POV Jane Doe.

[ Flashback Start. ]

I shook the fog from my senses and realized I was slumped in the backseat of a car that was swerving to the beat of obnoxious music blasting through the speakers. The world outside was just a blur of cheap neon lights and flashing colors, sharp contrasts between light and dark. I squinted, trying to focus on my surroundings.

Nina bobbed her head like a bobblehead, while Calvin sang along to some god-awful Christian drill song. My ears were ringing from the mix of sounds - thumping bass, questionable lyrics about throwing it back for "JESUS—" and Nina's cackling.

"—CHRIST!" I shouted over the noise.

Calvin looking smug took a swig of whatever shit Nina was giving him while driving like he was Vin Diesel on crack. "Damn, Lil J, you got the fucking lyrics to my goddamn song down already?" He chuckled before taking another swig and muttering under his breath, "Fast and Furious should have ended with me, not Paul Walker."

"I couldn't agree more," I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

"Are we in hell yet?" I asked, half-serious.

Nina turned down the volume with a sly grin. "Chill girl, we're just having some fun."

As I started to take in our messed up situation - cramped in Calvin's old Buick, cruising aimlessly with nowhere to go except Penelope's kegger - I couldn't help but feel out of place. We used to sneak out for parties like this all the time in high school, but now everything felt different... heavier.

Like a reminder that I wasn't fully part of this scene anymore.

"You blacked out," Nina explained nonchalantly.

"Lightweight, but damn that ass is fat with a capital P," Calvin just had to chime in, earning a smack on the arm from Nina.

"You're disgusting, Calv."

"Hey," he protested, "I can appreciate a good booty when I see one," he said with a lewd grin.

Would you believe that this idiot graduated with a 4.0 GPA?

"That drink knocked you out cold," Nina nonchalantly shrugged, acting like she didn't give a single fuck about my well-being. Probably because she was still pissed at Calvin for trying to get in my pants, as if I was begging for it.

"I bet Ollie spiked it with roofies," I gagged at the thought and glanced down at my hand still clutching a bottle of tequila. Right, we were running late so we decided to pre-game on the way there. Classic us. Fucking typical.

Nina raised an eyebrow, her smirk turning into a lascivious grin. "So who's this Ollie then? Another one of your conquests?"

I chuckled nervously, knowing I'd dug myself into a hole. "Nah, just my dealer," I said with a wink, trying to play it off cool.

Nina snorted, taking a final drag of her cigarette before flicking it out the window with a practiced ease. She turned to me, her eyes glinting with mischief as she exhaled a plume of smoke. "Oh please, Jane. You're not fooling anyone. We both know you're not just buying drugs from him."

I rolled my eyes, taking another swig from the bottle. "Alright fine, he's also a fuck buddy. Happy now?"

Nina cackled with delight and clinked her bottle against mine. "Cheers to that! Let's get fucked up and forget about all our dirty little secrets."

We chugged down our drinks like it was the fucking elixir of life, knowing that getting completely shitfaced was the only way to survive this goddamn night. I could already feel my liver waving the white flag, begging for mercy as the alcohol hit my system.

We chucked the empty bottles out the window without a second thought, leaving us with just one bottle of tequila to share between me and Nina.

Calvin wasn't allowed to drink anymore after what happened the last time he got wasted behind the wheel. Fucker totaled his car, but of course, his rich daddy was so far up Penelope's family's ass that he managed to sweep the whole thing under the rug like it never even happened.

That's the thing about Oakdale - it's not about white privilege, it's about rich privilege. If you've got enough zeroes in your bank account, you could probably get away with fucking murder in this town, no matter what color your skin is.

By this point, I was so fucked up I could barely tell my ass from my elbow. And though I'm Blasian, the tequila had me feeling like I was one Ugg boot away from starring in a Pumpkin Spice Latte commercial.

My poor liver was working overtime, desperately trying to process the obscene amount of alcohol I'd subjected it to. I'm pretty sure if livers could talk, mine would've been screaming for a restraining order and a one-way ticket to rehab.

But fuck it, right?

I was young, dumb, and determined to make the most of our last night of freedom before adulthood came knocking with its pesky responsibilities and soul-crushing student loan debt. If that meant waking up the next morning with a hangover that could kill a small elephant and a mouth that tasted like I'd French kissed a garbage disposal, then so be it.

YOLO, or some shit like that.

Looking back, it's pretty fucking obvious we were practically begging for trouble. But in that moment? We thought we were hot shit - untouchable, invincible.

We thought we had the whole damn world by the balls.

Oh, how wrong we were.

That night had other plans for us, plans that would take our pathetic teenage dreams and crush them into a fine powder before snorting them up and laughing in our fucking faces.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Let's rewind to the car ride from hell, where it all started to go tits up.

There I was, hanging halfway out the window like a dog with its tongue flapping in the wind, my rat's nest of hair whipping around my face in a tangled mess of poor life choices. Nina was right there with me, the two of us hurling insults at any sorry fucker unlucky enough to cross our path. Our words were slurring together in a goddamn symphony of drunken dipshittery.

