Tuesday 3rd November 1992- Becca

Becca had been dreading her birthday for weeks, but to her surprise, it had begun rather well. Guns n' Roses had been her morning wake-up tune on the radio, the fuzzy feeling in her head had gone and she'd discovered Maggie in the kitchen making her a 'Happy Birthday bacon sandwich.' After unwrapping Maggie's gift set from the Bodyshop, they had spent a nice half hour eating and chatting before she'd had to leave for college. The air of positivity continued with the bus arriving on time and even the weather seemed to make an effort. With a spring in her step, she made her way into college.

A couple of hours later and after and with a strangely chatty Lauren in tow, they'd stopped off at the toilets on their way to lunch.

"How are you feeling today?" asked Becca from inside the toilet stall. Lauren had arrived into their lesson earlier, like nothing had happened the day before, and Becca was a little annoyed with her because of it.

"Great, just great."

Becca flushed and opened the door, "Because you didn't seem yourself at all yesterday."

Lauren winced and pulled at her top again.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"It's this damn bra! Why do ...we wear such infernal contraptions? All sharp wires and padding. It's not underwear, it's a device of torture."

Becca laughed and rolled her eyes. "Yes, but they do give you a great cleavage and I for one need all the help I can get in that department."

Lauren seemed to run to the door. "Yes, well, aren't we supposed to be somewhere?"

Becca threw the paper hand towel in the bin and followed Lauren out of the door. As she turned to the right, her friend began walking in the opposite direction. "Lauren, aren't you coming to the canteen?"

Lauren turned slowly and giggled. "Oh yes, silly me."

Waiting in line for food, the conversation turned to the rave on Saturday, with Lauren firing questions to her about the music, the lights, the dancing and if Becca was to go to one again, how the organisers might improve on it. Considering she had very little memory of the night and her subsequent black outs, she was in no mood to talk about it, but there was one thing niggling her.

"What would you like?" asked the woman behind the counter.

"Chips, please."

"Have you had side effects from the drugs you were given?" Lauren asked.

"Do you want gravy on them?" the food server asked, holding up a large ladle of the lumpy, brown liquid.

Gravy.

Becca's stomach turned over. "No, definitely not gravy," she said, and took the plate of chips, no longer feeling hungry. She ignored Lauren's question.

Holding a plate of food, she no longer wanted, she reached the checkout and handed over the money. "Lauren, you've got a burger on your plate."

"Yes, it looked about the only edible thing there."

Becca's brows furrowed. "But, that's a beef burger."

"Full marks for observation."

"But it's a beef...burger. You're vegetarian!"

Lauren paled. "Is it? Am I, I mean I am, aren't I? Do you know, I think I'll leave it," she said, taking the plate back to the service counter.

The smell of fatty gravy in the air seemed to be getting stronger, making Becca feel queasy. She grabbed her change from the cashier and moved away from the counter quickly, handing the plate of chips straight to Kendal.

"Here, you have them, I've gone off my food."

Kendal never said no to free food, or any food for that matter. Over six feet in height and nearly as wide, the boy was like an eating machine, albeit a muscular one, who chose to spend most of his spare time on the rugby pitch.

"Cheers, Becs," he said, his fist already cramming a mouthful of chips into his mouth.

"So, hands up, who's going tonight?" asked an excited Josh. All hands went up except those of Becca and Lauren.

"What? Lauren Mackenzie not going out on the town. Are you still feeling ill?" asked Xia.

All eyes were on Lauren.

"Where are we going?"

"It's Tuesday, where else? The Park."

"What for?"

They all laughed, except Becca. Lauren had been acting odd from the minute she'd arrived in class that morning. She'd already bitten the head off another student for accidentally bumping into her in the corridor, almost bought and paid for a meat product and, most uncharacteristically of all, participated fully in the earlier history lesson, displaying an encyclopaedic knowledge of the holocaust.

