"I didn't bring anything that I can wear to a party." I complain to Olivia.
"Lucky for you, your best friend came prepared." Olivia pulls out some crop tops and skinny jeans from the pile of clothes on her bed.
"So, this boy, he was cute?" Olivia asks.
"Yeah, he was very handsome, but he was also pretty douchey." I tell her.
I grab a purple, lacy bralette and slip it on. It pairs well with my black, ripped skinny jeans.
"I don't know. He sounds pretty cool to me." Olivia says smugly.
"Like I said, we are only going to the party to prove to Finn that I can have fun."
"You saying that doesn't make you sound very fun." Olivia says as she slips on a short, tight dress.
"Yeah, but he doesn't need to know that." I tell her with a wink.
"I like that we are trying something new. But I don't want you to change yourself for a boy." Olivia tells me in a soft voice.
I turn around and smile at her. "Don't worry. I'm still the Type A crazy girl you know and love. One party wont change that."
Olivia does my makeup for me. She gives me an expert winged liner and puts some glitter around my eyes. We decide to leave my hair alone, and it stops right above my shoulders in soft waves. I apply a layer of lip gloss, and slip on my vans.
"How do I look?" I do a little spin for Olivia and giggle.
"Hot." She tells me with a wink.
"Well, you look pretty good yourself." Olivia's red dress is paired with a dark smoky eye and high top converse. She looks mysterious and sexy. I'm betting the guys and girls will be all over her tonight. Lucky for them, Olivia swings both ways.
Olivia and I head to my room ten minutes before I told Finn we would meet him, just to be safe.
We walk in and I go to put up the clothes I decided not to wear to the party when I'm stopped in my tracks. Sitting on my bed, in the middle of my room, is Finn. He is wearing a tattered Def Leppard tee and black skinny jeans. His black combat boots are laced with red laces, and I can see a tattoo on his left wrist that I didn't notice before. On a closer look, I see that the tattoo is of an Iris. I really need to get that door fixed.
"Finn, what are you doing here?" I ask him.
"So, this is Finn." Olivia says from behind me.
"You seem like one of those people who would want to leave early." He says with a shrug. He stands up and walks over to shake Olivia's hand. As he walks over I notice he has black eyeliner smudged under his eyes.
"Hi, I'm Finn." He tells Olivia. Then he turns to me and grabs my hand as well.
"Uhh, are you forgetting, we have already met?" I ask him.
"I know. I just wanted a chance to hold your hand again." He tells me.
Ugh. This guy is such a fuck boy. But, still, my cheeks warm at his flirting. It's not that boys never pay attention to me, it's that they usually go for Olivia. She has the sexy look going for her, and I have the more innocent look.
"You guys ready to go?" Finn asks, walking towards the door.
"One second, let me put my clothes up." Both Finn and Olivia roll their eyes, but I still fold my clothes and put them neatly where they belong.
"So, where is this party?" I ask Finn as we start walking down the hall.
"It's at a friend of mine's house." He responds.
"So, you live around here?" I ask.
Finn smirks at me. "Are you trying to get to know me?"
I shoot him a glare. "Never mind."
We head out to the parking lot, and Finn stops in front of a black mustang. I don't know much about cars, but this one seems pretty nice. A spike of jealousy runs through me as I realize that Finn is rich. My mom and I have to share a 1996 Buick. She's trustworthy, but definitely nowhere as nice as this.
Finn Opens the door for Olivia, and she hops into the back. I walk around to the passenger side and get in. I feel a little strange driving in the front seat of a boy's car that I barely know, but having Olivia here soothes me a bit.
"So," Olivia says from the back seat, "Finn, how long have you been swimming?"
"Well, I learned to swim when I was three..."
Olivia rolls her eyes, "Okay. How long have you been competing?"
"Four years." Finn replies with a smug look.
Paramore is playing through the radio, and I start to hum along. Finn turns it up and starts singing. He actually has a really nice voice. I lean back and listen to him sing for the rest of the car drive.
Ten minutes later, we pull up in front of a frat house. Big Greek letters hang above the door and red cups are strewn across the lawn.
"Your friend is in college?" I ask.
"He is really more of an acquaintance." Finn tells me.