"Hey, asshole! Yeah, you with the face!" I hollered at some poor bastard walking his dog. "Your mom's a fucking cum dumpster!"

Nina was cackling like a goddamn hyena, tears streaming down her face as she joined in. "And your dad's a fucking cuck who likes to watch!"

We were on a roll, spitting out every vile, offensive thing our alcohol-soaked brains could come up with. It was like verbal diarrhea, and we just couldn't stop.

"YOUR GRANDMA'S PUSSY IS SO DUSTY, THE ARCHAEOLOGISTS WANNA CARBON DATE THAT SHIT!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, causing Nina to choke on her own spit as she howled with laughter.

"Hey, she's dead," some random guy said as we stopped at a red light, his face a mask of shock and disgust.

"OH MY GOD, SHE DIDN'T MEAN IT! RIP NANA!" Nina yelled back, her fake sobs of remorse quickly dissolving into another round of hysterical giggles.

"HELL YEAH I—" I started to shout, but my words were cut off by a sudden wave of nausea that had me projectile vomiting all over the dude's car like a fucking fire hose.

"Oh shit, I think I'm gonna—" Nina managed to get out before she joined me in painting the poor bastard's ride with a lovely shade of partially-digested tequila and bile.

The guy's face was a picture of absolute fury, his eyes bulging out of his head as he screamed, "You'll regret that, you bitch!"

"Holy shit! Calvin, step on it!" I shrieked, tears of laughter streaming down my face as I tried to catch my breath.

"Push that fuckin' pedal to the metal, babe," Nina slurred, pounding on the back of Calvin's seat like a drunk sorority girl demanding her favorite song.

Calvin didn't need to be told twice. He revved the engine and peeled out of there like a bat out of hell, leaving the irate dude in our dust. But apparently, this asshole had a serious case of road rage, because he started swerving and trying to ram us off the road as soon as the light turned green.

"Jesus fucking Christ!" Calvin yelled, slamming on the gas and weaving through traffic like a goddamn action movie hero. "What the fuck did you two do?!"

"We didn't do shit!" I argued, my words punctuated by another round of manic laughter. "Dude just can't take a fucking joke, apparently."

Nina was practically pissing herself, she was laughing so hard. "Did you see his face? I thought his head was gonna explode!"

We kept cackling like a pack of hyenas, adrenaline coursing through our veins as Calvin managed to lose the psycho in the maze of side streets. It was a fucking rush, the kind of stupid, reckless thrill that made you feel invincible.

Looking back, I should've known that feeling was too good to last. But in that moment, flying down the road with my mates by my side, I was on top of the goddamn world.

If only I'd known just how quickly that world was about to come crashing down around me.

You know, looking back, I should've realized that the universe was about to bend me over and fuck me sideways without so much as a courtesy reach-around. But in that moment, I was too busy laughing my ass off at the little soap opera unfolding in the front seat.

Nina was getting all sentimental and shit, wiping away tears like we were in the middle of a fucking Hallmark movie. "This is why I fucking love you guys," she gushed, grinning like the cat that ate the canary.

And then there was Calvin, making goo-goo eyes at Nina like a lovesick puppy. "But you love me more, right babe?" he simpered, fluttering his eyelashes like he was auditioning for the lead role in Cinderella.

I swear, it was like being trapped in a rom-com from hell. But fuck it, I was too drunk and too amused to care.

I just had to chime in with my two cents. "Yeah, she loves choking on your microscopic dick, doesn't she?"

Calvin shot me a death glare, his face falling faster than a kid's ice cream cone on a hot summer day. But Nina, bless her heart, just patted his cheek like he was a fucking puppy who pissed on the rug.

"Oh come on, it's not that small," Calvin whined, his fragile male ego clearly bruised.

"It's fun-size!" Nina proclaimed with a wink, like that was supposed to be some kind of compliment.

And Calvin, the poor bastard, actually puffed up with pride. "Exactly!"

I couldn't help but snort, rolling my eyes so hard I nearly gave myself a seizure. "Yeah, if by 'fun-size' you mean 'disappointing and unsatisfying.' Seriously, how do you even feel anything with that baby carrot of his?"

Calvin's face turned a shade of red that would make a fire truck jealous. "Fuck you, Jane! My dick is perfectly average, thank you very much. It's not about the size, it's about the skill."

Nina giggled like a schoolgirl, giving Calvin's thigh a reassuring squeeze. "Don't listen to her, baby. Your dick is amazing, and you always make me scream."

Gag me with a fucking spoon. "Ugh, spare me the details of your lukewarm sex life. I've had more mind-blowing orgasms from my electric toothbrush."

Calvin looked like he was about to pop a blood vessel, his knuckles turning white as he strangled the steering wheel. "You're just jealous because you can't get laid unless you pay for it, you skanky ho."

I barked out a laugh, taking another swig from the bottle. "Please, I could get more action in one night than you could in a year, even with your 'is it in yet?' dick. Face it, Calv, you're just pissed because I've gotten more pussy than you ever will."

