The Four Beta Brothers
Chapter 30

ASHER

"Do you really think a party is going to fix Juniper's reputation?" Axel asked, watching me organize the drinks for tonight.

"Do you have any better ideas?" I snapped. Ever since I announced the idea to my brothers, Axel had been against the idea, and it was getting on my nerves. At least I was doing something to try to help Juniper's reputation.

"I just don't see how having a bunch of people over drinking in excess will help anything. They're just coming for the free booze."

"They are coming to the party because people will fight for the chance to get closer to the Burrell family," I said, resisting the urge to throw something at him. "And as they get to know me better, I'll also be able to show them that Juniper isn't what those rumors say." "You're assuming that people will actually care about what you have to say."

"What does that mean?"

Axel walked over to me and grabbed a drink and inspected it. "You know just as well as I do that people don't care about us on a personal level."

I knew he had a point. That was one of the reasons Juniper was so important to me. Even without her memory of our childhood, she cared about me for me. It was why I had to try this party for her. It couldn't make her reputation worse, even if it didn't do what I wanted it to.

"Maybe, maybe not. But it's worth a shot. Like I said, if you have a better idea, I'm all ears." I paused to look at Axel.

"I hope, for her sake, this works," he said.

"Me, too." My heart thumped, wanting to make Juniper's life as happy as possible. She deserved more than what this world had handed her, and I wanted to keep her by my side to make sure she was happy. "Hey, Axel." "You sound serious."

"I think I'm going to ask Juniper to be my girlfriend tonight," I said.

I had been thinking about this all week. We had been dating for several weeks now, but we still didn't have a label. She didn't seem like the type to date around, and she spent most of her free time with me. However, I still wanted the label. I wanted to know she only belonged to me.

Axel set down the drink and didn't say anything for a moment. "You're going to need more drinks."

"I only invited a few people from my classes. This should be enough."

Axel laughed, shaking his head. He walked away, grabbing the car keys from the rack. "I'll go to the store to buy more. Trust me. You'll need it." He left before I could say anything.

I felt strange about how Axel brushed off my comment, and I knew it bothered him. He was trying to be friends with Juniper, so I didn't understand why he was upset with my declaration.

Perhaps he still thought I was putting her at risk. I had updated Axel about the meeting with our father, and his response was, "Typical, Father."

I worried about my father's reaction to me dating Juniper, but Ethan assured me that Juniper was safe, and he wouldn't let our father do anything to hurt her. I still hadn't told her about sharing the title of valedictorian. I didn't know how to. It felt like I was stealing something she worked hard for, and it didn't feel fair.

I shook my head, trying to brush the thoughts of my father away. Tonight was a night to have fun and not worry about family problems.

I looked at the drinks I'd bought. It was enough for double the amount of people I had invited. I only invited about ten people, and I figured if someone brought a partner, I would be set. Axel seemed to think otherwise. I didn't know why he was so insistent, but if he wanted to waste his time and money, I wasn't about to argue with him.

Juniper messaged me that she was running a little late, because she wanted to finish up the first draft of an essay before coming over. I told her not to take too long, and she promised she would only be a few minutes late.

When it hit 7:00pm, I checked my phone to see if there was any update from Juniper, but there was nothing. After twenty minutes, no one had arrived, and it made me start to worry that I had taken my reputation for granted. Just because I was a Burrell, it didn't mean it guaranteed people would come over to hang out with me.

After another five minutes, my phone buzzed, but before I could check it, someone knocked on the door. I hoped it was Juniper and practically ran over to it. When I opened the door, there was a group of people who cheered when they saw me. I only recognized one of the people in the group.

"Welcome. Drinks are in the kitchen. Make yourself comfortable."

The group hurried in, immediately going for the drinks. Another knock on the door stole my attention away. This time, the group was even bigger, and I knew I didn't invite any of the faces of the people flooding the door. Suddenly, I realized why Axel went to get more drinks. This wasn't going to be a calm party. Word had gotten out that the Burrell brothers were having a party, and it spread like a wildfire on a dry summer day.

***

JUNIPER

As I approached Asher's dorm, loud music thumped inside. I had to double check the dorm number, thinking I went to the wrong level or something. Asher assured me this was supposed to be a more relaxed party, but the sounds coming from inside did not belong to the kind of party I had imagined.

