Catherine's POV
The music was still pounding when I finally realized what had just happened. Collins was bleeding, as usual everyone gathered around to catch a glimpse of the chaos and Julian looked like he was two seconds away from killing someone.
"Julian!" I hissed, grabbing his arm. His jaw was tight, and his eyes burned with rage as Collins wiped the blood dripping from his nose, glaring back at him.
"Stay the hell away from her," Julian snarled.
Gasps rippled through the crowd. Some girl squealed. Someone shouted that we should take it outside before security got called. My face burned with humiliation.
Before things could get worse, I grabbed Julian by the wrist and yanked him toward the door. "Enough, Julian! Let's go!"
He didn't resist, but his shoulders were tense as steel as I dragged him through the murmuring crowd.
Whispers followed us like wildfire. Did you see that? Who's that girl? Isn't that his stepsister? Why is he playing the role of her boyfriend? Overprotective much for his stepsister? This girl again?
By the time we made it outside, my ears were ringing with the rumors and whispers. "What the hell was that?!" I snapped, spinning around to face him.
He just stared at me, with his chest rising and falling and his anger still fighting under the surface. "He was trying to force you to drink, Catherine. You looked uncomfortable."
I let out a short, humorless laugh. "Oh, so that's your excuse? You just saw something, jumped to conclusions, and decided violence was the answer?"
His jaw clenched. "It wasn't a damn conclusion. He's not someone you should be around."
I folded my arms, giving him a hard look. "Collins and I were just talking. He came to apologize to me for how he acted in school, and the drink was his way of making peace. He wasn't forcing me."
Julian scoffed. "You really think he just wanted to apologize? Catherine, you have no idea who that guy is."
"Then enlighten me," I shot back with a sharp voice. "Because from where I stood, you looked like the one who completely lost control."
He stepped closer, his tone now dropping low but still hard. "He's talking to you because of me. He knows it'll piss me off."
I buried my left hand in my hair, frustrated at this point. "You really think everything is about you, don't you?"
"Don't misquote me. You know exactly what I mean," he growled.
"No, Julian," I snapped, my voice now shaking partly from anger and partly from adrenaline. "You don't get to play the hero every time you decide someone's a threat. I don't need your protection, and I sure as hell don't need you punching people for me."
He looked stunned for a second like he didn't expect me to raise my voice at him, then his eyes darkened. "You don't expect me to stand back while that creep tries to use you to get back at me."
"Or maybe you stand back and learn to ask before making assumptions!" I yelled. "You always think you're right. Did you even stop to think how it would make me feel to be treated like some fragile little girl who can't handle herself?"
Julian's nostrils flared, and for a second, he looked like he was holding back a dozen words he couldn't say.
All of a sudden he stepped closer, too close. "You don't get it, Catherine," he said with a rough and low voice. "You don't know what kind of guy Collins is. And you…" he exhaled sharply, eyes darting down my face, "you're too blind to see how messed up he is."
I tilted my chin defiantly. "Messed up? You mean you?"
His lips twitched, not in amusement, but frustration.
The space between us shrank until I could feel the heat radiating off him. My pulse skipped but the anger didn't fade, it just morphed into something heavier. My breath caught as I realized how close we were, his chest was barely an inch from mine.
"You confuse the hell out of me," I whispered, my voice breaking the silence. "One minute you're cold, the next you're protective, and then you turn into this. I don't even know who you are."
He looked at me for a long, tense second, with an unreadable expression, before saying, "You don't want to know me, Catherine. If you did… you'd run."
It was raw, unfiltered, and for a second, I couldn't speak. I could see that restrained, burning emotion he tried so hard to hide.
I turned to leave, needing air, space, anything but his hand caught my wrist.
"Julian," I whispered, looking down at where his fingers wrapped around my skin.
He didn't pull me back roughly this time. His grip was firm but soft, like he was holding on to something he couldn't let himself lose.
His voice dropped to a whisper. "You're making me go crazy," he said, his breath hitting the side of my face. "I can't even control myself anymore."
I didn't know if that was a threat or a confession. His tone was something between desire and restraint, and for a terrifying second, I didn't move.
My heart was beating so hard, I swore he could hear it. He took a slow step closer, and I couldn't look away from his eyes, they weren't just angry anymore, they looked hungry, conflicted, and alive.
I should've stepped back. I should've said something but I didn't. I stood there, frozen, almost hoping he'd do what I couldn't admit I wanted him to do.
"Catherine!" The sound of my name snapped through the tension and we both turned.
Tessa was at the end of the driveway, waving with her usual chaotic grin, a guy standing beside her. He was tall, with messy brown hair and an easy smile.
As they walked over, my mind was still spinning, my wrist still tingling where Julian had touched me.
Tessa beamed. "There you are! I've been looking everywhere for you."
The guy next to her grinned. "You must be Catherine, right? I'm Ethan, the birthday boy." He extended his hand, his eyes glinting as they took me in. "Julian didn't mention you were this hot and pretty."
I bit my lower lip, then forced a smile, trying to shake off the awkward tension still hanging between me and Julian. "Don't flatter me please. And happy birthday."
Ethan's smile widened as he shook my hand, holding it just a second too long. "Pleasure's all mine."
Before I could respond, Julian's hand shot between us, yanking mine out of Ethan's grip. His jaw was tight as he glared at Ethan. "She's just a kid," he said sharply. "Don't get any ideas."
Ethan looked at him, half amused. "A kid? She's eighteen, dude and ready to have a boyfriend."
Julian's glare didn't waver. "No. She's eighteen and should focus on studies. She doesn't need a boyfriend."
My face flushed with anger and embarrassment. I jerked my hand out of his grip and gave him the middle finger without even thinking. "Go to hell, Julian."
Then I turned and walked off, my heels clicking against the pavement, my heart pounding fury.
Behind me, I could still feel Julian's eyes burning into my back.