Never Have I Ever

Chapter 3

            "I... I was just..." I sputtered, my eyes wide.

            "You... you were just?" He mimicked, his beautiful blue eyes cold, "Because, I swear to god if you were going to snoop in my room..." He trailed off angrily.

            "Snoop in your room?" I snorted, "Please. I think I have better things to do than look in some stranger's room."

            He scoffed, "Like you don't know who I am."

I raised my eyebrows.

            "You don't?" He really looked surprised. How arrogant could one person possibly be?

            "Should I?" I took this time to check him out while he angrily stared at the wall. He had a defined jaw, a prominent adam's apple, and wavy dark brown hair that fell into his blue eyes that never failed to make me gape. I'd never seen a better looking guy. I flushed when he met my gaze and saw that I was checking him out.

I slapped my cheeks. I have got to get this blush under control.

            "Well, if you'll excuse me..." I murmured, turning to leave.

            "Wait," He said, and I turned my head to look over my shoulder, making my face look bored. I wasn't sure what it was about this random guy that made me so bold. Maybe it was because his confidence radiated off him in waves, and I soaked it up. "Why were you crying?" It was weird that this angry stranger wanted to know. He didn't seem to like me. I definitely did not like him and his stupid arrogance, so why did he care?

            "I wasn't." I lied, focusing my eyes on my feet.

            "Okay." He allowed, and I wondered why he didn't push it. Did I want him to? Maybe. Maybe it would've felt good to tell one person that my mother wasn't stable, and that she rarely ever talked to her children unless she wanted something for herself. She'd rather drink, or bring a guy home.

My phone made both of us jump when it rang loudly, echoing around the room. I snapped it open, "Hello?" I said quietly into the phone, although I already knew who it was.

            "Aria?" My mother's shrill voice asked.

            "Yes, Mom..." I said, tilting my head so a curtain of my hair covered my face. I didn't want him to see my facial expressions if I needed to hold back tears.

            "Where are you? Where's C-c-Chris?!" Her voice became blubbery, "I - I'm hungry, and - and -" She started to cry, and I could feel myself falling apart. She was my mother, not the other way around.    

            "Mom, please," I pleaded quietly, feeling mortified that the stranger sitting on his bed was seeing me at my most vulnerable. "Look, I'm at a par -"

            "I don't care! Excuses, excuses, they're all I ever hear from you! You're a worthless child, I don't know why I even kept you!" She yelled into the phone, her slurring making it difficult to understand what she was saying, but I had heard enough.

            "I'm sorry I'm such a disappointment to you." I said quietly, my hands shaking as I hung up the phone.

I swallowed, feeling overwhelmed. I tried my best not to hyperventilate.

Something filled my vision, and when I looked down, I saw a tan hand holding a cup full of what looked like alcohol.

            "Seems like you need it,"  he commented, shaking the cup, egging me on to take it.

Why shouldn't I? Oh, I don't Aria, maybe because you should know better, a small voice chastised me. I gritted my teeth.

No, I wouldn't have to know better if my mother wasn't such a drunk. That's why I snatched the cup from his hand, taking a long sip. Beer. It was cold. I swished it around in my mouth. Not so bad.

I sat down on the chair next to his bed, and he took a gulp of his own plastic cup. He crossed his arms, not saying anything. I stared at the contents in my cup, and traced the top of the cup with my finger.

            "What's your name?" I asked, looking up and meeting his blue eyes that seemed like they were alive and moving like water in the ocean.

            "Nash. Nash Reynolds," he said simply, not even asking what my name was.

            I sighed, introducing myself, "I'm Aria."

            "Do I care?" he asked, rudely.

            "No, I guess you don't." I could feel the beer already setting in, making things blur around the edges, and my nerves weren't so bad anymore, so l took another sip. I didn't know why I didn't stand up and leave when he obviously didn't like me, but I stayed sitting and drinking because something about being in his small room made me feel safe, and secure. Like we weren't part of the world, it was just us.

I stared at my beer. What a stupid thought that was, maybe it's just the alcohol talking. Yeah, that's probably it.

            "I'm bored as hell," he commented randomly, and i looked up, surprised that he had been the first one to speak.

            "Isn't this your party? Why'd you have one if you just sit up in your room?" I asked, confused. I mean, if I was popular, and I enjoyed this type of thing, I'd be down there with all the people I had invited into my house.

            "I don't like parties.. or socializing with people," he said, and when I raised my eyebrows he went on to explain, "I mean, people just piss me off. A lot of them are stupid, drunk idiots, and the other half are girls who throw themselves at guys, and have no respect for themselves. It annoys me. I just have parties to keep up the reputation." He suddenly frowned, caught up in his own thoughts. I wondered what he was thinking about.

            "The reputation...?" I urged him to continue.

            His face suddenly had many emotions. First, heartbroken, which vanished so quickly I wasn't sure I'd seen it, then embarrassed, like he'd said too much, and finally, angry. The anger was pointed at me, because he glared his cold blue eyes right through my soul.

            "I don't want to talk about it," He growled through clenched teeth.

            "Okay," I said, feeling flustered from the rage that had been in his stare.

            "Look," He said calmly, seeming to have gotten back some of his composure, though his hands were still shaking, "Why don't we just talk about something else."

            "Like?" I prompted.

            He smirked.

            "How about we play a little game of Never Have I Ever?"

I swallowed, suddenly nervous. Wasn't that a game of truth? I wasn't good at confessions. He raised his eyebrows.

            "What, too scared?" He mocked, pouting his full lips, looking so tempting I wanted to kiss his face off. I wanted to giggle at that, but I held it in. I narrowed my eyes at him, pursing my lips.

            "I never back down from a challenge. You'll do well to remember that, Nash Reynolds." I said with a sweet smile, cracking my knuckles, while he filled both our red plastic cups to the rims with beer.

            Oh Nash, what have you just gotten yourself into? I thought with a smirk.

Little did I know, I should have ran right out of the room the minute he suggested playing this game.

Author’s Note: LOL i like nash. do you guys like him? so yes I just started the game in this chapter. >:} okay, merry merry Christmas to all. This is my present to you!c: happy holidays, comment, vote, tell me how it was! Criticism I will take gladly, as long as it’s construction and not plain mean ;) bye!