"I could ask you the same question,buddy," I said, putting a sarcastic emphasis on the word
I seethed and gritted my teeth. "Elizabeth, is he bothering you?"
Kyler put up a hand as I took a step closer to them. "She's fine, dude. What's your problem? I'm just having a chat with this lovely lady here," he said. He offered a cheeky smile as he put his hand on Elizabeth’s lower back. She flinched. "Am I bothering you, beautiful?" His voice was low and seductive. My face felt hot. I was furious as I watched him touch her.
"N-no, everything's fine, Nathan. We're just t-talking," she stammered, her eyes wide like a deer caught headlights. Her words said one thing, but her face said something entirely different.
She squirmed in her seat, uncomfortably. Elizabeth liked her personal space, and I knew she hated when people didn’t respect her boundaries. But she was still learning how to stick up for herself.
"Listen, man, she doesn't want to talk to you," I growled.
Kyler threw his head back and laughed obnoxiously. Elizabeth cringed, setting her drink on the table. She looked like she wanted to disappear, tears forming in the corners of her eyes, her face redder than a tomato. People were starting to stare, which only made it worse.
"Every chick wants to talk to me, pal," Kyler bragged.
This wasn't going to be pretty. I just hoped Elizabeth would forgive me for what I was about to do.
"Okay, that's enough," I hissed, reaching out and yanking Kyler off of the couch by the collar of his shirt.
His arms flailed, knocking Elizabeth's drink into her lap. She gasped and put her face in her hands. I was seeing red, and there was no turning back now.
"What the fuck, dude?" Kyler howled.
Thankfully, he was pretty wasted and I had an edge on him. Elizabeth leaped up backed up against the wall, her eyes wide with shock and humiliation.
Still holding Kyler by the collar, I shoved him against the wall. "You need to back the hell off," I said, my voice low and furious. "Or we're going to have a problem."
"We already have problems, asshole!" Kyler bellowed. “And you’re fucking dead.”
The entire room went silent, and all eyes were on us. Even over the booming music in the background, I could hear people gasping and whispering about us.
"Is he seriously starting shit with Kyler?"
"This is going to be good.”
Kyler managed to struggle free from my grip as he took a swing at me. I dodged it, easily. He was pretty intoxicated and moving slowly. But, I knew that if hecouldland a punch, it would hurt. I wanted to resolve this without violence, but that wasn’t going to happen. I was about to fight the most powerful guy in the room over a girl who didn't even really want to be here in the first place.
I clocked him hard and he fell backward. His eyes were wild for a second before he caught his bearings. "Big mistake," he slurred, rubbing his cheek where I had struck him. "Huge mistake, Nathan. You’re going down.”
He steadied himself, stood up straighter, and prepared to fight back. I could hear Tanner in the distance, trying to stop me. Elizabeth looked mortified, her face still in her hands, her entire body shaking in fear. I mouthedI got thisand cocked my fists. .
10
Elizabeth
Nathan yankedKyler off the couch and my drink tumbled into my lap, staining my pants with dark, pungent liquor.
I gasped, shakily getting up from the couch and backing against the wall behind me. Everyone turned to see what was happening and I was right in the middle of it. Basically, my worst nightmare. My face flushed in humiliation and I did my best not to cry. I shook my head in embarrassment.
Kyler was an ass, sure, and he was definitely coming on a bit too strong, but why did Nathan have to intervene? I could have handled the situation myself. I mean, I don't know if Kyler would have listened to reason. But, I could have at least tried. Even with my eyes closed and my hands cupped over my ears, I heard them scuffling. I could also hear the amused gasps from the crowd, punctuating every blow. It was an all-out brawl. Someone was going to end up in the hospital. This was a disaster, and it was all because of me. Everyone would blame me for it. Just like that test back in high school. Maybe it was a mistake to let Nathan back into my life after all.
Immediately, I wanted to take back the entire night. McKenzie always begged me to go to parties and I always said no, because I hated crowds and loud music and the drunken, foolish drama. However, I had some newfound confidence thanks to spending more time with Nathan, and I was trying to be more outgoing as of late. I decided to be be brave and get out of my comfort zone and now, I silently vowed to never let myself be dragged into a social situation ever again. This whole night was becoming a hard lesson in standing up for myself. I felt a panic attack starting, the alcohol doing nothing to ease my nerves.
Kyler broke free of Nathan's grip swung at him, but Nathan swiftly dodged and readied his own punch. Kyler was significantly more intoxicated than Nathan. Thanks to that, Nathan had a clear upper hand against the wasted neanderthal.
As much as I hated all of this, in the back of my mind, I silently wanted Nathan to clobber him. Kyler hadn’t crossed any linesyet, but I couldn't stand his gigantic ego or defensive he got when someone challenged him. Kyler was lucky he was hot because his personality sucked. He reminded me of every jerk I’d gone to high school with, but with no hope of ever growing out of it.
As Nathan landed another punch, Kyler flailed backward, and tripped over the table. His hand flew to his jaw, rubbing the red spot, furious. Nathan cocked his fist again and Kyle stumbled, unsteady on his feet.
