When we arrive at the party, surprisingly there's a lot of people here already. But the team is arriving one by one. Breanna finds herself a drink and a guy, whose name I assume is Luke. He's a junior, but he seems nice, at least I can see her laughing.

"So, you go to Highland Park?" A guy beside me asks and I nod, mindlessly sipping on the cranberry juice.

Everyone cheers loudly as someone enters through the door and I cannot help but roll my eyes when I see Chris and Caitlyn entering, followed by Evan and Rose. Evan is just as popular, but he tries to lay low. And while Caitlyn is bitchy and is living upto the society's expectations of being a cheerleader, Rose is sweet but just as known and loved by everyone.

You can put it this way - Evan and Rose are the better version but a little less popular of Chris and Caitlyn. If that makes any sense.

Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Chris looking at me and he winks, making me grumble as I turn to the guy who was interested in talking to me. Because speaking to him suddenly sounds more appealing than keeping up with mood swings of Chris.

"What's your name, again?" I ask and the guy chuckles, amused.

"Daniel, but please call me Dan."

"Alright Dan, you go to my school?" I ask and he shakes his head.

"Nope, but I am visiting." He shrugs and I nod.

"Well, what do you think?" I ask and he seems to think for a moment.

"Cliché. That's all I want to say regarding everything I have witnessed so far."

I immediately find myself intrigued but before I can pose a question, a breath fans over my neck, "You're not going to congratulate me?"

I jump and turn around to see a very amused Chris standing very close to me. What the hell is he doing?

"You going to apologise?" I shoot back and his smile drops, as he contemplates his options.

"Nope."

I give out a sarcastic smile, "Yeah, me neither."

"C'mon. Bleachers were fun, weren't they?" He smirks again and I frown at him.

"You are at a party! Why the hell are you even talking to me when you are here with your girlfriend. Can't we go back to hating each other?" I ask.

I notice someone else's presence beside me and look at Evan standing there, staring between the two of us but I shoot him a look to say absolutely nothing.

"Well, An, we don't need to go back anywhere. We are exactly where we started." He says before disappearing into the crowd.

An? What the fuck is with everyone calling me that?

"Why the hell is he calling you An?" Evan snaps, glaring at me and I scowl at him.

Honestly, I feel like ripping my hair out.

"So it's alright when your girlfriend calls me that but not when he does?" I scoff, "Talk about double standards."

Just as I am about to walk away, he takes ahold of my wrist, his grip tight enough to make me wince. He immediately lets go but my skin's already reddening by that point.

"I am sorry, I didn't mean to." Evan apologises but I ignore him, walking away.

I feel like having alcohol, but I know it would prove to be a mistake. I will explode if I have alcohol, and I don't plan on doing that anytime soon, because nothing good will come out of it. And I know for certain that Evan would be victim of it, because I have been just piling things up inside me without uttering a single word.

By the time I get to the backyard, couples are already making out but I take a seat on one of the empty chairs and sigh a little. I hate parties, especially when I end up alone like this.

And Chris has honestly lost his mind. Whatever is going through his head, it's not good. I am naive, but I know trouble when I see one, and that boy is just that. I spend the rest of the party sitting in the backyard, listening to music on my phone and ignoring everyone.

If anyone wanted to find me, they would have known where to look for. After all, this isn't the first party I am at. When the clock ticks at midnight, I make my way in and the red cups are covering the floor. The first thing I notice when I step inside is the game of beer pong, and the next thing I see is Evan and Rose playing.

I ignore them but not before my eyes move to the couch and I look at Chris who looks like he'll pass out any minute. My feet takes me to him before I even realise what I am doing. I study his face, and find a little humour in the fact that he's drunk. He must have had a lot to drink.

My phone buzzes in my pocket and I pull it out to see a text from Breanna.

'I had to drop Luke off at his place, I'll meet you back at yours. Don't look for me. Love you. x.'

I smile and quickly tell her it's fine before I focus my attention back to Chris. His eyes are drooping and I am tempted to pull out my phone and record him. Well, a photograph wouldn't hurt anyone now, would it? I grin down at the screen and laugh and his eyes snap towards me.

"Brooks, is that you?" He asks and I nod.

"You got that right, Jones!" I smile.

I have never talked to him smiling, but this is hilarious. His finger reaches out to poke my nose and I laugh at his absurdity.

"How do you feel, Jay?"

"Pretty drunk." He nods and I grin at him, unable to stop myself from smiling.

"Where's Caitlyn?" I ask, my eyes roaming around to place her shiny blonde hair.

"She left. We got into a fight." He shrugs.

"Well, is that why you are drunk?" I ask, and wave over at Evan. He finally sees me and tells Rose to wait as he runs to the couch where I am sitting with Chris.

