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It didn't take long for me to lose Dakota inside the party. I had last seen him an hour ago. Soon after we walked in, he offered to get me a drink, but he hadn't returned back yet. As time passed, I grew more and more worried.  

My nail and hair didn't see any rest during my nervous frenzy, biting my nails and running my fingers through my locks. Pierson had said there were people who would try and give Dakota trouble if he came to this party. Willingly, Dakota came along so I was hoping he had something to at least protect him if he got cornered.

"Don't freak out," Ronnie said smoothly, placing her hand on my shoulder."I'll drive you home if he doesn't show up."

"I don't care about getting a ride from him," I said. "Having someone drive me home is the least of my worries right now."

"If he doesn't show up in another thirty minutes, I'll help you look for him," Ronnie offered. She nudged Finn, her boyfriend. "You'll help, too. Right?"

"Oh, uh. Yeah, sure." He nodded, taking a sip of his drink. "I don't mind."

A thank you was at the tip of my tongue when I heard my name being called out from behind me. I spun around and saw Beth and Xander walking right for us.

Ronnie rolled her eyes and chugged down the rest of her drink. "I'm not drunk enough to interact with the Xan Man."

Finn grabbed her hip and held her close. "He's not stupid enough to say shit to you while I'm here."

Beth look different than how she usual looked. She'd straightened her curly mane and wore dark eye makeup just like me. Her skirt appeared to be practically identical to mine, but I wouldn't make that comparison out loud. When they both came to arms reach, Beth came right for me and pulled me into an embrace. My arms were pinned to my side, enduring the hug.

"It's like I haven't seen you in forever!" She gasped, pulling away from the hug but still holding my shoulders. "Where do you go during lunch? You're never at our table anymore."

"Ronnie's been helping me with English," I informed. It wasn't a complete lie, but it wasn't entirely true either. "I've been busy with that for the most part."

"Is that what you're going by now, Veronica?" Xander asked, leaning in a little bit closer. "I guess it fits the masculine attire you wear. By the way, how does your dad feel about that boyfriend of yours? Does he even know about him? I'd gladly tell him for you when I see him."

Ronnie growled. "You little shit! I swear I'm gonna kill you if you ever think about doing that."

Finn kept his hold on her as she tried to lunge for Xander. Ronnie was quick on her feet, but Finn was quicker. Finn inhaled sharply. "You don't need to start drama this early in the night, Alexander. Can't you find some lowlife to waste your time with?"

"Oooh, aren't you a saucy little thing?" He flashed his eyes over to Ronnie. "I like your taste in men."

"Hate to break it to you, but you're not his type." She snapped.

"That's what you said about your last boyfriend, but I changed that pretty quickly." He gave her a wink. It was all it took for her go for him a second time. She reeled back and sailed a punch right into his nose. Xander's hand clasped around his face, crying out in pain as rivers of crimson crept out of his pale white fingers.

Thankfully Xander didn't try to defend himself by swinging his own punch. Finn stood in front of Ronnie, blocking Xander's view on her. Beth grabbed the crook of Xander's elbow and ushered him through the crowd and up the stairs.

"You've got real nice friends, Silvia." Beth shouted over her shoulder.

"I only pick the best," I said with a smile. When they were gone, I turned to Ronnie. "Let me look at your hand." I took Ronnie's fingers up to my face. She was wearing a few bulky rings. She winced in pain as I pulled them off of her. "We need to get you some ice."

We entered the kitchen and headed right for the refrigerator. After I applied ice directed to her knuckles, Ronnie asked me to get her a second drink. I got myself one as well.

. . .

Time disappeared while we were in the kitchen, drinking endless bottles of God knows what. With no luck, my eyes tried to focus on the time on my phone. It appeared as a blur. Ronnie, Finn, and I were laughing are asses off at nothing funny at all. It was only after I felt the urge to get some fresh air when I finally try to get off of the barstool and on to my feet. I touched the walls to help me get toward the exit of the kitchen. I was one step out of the kitchen when I saw a familiar face. If I wasn't drunk, I might've not walked up to him.

"Piersy!" I slurred.

Pierson was sitting on the couch with a girl on his lap, shamelessly kissing her neck. Her cheeks were bright red. The sound of her giggling made me sick to my stomach. A flash of anger bubbled in my chest at the sight of that and I didn't know why.

