by Blair Young
I didn’t care who else was there. Molly was conniving, and if there was some way for her to manage to get another dig in at Sutton before graduation, I was sure she would take it.
“Alright,” I said at last. “I’ll do it for you, and for Abby. But be on your guard, okay? I don’t care what Molly said or claims. I don’t trust her, and I don’t want to give her the chance to hurt you again.”
“Thank you,” she said as she gave me a kiss. “I really appreciate you doing this for me.”
“I’d do anything for you,” I said with a smile. “You know that.”
We’d kissed and I’d taken her to bed and made love to her, which was one of the memories I had running through my brain as we both got ready for the party. It was hard to say no to anything Sutton asked me to do, and when I thought about having her naked body in my arms, it was even harder.
I could put up with a few hours at a party if it would make her happy. Anything I could do that would make her happy I wanted to do. I still felt a bit of guilt for what I’d done to her back in grade school, and I wanted to make it up to her as much as I could now.
Molly might have changed. But then again, she might not have. Either way, I would prove to Sutton that I had, and I would continue to be there for her no matter what.
Once we were ready, we hopped on the back of my bike and headed for Molly’s house. I knew right where it was, though Sutton didn’t. She’d never been to Molly’s house in high school, though back at our old school she’d spent more time at the house Molly lived in than at her own place.
I had a knot in the pit of my stomach as we pulled into a parking space among the line of cars on the curb. I didn’t want to go inside. I really didn’t want to see Molly, and even more than that, I really, really didn’t want to see Trent. I had a feeling he Sutton about him the other day, wondering if she might be playing some new game trying to make us jealous.
She sure seemed to be putting on some show whenever she was around him, but it wasn’t going to make me jealous, that was for dang sure. I didn’t want to be with Molly, and though we had dated for a couple of years at the start of our high school careers, I often wondered what I was doing with someone like her even before Sutton came back into my life.
She and I just didn’t see eye to eye on so many things, and she wasn’t afraid to make that known. She would often bully other girls in the school and expect me to be right there with her, but ever since what happened to Sutton, I had no interest on bullying anyone.
She was just easy to be with because we were both popular. And I did like the status that came with dating her. At the same time, when Sutton came back into my life and I realized how stupid I had been for so long, I was more than happy to let all that go and just be the guy I knew I should have been all along.
“Do we just go in?” Sutton asked when we got to the door. “I really don’t go to a lot of parties.”
“Me neither, but yes, that’s what we do,” I told her. “Come on.”
I took her hand, and we walked through the door. I had expected Molly to be nearby, ready to sweep in and make a show of what she had going on, but, she wasn’t anywhere to be seen. There were a lot more people at the party than I thought, too.
Normally, she would have stuck to the popular kids. Sure, there were quite a few of those in school, too, but not nearly as many who were walking around the downstairs of the mansion now.
Another thing I noticed was that her parents weren’t anywhere, either. I hadn’t seen either of their cars when we pulled up to the house, and I didn’t see any sign of them now. Molly, of course, got her way doing anything she wanted, and more than once I had seen her parents pretend to not know what was going on when she asked or did something they wouldn’t approve of.
“Hey! Thank God you made it!” Abby suddenly appeared out of the crowd, and Sutton squealed, hugging her friend in a tight embrace as the two of them jumped around.
“I wanted to hang out with you!” Sutton said as she leaned back slightly. “I’ve missed coming over to your place after school!”
“I know! I’ve missed you, too, but we’re almost done with the biggest part of the packing, then I’ll be able to hang out with you more, I promise,” Abby said. Almost s suddenly as Abby had appeared, Peter was suddenly standing next to her.
“You didn’t stop when I called you,” he said to Abby.
“I found something way more interesting than spiked punch,” Abby said with a laugh. “Look who made it.”
“How’s it going?” I asked Peter. There was a bit of tension between the two of us, I could sense it, and by the way Peter was holding himself rigid next to Abby, I could feel that he sensed it as well. But, he wasn’t going to say anything with the girls there, and I didn’t want to say anything that would make it more difficult for either of them, either.
We might not be the friends that we used to be, but that didn’t change the fact we could still be civil to one another, and for the sake of Abby and Sutton, we would be. I didn’t consider Peter to be an enemy. He was still a good guy in my mind. Just someone who was trying to get through the remainder of school like the rest of us.
We might not get along like we once had, but that was okay. We were nearly adults, and I wanted to act like it.
“Where’s Molly?” Sutton asked Abby. “I thought she would pounce on us the moment we walked through the door.”
“She did to us,” Abby pointed to her and Peter. “We weren’t even all the way in the door before she dragged Trent over and was acting like, well, Molly.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. There was really no way to describe Molly besides using her own name as an adjective. But, it was so perfect, I really couldn’t think of another way to describe her. She was her own thing, that’s for sure.
“She’s over there,” Peter said, pointing over his shoulder with his thumb. “being the queen of the punch bowl. She’s claiming she’s watching it to make sure no one spikes it, but I’m pretty sure she’s the one who spiked it herself.”
