by Raathi Chota
“I feel like a freaking giant.”
“But you look like a European supermodel,” Miranda pointed out. I rolled my eyes as I turned around and walked into her room.
“No…I’m wearing Converse. You got me into a skirt, Stevens, so at least let me wear some comfortable shoes.” I huffed as I took a pair of black high-top Converse from my bag. I stayed over, so I packed an overnight bag with all my things.
“Fine! Now, come on, let me do your hair and makeup!” she said as she got up from her seat and gestured me to sit down.
Marcus came fifteen minutes later and complimented both of us on our outfits. He was quite the looker and recently joined the school’s soccer team. It was a good decision, though, because he had a big build.
Ten minutes later, we arrived. Music blared from the house. I got out, and my jaw dropped at the mansion. Two floors and it was packed with drunken teenagers. We walked up the stairs, past the two mini fountains on either side of the door. A bouncer stood at the door with his lips drawn into a straight line.
“Name?” he asked, then looked at the clipboard in his hands.
“Marcus Sanders.”
“No Sanders here.”
I turned to Marcus, whose jaw clenched. He cleared his throat, which caused the bouncer to look at him. Marcus was shorter than the bouncer, but he was muscular.
“My name is Marcus Sanders, and I am on that list,” Marcus stated in a neutral tone as he stared at the man. The bouncer’s eyes widened as he eyed Marcus up and down, then looked at the clipboard again.
“Oh sorry. Yes, sir, my mistake. You can go in, and it says plus one,” the bouncer said as he turned to Miranda and me.
“It’s okay. You guys go in,” I said.
“You sure?” Miranda asked. I nodded with a sad smile as they walked in. My smile vanished as I glared at the guy.
“Do you know who I am?” I dramatically asked as I put my hand to my chest.
“Am I supposed to?”
“I’m Lana Willson.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, Ms. Willson. You’re the first person on the list! Very sorry!” he said as he stepped aside to let me in. The corner of my mouth rose as I walked into the house, the smell of alcohol hitting me instantly. Drunken teenagers filled the room, the lights were dim, and people drank, made out, and smoked.
“There you are!” Miranda exclaimed. “What did you do?”
“I was first on the list.”
“Oh…wonder why,” she said with a grin.
“Lana!” a familiar voice yelled. I squinted my eyes as a tall figure approached us.
“Hey, Ethan,” I said, then hugged him.
“Hi, glad you could make it. You look beautiful, by the way,” he said, then eyed me up and down.
“Hey, Ethan,” Miranda said as she awkwardly waved. Ethan greeted Miranda and Marcus, then turned to me. “We’ll leave you two alone,” Miranda whispered, then grabbed Marcus’s hand. I watched them walk into the crowd, then looked at Ethan, who wore a white tee, black jeans, and black Vans.
“What’s with the bouncer?”
“These parties can get a little crazy, so just keeping the unwanted ones away.”
“So do you always hold the parties?”
“Sometimes Benny and Liam, but I heard Liam might be moving to the city.”
“Are they here?”
“Yeah, they’re somewhere around here.”
“Look, Ethan, I don’t want any tension happening between you guys because you guys are teammates and you see them every day.”
“It’s okay, Lana—”
“Let go of me, man!” a deep voice interrupted. Ethan and I turned to the noise to see two guys fighting.
“I’m sorry, Lana. I have to take care of this, but I’ll see you later, though, right?”
“It’s okay, I’ll go look for the other guys,” I said. Ethan sent me another apologetic smile then walked toward the fight. The bouncer came, and he and Ethan took the two guys and threw them out as people cheered. I felt thirsty as I strolled around the house. Somehow, I ended up outside as I looked around for a drink. I saw a table close by and walked toward it. It held all the different types of liquids. My eyes stopped at a familiar bottle that read Apple Juice. I smiled as I took the bottle and a Solo cup. I drank the liquid anxiously. It tasted good, yet strong. I poured another cup, then walked on as I tried to spot familiar faces.
“Boom!” someone yelled. I turned in the direction of the voice and saw a familiar blond playing beer pong with a few other people.
“Hey, Carter,” I said as I tapped his shoulder. He looked over his shoulder, then down at me as his eyes widened.
