Chapter Four

"Don't ever let me drink again."

The burning headache stays on my forehead as I stare up at the roof of the Argent's house. I ended up staying the night at Allison's, I can't remember that much of last night, to be honest. I think Allison didn't trust me to be by myself so she offered a sleepover and I thin—no, I know, I said yes.

Allison laughs softly at me as she sits up. "You were having a good time, I didn't know you were such a lightweight."

I sat up and glared at her. "I'm not a lightweight!"

She shushes me softly. "Mom and Dad aren't really impressed with you at the moment, don't give them another reason to—"

There was a knock on the door and my blush grew on my cheeks. Oh, God, what did I do last night to piss off the Argent's? Probably meeting them for the first time drunk. I cringed at myself, Allison giving me a smug smile as she calls out a "come in".

I looked over at the door that was pushed open. The Argent's had a pretty nice house, if I might add. "Good morning, sweetheart." It was Chris, Allison's Dad. I pulled my knees close to my chin, embarrassed. "How are you feeling, Paige?"

"Pretty good," I replied, lying my ass off. I can't reply with 'I've got a hangover'. "Er—sorry about last night, sir. That was pretty unprofessional of me, I shouldn't have—"

"It's okay, Paige," Chris cut me off and sent me a reassuring smile. "Do your parents know you're here?"

My parents. No, they probably don't know I'm here. I nod my head, once again, lying. "Yes, they know I'm here and they told me to tell you thanks for having me."

"No problem," Chris replies back, his eyes landing back to Allison. "Allison, can I have a word with you?"

Allison nods and climbs out of her bed. "I'll be right back." Allison tells me and leaves the room with her Dad, closing the bedroom door behind her.

Her room is reasonable and cute. There's a closet a feet away from her bed, drawers, and a window that leads to the roof. I walked over to the window, forcing myself out of bed and ignoring the pain in my head.

I opened the window, sliding it up. The breeze comes in and I get goosebumps from the cold, but I ignored that, too. I climbed to the roof without thinking. I always liked to be adventurous, even if it's someone else's house.

I stayed up on the roof, not really sure how long, but Allison was calling for my name. I replied with an "On the roof". Allison poked her head out of the window and smiled up at me. She climbed towards me and sat next to me.

"What're you doing up here?" Allison asked quietly.

I shrugged. "I'm not really sure... I guess to clear my mind."

"Yeah, I like it up here, too." Allison admits. "It's... Peaceful."

I gave her a half-smile, pulling my legs closer to my chin as I looked out the view. "You know, I've known for almost a week and know nothing about you." I speak, glancing at Allison who was staring out to the view. "Tell me something."

"Hm," she hums. "You can't laugh at me."

I frowned at her. "I could never laugh at you. Did you not see me last night or something?"

She smiled, letting out a laugh. "Yeah... Uh," she cleared her throat. "My favourite sport is Archery."

I didn't laugh, I just gave her a surprised look. "Oh." I spoke and her eyes. "No, not "oh" like "oh", er—I—"

She giggled, cutting me off. "It's okay, Paige. Seriously. I know, it's a weird, not most girls would—"

"No, it's not weird!" I cut her off this time. "It's kind of cool, actually. You could be like Katniss Everdeen."

She lets out another giggle. "God, imagine." She rolled her eyes. "Go on, tell me something about you."

I bite my lower lip, my eyes going back to the view. What should I tell her? The fact that I'm alone? That she's my first friend in a long time?

"Er..." I uttered out. "I—I don't know what to tell you."

"Well, what's your favourite thing to do in the whole world?" Allison prompts some questions for me which I was grateful for.

"Er—playing piano," I admit. "Playing piano is my favourite thing to do. It's my escape from reality. My reality, it... It sucks."

"How so?" Allison murmurs out, her eyes softening towards me.

"I—" I fumble around with my words before I could actually say a proper sentence. God, I'm a stuttering mess. "I can't..."

"It's okay," Allison cuts me off. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have pushed you. Talk when you're ready."

"Thanks." I managed to whisper out. "Um, I should probably get going." I'm surprised my parents haven't thrown me a search party yet. But, they're probably too busy at work. "Thank you for letting me stay the night,"

She smiled, nodding. "Anytime, Paige. I had a lot of fun taking care of you."

I sighed, dropping my shoulders. "I'm so sorry,"

She giggled. "No, it's okay. I quite like drunk Paige, she's something else."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, yeah."

I climbed back into Allison's room with her following beside me. She led me downstairs and to the door.

"Paige!" I turned around and saw that Mrs. Argent had some pancakes on a plate in her hand. "How about you join us for breakfast?"

I almost froze. As much as I would love to join the Argents for breakfast; I already felt like I was intruding just being here under this circumstance, I couldn't stay for breakfast. "I—I shouldn't—"

"Please?" Allison cuts me off, her brown eyes going wide and giving me this puppy dog look. I frowned at her actions and nodded.

"Only if that's okay,"

"Of course it is," Allison smiled widely. "Come on," she grabbed me by the hand and we walked by her Mom and into the kitchen. "Pancakes smell lovely, Dad,"

Chris was behind the cooking off these pancakes. He turned back around to us, a friendly smile set on his face. "Thank you, darling." He gave me a short nod in acknowledgement and I didn't know what to say back to him.

We made our way to the table, Mrs. Argent bringing out some orange juice, two glasses already out in front of us. There were different types of toppings scattered all over the table.

"Wow." Allison muttered, narrowing her eyes slightly at the sight. "Um—enjoy, I guess." Victoria placed the pancakes on the table.

Minutes later, once Chris finished cooking the pancakes, Victoria and Chris joined us, siting opposite.

"So, Paige," Victoria began and I almost froze, again. No offense, but Victoria didn't seem like the kindest woman out there. She has this stern look on her face all the time and she's trying to cover it up right now with a fake smile. "Tell us a bit about yourself, we've never met Allison's friends before."

Allison blushed furiously. "Mom!"

"Allison." She replied back coldly, staring her daughter down. Allison nods as if to submit and shrinks in her chair, frowning to herself.

"Er—" I mumble, not meaning to. "There's nothing much, to be honest. My mother's a doctor at Beacon Hills Hospital and my father's a deputy... I've lived here my entire life... Um..."

Victoria nods. "Hm, so do you drink or smoke?"

My eyes widen, along with Allison's. "Mom—"

"Er, I don't really drink, and I would never touch weed," I blurt out. This is the time to apologize for myself last night. "I'm really sorry about last night, truly. I never drink, and I'm happy to say that that will be the last time I ever take a sip of alcohol—I'm—I'm sorry."

Victoria doesn't move, her eyes boring into mine and my heart is racing. Victoria's rather scary. "Apology accepted," she maintained eye contact. "But don't ever show up to my house like that again."

I nodded, a blush covering my entire cheeks. How embarrassing. God, I hate this. I want to find my car and go home.

"Um, Paige, didn't you say you had something to get to?" Allison questioned, her eyes darting over to me worriedly. I knew what she was doing so I nodded and began to get up.

"Oh, I didn't realise the time, I have a piano lesson," I lied. Allison got up as well. "Er—Allison, do you mind dropping me off to my car?"

Allison nods. "Of course."

"Thank you for having me, Mr. and Mrs. Argent," I speak sincerely, glancing between them. Neither of them said anything as I awkwardly left the room, Allison following behind me.

She sighed. "Oh, Paige, I'm so sorry. I didn't know my Mom was going to grill you like that—"

"It's fine," I shake my head. "I totally deserve that one." I lowered my voice. "Your Mom scares me."

She gave me a light smile. "My Mom scares me, too."