled but it was white noise to him, he didn't care he just started throwing a punch with his free hand, holding onto the guys shirt with the other. And then came the kick to the stomach, causing him to hesitate in his repeated slugging. And then, another and another. And then more fists and more sets of feet. He tried to fight back, he did but very quickly he was over powered he could only assume that all four of them were on him, well at least if they were concentrating on him then they weren't going after Maya. And then he hit the ground. [style= font family: arial; font-size: 10.5px; text-align:center; letter-spacing: -1px; color: #000000; font-variant: small-caps; letter-spacing: 3px; padding-bottom: 8px;] tagged: daiisy | outfit: coming | notes: ugh zaine [/style]

[Maya Avery Scott]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style,background-color; efefef; width: 390px; height: 450px; opacity: 0.8; border-right: #F288AE 15px solid; border-left: #F288AE 15px solid;] can we just forget the morning, like nothing went wrong It was as quick as lighting. Zaine was throwing a punch, and then as soon as he had finished connecting his fist to the guys face, he was pushing her away and telling her to go hide. Maya wanted to obey, and get herself away from the fray, but it was hard to just leave him there. Her feet wouldn't move at first, but when the other three came for Zaine, she backed away slowly, then turned to run back for the alleyway. She felt one of them heading after her, but Zaine quickly stopped that from happening, and she didn't know how, because he was poised to overtake her. Somehow in the adrenaline rush, Zaine had become superhuman for a few seconds, yanking the boy back and taking him on, while the other two helped to take Zaine down. Maya stopped just short of the alleyway and turned around, but remembered what he'd said. He wanted her to hide. At this point, it was all she could do, because she certainly couldn't take down 4 grown men. Panicking, she hid behind one of the dumpsters and pulled out her phone, desperately trying to figure out who she could call. Jer and Santana, neither of them had cars so if she told them, how would they even get here to help? She didn't really know anyone else to call except maybe his roommate but... ...that's it. She would call Nick. Her hands unsteady and shaking, her body tensing with every blow and kick that they delivered to Zaine, she called Nick's phone, but it went straight to voice mail. "Nick, please! Hurry! Zaine is being attacked and I can't...I don't know what to do!" She said into the phone, watching the carnage take place. "We're about two blocks from the Clairmont Apartments. I...I don't know how we got here because we took a cab-- that's-- that's all I know! Oh my gosh, hurry!" She pressed end, then proceeded to text Nick as a precaution. "Please call me, emergency. They're going to kill him" The three guys pounded on Zaine, kicking him repeatedly in the ribs and the side, one of them jumping and stomping his knee. Brent, who had been the one to take the first blow was also the first one to stop when he saw the bloody mess Zaine had become. His mouth was bloody because of the punch, but he still took time time to spit on Zaine as his three companions ceased their attack. "You two. Go get the car ready. I will go find the girl," Brent said, heading off across the parking lot. The two lackey's nodded and headed back to the car, starting it up. The laughed loudly into the night, excited about the hunt. They were predators to the fullest extent. The thought of finding high school kids and beating them down apparently exited them. Kevin simply stood over Zaine, this time taking the time to couch down and look Zaine in the eye. "You see kid, this is what happens when you think you can play with the big boys. You get stomped." He laughed then looked up to see how far Brent had gone. "If you just would have let us have our way at the party, we would have just had a little innocent fun with your little girlfriend for shits and giggles. Now, we're going to have a different kind of fun with her when we find her." When Maya finished her text, she heard the scuffling stop. A part of her wanted to jump out and go to Zaine, but something else much stronger than that part of her told her not to move. More specifically, it told her to slowly slide herself between the crates sitting next to the dumpster and the wall. She did so quickly, pressing her volume button down to put her phone on silent. Someone was coming. Brent found his way to the alleyway, still rubbing his jaw. "Come out come out where ever you are..." he sang, looking to see if maybe she was hiding in the shadows. Maya stayed crouched, her hand over her mouth. She knew that the closer he got, the more likely she was to scream. She could feel her heart beating as if it was going to fall right our of her chest. The rhythmic drumming had gotten so loud she could hear it in her head, throbbing and pounding in her ears. It was as if her heart was going to come right out of her chest with every footstep. She counted them One. Two. Three. They closed in on her. "Haha. GOTCHA!" Brent exclaimed, yanking at the top of a cardboard box. It was empty. Maya squeezed her eyes closed tight as she heard him only a few feet away from her searching, praying he'd just give up, then suddenly silence. Kevin stood back up when he saw Brent come out of the alleyway. "You find her?" he asked licking his lips, ready to take his prize. "She made a run for it." Brent said, walking over to him shaking his head. "I checked the alleyway, so she must have run back to the apartments. "Well, we can't go back there, can we idiot." Kevin said with a defeated sigh. He turned his attention back to Zaine. "Well I guess your girlfriend got lucky this time. This time." He nodded to Bret to head to the car but not without one more kick to the hip for Zaine. "Don't ever let us catch you out again. You got that?" Kevin proceeded to fix his collar before giving Zaine a smile. "You have a good night now." [style= font family: arial; font-size: 10px; text-align:center; color: #252525; padding-bottom: 8px;] tagged: Zaine | outfit: heeeere | notes: -- [/style]

