Some might call me a pushover for being so nice to others, but really, I was the most stubborn guy in the world, and Jay knew that too, so he dropped the whole "don't be a superhero" thing and instead slapped me on the back and threatened that I'd better go to him for any help or else he was telling the world my secret.
I knew he wouldn't carry through with his threat because he knew that would endanger me, and while Jay was more irresponsible than I was stubborn, he was adamantly loyal.
We walked down the stairs after waiting thirty minutes after the party had officially started, so the party was thriving by the time we reached it. Jay and I did the usual socializing routine - he chatted up the girls and made them feel more than welcome, while I talked loudly with the guys and slapped their backs, steering them away from the scene of Jay flirting with their girlfriends.
After the football captain left to go find his girlfriend, I turned in my spot to try to find Ellie in the crowd. My heart jumped out of my chest when I looked to the left and came face-to-face with Jay. He looked like he was already drunk, which was impressive since we'd only been here for ten minutes and hadn't even gone to get drinks yet.
"Carterrrr!" he whooped, causing the people around him to howl and whoop along with him. I gave them tight smiles and angled Jay so I could talk to him with shouting over the loud bass booming like a heartbeat throughout the entire house.
"Hey, Jay," I said, but stopped when Jay giggled.
"That rhymes,"
I ignored him and kept going. "I'm going to go look for Ellie, okay?" I glanced around the room again as Jay asked who Ellie was.
"The girl I was talking to in the hall today, before Home Ec."
He blinked at me with a blank expression on his face.
I groaned. "Ellie-phant."
Jay let out an obnoxious bark of laughter. "Yo, Ellie-phant Jacobs? She's your new charity-case?"
The words hit closer to home than he'd meant for them to. He probably didn't even know the words would hurt me, seeing as I didn't go into details about Chloe and my break-up. She had also accused me of making her my charity-case, even though I really had liked her. I probably even had loved her.
Jay didn't seem to notice my silence as he went on saying, "Sure, man, to each his own, right? Hey, can you get me a drink while you're looking?"
I punched him in the arm, but with a bit more force than was necessary, and forced out a laugh. "You're perfectly capable of taking some girl's drink on your own."
Jay laughed and shrugged, "That's true."
Before I turned to walk away, he pulled on my elbow, whirling me around. This time, he looked a bit more sober, though that wasn't saying much. But I humored him anyway, because this was just Jay when he got shitfaced.
"Carter, be careful, okay? Don't do something I wouldn't do. Or would. Whatever-" at this point, his words were starting to slur again. "-just- just don't do something reckless."
I waved off his concerns. "Me? Reckless? There's no room for my recklessness with you here."
Normally, Jay would've laughed and ran off to find some poor, unsuspecting girl to charm, but tonight, despite his obvious drunkenness, he was making it a point to be serious. It was probably because of the brief conversation we'd just had about my powers earlier.
His dark green eyes had an iron look in them as he said lowly yet clearly, "I'm serious, Carter. Whatever idea I accidentally planted in your head, forget it." Without another word, and before I could reassure him that I was going to be just fine, Jay turned and disappeared into a throng of loving female arms.
I rolled my eyes, standing alone in the middle of the dance floor, ignoring all the limbs and hips rubbing sweat and alcohol all over my nice Armani shirt. From my peripheral vision, I caught sight of the front door opening, and my mood lifted when I saw Ellie walking through the door.
Making my way towards her, I grabbed a beer-filled red solo cup from the kitchen counter I passed by. I stopped in front of her before she could take a step into the mass of dancing bodies, but it didn't look like she was about to do that, anyway. In fact, she looked like she was a second away from bolting.
She looked up when I tapped her on the shoulder, not having seen me as her head was craned in the other direction, most likely searching for me.
With a smile on my face, I held the cup out to her. "The smell will be gone after you drink this."
Ellie blinked up at me, and I realized how short she was. Her face was angled up so she could see my eyes, and her head stopped at my chest. But then again, I was pushing six-foot-two, so I thought everyone was short. At first she said nothing. It was probably the nerves. I didn't know her well, but she didn't strike me as the partying type.
"Th-thanks." she stuttered shyly, not acknowledging my joke, albeit a lame one. She tentatively reached out to accept the drink.
I nodded and grinned. "I'm surprised you came."
She looked at the ground and her cheeks reddened, and I gave myself a mental slap.
