Five minutes later, I strode out of my bedroom looking like a younger replica of Miley Cyrus (I know what you’re thinking – and not that naked) – and to be honest, I felt good. Maybe it wasn’t the real me, per se – but it was definitely going to get me noticed. Of course, there was no reason why a lacy crop top, hot pink shorts and black (wobbly) high heels wouldn’t get anyone noticed.
Although, I had no idea how I was going to get near the door (to see when Trent left) in this outfit. Mom would probably have a fit. Which I guess, in a way, would stop her from stopping leaving – but it would probably be going a bit too far.
Aha! I have a plan. Now, all I have to do is wait for Trent to leave, which I can tell by when he slams the door shut (never had any manners, that one); then, I’ll wait a few seconds while he gets down the road a bit (but not too far so that I can’t spot and follow him) before quickly escaping out of the door. But first, I needed something to cover up with, if I was going to spy on the front door.
Quickly, I grabbed my stripy dressing gown from the bannister. I was back just in time to catch Trent leaving.
"Hey Mom, I'm leaving now! I'll be back before dawn!" I heard Trent call out as he made his way, presumably, to the door. As if Mom would agree with that!
"Trent Edward Wil-" Mom started to shout, obviously trying to correct his statement by several hours, but before she could finish, Trent had already slammed the door shut behind him. Time to get this plan into action. I waited until Mom's voice had faded out before hurrying down the stairs as fast as I could before standing cautiously by the door.
Trent, being the moron that he usually was, had left the key in door, which meant it would be quite easy for me to get out. I glanced around furtively for Mom or Dad (although Dad would probably help e escape, I don’t think he’d be too happy about my outfit). Once I was sure I wasn’t going to get caught, I stepped out in the cold London air, immediately spotting Trent’s broad figure strolling down the road.
Now, it’s time for a bit of following. Unfortunately, I had this feeling that it wasn’t going to go like it did in the movies (which happened to be the same with climbing out of my bedroom window as well).
He hadn’t seen me (yet) luckily, but it was hard trying to keep to shadows (seeing as there were barely any, and the ones that were there simply reflected onto the clipped green front gardens), and dashing behind some random bush seemed unlikely to work.
So now, I was just a couple of feet away from Trent, trying to act like I had no problem with the person in front of me turning around. I know it probably would’ve been best to walk on the other side of the street to prevent Trent turning around and coming face to face with me, but I was somehow afraid that one path would curve off in one direction and the other one would carry on going straight, or vice versa.
Besides, even if he did turn around, I doubt he’d recognise me in this (non-existent) lighting – and in these ‘clothes.’ By this point, I was sincerely hoping that the destination would magically appear at the next house, seeing as these high heels were killing me – and I hadn’t even arrived at the party yet. Note to self: add high heels, stilettos and related footwear onto no-go list.
A few minutes later, Trent finally starting walking into the front garden of a house with a large ‘72’ sign on it. I breathed a sigh of relief, but then mentally shushed myself. Soon, Trent emerged from behind the tall holly bush, and knocked on the front door. It was obvious that the party wasn’t quite in full swing yet. I wasn’t exactly what you’d call a ‘party animal,’ but even I knew that if it had been in full swing, no-one would’ve bothered to even knock on the door, because a party was a party.
As soon as the door swung open, a tall, blonde teenage boy came into view. He looked quite muscly and beefy, and at once I could tell he was a rugby player – one that you wouldn’t want to mess with. Seth, I was assuming.
As an afterthought, I quickly ducked down. Seth had a pretty good view of my current hiding spot at the moment, and even though he had no idea who I was, I still wasn’t up for taking that many risks tonight, especially with Trent right in front of him.
Eventually, Trent went inside, and the door was shut. Now what? I thought to myself. I seemed to have planned every last thing down to the second, apart from actually getting into the party. Guess it’s time to put my excellent powers of persuasion – and this outfit – to good use!
I took a deep breath and began my approach to the front door. Walk, swing the hips and work it! God. Now I sounded like some way-too-happy male fashion designer. Plus, it wasn’t like anyone could actually see me anyway. I needed to look confident (not stupid) even if I didn’t feel confident on the inside.
With this new ‘mantra’ going round in my head, I knocked quickly, but firmly on the door. In a matter of seconds, the door was swung open by the same guy who had opened the door for Trent, presumably called Seth.
“Um, hey.” Seth said uncomfortably, although I could tell he was trying to cover it up, while at the same time trying to work out who the hell I was, and why he had never seen me before. Suddenly, he stopped himself and looked down at my outfit. Then up. Then down. Then up and down again. Woah, this guy is making me dizzy!
“So, are you going to let me in, or not?” I mumbled awkwardly, blowing all attempts at persuasion out of the window. He seemed to realise that his mouth was hanging wide open, and swiftly shut it before moving out of the way to let me inside. I gladly stepped inside the considerably warmer house, trying to move away from this strange boy.
