Surprisingly, Alex Goth was one of the last people to get to the party; it was already eleven by the time he decided to show up.
He looked all alone, by himself, without his posse. He had just finished an argument with his father and he was in the mood for one long trip with something.
He looked around the bar—looking for her. But, she wasn’t anywhere near the bar. He, though, noticed the very high guy next to him, who looked really sober.
The guy called out for another…whatever he was having. He continued to nibble on nachos, though his posture swayed.
“You okay?” Alex asked after the guy nearly fell out of his stool.
“I-I’m fine.”
“Maybe you should slow down…” In Alex’s experience, he knew that slowing down right now for a newb at drinking was possibly a very wise chose; one of his wisest choices. And, Alex could tell that this guy was a complete newb at this alcohol business.
Alex looked at the shot glasses and vaguely wondered why Malcolm Landgraab would allow thousands of teenagers to drink all they want and smoke all they want…If he was found out, he’d be sent to jail. But, if he was found out, then Malcolm would use his influence and get himself out of it.
“…Aren’t you Alexander Goth?” the guy hiccupped.
“Yeah. Do I know you?”
The guy shook his head. “I don’t think so…I’m Chase Thompson.”
“Oh, you’re the rookie for Pleasantview High.”
Chase nodded. “Hell I am.”
If Alex remembered correctly, Chase was in Angela’s group. So, he had to be extra careful with this already drunken guy. “Maybe you should slow down…”
“Yeah, I’m thinking so, too.” The bartender was a fresh-out-of-school guy with a really tight shirt on. “He’s been having them ever since he got here…I’m thinking it’s been about five or six hours already…I think he should get home.”
“No, not home…” Chase moaned. “Because-because, she’s here! With him!”
No, if Alex tried hard to think about it, he once heard about a scandal in the sophomore group at Pleasantview High…Greg or Kyle Myrtle had slipped the topic in while they had been waiting for the marijuana fumes to settle in…
That’s right: Both guys were on the varsity baseball team and they were talking about their rookie head over heels in love with one of his best friends. Then, they had just broken up, after a few dates. Alex assumed that that girl was who Chase was talking about.
“He’s been going on about this girl for hours,” the bartender admitted. “He doesn’t say her name, so I have no clue who she is…When his friends stop by, they seem to know who he’s talking about.”
“She’s here with him…She won’t ever talk to me, again. Damn it, damn it, damn it…”
“Please, take him home. For everyone’s sakes.” The bartender patted Chase’s shoulder. “You should be in bed, by now. That’s the right way to cure a broken heart.”
“A-a broken heart?” Chase gave out a mocked laugh. “I don’t love her.” For a moment, he seemed perfectly sober as he said so. “I don’t love her.”
“What an ass.” The bartender stopped serving the other people at the bar and propped his elbows onto the counter. “You are totally in love with her.”
“No, no,” Chase said as he shook his head. “If I was, then I’d know.”
At this, Alex had to laugh. “Well, that’s the cheap kind of love. The real kind of love is when you don’t know that you love that person.”
“He’s right.” The bartender looked at Chase. “That’s the best kind of love.”
“But-but, she’s totally different.” Chase sighed. “No, I don’t love her.”
“You know, I don’t know you, but I hate you so much right now.” The bartender smirked. “Ask me a million times, and I’d still say that you were in love with this girl.”
As the atrocious bartender continued to argue with Chase, Alex had a feeling that this girl was not the girl that Kyle and Greg were talking about. For one, they were totally assured that Chase was in love with that girl, whoever she was.
He spotted the girl in the clad-green dress with the six-inch heels coming towards them. She looked very familiar…
“Hey, Alex,” she greeted.
Without showing his surprise, he realized that she was the girl that lived across from him. He couldn’t exactly remember her name…but, she did have a big family and a hard as hell last name… “Hey.”
The girl ordered two beers and the bartender excused himself to retrieve them.
When the girl had the beers, she pressed one to her lips. Chase grabbed her wrist.
“What the hell are you doing?” he asked, all traces of alcohol evaporating from him. “Are-are you going to drink?”
She glared at him. “It’s a party.”
“Give me that.” He yanked the beer from her. “This is bad for you.”
She bit her lip. “I-I don’t care.”
“God, Lee, it’s bad for you.”
The girl called Lee shrugged. “You seem to not have a problem with drinking.” She motioned to the empty shot glasses.
“Who even told you to get these? Jeff?”
She shrugged and headed back into the crowd. Chase put down the beer and followed her.
The bartender shook his head. “So, it’s her.”
Alex nodded. “I guess so…”
The bartender turned to look at him. “So…what can I get for you?”
Angela let herself drift out on the dance floor. It was nice, this drifting. She didn’t even keep track on how many people had she grinded on, or how many people she had kissed…
Somehow, though, she managed to make it out onto a bar stool. Instead of ordering for her usual, she decided to keep it down and order an energy drink.
The bartender looked at her with a strange look, but nonetheless, brought her the Monster. She downed it in a few seconds and wished she hadn’t gone so fast. Her head was numbing and she swore she would puke.
“There you are.”
Angela turned to her left. Suddenly, throwing up and fainting had left her system. What was left was heart beats racing a hundred miles an hour.
“I just got here. Where’s the stuff?” Alex smiled. “Where’s everyone else? God, you look sick.”
“I-uh-I-.”
“What’s wrong? No smart-ass comment to me?”
“I-I…”
Alex smirked. “I guess you’re too stoned to even make out a comprehensible word. That’s alright. It’s a shame Vicky’s not here. I’m going to have to walk you home.”
“My-my car’s in the back.”
“Are you going to drive? You’re crazy. I wouldn’t get into a car without you, even if you were sober.”
She didn’t realize that it was an inside joke until he laughed.
“Did you not have enough pot? Why aren’t you saying anything? You’re acting weird, today…Maybe you should go home.”
“No-no! I’m fine.”
“You sure? You kind of look…different, even.” He realized the heavy amount of foundation she was using. “…Are-are you wearing blush? Lilith, what’s wrong with you?”
Lilith? He thought she was Lilith? Well, she was kind of wearing something Lilith would wear… And, if she were to blurt out that she was Angela, then he’d surely go away and curse himself for even looking at her. “N-nothing’s wrong. Just a little tipsy.”
“So, you’ve been drinking. That’s new. I’ve only seen you smoke pot and crack, but never seen you drink…”
“I-I drink. I sometimes drink, and I thought today would be a good day to drink.” She was talking a little too fast. “But-but, I’ve also got some pot. Yeah, it’s in the back. My friends are already hitting round three.”
“Damn, you guys are slow today. I thought that you guys would already be on another stash by now. Where is everyone? I want to join in, too.”
“A-Alex, we should talk. The others won’t miss us; I even told them that I was coming to wait for you.”
Lilith never waited for him. Even if it was important; never had she waited for him. “…Well, what do you want to talk about?”
What would Lilith say? “…How-how’s your dad?” What a stupid question.
“He’s fine.”
“I haven’t seen him in awhile.”
“Yeah, he only stays inside.”
“How’s Lawrence?”
Lawrence and Lilith practically hated each other. “…I never knew that you would care about Lawrence’s well-being. Last time I even mentioned you to him, he swore to kill me.” Alex grabbed her hand. “You sure you’re okay?”
She could only stare at their hands. “I-I’m fine. Yeah. I’m good.” She took in a deep breath as she sparked the next question in this rather awkward conversation. “H-hey, want to go somewhere with me?”
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