How to Date a Nerd

Chapter 20 - How to Crash Your Archenemy's Stupid Party

One by one, we got out of Ricky’s truck and slinked our way in between the parked cars in front of Matt Adams’ house. It seemed like the party had just started. I saw some familiar faces as we went in. Jocks, cheerleaders, some juniors, a few former student body officers. People filed in the yard of the two-story duplex, wanting to get in. Matt sure was popular.

We shouldered our way into the house with Reed and Chuck as our front liners. No one minded us. The crowd was busy dancing to Maroon 5, drinking or both. There were chanting voices from the dining area and I saw two girls doing a chugging contest. One was a former cheerleader and the other was a familiar blondgirl, slightly small for her age.

“Becky,” Sarah muttered beside me, frozen in her spot, mindless that she was being shoved and pushed by the crowd.

Before she was thrown off the dance floor, I grabbed her hand and towed her to a corner. Ricky gave me a salute before following Nathan, Chuck and Reed to the kitchen. I caught a whiff that they were planning something. I just didn’t know what.

“You sure you want to be here?” I leaned closer to Sarah, raising my voice so she could hear me through the blaring music.

Reluctantly, she nodded, eyes still fixed on Becky. It must be hard for Sarah seeing her best friend like that. Becky had been around, alright. And got some serious issues. Why she did this to herself was still a mystery to me.

I didn’t argue with Sarah. I knew she needed a break. A change of atmosphere from her quiet bedroom. She even took an effort to put on a light make-up. But to me, Sarah in her black plaid button-up shirt, faded jeans and sneakers was the best the world could offer. The look on her face told me that she felt out of place. Sarah wasn’t really a fan of parties. Or going out. With just a good book, you’d find her where you left her.

“I’ll get us something to drink,” I said to her, waiting for her nod before nudging my way to the punch table. After grabbing a beer and a soda, I run into Chuck.

He gingerly grabbed the soda bottle from my hand. “I wouldn’t try to drink one of these babies if I were you,” he said with a sly smile. The glint in his eyes told me that something awfully smelled of trouble.Behind him, Ricky just threw me a nervous look, clutching his laptop. He looked pale, almost green, his eyes shifting everywhere as if he was expecting a meteor to hit us anytime soon.

“Where’s Sarah?” Ricky asked, peering behind me.

“She’s right—“ When I looked at the spot where I left her, she was gone. “Ugh, Crud,” I muttered under my breath.

Chuck nudged me on the shoulder and smirked. “You better find her, lover boy. The real party’s going to start soon.”

I knew it was no use trying to talk some sense out of him. So I hurried my steps, craning my neck over the crowd. Flo Rida blaredfrom the speakers, pounding on my ears, making my head hurt. I kept looking for Sarah and tried to ask people if they saw her. Leigh, a girl I knew from class told me that she saw Sarah with Matt. And they were heading upstairs. I didn’t stay longer to thank or chat with Leigh. I shouldered my way to the stairs and hurried up, taking two steps at a time.

This was what I was afraid of. Matt taking advantage of Sarah’s naivety. I flung open the first door I laid my eyes on and heard a scream. I caught a quick glimpse of a couple making out in the bed before quickly slamming the door shut. Okay… When I saw another door, I pressed my ear against it and listened first. Nobody home. The next two rooms were empty and the third turned out to be a bathroom.

In the end of the hallway leading to abalcony, I heard hushed voices. It was Sarah’s and unfortunately, Matt’s. Stealthily, I approached them, pressing my back on the wall. I drew a deep breath before sneaking a quick peek. It was them, alright. Side by side. Elbows on the wooden ledge. Stargazing under the summer night sky. How romantic. I got to hand it to Matt. He was good. But not good enough if for example, I dunno, I accidentally pushed him off the ledge, straight down the yard. Homicidal, I know. I seriously needed to be on medication.

A deep sigh came from Sarah’s lips. Was she enjoying this?

“I’ve been thinking,” she started, fidgeting with her fingers. “M-maybe you’re right. Maybe… maybe it’s worth the try.”

“I knew you’ll eventually see it my way,” Matt said. I could just picture the big grin on his face right now and it was ticking me off. When I looked again, Matt was already holding Sarah’s hands. “You’ll never regret it, Sarah. I’ll make you the happy. Just give me a chance to prove to you that I’m better than him,” he said.

“Better than w-who?” Sarah questioned him, gently withdrawing her hands from his clutches.

I wanted to jump out from my hiding place. Better than me, I wanted to tell her. But before I could move a muscle, Matt grabbed Sarah around the waist and pulled her in. She struggled at first. I wished she fought back. Pushed him away. Got so amusingly angry. And hit him so hard in the face. But after a while, she let him. And it was tearing me to pieces to see it.

“It doesn’t matter,” he said to her before letting her go. “I’ve been waiting since kindergarten for this.”

Heavily, I stepped away from them. I couldn’t make myself stand it anymore. I only had one plan so far—to be with Sarah. And now that didn’t seem possible. What was plan B?

I heard yells from downstairs, mostly from girls. The booming music shifted to an ear splitting static noise. Then a recorded dialogue came from the speakers, echoing throughout the house.

“Hi Matty!” a woman’s voice said. “Ready for your potty?”

I literally hurdled down the living room and made my way to the center of the commotion. People were watching some sort of home video on the wide flat screen. People including Matt’s buddies—Drake and Larson. And for those who couldn’t see, the amplifiers were loud enough to hear. In the video was a chubby little boy screaming his head off while running away from a woman who could only be his mother. The boy was Matt, if I’d not mistaken. The audience seemed to be entertained, laughing and whistling. Drinks were handed out liberally.

There was a loud pop as Drake opened his bottle. Even he was making fun of Matt. A series of popping sounds filled the room followed by small spurting fountains of soda and beer, shooting in all directions. Soon, the girls were screaming like they just saw Godzilla or ruined their party dress. Shaking my head, I skirted the puddle of booze on the floor and headed to the porch. So that was what Chuck was planning. Beer bombs and shame cannons. Pretty lame but effective. Must be a blast on Matt’s hard core reputation. It’d suck to be in his shoes right now. But even that won’t cheer me up.

I saw Reed and the guys sneak out the back door and run straight for Ricky’s truck.

“Leon!” Reed called, sticking his blond head out of the shotgun seat window. “Hurry up!”

As I was making a run for it, I stopped and turned around. I had to find Sarah first. Cursing, I sprinted back into the house, catching a glance of Matt from the LCD, clinging on his Dad’s leg while his Mommy chased them trilling, “Bath time, Matty!” Just in time, Matt and Sarah hurried down from the second floor, apparently clueless what the ruckus was all about.

“Party’s over!” Matt shouted angrily. But people just stared or ignored him. “Everyone out!” He snatched a bottle from one of his football buddies and smashed it on the wall.

Cries of panic filled the room. I felt a huge stampede coming. So before all hell broke loose, I grabbed Sarah’s hand and dragged her out of the house whether she liked it or not. We barely hauled ourselves at the back of the truck before we hit the road.

“Now that was a party!” I heard Chuck scream from the backseat.

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Please inform me of any errors, okay? I haven't got any time to edit this. We're halfway through the story. And Leon will soon need to be in LA. Hmm... Wanna know what happens next? *zips mouth* BTW my twitter and facebook accounts are in my profile. :)

See ya soon ~shim