Life As I Know It (Completed)

Chapter Six - Party

           "So, what's your name?" a voice breathed into my ear as a pair of hands grabbed at my hips. I recoiled from the pungent smell of alcohol coming from the guy's mouth. It was the night of Maddy's party and things were getting pretty wild. I didn't even bother to look behind me to see who had spoken, but walked away as fast as I could.  I was a little buzzed, but not completely drunk like most of the others here. I rarely got full-out drunk. Only in safe environments like at home with friends or if I knew there was someone to keep an eye on me and play the DD.

          Last year, I'd been at a house party and I'd been absolutely drunk after a game of "Never Have I Ever". I still couldn't remember a lot of what happened that night. All I could recall was waking up in my car with my jeans unzipped and my underwear and shirt ripped. Seeing as I wasn't even supposed to be at a party that night and not to mention partaking in underage drinking, I hadn't told Mum. Only Kelly and Maddy knew and I wanted to keep it that way.

          It scared me so bad, that I doubt I'll ever feel comfortable getting drunk at parties like this. I was pretty sure nothing had happened. Surely, I'd have been able to tell if I'd lost my virginity that night. Everyone talks about how badly it hurts and Maddy told me that you're completely sore afterwards. Aside from the killer hangover, I was completely fine elsewhere. I was sure I wasn't raped, but I'd been so close, and that near miss was enough to make me more cautious. Not knowing what happened, it made me hopeful that nothing had happened.

          After escaping the grabby drunk guy, I got myself some water to drink straight from the tap in Maddy's kitchen and went in search of her and Kelley. They'd disappeared after I'd gone to the bathroom earlier to freshen up. I'd wanted to use it before it got any later, and turned into a disgusting mess in there. I found Kelley helping herself to a drink, and went to join her.

          "Where's Maddy?" I yelled over the loud music. She nodded her head across the room as she sipped her drink, and I followed the movement to see Maddy... dancing... with a guy. Or should I say, dry humping. I rolled my eyes, and grabbed Kelley's hand. "Come on. Let's dance."

          We danced for a while, before Kelley went off to talk to a guy in her sociology class that she'd had her eye on for a while. I gave her a thumbs-up as she glanced nervously in my direction. I stepped backwards, knowing she wouldn't want an audience, and accidentally stepped into someone.

            "Oops, sorry I..." I laughed, glancing up. I then blinked, thinking I was perhaps delusional. Drew had put his hand on my arm to steady me, but didn't look too surprised to see me here, unlike myself. I hadn't seen Drew at a party before; this was a first. "Watch where you're going," I said, haughtily, before yanking my arm away from his. I barely even glanced at the two guys that were with Drew before walking away.

            "Hey, Ellie, wait up," he said, grabbing my arm. He spun me around, which was not a good idea in my buzzed state. "Whoa," he said, as I stumbled into him. He put his arm around me, steadying me.

            "What?" I asked, giving up fighting him and slumping into him. I'd been dancing for a while, and I was tired. My reason for being annoyed at him seemed kind of stupid now that I thought more about it as well.

            "I wanted to apologise for yesterday," he said, adjusting his arms so that he could pick me up and take me to a quiet corner of the room.

            "I'm not that drunk," I protested, half-heartedly. I could feel his arms muscles flex underneath my hands as he walked, though I didn't seem to be hindering him at all.

            "I didn't mean to offend you or anything." He ignored my previous statement, looking at me sincerely.

            "It's okay," I told him, letting the irritation pour out of me. Looking at him, I realised it was pointless staying angry. "I overreacted," I confessed. Everyone was entitled to their own opinion and just because I didn't like his, I'd all but bitten his head over it.