Luke's P.O.V.
I dashed out of Penny's dorm and down the hall, fuming. Of all the nights for Calum to royally fuck up, why did it have to be tonight? I bounded downstairs, dizzy with anger and feeling like a complete asshole for leaving Penny upstairs alone. God, she was incredible...fuck Calum, fuck him. For someone so liked by the student body, he was giving me every reason to hate him tonight. The cool night air cleared my head a little bit, but I still couldn't shake my anger as I dialed Ashton's number again to let him know I was on my way. He sounded chirpy and panicked on the other end, and my stomach dropped, as I could hear the peals of sirens in the background. Just after I hung up, I heard light footsteps behind me and turned in surprise to see Penny jogging my way. Despite the seriousness of the situation, I couldn't help but feel a little pride in the way her hair was still a mess, her shirt askew as she hastily buttoned it up over her bare chest. Fucking beautiful, I thought. She fell into step beside me and I kept walking fast, hoping she'd get the hint and go back to her room.
"What are you doing?" I asked her when she didn't turn around. "I don't want you to get in trouble."
She was breathing fast and folded her arms across her chest. "I don't want you to get in trouble either," she said as we crossed the quad. "You need an alibi."
"You're going to tell the cops we were fucking?" I laughed, but I appreciated her gesture.
She swatted me playfully, then got serious again. "No, but if they try and bust you, I can confirm you were with me."
I nodded and took her hand. "Thanks," I said. I was almost positive by tomorrow we'd be back to our usual love-hate kind of thing (though how different things would be after having been together, I couldn't predict), but she appeared to be on my side for tonight. A mere five minutes later, we arrived at my house, and it looked eerie, almost like a haunted house holding the ghost of a party. There was toilet paper strewn everywhere and beer cans littered the yard, amongst other bits of trash and litter, but no music boomed from the speakers, and staticky transmissions from police officers' walkie-talkies filled the air instead of the chatter of students. The last of the partygoers were dispersing, some being pushed into cop cars—shit—and others stumbling down the sidewalk. I could make out Calum, Ashton, Michael, and some of the other guys on the porch, and Penny and I quickly made our way up the cul-de-sac. "Stay here," I told her once we reached the bottom of the Alpha Sig hill.
"No fucking way," she replied without missing a beat, and I smiled; she was always so feisty. I gave in and we ascended the steps as casually as possible, my pinky hooked in her index finger.
"Good evening, officer," I said politely when we reached the top, shielding my eyes from the flashing blue and red lights of the many cars parked nearby. I tried not to look at my solemn, very wasted frat brothers as I spoke with the campus policeman, who looked like he was in anything but a forgiving mood tonight. He wasn't the usual guy that came by whenever we were a little too loud; if it had been Officer Tobin with the beer gut, we'd be alright; he'd probably just let us off with a warning and we'd let him have a six pack and he'd be off, but this guy seemed much tougher.
The officer—Officer Wight—looked me up and down, before his eyes drifted over to Penny, and then down to my hand in hers. "Do you belong to this house as well?"
"Yes, I'm the head of it. I apologize for my house's behav—"
"I need you to come with me."
Ashton looked wildly from Calum to me and back again, and the rest of the boys fidgeted nervously on the porch as I tried to buy time. "Sir, I sincerely apologize for my house's behavior tonight. I had no idea—"