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made by donte

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[Zaine Andrew Harper]

keep me up 'till the sun is high, 'till the birds start calling my name , i'm addicted and i don't know why

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: e8e8e8; width: 388px; padding-top: 2px; padding-bottom: 2px;] It seemed to go on forever, as soon as he hit the ground he completely lost track of time. He'd stopped fighting at that point, stopped trying to get them off, they would stop on their own accord, or at least he hoped they would. Instead he tried to curl up, throwing his arms over his head in order to protect his skull just in case they decided that would be a good target. Unfortunately, despite him pulling his knees up to protect his stomach, it left his ribs open to attack. And attack they did. He couldn't count how many times he felt a boot smack into his ribs, he was sure he heard a crack or two over the noise of scuffling shoes and the thudding of curled fists against his body. And then a pain shot through his knee, he felt the joint shift and he cried out for the first time. He'd kept quiet throughout most of the ordeal, only grunting every so often but that hurt. And just as the pain in his knee subsided a little (it still throbbed but at least the shooting pain had stopped) another hard kick was aimed at him, this time his hip. That got another cry of pain from him, his hands flying from his head to try and grab at his hip. That didn't feel right either. Letting go of his face was a mistake. The force of a boot snapped his head backwards, blood spurting from his nose at the contact. And then it all seemed to slow down and stop. He saw spots and not much else, blood gushing out of his nose, over his chin and down his neck. For a good long moment, he honestly thought he was dead, he couldn't see anything, couldn't hear anything and for a minute, in his dazed state, he wasn't even in pain. He definitely thought he was having and out of body experience until the pain shot straight back through him, causing him to wince. He couldn't even cry, or yell, he just wanted to lay there and wish that his brain would just turn off, to shut down so that he could deal with the pain. Somebody was crouching down next to him, or sitting, or something, he didn't know what vision he had was marred and not at all helped by the darkness of the sky. He couldn't see who it was but the tone of voice gave it away. Zaine didn't hear much of what he said, he no longer cared about what he said to him, his body hurt too much to really listen to anything else. And then thoughts of Maya entered his head, had he mentioned her? Had he been talking about her? Had they found her? If this had all been for nothing then he was more useless than he thought. There wasn't much he could do other than lay there and listen out for clues, the sound of a car, laughing and then the sound of footsteps approaching. He sighed with relief inwardly when Brent said something about her running off. He closed his eyes, tired of straining to keep them open, content that if they were going to kill him, at least Maya was safe and away from these brutes. He didn't expect them to just leave it at that, he expected more, although he didn't exactly see the kick to the hip coming. Zaine cried out again, the already dislocated joint popping further out of place with the force. He couldn't help whimper a little, he didn't give a crap if it gave them satisfaction, the pain was too much for him to handle quietly. The sound of tyres screeching on the asphalt was his sign that they had gone. But now what could he do other than lay there and hope someone found him? He prepared himself for the possibility that Maya might not come back, she might be too scared to say anything. This could be it, he wasn't sure if he had any internal injuries but if he did he was surely screwed if he was left out here all night. And if he was left out here all night he didn't think he'd be alive by the morning, not at this rate. His nose was still bleeding heavily and blood was coming out of his mouth but he didn't know why. Every inch of his body hurt and he dared not even try to move, he didn't even know if he could. But he didn't want to die here. He really didn't. [style= font family: arial; font-size: 10.5px; text-align:center; letter-spacing: -1px; color: #000000; font-variant: small-caps; letter-spacing: 3px; padding-bottom: 8px;] tagged: daiisy | outfit: coming | notes: ): [/style]