“Lana!” he exclaimed, and I looked over his shoulder to see the other guys’ stares. “You look a—”
“Sexy,” the guy I didn’t know said as he winked at me. I rolled my eyes as I looked at Carter.
“Close your mouth. A fly might go in.”
“You look hot.”
“Whatever,” I said. I knew it was rude, but I’ve gotten upset lately that the guys only said that kind of stuff because I dressed up. It made me think back to when Levi didn’t care what I wore. He wanted to show people what a nerd could do, but to be at a party dressed in attire that I’d felt uncomfortable in made me miss him.
“My name is Quinton, by the way.”
“Lana. Happy to meet you.”
“Wanna play, Lana?” Quinton asked as he bit his lip. I looked at Carter, who had his jaw clenched.
“Sure,” I said, then turned back to Quinton as I took a sip of my drink.
“What is that?” Carter asked as he furrowed his brows at my cup.
“Just some juice,” I said with a wink. Carter laughed as he set up cups with the guy from school, whose name happened to be Tyler. He was also on the team and was liked by many.
“You can be on my team,” Quinton said as he wrapped his arm around my shoulder. The smell of alcohol fell from his mouth as he spoke. I nodded as I looked across the table to see Tyler’s smirk as well as Carter’s glare.
Eight cups of beer and three games later, I thought I stood, or leaned on the table, as Quinton threw the ball across the table and into the cup. Tyler groaned as he took the cup and downed the liquid. Carter threw, and it landed in our last cup. I looked at Quinton, who laughed.
“Go for it, babe,” he said. Even though we lost, I still felt like a winner because I got free beer. I clenched the cup in my hand and let the beer run down my throat. I slammed the cup down and threw my hands up in defeat.
“Well, I’m done,” I said as I attempted to walk but fell into Quinton’s arms. “Oh no!” I exclaimed, and we laughed as he held me.
“You’re drunk,” he said after we cooled down. I raised my brow at him and scoffed.
“No way!” I gasped. “How’d you know?”
“Okay, seems like you had a lot of fun,” Carter said as he took me away from Quinton.
“Hey! No fair…he was cute.” I pointed at Quinton, who had a pout on his face. Quinton had beautiful sleek brown hair, he was tall and buff in his plain black shirt, yet I noticed his abs through his shirt.
“Lana, you’re drunk. I’m taking you home,” Carter said as he looked at me. I stared at him, then shook my head.
“Mommy told me never to go in a car with a stranger.”
“Lana, it’s me, Carter Halls? Sex God? Hot blond dude? Also known as your date to Homecoming?”
“Oh yeah!” I jumped into his arms then stroked his hair. “I love your hair.”
“Lana, stay here. I’m gonna get my keys, then I’m taking you home, okay?” he asked. I quickly nodded as he put me on a sofa, then walked into the crowd.
After a minute of Carter being gone, I stood up because I got thirsty. A guy approached me and slapped my ass; I turned around and glared at him.
“What are you gonna do about it, babe?” he asked with a smirk on his face. I stared at the guy and pulled my tongue at him, and he laughed. I immediately wal
ked off with my arms crossed. I passed a table and straightway stopped when I saw bottles. I scanned the bottles as I searched for the right one, Apple Juice. I took the bottle, opened it up, and drank from it. Nobody would drink juice at a party when there’s alcohol.
“Lana! Whoa, slow down!” a familiar voice yelled. A hand wrapped around the bottle and pulled it away from my lips. My eyes narrowed at the person for rudely disrupting my beverage.
“Aidan!” I cheered, then wrapped my arms around his neck.
“You’ve been drinking,” he said as he sniffed me.
“No!” I said and grabbed the bottle. “I’ve been drinking juice, like a good girl.”
“No, Lana, someone just wrote Apple Juice on here. It doesn’t mean it’s actually apple juice!” Aidan scolded. He pointed at the bottle, then peeled off the label, which revealed the big word whiskey. I frowned and shook my head.
“I’m not drunk.”
“Yes, you are! How many fingers do I have?” he said, then held up his fingers. I looked at them and said, “Five.”
“No! I have three!” he said, then showed three fingers.