"Well, apart from it being student night, enabling you lot to consume large quantities of crap beer for very little, I also hear it's someone's eighteenth birthday, too," Ben said, to a host of confused faces.

Becca looked down at the floor and couldn't help but notice Lauren's odd choice in footwear. Wearing lime green leggings and a black tunic, above the calves, she looked entirely normal, but below the ankles was another matter entirely. On her feet were a pair of brown, mum-style loafers, the kind you'd see in the middle-aged woman's section in M&S. All comfort and no style whatsoever.

"Happy birthday, Becca," Ben shouted, and the rest of the group began singing.

Becca glared at Ben who'd moved to sit next, forcing Lauren to sit opposite, much to her annoyance.

"Sorry, Becca, but I couldn't keep that quiet, now could I?"

"Who told you?"

"My mum heard about it yesterday from Linda in the hairdressers, who heard it from Maggie who works for your uncle."

Ah yes, the joys of nosey village life.

"She also told Linda, who told my mum, that your uncle is away for a couple of days, so you haven't really got any reason to say no to coming tonight, have you?"

Becca caught sight of Lauren staring at Ben. The look on her face unsettled Becca. Ben had made it clear that nothing was going on between them, yet that glare told Becca something was up.

"I'm not sure, I really shouldn't..."

"We'll be there, won't we Becca?" said Lauren, behind something that resembled a smile.

The group chorused her name, giving her no chance to back out.

"All right, all right, I'll come."

"Excellent. I'll pick you up. What time?"

"It'll have to be after at eight. Maggie should have gone home by then. I don't want my uncle finding out."

"What time will you pick me up?" Lauren asked.

Ben pulled a face. "Since when have you ever wanted to ride in my car? You called it a death trap on wheels and said you'd never travel in it again."

"Well, maybe I like death traps these days." Lauren smiled again, but it was anything but friendly. "Back in a minute."

Lauren stood up and walked out of the canteen towards the toilets. Becca watched her hesitate for a moment in front of both the girls' and boys' toilet. She then flung open the door and disappeared inside the girls.

"What's with her today?" Ben asked.

"I've no idea. She was really weird when I popped round to see her last night, but she's been even odder today."

"So, are you looking forward to tonight?"

"Kind of."

"Don't worry, nothing will go wrong. I have your back."

"Thanks."

Becca looked up at the clock. She had just ten minutes until her next lesson and she still had to visit the library.

"Look, I'd better go. I'll see you at eight." She waved goodbye to everyone and headed off.

"Becca!"

She turned to see Ben running over to her.

He handed her a wrapped parcel. "Happy birthday," he said quietly and then rushed off.

She looked at the unopened gift for a moment and then grinning from ear to ear, she quickly placed it in her bag before anyone else could see it. She was about to head over to find Lauren, when she spotted her friend leaving the girl's toilets, closely followed by the boy in the Metallica leather jacket from the day. They walked off in different directions, but Becca had a feeling they had been inside, together.

"Hey, did you see that boy come out of the toilets just before you?"

"What boy?" Lauren asked.

"Never mind."

When the last lesson ended, Becca breathed a sigh of relief. Not only was Lauren acting odd, but her normally feisty, independent friend had become unusually clingy, too. When she wasn't acting strange, Lauren was quizzing her about living with her uncle, her life in Manchester, her parents. On and on it went. When the bus pulled into Lauren's stop, Becca started to feel that she might need to push her off the bus to get rid of her.

"I'll come to yours for tea. In fact, I could stay at yours and keep you company."

Becca felt a little sorry for her. It was obvious she was missing her parents, but all Becca wanted right then, was just a few hours to herself. She wanted to ring Tasha like she'd promised. She wanted to see Maggie, she wanted to shower and get ready for their night out, but most of all, she wanted to unwrap Ben's present. None of which she could do comfortably with Lauren in tow.

"Sorry, Lauren, but right now, I really need some time on my own. This is my first birthday without my dad and I kind of want to just sit and think for a bit. I'm sure you understand. We'll come and get you at 8:15."