It wasn't the best thing to say, since she was already feeling awkward here, but I hadn't been thinking clearly. Jay's words from earlier were still in my mind, but I pushed the thoughts away and focused on the cute girl in front of me.
"I mean, you didn't look very excited when I invited you, but I'm glad you're here." I said quickly, and feeling relief pour through me when she looked back up at me to flash me a shy smile before looking away again.
Now that I was closer to her, I could see that her brown eyes were a dark hazel, and her brown hair was curled and reached her shoulders, brushing her pale, freckled shoulders, which were bare because of the navy blue sundress she was wearing. I scanned her outfit and felt relieved when I realized she had dressed in the dress-code, which was smart-casual. I hadn't expected her to know what to wear to the Winter Bash, because it wasn't like normal house parties, but maybe she did talk to Mckenzie after all.
"Thank you," she said softly, and I barely caught her words in the loud, pumping music, which filled the entire house.
"No problem. So, are you planning on watching the Spring Musical this year?" I said, transitioning smoothly.
Ellie blinked at me again, startled by the random topic. "Um, I guess. Actually, I kind of think it'd be cool to work backstage... but I don't know."
"Are you kidding? That's awesome! I heard the backstage crew's got new sound systems installed. You should go for it. Especially since they just remodeled the auditorium. You'll get to play around with the new stuff." I said enthusiastically.
I wasn't exactly a theater buff, but school spirit was kind of part of me, so I liked being involved with the school as much as possible. Getting others involved was extra fun for me.
Ellie's eyes lit up and she gave me a smile - a wide, genuine one this time. "You think so? Yeah, I guess I'll try."
"You should. Do it for the experience. Come on, I already know who you should meet. You'll love them." I wrapped an arm around her waist, so I wouldn't lose her in the crowd, and walked towards a more secluded corner of the living room before she could protest.
We reached a smattering of low-slung couches by the stairwell and I introduced Ellie to the group of junior girls lounging on the couches. The girls were from the drama club, and I thought, what better way for Ellie to make friends than to start with the most outgoing and friendly people in school?
I moved so Ellie stood in front of me, and the girls looked up to smile at us when they saw us.
"Hey ladies," I grinned at each and every one of them. Mckenzie would be proud of the effort in socializing I was putting in tonight. "How's the party?"
"Great, but it'll be even better if you joined us," a blonde cooed at me playfully.
I flashed her a small pout, "Sorry, Kate, but I have to make my rounds. Keep the guests happy, you know? But here, this is Ellie," I said, turning the attention to the brunette by moving her forward a bit more.
I couldn't see her expression, but I was pretty sure she was blushing right now, and I didn't know how else to make her feel comfortable. But I trusted these girls, and knew they would make her feel at home.
"She's great, and she's thinking about working backstage for the musical this year."
I had brought a couple of girls to the drama girls during parties before. They knew the drill. Some even ended up being best friends with these girls. I waved at Lacey, the girl who I last did this to, just three parties ago. She smiled back appreciatively. See? I could start a business.
My announcement was enough for the girls to all light up in enthusiasm, and they instantly started chattering excitedly about what the musical this year was about, what new backstage tech they got, and when Ellie and them would hang out on the weekends.
I kind of faded into the background as the girls pulled Ellie onto one of the couches and immersed themselves in a serious conversation about how the male lead and the female lead last year were caught making out backstage during dress-rehearsal and so were suspended for a day, which "so totally slowed down production time" and what not. I watched contentedly and with pride as Ellie laughed with the girls.
Seeing her now, so comfortable with these girls, it was hard to tell that just earlier today, she had been a shell of what she was right now, shrinking away from the angry jeers of her classmates. I leaned down and tapped Ellie on the shoulder after a few more seconds of watching my handiwork, and she looked up at me, eyes shining in joy.
Her happiness squeezed my chest and filled me with warmth. Seeing people happy made me happy. Making people happy made me giddy with bliss. It was weird, but people had their comfort foods or video games, and I had my social-working business.
"I'm going to go do some hostly things, but I'll come back to see you before you leave, okay?"
All of a sudden, the joy was sucked from her eyes and she looked at me with a frozen expression before frowning slightly.
"What's wrong?" I asked, the warmth leaving as soon as her happiness left her.
She blinked and looked away. "Nothing, I just... can I go with you? Please?"