“No! You asked how many fingers you have. You have five fingers!” I looked at his hand that still held up three. He had a look of confusion, but it immediately changed as he laughed. “But the two are gone now…oh no! Aidan, what happened to your other two fingers?” I exclaimed as my bottom lip curled up. He laughed, and out came two other fingers. “Whoa! How did you do that?” I asked as I played with my fingers.
“Never mind that. The fact is you’re drunk, and you need to get home,” he said, then grabbed my hand.
“No,” I whined.
“Why?” He gaped at me.
“Let’s dance!” I said as I grabbed his arm and took him to the dance floor. “One Dance” by Drake played, and it seemed all the couples got on the dance floor. I grinned at Aidan, who hesitated at first, but when I danced, he quickly changed his expression into a smirk. I held his hands as I swayed my hips; I turned around and leaned on him as his hand went to my waist. Wizkid’s part came on, and I continued to swing my hips against him. It was my favorite part of the song, so I almost forgot he was there. The song ended, and I bit the inside of my cheek as I skipped off the dance floor with Aidan behind.
“Okay, you’re clearly drunk.”
“What do you mean?”
“You wouldn’t dance like that if you were sober. Damn, you would slap me,” he said, then awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. “Especially since I was friends with Parker.”
“You’re so funny, Aidan.” I ignored the last part about Parker as I walked off. “I need more juice,” I said as I grabbed the bottle. Aidan quickly snatched it before I could, and he shook his head.
“No more for you.” I groaned. As I walked off, I heard him yell my name, but I continued to walk. I strolled around until I found the kitchen. It was huge, people made out on the island, and someone even did a body shot! I squinted my eyes to see who did a body shot, and my eyes widened when I saw Jennifer Brighton on the counter, and licking the salt from her stomach was Nick Byrne. I watched as people around them cheered as he took the lime from her mouth. He hopped off the counter, and they got back in a circle.
“Dude, that was epic!” Liam grinned as he high-fived Nick.
“Okay, okay, now, Benny, your turn. Truth or dare?” Kelly asked as she flicked her hair off her shoulder.
“Dare.” He grinned. I walked to the drinks and took another sip of the Apple Juice. I didn’t really care. I was already drunk, so what difference would it make?
“I dare you…” She trailed off as her eyes scanned the room. Kelly’s eyes landed on me as the corner of her mouth turned up. “I dare you to do a body shot with Lana.”
Everyone in the circle froze as they looked at me. I drank the liquid as I tried to mind my own business, yet inside I was nervous.
“Hey, guys!”
“Willson, is that you?” Nick asked as he eyed me. I looked at Benny, who gaped at me.
“The one and only,” I said as I walked to their small circle. Melissa, Kelly, Jennifer, Liam, Nick, Benny, and a few people I didn’t know stood and watched me.
“You look—”
“Ouch!” Nick mumbled as Melissa stepped on his foot.
“Hot,” Benny finished Nick’s sentence.
“Err, thanks, I guess.” I laughed as I struck a pose. Liam laughed beside me while Benny’s mouth couldn’t close. He approached me with his jaw tightened, then placed his hands on my hips. “That tickles, Benny!” I laughed as he lifted me up and put me on the counter.
“You’re drunk,” he stated.
“Well, duh,” I said, then flicked my hair. Benny Nielson laughed as he ran his hand through his red strands of hair. He got on top of me, and I heard Liam and Nick cheer him on. Benny hovered over me as he licked a small area of my stomach, then sprinkled the salt. All eyes were on us, and from the corner of my eye, I saw Kelly whip out her phone. The next thing Benny did, I didn’t expect. He took the lime and held it between his lips as he slowly bent down. His face was mere inches away as we looked into each other’s eyes. I noticed his face still swollen as he leaned forward, the lime brushed over my lips, and he looked down at my lips. I opened my mouth and took the lime in between my teeth. I watched Benny as he slowly traveled down to my open stomach. I didn’t even realize he took off my jacket. He took the shot of tequila and slowly put the cup between my breasts. I stiffened as he smirked. I looked down at him as he looked up, and our eyes met once more as he left a peck on my stomach. I closed my eyes and tilted my head as I felt him lick the salt off. My eyes snapped open as he took the shot of tequila from my breasts. He slowly came back up and grabbed the lime from my mouth. Our lips touched, but he climbed off before I thought any further. He helped me off, and we awkwardly stood side by side.