“That’s Molly for you,” I said with a shake of my head. “Can’t have a party without something illegal going on.”
“Note to self, don’t drink any of the punch,” Sutton said. “Susan’s mad enough that the two of us are dating, I can’t imagine what she would say if we came home smelling like alcohol.”
“I was going to ask you how that went,” Abby said.
“I’ve got so much to tell you!” Sutton and Abby linked their arms and started off in the direction of the refreshments, so Peter and I followed along. Though there was no denying the tension that was between us, we did our best to strike up a conversation with each other, and it wasn’t long before the iciness started to melt.
I knew Peter didn’t hold anything against me, and I really didn’t have anything against him, either. We just drifted as a result of what happened with Chad. But then, he did point out that he thought it was best to distance himself from Chad as well, which did make things difficult.
But, before too long he and I were chatting away like nothing had happened at all. And, after we managed to get some punch that didn’t have any alcohol added, we were all laughing and talking with each other in our own little group. This might have been a party that was meant to celebrate Abby, but all the other kids were in their own groups, and Molly was too busy showing off Trent to care what we were doing, so we had a good time on our own.
I was surprised how much fun I was having, and how fast the evening was passing as well. I thought the few hours were going to drag by and I would be more than happy to leave when the time came, but each time I looked at the clock, I wished the night wasn’t passing so fast.
We’d have to be heading home before it got too late. I wanted to keep things peaceful with Susan, and I knew if we were out at a party too long she would start to get suspicious over what I was doing. She had to deal with the consequences of some of the things I’d done before, and I didn’t want to open that can of worms aft
er the fight we’d just had over me dating Sutton.
So, I kept an eye on how the party was going, as well as how long we had before I wrapped things up. I knew Sutton would come when I told her it was time for us to go, but I felt bad knowing that I would be pulling her away from Abby.
It wasn’t like they had a lot longer to hang out before Abby was going to move, then Sutton really wouldn’t have many friends left in school – if any. I doubted she and Molly would be friends again, even if Molly really had meant the apology she’d given.
For Sutton’s sake, I hoped Abby would be able to stay through the end of the school year, but there was no way for any of us to know. And that made it hard.
Really hard.
Finally, I knew we were down to the last half hour or so before we had to leave, and I made sure I stuck close to Sutton. I didn’t want her to disappear when we had to get going, and with how much she was hanging with Abby, I knew it would be easy to lose her among the crowd.
It was hard for me to decide for us to go, too, but I was just about to tell Sutton we had to get things wrapped up when another familiar face appeared in the door. Of course, he would wait for the end of the party to show up, and I was glad I hadn’t had to deal with him all night, but now, it seemed there would be no avoiding it.
Perhaps the last person I wanted to see had just walked in, and I hoped against hope he would have the sense to just ignore me and talk to Molly and Trent.
The last thing I wanted to do was even look at him, let alone talk to him. But there he was.
Chad.
Chapter 11
Sutton
I didn’t notice Chad walk in at first, but when I saw him, my heart sank. I first noticed Damon staring at the doorway with a tense look on his face, so my eyes wandered to find what he was looking at.
Chad was very clearly drunk, and I wondered where he would have gotten the alcohol before coming to the party. It wasn’t like it was easy for most of us high schoolers to get our hands on liquor, but there was no denying he wasn’t in a sober state of mind.
There was a part of me that was surprised Molly would have invited Chad. I had wondered more than once if there was something between the two of them after I had turned Chad down in my bedroom and he and Damon had gotten into that fight.
With her newfound relationship with Trent, I was sure she would have avoided brining Chad into the mix. But then, it was Molly, and I wasn’t even sure they really did have a relationship. Or, if they did, she was just as likely to invite Chad anyway to try to make him jealous over her.
Molly thrived on people being jealous of her. She wanted them to want to be her. She had been a chubby girl in school, and she had endured a lot of teasing herself. Perhaps not to the same extent as I had. No, definitely not to the same extent that I had, but she definitely knew what it was like to be teased over something shallow like that.
Now, she was clearly making up for it. She wanted the whole world to worship her and wish they were her. She made that very clear. She didn’t even have to say it. it was obvious by the way she flaunted herself to anyone and everyone, making sure she was the one who was noticed and she was the one they admired.
Shoot, this was Abby’s going away party, and she was the one who was soaking in all the attention. Not that Abby cared. I knew she didn’t want to be the center of attention, let alone from the whole school, but still. If I had been in charge of the party, I would have made sure that Abby was honored for the good person she was.
Damon turned slightly to me. “I want to go.”
“Okay,” I said with a nod. I was sure he wouldn’t want anything to do with Chad, and I was more than willing to get out of there before they erupted into a fight. I didn’t want there to be any more tension with Susan at the house, and she was reluctant to let us come to the party in the first place. If she were to hear of a fight that took place, I knew it wasn’t going to go over well.
“Damon!” Chad called out as we tried to slip through the crowd toward the door. “I see you!”
“Get out of my face Chad!” Damon snapped. “I’ve got nothing to say to you.”
