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Mason Maloney

My whole body was on fire as I lied in the soft grass of the football field. I felt like I could barely breathe even though my breaths were deep. Ross stood over me with his hands on his hips shaking his head.

"You need to be able to do this mile," he said sternly, looking at the stop watch on his phone. "You can't take a break on your second lap."

"I can do what I want," I answered back snidely, still breathless.

"Hell yeah you can," Pete said as he walked over to us.

Pete couldn't run the mile quickly either, but he could still do it faster than I could.

"You need to fix your mile time too," Ross told Pete with a serious look.

Pete waved him off. "It's fine, I can improve it by a few seconds and pass."

I closed my eyes and put my head back down on the grass. Running could be classified as one of my least favorite things to do. I could think of a million other things I would rather be doing. There was no way Ross was going to get me to run another mile tonight. Besides, we had to leave the field soon for the football game.

"Get up, Mase," Ross pulled me out of my thoughts.

I opened one eye and groaned as I saw Ross and Pete standing over me. I held my arms up, signaling for them to grab my hands and pull me up. Ross and Pete pulled me up into a standing position before Pete handed me a full water bottle. I nodded at him graciously and chugged the water.

"We have to get out of here, the football players will be here soon," Ross said as I finished off my water.

I just nodded, feeling too tired to even speak. I was really out of shape despite not being overweight.

"Your place, Mase?" Pete asked with a smirk.

I rolled my eyes but nodded anyway. We took Pete's car from the field to my house. By the time we were at my house, I was done feeling like I was dying.

"Hey, boys," my mother said cheerfully as the three of us walked into the house.

"Hello Mrs. Maloney," Pete said politely, giving her a quick hug.

Once we were safely in my room, I smacked Pete hard on the head, causing him to cry out in pain and Ross to start laughing hysterically.

"Stop your obsession with my mom," I told Pete sternly.

I didn't remember when it started, but Pete has had a crush on my mom for a while. Not only was it strange, it was completely gross and I wasn't okay with it.

"She's a good looking lady," he answered with a shrug, throwing himself down on my bed.

"She's married to my dad," I reminded him.

"Minor detail," Pete replied, waving me off.

It wasn't a minor detail, as Pete called it, but I was done discussing his strange attraction to my mother.

"You're disturbing," Ross told him with a disgusted look, sitting next to him on my bed. Pete just shrugged with a smug smile on his face.

I sat at my desk chair and pulled my phone from my pocket, noticing I had a text from Bella. She was hanging out with some of her friends from her book club before the game and she made it clear that she did not want to be running around the track with us.

Party at Tony's tonight. You guys in?

Parties weren't necessarily a common occurrence in our town. It wasn't like there was one thrown every Friday night after a game, so when someone was hosting a party, the majority of the school and even people from surrounding towns showed up. There was no doubt it my mind that there would be some Knights there, but the rivalry was usually put to a halt in the name of having a good, drunken time.

"Party at Tony's," I said aloud to let Ross and Pete know.

"Yes!" Pete exclaimed. "Finally!"

Ross rolled his eyes and shook his head. "I guess I'm the DD?"

I gave him a sheepish smile. "If you don't mind."

"This means we have to pregame," Pete said, sitting up and looking serious. "So we're ready to get fucked up later."

I laughed at Pete's reasoning and stood up from my desk chair before kneeling down and reaching under my bed. It took me a few moments of feeling around, but I eventually found the glass bottle of clear liquid that I had kept stashed. Pete let out an excited cheer when I showed it to him and held out his hand.

"Take it easy," Ross said sternly as I handed Pete the bottle of gin.

"Okay, Dad," Pete said before tearing off the cap and taking a long sip.

Pete removed the bottle from his lips with his face scrunched up in discomfort before he started coughing.

"Maybe you should take it slow," I teased, taking the bottle from him and taking a significantly smaller sip, the alcohol immediately burning my tongue and throat as it ventured into my mouth.

