Float

Original Edition: Chapter Fifteen

I've arrived at the conclusion that when a large group of hormonal teenagers are shoved into a confined space and given prodigious amounts of alcohol, bad things start to happen. 

As I pushed my way through the crowd towards the small circle that was forming around Blake and Ethan, things were starting to seem like they couldn't possibly get any worse than they already were.

But, of course, the universe doesn't seem to like me very much.

I'm not sure who threw the first punch. In fact, I don't even care who started it all. But someone in the crowd thought that right now would be a good time to take out their anger on some poor drunk kid standing next to him. And once the first punch was thrown, the shouting started. And right behind the shouting came more punching.

Soon enough, everyone in Ethan's living room was fighting.

"We need to get out of here," Lena said.

"Can you carry Isabel?" I asked. "My arms are going numb."

Lena's eyes briefly went wide with panic.

"I'm not great with kids, Waverly, I—"

"Here's Aunt Lena!" I announced, shoving Isabel into her arms.

"Ass-oles!" Isabel cried, demonstrating her new favorite word.

"Alright, she's kinda cool, I guess," Lena said, holding Isabel as stiffly as one might hold a bag of rotting lemons. "Let's get out of here."

We hurried down the stairs.

I was just about to step out of the living room when something came flying at my face.

In retrospect, I totally deserved an elbow to the cheek. I really did.

Not only had I let Blake Hamilton convince me that coming to his arch nemesis' party was a good idea, but I had also stolen my aunt's car and essentially kidnapped a two-year-old.

I'd been an idiot all day, and since karma has a habit of coming back and biting me in the ass, I should've seen it coming.

And I did, for a moment.

But then it hit me.

I don't remember what the impact felt like, because the next thing I knew, I was sprawled not-so-elegantly across the floor of Ethan's living room and blinking up at Lena, who looked almost as surprised as I felt, and Isabel, who had the nerve to laugh.

"Oh my God! Waverly! Are you alright?" Lena cried.

I wasn't exactly sure if I was. I could still wiggle my toes, which was always a good sign, but there was a dull throbbing in the back of my head that didn't feel right. Lena reached down, grabbed one of my hands, and pulled me up to my feet.

The throbbing in my head became worse.

"Waverly?" she asked, snapping her fingers in front of my face.

"I'm okay!" I argued.

Lena pursed her lips and held up her hand.

"How many fingers am I holding up?" she demanded.

"Tree!" Isabel supplied.

"Three," I repeated.

"You cheated," Lena huffed.

"I don't have time for this," I snapped. "We need to find Blake and Jesse. We need to—we gotta go."

Lena narrowed her eyes for a moment, and I could only assume that she was mentally debating whether she should perform a proper medical exam on me or give up and help me find her brother and his friend.