Typical.
That was the only word that came to his mind when he entered James' house party. The loud music was making his heart beat faster, red cups littered the floor, and drunk people were dancing and making out wherever they wanted to. The whole house smelt of sweat and alcohol, a weird combination in his opinion. He didn't want to come but was here only because of Jason, who had called him at the last minute saying that he couldn't pick him up. Michael reluctantly asked for Mr. Dixon's car as he had dressed up and Jason was pestering him again and again to come to this shitty party.

Michael scanned the place, his wandering eyes hoping to find his friends. At last, he found Jason, wearing his signature jacket, and a blonde girl next to him. When their eyes met, Jason gave Michael a huge smile.
"I'm so glad that you came, Mikey. This party was no fun without you."
"Jay, I know that your life is empty without me but please don't make it that obvious." Michael had a small smirk.
"Oh ha-ha-ha." Jason faked a laugh.
"Hi, I'm Michael." He introduced himself to the blonde girl, "And who are you, beautiful?"
"Her name is Sandra and she is my date." Jason said while holding Sandra closer to him. Michael thought about the girl he had seen in the morning but didn't mention her.

"I think I can introduce myself, Jason." Sandra spoke from behind. Jason rolled his eyes whereas Michael's eyes held amusement.
"I know who you are, Michael." Sandra batted her long eyelashes at him. "I must say green is surely your colour."
Michael glanced at his annoyed friend. He always wanted to give Jason a taste of his own medicine and it looked like he finally got a chance.
"Sandra, would you like another drink?" He asked stepping closer to her.
"That would be amazing." She also moved a step towards him but Michael quickly stepped backwards.
"You're here with me Sandra, if you want a drink I will get you one." Jason snapped.
"Don't worry, Jason, I think he can help me better." She started to move towards Michael but he couldn't stand her anymore, her perfume was so strong that it made him dizzy.
"Sorry girl but I need to pee, bye!" Saying this, he left the oh-so-cute-together couple.
With a disappointed sigh, Sandra turned towards Jason and asked him to get her a drink.
"Sorry girl but I need to pee too. See you later. And on a second thought, probably never again." Jason ran, leaving a gaping Sandra behind.

Michael was trying to talk to Thomas over the loud music when Jason gave his back a painful slap.
Instead of getting angry, Michael started to laugh hysterically.
"You, once again, ruined my chance of getting an amazing night." Jason hissed trying to look angry though he was thankful. That girl was annoying and clingy and Mike gave him a perfect excuse to leave her.
"Well I thought I was doing you a favour. That girl was stinky." Michael scrunched his nose and pulled him away.
"I know." Jason shouted over the loud music. "Thank you for saving me, man."
Jason rested his hand on Michael's shoulder. 

"What are you both talking about?" Thomas finally made his presence known. The music seemed to have relaxed for a while, so they could now hear each other without shouting.
"Mike here helped me get rid of a really annoying girl." Jason told him.
"Yeah, a girl who thought that she could have a piece of this sexy meat." Michael added pointing at himself.
"Rotten meat would suit you better, Mikey." Jason smirked.
"Agreed." Thomas butted in. 
"Yeah whatever." Michael would have given a better comeback if he hadn't been distracted by the sight in front of him. 
Alex and Elise seemed to be having the time of their lives, not for a second did anyone notice their smile drifting or their eyes moving somewhere else in the room.
Jason followed Michael's gaze and shouted, "Yo Alex! my man. Come here brotha."

A small smile graced Alex's lips when he saw his friends. However, Elise didn't look too happy at the sight of the three guys marching towards them, particularly at the sight of the one in the middle, the one with the very beautiful amber eyes. Yes, opposite of what she thought, she didn't look really happy about him being closer to her.
Alex came forward and the trio did a weird handshake.
The three first gave each other a high five, then a fist bump and then did a weird thing with their fingers. Elise and Thomas just watched them with amusement whereas the trio was now playing Rock Paper Scissors.
Jason had made a scissor whereas Alex and Michael both had make rocks.
"Ow man! Why do I always lose this thing?" Jason whined.
"That's because you are the most stupid person in the room."
Michael muttered whereas Alex just rolled his eyes.
"We haven't tried everyone yet." Jason said, secretly pointing at Elise which made Michael roll his eyes.