Lauren's eyes narrowed and she theatrically sniffed the air with contempt. "I guess," she sighed, "see you later then." She stood up and marched down the centre aisle, mumbling to herself. Lauren had just disembarked when Becca remembered she hadn't asked her a very important question. She banged on the window and shouted to her. "What are you wearing tonight?" Unfortunately, the bus pulled away before Lauren could respond. Becca turned to wave to her out of the rear window and wondered why Lauren was wearing a look of sheer terror on her face.

With the scent of Lasagne pervading the house and making her tummy rumble, Becca climbed the stairs two at a time and rushed into her bedroom. She jumped on her bed, took Ben's gift out of her bag and eyed it nervously. She willed herself not to read too much into whatever was inside it. He was, after all, just a friend.

The parcel was wrapped in a pale green paisley paper with a dark green velvet ribbon wrapped around it. Carefully, she removed the ribbon and the paper, then opened the box. Inside she found a plain cassette tape with a label stuck to the front with the words, 'For Becca x' written upon it. It was a mixtape. A MIXTAPE! Mixtapes only happened in Hollywood teen movies or in short stories in her Seventeen magazine.

"Becca!" shouted Maggie from the bottom of the stairs. "Dinner's ready."

"Argh!" The last thing she wanted to do now, was go down for dinner, but Maggie had made such an effort and she still had a couple of hours before Ben was due to pick her up. She took a longing look at the Walkman, placed it on her pillow and went downstairs for dinner.

An hour later and bloated on pasta and tiramisu, she climbed the stairs again but with a little less energy. Lying on her bed, her zipper undone for comfort, she reached over and picked up her Walkman. She hit play and heard wheels inside begin to turn. Pressing the headphones tight to her head, she closed her eyes and listened to... the squeal and crackle of the tape snagging.

"No, no, no". She pressed stop immediately and opened the door to the device. Taking hold of the cassette, she pulled it out slowly and watched as it came away, dragging behind its creased, unspooled ribbon. She grabbed a pencil off her side table, remembering the trick her dad showed her years earlier. She inserted the pencil into the centre of the wheel and carefully turned it, watching as the ribbon slowly withdrew back into the cassette. With her fingers crossed, she pressed the play button again. Three bars into Purple Rain, the cassette made the same sound.

"Crap!"

She tried to remove the cassette tape a second time, but it was wedged in. She pulled at it little harder, but the tape snapped in two and with a shriek, she threw herself back on her bed and kicked her legs up and down like a toddler having a tantrum.

An hour later, having phoned Tash, she paced the hallway waiting for the grandfather clock to chime eight. Her stomach flipped over with excitement and nerves. She still felt bad for lying to Maggie earlier when the kindly woman had offered to spend the rest of the evening with her watching TV. Her dad would have been so disappointed in her right now, and as for her uncle's thoughts on the matter, well, that was best dwelled upon. A knock at the door sent her into a spin.

"Coming," she shouted, grabbing her coat.

With a deep breath, she opened the door.

"Lauren!"

"Hiya. Thought it would be easier for Ben to pick me up from yours, so here I am."

"Great," Becca replied.

"Can I come in then?"

Er, yes." Becca moved back as Lauren entered with a proprietary air about her.

"Wow!" Becca gasped. Lauren wasn't one for conservative clothing by any stretch of the imagination, but the outfit she had on right now screamed Playboy Playmate of the year. The smallest silver hot pants and an acid-washed denim shirt, buttons open and tied just above her navel. Teamed with high-heeled boots and white fishnet tights, even Pamela Anderson would have considered her clothing a little too revealing.

"Like it?" she asked through scarlet lips.

"Certainly eye-catching," Becca replied, looking down at her own, more conservative thick, purple dress, paired with stripy tights and her DMs. Lauren was going to freeze.

