Six
About another week passed by, and Mark and I were still doing the usual. On a couple days, we stayed in to watch movies and play video games. On other days, we went to the rec center and took walks around campus. We went out into town to get more ammo for our weapons as well as some other random things we realized we needed on one day. Living this way had become normal. I was even becoming accustomed to living with a guy - for the most part.
I almost always woke up after Mark had already been awake for a while, but I was up early for once. I had decided to stay in bed and read for a bit. Mark got up about twenty minutes after me.
"'Morning," he said when he noticed that I was already up.
"Good morning," I replied. I went back to reading until I noticed him get up to go to the bathroom while still shirtless. I couldn't help but look, and I looked again when he got back into the room. I was almost disappointed when he came back from the shower a while later fully dressed. I hated that I was attracted to him. I tried to push any romantic thoughts out of my brain while I was around him as much as possible, but sometimes it just didn't work.
"Where's the nearest liquor store?" he suddenly asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.
"Why the sudden interest in alcohol?" I questioned him, surprised.
"I don't know. We've survived together this long, so I just thought we should celebrate. We're at a college, after all. Why not party a little?"
"Good point."
"Also, with nobody working at the stores here, you don't need a fake ID to get alcohol and I don't have to buy it for you either," he smirked.
"Oh, shut up. You were twenty, once."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Anyways, I was thinking we could pick out some alcohol, maybe get some speakers for music, some cool lights and decorations..."
"All of that for just the two of us?"
"Why not?" I shrugged. It was best to not argue with him, so I hopped into the shower and got ready so we could head out and get what we needed. Once we both were ready, we headed out. I made sure to get to the car first so I could drive this time.
Mark and I made a few stops. We went to Party City where we got decorations and fun lights. Then we got some snacks from the grocery store, which mainly consisted of chips, cookies, and frozen foods. We also got a good stereo system to play music. When we got back, I helped Mark decorate the basketball and volleyball courts in the rec center. When it came to the lights and technology, he insisted that he didn't need any help, so I went back to the room to get the food ready. I put the pizza rolls in the oven (the kitchen on our floor was practically across the hall, which was handy) and I listened for the timer as I got ready. There was no real reason for me to look good for our little party - there wasn't anyone to impress and Mark was the only person who would see me - but I wanted to anyways. I hadn't even gone to a party yet this year, and I missed the experience. For probably the first time since the apocalypse had happened, I put on makeup.
I did the makeup routine that was once normal to me - a little foundation, brown eye shadow fading into black towards the outer part of the eye, black liner on top, and mascara. I also put on what I could consider to be a party outfit - it was what I was going to wear to the next party I attended. A black, long-sleeved crop top, distressed black high-waisted jeans, my favorite shiny black combat boots, and my leather jacket on top for warmth. I put some purple lipstick on as the timer went off for the pizza rolls, and I was ready to go. I put the food in tupperware containers and stored those and our other snacks in a bag with the alcohol before walking back over to the rec center to join Mark. As soon as I walked through the doors, music was blaring and lights were going crazy.
"I see you're done getting set up!" I yelled over the tune of Hotline Bling. Mark was dancing to it, and while I expected him to be embarrassed and stop, he only danced more obnoxiously in response. He turned the song down so we wouldn't have to shout to talk, as well.
"Yeah, I see you changed your clothes...and your face..."
"Do you have a problem with my face?" I interrogated him, raising my eyebrows.
"No, I just haven't seen it with makeup. You have a lovely face, okay? I just didn't get the memo that we were dressing up for this."
"I'm just wearing what I'd wear for a party. We went all out with everything else, so I thought, why not? And you look party-perfect already, so don't worry. I even matched you with the black and the leather!" Mark was wearing a black burnout notch-neck shirt with dark jeans, black high-top vans, and his leather jacket.
"Yeah, you're rubbing off on me with the all black everything. So, you brought the food and the booze, right?" he checked.
"Yes, I have the important stuff," I confirmed, setting the bag down. I started spreading everything out on the table he had set up. Snacks, plates and napkins, cups, and alcohol. We quickly began devouring food and then we got started on drinks.
"What are you doing with what you got?" Mark questioned me, looking at my selection from the liquor store.
"First I'm having some vanilla vodka and Coke. I figured later I'd stick to the Mike's Hard Black Raspberry Lemonade," I told him. "What about you?"
"I was going to have a few shots of Fireball and some beer." I nodded as I made my first drink of the night. Mark started pouring shots, as well.
"You want one?" he offered, holding a shot glass out to me.
"I doubt I'd like that, but sure," I gave in. We held up our glasses.
"Well, cheers," Mark said, and we clinked our glasses together and took our shots. The whiskey burned as it went down my throat.
