"Not putting in effort, huh?" Jared teased as I stepped out of the house. 

"I didn't!" I skipped down the steps to his jeep and spun around, crossing my arms. "This is what I would always wear to a party."

I glanced down at my red mini summer dress and white vans. This was totally what I would normally wear. 

Jared pursed his lips in an attempt to hide his disbelief and unlocked the jeep for both of us to get in. 

"Whatever you say, sis."

I rode in silence next to my brother as he kept turning the radio to find something he actually liked. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see him glancing at me. After five straight minutes of him awkwardly looking at me, I sighed. 

"Jared, just say whatever it is you want, this is getting weird."

"Okay, look," he licked his lips and sat back into his seat and pulled away from a light that turned green. "Did you really like Jesse?"

My chest tightened and I'm sure it was visibly written on my face how uncomfortable this topic made me. 

"Jar, do we really have to talk about this?"

"Yes, because I feel like there's this unspoken thing where I have to choose between the two of you."

Shocked, I turned to face him. "What? Of course not."

He shrugged. "Things feel weird, that's all."

With a sigh, I sat back in my seat and crossed my arms. "The whole thing was weird, you know that."

He glanced at me, chewing his lip. "It's not my place to say, but you should know he would do anything for you."

I watched the night surfers as we drove past and thought back to the summer with Jesse. "Yeah," I murmured. "That's what best friends do."

"No, not like this." The song changed to a new Post Malone single. We were almost there and suddenly Jared turned the song down to a soft background level. "Al, Jesse would literally do anything for you. I don't think you hear what I'm saying."

I turned to him, somewhat understanding what he meant. But, Cheeto.

"I don't know what happened between you two, but before any of this, we're family." Jared slowed down and turned onto the winding road that would lead us down to the cove. "All I'm saying is, there's no way in hell he will ever let you go. Not on a foundational level at least."

"I don't know Jar, I think he might have," I reluctantly admit.

Jared let out a sharp laugh. "Trust me, he hasn't."

We pulled into the parking lot and when he turned the jeep off, he faced me. 

"Try to have fun tonight. It's your last Cape party for awhile."

I smiled at him and nodded. "Yeah," I whispered. 

...

"What's. Up. Bitch!" Lissa yelled as Jared and I took the stairs down into the little hidden cove that was currently lit up like a rave. 

"Holy hell, who is throwing this?" Jared breathed as we took in the biggest party we've probably ever seen here. 

"Hey!" She yelled over the loud music and hugged Jared and I together. "Isn't this insane?"

Demi pushed through the crowd and settled into Jared's open arms. I smiled at the two of them knowing that those two might actually beat the odds. 

Looking out at the mass amount of people, I was simply shocked this little spot could fit this many people. Well, it didn't comfortably as proven by the current situation. 

"Who's throwing this?" I leaned into Lissa. She held up her hands in response. She grabbed my hand and began leading me through the packed people to what looked like a bar off to the right.

"You need a drink, I see it on your face!" She slapped the bar top and a guy popped up from behind the counter. He glanced at Lissa with a hungry smirk on his face. 

"Two Vodka Sodas!" She winked and he got to work, ignoring the other guys to the right of us. They were annoyed, but it was one of the wonderful things about being a girl near a bar. 

He handed us our drink while simultaneously taking a group's order next to us. 

"This is so crazy," I shook my head and began sucking down my drink as I stared at the insanity in front of me. "Is that a DJ?" I pointed to the source of the lights that were currently going berserk with colors and patterns, scattering everyone with tiny white dots. 

Her straw still in her mouth, her eyes went wide as she nodded. After swallowing she grabbed my hand and began dragging me through the crowd toward the DJ. "Not just a DJ!" She yelled over the loud bass.

We weaved through the dancing bodies and finally made it to the front where Lissa pointed frantically and that's when I saw him. He seemed to have noticed me at the same time because his face lit up. He tapped the DJ and pointed out at us. 

Adam grinned at me as he jerked his head, signaling for us to come to the right of the booth. We squeezed through all of the half clad girls and made it to the black gates blocking the crowd off. Security guards stepped in front of us just before Adam pushed through them, holding his hand out to me. I looked up at him and realized that he was still one of the hottest humans I had ever encountered. 

I glanced at Lissa and she was nodding frantically for me to take his hand. She leaned in, "I'm going to go find Jake!" With that, she turned and left me in a crowd full of girls staring at me with daggers, security guards glaring at me and then Adam, who was watching me, his genuine smile plastered on his handsome face. 

Screw it.

I sucked down the rest of my drink and handed it off to a screaming girl who was trying to get to Adam. She dropped it with disgust as I placed my hand into Adam's. He yanked me up and over the black gate and onto the platform. I stumbled into him, breathing hard, but he caught me against his chest and smiled down at me. 

"Hey No Name."

"Rockstar," I replied. 

"Come on," he grabbed my hand and took me behind the booth where the DJ was working. Adam leaned down to the guy and pointed at me. The DJ slid his headphones around his neck and stuck out his hand. I shook it as he brought me in closer. "I am Tim!" he yelled in a thick German accent. 

My eyes widened and I heard Adam chuckle as he rest his hands on the back of my shoulders. He leaned down to me, his mouth next to my ear. "He's an old friend of mine, Olivia wanted nothing, but the best."

