Ally's pov:

I shouldn't have taken that shot. 

Is what I keep telling myself as I try to keep up with Claire and Axel's conversation. Claire had mentioned that she had the certain skill set it takes to get away with murder, and Axel did the mistake of asking her to prove it. 

She is currently on reason number sixty-three, and I am now a bit more afraid of my roommate. 

I will be sleeping with one eye open tonight.  

But it wasn't until Claire convinced Zoe and I to take another shot with her for the alcohol to really hit me. 

My heading was spinning, my stomach felt queasy, and I found myself saying things without thinking first. I can't even count how many times Claire and Axel started laughing as either Zoe or I said something that didn't make sense.  

Even though Zoe and I found ourselves drinking the same amount as Claire, we were already borderline drunk whereas she was barely tipsy. 

I've never been drunk before. 

It's a weird feeling. 

"Have I ever told you how pretty you look?" Zoe drunkenly asks as she puts her hand on my shoulder, trying to balance herself.

I look at her through hazy eyes and giggle, "My looks are nothing compared to yours."

I don't know how long we've been here, hanging out and drinking in our small corner in the kitchen, but if I were to guess, I would say a bit over two hours. 

In the beginning, I felt a bit guilty that Axel was staying with us while his roommate walked around and partied like a normal college student, but when I stated my concern, he brushed it off and repeated that he wasn't a party person. 

"We should dance!!" Zoe shouts to me as she looks towards the living room where students were squished together in some sort of horrible looking circle. 

In any other circumstance, I would have said no, because that just looks like a claustrophobia attack waiting to happen, but since I wasn't in the right state of mind, I nodded my head excitedly. 

I turn towards Claire and Axel while throwing an arm over Zoe's shoulder, "We are going to dance!!" I announce, throwing my other arm in the air as the side of my body collides with Zoe, causing the both of us to almost tumble over. 

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Claire snickers as she watches as Zoe and I almost fall, barely having the stability to stand on our own two feet. 

"What do you mean, I love dancing..." Zoe draws out, looking towards everyone else who was already dancing. 

I find myself looking at her excitedly, "I love dancing too!!!" I shout. 

Claire shakes her head at the two of us, "You two can barely stand, plus," she looks over our shoulders at the students dancing, "I don't trust any of the guys in that dance circle."

In any normal circumstance, I would have found myself agreeing, but since that is not the case, I whine, "But Claire....." like a child who didn't get their way. 

She rolls her eyes before looking over at Axel, "What do you think?"

If he agrees with her, he's a traitor, and I make sure he knows that as I give him my best intimidating look. 

His eyes find mine as he seems to be thinking, and I decide to change my method of intimidation to pleading by crossing my hands together and giving him puppy-dog eyes. It only takes a few seconds after that for him to sigh and mutter, "I'll come with." 

"Yes!!!" Zoe and I both shout, before attempting to high-five, but we miss terribly and almost hit each other in the face.

We both then start laughing as we attempt to high-five again, but this time, we actually hit each other in the face. 

"Are you sure you want to deal with them," Claire whispers loudly to Axel, causing both Zoe and I to look at her with our mouths dramatically open.  

"We're not even that drunk-..." Zoe attempts to argue, taking a step towards Claire, but the action only causes her to stumble forward, nearly falling to the ground. 

Claire and Axel, who had leaned forward to catch her when she stumbled, both shake their heads before looking at each other, "We are in for a long night, aren't we?" Axel jokes, causing Claire to laugh. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I don't quite remember how exactly I got to the dance floor from the kitchen, but all I know is I seem to have gotten a bit drunker, or at least I feel like it. 

All I am currently aware of is that I am squished between Zoe and Axel, my feet hurt, and I'm not sure if I want to puke or lay on the floor and take a nap. 

I decide to do neither, because that would be quite embarrassing.

After only a few minutes of being out here, Dylan had somehow found us and joined our little circle. He was shocked that we were able to get Axel to the dance floor, stating that in the years he's known him, he's only been able to convince him a few times. 

Dylan didn't seem to be that drunk, but with the faint tint of lipstick on his lips, I concluded that he's been rather, busy.

"Are you two having fun?!" He shouts to us, and by that point, I was so gone, I couldn't even form a response in my head before Zoe, saying that we were.

I nod to agree, which makes Dylan grin, "I told you guys you'd have fun," he says, nudging us.

I don't know how much more time passed before Zoe turned to me. 

"I want to dance in the middle." Zoe whines, tugging on my arm while pointing toward the center of the dance floor.

It was at that moment though when my feet really began to hurt, and as much as I wanted to, the conscious part of me that was still left told me I should sit down. 

"I'll take you!" Dylan thankfully answers before I had to and takes her to the center, leaving Axel and I by ourselves. 

I begin to fidget as I shift my weight from one foot to another, trying to ease the pressure on my legs. After a few seconds of doing so, Axel drapes his arm over me to stop my fidgeting. I look up at him the same time he looks down at me with concern.

