No Angels

Chapter 22

I hopped off the stairs and approached Kian.
"I promise you, it was all him." I whispered. Kian did nothing but stare at Harry. I didn't know what to do, so I just took Kian's hand in mine. But he flinched.
"Come here, Harry." He said, finally.
"Uh, I'm sorry, man. It won't happen again." Harry muttered, got up and walked down the stairs. He was about to go through to the living room but Kian put a hand on his shoulder and gripped it.
"That's right, it won't happen again because I'm going to fucking kill you." Kian said. I'd never seen him so serious, so furious.
"You think this was just me? Hey, Kian, I'm sorry but your little girlfriend here kissed back. Pretty good, too." Harry stated.
"What the hell?!" I exclaimed.
"Do you think I'm blind? She pushed you away?!" Kian asked, and he gave Harry a shove. I grabbed his arm. Harry was a dick, but the last thing I wanted to do was draw attention to the situation.
"Only because she was worried someone would see the slag she really is." Harry glared at me. I stepped forward. Harry's eyes narrowed and in that exact moment I was about to slap him shitless. But when I reached forward, Harry was able to duck because Kian pulled me back. Then he swung with perfect accuracy at Harry's face. Harry fell to the floor clutching his nose.
"What are you doing, Kian?!" I shouted. People started coming through from the living room and kitchen. I felt my cheeks beginning to flush.
"That asshole just kissed you!" He yelled. I backed away slightly, but then put a hand on Kian's forearm, to try and calm him down.
"Yeah, but you didn't need to do that, I-" I started but Kian cut in. I was about to say "I don't need you fighting my battles for me" but what Kian said next changed my mind.
"Did you actually kiss him back? Are you defending him?!" He shouted.
"No, no! How can you even say that! I'm not some sort of slut! Look, just get out, Kian! Just get out!" Now it was my time to yell. Kian said nothing, but shook his head and moved through the slowly growing crowd of people. The front door slammed behind him. I began the run up the stairs when I heard Izzy and Nina calling my name. Then I saw Oscar rush to get through the door too. I turned back to the top of the stairs and continued running. I didn't stop till I got to Sophie's bedroom on the third floor. I didn't want to think about the fact that I'd basically just broken up with Kian and shattered every little perfect piece of time is shared with him. I didn't want to give in to the salty tears that were stinging my eyes. Instead I'd tried to distract myself. I went through my Instagram. People had already posted pictures of the party and people downing all kinds of alcohol. Speaking of alcohol, there were empty bottles all around Sophie's room. It seemed today and tonight marked the slipping of her usually glittering halo. I continued to scroll through picture after picture until I remembered something. My head begged my heart not to look at it but I couldn't help it. I touched my profile button and then touched my most recent picture. There on the screen was Kian and I, dancing, happy as could be. I quickly wiped a slowly rolling tear from my cheek and set my phone on Sophie's bed, screen down. Izzy and Nina burst in the room, Sophie between them, giggling. They dragged Sophie in and set her down beside me, her back against the bed. She turned to me.
"Why are you crying, Ava, my boo? It's a party!" She giggled again and lazily put an arm on my shoulder.
"Sophie, shut up a minute!" Izzy said. She wasn't usually so brash. Sophie pouted.
"What even happened?" Nina demanded.
"Uh, well, I guess it was me that Harry liked. Because, I mean, he told me, and then he kissed me. Oh, and then Kian saw and punched Harry and we argued and I told him to leave." I said. And that's when I started sobbing. Jesus, how embarrassing. I usually never broadcast any serious feelings to my friends, and I never ever sobbed.
"Harry kissed you?!" Sophie perked up suddenly.
"Yeah." I managed to say through my blubbing. Nina kneeled down and held my face in her hands, using her thumbs to sweep away tears.
"What did you argue about, Ava?" Nina asked. Her voice rung with a comforting and familiar tone, like a mother's.
"First it was about the fact he punched him, because I didn't want to cause a scene. But then he actually accused me of defending Harry. And maybe that I actually kissed Harry back. Which, by the way I did not." I stated.
"And then you told him to leave, yes?" Nina tucked my hair behind my ear. I nodded timidly.
"But why did you have a problem for Kian sticking up for you?" Nina asked.
"Because I can fight my own battles. He's not like my security guard." I said.