His green eyes found mine when he saw me stumbling to him. He whispered something into the girl's ear that caused her to get off his lap. "Silvia. Glad to see you could make it."

I huffed. "Not as glad as you are to see her, huh? Huh?"

This amused him. I could tell with his big goofy grin that went ear to ear. "I never saw you as the jealous type."

"I'm not the jealous type. I just don't like sharing." I collapsed in the seat beside him on the couch. "Can I call you Pier? I like Pier."

He smirked. "Sure."

"Do you only date old ladies?"

He barked a laugh, slapping his thigh. Drawing in closer, I caught a whiff of alcohol coating his mouth. "I've heard that go around the campus, didn't know it was still a thing. Who told you that?"

"I don't give out my sources." I patted his knee. "So is it true or not? Do you have the hots for silver foxes?"

He winced, scrunching up his face. "Don't say that."

"Silver foxes, silver foxes, silver foxes," I began to drunkenly chant. "Silv—"

Two of his fingers landed on my lips, hushing me. A gust of his warm breath swam over my skin, sending me chills as his finger trailed from mouth, over my chin, and down my cheek. His hand settled on the side of my neck, smoothing his thumb up along my jaw.

"You look very pretty," he said sweetly, holding my gaze with a smolder. "But you always do, so that's not a surprise. Very on brand of you."

A hot flash shot through me. Everything around me became unbearable to withstand. I backed up from him, chuckling off my nervousness.

"Okay, I've something else I want to ask you, Pier." My voice fell down to a whisper, or at least what I thought was a whisper. In reality, it was nowhere near an actual whisper. "You've gotta keep it hush, hush though. You can't tell anyone I asked."

"I pinky promise." He stuck out his pinky and I hocked mine with his. "What's the question?"

"Well a little birdy told me that you've got a huge private part. Like elephant trunk status."

"That's mighty bold of you to ask." His eyes widened and a large laugh echoed out of him. "Uh. I wouldn't call it huge. I'd say it's very above average."

I raised a brow. "Is this you trying to sound modest?"

"Maybe." He shrugged, then inched in closer to me. Our lips were startlingly close. I could see the glossed over look in his eyes, similar to how I probably looked in my drunken state. "Do you want to find out how above average I am? I locked my room from the outside. There's no one in there. If you're interested—"

"She's not interested." Dakota barged in and took a hold of my wrist, bringing me to my feet. He held my face in both of his hands and looked deep into my eyes. "Shit, you look wasted. You smell like a bar."

"She's having fun!" Pierson yelled. "Let her have fun. Maybe if you took that stick up out of your arse, you could have fun, too. Do you want to stay here with me, Silvia?"

"She doesn't want to stay." He answered for me.

"I was asking, Silvia. Not you." Pierson got up, holding on to the arm rest to help him up. "I don't want you to involve yourself, lad."

"I don't care about what you want, Redmond. She's not in the right state of mind. You will not take her up to your damn room, knowing well enough that she's not herself right now." Dakota tugged me away from the couch, leading me up the stairs and away from the party raging all around us.

I wiggled out of his hold and shoved him. "You didn't have to do that."

"Yes the fuck I did and I'd do it again if I had to," he spat. "You don't know what the hell he would've done if he got you all alone in his room. You don't know him, Silvia."

"I know him well enough." I shouted. He attempted to grab me again, but I only pushed his hands away. "Get away from me! I don't need your help! Why does everyone think I need help? It's like Maine all over again. I don't need help. I don't want your help. I'm not going to screw up again." My back hit the wall and unwanted wave of emotions rammed into me. "I swear I'm not gonna screw up again, mom." I croaked.

"What the hell are you even talking about?"

"Why do you care? All you ever care about is pissing me off." I hissed. "You know I lied that one time."

"What one time?"

"That time I found your sketch book," I confessed. "I even took some photos of them on my phone. You should apply for NYU. They've got moody, brooding people like you there. You'd fit right in."

"I figured you looked at them." He sighed. "I can explain--"

"No, you don't need to explain. I get it. You're like obsessed with me."

"I really hope you don't remember any of this in the morning." He chuckled. "Obsessed isn't really the word I'd go for. I just know how to admire art when I see it."

"That was the cheesiest shit I've ever hear come out of anyone's mouth. Go home." I said jokingly. "But I must admit. I'm flattered; or at least I think I am. Just don't go and slash my tires when your obsessive tendencies take over."

 He buried his head in his hands. "I don't think I like drunk Silvia."