"Want one?" Lauren offered Becca a lollipop, accentuating the 'Lolita-esque' look, she was clearly going for. The lollipop was rainbow-coloured with little shiny flecks of something metallic throughout.

"No, thanks, just had my dinner."

"Evening... ladies," Ben said as he popped his head around the open door, taking in the sight of Lauren first.

"Hey, Benny," Lauren sucked at her lollipop suggestively.

"Er... hi, Lauren." He turned to Becca and gave her the warmest smile. "Hi."

"Let's go." Lauren shoved Ben out of the door and pushed passed him on the path, tottering unsteadily on her heels.

"Has she been drinking already?" he asked Becca.

Lauren stumbled over to the car and shouted, "I call shotgun," Becca shrugged in response.

"Oh, did you like your mix-tape?"

"Yes, but unfortunately...."

"Come on, what are we waiting for? It's time to have some fun," Lauren shouted through the driver's side window.

"I have a really bad feeling about tonight." Becca had uttered the words without really thinking about them. Now she'd said them, anxiety began gnawing at her gut.

Reluctantly, she locked the front door and they set off toward the car, her hand briefly brushing against his.

"Hey, it's just your average student night. What could go wrong?"

Music began thumping from the car stereo and Lauren cackled with excitement.

Becca hoped Ben was right.

The queue went around the building and up the street. Fortunately, the rest of the group were near the front and allowed them to jump in, much to the annoyance of the disgruntled clubbers behind.

"What are you gonna do about it?" yelled Lauren, at no one in particular.

"Hey, steady on, Loz, you'll be getting kicked out before you even get in," warned Kendal. "What's with the outfit tonight, anyway? Halloween was two days ago."

Megan and Xia giggled, while Josh ogled Lauren. Megan stopped giggling and gave her boyfriend a slap on the back of the head.

"What? I wasn't doing anything."

The slap didn't do much, but the withering glare from Megan was enough to make him study his feet for a while.

Lauren pushed her way between Ben and Becca, threading her arms through theirs. "This is going to be a simply marvellous night."

Becca certainly didn't think so and had already worked out that if she was to leave in the next five minutes, she could catch the last bus home. She looked up at Ben from the corner of her eye. He was looking back at her. Maybe she'd stay for a couple of hours. She had enough money for a taxi should she need it.

The doors were opened by two large bouncers in black tie attire and slowly the queue began to move, until they were at the front desk.

"My treat," Ben said as he paid her entry fee. "A birthday present."

"Really? Thanks," Becca replied, glad the neon lighting would hide her blushing.

They handed their coats to the cloakroom attendant and made their way into the club. Set across two rooms, it wasn't the biggest club in Norwich, but she'd heard it had a great atmosphere. They found seating near the bar and the girls sat down at a large curved sofa. Josh and Kendal were already at the bar.

"What do you want, Becca?" asked Ben.

"Just a coke thanks."

"No! She's not drinking coke unless it got something in it," shouted Lauren. "It's your eighteenth, Becca, getting drunk on your eighteenth is mandatory."

"But I don't want to get drunk, Lauren. I'll have just as much fun sober."

"I won't," Lauren replied quietly, picking up the shot glass filled with a clear, syrupy liquid that Josh had just placed in front of her. She necked the drink, grabbed the glass Josh had put in front of Becca and downed that too, then and went back to the bar to get another.

Ben returned with Becca's drink, and she took a sip, fully expecting to feel the burn of liquor at the back of her throat. She didn't.

"Hey, have a drink later if you want, but for now, have a coke. It's your birthday after all, to hell with what she wants," he said quietly. "Tell her it's got vodka in it, if you want to shut her up."

"Thank you."

Lauren returned from the bar with a tray of shot glasses. Ten in total, next to a pile of salt sachets and slices of lime.

"It's slammer time," she said to whoops and hollers from most of the group.

Becca looked over at Ben with alarm.

"Come on. You too, Becca," said Lauren, offering the tray to her. "Wouldn't want to be a party pooper, would you?"