"Nope. I like being drunk, it's fun." Chris says and I resist the chuckle.

"Do you have a ride home, Jones?" I ask and he shakes his head but stops immediately.

"Bad decision. Everything is turning in circles." He mumbles and I shake my head at him.

When Evan sees us, he gives me a look but I avoid it for time being. He looks sober, well, except I think he might have had two beers.

"How many beers have you had?" I ask him and he thinks about it.

"Four, I guess?" He says and I nod.

"Is Rose sober?" I ask and he laughs.

"I wish."

"Alright, I'm driving. Give me your car keys?" I extend my hand to him and he frowns.

"When was the last time you drove a car? I am pretty sober to drive."

"Four beers is not sober, Evan." I argue and he sighs, rummaging in his pockets and handing me the keys.

"I'll get the car out. Can you manage to bring him outside?" I ask and he scowls at me.

"Why is he coming with us?" He sounds offended.

"Because he doesn't have a ride back home. Rose will be staying at yours, and he lives across the street. It's a win-win for everyone. C'mon, now!" I say and he sighs, putting Chris' arm across his shoulder.

I bring the car the nearest I can to the front door of the house and Evan settles Chris in backseat behind me before making Rose sit by his side. Rose can walk on her own, but I know she's pretty out of it too.

After they are done settling, Evan takes the passenger seat and I start the engine. I can tell Evan is anxious for me to drive his car, and that pisses me off a little, but I let it go. I drive towards our house lane and it takes me ten minutes to reach there on the empty roads. Evan doesn't say anything and neither do I, because I don't want to snap at him.

When we reach, Evan tells me to wait as he takes up Rose and helps her settle. He comes back down five minutes later and by then, Chris is singing 'On The Floor' by Jennifer Lopez. I am laughing my heart out when Evan opens the backseat door and sees me laughing. Chris shuts up immediately after that.

Evan puts Chris' body weight on himself as we start the way to his house but he immediately protests.

"No, not my house!" Chris exclaims and I shush him up.

"What?" Evan asks and I understand Chris' plight of not wanting to go home this drunk.

Evan looks at me with dilemma but I shrug, "Dad is out of town for the weekend, he can take up the guest room." I say and that makes Evan almost glare at me.

"You're kidding me, right? This is the guy who held your elbow so tight that it gave you marks and now you want him to spend the night in your house?" He snaps.

It hurts. Fuck him, honestly.

"And that's coming from a guy who did this, and claims to be my best friend." I comment, holding up my wrist with fresh red marks.

He doesn't say another word but his jaw twitches as we go up to my porch and I unlock the door. When we reach the stairs, Evan struggles so I take Chris' another arm and put it on my shoulder to lay off a little from Evan.

"I can do it myself, you know?" He says but I ignore him as we get Chris in the bedroom. He's just mumbling to himself by now, and a part of me in thankful about that because I don't want to hear drunk Chris' thoughts.

"You know Brooks... I can never forget the funniest face you pulled off after you smoke." Chris laughs, obviously finding it hilarious as he gets comfortable in bed.

I almost smile until I realise that Evan is in the room too. He's staring at me with an unreadable expression on his face and I turn to him, opening my mouth to speak but shut it immediately.

"You smoked?" Evan asks, his voice almost a whisper.

"Evan.." I begin but he cuts me off by walking away from the room. I sigh, and follow him out.

"Hey, stop!" I call out, pulling on his shirt.

"What? You smoked! With him.." He trails off and I stare at him blankly.

"What's bothering you more right now, Evan? The fact that I smoked, or the fact that it was with him?" I say, for once speaking my mind and his face goes expressionless.

He almost looks pale but he chooses not to answer it. I want to say something in my defence, but I have nothing. Evan's granny passed away from lung cancer because she smoked, so I know why he hates smokers. But that wasn't what was going through my mind when I took that one single puff. It isn't that big a deal as everyone is making it out to be.

"I am sorry." I blurt and Evan's eyes meet mine.

He just nods before stepping forward and wrapping his arms around me. I sigh in his embrace as I hug him back.

"Night, Evan." I whisper and he lets go of me.

"Goodnight." He says before going downstairs and I silently follow behind him and lock the front door as he leaves.

I am way too tired to think about anything, but I text Evan immediately to remind him to keep his extra key under the flower pot in the porch so that Breanna can use it when she comes. I forgot about it temporarily.

I slip out of my clothes and pull on pj shorts and a loose t-shirt before heading to bed. As soon as my head meets the pillow, my thoughts start calculating themselves one after another. The whole thing with Chris, the hate-thing is turning more complicated than I'd like.

From as long as I have lived here, I have never ever interacted with the guy, and I have always been invisible to him till the time I ended up crashing into him. And now, he was occupying my guest room! Way to go, Adrianna!

