NERVOUS! stick goldstein

CHAPTER FOUR, spin the bottle

"You two should be able to be in the same room together." Ashley spoke.

Tad chuckles and then his face is serious. "Oh, no. No, we made a deal. We signed a napkin. I break that contract, she'll get mad."

Ashley puts her hands on her hips. "So? Why do you care about what your ex thinks? You're your own person. What do you wanna do?"

Tad furrows his eyebrows, looking at her with a slightly panicked expression. "What kind of question is that?"

Ashley sighs. "Tad, seriously. That's something you need to ask yourself."

Tad is quiet for a few moments before he nods. "Okay." A confused look forms on his face as he tilts his head to the side. "Do I need to answer myself?"

Winnie sighs and facepalms. Ashley looked at Tad with a closed smile and nodded in response. 

****

Winnie left Ashley and Tad alone, deciding to hang out with some of Madison's friends to get closer with them. To be honest, Winnie wasn't a fan of parties. When she was at one she would either stay by her friends or just hang out away from people. She was only at this party because she was already at Madison's house and it would probably make her look bad if she already left. 

"Tad!"

Gasps fill the room and Winnie turn to the direction of the door, her eyes widening as she sees Bella standing by the door. Bella was looking at Tad, who was standing by Ashley, with an angered look. "What are you doing here?" Bella inquired.

"Hey, look." Tad glances around nervously until his gaze lands on the kitchen door behind him that was open. He points at the kitchen, his lips forming into an awkward smile. "They have a kitchen." He ran into the kitchen after he said that. Ashley followed him as everyone went back to what they were doing.

Winnie goes back to talking with Harper, Sadie, and two other girls when she heard the front door open. She didn't bother to look to see who it is since she figured it was just another guest who was late. Meanwhile, Stick was freaking out on the inside while he closes the door. "I can handle this." He tries to reassure himself. "Not party. I'm on a mission. I'm on a mission. Yeah." 

Winnie glances away from the girls when she thought she heard Stick's voice which surprised her. She was even more surprised to see him at the party. He never went to parties after the last one he went to. Let's just say his last experience at a party was not a good one and he ended up hiding in the bathroom for the whole time. 

"Hey, Stick." Madison greets him when he walks into the living room area. She smiles. "You came to my party." Stick didn't say anything and just nods as he smiles. Madison points in the direction of the bathroom. "If you need to hide in the bathroom, it's that way."

"Thank you." Stick immediately walked in the direction Madison pointed at. 

A small frown appeared on Winnie's face, watching him walk away. Part of her hoped he would come talk to her, but she shouldn't have been upset at all since she knew he would've gone to hide out in the bathroom.

A few moments later pass and Madison announces, "Circle up, everyone. Spin the bottle is starting back up."

Winnie follows Madison, Harper, and Sadie into the kitchen to talk with Ashley. Winnie raises her eyebrows and smiles a bit upon seeing Ashley and Tad quickly move away from each other as if they were having a moment with each other. Tad walks away before the girls walk over to Ashley. 

"Stain's gone." Madison assured Ashley as Winnie moved to stand beside Ashley.

"I'm so sorry about your mom's rug." Ashley apologized.