This stuff seriously tasted like rubbing alcohol.

"Mason!" my mother called out as she opened my bedroom door. I quickly placed the bottle of alcohol under my bed, careful not to spill it.

"Yeah?" I asked, slightly breathless, knowing she would kill me if she found out I had been drinking.

"Do you want to head to the game with us? Or are you three going together?" she asked with a curious expression.

"We're all going to Pete's after so we will just go together," I lied nonchalantly. My mom didn't seem suspicious as she nodded and left my room, closing the door tightly.

"Going to my house are we?" Pete questioned with a smirk.

I shook my head at him and smacked his shoulder. "There's no way we can come back here drunk."

Pete's house was always our safest option when we needed a place to go when we were trashed. His room was on the first floor of the house while his parents' room was on the third. It put a safe distance between us and any chance at getting in trouble. We could just go in through the back and didn't have to climb any stairs. Not to mention, his parents rarely ever went to his room, so it was the ideal location.

I grabbed the gin out from under my bed when I was sure my mother was back downstairs. I took a modest sip before handing it off to Pete who decided to take another gulp. Pete let out a pained noise but took another sip of the drink anyway.

Idiot.

***

Tony's house wasn't anything spectacular. It wasn't huge, but it wasn't small either. The house was a light blue with awful bright red shutters that stood out even in the darkness. The reason why Tony's house was perfect for parties was the location.

The driveway was long and far away from the road. His entire property was surrounded by tress, no neighbors in sight. The yard was spacious and always well-kept. The parties here could get wild without the worry of the cops showing up because it was so far away from everything. It was secluded in its own small area, so when Tony's parents were away, it was party central.

The entire student body headed here after the Warriors won their game. Nathan's throwing was nearly perfect, completing all but two passes. After all his worrying about not being good enough, Nathan was on his A-game tonight, creating an upward momentum for the rest of the season. There was no doubt in my mind that he was good enough to play wherever he wanted for college.

Pete was sitting next to me next to me on the patio set outside, making out with a cheerleader who was in his lap. He was shitfaced by the time we got to the game and Ross had to keep him at bay for the two hours we were there. Pete had sobered up a bit, but as soon as we made it to Tony's he was shitfaced again.

Ross sat on a chair across from us, looking down at his phone, no doubt trying to ignore Pete and his girl.

I had lost count of how many drinks I had, but I knew that I was past drunk. The drunk moods I had varied. I didn't think there was much I could do to control them. Sometimes I was a fun drunk, dancing around, making out with girls, and having a good time. Other times I was a funny drunk, being so out of it that I had no idea what was going on. Tonight I was more of a moody drunk, swallowing my sorrows out of a solo cup.

"I'm getting another drink," I slurred, placing a hand on Ross's shoulder.

Ross looked up at his phone. "Are you sure you should have more?"

"I'm fine Ross!" I exclaimed, trying to sound excited. "Don't you worry about me!"

I stumbled off away from the patio to go back inside. In the kitchen, I found Tony, Rick, Nathan, and Tony's cousin Christo. I was surprised to find the four of them mingling considering Christo was a Knight. I was sure Tony and his cousin got along fine, the two of them not involving themselves in the rivalry when it concerned the other, but I didn't expect Nathan to willingly hang around Christo. Not to mention, I had seen Christo hanging out with Sam when I bumped into him at Chipotle.

"Fill me up," I ordered, shoving my cup into Nathan's chest.

"I think you've had enough," Nathan told me sternly, throwing my cup in the trash.

He could always hold his liquor better than I could. I could tell he wasn't sober by the way he stood, looking relaxed and the way his eyes appeared to be dimmer, but he was a lot more sober than I was.

"Oh no, you threw my cup away. Whatever will I do?" I said sarcastically, reaching across the island and grabbing another solo cup. Nathan was quick to snatch it out of my hand.

"I mean it, Mase," Nathan growled, more serious than before. "You need to stop. I'm not letting you get alcohol poisoning."

