Chapter 1. One-Night Stand

The place was unfamiliar to someone like Allison. Her life had been revolving around their house and school, and never did she try to go on to party like the one they were in at that moment.

It was a school event and she had no plans to go at first, not until Rachel, her friend, nudged her.

"Oh, please! This is the last school event, Ali! We are in the final year of high school, can't you chill?"

Pursing her lips, she blinked and thought for a while. She really had no idea what was coming for her if she attended that one.

Little did she know, her life would turn upside down.

"Alright... just this once," she uttered while nodding. Her decision made her friend really happy.

That was how they ended up at a party organized by the school council.

Soon enough, she would be in college and she knew it would be a different life compared to high school. That was why she also tried to convince herself to go since she might not experience hanging out like that once she graduated.

Although she was not sure if she could push to go to college. Just like most people, she was short of money. Her family was not well off so Allison found it hard to gather enough bucks for her tuition fee.

If there was something she learned as she grew up, that was the fact that life was unfair for the poor. That even though she tried hard, there were things she could not attain easily.

"What do you think about this one?" Allison put the glass of alcohol in front of her.

Before trying the Barefoot Pink Moscato, she looked around. As her eyes roamed the noisy place, she realized that no one would care if a nerd like her enjoyed it and drank.

As the bitterness of the liquor occupied her mouth and throat, all her bitterness in life also floated in her mind like a movie in a time-lapse.

She recalled her stepsister, Diana, who was in the same year as her. Having two to send to college would be too much for their parents.

But what about her? Would she sacrifice her dreams easily like that? What about her dream to finish a college degree? It was her late mother's dream as well. Those questions kept on ruining her days, it kept on coming back, wanting answers.

"I thought we were here to party? You seem really gloomy, Ali!"

Chuckling, Allison nodded and tried to brush it all away. "Sorry, can't help it. Or maybe it's because of the booze?"

"Right. But please, just enjoy, okay? You deserve it!"

Despite that, she still could not help but think further about how hard was it to be poor in a developed country where they were in. Her parents were not able to finish college and it was their dream for her to earn a degree. Not only because it would help her in the future, but because they wanted her to help with their daily living expenses.

As toxic as it might seem, she understood where they were coming from.

That was the reason why, at an early age, she was working a part-time job in the Thompson Corporation. Just so she could give money to her family.

In the middle of those thoughts, Rachel suddenly pulled the thick glasses from her, causing her to squint her eyes.

"My glasses, Rachel! I can't see!" she exclaimed while grimacing and trying to get it back from her.

"This is why everyone is calling you a nerd! Imagine, we are at a party but you're keeping these thick glasses on? And your hair! Why is it always tied up?"

"We can enjoy the night with that on!" Allison reasoned out that in the end, Rachel gave it to her. Totally gave up on the sense of style she had.

Her friend rolled her eyes and pulled her up from sitting. "Fine! I'll leave that alone. So please dance with me!"

Even with her face already so crumbled from grimacing, Rachel pulled her to the dancing platform. Many of the students who attended were already drunk to the point that they were already wilding. She could also feel also the tipsiness since she was not a good drinker.

"Yeah!" Her friend cried out and grinded against another guy she did not know while they were dancing.

She shook her head and tried to dance along but for sure she looked like a stick figure trying to move! Her face flustered in embarrassment.

When she saw that Rachel could no longer contain her wildness, she pulled her out of the platform to sober her up on their couch.

"I'm still dancing, Ali!" Her friend frowned with messy hair.

"You're already—"

Allison realized that Rachel's attention was already on something else, so she stopped talking. When she saw that she was looking at her back, she craned her neck to see who she was admiring from a distance.

Her eyebrows furrowed and gazed away. She knew who had just come. As expected, most women, even some men looked in the direction of the Thompson cousins. The well-known Thompsons and the reason why many women were fixing their make-up and their dresses in the venue.

Since she was a part-timer in the Thompson Corporation, oftentimes she could see those four wandering inside the premises of the company building where she was working.

Not only were they famous in the company but also at school, they were flagged as heartthrobs, something she found so funny and childish. But she could not deny that many girls indeed were head over heels for the four.

"Goodness, don't you think Brent is the most gorgeous among the four?" Rachel muttered unconsciously while staring at the newcomers.