A group of students rushed past me and opened the door without bothering to knock. I slipped inside after them, and it was even louder in there. The lights were dimmed, and bodies filled nearly every inch of the dorm. It looked like a completely different place with the number of people.

I waded through the mess of people, looking around for Asher, but it was clear it wasn't going to be easy to find him. I pulled out my phone and tried calling him, but it went to voicemail. He probably didn't hear the phone go off with how loud the music was. I slowly made my way to the kitchen, and when I got there, several people were grabbing drinks from an ice chest. I followed their lead, needing something to calm my nerves. I was only 45 minutes late, so it was hard to imagine how the party got this wild in that short amount of time. From what I'd heard from Moira, parties like this only got worse as the night went on.

If I had known the party was going to be this crazy, I never would've agreed to something like this.

I decided to wait in the kitchen, hoping Asher would come here at some point, because the idea of going back into the crowd seemed fruitless. I sent him a text message, letting him know I was here and in the kitchen, hoping he'd see the message soon. I knew if he was by my side, everything would become easier.

"Hey, are you that girl who sleeps with professors?" a guy who wasn't in any of my classes asked after he had grabbed a drink. He was in the sophomore class, so he wasn't old enough to drink, but I wasn't about to police him.

"No, you must have mistaken me for someone else," I said, keeping a straight face.

"No, no, you must be. I saw you in that video where you were bullying that hot cheerleader," he insisted.

Tonight was definitely a mistake. "Maybe you're thinking of my sister." I didn't have a sister, but I didn't want to continue this conversation. I hoped a fake sister might make this guy leave me alone. "Oh, well, you two look alike."

I forced a smile but didn't say anything else. I hoped he got the hint that I wasn't interested in talking to him.

He took a step closer to me, making it clear he didn't get the hint. "Are you as loose as her, because maybe we can find an empty bedroom-"

"Hey, there you are, babe," Asher said, grabbing my arm and stepping between me and this guy.

I wrapped my arm around Asher, pulling myself into him. My heart rate slowed with him near. "There you are. I was telling this guy that I'm not the type of girl to sleep around with just anyone."

Asher looked at the guy and smiled brightly. "If I were you, I wouldn't listen to every rumor you hear. It can make you look pretty foolish if you go accusing people of doing something they didn't do, especially when they are friends with someone important." Even though Asher still had on his signature smile that made everyone melt, there was something else in his eyes that was much darker. The guy in front of him shrank in response.

He bowed his head, "I'm so sorry, man. The drinks are making me fuzzy. I clearly mistook her for someone else."

"Clearly. Why don't you go check out the living room? It's a lot of fun." Asher's gaze intensified, making it clear he wasn't offering this guy a choice.

"Sure thing. Uh, thanks for hosting this party." The guy quickly disappeared into the crowd.

Asher turned around, pinning me between him and the counter. His arms acted as a barrier between me and the party. "Now that he's gone, I can do this."

He leaned forward, pressing his lips against mine. For a moment, everything else seemed to disappear, and it was just Asher and myself in the room.

As he pulled away, he smiled and said, "Hi. It's so good to see you."

I put my hands on his hips and smiled back. "Hi. Sorry for being late." Now that we weren't kissing, the loud music flooded my ears, reminding me of the party going on behind us. "I'm just glad you're here now."

"Asher, what is this party? This isn't what I was expecting."

Asher sighed and shook his head. "Honestly, this wasn't what I wanted either. I only invited a handful of people, but apparently they invited other people who invited their friends, and then this party became known as the rager of the semester." "So this isn't what you were planning?" I asked.

"No way. This is not the kind of party you get to know people at. It's the kind of party where people get black out drunk and make out with the closest person." Asher glanced behind him. "And while that kind of party can be fun, I don't think this is the kind of party that will fix your reputation."

I looked behind Asher. It made me feel better knowing this wasn't what Asher wanted either. I thought about all of the times I chose not to go to a party with Moira and how she'd call me a stick in the mud.

"Well, it seems like we don't have much of a choice, so if we can't beat them, maybe join them." I chewed on my lower lip, feeling weird at the suggestion. It was outside my normal comfort zone. "Join them?" Asher seemed surprised.

"I wouldn't mind making out with the closest person. Just saying." I looked up at Asher and batted my eyes. Normally, I wouldn't suggest something like that in public, but that was what people did at parties like this.