My Best Friend's Brother

No Thank You.

"Oh my God, Sarah... she went to get us drinks!"

He pushed his palm into his forehead, "Stay here, I will go get her."

"No! I'm coming, too!" I grabbed his arm and slid between him and the door.

I didn't realize how tight of a space I had just stolen actually was. I could feel his breath.

"Fine." He grabbed my hand and pulled me back out into the crowd. We both looked around for Sarah. I heard a group of people laughing, and then I saw her. She was flirting with Jett Michaels.

"She is over there." I let go of his hand and stand still.

He looked over to her and the group of kids laughing, "Well, I should have known. She ditched the friend for some guy. Isn't there like a bows over bros rule or something?"

I had a small giggle at his comment, "Kind of. Anyways, she is fine. I'm fine, I will just go hang out over there." I pointed without even looking.

Liam laughed, "Over there?," I set my eyes where I pointed my finger, there was a couple making out completely unaware of anyone else, "I didn't realize you were into that kind of thing, Amelia."

I cut my eyes and sigh, "Third wheel is better than being ditched."

I begin walking to the couple glued together by their tongues, but he grabs my wrist, "You don't have to be either. You can hang out with me."

I tilt my chin down and run my eyebrows together, "Are you sure your reputation would survive being seen with a dweeb like me?"

He looks around, "Pretty sure it's too late."

No one is actually paying attention to us, and I knew he didn't expect them to at a party this size. I was tempted to accept the offer but then I saw Sarah. I am like her only true friend, and she only gave me one rule. Stay away from Liam.

"No thank you."

"Cool, wait- what?" He looked shocked, he probably isn't used to be rejected.

"Look, thank you for doing all that whatever it was back there, but I am Sarah's friend, and there is this thing about this rule and I just can't."

"Liam!" A few guys playing beer pong on the porch starting calling for him.

I knew it was only a matter of seconds before people started seeing us, "See you around, Liam."

Walking away was the easy part, finding somewhere to sit- not so much. Everyone seemed to be having the time of their life and I was just floating.

"Hey." Finally, a voice I recognized.

"Heath, I didn't know you were here," I smile and sit down beside him. He offers me his lit cigarette, "No thanks."

He shrugs, "Fine with me. What's on your mind?"

I chuckle at the thought of what's on my mind, "Nothing important, honestly wondering how long it would take to get home if I started walking right now."

"How did you get here?"

I rolled my eyes at the thought, "Liam."

I could sense his reaction without the words, "White? Wait, was this like a date or something?"

"No!," I felt my voice squeak, "No, not a date. He invited me.. technically I came with Sarah.. he just drove us..."

He raised one eyebrow, "Then why did he threaten to knock my brothers teeth out?"

My jaw dropped, "Your brother?"

Heath laughed for a half of a second, "One of them. I have four."

"I didn't know that," I crossed my right left over my left and bobbed it up and down as it dangled back and forth, "Your brother is kind of a jerk."

"Oh I have no doubt he deserved his teeth knocked, I just didn't expect it to be over you."

"Wow, you expected it to be some hot girl, didn't you?"

Another eye roll and a sigh, "That's not what I meant. I just didn't think you and Liam were so close. When I heard that he had threatened Leo, I figured it was over one of his hoes." He shrugged off the half apology.

I let his words sink in, "We aren't close at all. I am just best friends with his sister, Your brother wouldn't take no for an answer, so Liam made him... he would have done that for anyone else, not just me."

Heath pointed his finger in the direction of the group playing beer pong, "You may be new around here, but I'm not. I see girls get hit on, grabbed, taken into rooms... I have never seen Liam White defend any of them. Until tonight, and to add to it.. he has been watching you talk to me for the past ten minutes."

I was starting to let Heath's statement analyze in my brain when Sarah spotted me and called me over to her and Jett.

"That's my que," I stood up and awkwardly waved, "Thanks for the talk."

Heath nodded and finished off his cigarette as I walked over to Sarah.

"So what the hell happened? Someone told me there was a fight! Did you see it?" Sarah was already drunk, and hanging all over Jett Michaels.

"It wasn't a fight. Just a misunderstanding. Are you ready to go home?"

Sarah slapped my arm, "No, silly. The party is just now starting! SHOTS!"

Jett pulled her down onto his lap and stuck his tongue in her mouth. I was not about to sit here and watch them make out right in front of my face. I contemplated walking home, but instead I went inside to find plain water.

The Brown's house was beautiful. Grey toned walls, hardwood flooring, full length mirrors, ceiling to floor windows, and skylights. The kitchen was easy to sift through. I finally found a bottle of water, and started to chug it.

"Damn. If that was beer, you would have fallen over by now."

I wipe my mouth to look decent, "What are you doing in here?"

Liam smiles and grabs a bottle of water as well, "I could ask you the same thing."

"These aren't really my thing. I prefer quite, low key, and fewer people as my scenery."

"You shouldn't hang out with him."

"Excuse me?"

He sat his bottle down on the counter and moved closer to me, "Heath, you shouldn't hang out with him."

"Why is that?"

He shook his head, "Its a long story for another time, but I will tell you that his whole family is trouble. His brothers are mixed in with some bad stuff and bad people. In fact, the youngest one was Mr.Handsy tonight."

"I heard."

He looked up and met eyes with me, "Don't tell Sarah about this."

"About what?"

"This," he pointed his finger back and forth between us, "She freaks when I hang out with her friends. She doesn't keep them around very long," he ran his hand through his hair, "And I think I want her to keep you around."