The House of Angels

Friends?

"You should stop underestimating yourself, Moon." He said in a serious tone.

He was still holding her hand, now squeezing it in a comforting way. His blue eyes so intent and mezmerizing she couldn't stop herself from talking.

"It's not like I have many chances. I have no family, no money, nobody cares about me. I doubt I will ever be able to attend college, I'll end up working as a waitress all my life. Or maybe a drug addict like my father. Or marry an awful man who'll ruin my life and my body and end up a middle-aged housewife with four children and too much wrinkles and fat." She couldn't stop imagining the worst scenarios and couldn't stop babbling about it for a moment.

"Hey, hey, hey, baby relax!" Ant whispered in a soothing way, his hand stroking her head gently.

"Just breathe... f**k, I didn't mean to upset you..." he chuckled.

"I'm sorry. I think I'm just anxious about the future." Moon smiled sleepishly, his serious demeanor intimidating her.

"Come here..." he smiled tenderly, before pulling her for a hug. A hug that Moon gladly accepted and welcomed.

"What are you doing?" A deep, cold voice echoed behind them.

Josh and Daniel had just come back in the villa and, following the opened doors and the music, they'd reached the living room so now they were standing right behind them.

"So, what were you doing?" Josh repeated glaring at Ant.

"I was just comforting her, man. You two should calm down, you know..." Ant frowned in confusion. He had no idea what was going on. He was expecting this from Daniel, not from Josh. He'd always been so rational and quiet.

Ant wasn't stupid, he'd noticed how Josh looked at Moon, how his eyes lit up when listening to her, how he'd casually drop his arm around her shoulders, fill her glass or help her with anything she needed. But he'd always knew him as a cool guy, not the kind who gets jealous over an innocent hug. And, yes, he knew he was a pervert but Josh knew very well he would never hit on a girl one of his friends was interested in.

"He's not talking about that. He's talking about that." Daniel intervened in a venomous tone, pointing at the cocaine with his forefinger.

Moon had been hoping to avoid all this. She had planned to have some fun with Ant and go back to the pool before Josh and Daniel came back from their little errand, but she'd lost track of the time, talking to Ant, her mind not exactly lucid.

"It's Farah's. We were killing time waiting for you guys..." Ant shrugged, making other stripes for the four of them.

"Moon..." Daniel's voice was dangerously low and strained as he looked at her with a clenched jaw.

"Ehm... I took just a little... nothing-"

"Moon! f**k!" Daniel kicked the door, almost breaking it. He knew he shouldn't have left her with Ant, but he could never have imagined he'd go so far. Not to mention Moon. She was a little reckless, stupid girl. And he felt stupid as well, for she developed an interest in that s**t because of him. Mrs Solonov was right, he managed to ruin everything and everyone around him.

"Hey, man! Farah's gonna kill me!" Ant jumped on his feet to go check on the door, when Daniel charged toward him, ready to punch him with all his might. It happened suddenly, he reacted without thinking, his rage rising by the seconds. Yes, he was angry at himself for showing her that s**t, but he didn't serve it to her on a silver plate like that selfless asshole. And he had to vent his anger somehow, and someone had to pay for that, so his first instinct was to hurt him. Fortunately Josh, who knew him very well, was quick to act, launching himself on him with all his weight, almost landing on the floor.

"What the f**k is going on?!" Ant was clueless and exasperated at this point.

Were they upset 'cause they'd gone to buy other stuff and he had a little backup? Nah, they weren't like that. So what? If it wasn't about Moon, nor about Farah's stock, what was all that about?

"You, son of a b***h! We've worked so hard to keep her away from that s**t and you give it to her the moment we turn our backs... what the f**k is wrong with you, you dickhead?!" Daniel kept yelling and squirming despite Josh's attempts to calm him down.

"Calm down, D! Chill dude!" Josh whispered into his ear. His arms were wrapped around his friend's and it took him a lot of effort to hold him back.

Moon felt so guilty for being the one causing all those problems. She could be reckless, stupid, immature, self-destructive... but she wasn't a coward. She'd always taken her responsabilities.

"Daniel! It's not Ant's fault. I didn't tell him it was my first time. He thought I've been doing it with you guys. It's my fault!" She said, approaching them with uncertain steps. Daniel went quiet and turned his head to look at her, her hand went to rest on his flushed cheek and, just like that, he leaned on her touch sighing, letting his body go limp against Josh.

Josh was stunned by how easily Moon had managed to calm Daniel down. He'd been the only one to be able to help him in such moments... until now.

He needed to have a little chat with him later. Maybe he'd underestimated Daniel's feelings for that girl. And clearly she felt the same, although neither of them was ready to aknowledge it.

"I'm sorry." She whispered weakly.

"You're a stupid, stupid girl." Daniel said after a few seconds. "We just wanted to protect you. I'd go back if I could. That's why I didn't want you to get involved with this shit." He slapped her hand away, before freeing himself from Josh's grip.

"I had no f*****g idea, D. Believe me!" Ant intervened, apologetically. Now that he knew the reason behind his friend's reactions, he couldn't hell but feel a jerk.

"Oh, shut up, you asshole. You've been hitting on her all night long, you'd do anything to get your d**k wet, and that s**t was the easiest way, wasn't it?" Daniel wasn't aggressive anymore, just disgusted and as he looked at him, his gray eyes grew colder.

"I wasn't hitting on her, you dork! I'm always flirty but I would never hit on your girl-"

"Excuse me?! I'm right here, stronzi (assholes)! I'm nobody's girl and certainly not Daniel's!" She snapped at Ant. Then turned to glare at Daniel. "And if you think I'm the kind of girl who'd let a guy f**k her in change of drugs, you don't know me at all! And frankly I don't want to be friends with an asshole who thinks so little of me!" She spat angrily.

"I never said I thought you'd do it. But he'd definitely try." Daniel said defensively. Oh s**t, he'd messed up again.

"Wow..." Ant said bitterly. "Glad to know what you really think of me, friend." He shook his head, then left the room without glancing back.

"Fuck..." Josh muttered with a frown. Why did he keep finding himself into such situations? And why the hell wasn't he able to keep things from escalating every single time?

"You've been unfair. He didn't try anything. Not that it's your business." Moon said, curtly to Daniel. He was infuriating, you never knew when he'd get angry, you never knew what was the right thing to do with him around and it was starting to get on her nerves. She was drunk, high and upset so she wasn't in the mood to deal with his twisted emotions.

"I should have just kept my damn mouth shut. You're right, it's not my f*****g business. I've known you for a week anyway, I don't know why I'd even care. And yes, maybe we shouldn't be friends, you know. I'll keep my distance from now on. Now I'm going to check on Ant." He said drily, before disappearing behind the door.