“Uh, what’s your name? I’m Seth.” The weird guy had just confirmed my suspicions. Of course, I didn’t want to give him my real name – I could already see him running off to Trent saying ‘Hey, I just met this weird-looking girl who I couldn’t stop looking at. Her name’s Riley.’ However hilarious it might’ve sounded, I was sure it wouldn’t be as hilarious when I got home and faced Trent’s ‘wrath.’
“Er, my name is….Sheila.” I quickly bluffed, borrowing the name of the temperamental receptionist I had encountered on my first day at Vyners.
“Sheila, really? I swear the school receptionist-” I didn’t even get to hear the rest, because I had already travelled into teenage-land. I guess it was quite rude, seeing as it was his party, but the way he had kept on staring at me like I was a piece of meat had been making me quite nauseous, to be honest.
It seemed as if Seth mustn’t have been very selective over who he let into his party, because when I was eventually pulled into the depths of teenage-land, I realised that the whole house was packed, and yet a few minutes ago it hadn’t seemed very wild, at least, not yet.
Pulling a disgusted face, I attempted to navigate my way through the throng of sweaty, gyrating teenagers – although it was rather hard when some dodgy-looking guy pulled you to dance with him every five seconds – and you almost had to wrestle to get away, as most of them didn’t know what the word ‘no’ meant.
And most of time, it was pretty hard to wrestle away, because most of them were too (illegally) intoxicated to find someone who actually wanted to dance with a clammy, touchy-feeling teenage boy.
In the end, I managed to stagger over to the tables at the side of the room, where the food and drinks were set up. I guess this is place where I most belong. I mused. Never have been a party animal, never will be a party animal. Sulkily, I grabbed a few Pringles and stuffed them in my mouth, watching the majority of people in the year above me, and some in my year (mostly populars evidently) party like there was no tomorrow.
Come on, Riley! If you’re going to sneak out to a party, you might as well party! Sure, it was a good idea, but it wasn’t like I was really an expert on partying (due to my obvious lack of experience). But hey, while I was wearing this outfit, I looked like I knew how to party, so why not just do it – or get someone to help me do it?
“Hey you!” I called out to a random buff-looking guy. This wasn’t me at all (and never would be), but I guess it was quite fun to be the ‘over-confident’ one just for a night. Once, he turned around, I frowned immediately. Grinning like a madman right in front of me, was the infamous Adam Bennett (for the whole week I had listened to Jenna telling me rather unflattering stories about the most popular boy in school).
“Ah, Riley! You’re the one who I was in that closet with, right? Or was it Emma? Anyway, what are you doing here?” I could barely hear what he was saying over the eardrum-shattering music, but I could catch the general gist of it.
“Just came to have some fun. Speaking of fun, do you want to help me have some?” I was probably the worst line that I’ve ever heard – plus it probably sounded like I was implying something else as well.
“What type of fun?” Adam asked, moving closer to me. I took a step backwards. Obviously he’d gotten the alternative meaning of what I’d just said.
“Woah, steady there tiger, not that type of fun. I’m just not a party girl, I guess. I need someone to show me the ropes.” I didn’t even believe what I was saying to him right now, and to Adam Bennett of all people. Apparently he didn’t seem to mind though, judging by the mischievous grin on his face.
He led me back over to the refreshments table, and poured a dark, alcoholic-looking liquid into a red solo cup.
“Drink.” he insisted, pushing the cup towards me. I cast a disdainful look at the suspicious liquid.
“Can’t I have fun without being so drunk I can’t remember anything the next morning?” It wasn’t just that of course. I hadn’t even had a sip of alcohol before, apart from the tiniest bit that Mason, Lee and I had had at a sleepover round Mason’s house. After one miniscule sip, we had all ended up spitting and gagging for a good ten minutes, and vowing never to drink again.
Adam considered my question rather comically – tipping his head to the one side as if weighing up the options. “I guess you can. But it’s just so much more fun this way. You do want to have fun, right?” he asked seriously, eyebrows raised.
I knew that I shouldn’t give into peer pressure. I knew that I was going to regret this the morning after. I knew that Adam was probably just trying to trick me anyway.
Unfortunately, none of those reasons stopped me from taking my first proper sip of alcohol. And the second. And the third. And the fourth. After that, I lost count.
***
“I don’t get it, Adam! Why do people go around painting the stripes onto zebras? I mean it’s just cruel and horrible! People are such meanies! I-” Adam slapped a large hand over my mouth, cutting me off. I giggled at the touch. His hand is so smooth – like a baby’s butt!
“I knew I shouldn’t have given you that drink.” Adam muttered under his breath. Why is he talking so quietly, the silly billy? Doesn’t he know I can’t hear him? “Then again, who knew Riley Wilson would be the ‘silly drunk’ type.”
We were walking – well more like stumbling, in my case – to the front of the house. Even though I had nearly fallen over like ten times, I still felt good. After all, when the world was a bit blurry and fuzzy – everything looked so cool!
