Ethan's POV
We unbuckled our seatbelts and I grabbed the beer from the backseat. Lexi took off her jacket, tossing it in the backseat of the car. I walked around the front of Lexi's car, locking it and walking beside her as we approached Markel's house. We had to park a bit down the street, and we could clearly hear the loud music as we walked up the driveway. The front door was already open, and when we walked in, the smell of alcohol and weed surrounded us.
"Hey Ethan!" I heard, looking through the groups of people to see Parker watching me.
"Hey man!" I said nodding at him.
"Spencer! What are you doing here?" I heard Lexi's voice as a blond haired boy approached us.
"Thought you might be here." He smiled at her, until our eyes met.
"Uh, Spencer, you know Ethan, right?" Lexi said.
"Yeah, I'll catch up with you later." He said to her, before walking away. The two of us continued making our way to the kitchen.
"That was weird." I commented, setting down the pack of beer on the counter already full of different kinds and colors of liquor.
"Yeah. He's never like that." I said, looking around to see if I knew anyone.
"I think I'm gonna have to go with a beer." Ethan said, grabbing one of the bottles in the box he'd brought. I reached for a wine glass and a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon.
"Classy." Ethan said, winking at me.
"Very." I commented, taking a sip.
"Look who Dolan brought along..." I heard a guy call out as Ethan and I walked past him and his football friends. I tossed a fake smile their way.
"Ooh someone's sassy." He said.
"Leave her alone man." Ethan said, and I turned around to see him clench his jaw.
"Jesus calm down, it's not like I was gonna touch her or anything. Actually... maybe I would've-" The drunken boy was saying and the next thing I knew, Ethan lunged forward, and the boy hit Ethan in the face. I let go of my drink, not caring where it landed, and grabbed Ethan's arm. Ethan shoved the guy against the wall by the shoulders.
"Ethan!" I yelled over the blaring music, hurrying over to grab Ethan's arm, but some random guy held me back. I escaped from his grip and rushed over as Ethan let the guy go. People had stopped dancing and were now staring. I put my hand to my cheek and wiped the wet tears that were on my face. Good thing I decided to use the waterproof mascara. I grabbed Ethan by the wrist and found the master bedroom and went in the bathroom, shutting and locking the door behind us.
"What was that Ethan?" I asked, shocked and upset, examining the cut just below his right eyebrow, blood surrounding the area.
"I couldn't just walk away after hearing what he said about you..." He explained, as I lightly pushed him against the counter.
"Stay still." I commanded, digging through the cabinet, finding just what I was looking for. I stood in front of him and put some rubbing alcohol on a cotton ball, placing my hand on his cheek.
"This might hurt, I'm sorry." I mumbled, before cleaning the cut with the alcohol-soaked cotton ball, causing Ethan to wince a little bit. I picked up the butterfly closure bandage that you use for cuts and placed it on the now-clean area, making sure it was bandaged well.
"All better." I smiled at Ethan.
"Your arm." Ethan said, looking to my upper left arm. I looked in the mirror and saw a reddish/purplish mark in the shape of a hand print.
"It's okay." I said, putting away everything that I took out of the medicine cabinet.
"Lexi it's not-" Ethan was saying until I cut him off.
"No. Let's just go have fun, okay? That's why we came right?" I suggested, unlocking the door, my hand on the doorknob.
"Okay." He agreed, shutting off the light behind him and following me back out into the loud, crowded house.
"Hey Lexi, hey Ethan!" I heard Nessa's voice as the two of us entered the kitchen.
"Hey Nessa." I smiled at her.
"You two want drinks?" She asked, holding up a few different bottles.
"Sure." Ethan answered for us. She then mixed like three or four different liquors into three red solo cups.
"I call this the Nes Special." She laughed, handing us the drinks.
"Thanks Nes." I answered.
"I'll see you guys around!" She waved, walking away with her drink in hand. I took a sip and was surprised by the sweet, burning beverage. This was definitely a strong one.
"This is very... interesting." Ethan said after a minute. I nodded in agreement.
"Let's go dance." Ethan said almost right away.
"Right now?" I asked.
"Yes right now!" He said, as we put our drinks on the counter and he pulled me into the large open space where everyone was dancing.
We danced like idiots for the following few hours, and I consumed multiple drinks throughout. I took my phone out of my pocket to see a text from my mom.
11:29 pm; Mother: hey how's the party going??
11:48 pm; Mother: do u need a ride home?
12:31 am; Mother: I'm going to bed, call if u need me to get u guys, love you
"Hey Ethan, we should probably go... go home soon." I said, suddenly getting dizzy. I felt arms pick me up and everyone's voices and the music now quieter.
"We're going home..." I heard Ethan's voice and a door open, then close. I closed my eyes and let the darkness take over.
I opened my eyes to my bright bedroom, my head pounding. I felt someone move in my bed and looked over to see Ethan waking up.
"How are you feeling?" He asked, sitting up and I noticed that he was shirtless.
"We didn't...?" I asked, slightly panicked. He was confused for a minute, then he laughed.
"What?" I asked.
"You really think that I would bring you home as you were passed out completely out of your mind drunk, then have sex with you?" He laughed.
"Okay true, that does sound pretty ridiculous." I thought about how that's something Ethan would NEVER do, and if he did, would completely ruin our friendship...
