Alexia’s POV

“A-Ash, I’m not so sure about this…” I muttered nervously, tugging at the sleeves of the  cream colored blouse I was wearing. Ashley had me pair this with a red skirt and a pair of red converse. 

“Oh come on, we didn’t spend all that time getting dressed up for nothing! And besides, this is the biggest party of the year, seniors always celebrate on the last day of school. Not to mention that you really need a distraction right now, and what could be better?” she argued, using the rearview mirror to check her make-up. She was wearing a simple but flattering blue dress with black trim.

“I just don’t know… I’ve never been to a party and I’ve never drank before,” I admitted sheepishly. 

Ashley turned to me, grin cheeky. “Well then, we’ll have to change that.” She grabbed the handle to the car door, giving me one last look. “Come on, let’s go. You’ll have fun, I promise.”

Then she climbed out of the car, leaving me to wonder whether or not I should actually do this. She said I’d have fun, but this wasn’t really my crowd. I frowned. Maybe I should just go hom--

My train of thought broke off and began to grow darker. 

“I don’t have a home, remember?” I spat out bitterly, and that’s what finally made up my mind. I got out of the car, humid summer air hitting my skin. 

“Ready?” Ashley asked, standing beside the car door. 

I nodded, flashing her my most convincing smile. “Yup. Let’s go.” 

“Great!” she squealed, dragging me up to the door. You could already hear the music pounding from inside, and the muffled voices of teenagers. She didn’t even knock as she opened the door and strolled in, bringing me with her. 

The first thing I noticed was that all the furniture had been pushed against the walls, creating a large space currently being taken up by dancing teenagers. Then I saw a table filled with a variety of snacks and drinks, especially beer kept in a bucket of ice. There was also a bowl of punch which I automatically assumed had an extra kick in it if you know what I mean. 

Remind me not to touch that. 

Ashley walked straight up to the table filled with refreshments and handed me a beer while grabbing one for herself. “And here you go,” she said, plopping it into my hand. “It might feel weird at first, because you’ve never drank, but you’ll get used to it. And you might even grow to like the buzz.” Ashley winked as she opened her beer and took a sip. 

I followed her lead, gulping nervously as I stared at the shiny brown bottle. Then I brought it to my lips and tilted it upwards, the liquid flowing into my throat. It was tangy, and slightly bitter. But overall not bad. 

I took another swig as Ashley gave me another smile, then proceeded to drag me to where everyone else was dancing. She brought me directly into the center, and I froze, unsure of what I should do amidst everyone else.

However, she started to dance wildly, or as I liked to call it, having some sort of spasm. Yet she did it with so much confidence and seemingly without a care in the world.

She certainly seemed to be enjoying herself, and soon I felt myself grinning from ear to ear, swaying to the music enthusiastically. 

“Come on Alex! You can do better than that,” Ashley taunted, still moving crazily. “Loosen up, take another sip!” 

Wordlessly I complied, and practically felt my worries starting to slip away. 

As the night wore on, I found myself finishing my first beer. Then my second. 

It seemed like no time had passed until I had a third beer in my hand, and by now I was definitely feeling quite.. woozy.

“Is this what being drunk feeelss likee?” I slurred to the nearest person, my brain in a hazy bliss. They shrugged me off, giving me a weird look, before walking away and I simply laughed. Loud boisterous laughter, as if it was the funniest thing in the world. 

I had long lost track of Ashley, losing her somewhere in the house. 

Hmm… maybe I should find her. She might be having fun without me! 

With the thought of her having more fun than I was, I set out to find her, pushing my way through the crowd of other drunk people. 

It had probably been a good two hours since I’ve been here, and some people had been here for even longer. 

“Ashleeyyy!” I called, stumbling slightly. I could feel a dull pounding in my head, but it was covered by a sort of numbness that I could only describe as someone trying to smother it with a fluffy pillow. “Come out come out wherever you are!” I said in a sing-song voice as I made my way through the rooms. 

I heard people muttering cusses at me as I walked around, tripping onto them. I brushed them off with a ease that I had never had before, completely uncaring at this point. 

“Ashhh,” I whined, “where are youuu?” 

My eyes were slightly blurry, and I had to squint slightly. Then I saw a girl with hair just like Ashley’s, and immediately tried to run over to her. 

“Ashhleyy!” I yelled, arms outstretched as I sprinted. At least, I thought it was a sprint. I was falling everywhere, I must’ve looked like my legs were broken the way I couldn’t seem to stay upright. “I found youuu!” I screamed right into her ear, leaning on her heavily. 

“Ew, what are you talking about? I’m not Ashley.” The girl who I was clinging to turned to glare at me, frowning deeply. 

“What are you talking about? Of course you are!” I gave her a happy grin as she tried to shove me off. Yet I held on like my life depended on it. 

“Alexia? Is that you?” A familiar voice rang in my ears, and I immediately released the girl, turning to face whoever had just spoken to me. 

