PEACHES [bws]

01. THE PARTY

rewritten.

PEACHES

01.

Summer looked down at her phone as it lit up for the fifth time since she arrived at the party. It was more interesting than pretending to enjoy watching everyone else have their fun while she zones out in the corner, waiting for her boyfriend to message her at least once.

It was the third week in a row of arguing with him, and she had had enough and took her friend's offer of going to a house party. Sophie was popular and had loads of friends, so it was no surprise that she had been invited to another uni-party.

Summer wasn't so sure at first, she knew it would start another argument if she went, and she was trying to avoid another shouting match with her boyfriend. But, she didn't want to be sat at home overthinking everything about her relationship, so she messaged her boyfriend that she was going to a party and got ready.

It was a regret, because it really wasn't her scene, but she tried to put on a fake smile.

"Want a drink?" Sophie asked as she held two red cups in her hands.

"I'll pass," Summer shook her head, glancing at Sophie's boyfriend, George, who was playing beer pong with a tattooed boy.

Sophie and George weren't really boyfriend and girlfriend. They were technically exclusive, sure, and they probably really liked each other. But the other day Summer had seen her friend making out with a guy outside the campus after she got dropped off, so Summer wasn't so sure how serious they actually were.

"What's the point of coming to a party if you're not going to drink?" Sophie sighed, downing one of the drinks before tossing the cup helplessly to the side. She'd save the other drink to sip on for a little while.

Summer replied, "I can have fun without having to drink my life away."

"Doesn't mean you have to spend your life alcohol free," Sophie rolled her eyes. "It's not going to be the end of the world if you drink occasionally."

"Alcohol is just—,"

"A form of reasoning for someone to use when they mess up," Sophie finished for Summer, causing Summer to roll her eyes. "I've heard the four hour speech many times, Summer."

Summer had always been too innocent to be hanging out with the likes of Sophie, who drank and did more drugs than Summer would like to think of. They met in the first week of moving to town, and they weren't a predictable pair that you'd usually see together, but Sophie was determined to change Summer's chilled out, hippie lifestyle she lived.

Summer just wished her real best friend wasn't stuck in Canada for the festive season, since she could be making hot chocolates with him tonight instead of breathing in the smells of alcohol, drugs body odour and things that she didn't want to even think about.

"The speech isn't that long," Summer mumbled as she turned away from her friend.

She scrunched her nose up as she noticed a guy fingering a girl on the stairs, quickly turning away to look at Sophie who was grinning at her boyfriend.

Unlike Sophie, Summer wasn't accustomed to the lifestyle of a party like this. She usually spent her free time reading or meditating, not being in the same vicinity as people who were so openly accepting to others exposing themselves.

"What do you actually do at parties?" Summer asked.

"Drink. Sex. Drugs."

With a look of distaste, Summer frowned. "I think I might go home, this isn't really my scene."