Hornet's Nest

---

David

I woke up feeling like fucking shit.

Something had happened, and I knew it was going to turn into a big deal, but I couldn't get my head around it.

I seemed to be first awake, so I went straight to the bathroom and locked the door. It was like I was washing away proof during that shower, removing the evidence of what had happened. And anger simmered while thinking about it. What the fuck had happened, exactly?

She just came onto me like that, out of nowhere. No condom, no nothing. Just fucked me on the forest floor.

There were a lot of things to worry about. STDs, pregnancy? And more than anything, wondering what it even meant, what was going on between us. Nothing was following the rules of how I thought it should go so far. I was... confused. Worried, I guess. Worried that she was going to be 'one of those girls'.

I didn't want to be that kind of person. I didn't want

her

to be that kind of person.

The TV was on when I got out, our living space coming to life as everybody woke up for a drowsy Saturday, recovering from whatever had happened to them at the bonfire. I ducked into my room and shut my door before I saw anyone.

Wesley came in while I was doing crunches on the floor. He had bed hair, only wearing boxers, and his gaze was fixed on his phone.

"Dave."

"What?" I growled.

"Hanna's pestering me, about if we'll visit before Christmas."

"Fuck do I know."

"Fuck you moody about?"

I laid out to stretch my aching stomach. "Nothing." He knew me too well for me to lie. I just wasn't sure if I was ready to talk yet. I rolled over to start with push-ups.

"You're supposed to work out before you shower," Wes said.

"Fuck off."

He chuckled. "Man you're grumpy. Still following Dad's advice, huh?" He wandered over, multi-tasking between me and his phone. "Work harder, burns you out faster." He sat on my back.

I nearly burst into laughter, and managed about three more push-ups with his added weight before my arms trembled, muscles going like jelly with my chuckling. I flattened on my chest and chin. "Dick."

I knew he was grinning even if I couldn't see it. "Yeah, Hanna says we're dicks too if we won't be there to take her trick-or-treating."

"Fuck sake." I struggled up and shoved him off.

"Seriously, are we going?"

"I don't know. Why you always gotta ask me? Why not organise something yourself?"

"Because you always make the decisions about this stuff."

I sort of growled and sighed at the same time, sitting on my bed.

"What's up, Dave?"

I raked my fingers through my hair and turned my head away from him. I didn't know how to say it. I guess I was embarrassed. "Can you give me Violet's number?"

He let out a light chuckle. "Mate, you've still not got it off her yourself? Come on."

"Wes, please. She fucked me last night."

"What?"

There was a silence. I only made brief eye contact before staring at the floor. Wesley's expression fell blank, then twisted into a frown. He said nothing else and gave me his phone.

*

I sent her a bland text - "Vi, it's David."

... And had no idea what to do with myself while I waited for a reply. Was she even awake? I sat on my bed, staring into nothingness until my phone vibrated with her one-word answer.

"Hi."

No time for bullshit. "What happened last night?"

There was a long pause before her response came. "I gave you what you wanted."

I stared at the screen. For fuck sake. "What if it's not what I wanted?"

The wait was even longer, and my mind inevitably raced. I'd worded that pretty badly, she might take it the wrong way. I might've fucked up any chances of being with her. Shit.

"Then you're the weirdest guy I've ever known," her reply finally said. It vibrated again. "Or gay."

I managed a smirk. Even if I didn't know her that well yet, I read the messages in her voice.

To hell with texting. I tapped at the screen to call her.

She must've had her phone in her hands, but didn't exactly rush to pick up. I stared at the wall while I waited. Three rings, four rings, five rings. Her voice.

"Are you mad at me or something?"

"No. I'm just... I want to talk. Can I see you?"

"... Okay."

There was a slightly awkward pause.

"So you wanna meet up?" she asked.

"Yeah."

"Okay. The corner by campus main gate. Meet me there, twenty minutes."

She hung up without giving me a chance to reply, or saying anything like a goodbye. It was almost business-like. Damn it girl, I'm not buying drugs.

I dressed properly, but it was only a five minute walk, so I once again just sort of sat about doing nothing with ten minutes to kill. When I put on my jacket and headed out, Wesley was in front of the TV with a bowl of cereal. He gave me a head to toe glance.

"You going out?"

