To Love or Not To Love

Chapter 12: Party Festivities

   The victory part is hosted at one of the footballer's house named Fred. It's bigger than mine with four stories and tons of outdoor activities. He has a pool, tennis court, a garden, basketball court, and his own football field. I decided to drag myself to the party to prove to myself that Daniel can't affect me.
   "Let's party!" Rachel yells and runs off with Shawn. Bri rolls her eyes and walks off with James. There's loud music blaring throughout the whole property as I walk into his big living room.  People are everywhere and I can't see much of anything because there's just a bunch of bodies. Some girls decided to show off their bodies too much while I'm just in a Rocky jersey and leggings. A big rough hand grabs my hand and I turn. Daniel? But when I turn around I see Nate. His dirty blonde hair is a little spiked and he's wearing a rocky sweatshirt with jeans. Of course, he's always boyishly cute.
   "Anna, I saw on that gossip page about Daniel and his girlfriend. I knew he was slimy, I'm going to go kill him!" Nate yells as he clenches his jaws. His blue eyes are now dark blue with light blue flecks in them. I reach out and grab is wrist.
   "Nate! No! It's not a big deal, just leave him."  He looks at me and calms down. His biceps and fists unclench.
   "You should stay away from him Anna Banana." Nate continues to lecture me while I suddenly spot Daniel and the cheerleader. They're on the couch surrounded by more people. Daniel rests his hand on her thigh. I feel hurt and I feel like showing him I don't need him. When Daniel makes eye contact with me, his smile falls. I look away. Hopefully he gets this message. I grab Nate's head and bring his lips to mine. He doesn't move his lips because he's too surprised. Then he kisses me back and I open my eyes. Why is he actually kissing me? I should end this kiss, but now his arms are wrapped around my waist. I try and pull back as I can feel Daniel's eyes burning into my head. A hand wraps around my waist and pulls me out of Nate's grasp. It's Daniel and before I know what's happening, his fist connects to Nate's jaw. There's a loud crunch and then Daniel gets shoved back. A crowd has now formed around the two. I run and drag Daniel off of Nate.
   "Stop!" I yell over all of the cheers. They're both breathing heavy. I can see a dark circle already forming around Nate's left eye.
   "Daniel, stay here." I then go pick Nate off the floor and lead him into the big kitchen. No one notices us because they're too busy making out, talking, or drinking.
  When Nate's eye is tended to, I go and walk out to the noisy living room again. Daniel is standing with his angry gaze set on me. I can see anger and confusion in his stare. This is not good. Right as I reach him, there's a big slap. Daniel is on the ground holding his red cheek. Above him is Bri and in her hand is a tortilla.
   "You have a girlfriend! I saw it on that gossip page" Bri yells. All eyes are on us.
   "Stay away from Anna or I'm going to slap you with a tortilla!" She gets ready to slap him again until James wraps his arms around her and picks her up. He walks off with her and tries to calm her down. Daniel stands up in his t-shirt and jeans. I hate him for making me want him and how attractive he is. He looks a bit shocked and rubs his cheek.
   "Anna I-" he gets interrupted when there's another slap to his other cheek. My eyes go wide as I see Rachel with her sandal.
   "Bri and I saw the post of you and that turd!" Rachel screams and everyone's attention is back on us. She raises her sandal to beat him again and then Shawn picks her off of the ground and throws her over his shoulder.
   "Rachel! Calm down!" They walk off as Rachel keeps yelling at Daniel. I feel like laughing but I also want to slap Daniel as well. He looks annoyed and begins to talk as people go back to what they were doing.
   "Can we talk somewhere private?" I want to say no but I know we need to do this.
   "Fine," I reply curtly. We make our way out of the house and go to a big garden. Hedges surround us and flowers are everywhere. There's a fountain in the middle and I go to sit on it. The moon is up and shining in the dark blue sky. It's a bit cold considering it's the end of September . Daniel comes and sits down next to me.
   "Talk," I say feeling impatient.
   "Why the heck would you kiss Nate!" He's angry again. My blood boils as I turn towards him and punch in in the shoulder. It was a mistake now that my hand hurts from his solid shoulder.
   "You can't be mad about that! You freaking have a girlfriend. But you've been flirting and 'fighting for me'! I knew you would turn out to be a pig. I don't care anymore, so you shouldn't either since you're with someone," I finish angrily.
   "She's not my girlfriend! Mandy is my ex, who I admit, still likes me. But I promise you I don't like her. What I would like to know is why you kissed Nate!" Daniel stands up and paces.
    "Because I was mad at you!" I confess loudly. "I saw you with your hand on her thigh and flirting with her. For some reason I felt sick so I wanted to show you I didn't need you. Then Nate was just in front of me so I kissed him. However, you have-" My rant is interrupted by his lips on mine. He caresses my face and kisses me hungrily. My lips stupidly move with his as he softly moans. After a bit he pulls his warm mouth off of mine.
   "You like me," Daniel states with a huge smile on his face. He's got both dimples and his pearly white teeth are showing.
   "No, I hate you." With that, I turn and run away. He can't mess with my head like this. I need to stay focused. Daniel clearly didn't think I would go for some reason but that doesn't explain the girl that much. Does he have unresolved feelings her? I can't care about him but for some reason I can't resist him. Which is exactly why I should stay away from Daniel, but my heart says something else.