Just as I am about to doze off, I hear the bed bumping a little beside me and I smile, realising Breanna's presence.

"How was the make out?" I grin, a little sleepy.

She lets out a laugh, "Oh my god, Adria! He's so fucking hot, I cannot believe I made out with a junior."

I lift my head up a little from my pillow and smile at her. She's blushing and I can't help but feel a little jealous. I don't remember the last time I made out with someone, and suddenly I felt the urge to do so but I let it slide, well aware that I can't do anything about it.

She gushes a little more and we talk about guys a little while before we both doze off to sleep.

-

My morning begins with a loud groan coming from my side. I open my one eye and look at Breanna holding her head in her hands. I would have laughed my ass off at her if I was a morning person, but I am not.

I sit up in bed and wander off to the bathroom to get aspirin for her and offer her two tablets before taking the bottle to the guest room. Much to my dismay, Chris is still asleep so I slam the bedroom door hard behind me to wake him up, and he does! With a jolt.

It takes everything in me not to laugh as he groans like a dying whale, "Fuck, what the hell was that?" He asks, running a hand through his hair.

When he notices that I am standing by the edge of the bed, he scowls, and rubs his eyes. He looks at me again and I smirk at him.

"Am I dreaming about you again?" He asks and I smirk even further.

"Do you usually dream about me?"

That's a little creepy, but the thought of Chris having a dream about me sends my stomach into knots. He opens his mouth to speak something but closes it as he stares at me, looking long and hard to see if I'll evaporate.

"Huh?" He shakes his head and then rubs his eyes again before focusing on me. "You really are here, aren't you?" He smirks and I resist the urge to laugh.

"Technically, Jones, you are in my house." I cross my arms across my chest and he frowns, looking at the surroundings.

When he realises that what I am saying is the truth, he nods and then is about to slip out of the bed when he stops and looks at me, "Umm.. give me a second, I'll be out?" He says and I nod, leaving him alone and going to check on Breanna.

When I enter the room, she's fast asleep and I put a blanket on her and she snuggles with it. I open the window curtain just enough to peek into Evan's room, making sure that the sunlight does not harm Breanna's slumber. Surprisingly, Evan is standing by his window and looking straight at mine. I smile at him and so does he, sipping on his coffee, I suppose.

"How was your night?" I ask and he shakes his head.

"Definitely not what I expected."

I nod, getting his point. He wanted to get laid, and was instead given the job of a babysitter of a drunk seventeen year old. He looks at me, as if studying my face, "He left yet?" He asks.

"Nope, just went to wake him up." I say and he frowns.

"Wake him up? Is he a child who needs to be waken up?"

What gets into him every time we discuss anything related to Chris? He has never been this rude before to anyone, but with Chris, it's like he remains aggravated. I don't respond to his comment because I know it would be of no use. I love Evan because he's my best friend, but.. he can be a pain in the ass sometimes.

"I am going to go and have breakfast. Tell Rose I said hi, when she wakes up." I give him a small smile and before he can reply, I shut the curtain and walk away.

When I reach the bottom of the stairs, I move to prepare two cups of coffee, aware that Chris will be down any minute. But I almost fall over when I see him standing with already two cups in his hands. Fuck, I did not expect him to see him standing there.

"Scared?" He grins and I roll my eyes, snatching the cup from his hand.

"Funny."

He sips on his coffee, and so do I. He makes a decent coffee for someone who's an ass. But what gets to me is how he doesn't break the eye contact even while having the coffee, and being the stubborn person I am, I refuse to look away first.

When none of us say anything for long three minutes, I finally snap, "What?" I ask and he chuckles.

"It's so easy to get on your nerves."

I fidget at his comment and shake my head, "Well, the annoying face of yours does the job." I shrug.

His face turns serious all of a sudden as he keeps the cup by the sink and turns towards me, "What happened last night?" He asks.

I frown. He really doesn't remember?

"Well, from what you told me, Caitlyn and you had a fight, you got drunk and couldn't even walk. I decided to give you a lift with Evan and Rose, but you didn't want to go to your place shitfaced. Hence, the guest room." I say and he blinks at me.

He takes in my words and nods, looking away for a second. "Uh.. I am going to go now, alright?" He says and I nod.

I follow behind him to lock the door when he leaves, but when we reach the front door, he halts for a second and turns around and seeing as to how I was standing right behind him, now he's standing too close to me for my liking.

If I take a step back, it would be very clear that I am uncomfortable and Chris does not need to know my weaknesses, because then he can use them against me. While I am busy thinking of this stuff, he looks at me and opens his mouth to speak but shuts it.

"Thank you, for last night." He says and then pauses.. his fingers meeting the back of his neck. But then he finally speaks, "I am sorry, about everything."

Before I can respond, he opens the door and disappears behind it.

•••
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