Tony nodded, agreeing with Nathan. "Just take a break man, you look like you've seen better days."

"Who's driving you tonight?" Nathan asked me worriedly, knowing the both of us couldn't drive.

I just shrugged, even though I knew it was Ross. Ross had never been one to drink much, so he was usually our designated driver. Sometimes I felt bad that he always had to take care of us, but then I got drunk and didn't care anymore.

"If you have no one to drive you, then you're staying here," Nathan ordered, seeming like he had already sobered up.

I groaned and looked around the room. My eyes widened as they landed on none other than Sam Knight. He sauntered through a crowd of people dancing, making his way to where we stood in the kitchen. I turned back to Nathan.

"Sam will drive me," I told him seriously.

Nathan looked behind me and his face immediately darkened. "No, he won't."

"Sam doesn't like me anymore, but he said he would give me a ride anytime," I explained, taking Nathan's cup from his hand and downing the rest of his drink.

"Mason!" he shouted in annoyance.

"Sam's my DD," Christo started. "I'm sure he would drive your brother home."

Nathan instantly send a glare toward Christo and shook his head. "No."

Soon enough, Sam had made his way to us and went to stand beside Christo, looking annoyed. He didn't make eye contact with me even though I was staring intensely at him. Sam's hair looked like he had just pushed it back a few moments ago, with one strand falling back into his face. He looked composed yet irritated and definitely ready to be out of my presence.

I couldn't will myself to speak to him. I was content with staring at his confusingly handsome face. If I was sober, I would have been pissed at myself for the thought of Sam being handsome even crossing my mind, but I was drunk so I really didn't care. He was handsome.

"Let me finish this drink," Christo said to Sam. "Then we can head out."

Sam just nodded and looked down at the floor, crossing his arms and familiarly leaning back on the counter. It was something that he always did, but tonight it felt like he was doing it to put distance between us and for some reason that made me feel shitty. I looked over at my brother who looked like he was doing everything in his power to keep his eyes away from Sam Knight. I rolled my eyes and poured myself a drink with his cup without Nathan noticing.

"Have a drink and loosen up, Nate," I said to him before leaving the kitchen that suddenly felt overcrowded and unwelcoming.

When I reached the patio where I left Pete and Ross, I noticed Pete had a new girl on his lap. A red head this time. I also noticed Bella was sitting in my spot along with one of her friends from her book club. She was animatedly telling a story, using her hands wildly. The girl beside her looked so entranced with whatever Bella was saying. The two of them let out matching shrieks and I fought the urge to cover my ears.

"Do not make that noise ever again," I demanded before sitting in the chair beside Ross.

"Hey Mase," Bella said with a wave, seemingly surprisingly sober.

I shushed her with a finger to my lips before leaning back in my cushioned chair and closing my eyes. At this point in the night, I was done hearing anyone talk. I wanted to sit in silence, sipping on my liquor and relaxing. A party was obviously not the best place to relax.

After closing my eyes, it felt as though my other senses were heightened. I could smell the wood burning in the fire a few feet away. It smelled like pine and maple, but the smokey smell was overbearing. I could hear the squeals of excited, drunken girls who sat it a circle around the fire playing some sort of party game.

I didn't know how long it was that I sat back like that, but eventually Ross tapped my shoulder and told me that we were going to be leaving. I quickly downed the rest of my drink and got up to follow my friends out, leaving my cup out on the patio. I rubbed my head, already feeling a headache forming.

Bella was babbling on and on to Ross, who seemed like he didn't give a shit.

"Bella, Bella, Bella," I started, stopping her from speaking as we got to Ross's car, the two of us sliding into the back seat. "What has gotten you so excited?"

She leaned over in the seat and rested her head on my shoulder with a happy sigh.

"I had a really good night," she told me as Ross started driving down the eternal driveway.

"What did ya do?" I slurred, resting my head on her's.

"I hooked up with Sam Knight."

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