Bitter Heart √

Twelve

"Doing what, Alex?" I gagged. Was this the moment where my best friend, completely high out of his mind, was going to recite all the details about his recent sexual conquests?

I'd rather flush my head in the toilet, I realised, than let him rupture my mind with those words.

However, what he said next was something entirely different. "I'm telling her." He was trying to muffle a laugh. "I'm confess...confessing to you, and to her, that I love her."

Holy guacamole, I thought. I was more than just surprised that he got drunk at a school party. But then again, it shouldn't have been a surprise. The jocks always had alcohol stashed up their sleeves, without the staff knowing anything about it. As much as I wanted to leave him there with his drunk ass since he was obviously having more fun than me, I knew that wasn't right.

If Alex was really planning to do something as stupid as confessing his undying love to a random girl, he'd regret it the next morning. I'd be a horrible friend if I let him do that, especially when he'd called me first.

"Alex." I sighed, straightening up from my sprawled position. "You're drunk, all right? Don't do whatever you think you want to do right now. Believe me, you'll be doing us all a big favour."

He didn't get my warning though. All I heard was some muffled, incoherent response before he ended the call.

Cursing out loud, I stood up with an annoyed groan and grabbed my yellow hoodie from the couch, shrugging it over my pyjamas. I hated the thought of leaving my house right now. Why now when I was in between my movie marathon, all cosied up on the couch?

With a grumble under my breath, I slipped on my sneakers and trudged over towards the front door. What kind of friend would I be if I let him make a big mess of himself?

Glancing over at Chicken who was already asleep on the couch, I exited my house, locking the front door behind me.

•••••

The last thing I wanted was to end up at the homecoming of Crestmont High in a fucking hoodie and my pyjama shorts. Thankfully, nobody seemed to give me more than a second glance.

The entire building was flooded with music and lights. All of the sounds appeared to be coming from the gymnasium and the hallways were almost clear.

I was taken a little by surprise when no one stopped me from entering, to check whether I had the ticket or not. I was sure I had seen those long lines in the hallways the entire week, everyone impatient to buy those same tickets.

However, I was more than just surprised when I noticed the school gymnasium. It was as if someone had flicked a switch and magically transformed it into a ballroom. The theme. I loved it. Even my disco balls were hung at some places.

If it wasn't for the random girl who nudged me out of the way, I would still have been left looking around the gymnasium in awe. Maybe I had been wrong not coming to this one homecoming. It looked like everyone was having a lot of fun.

Exhaling a sigh, and maybe even feeling a little sorry for myself, I stepped along one corner and started to look around for Alex among the crowd. That's what I was here for.

To find Alex.

It felt odd being the only person who was wearing pyjamas, especially in between girls and guys who wore formal dresses and suits. If Mom was here, she'd have thrown a bitch-fit. Ever since I was a little baby, Mom had engrained it into my head that you never wore such casual monstrosities at formal events--thanks to all those charity events my parents took me to.