"Olivia?" I asked. Adam nodded at me, but his face fell when I assume mine turned slightly murderous because that's what I was feeling. She's plotting something, I could feel it. What if she was using Adam? Did he know? I stared at him suspiciously.

He leaned down again. "Is something wrong?"

"Did she put you up to something?"

He pulled back, clearly shocked, but he shook his head. "Is everything okay?"

I shook my head and sighed. I was being crazy. This isn't completely out of character for Olivia to throw a rager before the summer ended, but it was interesting she chose this location. It was Jesse's party cove. Everyone knew that, it was like an unspoken rule.

Gosh, what if Jesse sees me with Adam up here? You know what, no. Screw Jesse. 

Snapping out of inner dialogue, Adam stood next to me patiently waiting to make sure I was indeed okay. Wow, he really was hot. How was that possible? How did a person like him exist?

His fitted black shirt was doing him all the favors. 

"I need a drink," I finally said, making him laugh. He turned around and bent over something for a moment before he pulled out a handle of vodka.

"Vodka girl right?" he smirked.

I nodded, holding out my hand to take a shot. He took one after me and set it back down on a table behind him. 

The song shifted to a upbeat version of Summertime Sadness and something inside me perked up. 

"Uh oh, she's a dancer!" He smiled down at me and held out a hand. The DJ had his hands in the air, guiding the crowd to join him. Suddenly, it was 300 people clapping at the same time until the beat drop leaving everyone jumping up and down and the lights going crazy. 

The college girl inside of me loved this, I hated to admit it, but these kind of parties were the best kind to completely let loose. No one cares about how you dance or what you look like. It's just the music. Despite it being Olivia's party, this may be the best way to end the summer. I deserved a night like this.

"Alice?" Adam asked, his hand still outstretched to me. 

It still made my heart skip when he said my name. I smiled and slid my hand in his.

"I hope you don't mind the crowd," he said loudly so I could hear him over the music as he led me back down. The security guards let us through and suddenly we were in the crowd. Because of the music, most of the people didn't even register that Adam Hawkins was right next to them, but that didn't stop me from slightly freaking out that I was with him. 

Adam's hands slid around my waist as he pulled me closer to him. I danced against him, closing my eyes, relishing the fact that Adam Hawkins had his hands around me. Adam Hawkins was dancing with me. Me. 

My hair fell forward as I moved to the beat and eventually, I felt a smile. He grabbed my hand and spun me around, bringing my back to his chest where he slid his hands onto my hips. 

Holy effing balls. This was happening. The lighting was so sporadic that it all felt like a dream. A crazy, slow motion, cinematic dream. I could only see flashes of people, their hair mid air as they jumped up and down and the light happened to flash on them. For the first time all summer, I felt free. And pleasantly tipsy. 

Adam spun me around to face him again and he was smiling as he danced with me. I'm not sure he realized he was singing along with the song, but he looked so happy. His joy seemed so pure, it was the first time I had seen him look so...free. 

When the song came to a slow transition into the next one, people began to relax which led people to realize who was standing right next to them. One girl squealed and lunged for him, clawing at him like cat running from a rabid dog. He carefully pried her hands off of his shirt and began pushing both of us back to the DJ booth behind us. Most girls shouted his name and tried to take a picture, but luckily only the one girl actually came for him. When were behind the safety of security, he laughed. 

"Are you okay?" he asked, grabbing my hands in the process. 

I glanced at my hands in his large palms and nodded. 

Girls were behind the gates shouting his name and I was bewildered that girls could geek out this much over someone. He was just human after all. Well, I supposed he was a bit more exceptional than most, but still. 

Right before I looked away, I caught a glimpse of someone familiar. A mop of blonde hair towering over a group of girls. Jared. His eyes met mine and I couldn't read the exact expression they were showing. Was he disappointed? Curious? Suspicious?

Shaking my head, I took a few steps back, hiding myself behind the comfort of the dark booth with Adam and Tim. 

Tim turned around with a grin. "Would you like to try?" 

"Oh no," I replied with a laugh before turning around to search for the handle of vodka. 

Stupid Jesse, ruining my last week of Summer. Stupid Cheeto. He always chose her, didn't he?

Finding the vodka, I unscrewed the top and took a long swig, resting it back on the box I found it in with a wince as it traveled down my throat. 

"Oh boy, remember what happened last time you drank like this?" Adam said next to my ear.

I shrugged. "Maybe I want a crazy night."

His eyes held mine for a moment. 

"I know you're crushing on Jesse and I don't know what happened, but I have to be honest with you No Name," he pulled me closer to him so he didn't have to speak so loud.

"While you crush on him, I'll always be crushing on you."

My heart stopped. This was crazy. He was Adam freaking Hawkins for Christ's sake. The rockstar of Dark's Light. He was a legend in his own right and did he just confess to liking me? No. I can't hear that. How am I supposed to deny someone like him? Do I want to deny someone like him? Do I like him? Could I like him now that Jesse was out of the picture? Did I really want Jesse out of the picture? It didn't matter, he removed himself. Fuck Jesse. 

"Huh?" I managed to get out.

He chuckled. "Look, I don't expect anything, but I just thought you should know that."

I swallowed, my head moving up and down. Right. Adam Hawkins has a crush on me. Adam Hawkins. 

Suddenly, I wanted to scream. I wanted to run, actually. This was too much. There was far too much emotional confession going on lately and I was beginning lose my mind. I was exhausted. What the heck was happening in my life?