“Really? Well I’ve got a lot to say to you! So much for the three of us being best buds, right?” Chad slurred.
“Let it be,” Damon growled. “You’re the one who screwed up our friendship, not me. If you had been half decent, I would still hang out with you. I don’t spend time with scoundrels.”
“I don’t spend time with whores!” he pointed at me as he spoke. “And ever since you started sleeping with this one, you’ve been a complete jerk to the rest of the world!”
“Don’t you dare call her that!” Damon puffed out his chest and went at Chad. He marched right up to him, and I was sure he was going to swing. I didn’t want the two of them to get in a fight, but there was something hot about the way Damon always stood up for me.
He had done it to Dean, he had done it to Susan, and now he was doing it to Chad all over again, and this time in front of the whole school. Sure, he might have fought Chad in the ring for my honor, but no one who was watching that fight realized how personal it was.
Now, everyone was gathering around to see the confrontation take place, and I could see by the smug look on Molly’s face she was happy, too. She had her arm around Trent, her free hand on his chest as the two of them turned to take in the drama as it unfolded. She clearly wasn’t going to say or do anything to break up the fight, and I was tempted to step in myself.
The last thing I needed was for this to turn into anything I couldn’t control, and I had a feeling that was going to happen.
“You going to hit me? You going to show the whole class that you settle everything with your fists?” Chad challenged.
“You settle everything like a coward!” Damon snapped back. “Getting drunk then coming in here and calling girls names. Some man you turned out to me. I would like to see you actually act like an adult for once and stop this stupid child’s play you’ve been doing for the past few months! Come on, let’s settle this once and for all like two men!”
“This isn’t the time or the place,” Peter said, suddenly grabbing Damon by the arm and pulling him back.
I hadn’t realized that I was stepping forward to get involved myself until I realized I was being held back, too. Abby had my arm, and she wasn’t letting me step into the fight. It might be something about me, but she knew that it was really between Damon and Chad.
Chad could blame me for losing his friendship all he wanted, but the fact of the matter was that he was the one who had screwed up, and that was the end of that. Damon wasn’t going to let him put the blame of that on me. I hadn’t done anything wrong that night, or any time since.
I told him no, and he hadn’t listened, so of course Damon was going to step in and kick Chad out. And Chad was the one who had taken it a step further and challenged Damon to a fight in the ring over it. Sure, he might have apologized after the fact, but that didn’t seem to mean anything.
It wasn’t ever too long before he was right back to the accusations he’d made before. Telling the whole world that it was my fault he wasn’t friends with Damon anymore, and making it seem like I only wanted to step into the school to tear them apart.
Peter turned Damon toward me, trying to calm him down a bit. They weren’t on the best terms, either, and I knew it wasn’t going to take much for Damon to turn on Peter, too. He was doing his best to be friends with him because of Abby and my friendship, but he wasn’t going to let them push him around.
When it came down to it, he would stand up to both of them, at the same time if he had to. I knew him well enough to know he would. But, seeing me, he did seem to relax and Peter stepped into the fight.
“Screw off, Chad,” he said with a wave of his hand. “No one cares about your whining anymore.”
“Come on, you know you took a hit when it came down to it, too,” Chad said with a sneer. You’re not his friend any more than I am, and it’s all because of he
r.”
“That’s not true,” Peter said. “And you better get out of here before something happens you regret.”
“Like that’ll happen,” Chad sneered again.
“Let’s get out of here,” Damon said as he turned to me. “I’m over this crap and I’m done partying. I don’t want to hang out with this jerk.”
I nodded, unable to find my tongue. I turned quickly to Abby and gave her a tight squeeze.
“I’ll text you when I get the chance, okay?” Abby said in my ear. “Thank you so much for coming, I’m sorry that this happened.”
“It’s not your fault,” I said. “I’ll text you and let you know we made it back to our house safely.”
“Okay,” Abby gave me another tight squeeze before letting me go, then I followed Damon out of the house and back to the bike. He was walking quickly, muttering something under his voice the entire time. I wasn’t sure what he was saying, but I knew he wasn’t talking to me so I didn’t push it. I didn’t want to make him angrier than he already was, and I had a feeling he was already tense enough it wouldn’t take much.
So, I just got on the back of the bike after he grabbed the handle bars, and wrapped my arms around him. I hoped the feeling of my body pressed against his would be enough to help calm him, but the entire ride back to our house, I could feel the tension in his body. He was shaking, he was so mad about the situation, and there wasn’t anything I could do about it.
Part of me felt bad that I had been the one to drag him to the party. He didn’t want to go. I could sense it when I asked him. But, I knew he came for me. He didn’t want me to miss out on a chance to hang out with Abby when she was moving away in just a short while, so he put up with going to the party and hanging out with people he would rather not see for me.
He put the bike in the garage, and we walked inside. Susan and Dean were in the living room, and Damon waved his hand at them as we walked inside to let them know we were home. Dean checked the clock on the wall and gave us the thumbs up, seeing that we made it back by our curfew, then we headed upstairs.