A tequila slammer was another thing she hadn't tried. The party-pooper comment worried her. If she carried on saying no, would her friends would tire of her, especially Ben? It was one drink after all, just one.

"Okay, what do I do?"

The group cheered.

"So, sprinkle the salt onto your hand like this" Kendal demonstrated. "Then we lick the salt, down the tequila and take a large bite of the lime. Got that?"

She nodded. Ben, as designated driver, looked on with amusement, while everyone else, except for Lauren poured the contents of the salt packet onto the back of their hands.

"Ready? Three, two, one, go!"

Becca licked at the salt and threw the contents of the glass to the back of her throat and swallowed. She grabbed for the lime, desperate to get the spicy liquor taste from her mouth, but the instant acidity made her eyes water and sent her into a coughing fit. Ben passed the glass of coke and she downed half of it.

"That's absolutely disgusting," she panted.

"Again!" cried Lauren.

The alcohol had now burned its way down into her gut and she felt the warmth radiating out. One more wouldn't hurt, surely?

The second glass was easier to drink, her taste buds already numbed by the first.

"We should do more," Lauren suggested, her finger wiping around the inner walls of the glass.

"I'll get them." Ben left for the bar and Becca watched him as he went.

The bar was now rammed three-people deep, so while the rest of the group got up to dance, Becca remained on the sofa watching them. They were so at ease in each other's company, like she used to be in Tash's, but even that friendship now seemed a little forced. The distance wasn't helping one bit. Why couldn't Tash see, she was just doing what her father wanted, like she'd always done. For a moment, Becca wondered what it would really be like to let her hair down and throw caution to the wind. She saw Ben returning with a tray and decided a couple more wouldn't really do any harm.

The night wore on and Becca began to really relax and enjoy herself. The dance music was a little more 'charty' than the tracks at the rave. When the DJ began playing the Indie music section, she found herself back in music heaven and got up to dance. The familiar piano notes of the classic song, "Love Cats" by The Cure came on, and Becca, emboldened by the Tequila, spun around, singing her heart out with the rest of group. All except Lauren, who refused to dance, preferring to stand by the bar, to watch and drink.

As the song ended, Lauren came over and pulled at Becca's arm.

"Come on. Let's go to the loo."

"I don't need to go," Becca called out, but Lauren wasn't listening, her grip on Becca's arm tightened until it began to smart.

"Lauren, my arm! You're hurting me."

"Come on, stop whining," Lauren shouted back, and began tugging Becca along with her.

They entered the toilets, which were now a complete mess with toilet paper strewn across the floor, lipstick kiss marks on the mirrors and cigarette ends blocking up the sinks. The scent of vomit also lingered. Three smashed girls staggered out of one cubicle and left, leaving Becca and Lauren alone.

"Hey, what's with you tonight? You hurt my arm and when you're not goading me into getting drunk, you're ignoring me."

"Here," Lauren said, ignoring Becca's question entirely. "Want to try some of this?"

Lauren took out a small piece of paper from her pocket and unfolded it. Inside were two small squares of paper, each decorated with a red love heart.

"What's that?"

Lauren threw back her head and laughed. "It's a trip, honey. You and I are going on a trip."

Becca's mouth dropped open. "What? You've got to be kidding. Do you really think I'm going to do one of them after what happened to me at the rave? Are you mad?"

"Stop being so uptight, Becca, and live a little. Indulge in the excesses of life, my friend."

"Stop being such a bitch. For the last time, no! Lauren, if you think this is friendship, then you really are messed up. I'm going back out to dance now and I really hope you'll realise how stupid you're being and flush those damn things down the loo. If you want to be my friend, stop acting like an idiot and come and join me."

They fell silent and Becca realised she'd actually shouted her annoyance. Lauren, however, didn't seem that bothered, leaning back against a cubicle door, her eyes closed, wearing a big smile on her face. Becca turned and stormed out of the toilets, flinging the door closed behind her. She rarely got angry, but right now she was steaming.