My brows knitted and I glanced at the other girls, who had paused in their conversation to stare at us in puzzlement. I was puzzled too. I thought she liked talking to the girls.
Apparently, Kate thought so too, because her brows scrunched and she gave an awkward laugh, "What, you're not comfortable here with us? Come on, Ellie, we don't bite! Stay!"
The other girls started chiming in, too, all insisting Ellie to stay. But Ellie's expression grew more and more uncomfortable until I thought she was going to just get up and leave the party altogether, and that would make me feel like I'd just ruined her night, so I quickly put a stop to the chants.
"Actually, yeah, Ellie should come with me." I said quickly, putting a carefree smile on my face and pulling Ellie up from the couch. "I want her to meet Delilah and Mckenzie."
The drama girls, seeing my pointed look, jumped right in.
Lacey laughed and rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "Funny how you don't mention introducing her to Jay."
"It's a good thing. Jay would scare her away." Kate snorts. "He even scares me!" she quickly added when she realized that her words could be interpreted as Ellie being an easily scared person, which I thought was quite true, actually.
It was starting to get a little awkward again, so I bid the girls goodbye and dragged Ellie away as she waved at them, her cheeks red with embarrassment.
I couldn't find my friends anywhere, though I did hear Mckenzie's voice slice through the heavy bass a couple of times, screaming at some drunk guys from the varsity swim team to stop swimming because it was December and they were going to all get pneumonia, and then how would they bring back gold in state championships?
At one point, Ellie stopped me by tugging on my hand, which held hers tightly, and I turned around to look at her questioningly.
She worried her bottom lip with her teeth and leaned up to yell in my ear, "I want another drink."
I looked down in her hand to find the red solo cup gone, but when I looked back up I wasn't sure if I should entertain her wish. Her face was flushed, and I was pretty sure it wasn't because of embarrassment anymore. Her eyes were diluting and she was swaying heavily, but then again, that could be because of the people around us, grinding and jostling us from all sides. But I still knew she shouldn't have another drink. Despite her horrid nickname, she was tiny and skinny, so of course she was a lightweight. I shouldn't have given her the cup, which was filled to the brim with beer.
All these worrying thoughts ran through my mind, and coupled with my concerned frown, Ellie probably already knew what I was going to say, because her eyes darkened and she blew out her cheeks in an adorably angry manner.
"I'm not a loser, I drink. And I want to keep drinking." she yelled, but I didn't think it was because of the loud music anymore. I've dealt with enough drunk people (Jay and Delilah) to know the symptoms.
But she looked like she wasn't going to budge, and I didn't know whether to sigh or to smile at that. Finally coming up with an idea, I conceded. "Alright. Fine. Let's go to the bar."
Her face brightened, and the smile won over the sigh.
After dragging Ellie and me through the mess of people in the living room, we crossed over to the bar and I caught sight of a streak of long, silver-blonde hair, contrasting the head of short, black hair on the right. It was Delilah and, most likely, Clark Dillon from Home Ec. They were sitting on the barstools, backs facing me, and just a few grinding teenagers away from Ellie and me.
"Found Delilah," I said pointlessly to Ellie. Of course she did too, since Delilah Prince's famous platinum blonde hair was kind of hard to miss in the dim lighting. She was a like a beacon of light, pulling me towards her to save her from Superdouche.
It wasn't like I had anything personal against Clark, but it was more like I knew every guy would take advantage of Delilah's attention on them. But I couldn't blame the guys, too, since I knew firsthand just how intoxicating Delilah's attention felt if she was convinced she was madly in love with you. It was like she could do anything for you, and you felt like maybe you could too.
Good thing we were good enough friends for that boundary to never have been crossed. But I didn't think Mckenzie, Jay, or I would appreciate Clark and Delilah getting it on tonight, especially since we've managed, for five years, to save Delilah from doing anything she would regret, like lose her virginity to a guy we knew she wasn't actually in love with.
That was why I forgot all about my plan to trick Ellie into drinking water instead of doing jello shots or something, and shoved the dancers away to barrel towards Delilah and Clark.
Before I reached them, I saw Delilah throw her head back and laugh with no care in the world, and Clark smiled smugly. My jaw clenched when I saw his hand snake up from her knee to her thigh, and it kept inching up her white, flowing sundress until I felt like my teeth were going to fall off from all the gritting.
