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Shane drove the car in silence. Nicky was sitting next to him, chatting and playing DJ. Claudia and Mark were cuddled in the back seat talking and laughing about the days events. The foursome was on the way to Pleasure Island to dance the night away. Kori and Kian were with Bryan and Anna in the car ahead of them. Shane tried to not watch Claudia kissing Mark, laughing as he whispered in her ear. But his eyes kept drifting off the road to Claudia. She looked beautiful tonight and she was with Mark. Shane tried to hide his feelings for Claudia but every day it got harder and harder. Shane was even more tormented seeing Bryan and Anna together. He had shared an embrace with Anna that hit something deep within him. She was gaining more and more power over him every day they spent together. Claudia had his heart but Anna had his soul.
"What do you mean you're leaving?" Claudia pulled away from Mark.
"I miss my family." Mark said in his defense.
"You only have two weeks left before we all leave." Claudia said as she looked out the window. She was hurt, she had given him something that she would never get back and then he said he was leaving.
"Claudia, when the lads and I get back, we go right into the studio in Sweden. Don't you miss your family?" Mark tried holding her hand.
"Sure I do but I didn't just have sex with my family! How could you leave me right after we..." Claudia stopped, realizing they weren't alone. She looked at Shane and Nicky as they both sat in silence, trying to ignore the awkward situation.
"We'll talk about this later, Claudia... I still have two days before I leave." Mark said, trying to soothe her. Claudia sat in silence holding Mark's hand. She was hurt and she was pissed. She had given Mark her virginity and now he was leaving her. She was prepared to say good-bye in two weeks, not two days. She felt betrayed as she continued looking out the window.
The music was loud, the dance floor was full of beautiful young people
and the group was having a good time. Kian and Kori, in spite of their
"unattached" status, were moving together rather well on the dance floor.
Nicky found a partner and was getting to know her on the dance floor. Bryan
and Anna were in their own world, sitting in a corner, holding each other.
Mark tried to appease Claudia the best he could but soon left her alone in
the booth when he went to the bar for drinks.
"Are you okay?" Shane asked, sitting next to Claudia.
"Fine." she said quickly, not looking at him.
"I can see that. I mean, your boyfriend is over there having a good time but you're alone, looking rather angry." Shane smiled at Claudia. She tried not to look at him, she couldn't look at his smile, but she couldn't look at Mark who was having a conversation with a girl at the bar.
"Not hurt, just betrayed." Claudia finally said as she looked at Shane.
"Because he is leaving early? Mark is a family man, he really misses his family. For him to be staying as long as he has...well, that just shows how much he cares for you." Shane couldn't believe that he was defending Mark. Here was his chance with Claudia, to pick up the pieces of her heart and to tell her how he felt but instead he was encouraging Claudia not to be mad at Mark.
"I can understand that, Shane. I miss my family..."
"But you didn't have sex with them, I got that....we all got that." Shane once again smiled at Claudia as she was beginning to melt. Mark never made her melt. The more time Claudia spent with Mark, the higher her walls became. Mark never tried to break them down or find out what caused them, he didn't notice they were there.. But Shane. What was it that he did to her? In the short amount of time they spent together, Shane was slowly bringing her out of her shell. That was what scared her the most.
"I guess I did sort of yell that out." She said laughing, "Nothing like keeping my sex life a secret."
"Well, actually the lads and I already knew. Mark told us." Shane said turning red. Shane hated listening to Mark give the lads the details of the encounter...he couldn't help but think that Claudia was being cheated. Or maybe he was just jealous.
"Great, nice to know that Mark can't keep a secret." Claudia said once again staring at Mark.
"We should just go back to your place...this club is just too crowded."
Bryan said as he kissed Anna's neck.
"Bryan McFadden, is that all I am to you? A sex object? Is that all this relationship is to you?" Anna asked as she pushed Bryan away.
"No! Anna, it's not, really..I just thought..."
"Excuses, excuses. Whatever you say McFadden. What makes you think I'm not just with you for the sex?" Anna smiled at Bryan and planted her lips on his.
"That's it, we're out of here. There's no way you're going to kiss me like that here. We'd get arrested if I did what that makes me want to do to you." Bryan pulled Anna out of the booth and practically carried her towards the entrance.
"Wait, let me find Claud first. I have to tell her we're leaving." She kissed Bryan one more time. "Just meet me at the door." Anna made her way through the crowd to where Claudia and Shane were sitting.
"Sorry to break this party up, but Bry and I have other things to attend to and we don't want to embarrass the rest of you. We're going home. Shane, think you can keep Claudia occupied?"
Shane was still lost in what Anna had said about "other things to attend to." He didn't exactly hear what she asked him, just mumbled a quick "yeah, sure."
"Earth to Filan! Get my friend on the dance floor and show her a good time or else." Anna pushed Claudia closer to Shane.
