Sounds Fake, but Okay | ✓

s e v e n t e e n

    "There's no way I'm telling her I like her. I'm not mentally ready to get rejected." He paused, hesitating. Getting it off his chest could be good. "I don't know...maybe I'll try one day." He shrugged.

    Iris gave a bark of a laugh. "Sounds fake, but okay."

———•———

    Catalina squeezed through the moving throngs of sweaty people. She needed fresh air. She was drowning in the living room, and she wanted to check up on Jae and possibly grab another drink or two on her way there. She managed to snag a cider and walked to the doorway. The wind cooled her face while she searched the yard. She spotted a pink-haired someone leaning against Jae's shoulder. Oh. She blinked. Oh.

    She turned on her heel and ran back into the refuge of the kitchen. Where the hell were Daniel and Madeline? Did they ditch her? She had to pass through the living room to get to the kitchen and amidst the crowd, she caught sight of Madeline's fairy wings.

    "Maddie!" She waved and caught Madeline's eyes. "Where've you been?"

    Daniel shrugged. "Exploring."

    "Let's drink!" Catalina grinned and pulled the other two towards the kitchen. "What do you guys suggest?"

    "How much have you had?" Daniel thought to ask, seeing how Catalina was smiling too much.

    "Four." She held up her fingers. "I'm still gucci."

    Madeline nodded, knowing Catalina could take more before she started feeling tipsy. "But not too much."

    "I know when to stop." Catalina grabbed another bottle from the fridge. "I'm a big girl."

    "Of course you are." Daniel rolled his eyes and leaned against the counter.

    "We should play a game, to make it fun! Drinking while sitting is too depressing." Catalina searched the cabinets for a bottle of any strong liquor. She strode over, stretched on her tippy toes, and reached for the top shelf, where a full bottle of vodka sat.

    "What about flip cup?" Madeline suggested, already grabbing the pile of cups on the counter, she was glad the kitchen wasn't a complete mess.

    "There's only three of us, though." Catalina stuck out her tongue.

    "I got a variation for this, sweetheart." Madeline began making two lines of five solo cups each. She took the bottle from Daniel's hands and started filling each cup about two shots worth. "You chug it and flip it. You can't pass to the next cup if you don't flip it upright. Whoever flips all the cups first wins and stands out for the next round! Loser has to take five shots." Since they'd gone through the whole bottle, they snatched another.

    Catalina clapped her hands. "Oh! Sounds fun!"

    "Danny against Cat for the first found!"

    Daniel and Catalina stood at their respective spots. Whoever clapped Madeline's hand would be considered the winner, after she made sure that their cups were properly flipped.

    "Bang!" Madeline grinned and the game began.

    Catalina was good about three cups in but she knew Daniel was ahead of her. Madeline's cheers mingled with the buzz of the music and the crowd. Catalina knocked the drinks back, her throat burning, but it was when she reached the fourth cup where her flipping skill failed her.

    "Wait! Wait!" She giggled.

    Luckily, Daniel struggled with his fifth cup, fumbling with it as it wobbled and tipped. She'd managed to chug her own last cup just as he slapped Madeline's hand.