Sebastian Peters:
"Ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall, ninety-nine bottles of beer! Take one down, pass it around, ninety-eight bottles of beer on the wall!" A group of drunk people shout.
The three boys and four girls sit on two logs, swaying their drinks in the air. I laugh at their ridiculous expressions, taking a sip from my cup. The warm alcohol slides down my throat. The slight burn and sensation has already gone away after my third cup.
I watch Maya and Shane continue to tease each other and play fight. I stand from the small chair I was sitting in and glance around the clearing.
The entire grade must have come, and it seems as if everyone is having a good time. At one point, so was I. Then Aria left with Lucas..
I roll my shoulders, stretching my upper back and neck. "Where are you off to?" Maya questions, a silly smirk on her face.
"None of your business." I mutter. She rolls her eyes, and continues to talk with Shane. I stumble over to the campfire, taking a seat awfully close to the burning flame.
The alcohol is starting to kick in, I feel it building in my insides. I swallow hardly and sigh at the flames in front of me.
I feel the log slightly shift as someone takes a seat beside me. "What's the matter? Not having a good time?" A sweet voice chuckles.
I snap my head at the beautiful girl sitting beside me. Aria.
The fire illuminates her facial features. Her makeup is light, barely noticeable. Her light brown hair falls perfectly in the two braids they're in.
I find my eyes lost in the blue orbs that sit just above her nose.
"Actually, I was having a marvellous time!" I exaggerate.
She rolls her eyes. "Come on, you didn't enjoy anything at all?" She nudges my shoulder.
"This drink is pretty..good?" I raise my cup. "And..I guess the soccer was fun." I say messily, taking another sip of my drink.
She snatches the drink from my hand. "That's enough, Seb." She pours the alcohol onto the sandy floor.
My eyes widen. "Don't call me that. You're not my mother, I can drink as much as I want." I pout, rolling my eyes.
"Seb, how much have you had to drink?" She raises an eyebrow,
"I said don't call me that." I huff,
"I'll call you whatever I want." She says sternly.
I can't help the smirk that appears on my face. "I'd like to call you a lot of things, Aria." I place my large hand on her knee.
Her blue eyes immediately light up. She chews her lip nervously, and I can't help but laugh. "Don't touch me!" She slaps my hand.
I shake my hand. "Ouch!" I fake.
She rubs her arms, focusing her attention on the fire. A slight pain of guilt hits me. I shouldn't have done that.
"Are you cold..?" I ask. She immediately shakes her head. I can tell she is deep in thought.
"Let's go for a walk." I smile. She snaps her head at me. "I don't know Seb.. Lucas and Maya are waiting. I promised we'd play a game, or something..." She says awkwardly.
I clench my jaw slightly. She's right. Aria needs to be with Lucas, not me.
"Fine." I stand from my seating position. All of the alcohol in my system hits me like a bullet. I steady myself before I can continue walking.
"Seb!" She calls for me.
The sound of my name escaping from her lips leaves me breathless. It always does. Why does it?
I spin around to glare at her. "Let's go." She smiles and stands from the log. I nod, forcing a straight expression.
I continue into the forest. Aria stops for a second, and waves to Maya.
She nods and continues behind me. We begin to walk through a thin trail in the woods. We walk in complete silence, side by side.
The forest is dark, except for the small strands of moonlight that would escape through the trees every now and then.
"Are you drunk..?" Aria asks,
"No Aria," I laugh to myself. "Are you?"
"I don't drink." She shakes her head, slipping her small hands into her floral shorts.
"You look nice." I smile slightly. Aria looked more than nice, she looks incredible. Not that I would ever admit it to her.
Besides, she's still a pain in the ass, I remember.
"Are you really complimenting me?" A small smile appears on the sides of her glossy lips. Her light pink lipstick is shown clearly in the light.
"I was trying to, but I could always be rude?" I laugh.
She nudges my shoulder, laughing at my expression.