Soon, we were outside – or at least I thought we were because I could see other houses and trees and gardens and cars and roads and dogs and unicorns. Okay, maybe not unicorns – but they still exist somewhere!
“Riley.” Adam suddenly said. I frowned at him. His voice sounded strange – low and slightly husky – like he had a sore throat or something. “Wanna make out?” Make out? What the hell does that mean again?! I shot him a confused glance. I had no idea what ‘make out’ meant, but it sure did sound pretty weird. “Come on…” he seemed desperate, so I nodded. Surely ‘making out’ couldn’t be too bad?
Suddenly, Adam’s lips were moving around on top mine. They felt like two fish wriggling around, and I wasn’t sure whether I was liking ‘making out’ anymore… Then Adam’s fishes started entering my mouth, lashing against my own tongue. Well, this is weird.
That of course, was the absolutely perfect moment for me to regain my soberness and my temporarily-lost mind. I grabbed Adam’s muscly arms and tried to pry them off my neck. But unfortunately, being the robust person that he was, simply traced his arms around my waist and mushed his lips together with mine again. Before I could successfully remove his wandering arms, I heard a small clicking sound. What the hell was that?
***
I ended up having to walk to Pole Hill (luckily, it was empty apart from a few people obviously in the passing out stage of being drunk) and somehow managed to heave myself over the wall, with the help of a handily-placed bin. After I got inside the house, I had had to hold my breath the whole way up to my bedroom, seeing as my parents were still up and in the living room, probably waiting for Trent to come home drunk or something like that.
Ironically, Adam’s kiss had sobered me up a little, and I was already kicking myself for what I had just let happen. Really, I should’ve known that Adam would’ve taken advantage of me (Jenna had lectured to me about him many, many times already). I probably shouldn’t have even been at the party. From now on, crashing Trent’s friends’ parties was off limits. So was getting drunk. And so was even talking to Adam Bennett.
***
Ugh. So far, I wanted to tear my hair out. And it was even 7:30 yet! I always knew there was a horrible side effect to drinking, but since Mason, Lee and I had only had a sip, nothing much had happened. Unfortunately, I could now say I was proud (not really) to know what The Hangover was inspired by. Hangovers (aren’t I a genius?).
And I couldn’t even complain to anyone, because my parents (and possibly Trent) would freak out. Plus, I couldn’t complain to Jenna either, because she was still with her family – and besides, it was technically all my fault anyway. Of course, all that didn’t change the fact I had a migraine the size of Nicki Minaj’s butt (strange reference, I know- but, hey, it was the only thing I could think of that was extremely large!). It was time to take a trip downstairs for some well needed medication.
Ugh, how many stairs do we have again? I mumbled as I descended slowly down the stairs. I felt like I was in a haze – a very, very painful one where rabid monkeys had a party (and not the good kind) inside my head. Groggily, I trudged over to the medicine cabinet (which was wasn’t really sorted yet and only contained some cheap painkillers and an old bitter-tasting cough syrup) and pulled out a box of Paracetamol.
Just as I was about to pop the pill, a strangled-sounding groan sounded from behind me. I jumped round in surprise. Lying hunched over the kitchen island, was the oh-so-macho Trent, obviously disturbed and hung-over. I quickly swallowed the paracetamol with a glass of water before walking over to my brother, who looked so weak it was almost pitiful. I said almost.
I poked his hard back. No response. Sighing, I poked him again, harder. Still no response. And again. Seriously? I drew back hand ready to poke. 1, 2-
“Riley, get the hell off me!” he groaned loudly, lifting his head off the countertop. His eyes were bloodshot, and his hair was an absolute mess. I wonder what I looked like? I pondered. Meh, at least I probably look better than my sad specimen of a brother.
“I see you drank a lot last night.” I observed. I thought I had drank a lot (judging by the fact that I had let Adam Bennett kiss me), but if Trent was this bad, he must have drunk at least double as much as I did. Sucker.
“Arrgghh.” Trent groaned. Is he imitating a pregnant whale or something? “Just leave me alone, Riley.” I sighed dramatically. Time to do the right thing…
I walked back over to the cupboard and grabbed the paracetamol, then poured another glass of water. Setting it down on the counter, I turned to Trent who was now moaning into the table.
“Drink.” Wonder who that reminded me of?
Hello! I hope you enjoyed the chapter, even though I don't think it was very good! I apologise for the drunk scene bit - I have never been drunk (obviously) and don't plan on being, so it was completely based off other books I have read!
And I'll just leave you to ponder Riley and Adam's little kiss and what that 'click' sound was ;) Finally, I was a bit disappointed that no-one commented about why Jake had changed his attitude to Riley, although I guess this story needs a few more reads to do something like that. Anyway, the question is still ongoing until it's actually revealed obviously. Get commenting!
Tolulah
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Just thought I'd dedicate this chapter to cold_lady19 because she's an amazing author, and an amazing inspiration. Go check out some of her books, because they will absolutely blow your mind!
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