"Yeah."

"Seeing her?"

"Yeah."

"Seeing who?" Melissa asked from the kitchen, but I was already shutting the door.

*

Vi was there at the corner, leaning against a lamppost with her hands in jacket pockets. Not quite dressed to kill like the night before, but those jeans still showed off her legs. She watched me approach with her head ever so slightly tilted, a smirk spreading at the corner of her mouth.

I stopped about a foot in front of her. She looked me up and down with something close to expectance in her eyes, but I didn't know what to say, so she ended up speaking first.

"So... are you unhappy about last night?"

I blinked. "What's going on with us?"

"What do you mean?"

"What do you mean what do I mean? What the fuck is going on?"

She stared at me, as if dumbfounded. For a split second I felt like this was hopeless, like I was talking to a brick wall.

"You're fuckin' uptight, aren't you?" she finally said.

I scowled, but getting angry just seemed to amuse her.

"What have I done wrong? Have I stepped on your toes or something? Wounded your little macho pride?"

"No." Well, actually, maybe yes. None of my feelings made any sense to me right then. "I just don't get it."

"Get

what

?"

"Do you want to be with me?"

Her mouth was open as she stared at me with another head tilt. Like I was a complete and utter retard.

"So that's what this is about?" she said. "Oh my God. You want to ask me out?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"Go on then."

"... Will you go out with me?"

"Yes."

"Okay."

"Yeah, all good now?"

I looked away and clasped at my head, finally breaking into a grin. Her arms went around my middle with a muffled giggle into my chest.

"You're cute, David."

"Is this for real, though? Like, no screwing around."

She looked up at me. "No, no screwing around. I like you."

I touched at her cheek, cupped it, and leant in to kiss her. Her lips were so soft. And warm. A wordless confirmation that things were okay, things were good.

"I like you a lot," she said when I pulled back.

"Yeah, well, I like you too."

She took my hand, tugged my arm, and we were walking. I once again had no idea where we were going, just ambling in some direction. There was silence between us for about two streets. I still had things on my mind. I wasn't quite settled yet.

I struggled with how to ask something that seemed so awkward. "Why no condom?"

She tossed me a glance like it was a stupid question, as if I should know. "I'm not getting pregnant."

"You're on the pill?"

"No. Injection."

"Oh. Right." Our steps were in a nice rhythm as we walked. Left, right, at the same time. Even our strides were the same length. "And I don't have gonorrhea now or anything?"

She erupted with a surprisingly squeaky giggle, ripping her hand away from mine and spinning around to block my way on the pavement. "Holy shit!" She shoved me. "Fuck you. I'm clean."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." She tried to shove me again but I knocked her arms away. It only made her grin bigger. She made a third attempt and I gripped her shoulders to push back. She resisted with that same strength, feet planted firmly on the ground. So for a second I gave everything I had.

"Yeah, okay," she growled when I almost slammed her into the fence. "You gonna show me those muscles sometime?"

I let go of her. Damned butterflies again. "Only if you'll show me yours."

She scoffed and pressed into me. "Aren't your feelings still hurt from last night?"

"Hey, come on. I'm just trying to be sure."

"You're uptight."

"You're obviously not a virgin."

"And you are?"

"Well, I was."

Everything about her wiggling, her teasing, just stopped, and she bit her bottom lip. "So you're all mine, huh?"

"I guess."

For a second her eyes were actually affectionate, instead of that playful, sexy look. Then she took my hand again, and continued leading me down the street.

We walked thirty minutes into the town centre. Casual chatter grew easier and more comfortable. I was relaxing, but she still teased me about being 'uptight' a couple more times. Flirted about how she needed to 'loosen me up'.

She gave me butterflies over and over again. I guess she had me wrapped around her finger. It wasn't just the way she swung her hips, the big blue eyes. It was the way she behaved - confident, but hiding something. She moved like it, she talked like it. It drew me in.

She decided to show me around the town. Explaining things to me, where certain routes were, where certain streets came out. Alleys and shortcuts. She was so enthusiastic about it.

"Did you grow up here?" I asked.

"No, I've just done a lot of exploring. You know, when I go out to run. I have to learn everything. I need to map it in my head. Like, if there's some strange corner, I have to know what's around it." She looked at me. "I have to know. I just... I have to." She tugged my hand again to signal that we were changing direction. "Like down here. Come, come look."