"Are you alright?" He asks in my ear. For however long we've been out here on the dance floor, Axel has been able to shield any guy who approached us with his large frame, and for that, I was thankful, because I was able to enjoy my goofy dancing with Zoe without interruption. 

"You would make a fantastic bodyguard." Once again, I lose any sense of control over my mouth as my thoughts speak out loud. 

A light shade of pink brushes his cheeks as he smiles, "I'll take that as a compliment."

"It is a compliment; bodyguards need to have muscle." And as if my thoughts speaking out loud wasn't enough, my actions were just as bad. To prove my point, I point to the muscles on the arm that wasn't wrapped around my shoulder. 

He laughs, running his hand through his hair, "Well aren't you just full of compliments, I like this drunk version of you."

"I'm just being honest." I shrug my shoulders. I look around us, finding that the limited space we had somehow got smaller as students squished around us to dance.

And then I felt hot.

Really, really hot. 

"I don't think I feel good." I whisper-shout in his ear as I grab ahold of his arm. 

"Do you want to go outside?" He asks, his eyes wide with worry as he looks at me. 

I nod and let him drag me through the crowd of students to the backdoor. It was much less crowded out here, with groups of students just lingering about in small groups. 

He pulls me down to sit with him on the grass, away from everyone else. 

"Is this better?" he asks, patting my leg. 

"Much better." I sigh, resting my head on the side of his shoulder. 

Sitting had helped the throbbing in my head and legs, making it much more tolerable, but I knew tomorrow morning I would have a mess of a hangover. 

We sit for a few minutes in silence as we watch students, much drunker than me, fall over each other. It was quite amusing, and I think Axel felt that way as well because I felt him chuckle a few times from underneath my head. 

I let my thoughts wander to Claire and Zoe, and then to Sophia.

I hope her night is going well. 

"I wish Sophia was here," I say out loud, watching as yet another student trips down the stairs. 

"I wanted to ask what that was about, but I didn't want to intrude," Axel says, his head turning down towards me. 

I nod against his shoulder, "You wouldn't intrude."

I let a few seconds pass before I speak again, "I think she has a controlling boyfriend." 

Should I be telling Axel this?

Probably not.

But once again, one thought just leads to another, "he doesn't like you guys very much."

 Axel chuckles at the frown on my face before responding, "By the sounds of it, I don't think I like this guy either. Sounds like a douche." 

His choice of words made me giggle because I thought the same exact thing. 

"He definitely is, but it's also annoying." I huff, crossing my arms over my chest in annoyance, and because it's a bit chilly. I'm a Californian, I was not made for this New Jersey weather.  

But if there was a way I could tell her that her boyfriend was controlling, while not hurting her feelings, I would. 

"Don't let it bother you too much, I'm sure she will come around." He says, putting a hand on my thigh.

I think sober me would have melted into a puddle from his action. 

Drunk me is liking it a lot more than I should. 

"I don't think she will," I say, staring at his hand that was now rested on my thigh. 

"Why not?"

"Because whatever mean things he said about you guys somehow convinced her to not come out." I admit before my brain could stop me.

I shouldn't have said that.

I really, really shouldn't have said that. 

"What did he say?" He asks, the tone of his voice dropping as he looks down at me. I lift my head from his shoulder to look him in the eyes. 

"I don't think I should say." I admit, looking down at the grass.

"That bad?" he asks. 

"No, it's not that. I just don't think Sophia will ever forgive me if she finds out I said something at all." I say, nervously rubbing the back of my neck.

It's not that I think Axel would run off and tattle to his friend....

Infact, I think I would be the one to tattle if I were to say anything more. 

The guilt would eat me alive if I did, and when I'm guilty, I'm awful at keeping secrets. 

Which is why Ella and I rarely ever got away with things as kids, because my guilty ass would tattle us out from guilt. 

Sometimes, I'm surprised Ella still talks to me. I was an awful partner in crime. 

"You're a good friend to her." he says, lightly squeezing my thigh. 

"But now I feel bad." He was right, I am way too honest when I'm drunk. 

"Why?"

"Because I didn't tell you." 

"You said it wasn't bad, so I believe you," he says, and from the tone of his voice, I could tell that it was the complete truth.  

Somehow, that makes me feel even more guilty. 

"Are you sure?"

He nods, and I let him pull me into a hug.

He's warm and smells so good. 

I force myself to not admit those words out loud, and somehow my brain listens. 

I allow myself to close my eyes and enjoy this moment, but of course, every nice moment must come to an end. 

"Axel! Ally!!" Claire shouts, running over to us. She stops a few feet in front of us while taking deep breaths to catch her breath. 

"What's wrong?" I ask, noticing the panic in her eyes. 

"Dylan just got himself into a fist fight with one of the guys from the frat." She rushes out, pointing towards the house.

That's when I heard it, students shouting as others started running into the house to see what was going on.

Axel shoots up from ground before holding out a hand to help me up. Then, the three of us rush into the house. 

Hey guys!!

What did you think of this chapter? The night is far from over!!

What do you think happened?!

Love you all!!

~juls