Ben caught her arm as she went back to the sofa.

"Hey, where are you going?"

"I need a drink and a rest."

Ben nodded, releasing her arm.

Megan and Josh were too busy snogging on the sofa to notice them. Becca's wrist had begun to itch like mad and she scratched at it, which only made it worse.

"I'm sorry, Becca."

Lauren sat down heavily next to her and plonked a bottle of cheap fizzy wine and two glasses down on the table in front of them.

Becca glared at her.

"I really am sorry. I've not been myself for a couple of days, you know, family stuff. And someone gave them to me, and I wasn't thinking."

Always told never to hold a grudge, Becca thawed a little. Something had been eating at Lauren all day and Becca knew only too well the effect stress could have on you, especially when it involved family stuff.

"It's okay, Lauren, but you must understand, I just don't take drugs. I know what they can do to people and it's not a road I want to go down."

Lauren looked at her quizzically, but Becca refused to be drawn on the topic. She'd said too much already.

"Well, let's make up with a drink," Lauren suggested, pouring the pink fizzy liquid into each glass.

Becca really didn't want to have anything else to drink, but Lauren looked so unhappy and she only needed to have just one.

"Just one then."

A while later, Lauren mumbled something about going to the toilet. She stood up, swaying a little, and staggered off. Ben replaced her almost immediately.

"How much has she had?"

"A lot more than me." Becca pointed to the plastic plant beside her.

Ben looked down to see a puddle of wine filling up the pot.

"You know, you could just tell her you don't want to drink the stuff. There's no shame in not drinking."

Becca smiled. "I tried that, but she was just too insistent. Thankfully she's had so much now, she's didn't notice watering the fake greenery."

"She's going to have one hell of a headache in the morning."

Becca laughed. At least a headache wouldn't screw with her mind like the trip could have.

"Come on, let's have another dance. We've only got twenty minutes or so until it closes."

Ben held out his hand. She clasped it in hers and let him lead her onto the dance floor. This was the cheesy pop song segment of the night and they jumped, spun and even plonked themselves down on the sticky floor as the DJ played the James' hit song, "Sit down." As Ben helped pull her to her feet, the lighting dimmed, and her first thought was to get off the dance floor as quickly as possible. But Ben grabbed her arm again.

"Come on, it's the last dance. It'd be impolite not to."

"But it's 'Take That'," she implored. Becca loathed boy bands.

"Hey, don't diss Gary and the boys. This is a great track." He smirked, a glint in his eye. He began to sing along, "A million love songs..."

"Alright, I'll dance, just don't sing along."

"Deal."

For nearly four minutes, they swayed together in each other's arms, close, but not too close. Her heart pounded as she felt his warm breath on the back on her neck. She closed her eyes and inhaled the scent of his aftershave.

"That's all, folks. See you again, same time, same place, next week."

Becca opened her eyes and found the main lights had been switched on. Over in the corner, Lauren was staring at her, and something about her alarmed Becca. The stark glare of the lights didn't help, and she moved away from Ben, feeling very self-conscious.

They collected their coats and said their goodbyes outside. It should have been just a quick walk to Ben's car, but Lauren seemed to have lost control of her legs. Every step she took seemed to be in the opposite direction of the last. They were left with little option but to carry her back to the car, twice having to stop while she threw up.

"So bloody perfect, little miss innocent, you don't fool me..." Lauren's speech was all over the place, mumbling profanities and nonsense. Several times, Becca thought she heard her friend, hiss.

By the time they reached the car, Lauren was done for and they deposited her unceremoniously on the back seat. The drunken girl muttered incessantly.

"Wow! She really is wasted. We're going to have to put her to bed, aren't we?" Ben asked.

"I'm not sure if she should be left at home by herself. What if she vomits, and then chokes on it?"

"I'll tell you what, let's drive to her house and see if there are any lights on. You never know, her parents might be home now."

