“That’s not what you look like to everyone els—”

“Honestly, Chase, fuck off. Fuck right off. I’m not going to stand here in my own house and have you call me a slut.”

Who is she? The girl in front of us right now isn’t the timid and nonconfrontational Charlotte we know. She’s better.

Maybe hanging around me and Annalisa is starting to rub off on Charlotte because she is not taking anyone’s shit and standing up for herself, and I’m living for it. Or maybe she was just tired of not speaking up. If Annalisa had come tonight, she’d be behind Charlotte with pom-poms cheering her on.

Chase looks just as shocked as the rest of us. Charlotte’s never sworn at him before. He doesn’t let that take any of the wind out of his sails, however, and recovers quickly.

“I’m just looking out for you! You’re drunk! You’re not seeing clearly!”

“I’m seeing more clearly than I have in a long time.” Her voice is steady, and I notice for the first time that she isn’t slurring like she was when we got to the party. “Get out of my house.”

“Not until you delete that video. Give me your phone.” He spots her phone resting on her dresser.

“What? No!” she yells, racing him to the dresser.

“What’s with all the yelling?” Charlotte’s brother Jake asks, walking into her room and freezing as he takes in the scene in front of him.

Chase and Charlotte don’t even glance at him. Chase gets to the dresser first, turning his back to Charlotte and punching in the code to unlock her phone.

“You have no right,” she yells, trying to reach around him.

“I’m looking out for you!” he argues, twisting and turning so that his large back is always facing her, preventing her from grabbing her phone.

“You’re being an asshole!”

Charlotte uses Chase’s shoulders for leverage and jumps onto his back like he’s giving her a piggyback, wrapping her legs around his waist and reaching over his shoulder for her phone.

Aiden puts his arm out in front of me and pushes me back a couple of steps. Everyone else steps back a bit, too, giving them space as they grapple around the room.

Chase turns to his side and throws himself onto Charlotte’s bed, taking her down with him. Charlotte’s small and quick, so she manages to scramble over him, yank her phone out of his hand, and jump off of the bed.

Chase gets up as well and is advancing toward her when suddenly Charlotte winds her arm back and whips her phone as hard as she can onto the floor. The action takes everyone but Charlotte by surprise as the phone shatters, and we all stare at it with wide eyes.

“There,” she yells. “Now get the fuck out of my house!”

Whoa. I did not see any of this coming when I got here a couple of hours ago.

Chase gives her an incredulous look, as if she’s the one who just barged into his room while he was hooking up with someone, called him a slut, and tried to invade his privacy.