Zeb finally smiled at Blondie's words—he was happy with anything, as long as Frank embarrassed himself in front of Winter!Blondie hurried up to Frank right then, exclaiming, "Yo, Mr. Lawrence! Why are you drinking juice alone there? Us dudes should be drinking liquor!"Frank shook his head. "I'll pass. I'm supposed to be driving."Zeb guessed Blondie's plan just then and quickly joined them. "Hey, I'm driving too, and I'm drinking. We could just call for a designated driver if we have to—it's disrespectful to Winter if you don't drink on her birthday, right?"Frank studied the two boys who were suddenly so enthusiastic.It would be strange if they were not up to something bad.As for Winter, she did not drink, but her brother Fred often did—she was convinced that men liked to drink.Moreover, she did not want to see Frank sitting there alone and reasoned, "Why don't you have a drink too, Mr. Lawrence? I'd think you're being abused sitting here by yourself. Don't worry—I'll get
Aria hurried to join them, never one to miss out on the fun. "Come on, Blondie. Chug!" She cheered and joined the others as they roared, "Chug! Chug! Chug!" She was now prejudiced against Frank for bringing a dollar store gift, not to mention that she was not going to get humiliated anyway. What was the harm in fanning the flames when she was not getting burned?"Go on, Blondie!" Zeb joined in while leveling a glare at Blondie, while the latter was staring at Frank in turn.The man was simply lounging in his seat, no blush on his face and his breathing perfectly normal, as if the twentyish bottles of lager had no effect on him.In fact, he was even smiling. "You can stop if you can't keep up."If anything, the boy was impressive enough to chug twentyish bottles in under half an hour. It was just a pity his opponent had to be Frank, who simply directed his vigor to secrete the alcohol in his bloodstream along with his sweat.Blondie was left gritting his teeth. "This is nothing
Even as Aria wiped herself, she kept ranting. "Honestly, what's Frank Lawrence's deal? He had to do that stupid drinking game with Blondie… The way I see it, he did it on purpose!"Jean, who was helping her clean herself, was left speechless. "Mr. Lawrence didn't start it. If there's anyone to blame, it won't be him.""Bullshit. He's totally one of them," Aria huffed.Jean shook her head but decided not to argue. "Just wear my jacket for now," Jean said, taking it off.Aria wore it after wiping herself, since her white dress was totally ruined.Thankfully, she wore leggings as well, so she would not be exposing herself too much.On the other hand, Jean had been wearing a black camisole under her jacket, which bared her perfect figure utterly.Blondie was waiting outside the ladies' room, standing by the shared sinks.He had certainly humiliated himself completely today.Naturally, he was also curious as to how huge a stomach Frank had, holding in all that beer.If anything,
Aria rolled her eyes. "I'm fine. You managed to make it in time, but you're still paying for my dress.""Don't worry, I'll definitely pay," Blondie chirped fawningly.When they returned to their private room, Winter went up and asked, "What took you guys so long, Jean?"Blondie appeared exceedingly smug as he proclaimed, "There was this bastard messing with Aria. I had to straighten him out."Jean sighed but nodded."What? You were in a fight?" Winter asked in concern."Don't worry, Winter—it's no big deal." Blondie patted his chest confidently. "It's just some thug. I'll deal with him if he comes again."Winter did not pry since Blondie sounded confident enough, though Jean remained a little on edge.Still, after the mess before, the friends played around for a while before preparing to leave.That was when someone kicked open the door, and Crew Cut strode in.Everyone was immediately left dumbstruck, the music in the private karaoke room suddenly stopping, leaving it eerily
Kait chuckled coolly. "You're apologizing? Who needs cops if apologies mean a thing?""S-So, what you're saying is…" Aria murmured tentatively. Kait rubbed his chin, studying Aria as he said, "Well, how about this? Hang out with me and my friends over some drinks, and we can put the past behind us.""What?" Aria was shocked—it went without saying what drinking with those men meant!Blondie cried, "No—"Crew Cut smashed his head with his baseball bat right then. "Shut up! The adults are talking!"Blondie was bleeding from the head and dropped to the floor, clutching his head."Stop!" Winter snapped, getting to her feet.It was her birthday party, and her classmates came to celebrate it with her.She must stand up for them when they were getting hurt!"Winter." Jean promptly tugged at her—those gangsters were clearly no pushovers, and Winter's tough attitude would only make things worse.Crew Cut's eyes lit up as soon as he saw her—as the room was dark, he did not notice the
Zeb nodded. "Mr. Wooper, I see. Pleasure."The other students were breathing a sigh of relief as they watched Zeb stand up for them. He was a real rich kid who has experience with such occasions, after all—with him around, this matter might just be resolved.Nonetheless, Kait was glaring coldly at Zeb. "Who the fuck are you?""I'm Zeb Larkin," Zeb introduced himself confidently. "My friend here drew first blood, but it's all just a misunderstanding. How about this? I'll foot your friend's medical bill and add another 10 grand on top of that as a bonus. That's a good deal, right?"The other students nodded repeatedly.Just look at the man's generosity—if it were them, they would be taking the deal in a heartbeat!However, Kait was never interested in money...Smack!He abruptly raised his hand, slapping Zeb across the face viciously and resoundingly!Zeb was stunned that he was suddenly hit—Kait would hit him even after he revealed himself?!Naturally, the other students were
Winter's eyes welled up with tears of grief. However, there was nothing she or her friends could do with Kait threatening them and beating them up.As they looked on, he even started to reach for Winter's clothes, and Winter had to hold on to her jacket with her only free hand. "Stop!"Her classmates were all silent, staying well away… Suddenly, Jean picked up a bottle from the table and threw it at Kait!Clang!The bottle shattered on Kait's head, leaving him bleeding all over."Fuck! I've been too nice!" Kait was incensed when he felt the blood streaming down his scalp and pointed at Jean. "You boys can have her!"His goons were at once thrilled and started to charge at Jean."That's enough," Frank bellowed, his voice resounding across the room as he rose to his feet.As everyone turned toward him at once, Frank glared sharply at Kait and growled, "Let her go, and get out if you want to live.""Shit, another fucker trying to mess with me?" Kait gritted his teeth in rage.
Kait whipped out his knife and pressed it against Winter's neck, all while glaring warily at Frank.Witness stiffened, afraid to move an inch—to think that a poor student like her would be caught in a hostage situation!Frank narrowed his eyes in turn and stopped, while Kait was smiling again. "Hmph. So you care a lot about this doll, kid?""I hate threats the most," Frank growled, glowering murderously. "Let her go, and I'll let you live.""Shit, who do you think you're fooling?" Kait snorted, deciding that Frank was no mobster given his getup.Hell, the man would not really kill even if he was at his mercy!Naturally, he kept threatening Frank. "You're good, aren't you? But if you want this chick to live, you'll have to sacrifice your hand."Frank clenched his knuckles, and Kait promptly pressed his knife closer to Winter's neck.Winter had to stretch her neck to avoid it, afraid to move as she could already feel the coldness of the blade."No tricks, boy. And be quick, or I