euphoria // c.b

xxii. jealous

harlow's tolerance level for alcohol admittedly wasn't as high as it once had been. harlow had been deemed a "party girl" prior to her starting college, which was backward for what most people experience in college.

however, harlow really hated confronting her feelings, and one way to drown them out was to get as drunk as possible. it definitely wasn't healthy, but harlow had many bad habits, so one more didn't faze her.

"h, i hate to put myself in the brotherly role here, but i think that's more than enough for tonight." elton said to his younger sister, trying to grab the bottle of wine that she was cradling.

harlow tried to stand still to prove to her brother that she was fine, and even though she felt like she was standing up straight, she was swaying in her spot. "elton, i'm not even that drunk!"

elton held his hands up in surrender. "fine. it's your problem in the morning then."

harlow spun around on her heels, trying to look through the crowd to find kat or devyn. she spent the next fifteen minutes looping through the same two rooms looking for either girl but came up shorthanded.

harlow began to make her way towards the back door, suddenly feeling the need to get some air. as she placed her hand on the handle to go outside, harlow saw colby with a smoke in his hand and a bottle of whiskey in the other. she stood in her spot, looking outside, trying to see who colby was standing with.

everything was spinning, but harlow managed to make out a female figure with long hair. it was dark, so she struggled to identify the girl. harlow felt a wave of drunk anger wash over her as she watched the girl reach for the cigarette from colby's hand. smokes and red bulls was their thing, that's what colby had told her, so why was he smoking with another girl?

although she was incredibly intoxicated, harlow was never one for confrontation. her drunken state just heightened her normal reaction, which was to remove herself from the situation.

she didn't even bother shutting the half-opened door before she ran up the stairs and to the ladder by colby's room. holding her half-empty bottle of wine in one hand, she managed to climb to the top of the ladder, and push the hatch door open.

once outside and away from the situation, harlow felt as though she could breathe. she took a long drink out of the bottle, before placing it beside her on the ground. she knew that there was no reason to be mad at colby, and the more she thought about it, the more she realized she wasn't mad at him. she was mad at herself for catching feelings for him and was directing that anger onto him. harlow sat on the roof for a good twenty minutes before a voice interrupted her thoughts.

"hello? is anyone up here? if you're fucking, please stop! i'm coming up!"

harlow instinctively reached for the bottle. when she was able to see colby's face she was both relieved and enraged at the same time. instead of replying, she just placed the bottle back down, avoiding looking directly at the beautiful boy.

"harley? what're you doing up here?" he asked, sitting beside the girl.

"needed air," harlow replied.

"yeah so did i. except i wasn't expecting anyone else to be up here."

harlow tried to stand while grasping her bottle of wine. "i'll leave. sorry."

colby grabbed her arm, holding the girl in place. "no, that's not what i meant." harlow just looked at the boy. "where have you been all night? did you just get here?"

harlow gave the boy a look, holding up the bottle so he could see. "got here with kat a few hours ago. i lost her though."

"i just saw her outside," colby replied.