"What was that?" Elise asked looking at the trio with amused eyes.
Michael finally looked at her. She was wearing dark blue skinny jeans with a white crop top. Her hair was in a tight ponytail and for some unknown reason, Michael didn't like it.
"Don't you have eyes, sweetheart?" He countered, in the politest way possible.
As much as she wanted to claw his eyes out, she chose to ignore his comment. She didn't want a petty fight, not with him, never with him again.
"It's just a handshake, I invented it so we look cooler." Jason explained. 
"But you looked like some dorks doing a silly handshake." Elise commented and Jason placed his hand on his chest, feigning hurt.
"I thought you were cool but you're clearly not." He raised his head and spoke.
"I always knew she was a terrible bore." Michael whispered, almost inaudible but Elise heard it.
"Yeah I thought it was a pretty awesome handshake." Thomas added.
"Thank you." Michael and Jason said in unison.
"Oh come on guys, give the girl a break. Not everyone is as childish as you." Alex snapped.
Jason rolled his eyes at Alex's comment.

"Guys I'm gonna get a beer. Anyone who want some?" Thomas tried to change the topic.
"Bring us all one except for Elise. I'm sure she doesn't drink, seems too nice for it." Michael said with a small smirk. He wanted a reaction from Elise and he got one when she snapped, "Who told you I don't drink? Bring me a beer too, Thomas."
Michael's smirk turned into a smile when he saw the blush on Elise cheek. It was clear that she was one of those girls who rarely drank, probably a lightweight.
"Okay so..." Thomas drawled. "Come with me Jason. I can't hold so many drinks."
With this being said, Thomas and Jason left to get beers for everyone.

Alex was telling Elise and Michael about his dad's extended stay when a bunch of guys called for him. He turned around and gave them a small smile.
"I'll be back in a minute." He muttered.
"May I come with you?" Elise asked. She didn't want to be alone with Michael because she knew he loved irritating her.
"Nah.. you stay with Michael. I need to talk to them."
"But—"
Alex cut her with a 'see you later' and walked towards the guys calling for him.

With a sigh, she turned towards Michael who was already supporting a huge smirk.
"Damn you're clingy." He mused annoyingly.
"Whatever." 
She was about to get up and go away when Michael gently grabbed her wrist.
"Oh come on! I'm not that bad." He said amusingly.
"Oh yes you are." Elise countered.
"Okay I promise I won't make fun of you." He raised his hand in surrender.
She looked at him skeptically. His eyes still held amusement but she decided to stay with him. She had joined school hardly two weeks ago and didn't know many people so it was better to stay with Michael than to stay alone. Michael again checked her out making her uneasy and the situation awkward.

"Wanna dance?" Michael asked.
Elise wasn't able to hide the shock on her face. But how could she? The guy who had been giving her rude replies not a minute ago was now asking her to dance with him.
She was about to reply when Thomas came up to them.
"Sorry, it took so long but Jason's grandma called so he had to go." Saying this, Thomas walked away from them but Michael stopped him and asked, "Now where are you going?"
"I left my phone in my car so I'm gonna go get it." With this he also went away. 

"Alone, once again." Michael stated.
"Let's get something to drink. I'm parched." Elise said, looking directly at him.
"Sure thing, munchkin."
Elise made a disgusted face at the nickname Michael used but nonetheless walked towards the kitchen with Michael following her.

The house was packed and there wasn't enough space to move around freely. Michael put his arm around Elise's waist in order to not get separated from her.
This small gesture caused Elise to blush. She saw Michael trying to protect her from the drunken kids and felt her cheeks turn red. She, for some unknown reason, was enjoying Michael's arm around her waist.

