Breathe

twenty

ASHER'S POV

When the drunk teenagers and loud music had started to become too annoying, I had retreated to a bench in their backyard, right next to the door. I had watched them leave the house together, stumbling over the grass since Conan had his arm around Kiri.

I had been angry then, yes, but I was filled with rage when Conan lit Kiri's cigarette for him.

I groaned as he landed an extraordinarily hard punch against my arms, managing to slip through my blockade and hit my cheek in the process. Suddenly he was gone, and I dared to open my eyes again, only to see that he was being pulled off of me by two other guys.

Not wasting another second, I scrambled to my feet, bolting forward to pick up where we had been interrupted. Conan wouldn't get away that easily.

But someone suddenly appeared behind me, wrapping their arms around my upper body and holding me back. I struggled against their grip, only stopping when another guy appeared in front of me, blocking my view.

"Asher, stop," Kiri hissed behind me when I accidentally kicked my elbow into his ribcage while trying to get out of his grip. I stopped struggling and looked back at him instead.

"Let go. I'm calm."

"No, you're fucking crazy," he said, his trembling voice filled with anger. I rolled my eyes, yet didn't try to shrug his arms off of me again.

"What the fuck, guys," someone suddenly said, jumping out of the crowd that had gathered around us. "What the actual fuck. Asher?"

He shoved the guy in front of me aside, an expression of disbelief and anger on his face. "Asher, you dumbass. You can't just pick fights on my fucking party!"

I grit my teeth, nodding. If Kiri hadn't still had his arms wrapped around me, I would raise mine in defeat. "Won't happen again."

The guy, Damian, a former classmate of mine, sighed before turning around to Conan, who was being held back by two guys I didn't know. "And who the fuck are you?"

"Fuck you," Conan hissed, trying to get out of the guy's grip again but failing.

"Yeah, no, fuck you. Picking fights at my own fucking party. You're lucky my parents don't know about this, or I would be calling the police right now," Damian replied, crossing his arms. "Get your ass out of here, now."

"Move, Conan," one of the guys behind him said, pushing him forward. Conan glared back at him, then at Damian and me, before finally leaving the property with the two guys who had held him back.

"You should go too," Damian said, turning back to me. "Kinda killed the vibe. Also, you have some nasty bruises forming there."

Kiri finally let go of me, yet didn't leave my side.

"Sure. Sorry, Dam," I said, but he just shrugged.

"Kinda glad it was you. You're the most reasonable here," he replied. I turned around and made my way through the crowd, not meeting the curious stares of the others.

Once I was back out on the street, I felt someone wrap their hand around my arm, holding me back.

"Where are you going?" Kiri asked, still having that angry and shocked expression on his face.

"Home?"

"I'll come with you."

I stopped, blinking at him. "Why."

"Because you have more colors in your face right now than I do in my closet," he replied, frustration entering his voice. "It's settled. Just let me."