"Right," Alice announced, fluffing her hair one last time before nodding at herself approvingly in the mirror. It was the night of the party, and we'd all been getting ready together at Ellie's house. "I'll be designated driver. And before either of you two protest, you both need to relax a little. I honestly don't mind not drinking."

I gave Ellie a look, and then shrugged. "If you're sure. I mean, I suppose your car is here anyway." And it would stop her from pulling an Alice.

"Exactly. Okay, let me look at you." Alice placed her hands on my shoulders, spinning me around to face the mirror. "You look fantastique. Did you buy that dress today?"

"Yeah," I replied. "Ellie helped me pick it out."

"I have excellent taste," Ellie said absent-mindedly, looking at herself in a compact mirror.

"Of course," Alice agreed, grinning. I examined myself in the mirror. The dress I was in was short, red and tight, making my legs look longer and more tanned. My makeup was natural but still enhanced my features, and I'd just left my hair as it was, since it was my favourite thing about me – long, dark and wavy. I looked good – even I could admit it. Ellie and Alice looked good too, wearing green and black dresses respectively. We were all ready to go.

"Okay, shall we set off then?" I suggested, putting my phone down the side of my bra for safekeeping. Ellie laughed at this and nodded.

"Yeah, let's go. You ready, Alice?"

"I sure am." She applied one last coat of lipstick before smacking her lips and swinging her bag around her wrist. We made our way downstairs and squashed ourselves into Alice's car. As we were driving there, I began to feel nerves creeping in.

"Hey, Ana, you look a little pale," Alice commented, glancing at me in her rear view mirror as I was in the backseat. "You feeling okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, fine," I assured her. "Just a little nervous about seeing everyone, you know?"

"Yeah, I know. But you'll be fine."

"The option of a bodyguard is still there," Ellie sang.

"No, definitely not," I said quickly. "I'll be fine. It'll be fun."

"We will definitely make it fun," Alice agreed, and I nodded in agreement, but I could still feel the tendrils of doubt worming themselves inside me. What were people going to say or do? I could already picture the scene as I walked in: stares, whispering, people coming up to me and tilting their heads patronisingly and asking me how I was doing. God, I hated that head tilt.

When we arrived, the party was in full swing. A few people had ventured outside and were standing on the lawn, either chatting or kissing. We avoided those people and went on inside.

The music was seriously loud, but that didn't stop me from noticing the whispers, the stares. It was just like I'd pictured. I plastered on a very fake smile and pushed my way through the crowd to the makeshift bar.

"Shots, anyone?" I said to Ellie and Alice as I turned around to face them. Alice pouted. "Oops, you can't drink. My bad. Ellie?"

She grinned at me. "You know it. What are the options?"

"Well, we have tequila, vodka or anything else that might take your fancy," said a low voice in my ear, and I whipped round to see Dylan standing there with a smirk on his face.

"Dylan," I said tiredly, turning back towards the drinks. I didn't need to look to know that Alice was glaring fiercely at him. "How lovely to see you."

"So you came," he said, grinning. "Honestly, wasn't expecting that."

I gritted my teeth and poured Ellie and myself a shot of tequila each before handing one to her and then downing mine. "Seriously, I'm not in the mood."

"Well, get in the mood. Have some fun," he said, pinching my cheek. I flinched away and realised that behind Dylan I could see Alice striding away quickly into the crowd. I glanced at Ellie uneasily, and she grimaced. "I'll go after her."

"Wait–" I started, but she'd already gone. And had left me here with Dylan. Great. I very reluctantly turned back around to see Dylan still standing there with a drunken grin on his face. I sighed. "I need another shot."

"You definitely do," Dylan slurred in agreement, and poured out two. "I do, too."

I ignored him and downed the shot, shaking my head in disgust at the taste. "Don't you have some girl to go and chat up?"

"Why would I do that when I have so much fun talking to you? The way you insult me in that loathing way, such fun."

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever, Dylan. I'm gonna go and find some other people." I left him standing there, searching for someone, anyone that I knew. My heart soared in relief when I saw Ryan and Sam standing at the side, sipping on drinks. They caught sight of me and waved me over.

"Thank god," I muttered when I reached them. "I just got stuck with Dylan. Not fun. Is that beer?" Without waiting for an answer, I took the half empty cup out of Sam's hand and downed the drink in it.