[Maya Avery Scott]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style,background-color; efefef; width: 390px; height: 450px; opacity: 0.8; border-right: #F288AE 15px solid; border-left: #F288AE 15px solid;] can we just forget the morning, like nothing went wrong Once she heard the car peel away, Maya looked up from her hiding space. She had been sitting with her hand over her mouth and her head between her legs, trying not to scream or hyperventilate the whole time she heard their voices. But them pulling off signaled her to crawl out from her hiding place, her knees and dresses soiled from the murky mud puddle she had to crawl over to hide and to get out. She stood with her boots soaked and her hands hurting from glass and other foreign object in the concrete, but it didn't deter her from her mission. She had to get to Zaine at any cost. Maya ran as fast as she could out of the alleyway and into the parking lot, sprinting full speed to Zaine's crumpled, bleeding body on the asphalt. She could tell from far away that he was not in good shape, but she had no idea the extent of his injuries until she dropped to her knees next to him and examined his face. She gasped, bringing her hand to her mouth in horror. He was bleeding, profusely, from his nose and mouth and his eye was already welling shut. There was cuts and bruises all over his arms and legs, and his leg lay in a weird position, completely unnatural to her. It could have been broken or dislocated at least. She was no doctor, and she had no idea what it meant. All she could do was pull out her phone again and cry, dialing 911 through the warm, salty tears cascading over her cheeks. She tried not to sob too loud, afraid that if anyone was around they would hear her and come back after her. The darkness surrounded them on all sides, save the one streetlight that illuminated Zaine's body. After she called 911, she lay out on the asphalt on her stomach next to Zaine, her face right next to his, looking into his eyes. They had laid like this once before, after he had come home from visiting Beth. It was simple, and sweet and they didn't even have to touch. She mimicked that day perfectly, laying there with her cheek to the ground, gently rubbing the hair that was sticking to his forehead in sweat and blood from his face. Her fingers were stained red, but she didn't care. She continued to gently rub his cheek with her thumb. "Hey, Zainey. Hey. Its going to be okay. You're going to be okay." Was all she could repeat. She couldn't tell if her face was in a smile. She tried to smile, at least, but the tears made it difficult to counterfeit the emotion of happiness or hope. It was there though. A little twinge of faith that Zaine wouldn't die here in front of her. She believed in miracles and things of that nature, and she would lose every ounce of faith she had if something bad happened to him right here, right now. She felt it inside of her, tearing her apart, wanting to come out. She cared so much about him, more than she had anyone else, and if this was love, she had no clue. "You're gonna be okay. I promise. I won't leave you, I'll stay right here, okay?" Sobs attacked her chest, but she didn't show it on her face. Then after a few minutes, she heard the refreshing sound of sirens in the distance, police cars and an ambulance were only a few blocks away. His breathing was becoming shallow. He sputtered for breath. If his ribs were broken, she prayed that didn't mean a punctured lung. No. He'd be fine. He would live. He... ...he'd be okay. Wouldn't he? [style= font family: arial; font-size: 10px; text-align:center; color: #252525; padding-bottom: 8px;] tagged: Zaine | outfit: heeeere | notes: -- [/style]

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made by donte

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