"Or else, huh? Sounds good to me. Let's go Claudia." Shane grabbed Claudia's hand and led her out to the dance floor.
Anna had a quick thought of how good Shane and Claudia looked together. They suited each other. Shane would be great for her. Not that Anna disliked Mark, but Shane seemed to bring out the good qualities in Claudia- he could help her to be a stronger person. She needed someone like him in her life. In the same thought, Anna also thought about someone like Shane in her life. Or specifically Shane in her life. They had become close in the last week and Anna was beginning to see him in a different light....she quickly pushed away her thoughts and made her way back to Bryan.
Kori was having a blast tonight. She and Kian seemed to be coexisting
peacefully for once. He had gone to the bar for a drink when a frat type guy
asked her to dance. Kori agreed, seeing as the line to the counter was
halfway to the exit. Ki wouldn't be back for a while yet. One dance turned
into three. By the last one, the guy was getting a little grabby. Kori
could see Kian coming back, she motioned him over. "Kian, glad to see you
back. Is that mine?" But Kian just shoved the drinks at her.
"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing mate? Let go of her!" Kian pulled the guy away from Kori. Kori was shoved to the side, looking up just to see Kian yelling at the man.
"Hey, you jerk, I was just showing the lady a good time." He hollered back into Kian's face. Kori began to sense trouble brewing between the two and scanned the room for the guys and Anna and Claudia. She was searching for help.
"Well, she was having a fine time with me!" Kian pushed the guy.
"And she'll have a better time at home with me!" The guy yelled back and took a swing at Kian.
"What do you think you're doing? Stop it!" Kori inched her way between the two. She faced Kian, staring him down. His familiar blue gaze was no longer filled with amusement but rage and concern.
"Did he hurt you?" Kian asked looking directly at Kori. He pulled her closer to him.
"I'm fine...we were just talking." Kori said. "I was just getting ready to tell him to get lost when you came up."
"She said she was fine. But you won't be in a minute. " The guy pushed Kori out of the way. She lost her balance and fell to the ground. Kian didn't miss a moment. He attacked the guy, getting him to the ground.
"Oh really. Looks like you're the one on the ground buddy. Leave my girl alone." He punctuated each of his comments with a kick to the guy's side.
Bryan could hear Kian yelling from the door. He turned around and saw the commotion. He grabbed Anna's hand and they pushed their way back through the crowd to the fight. Nicky came up behind Kian, only to be thrown into Bryan by one of the guys friends.
"Stop it!" Kori stood up and began pulling at Kian. The frat boy made a swing for Kian but missed as his fist glanced across Kori's face. Kian threw the guy down to the ground again and began hitting him with more force then before. Anna finally made her way through the crowd to Kori, helping her back up.
"What the hell..." Claudia fought her way to Anna and Kori while Shane went to the guys. Kian was pushed into Claudia, knocking her into Shane. A third guy rushed towards Shane. Shane ducked, unintentionally leaving Claudia open to the blow. The guy knocked Claudia to the ground. The onlookers circled around her and then began to trample her in the mad rush of the fight.
"Anna!" Kori yelled as she grabbed her arm. "Where is Claudia?"
"She was just here.." Anna was stopped by a girl who pushed her into Kori in the excitement. Mark finally made his way through the riot from the bar and saw Claudia laying on the ground. Shane was finally able to free himself from his attacker. He came up behind Mark and rushed to Claudia. Bryan finally got the second guy on the ground, unconscious as Kian was still dealing with the first guy. Nicky got Kian off the guy when Kori ran up to them.
"I cannot believe you. How could you be so stupid?" She grabbed Kian by the arm.
"We have to get Claudia to the hospital!" Anna yelled to Bryan.
"Are you okay?" Bryan turned Anna to face him. Her face was bruised and her hands were dripping with blood. "My God! Anna, are you..."
"No, this is Claudia' s blood! We have to get her to the hospital." Anna pointed to Shane carrying Claudia. Mark pushed the crowd out of the way, the rest of the group following them.
"Kian, you're hurt." Kori saw blood gushing from his forehead.
"It's just a scratch, babe." Kian said smiling, "But you're fine, right?"
"Of course I'm fine, I was fine before. What were you thinking, Kian Egan? You could have gotten yourself as well as the rest of us killed." Kori just couldn't understand why men were so territorial. She punched him in the arm. "You are such an idiot."
"Ouch, I thought I was protecting you. Where are we going?" Kian rubbed his arm.
"Well, thanks to your chivalry Claudia is on her way to the hospital." Kori finally reached the door.
"What? What happened? I didn't even see.."
"Come on, we're going to the hospital. Shane and Mark are already on their way." Bryan and Anna caught up to them and tossed Kori a towel. They fought the crowd outside to their car. Nicky was praising their efforts and Kori held a towel to Kian's forehead.
"Great party, guys. You really know how to show a girl a good time." Anna said as they piled in, trying to navigate the crush of cars in the parking lot.
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