They travelled in an awkward silence. The atmosphere in the car, stilted and tense. Ben indicated and turned onto Lauren's road. As they approached, they saw the living room light on.

"What if her parents freak when they see the state of her?"

"Tough," Ben replied. 'She's bought this on herself.'

The car pulled up to the side of the road, and together they pulled a barely awake Lauren out from the back.

"Lauren, we're outside your house. Are your keys in your pocket?"

"Becca, help me please. You have to help me." This was the first coherent thing she'd said in the last hour.

"I am, honey, just tell me where your key is?"

"Becca, I'm dying in here. Please help me."

Ben laughed. "Lauren, you're not dying. You've just had a little too much alcohol. You'll have a cracking headache in the morning, but you'll get over it. Now, here, let me help you up."

"Becca, Becca, Be...." Her eyes rolled in her head and she threw up again. The low muttering began again in earnest.

"Come on, I've got her. You knock on the door."

Becca let Ben take the strain, and she ran up to the door, knocking twice. Nothing happened for a while, and then she heard a strange sniffing noise on the other side. The door opened and Becca recognised the boy at once. It was the guy wearing the Metallica leather jacket.

"Yes."

"Hi, er, who are you?"

"Who wants to know?"

"Becca. I'm a friend of Lauren. She's had a little too much to drink tonight and we wanted to make sure she got home safely."

"What?"

"It's Lauren." Becca moved to one side as Ben reached the door, barely able to hold Lauren up any longer. "She's had too much to drink and needs her bed."

The boy looked Lauren up and down and howled. "Now that is the funniest thing I have ever seen."

"That's not very nice and certainly not funny."

"No, you're right. Its freaking hysterical. Just you wait till the others hear about this."

"What others? Who are you again?"

The boy looked from Lauren to Becca, his eyes narrowing. "I'm her... cousin. That's right, I'm her cousin, and by the others, I mean her parents of course."

"Do you want us to help you carry her in?" Ben asked.

"No, it's fine. I'll levitate her up the stairs. Joke."

"Okay then, we'd better be off. I hope she doesn't have a hellish hangover tomorrow."

The boy roared this time.

With Lauren safely at home, Ben drove Becca to her house. Outside the Vicarage, he turned off the engine and the lights. The world outside the car immediately seemed dark and impenetrable, but slowly, Becca's eyes adjusted to the low light.

"Thanks for the lift, paying for me to get in and of course the mix-tape."

"I just hope you had a nice birthday. You deserved it."

She turned and looked at him. The faint glow from the lights that lit up the garden path highlighted his profile.

"I had a great time."

He turned to look at her directly.

"Happy birthday, Becca." With one smooth movement, he leaned forward and placed his lips on hers. For a second, their mouths did nothing, but slowly they each responded. His kissed her gently, their lips barely touching. Never, had Becca felt such a yearning, a sensation of deep longing. His fingertips touched lightly at her face, but as the kiss developed, they pushed into her hair, tickling at her scalp, and then gently pulling her closer to him.

Becca pulled back with a gasp.

"I'd better go in."

She scrutinised his face for annoyance or disappointment but didn't see anything of that nature.

"Sweet dreams, Becca."

She forced herself to move away from him and get out of the car.

"Bye, Ben."

If she could have floated or glided down the path, she would have, for walking just didn't seem an appropriate mode of movement after experiencing something so mind-shattering as that kiss. She let herself into the empty house and made her way to her bedroom. In her room, she stared at herself in the mirror for too long. Did she look different after the kiss? She sure as hell, felt different. Pulling her dress over her head, her necklace, which had been hidden beneath her dress caught on a loose thread. Not wanting to cause any damage, she carefully untangled it and noticed that the gemstone looked a little different. In among the cracks, she noticed a small sliver of black. She rubbed at it thinking it must be on the outside, but it wasn't. It really was the tiniest thing. Dismissing it entirely, she removed her makeup, went to bed and dreamed about the picnic and waving at the women, but also about that kiss.