So that went on for a few hours. She seemed one of those people who had to trespass. If somewhere looked off-limits, she wanted to go there. I knew my way around the typical areas - the town centre, the main roads - but she took me everywhere else. All the places I wouldn't think to go.

"Oh, but not here," she decided, stopping abruptly.

"Something wrong with it?" It just looked a generic council estate to me.

"That gang," she replied.

"Oh, right." Yeah, I really didn't want to get dragged into any of that shit.

She stopped buzzing around so much once we were back-tracking and heading for the town centre. I could already feel the temperature dropping. My feet and legs were feeling all the exercise. I pulled my phone out to check the time, and saw a message from Wesley. I must have missed the vibrations while walking.

"Everything good?" it asked. I thumbed a quick 'yes' in response.

We came out at the high street, facing the university's direction. I didn't want to head back yet. I was enjoying her company too much.

"Do you want to eat somewhere?"

She looked up at me, brows a little high. "Um. Where were you thinking?"

I understood what that apprehension was. "I'll pay." Restaurants could be a disgustingly expensive thing. Takeaways were bearable.

She didn't say anything else, so for what seemed the first time, I was the one tugging her hand and leading her. I quickly checked my jacket pocket, that my wallet was still there and I hadn't left it at home. That would've been awkward. Then I thought to send another message to Wes - "Staying out longer."

To be honest, eating something other than pasta was a nice change. I could've been cooking other things, but I was being lazy. It could nearly take an hour to cook something decent. I had taken regular, homemade meals for granted my entire life. Not to mention my current shared kitchen situation. And that cooking something significant could end up in me cooking for eight.

It was pretty uneventful at the restaurant. I just felt like this was our first, slightly weird date, and I wanted to do something right for it. Violet spent ages scouring over the menu, unable to decide on something. She pointed at things with strange names and frowned at me.

"What the fuck is that?"

"I think it's like this chicken thing with honey."

"Chicken with

honey

?"

"It's actually pretty good."

She looked so confused. And it was so cute. "And what the fuck is this?"

I had to apologise to the waitress twice. I was already on a drink refill by the time Violet decided on something.

It was all paid for with the punch of the PIN on my card.

The darkness outside brought the same chill of approaching winter. We walked in silence down the high street. I can't claim to have had any idea what was going on inside her head, but it seemed like a happy quiet from her.

I guess a contented silence like that was just nice.

When we came to the corner by the campus gates she threw her arms around my neck and kissed me. There was a sway to it - pressing herself into me, then leaning back so I almost had to support all her weight on my arm. She pulled away with a giggle.

"Okay," she said. She cupped my face with both cold hands and stood on her toes to give me another peck. "Bye."

Then she just turned and was walking off. Disappearing, like the woods in the park. I stood for a moment in the light of the lamppost, before heading home.

When I got in, five out of seven flatmates were sitting on the sofas by the TV in typical fashion. Wesley swiveled around to me as I unzipped my jacket, cocking an eyebrow.

"All good?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"Are you with her?"

"Yeah."

"What?" Claire said. "With who?"

Adrian chuckled none too quietly as I moved around the sofas, heading for my room. "David's got a girlfriend."

I found it amusing that he thought he could tease about that, as if it was a bad thing. I gave a bounce of my brows and disappeared into the hallway.

"Who is it?" Claire's voice continued.

"The girl on the motorbike yesterday."

The conversation muffled out as I shut my room's door. I felt... weird. Incredibly excited against this little voice in my head that told me to chill and take it easy, just see how things went. And another part of me that was bluntly wondering when I was going to have sex. Like, properly. I didn't see the thing in the park as proper.

Somewhere warm would be nice, for one.

I plugged my phone into my laptop to charge, and was getting into bed when it buzzed with a message from Violet.

"Hey sexy. See you tomorrow, yes?"

"Yes," I replied.

"Ok. Nn!"

Well, okay. I grinned to myself as I clambered beneath the duvet. Yeah, I had a girlfriend. And she was fucking beautiful. I had a good wank that night, fresh memories of her straddling me by the tree. I didn't feel so bad about it now.

