Sweet Nothings // Billy Hargrove

I - pretty in pink

"Another?"

Dana eyed the bright red bowl of punch on the counter in front of her, a concoction of whatever alcohol the host could get their hands on mixed with some cheap berry fruit juice.

She felt tipsy but nowhere near as drunk as she wanted to be; as she should be even, I mean it was her birthday after all.

October 30th, the day before Halloween. She was already well acquainted with the fact every birthday she had would be celebrated surrounded by people in costumes and wacky makeup while Michael Jackson's Thriller filled the room. I guess it was a rather convenient thing that she loved Halloween and anything horror and it meant she didn't always have to play host, someone was always throwing a halloween party so she could get as drunk and as messy as she wanted and she wouldn't have to be the one to clean it up.

This year it was Tina who decided to throw the annual event, she had practically invited the whole school. The floors at school were littered with her party flyer a few days ago so it was no surprise that it was a full house, Dana was shocked the cops hadn't been called yet.

"Are you even listening to me?"

She snapped out of her daydream and her eyes focused on an impatient looking Steve Harrington holding a shot glass filled with clear liquid in front of her.

"What is it?" She asked, her eyebrows furrowing as she sniffed the mysterious liquid.

"Drink it and find out" Steve smirked while downing one himself.

She took a precautionary breath and lifted the glass to her lips before tilting her head back and feeling the fiery liquid move down her throat. She screwed her face up at the familiar taste of tequila and slammed the glass back down onto the counter.

"I thought I told you I wasn't drinking Tequila again" She quipped looking at him unimpressed.

"You say that every weekend and besides it's your birthday so the rules don't really apply today" He smiled while grabbing another beer from the cooler.

"Uh huh" She replied rolling her eyes and leaning over him to grab one as well.

They silently sipped the beers surveying the room of people at varying stages of obliteration. Vases were broken, drinks were being spilled and a girl was crying in the corner presumably over a boy while her friends circled around her exchanging empty encouraging words. Dana didn't want to be Tina tomorrow morning, that was for sure.

"So how does 18 feel?" Steve asked turning to face her.

"You've been 18 for 3 months Steve, you should know better than anyone" She smiled bopping him on the nose playfully.

"Touché" He smirked "Well how is my birthday girl then? Feeling good?"

His words made her stomach dip as they often did. Steve was her longest friend, 9 years to be exact. They had grown up together, awkward pre teen stage and all. Their families were close and they spent a lot of holidays together which was good as it was mostly older relatives so her and Steve would sneak down to the basement to drink and actually have a good time unlike Grandma Liz who's idea of 'fun' was a game of Yahtzee.

She wasn't sure exactly when she started looking at Steve as more than a friend but she knew she had definitely fallen hard by the time they reached Sophomore year. Even the other girls at school started to notice him now too, he wasn't just some geeky looking kid in polo jumpers two sizes too big for him. He had grown into his looks and so it was no surprise that at least five girls had tried to steal him away within their first 30 minutes at the party.

"I feel like I need to be way more drunk than I currently am" Dana smiled weakly as she took a long chug of the beer.

It tasted cheap and made her grimace as she emptied what was left in the bottle but she knew it would get her to where she needed to be quickly. There was no sign of Robin which wasn't unusual as parties weren't really her thing but she always made an effort when it came to Dana's birthday.