Nina, ever the peacemaker, held up her hands like a referee calling a time-out. "Okay, okay, enough with the dick-measuring contest. Can we just focus on getting to this fucking party in one piece? I'm too wasted for this shit."

Calvin muttered something under his breath, but turned his attention back to the road. I slumped back in my seat, still snickering to myself as I took another long pull from the bottle.

"Yo, pass that shit," Nina slurred, reaching back for the tequila.

I handed it over and watched as she took a swig, dribbling some down her chin like a fucking toddler. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and let out a satisfied "ahh" before passing the bottle back to me.

"Fuck, I'm gonna miss this," she said, her voice suddenly all serious and shit. "Just the three of us, getting fucked up and raising hell. It's like the end of a fucking era."

I nodded, feeling a sudden tightness in my chest. She was right. This was our last hurrah before we all went our separate ways - Nina to some bougie art school, Calvin to whatever Ivy League his daddy's money could buy, and me? Who the fuck knows.

"We'll still have each other," I said, trying to sound like I actually believed it. "Even if we're not together, we'll always be connected by the shit we've been through. The good, the bad, and the fucking ugly."

Nina smiled, reaching back to squeeze my hand. "Damn straight. Ride or die, bitches."

Calvin cleared his throat, looking uncomfortable with the sudden display of emotion. "Uh, not to ruin the moment, but we're almost at Penelope's. You bitches ready to party or what?"

I laughed, shaking off the melancholy and bringing the bottle to my lips once more. "Fuck yeah, we are."

Nina grinned, cranking the volume back up. "Hell yeah, bitch! It's time to make some memories."

"Memories?" Calvin scoffed. "More like regrets. You know one of us is going to end up naked in a bush by the end of the night."

I snorted, nearly choking on my tequila. "My money's on Nina. She always gets extra frisky when she's drunk."

Nina gasped in mock outrage. "Excuse you, I am a lady! I would never do something so crass as to pass out naked in public."

"Oh really?" I challenged, raising an eyebrow. "What about that time at Tommy Jenkins' party when you got so wasted, you stripped down to your thong and tried to make out with his mom's ceramic goose statue in the front yard?"

Calvin burst out laughing, nearly swerving off the road. "Holy shit, I forgot about that! Didn't you try to motorboat the damn thing, babe?"

Nina crossed her arms, pouting. "It was a heat of the moment thing, okay? That goose had bedroom eyes, I swear."

We all dissolved into hysterics, the tension from earlier melting away. This was how it was supposed to be - the three of us, talking shit and making each other laugh until we pissed ourselves.

A perfect, dysfunctional little family.

"God, I'm going to miss you assholes," I said, my voice cracking with emotion. "Promise me we'll still do this sometimes, even when we're off being responsible adults or whatever the fuck."

Nina's eyes shone with unshed tears as she nodded. "Of course we will, Janey. No matter where we end up, we'll always have each other. Friends forever, right?"

"Friends forever," Calvin agreed, his voice uncharacteristically serious.

I swallowed the lump in my throat, clinking my bottle against theirs. "Friends forever," I echoed, the words feeling like a sacred vow.

If only I'd known then just how fragile that promise was, how easily forever could be shattered by the cruel hand of fate.

But in that moment, as we sped towards the party and an uncertain future, all I could feel was the love and belonging that filled the car like a physical presence. These were my people, my ride-or-die. The ones who knew me inside and out, and loved me anyway.

Even Calvin, though half the time I couldn't stand his douchey ass.

I leaned back in my seat, letting the wind whip through my hair as I raised the bottle to my lips once more. The future could wait. Tonight was about living in the moment, about making memories to last a lifetime.

Even if that lifetime turned out to be a hell of a lot shorter than any of us bargained for.

As the massive lakehouse came into view, already thumping with music and crawling with drunk-ass rich kids, I couldn't shake the feeling that this night was going to be one for the history books - for better or for worse.

Call it intuition, call it a fucking premonition, but some part of me knew that we were hurtling towards something big. Something that would change everything.

But fuck it, right? I was young, dumb, and ready to make some bad decisions. So I shoved that feeling down, threw my head back, and let the laughter rip from my throat like a pack of hyenas on a bender.

I slouched back in my seat, one arm hanging out the window, clutching a bottle of whatever bottom-shelf swill we could afford. As we pulled into the long, winding driveway, I let that bottle fly from my fingers without a second thought, watching it shatter against the perfectly manicured lawn.

Because who gives a shit, right? I was dead, stuck in some never-ending purgatory, and now I had to compete for a chance to live again like some desperate housewife on a reality show. So why not enjoy the little things, like the thrill of petty vandalism and the burn of cheap booze in my gut?

Reality was a stone-cold bitch, but for a fleeting moment, I could pretend that I was on the adventure of a lifetime. That I was hurtling towards something better than the shit sandwich I'd been served.

And if that meant leaving a trail of broken glass and bad decisions in my wake, then fuck it. The afterlife could pucker up and plant a big, wet kiss on my ass.

Little did I know, I was about to get bitch-slapped by the cold, hard hand of fate. And trust me, he hits a hell of a lot harder than any hangover ever could.

[ Flashback End. ]