I got to Delilah right as she knocked back another tequila shot, and my eyes bulged when I scanned the bar top to see twelve empty shot glasses littered on the marble surface. Delilah was also a bit of a lightweight, and she most definitely could not handle twelve shots, even if she and Clark had shared them evenly.
"Hey," I said loudly, clamping a hand down on Clark's wrist and jerking it away from Delilah's thigh. With the other hand, I let go of Ellie's, which I had forgotten I was still holding, and rested it gently yet firmly on Delilah's shoulder. Eyes following my hand, I groaned inwardly when I saw her toned, bare shoulder.
Why, oh why did she have to wear a strapless dress tonight? Especially when she knew she was going to be with a guy. Even now, despite Clark's surprise at my interruption, his eyes still lingered on her cleavage, which showed through the valentine cut of the dress.
I squeezed his wrist and gave him a pointed glare, and his gaze snapped up to meet mine. He even had the guts to give me a sheepish look.
Next to me, since I had successfully wedged myself between the two, Delilah groaned and struggled out of my grasp, sliding off the barstool. I let go of Clark to turn and face Delilah in case she collapsed, but she did the opposite. She stood strong and glared at me with arms folded across her chest.
"What are you doing? You can't just butt in like that!" she scolded me.
Just when I thought she was actually mad at me, her expression lightened into a goofy smile and she leaned in close so I could smell the alcohol in her breath as she whispered not-so-quietly, "I think he likes me!"
I rolled my eyes and rested my hands on her shoulders, moving her away from me to get a good look at her. Good. Her hair was still in perfect waves, not in a messy, post-make-out-session nest. Her dress didn't look disturbed by wandering hands, but that didn't mean I was going to allow this to carry on further.
"Of course he does, and he probably thinks you love him," I muttered back to her. Still holding onto her shoulders, I stepped away from the bar and turned to face Clark. I then said loud enough so Clark could also hear me, "That's enough drinks for you tonight, Lilah."
I felt her yank herself away from me again and sighed as she stumbled towards the stool - back to Clark's side.
She was pouting this time, but it looked like she was really trying to look angry. "God, Carter, just let me live for once! Why do you care?"
I scoffed, shooting Clark a glare when he began to put an arm around Delilah, "Of course I care. I'll always care."
Suddenly, a frustrated noise came from beside me, and Delilah, Clark, and I turned to look at the source. It was Ellie - or more precisely, Ellie's retreating back. My eyes widened when I realized she was shoving her way through the crowd, leaving us.
"Hey!" I yelled after her, taking a step towards the crowd of dancers. "Ellie, come back!"
I turned around just as Clark, that sneaky bastard, slung his arm around Delilah's narrow waist and pulled her into his side. Conflicted, I glanced between my intoxicated best friend, who was being propositioned by Superman, and the intoxicated girl who I was personally responsible for, since I was the one who had brought her into the party.
From the corner of my eye, I caught a flash of gold near the edge of the dance floor, just a few feet away from me. I let out a breath in relief when I remembered that that was the color of Mckenzie's dress tonight. Sure enough, when I reached into the mass of sweaty bodies and grabbed onto a thin arm, I pulled out a pissed off brunette with bright blue eyes.
"What? I was just about to go tell the dance team to stop pole-dancing on the stair well! We just got the railings polished, and they're not wearing underwear!" Mckenzie exclaimed, rubbing her temples so ferociously that I feared she would drill two holes in the side of her head with her sharp, acrylic fingernails.
I pulled her closer to the bar and said soothingly, "I'll take care of it, Kenz, just watch Lilah, okay? Superdouche's getting her wasted and I have something I need to take care of."
At the mention of her best friend, my little sister's angry eyes softened in an instant and she quickly shoved me aside to rush towards Delilah and start lecturing her on knowing her limits. I rolled my eyes as I watched Mckenzie shoo Clark Dillon away, wondering why she could accomplish separating Delilah from Clark when I couldn't.
I then remembered my whole reason of bringing Mckenzie here, and I got to work elbowing people away, making a way towards the front door, where I saw Ellie run off to earlier. I had no idea why she would run away like that, but it was probably because she needed air or something. She was looking pretty drunk.
Either way, I didn't like the idea of her being out there, alone, so I chased after her.
• • •
i don't think i need to tell you guys how sorry i am for not updating this in 3 months, but anywho, ya, i'm sorry :(
also, sorry for the crappy chapter. my writing's a little rusty, seeing as i haven't really been writing for months.
xx