Dancing Around // peter parker

38

We won. In celebration, Cindy and I decide to go to a party that Flash was throwing. She lied to her parents and said we were going to my house to have a movie night as a celebration before we got on the right train and ended up taking a taxi to Flash's big home in the suburbs. He lived near Liz's old house, but his house seemed to have a fence surrounding it. The party was louder than Liz's as well, with some other guy DJing it when Flash opened the door to greet us, his arms wide open with one of his hands wrapped around a red plastic cup.

He ushered us inside, showing us where the bathroom was and all the snacks before his name was called into the crowd and he was taken by the sea of people. Cindy and I went to the table of snacks, taking a handful of chips. I eyed the unopened energy drinks but didn't reach out for one. "It's mocking me," I told Cindy.

"You don't even need to drink one. You have plenty of energy," she said.

I gave her a look. It always felt like I was right on the edge of empty. I thought everyone could tell by the way my shoulders slopped over sometimes and the way my words were dragged out and barely auditable. She handed me instead an unopened can of beer before grabbing one for herself. She opened it, taking a small sip of it before looking out. She smiled and waved at Sally who also had a drink in her hand as she spoke to someone and gestured Cindy to come towards her. I was a little surprised to see her here since her non-french parents didn't allow her to go to parties. Naturally I wondered what lie she told them this time. Cindy gave me a look.

"Go," I told her.

"Are you sure? I can talk to her later."

"I'm not a little kid. I'll be fine on my own. Go."

Cindy nodded her head. "Text me if you need anything, okay?" Then she slipped past the many bodies filled in the large living room before reaching Sally. They shared a hug before Cindy turned her head to speak to the girl Sally was talking to. In seconds, they all started to laugh. Sally's eyes then peek from above Cindy's head, meeting mine with something in them that I couldn't for the life of me recognized before turning back to the conversation. I sighed, looking down at my drink before opening it and taking a gulp of it down. I needed to have fun.

I ended up stumbling in front of Al on my way to the bathroom. His friends behind him started to giggle when they found themselves in my way. "Move," I told them. This made them all laugh, except Al, who moved his body sideways so I could move past him. I went to the bathroom, making sure all my make-up was intact and then I stay there for a moment, appreciating the silence more than the loudness of the party. I didn't know why I even went to parties since clearly, I didn't enjoy them. Maybe I was just allowing myself to get sucked into what everyone thought teenagers were supposed to do. I think about this time that I lingered in, afraid that I'm wasting my youth if I don't go to parties. I think about when this time started and when it'll finish, and how I could never fully appreciate either one. I ended up pushing every thought down like they never existed and going back into the hall.

Al was waiting for me outside the door. The next person waiting for the bathroom moved past me, closing the door behind me. I stood awkwardly in front of the door watching him as he approached me like I was some kind of prey in the mid of a life or death situation.

He raised his hands. "I just want to talk. Honestly. Can we go somewhere quiet?"

I didn't want to go near him, but I did want to know what he was going to say. I crossed my arms, one hand still hold my can, and shook my head. "If you have something to say, say it here." He looked around, before grabbing my arm and pulling me near the wall, out of the way for people to walk by.

"I'm sorry what happened between us," he started. "I don't know how rumors got out about us, but I didn't like them."

"Right, yeah, I saw how much you hated those high fives. It must have been really hard for you."