I walked up to him and pried his hands away from his face. "Hey, you don't like sober Silvia either."

He shrugged, smiling. "I've grown to tolerate you."

"Aww, that must've taken a lot for you say that. That was so sweet." I placed my hand over my heart. "You know, I tolerate you, too."

His hands were still in mine from after I'd moved them away from his face. They fit perfectly in mine, rough at the finger tips and warm all around. He stepped in front of me. I moved my body against the wall. It was like we were dancing without music.

I looked at him carefully, observing his bright eyes flickering open and close in amazement. I could see his eyes dart down at my lips. I knew what he was thinking; it was the same thing I was thinking of. Craving closer contact,  I lifted off the wall and strained my neck just enough to join our lips. He cupped his hands around my face and kissed me back. I drank in the taste of his lips, getting drunk on the rush of emotions roaring inside of me.

He kissed me slowly, too slow. Almost like he was afraid to scare me off or hurt me. I raised my hands up to his shoulders, linking my fingers behind his neck. Heat swelled in my chest, feeling his hands down to the small of my back, pressing me against his lean frame. I heard my heart hammering louder and louder inside the cage of my ribs, fluttering like a restless bird. 

A cold surface hit against my back as he eased us onto the wall, hold onto me a little tighter, as if loosened his grip any more would lead me to float away like a balloon, disappearing into the cloudless blue sky.

My hand shifted to the front of his shirt, moving its way up. I crept my hand under his shirt, touching the ripples of his abs. Just as his lips parted, I took note of the tension building in the muscles around his neck. His body hardened against mine, drifting slightly away from me. He pushed my hand off him, roughly. Before I could react to it, he broke the kiss and let go of me.

Had I done something wrong? I wasn't all that sure. His face read like a sheet of armor. Guarded, blank. Unreadable.

I thought I was supposed to be the guarded one, hiding the most secrets.

That was when I saw it. He wasn't as unreadable as I had first assumed. For the slightest of seconds, a grim expression had graced his face as he frowned down at the floor. I breathed and pressed my back against the wall again. The kiss was breathtaking. It would be all I'd be able to think of for the next few days. I didn't know why he had to end it like that.

He wiped his lips with the back of his hand. "I shouldn't have done that."

"I kissed you."

"I mean I shouldn't have kissed you back."

"What? Do you a girlfriend?" It pained me to ask, but I knew I needed to. I vaguely remembered Beth saying he was dating a girl at Boulder Valley High. I was hoping it was only a false rumor.

He shook his head. "No, I don't have a girlfriend."

I jumped up off the wall. "Why the hell did you have to ruin it then?"

"You're drunk, Silvia. Of all the ways I've imagined kissing you for the first time, I didn't think you'd be half responsive in some hallway at Pierson's house." He yelled. My mind swam at what he'd just revealed. He'd thought about kissing me, how it would've played out. He wasn't drunk like I was so I knew he wasn't just spewing random things out of his mouth.

He fished out his phone from his pocket. His brows creased together at what he saw. "Wanna get out of here?"

I hiccupped. "Depends where we go."

"You won't want to be here any longer, trust me," he hinted, but I had no clue what he meant. We interlocked our fingers and he guided us down the stairs and out the door.

I didn't know it at that moment, but that night would be the beginning of everything and the end of me. We were too blinded by our adolescent carelessness to sense the storm that was brewing underneath our noses, ready to pour its rain of sorrow on our lovely sunny day. 

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PLEASE READ THIS: If you attend a party, please make sure that there is the one sober friend you've gone with (AKA the Designated Driver—Who is Dakota in this story). Make sure you periodically meet up and make sure that everyone's okay. I know that it sounds kind of boring and kind of a buzz kill, but it is necessary for everyone's safety if it's a crazy party. There are people out there that will not stop you from doing sexual acts with you if you are/aren't drunk. Sexual assault is more common than you think. Do not leave a drink unattended and don't accept drinks from people. Get it yourself to insure that it hasn't been tampered with. I know I could make this speech a lot longer by simply saying don't drink while you're under the age, but that would be a waste of time. Teens will drink regardless of what other people tell them. Just make sure you are safe while doing it.

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Please vote and comment

Thoughts on Kota at this point?

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Song: Drunk in Love by Beyoncé

Lyrics:

❝I've been drinking, I've been drinking.

I get filthy when that liquor get into me.❞

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