Ring of Love

Drink Water

Ally's pov:

I follow closely behind Axel and Claire as they push through the crowd of students that stood between Dylan and the three of us. Once we got closer, I realized that where we were heading was exactly where Zoe and Dylan were dancing before Axel and I went outside.

My heart races as I try to look over Axel's shoulder, hoping to see Zoe's familiar face. Instead, I see Dylan, who was being dragged away from the guy who he must have punched, because the guy was bleeding from his nose and mouth, and one of his eyes was already starting to bruise.

The sight of his blood made me wince, but I still forced myself to look around the crowd of students in hope of finding Zoe. Once we were almost where Dylan was being held back by two guys I don't quite recognize, I spot Zoe standing against the wall in the back of the room behind everyone else, her eyes wide and a hand over her chest.

I decide to break away from Claire and Axel without them realizing to push my way to Zoe.

"Are you alright?" I worriedly ask, scanning her body up and down for any bruising. Students were nearly toppling over one another to watch the fight, so seeing that she wasn't harmed made me feel a bit better.

"Y-Yeah." She stutters, her eyes trained on the guy that Dylan had punched. His friends from the frat had managed to find a kitchen towel to catch the blood leaving his nose and mouth, and the sight of it made my stomach churn.

I think I'm going to be sick.

"What happened?" I ask, turning back towards Zoe while trying to get the image of his blood out of my head. Zoe was breathing pretty heavily, and still a bit drunk like me.

I give her a few seconds to catch her breath before hearing what happened. She seemed fidgety and nervous, which was a strange sight to see from someone like Zoe.

"I don't quite remember how it started. We were dancing, and then suddenly, I was being pulled away to dance with that frat boy. He was being all touchy, and Dylan saw that I didn't want to dance with him, so he tried to push him away. He wouldn't move, and the next thing I know, Dylan's fist connected with his face." Her eyes begin to water, and I find myself throwing my arms around Zoe and pulling her into a hug.

"He wouldn't stop touching me, even when I told him to stop." I feel the tears on my shoulder before I see them, and it only makes me pull Zoe closer.

I wish I would have been there. As glad as I am that Dylan was there to stop him before anything worse happened, I still wish I would have been there to save her myself.

My eyes drift to the frat boy as he's wiping the blood off his face, and only in my dreams could I wish to do as much damage as Dylan had already done.

I then glance over at Dylan, who seemed to be completely unharmed. Axel looked to be shouting something at him, which made Dylan roll his eyes. I watch as some other guys from the frat approach Dylan to talk, and I am guessing that he is being asked to leave.

But from seeing the smirk on Dylan's face from across the room, I can only assume that this isn't his first rodeo.

I stand there, embracing Zoe for what must have been only a few seconds before my name was called from across the room. I ignore the curious stares from some of the students around us as I look up to see Axel's eyes on me.

He waves us over with his hand, with Claire and Dylan beside him. I remove one of my arms around Zoe and keep the other around her shoulder so that she was able to lean into me as we made our way to the three of them.

Whether he saw the tear streaks on Zoe's face or not, he didn't say anything as moved his hand to signal us to walk in front of him, and behind Claire and Dylan who had already started making their way out the front door. Claire turns back to look at us, but I shake my head, letting her know that I'll tell her later.