COMBUST

KAI’S POV

I hate Wren.

It’s as simple as that.

His ego is ballistic and he has the pride of a lion. That was the best way to describe him, a lion.

I’m at a party with my friends, in the house of a guy I’ve never spoken to. I don’t care about the party and I didn’t care that my friends were coming, not until I heard Wren would too.

I downed a shot as Drew and Mickey laughed about something I was not listening to. But they left soon after, looking for girls to get with.

I would be doing that too but my eyes are on Wren, trying to think up a new way to make him hate me. A way to be the reason he wouldn’t be able to come out and laugh with people. A way to make him know he can’t get away from my unnerving hate for him.

Wren stayed at the corner of the room, with his usual group of friends. They were talking—probably about an old magazine from the 90s. It was a party with music bouncing on the walls but I really wouldn’t be surprised if that was what they talked about.

It was Wren, with two other guys and one girl. Her fingers traced his cup and they were both laughing. The fact that he had the ability to just laugh was very triggering.

If only I could walk over there, wrap my hands around his neck and squeeze the joy out of his teeth. Squeeze him out of everything and make him suffer beneath me.

But it wasn’t that easy here. I get close, his friends notice me and they retaliate. Not the first time something like that would happen. And starting another fight wouldn’t do much.

It was time to start the long game. I creeped towards them slowly, dissolving into the people around me. I stood with my back to them as I picked a random girl to sway with.

The black haired guy on the dance floor could be anyone—not me.

“No, not that,” Wren laughed. I was finally close enough. The girl’s voice came next, slow, “Then… what.” I could feel how it drew.

“Things…” he started, his voice was thick, he cleared his throat. “Like what?” she asked.

“I’ve just been stressed.” He’s been stressed? Well whatever was stressing was going to come in second to me. The girl’s voice became lower, I almost couldn’t hear her, “I can help you with that.”

But I heard nothing from him, nothing until the sound of two lips meeting each other. I spun the girl I was dancing with around, I saw her lips on his.

I danced further away with the girl, before I would get noticed. Wren getting it on? Interesting. For the five years I’ve known him, I’ve never seen him kiss anyone.

I’ve never heard him talk about anything that wasn’t just outright boring, and him being in this party? Oh, I was going to get things to draw out of him from this.

She kept on kissing, he pulled away and left in the direction of the bathroom. I didn’t know if he told her he was going there or not, but she stood there alone adjusting her skirt.

Not just adjusting her skirt, she looked around as she brought a small paper out from under her skirt. She opened it and poured something powdery into the drink, I was assuming was Wren’s.

Wren came out of the bathroom, with his hands rubbing around his trousers. The girl I was dancing with—long gone. The girl he was talking to raised the drink and he took it.

I wasn’t close enough to hear what exactly they were saying but he took the drink and they kept talking. And talking and talking, like it wasn’t a party.

His head started slumping and she started touching his neck, she leaned into him and said something more.

She started walking away with him and his body was leaning on hers. She was able to climb up the stairs and I was able to follow behind.

It was quieter upstairs but it still had a bunch of people, most kissing each other, another girl had her tits out across the hallway, which was grabbed by another.

That was so hot, and I was distracted a second too long, because this girl I’m following takes Wren into one of the rooms and shuts the door.

I walked to the front of the room and twisted the handle down, it was locked. Now that wasn’t right. I pushed the handle down even more and pushed the door backwards, enough to make the person inside notice. But there was no response.

So I started banging the door, a loud thud, again, again and again till she said, “Occupied.”

I still bang the door, enough for the people in the hallways to turn their heads to me. “Someone’s inside,” she shouted.

“Open up,” I said. Then I kept banging, till the door opened, just a little hole she used her eye to look through. I pushed the door wide open, she was in a bra, still in her skirt and Wren was on the bed, shirtless.

“What do you want?” she glared. I looked down on her, she was actually really short so I wonder how she got the audacity to drug Wren. If anyone was going to drug him, it was going to be me.

“What do you want?” I asked. Wren grumbles on the bed as he turned to the side. “Msomi,” is what I could hear him say.

“That’s not your business,” she hissed. Bad mistake, missy. I pulled her closer and tugged on her skirt, the exact spot I saw her take the paper from.

“Don’t—“ she started but I already shoved her to the ground. “”So…” I started. “What were you doing?”

Her eyes still tried to pierce me like I didn’t just catch her. She was panting as she pushed herself back up. She didn’t say anything as she grabbed her shirt and brushed my shoulder.

“Mmm,” Wren called. “Flora.”

I walked closer to wasted Wren.

“Flora?”

“Mmm,” he breathed, then turned over.

“Max,” he said.

I bent forward, “Who’s Max?”

His eyes weren’t closed, just close to being closed. “Max?” his pitch was back up then he grabbed my face.

And for the second time, I asked, “Who’s Max?” His mouth opened, then he frowned, “You’re not Max.”

“Who?” he asked. Then his mouth opened wider, “Kai!” But I don’t remember us ever being friendly.

Whatever drug she gave him, had some… effect. He wrapped his hand over my neck, “You’re really annoying.”

I didn’t say anything to that, I needed to know where I stood, to know where I’d push next. Sober Wren was good at ignoring me, till it was time to get on my nerves. But this Wren, is a shortcut to Wren. I could finally crack his code.

“But, you’re also so very hot.” Never in my twenty years of life would I have thought to hear that. Never in twenty years of my life would I have imagined his lips moving to mine next. Interesting.

“Mmm,” he moaned as his tongue trailed over my lips. Then he fell back on the bed and whispered, “Kai.”

Very, very Interesting.