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CHAPTER FOUR written by janie and ashe the party — part two
Suddenly the party grew quiet as one voice rang loudly across the room. "Nobody invited a criminal to this fucking party!" Mateo's voice shouted. His hands were clenched into his skin and his drink was long forgotten, a spilled mess on the floor as his eyes angrily met the eyes of Damien.
"Last time I checked, anybody could come." Damien shot back, crossing their arms with a smirk. "Don't let your emotions get the best of you, just tryna have a good time."
"Like how you had a good time when you lit the gym on fire?" Mateo's voice cracked slightly as he mentioned his friend, his fingernails digging into the skin of his palm. He struggled to restrain himself as he watched Damien chuckle dryly.
The 'criminal' began to walk towards Mateo. "Last time I checked, he's the one who broke into the gymnasium to practice and that's also illegal." They walked close enough to mutter something that only Mateo could hear, "I guess I wasn't the only criminal that night." As they tried to walk away, Mateo grabbed their arm and shoved them back.
"Say that again. I fucking dare you." Mateo's voice was laced with venom as he began to slowly lose his restraint. The comment had clearly hit a nerve and he was struggling to resist the urge to start a fight.
"You heard it the first time. Why don't you go and ask your friend yourself—" Damien rarely had time to finish their sentence before Mateo's fist came in contact with the side of their face. It only took a few seconds for Damien to jump back at Mateo.
"Fight!" James yelled, immediately rushing into the living room, a large crowd of people followed, shoving people wherever they could to get a better view. Cora flew back as some random guy separated her from her friends. She desperately tried to push people back to get to them, but the large crowd acted as a barrier and she only got pushed away further.
Jay's head snapped up from where he was talking with Magnolia. "Does that sound like Mateo to you?" He tried his best to see through the large crowd, but his vision was entirely blocked by the mass of bodies that were rushing to the sight.
"That definitely sounded like him." Magnolia nodded. She stood up from the couch and stretched slightly. "Every single time. We've got to stop taking him places."
Damien managed to throw themself on top of Mateo, slamming their fists into his side as Mateo desperately fought back. A cleverly placed punch by Mateo sent Damien flying off of him, giving them both enough time to stand up and square off once again.
The shouting grew louder and louder, but Damien's words were loud and clear to Mateo. "I know you're scared of me," they taunted. "But come on, I thought you could fight better than this."