"Woah, you good?" Ryan asked with a small chuckle.

"Excellent, thanks." The alcohol was starting to kick in a little bit, and it felt good. "Have either of you two seen Alice or Ellie? Alice ran off when Dylan came over, and Ellie went after her. I'm kind of worried."

"She'll be fine," Ryan assured me, while Sam just stared over my shoulder. I frowned and looked behind me to see a ridiculously hot girl in a short black dress giving Sam the eye. I rolled my eyes and lightly smacked Sam on the head.

"Ow! What was that for?" he complained, rubbing his head.

"I barely touched you. Now have you seen Ellie or Alice?" I repeated, placing my hands on my hips.

"Nah, haven't seen either of them tonight actually. But, hey, I just realised, you look sexy," Sam remarked, and that actually brought a half smile to my face, because I knew that all that was between Sam and I was completely platonic, and always would be. He was just a flirty person in general, and I was used to it.

"I know, right?" I gave him a wink. "Shame there's no one here I want to impress."

"Don't you want to impress us?" Sam put a hand to his chest, feigning offence.

"Hilarious. Ryan, keep an eye on Sam, I'm going to look for Ellie and Alice," I told Ryan, but Sam just rolled his eyes at me.

"Come on, Ana, they're fine. Loosen up, have a little fun," he encouraged, and opened his mouth to say something else before closing it as his eyes once more fixated on a spot behind me.

"What, seen another girl you like?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

He shook his head. "Ellie and Alice have just appeared." Sam cleared his throat. "Ellie looks really good."

I stared at him curiously, and then glanced at Ryan, who looked just as confused as I felt. I turned back to Sam and said, "You okay, Sam?"

"Yeah," he said vaguely. "I'm going to go say hi."

He disappeared off after Ellie and Alice, and I exchanged a look with Ryan. "What was that all about?"

Ryan grinned slightly. "You know, I always thought it would happen. Sam and Ellie, I mean."

"You think Sam likes Ellie?" I said in disbelief.

"Yeah, I do. Anyway, come on. Let's get another drink and dance."

So we did – we bumped into a couple of people we knew on the 'dance floor', and hung out with them for the evening, since Sam, Ellie and Alice seemed to have vanished. Dylan was nowhere to be seen, thank god, and I was actually having fun – I was drunk enough to momentarily forget about my parents – or at least put them to the back of my mind – but not too drunk that I would be really hungover the next day.

All was going well until I ventured to the bathroom, only to find the door closed, and when I knocked on it, all I heard was a sort of muffled weeping.

"Hey, you okay in there?" I called. "You need some help?"

A slurred, "Lilianaaaa?" answered me, and the door suddenly opened. Alice was sitting on the floor, her eyes bloodshot and her makeup smudged.

"Oh my god, Alice, what's wrong?" I asked in alarm, stepping inside and shutting and locking the door behind me. "Why are you in here crying?"

She sniffled. "Um, I don't think I'm going to be able to drive home. Isn't that sad?" She gave a drunken laugh.

I stared at her. "You're drunk?"

"Maybe. I'm not sure. I feel a little sick," she mumbled, and I crouched down.

"But why are you crying? Is it something to do with Dylan?"

She shook her head but then nodded. "Yeah, he's... he's... just being an ass. Don't really know why I'm crying."

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. In my hazy mind I managed to work out that Alice was supposed to be our designated driver, but now she was drunk and we had no way of getting home. She had pulled an Alice. Newacre wasn't big, but Dylan's house was far enough away from Alice's that we wouldn't be able to walk there. I had no idea what we were going to do. I was way over the limit, and who knows where Ellie had got to. Sam had probably seduced her or something. I giggled slightly at the thought, but then the smile went off my face when I looked at Alice again. She was a mess. But then I had an idea.

I put my hand on her arm reassuringly, and asked her, "Hey, Alice, you know where your phone is?"

She nodded and reached down the front of her dress to pull it out from her bra. I took it from her hand and unlocked it, already knowing the passcode, and then went onto contacts. I hesitated, really not wanting to do this, but knowing it was my only choice. Ryan had already gone home, so I was pretty sure it was just Alice and I left. I pushed away any doubt I had left and tapped Joseph's name before putting the phone to my ear.

