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[indent]If Ron’s response to her costume wasn’t enough to anger Arabella, his attitude only added fuel to the girl’s flames of anger. The first strike was using whatever comments his friends were making upon their arrival as a way to take subtle digs at Ara. The second strike was revealing that he’d been hoping that her costume was sexier and disapproving of what she currently had on, as if she was nothing more than a piece of meat. And as the ultimate slap to the face, he used his knowledge of her weaknesses against her by getting fresh with Claire and leaving the room with his arms around her.

Ara stood at the base of the stairs for a long while, simply staring at the direction of the basement stairs in which Ron had disappeared with Claire and trying her damndest not to cry. Hot, boiling anger bubbled through her blood, and it was taking all of her willpower to not push the Asian girl down the stairs for allowing herself to be used as a pawn in this dirty game - and for intervening in what she had no business sticking her nose in in the first place. But when the tears began to sting her eyes, Ara turned around and rushed to the bathroom, slamming the door closed behind her.

Meanwhile, Rob was busy rolling his eyes when Ron had brought his tantrum downstairs and called for drunken truth or dare. Aside from the agreement on the group chat to take part in some karaoke fun, Ron’s new suggestion expressly used the word ‘drunk’. While some of the group were better at drinking than others, nobody would be drunk in the space of one song.

[color=777777]“Really, Ron?”[/color] Rob didn’t have any major dislike of Ron, but when he was clearly playing games with his closest friend, it did rile him up. [color=777777]“You do realize the party has just started, so nobody would be in any state to play drunk truth or dare?”[/color]

Rob dropped the microphone and moved over to the host of the evening, who had decided to change his [i]accessory[/i] for the evening to someone dressed more to his taste.

[color=777777]“Besides, what’s the point in doing anything when you’ve already caused drama? Everyone else has had a good laugh at the costumes, but because she isn’t dressed like a slut you’re having a tantrum?”[/color] Host or not, King Bee or not, Rob didn’t have any issue standing up to anyone. Apart from being able to turn most people into human pretzels, he had a strong sense of decency to his closest friends. [color=777777]“Just do us all a favor and stop being a cunt before you ruin everyone else’s night.”[/color] 

With his last few words Rob turned to see Ara was had disappeared from the top of the stairs, clearly distraught by the start to the party. Rob turned and walked up the stairs, leaving Ron to stir with his words. Knowing Ron however, he probably couldn’t give a damn about what Rob had just said.

Weaving his way through the house Rob searched for Ara before the sound of mumbling and sniffling came into earshot. He approached the bathroom door and without a knock let himself in. He entered to see Ara face first in the toilet, scrubbing vigorously at the bowl while she sniffled and cursed under her breath. 

[color=777777][i]What the hell is she doing?[/i][/color], he thought to himself. As he took a few steps forward he spoke to her softly, she clearly didn’t hear him enter. [color=777777]“What are you doing, Chick?”[/color] His best friend turned around slowly with a look of sheer evil written across her face. The corpse paint amplified the horrifying stare as she raised a toothbrush next to a wide, tooth filled smile. [color=777777]“Are you scrubbing the toilet with his toothbrush?”[/color] Rob tried to hide his laughter; he had to try and be the adult. The problem was that, deep down, Rob knew he deserved it. And Ara’s face was hilarious- even if her eyes were bloodshot from the tears.

[color=E053B3]“Darn right I am,”[/color] came Ara’s response, shrugging as she stood back up and in front of the sink. She opened the faucet and rinsed the toothbrush to get rid of whatever visible stains were left. [color=E053B3]“I figured a nice little throat infection might teach dear Ronnie a lesson without me having to get my hands [i]too[/i] dirty.”[/color]

[color=777777]“You do realise that there are better ways for revenge?”[/color] Rob approached Ara and took the brush from her hands, making the girl give him a displeased pout. [color=777777]“Let’s be honest: we have each other’s backs. If someone messes with you, then I have to help you. It’s the bestie code.”[/color] 

[color=E053B3]“I know, I know…”[/color] Arabella replied in a defeated voice, letting out a sigh as she stood back up, arms crossed in front of her. [color=E053B3]“I’m just so upset right now. Ron [i]knows[/i] how much it messed me up when Benji used to act like this. Why he would do the same thing is honestly beyond me.”[/color]

Rob put the brush back before taking Ara by the hand and dragging her through to the kitchen, towards the fridge. Opening the door, the darkened room was briefly illuminated by the soft light of the cooling appliance, as was the curious frown plastered all over Ara’s face. Rob began to rummage through its contents before finding what he hoped he would. [color=777777]“Jackpot.”[/color]

Rob turned slowly to his accomplice, presenting her with what was clearly a large fish. The makeup on his face did nothing to hide the evil smirk on his face, accentuated by the dim light of the fridge. [color=777777]“Now...we take this, go up to little ol’ Ronnies bedroom and stash it somewhere. In a few days the smell in his room will be unbearable. If all goes well all of his clothes will smell rather fragrant for a while. What do you think?”[/color]

The now gleeful Ara was about to jump straight into Robbie’s arms for [i]literally[/i] being the best person in the whole world when she was stopped short by the sound of heavy footsteps racing up the stairs. Frowning, she turned to look in the general direction of the hallway, and was only able to catch a glimpse of Deus before he sped off, slamming the door behind him

[color=E053B3]“What’s going on?”[/color] she asked Robbie, a confused yet concerned expression in her face.

Rob turned to see the back of what he could only assume was the thin, wiry frame of Deus. A lightbulb went off in his head as he audibly muttered the word, [color=777777][i]“Shit.”[/i][/color] 

Digging through the stuffing in his bra (which would have earned him cackles of laughter from Ara had she not be currently worried about Deus) he pulled out his phone and headed for the website every student dreaded. Within seconds, it was clear that the figure they had seen sprint from downstairs had indeed been Deus. Rob read through the text and felt his chest tighten as he got to the end. He stared at it blankly for a moment before passing it over to Ara to read.

Arabella’s blue eyes quickly scanned the words in the webpage, and her heart sank. It was obvious now why Deus had rushed away, and the young woman couldn’t even begin to understand how terribly he must be feeling right now. Deciding she needed to do something about it, Ara grabbed Rob’s hand and ran out of the kitchen and down the stairs, stopping right in the middle of the room. She took a good look at each person that was in the basement before crying out: [color=E053B3]“What in the actual [i]fuck[/i]?!”[/color]
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