Her eyes went at Brent Thompson because of that. For Allison, he was indeed handsome, but the man was the serious type of guy and it was very rare to see him smile. It was as if his smile was expensive.

"But too bad, he must be brokenhearted right now after he broke up with Ellie."

Now that she was looking at him, she could not help but remember that there was a rumor on their campus about his long-time girlfriend, Ellie, and their sudden split-up. From what she remembered, the girl was a known violinist who was studying in a deluxe school for arts.

"Maybe they broke up because Ellie is accepted into the Royal College of Music in London? What do you think, Ali?"

Her eyes went to Rachel again and shrugged. "I don't know them personally, so how will I know?"

Her friend scowled at her again. Allison was aware of the gossip since she had been hearing a lot around the campus. Many were also saying that since music was Ellie's priority, she chose it over Brent and broke up with him.

If that case was true, it might be the reason why Brent Thompson became aloof ever since.

"Nevermind," Rachel said and eyed another one. "Too bad Gabriel already had her long-time girlfriend. He's very loyal!"

She could not help but nod. Among the four, she admired how loyal Gabriel was to his girlfriend, Mia Williams. The girl was from a simple family like her. She was also a scholar in their school. And perhaps, the simpleness and the intelligence of the woman drove someone like Gabriel into liking her.

"Hell, if not taken, they are like Nathan, a playboy! Why are good guys taken already, Ali? Tell me!"

She rolled her eyes when she witnessed Rachel's dramatic stance.

Nathan Thompson— her friend was right about him. Among the four, he was known as the rake, the playboy who knew nothing but to hook up with all the girls on the campus! He was someone who did not believe in love. There were even times she overheard him saying that love was only for the weak.

"Maybe I should try flirting with Jacob? He looks like a good guy."

That made her pursed her lips. Each one of them had their baggage, but she found Jacob Thompson so mysterious. He had no love interest, and there were few things they know about him. Or perhaps, the man was just a private person.

Above all, why was she thinking of those men, again? She did not care about them at all, she just wanted to finish school, earn money and attend college. Unlike Rachel, she had no time to admire them.

"Anyway, let's drink more! We ordered a lot and since it's the last time, let's enjoy ourselves!"

Her naughty friend pushed her to drink more of the liquors they ordered. Since she felt bad about the amount Rachel spent buying the alcohol, she decided to do what her friend wanted.

The more she drank the liquor, the more it get into her mind. Intoxication was already in her system as her eyes blurred and she no longer knew what she was doing. In the end, she found herself passing out.

Her head was aching— no, her whole body was aching. The cold air that was enveloping her wholeness nudged Allison to slowly open her eyes. There was nothing that occupied her mind but the chills.

With squinting and blurry eyes, she tried to reach out for something, for her blanket, and when she had it in her hand, she pulled it over her body. But what shook her whole being was when she brushed her hand over her chest and she felt her smooth nakedness.

'Oh, God... what the heck happened? I can't remember anything.'

Even with her eyes fully opened, all she could see was a white ceiling, and without the presence of her eyeglasses, she was almost blind!

Getting up carefully, she tried to look for her glasses, and thankfully, it was on the table on the side of the bed.

The moment she put it on, she roamed her eyes around only to see something that shocked her to the very core that she almost screamed. Allison's eyes widened and she immediately covered her mouth not to let her gasps escape.

Sitting on the side of the king-sized bed, she saw the four Thompsons! Not just sleeping but all fucking naked!

'What the hell happened? Why am I with them? Why are we all naked?!' all those questions sprung into her mind.

It was as if she sobered up completely out of shock and by gaining full consciousness, she felt something aching in her pelvic area.

With trembling hands, she tried to look around the bed only to see stains of blood on the bed sheet and some on the blanket.

Allison was not that dumb and innocent not to know what the meaning of that blood was. She was not ignorant, not foolish not to know that she was devirginized!

'I had sex? With whom? With all of them? What the fuck?!'

Horror registered in her face just by thinking that she slept and was bedded by different men, and there were not only two but four!

It was as if her head was already near exploding with the confusion and the question that remained unanswered. Instead of dwelling on it, she slowly stood up even though the thing in between her thighs was hurting.

She put on her clothes that were on the floor and quickly and quietly went out of the room without even saying goodbye because why would she? For Allison, waking them up was just like saying hello to her doom.

Little did she know, one of the Thompson cousins was already awake at that point and saw her carefully leaving the place.