It rang a few times before a low voice answered. "What."

From the sounds of it, Joseph hadn't been asleep – he seemed wide awake, which made me feel a little better. "Hey, Joseph? It's Ana."

"Where's Alice?" he said immediately, annoyance colouring his voice.

"Alice..." I glanced at Alice, who had her eyes closed and looked like she was falling asleep. I flicked her face to wake her up. "Alice can't come to the phone right now." I laughed at myself, not exactly sober. I hadn't laughed in a while.

"Jesus Christ," Joseph muttered. "What is it, Ana?"

"Um, you know, I don't suppose there's, like, any chance you're feeling really, really nice right now? I know that's probably really rare for you, but I could use a bit of niceness at the present–"

"Just tell me what you need, Ana," he demanded. "You need a lift or something?"

"I mean, a lift would be really handy. Alice can't exactly drive right now, and neither can I, so I just sort of thought of you..." I trailed off hopefully. I heard him sigh loudly at the other end.

"I'm on my way. Where are you?"

"Um." I racked my brain for Dylan's address. I should know this, Dylan has lived here for years. "Oh! 20 Porthia Road. A rather large party, you won't miss it."

"Fine. Be there in ten." Joseph hung up. It took me a while to register that he had, and after a moment I took the phone away from my ear.

"Okay, Alice. Quick question number one – where are Ellie and Sam?" I asked.

"Gone back to Sam's."

"Oh." So, Ryan was right. Sam and Ellie were hooking up. That kind of annoyed me, just because they were both in our friendship group, and if they got together and then broke up, it would become a bit awkward. Plus, I wasn't sure how loyal Sam would be.

"Quick question number 2..." I glanced at Alice, who had her eyes closed again. "Alice."

"Mm. 'M'awake." She opened her eyes again.

"So, question number two, how angry would you be with me if I told you that Joseph was coming to pick us up?" I asked cautiously.

Alice started laughing. "Haha, Joseph's coming to pick us up. He's gonna be maaad."

I stared at her as she continued to laugh. She was so drunk. "Alice, how about drinking some water? Sounds like a good plan?"

She shook her head very quickly. "No, no water, more beers and alcohol. Yum."

I closed my eyes for a moment, and then decided on something. "Alice, you promise to stay here if I go out quickly?"

She shrugged, but I didn't think she was in a state to move anyway. Even so, I found one of my other friends from school, Zoe, and asked her nicely if she could look after Alice just for five minutes while I went to have a go at Dylan. She agreed with a big smile, leading me to believe she wasn't sober herself. Oh well – she was still standing, and that was good enough for me.

I made my way through the house, looking for Dylan, but couldn't find him anywhere inside. I exited the house and, after scanning the lawn out front, saw him wrapped around some girl against a tree. I narrowed my eyes and walked purposefully over.

"Excuse me," I said, tapping Dylan on the shoulder. He separated himself from the girl and turned around, and upon seeing me, grinned.

"Hey, Ana. Enjoying the party?"

I ignored him and said to the girl through gritted teeth, "Mind giving Dylan and me just a second?"

She looked at me with irritation but left, and I faced Dylan, letting my anger show in my face.

"You want to tell me why my best friend is crying in a bathroom?"

He shrugged uncaringly. "I don't know what to tell you, Liliana–"

"What did you say to her?" I exclaimed angrily. "Why did you feel the need to even talk to her after everything you put her through?"

Dylan gave a humourless laugh. "What I put her through? That's funny." He looked me up and down. "If anyone should be drunk and crying, it's you, right?"

My mouth dropped open, my heart dropping. How could he just throw that in my face? I knew coming to this party wasn't a good idea. "Tell me what you did."

"I didn't do shit." He scowled at me. "It's not my fault she's a sad drunk."

I glared at him, wanting nothing more than to punch him in the face. "I swear to god, Dylan–"

"Ana?" A low voice interrupted our argument, and I spun around to see that Joseph had arrived. "The hell's going on?" His eyes darted between Dylan and me, vague annoyance on his face.

I glanced at Dylan, who just looked a little confused. I let out a breath to calm myself down before turning to Joseph. "Nothing, it's fine. Let's go get Alice and go." I gave Dylan one last withering glare and led Joseph away.

Ellie played by Samantha Logan