"Ava, you spend your time fighting your own and everybody else's battles. You're so lucky to have a boy care so much about you. Thats the reason he got so angry. Because he really and truly cared." Nina said. I'd never really considered that. I guess I was a little unfair.
"I know but he literally thought that I actually would kiss another boy! How am I supposed to forgive that?" It was then I realised that Sophie had flopped down the sleep on the floor. I moved over a little, and Izzy placed a blanket from Sophie's bed on to her as Sophie snored gently.
"Well, normally girls don't tell their boyfriends off for defending them. He was probably so surprised at how you reacted. It was a tad odd." Nina smiled. I shrugged. I knew she was right.
"I'm not saying you should give in, or go grovelling for your relationship. But there's nothing wrong with talking to him and trying to explain things, yeah?" Nina said. I smiled gratefully at her.
"But then why was Harry texting Nina?" Izzy questioned.
"It could only be because he was trying to get to Ava through me. Maybe he thought I'd tell you how nice he was or whatever. Idiot." Nina rolled her eyes.
"We better start telling people to clear out." Izzy said. Nina gave me a hand up and we started heading out the room, but I stopped.
"Wait! My brother went after Kian." I told them. Kian would definitely not be too keen on making up if my brother gave me a black eye.
"Shit. He's going to murder him. Izzy, Ava and I will go downstairs, try calling Oscar." Nina said. Just as we were leaving Sophie's room, I heard my brothers ringtone. Izzy took Oscar's phone out of her pocket.
"Sorry, Oscar gave it to me just before he ran away." Izzy apologised.
"Damn. Well, we can't do anything. We just need to get people out and start clearing up." Nina said and so we headed downstairs. From the top of the last flight of stairs Nina did her announcement.
"Okay, get out, people. Shoo. Oh, and thanks for coming!" Nina waved as people started shuffling out the door. The shitty dub step music was still blaring. I checked to see if I could see Kian or Oscar among them. But nothing.
"It's not your party, you can't tell us when to leave!" Someone called.
"Yeah, well, sorry sweetie, but your host is wasted and asleep. So, get your ass out, please!" Nina shouted back. She really was very intimidating so it did not take a long time for everyone to disappear. Just as the last lot of people were clearing out, I saw someone pushing between them. Sophie's aunt.
"What the hell? Sophie! Sophie Clarke, your parents are going to kill you!" Her aunt shouted. Nina gave me a look and we rushed down the steps.
"Hi, Mrs. Clarke." I said.
"Oh, hello, girls. Now, can you please tell me where my niece is?"
"Um, she's in her room. She, uh, passed out." Nina said.
"Her parents will be livid. Just livid. She said twenty guests and no alcohol." Sophie's aunt shook her head.
"We can help clean up, Mrs. Clarke?" I suggested.
"As kind as that is, and as much as this needs clearing, I can't have you do that. It's quarter to twelve, you girls get yourselves home."
Just as Sophie's aunt finished her sentence, my brother appeared in the front door.
"I'm sorry, Mrs Clarke, I'll be with you in a minute." I said politely, grabbed Oscar's arm and pulled him outside into the front garden, then I closed the front door behind us.
"Where the hell did you go?!" I hissed.
"You ran upstairs crying, what was I supposed to do?!" Oscar exclaimed.
"I don't know, find out what was happening, come to see if I was okay? I'm not your child, Oscar, you don't need to protect me."
"He clearly hurt you! You're my little sister!"
"I'm fifteen, you're seventeen. I'm hardly a 'little' sister! He didn't even hurt me, not really. We had an argument, okay? Urgh, just tell me what happened!
"I chased after him and asked him what'd he'd done, and then he said 'ask your sister' and then, well, then, I probably gave him a black eye." Oscar scratched the back of his head.
"Why do you just have to assume things? You're such an idiot, Oscar!"
"You're such an ungrateful little brat!" He shouted.
"I didn't ask for you to go get him! I don't need you, and it's none of your business!" I stormed back inside.
"Woah, what's happening?" Nina asked.
"Can we just go back to yours, please?" I asked.
"Yeah, okay." Nina went into the living room and returned with her cardigan and my jacket.
"Thank you, Nina." I said, and I didn't just mean because of the coats. Nina smiled.
"It's okay. Mrs. Clarke, please tell Sophie to call us in the morning." Nina said.
"I will if she's allowed to keep her phone." Sophie's aunt huffed.