Blinking, I struggled to see blonde hair and those blue eyes I knew so well. 

“Colin?” I asked, positive my words were slow and stuttered. 

“Yeah…” he said hesitantly, and I could see his eyes rake over my form. “Are you drunk?” 

I giggled, taking another swig of the beer. “Nope,” I hiccupped, followed by a burp. “Oops, scusie,” I said, giggling again. “That wasn’t very lady like of mee.” 

“Okay, I think you’ve had enough of that,” Colin muttered, scrunching his nose as he removed the empty beer bottle from my hand. 

I let out a sound of protest, trying weakly to get it back. “Heyy, that’s minee, get your ownn,” I whined, making another swipe at it. He simply held the bottle above his head, and I huffed. 

“No way, you’re already drunk enough. Is this your first time drinking?” Colin raised a quizzical brow at me, but I just waved it off, refusing to look at him. 

“Pshhh, naw. Is this your first time drinking? I’ve drunken the alcohol before!” I blabbered. My eyes gave him a quick peek to see him trying to hide an amused smirk. I turned to face him fully, sticking my tongue out. “I’m gonna go get another beer,” I grumbled, starting to head back towards the table. 

“No you’re not. Come on, let’s go.” Colin grabbed my arm before I could make my escape, starting to pull me with him. 

“No,” I whined, attempting to struggle away from him. “Let me go. I need to find Ashleyy,” I complained, trying to use that as my excuse to get away from him. 

“Ashley brought you here?” I nodded. “Oh god I’ll definitely need to talk to her later,” he mumbled. “But for now, you’re coming with me. You definitely need to sleep this off or something.” 

Colin continued to lead me through the rooms until we reached the front door. 

“But Collieee,” I wailed, trying harder to get out of his grip. “I wanna stayyy, I was having so much funnnn.” I let myself relax for a second, and he loosened his grip. It was in that split second I gave a sharp tug and managed to sloppily pull away. I let out a laugh similar to that of a maniac, running as fast as my wobbly legs could carry me through the crowds. 

Yet it probably wasn’t ten seconds later until I felt myself being scooped up and thrown over someone’s shoulder like I weighed nothing. 

“Nice try,” Colin laughed, before carrying me out. 

I wiggled slightly, trying to get his hold to loosen so I could run again. It wasn’t long til I realized that my attempts were futile, and so I settled for looking angry with my arms folded . 

People gave us curious stares as we walked out of the house, but none of them bold enough to stop and ask about it. 

Colin carried me all the way to his car, where he gently settled me into the passenger seat before climbing into the driver’s seat and starting the car. 

“I’m taking you home,” he stated, heading down that way. 

A rush of panic filled me, and I let out a loud, “No!” 

Colin seemed startled as his eyes flickered to mine. “And why not?” 

At this moment I couldn’t remember exactly why; the pounding in my head had become much more prominent and I couldn’t think straight. I just knew that when he said the word ‘home’, my entire body had filled with dread and I felt the insatiable urge to break down. 

“Because,” I huffed, physically unable to elaborate at the moment. 

There was a silence as Colin waited for me to continue, but once he realized I wasn’t going to, he said, “Okay then, fine. I’m taking you to my place.” 

“Why can’t I just go to Ashley’s?” I asked, using an obnoxiously whiny voice. 

“Well, she isn’t home right now, and I doubt she’d be home until the morning,” Colin replied, the words coming easily to him. 

“Why?” Colin was silent for a few seconds, not answering my question. Then it clicked, even through the mush I called a brain. “Oh.” 

“Yup.” 

I felt my cheeks flame up, and resigned to staring out the window for the rest of the car ride. It was only another five minutes or so until we had reached Colin’s house however, but by that point my eyelids were starting to grow heavy. The warmth spreading throughout my body from the alcohol and the silent darkness were making me incredibly sleepy. 

I was so tired and still pretty out of it from drinking that I stumbled several times before Colin decided to carry me inside, bridal-style. 

At this point, I didn’t even care. I just wrapped my arms limply around his neck as I snuggled into his chest, tired as hell and a headache forming quickly. 

I felt myself being laid on a bed, and I instinctively crawled under the covers, relishing in the warmth. 

The bed dipped slightly as another weight climbed in, but I ignored it as I welcomed the sleep that had been wanting to take me. 

.

.

.

ergh i'm so sorry it's taking me so long to update, and as much as i want to blame midterms.... it's really all my fault bc i'm a lazy arsehole and i'm sorry for it ._. i have one more chapter after this written, and i'll post it on friday! this book is almost over though, yay? or nay? idk i don't really like this story but since i'm almost done already, you guys deserve an ending. 

i really am sorry and i seriously love all of you who stuck by me all this time and stuff <3

 but again, i DO NOT condone underage drinking. please don't do it, and if you do, make sure you call for a ride and don't try to drive yourself. oh, and don't get into a car with someone who's drunk either. but i'm sure by now you've all heard enough of that