We continue through the trail, falling into a calming silence. Everything had left my mind tonight. Right now, it was Aria and I. No one else.
"Can I ask you something?" She asks sweetly. I nod, and wait for her to speak.
"Why aren't you on the soccer team? You have serious talent." She kicks at a few rocks on the path.
I suck in a breath, fiddling with my thumbs. She could have just left it. We could have continued with our beautiful silence. I swallow hardly, trying to think of an answer.
What am I supposed to tell her?
"Don't know.." I shrug my shoulders. Soccer reminded me of everything I did not want to be reminded of. My mother, the accident, Sara and my dad. Soccer was the only thing that made me happy, and now it's my biggest fear.
"Come on, there has to be a reason! You obviously know how great you are." She smiles.
"I said I don't know." I clench my jaw. Hold it together, Sebastian.
"Well, I think you should try out next year, in fact you're almost-"
"Aria, stop." I cut her off. I begin to walk faster, keeping my gaze on the trail ahead.
"Seb," She places a hand on my shoulder. "Are you okay?"
It takes all my might to push her hand away. "I'm fine." I huff. I continue to look down at my feet.
"Hey, Seb, it's okay. What's wrong?" She holds my chin, raising it so that our gazes lock. My eyes are immediately lost in hers. Her expression is soft and sincere.
"I told you I'm fine, Aria! Just let it go!" My gaze moves back to the ground. I can't bare to look at her.
"God, you don't need to know everything about me!" I roll my eyes.
"I'm sorry.." She sighs,
"Let's just get back to the campsite.." She spins on her heel and begins walking the other way. I watch her slowly walk away from me, her entire body glowing in the moonlight.
I reach for her wrist, spinning her in my direction. She steadies herself, an annoyed expression plastered on her face.
"What do you want, Sebastian?" She hisses. Sebastian? She barely ever calls me by my full name..
"I was simply trying to start a conversation, and you snap at me! What is your problem?"
I watch her lips move quickly, as the words flow out of her mouth. Any girl would be happy to kiss me, why is that the one girl I can't have, I want?
YOU DON'T WANT HER SEBASTIAN! Think, think.
I shake my head and lower her wrist. "Don't call me that."
She is beyond confused, it is clear through her expression. "What?" She raises her eyebrows.
"I like Seb better.." I say randomly.
She lets out a laugh. "One minute you hate when I call you Seb, the next minute you want me to call you that. One minute we're friends, the next minute we're enemies. Honestly, are you bipolar or something?" She crosses her thin arms over her chest.
"I'm not bipolar! You just..you confuse me, Aria." I huff.
"I confuse you?" She asks, clearly frustrated by my response. She purses her lips tightly.
"You're kind of cute when you're mad." I laugh.
"Cute? I'm anything but cute. Listen here Mr. I-don't-care-about-anything-and-I'm-bipolar," She pokes at my broad chest.
I hold in my laughter as her face turns bright with anger.
"You think you can have every girl that comes your way. You sweet talk your way into everything. Guess what? I have a boyfriend, Seb. Meaning I'm not one of your "other girls." I am your friend, okay? Friend. Do you understand?" She locks her blue eyes with mine.
Her words sink into my brain, slowly and carefully.
"You're right, you're not just another girl. You're a crazy idiot who suddenly entered my life and was determined to become my friend. Why do you waste your time?" I sigh.
"We're friends, deal with it. In fact, we might as well be best friends!" She jokes. "But I know that behind your stone wall, you're worth so much more than you think." Her smile can light up the entire world.
"I love the fact that you believe in me. I hate the fact that one day you will be disappointed." I state honestly. "You still don't know anything about me, Aria."
"I am determined to find out." She laughs happily.
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OHHH!! This chapter mainly focused on Aria and Sebastian, therefore I am sorry if you wanted more information on other characters.
Hope you enjoyed! ;)
Xoxo