"Damn, that's terrible," I coughed, taking a swig of water to wash it down. He seemed to handle his just fine. In fact, he laughed at my reaction to the alcohol. I started working on my vodka and Coke, which tasted much better to me than the Fireball.
I paced myself for a while as we danced like idiots, not really wanting to get drunk. I felt like it was enough to just drink a little. But Mark was drinking a decent amount, and I almost felt left out. He wasn't verbally pressuring me to drink any more than I already was, but I figured it couldn't hurt to have a few more drinks. So, I finished off my first drink and made myself a second, which I drank more quickly than the first. I was feeling a small effect from the alcohol at that point, but it wasn't much.
"Can I have another shot of Fireball?" I asked in the middle of a song.
"I thought you hated it."
"I'll give it a second chance." Mark seemed confused, but he poured me another shot anyways, and I threw the glass back. It wasn't any better than the first time, but I let it burn my throat anyways. Then I decided to switch to Mike's Hard Lemonade. Once I had downed one, I was definitely feeling the effects of alcohol. But it wasn't until about halfway through the second one that it got to an obnoxious point. I was not used to drinking at all - it had been a long time since my last party, and I never tried to get drunk.
*Feel free to hit play on the video in the multimedia section for this part!*
"Oh my god, I love this song!" I yelled as Shut Up and Dance by Walk the Moon began playing. I grabbed Mark and made him dance with me, and he was cracking up.
"I think you're a little drunk," he chuckled.
"I'm so sober!" I lied.
"Definitely not."
"Shut up and dance with me, Mark!" I sang horribly along with the lyrics and we danced as if we were in a ball room and it was a formal event. At that point, my sense of personal space wasn't quite right anymore, and I didn't remember much of what happened next...
Mark's POV
Taylor was definitely drunk. I wasn't really very drunk at all - I knew my limits and I wasn't trying to push them, I was just casually drinking and having a good time. Taylor had been taking her time at first, but it felt like she wanted to get drunk after a while. I had to admit that it was pretty hilarious seeing her dancing like an idiot and really letting loose. She had such a cold exterior that it was refreshing to have her open up around me like she was. But at the same time, I had never seen her drunk before, and I didn't know exactly what she was going to do next or how to handle her behavior. There wasn't much for me to do but dance with her like she wanted.
Our somewhat normal dancing (considering the songs that were playing) turned into a drunken version of formal dancing where we were coming together and pulling apart and spinning each other around, all while we scream-sang to Walk the Moon. It was ridiculous, but fun.
"You're hot. Have I ever told you that?" Taylor slurred as we danced.
"No, you haven't," I laughed. I couldn't tell if she was just saying random things or if it was a case of sober thoughts being brought out into the open.
"Yeah, you're like, super hot. I'd make out with you," she continued. I kept nervously laughing, unsure of what to do or say. She was just word-vomiting because she was drunk. I wasn't going to take it seriously.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you. I'm a terrible kisser," I joked.
"Who told you that?"
"Oh, everyone. Yep, I'd stay away if I were you," I grinned.
"Yeah right! They're probably all just liars and bitches! I'll prove it!" At first I was laughing, and the next thing I knew, her lips were pressed up against mine. She tasted like alcohol, but I wanted to kiss her, so I did. We stood in the middle of the basketball courts, music blaring and lights flashing around us as we made out. There was something so mysterious and badass about Taylor that I loved, and now that I was kissing her, I realized that I felt something for her. But I remembered that she was drunk, and if she pushed this any farther than it was already going, it wouldn't be right to do anything. Hell, she might regret even kissing me if she were to remember it the next day! So, I reluctantly pulled away and created space between the two of us once again.
"They are liars and bitches, you're totally a good kisser!" she informed me, swaying with the music. She grabbed her bottle of Mike's Hard to take another drink and I took it from her.
"Yeah, maybe you should take a break from this."
"Can't I just finish it?" she begged.
"There's plenty more for another night. I'm not going to drink anymore tonight either. Let's just stop." Luckily I was able to convince her and I dumped the rest of her bottle of alcohol out. A little while after that, she started acting tired, so I shut everything down and we walked back to the dorm to go to bed. She took off her makeup, brushed her teeth, and changed into pajamas. Before long, she was asleep and dreaming, so I got into my own bed and went to sleep too. it had been a fun night, but it had to end. Especially with the way things had been going.
Hey guys, sorry for ending the chapter so abruptly - I hope it didn't seem too sudden, and you all enjoyed this update. If you did, please let me know by voting for this chapter and I'd love for you to leave some comments as well!
Also, if you'd like to see Taylor and Mark's outfits for the party, I created a set for them on Polyvore which can be found at this link: http://www.polyvore.com/once_you_go_black/set?id=186606739
Thanks for reading :)