---

Violet

On Monday, Wesley came into our social science lecture with his ordinary, casual demeanour. But he looked across the room, specifically for me.

He never sat next to me. He usually sat in front with other classmates, and would sometimes lean back on his chair and swivel around to me while we'd chat some shit, but he always left me alone in my corner.

Today, he was invading it.

He dropped into the seat beside me. His expression told me how his tone would sound long before he opened his mouth.

"What are you playing at, exactly?"

I leant back in my chair and tongued at a bottom tooth. "Excuse me?"

"Don't play dumb."

"Err?"

"David," he said, and continued when I didn't offer anything else. "What are you playing at, what were you thinking? Just preying on the 'rich boy'? Is it my fault? Did I put that idea in your head? If so, please tell me."

Did I have 'gold digger' written on my forehead or something? He pissed me off in an instant. Takes one to know one, huh?

"Stop starting on me," was my dull reply.

He looked just as annoyed as I was. "This isn't starting on you. I'm being fucking serious. Don't screw David around."

"I'm not-"

"This is my brother, my family you're fucking with. Do you understand?"

His voice was so stern, his stare hard, but he managed to pull off the entire thing without raising any kind of volume in his throat.

"I'm not trying to screw David around."

He looked away to pull his typical chair slouch, elbow on the desk and legs stretched out. So he was staying there all lecture long. These fucking Keanes. There was something wrong with them. I thought David was the uptight one and now Wesley was being just as bad.

I sighed. "Fuck you, Wes."

"Look," he started. "David's a really good guy, and I think you're a bit of a bitch."

"Wow."

"Yeah, looks like a disaster waiting to happen from the outside."

"Fuck you. Why you always thinking so fucking badly of me?"

"You don't exactly make an effort to be classy, do you? Fucking him in the park while we were gone for twenty minutes. Come on, Vi."

I snorted. "He didn't stop me."

He sighed, then chuckled a groan and massaged his eyebrow. "Fucking hell. Just... be nice to him."

"I will. I really like him, Wes."

"Yeah?"

"Huge crush since I first saw him."

"You better treat him good. He's besotted with you."

We fell into silence as the tutor started talking. I studied Wesley a few times, but all possible emotions had disappeared behind his blank concentration face. His reaction towards me getting close to David was... defensive, to say the least. It sunk in as I thought about it.

We weren't so different.

He'd known rock bottom. At some point in his childhood, he'd been there. He'd been through things which he didn't let the world know about. His stories gave those vibes, but he didn't want to remember, so he didn't talk about it.

Somehow, he'd climbed out of that world. Either through pure luck, or a little bit of opportunism from his end. Likely both.

He saw the same in me. And that was why he reacted. I was stepping into his territory. The friendly-faced Wesley was very loyal to these people who had taken him in, and could even get fierce about it. Honestly, it was pretty cute.

He shouldn't have worried, anyways. I was happy to share. Even if we seemed to spend most of our time bantering and insulting each other, I liked Wes. And I wasn't interested in getting on his bad side.

My gaze wandered around the room, the other students.

That guy who slicked his hair back with a bit of gel, and always seemed to wear a blazer and smart trousers to every class he attended. Rich.

That guy in the bright designer shirt, with an expensive designer jacket flopped over the back of his seat. A little stud in his ear that could very well have been a diamond. Rich.

That guy with the expensive-looking glasses, shiny black shoes. Sitting back in his chair, arms crossed, one foot rested up on the knee of the opposite leg, looking entirely confident in himself because he had no reason not to be. Rich.

In this environment, I was surrounded by rich guys. These people were top of the food chain, and they knew it. If I was going to be gold digging, I had a lot of choice.

So why David?

I couldn't even answer. Once again, on the inside of a situation, with no opportunity to look in from the outside, it went over my head.

I like to believe it was the sane part of my brain. A gut instinct that told me David was not only the one I wanted, but the one I needed. The little part of my mind that actually tried to look out for me, amongst all my impulsive and destructive traits.

---

David

So, apparently, it became very hard to concentrate in physics classes with Violet sitting next to me.

Flirting, giggling, pissing around.

We were supposed to be acting like adults, for fuck sake.

There were project assignments coming up and I had someone to work with, bounce ideas with. We were both already bitching about the subject and we were two months into our first year. Uni was going great.