They reached the kitchen and Michael grabbed a beer for her but she still seemed unsure about her actions.
"Trust me, it's not that bad once you get a hang of it." Michael said with an encouraging smile.
Elise smiled back and took a few gulps from the can.
"You were right. It is pretty good." She raised the can for another sip when she realised she had finished it. She grabbed another one and gulped half of it in one sip. Michael just shook his head at this and grabbed a beer for himself.

Elise was halfway through her second can when she felt Michael's gaze on her.
"What?" She raised her eyebrow.
Michael shook his head with a small smile and tugged at Elise's hair band.  Her hair fell down in soft waves.
"Now you look better." Michael said in a soft voice.
He was expecting more then a mere shrug as a response but one look at her almost empty can and he knew that she was going to lose her senses. He stopped her when she was about to go for another can. She protested but he was strong and she knew that she couldn't fight him.

"Stop staring at me, Elise." Michael said when he couldn't stand her stare anymore. She laughed at it and stepped closer to Mike.
"What are you trying to do?" Michael asked, stepping backwards. She kept on moving towards him till they were so close that her nose brushed his chest.
"Mikey, you aren't that bad. Kinda hot, caring, and your hair feels so good." Elise ran a hand through his hair.
She really was a lightweight. It only took two cans of beer to get her drunk.
"Don't touch my hair." Michael was getting annoyed.
"Aww don't be a grumpy old man." Elise laughed.
"Where the hell did Alex go?" Michael groaned. "Come, lets go find Alex." He grabbed her wrist.
"Sure, cutie." Elise winked at him causing him to gag in response.
They finally found Alex in the living room with one of his classmates.

When Alex saw Elise, he was shocked. She was a drunk stumbling mess.
"What happened to her?" He asked Michael.
"She is all yours' now. I gotta go and look for Thomas." Michael was about to leave but stopped.
"Alex, I wanna dance." Elise mumbled.
"I don't think that's a good idea." Alex stepped away from her.
"I don't care, I'm gonna go and dance. Join me if you want to."
Elise stood on the table and started to dance while singing 'wheels on the bus'.
"Come Alex! Join me." She waved at him supporting a goofy grin.
"I don't even know who you are." Saying this Alex was about to walk away when Michael stopped him.
"Jerk, you brought her here in this shitty party. You really think she'll be able to get home safe from here now?" Michael had his hand on Alex's chest.
"I didn't ask her to drink and she's not my problem, Mike." Alex smirked.
"Oh yes, not your problem. That's why you're always hanging out with her and she's always glued by your side." Michael snorted.
"Ha-ha, i can't figure out if you're a jealous friend or possessive about your crush." Alex laughed.
"Bitch, just shut up and drop her at her home right now." Michael said in a commanding tone.
"Yes sir!" Alex, with the help of Michael, got Elise off the table. Michael carried her and put her in the front seat of Alex's car. Alex soon left leaving Michael alone in the parking lot.

He looked back and forth to finds Thomas' car. It had been a while since he went to grab his phone. He had tried to call him but there was no answer. He started walking towards his left when he spotted Thomas' old rusty car at the corner of the street.

He moved closer to the car and was feeling weird for some reason. When he was standing a foot away from the car, he let out a sigh of relief. It was dark but he saw Thomas in the driver's seat.  It looked like he was sleeping. Michael gave a small smile, Thomas was weird like that, Michael knew it. He could sleep anywhere, anytime if he wanted to.
'I love my sleep and I can compromise nothing with it.' Thomas used to say. 

An evil plan formed in Michael's head. He decided to wake up Thomas by scaring the shit out of him. He was about to pull open his door when suddenly he stopped dead in his tracks. He looked down to see a pool of red liquid beneath his feet. His eyes widened in fear.
He quickly opened the door only to have Thomas falling towards him.
Michael's instinct was, after all, right of something being really wrong.

He couldn't believe what was happening, it felt like he was in some kind of dream. No, not a dream, it was a nightmare. Because such fucked up things only happen in nightmares.
No. Michael refused to believe it.
This could not be true.
This could not happen.
Thomas could not be dead.

*********