“That was fun.” I giggled as I took another cup from the island.
“Yeah, err…I think you’re drinking too much,” he said as he slowly took the cup away from me.
“What’s this? Benny Nielson is concerned about me.” I dramatically put my hand to my chest. We laughed but were interrupted when Liam walked over. He gave me my jacket as he smirked at me.
“You look amazing tonight, Lana,” he slurred with a cup in his hand.
“Thanks, I guess. Well, I’ll see you guys later,” I said. Benny smiled while Liam saluted. As soon as my back faced them, I let out a deep breath. I couldn’t believe that Benny Nielson and I did a body shot.
“No, Lana!” I yelled to myself as I walked to the backyard.
“Hey, baby,” a familiar voice said behind me. I turned around and looked up at the tall figure. The lights weren’t bright, so I couldn’t see his face.
“Hello?”
“Really tired of beer pong.” He groaned as he wrapped his arms around my waist.
“Quinton?”
“The one and only, babe.”
“You clearly played too much beer pong.” I laughed as I got a bit uncomfortable with where his hands went.
“Yeah, I miss my old partner,” he mumbled in my ear. His left hand held my arm tight as his right hand squeezed my butt.
“You’re hurting me, Quin—”
“Mm, let’s go inside, baby,” he moaned in my ear. I tried to push him off, but his grip tightened.
“Ouch, Quinton!” I yelled as I tried to shove him away from me.
“Come on,” he growled as he grabbed my arm.
“No, you’re hurting me,” I said as I tried to let go. Quinton cupped my cheeks as he smashed his lips onto mine. The kiss wasn’t sweet at all, no passion, just need and pain. I punched him, but he was too strong as he pulled me closer. I felt him being pulled off, my eyes shooting open as I saw Quinton being punched.
“You fucking dick! Fuck off!” someone yelled.
“Who the fuck are you?” Quinton shouted. People gathered around us. Some even took out their phones. How typical. Quinton punched th
e guy, and he immediately tackled Quinton to the ground. I stepped closer to see who it was, and my eyes widened as I watched Quinton get punched multiple times.
“Hey! Break it up, you two!” Ethan yelled as he came into the circle, followed by the bouncer. Ethan ran to the guy on the ground and pulled him off Quinton. The bouncer grabbed Quinton and held him up. Quinton’s face looked bad as I saw blood from his nose. “What the hell, Blake?” Ethan yelled as he looked at him. Ethan’s eyes then spotted me as his jaw clenched. “What the hell happened?”
“This guy wanted to sleep with Lana, and she obviously didn’t want to, but he kept pulling her.” Blake huffed as he glared at Quinton. I looked at Blake, who had bags under his eyes, and his hair was messed up. Ethan glared at Quinton, then let Blake go.
“Get the hell out of here, Quinton. I never want to see you here ever again! And if you touch her, I swear to God I’ll hunt you down and beat you,” Ethan said. The bouncer and everyone else returned to whatever they did, then shoved Quinton out. “Lana, are you okay?” Ethan asked as he held my hand. I nodded as we walked back into the house.
“I feel sleepy,” I mumbled as I leaned into his chest.
“Lana, don’t sleep! Not here…” He trailed off. My eyes got weaker as they closed.
Chapter Nine
Lana
I opened my eyes and realized I was being carried down a hall. It was quiet, too quiet. I glanced up and saw Blake. We entered another room, and his pace reduced.
“Blake,” I mumbled as I looked up at him. He looked down with a smile on his face as he set me on a bed. “Thank you.”
“No problem, princess,” he said, then sat at the edge of the bed as he took off my shoes. I fake-smiled because I didn’t like that he called me princess as he undid my laces. He looked up, and our eyes met. I stared because I felt calm, and all my worries slipped away.
“Where are we?” I asked as I looked around the room. It seemed dull, white walls covered in band posters, a shelf full of things. There was a desk with a computer and some knickknacks.