As we walk in, some of the boys outside call out to Finn. He waves to them and keeps walking. Inside, the music is so loud that only the bass is clearly audible. The crowd is thick, and we have to push to get to the keg.
"Want a drink?" Finn yells over the music.
I'm about to shake my head when I realize that tonight is my night to have fun. The competition doesn't really start until next week, so now is the perfect time to let loose. I nod and Finn hands me a cup full of beer. I grimace as I sip. Beer tastes the way pee smells.
Olivia and I walk around the party while Finn catches up with his friends.
"Let's go dance!" Olivia grabs my hand and drags me towards the group of sweaty people jumping in the middle of the living room. I definitely have not had enough to drink to do that yet.
"You go. I'm gonna get another drink." I tell her, walking towards the keg.
As I'm walking over there, I spot Finn talking to a girl with long blonde hair. Her face turns more in my direction and I see that she has two pink strand framing her bright eyes and dark eyebrows. Her septum is pierced, and there's a heart tattoo behind her ear.
She places a hand on Finn's arm and leans her head back in a laugh. He's smiling down at her, and wraps an arm around her waist.
Of course Finn has a girlfriend. I should have known. My stomach churns, and I try to soothe it by taking another drink. I down that one and fill up my fourth cup. Suddenly, I'm in the mood to dance.
I head to the living room to find Olivia. The music starts coursing through me, and my hips start shaking seemingly of their own accord. Before I know it, I'm in the middle of the dancing crowd drinking my fifth beer.
I never realized partying could be so fun. I should have been doing this the past four years. Stupid responsibilities.
Something warm grabs my hip. I turn and see a very cute boy behind me. He has curly brown hair and dark eyes.
I wrap my arms around his neck and sway up against him. His breath smells strongly of alcohol, and he feels sweaty. But it's still pretty fun to dance with him.
"What's your name?" He asks as his hands start going lower down my back.
"Laney. What's your's?" I ask only slightly uncomfortable.
"Jake." His hands slide all the way down to my butt.
I reach around and move his hands back up to my back, but he just lowers them down again.
"Nice to meet you Jake." I say, trying to pull away from him. But he just grabs me tighter.
"It's real nice to meet you, Laney." He says in a creepy voice.
It's at this moment that I realize I have had too much to drink. The room is spinning, and I can't seem to get a stable enough position to pull away.
I look around and realize I can't see Olivia anymore. In fact, the music isn't as loud as it was a second ago. It's almost as if we are moving away from the party.
"Come with me." Jake pulls my arm towards a dimly lit hallway.
"I don't want to." I say in a slur.
We are almost to the door that I can now see has a sign labeled 'Jake and Zeke's Room' when someone grabs my other arm and jerks me back down the hallway.
I press up against a hard body and look up to see Finn shooting daggers at Jake.
"No means no, Jake." Finn says. Then, he swings and hits Jake right in his cheekbone.
Jake doubles over, grabbing his face.
I turn and bury my head in Finn's chest. He lifts me up and carries me back to the living room. I'm too upset and drunk to care about how embarrassing him carrying me is.
"Are you alright?" He asks me.
I nod my head, but don't say anything. My tongue feels heavy in my mouth, and I feel like if I speak I'll throw up.
"Let's find Olivia." He suggests.
We find Olivia by the keg. She immediately asks what's wrong, and Finn sets me on the ground. I wrap my arms around Olivia's shoulders and start to cry.
"I think it's time to go." I look up to respond to Finn, but he isn't speaking to me. He's talking to the same blonde/pink haired girl I saw him flirting with earlier.
She nods her head, a concerned look crossing her face when she glances at me.
"I hope she feels better." She calls after us as we walk towards the front door.
Finn and Olivia lay me down in the back seat and I mutter apologies to them. I can't believe it's my first party, and I completely ruined the night for them.
Tears stain my face, and I press my warm cheeks against the cool leather of the seat. Soon, I'm drifting in and out of sleep.
I hear Olivia ask what happened and Finn start to explain, but then I'm asleep again.
Olivia shakes me by the shoulder and Finn helps me out of the back seat when we make it back to the hotel.
"Will you stay with me tonight?" I ask Olivia.
"Of course." She tells me.
I apologize to Finn again and thank him for helping me.
By the time my body hits the bed, I'm passed out.