"I know i'll fall in love with you baby, and that's not what I wanna do"
CHAPTER TWO
"Oktober seriously, come to the party."
"How much booze will be there?"
"Plenty."
"I'll consider it."
"Oktober." Imogen whined.
"Imogen." I mimicked, tossing her a wink before departing into my history class.
Turned out Axel was in the same one which filled me with such great joy.
Not.
I walked to the back of the class to sit in the seat I had claimed as mine, only to see Axel already occupying it. I rolled my eyes at the sight of him, sighing as I sat down, keeping an empty desk in between us.
"Problem, Blackwood?" Axel questioned.
His tone sounded teasing but his face was emotionless as always.
"Actually yes, Dawson." I answered, since we seemed to be on a last name basis. "I know you don't come to this class often, but that's my seat."
"I don't see your name anywhere." He replied. nonchalantly, leaning back in the seat.
"Maybe because your inflated egos taking up all the space." I retorted, making him chuckle humorlessly.
"And here I thought you were a sweet girl. Rumors about you being corrupt must be true." He thought out loud, making me roll my eyes.
"And here I thought you were an egotistical ass. Rumors about you being charming must be false."
"Sorry to disappoint." He mused, watching my expression.
I kept my gaze toward the front of the room, not giving him the satisfaction of glaring at him.
"Wish I could say the same."
***
"And then he had the balls to call me 'corrupt'." I complained to Imogen, sitting down at a lunch table.
"You know those rumors aren't true, don't feed into him. He could just be trying to get into your pants." Imogen smirked, trying to make light of the situation. "Plus it's Friday and my party is tonight."
I groaned at the reminder of the party I was forced to attend.
The only reason I tolerated parties were for the free booze and well .... just the free booze.
"Hey babe, we're skipping last to go to the tracks. Can you get a ride home from Oktober?" Chase questioned, sitting at our table.
I felt a presence directly across from me, looking up to see the ever so charming Axel.
"No wait, you can't skip. We have to finish our chem project." I spoke, watching his perfect eyebrows raise.
"You can finish that on your own. I'm guessing you're not that unintelligent."
The fact that he was skipping the last class of the day to go illegally race was utterly stupid. Not to mention his insult made me not want to do a single thing for him, except give him a good punch.
"You can't be serious." I deadpanned, glaring at him.
"Do I look like i'm joking princess?"
I scoffed, looking to Chase for help, who shrugged with wide eyes in return.
"Yeah sure, ditch me, your girlfriend, for some asshole and the track." Imogen muttered.
"Oh Imogen, I'll try not to take that to heart." Axel smirked, holding his large hand to his heart.
That is, if he even had one.
"And I'll try not to break your arm if you stay here a second longer." She retorted, glaring at him.
"I love you." Chase stated, a hesitant look on his face.
"Fuck off." Was her response, making me laugh.
Both of them walked away and Imogen groaned.
"Remind me why you ever allowed me to get a boyfriend in the first place."
***
"Oh you're going out tonight." Kate announced as I walked down the stairs. "I was just getting ready to make you something to eat."
"I'm fine Kate." I assured, sliding my phone in my back pocket. "Don't wait up."
I didn't wait for her response as I walked out of the front door, letting it slam behind me.
Imogen lived about five minutes from me by car and only ten minutes walking distance, so I decided to take the walking route.
I played it safe, knowing well I was going to enter a very drunken stupor.
By the time I got to her house the party was already in full motion. I could hear the music thumping all the way down the street, not to mention seeing the flashing of the fluorescent lights.
"Hey! The parties here bitches!" Imogen hollered, sloppily throwing her arms around me, making everyone cheer.
"Oktober!" Someone wolf whistled, causing me to throw a flirtatious wink.
I was feeling generous.
"I reserved this just for you, my dear best friend." Imogen yelled over the music, handing me a small bottle of vodka.
"Oh, you know me so well." I smiled, making her roll her eyes.
"I'm gonna go find Chase. He needs to do some hardcore making up to me." She smirked, moving her hips suggestively.
"Gonna pretend I didn't hear that." I replied as I pushed through the crowd of people.
I ended up in the deserted kitchen, hopping onto the counter which was vibrating from the thumping music. The familiar burning sensation that I knew all too well formed in the back of throat as I downed the thick liquid.
I loved alcohol, it was always there for me, which was nice when your best friend leaves you at her own party to have sex with her boyfriend, leaving you by yourself in a crowd of teenagers you dislike.
Story of my fucking life.
I downed the rest of the bottle and chucked it in the trash, searching the counter tops for more adult beverages that I could abuse.
"Found you." I said out loud, hopping off the counter and walking to the other side of the kitchen, where an untouched bottle was sitting all unoccupied.
In less than a second the top was popped off and I was chugging yet another horrible tasting liquid once more.
"Impressive." A familiar deep voice spoke up, goosebumps involuntarily creeping down my arms.
It was hard to focus on who it was due to the fact that Imogen had my playlist on, The Neighbourhood blasting through the speakers of the house, making me sigh blissfully.
The Neighbourhood is purely gold.
"Seems like it doesn't take much to impress you." I replied once I saw it was Axel who interrupted my self loathing.
"It does actually." Axel smirked slyly, making me feel butterflies in my stomach.
I didn't like him, but it was hard not to like his looks.
God, it's me again.
"Is there a reason you're here?" I questioned dryly, hopping back onto the counter.
I tried not to focus on his biceps that were exposed, his black t-shirt hugging his muscles in all the right places.
His black hair looked slightly damp, a small strand hanging down on his forehead, giving him a heart throbbing James Dean affect.
His piercing blue eyes studied mine as if he could see right through me.
"I just wanted to know how the chem project came along." He spoke menacingly, making my blood boil.
"Maybe you should've been there. Guess we'll both find out on Monday." I smiled sarcastically, downing a good portion of the bottle before hopping off of the counter.
His eyes stayed trained on me as I left the kitchen, making my way to the dancing sea of bodies. I didn't know who was I was dancing with, or for how long, I just knew I was dancing, and trying to have a good time.
Though good times were a rare occurrence in my life.
Imogen and Chase were gone the remainder of the party, which was typical after they had an argument.
Imogen made it clear she was all about the make up sex and that Chase, was all for it.
Gag.
I stumbled outside, laughing at nothing to myself, squinting my eyes at the screen of my phone. The bottle I stole earlier was still in my hand as I chugged away at its remaining contents, carelessly throwing it on the sidewalk in front of me.
Glass shattered everywhere, making me laugh even more, feeling a rush of adrenaline.
"Oktober?" I heard someone question, but I continued to laugh, ignoring whoever it was.
Axel of all people appeared in front of me, his eyes focusing on the broken bottle scattered about in front of me.
"Are you okay?" He questioned, looking down at me.
I could've sworn I saw a worried look in his eyes.
"Why wouldn't I be, Axel?" I tried to ask seriously, failing miserably as I started laughing again.
"Because you're bleeding." He sighed, eyes trained on my leg.
I looked down to see a piece of glass had struck my leg, creating a gash which had a stream of blood pouring out of it.
"It's just a little cut." I dismissed, walking away from him with a slight wobble.
"You're not driving are you?" He questioned once more, grabbing my wrist and pulling me to a stop.
My skin burned at his touch, making me yank my wrist out of his hand aggressively.
"No, I'm not. Now could you do us both a favor and leave me alone?" I spoke harshly, watching for his expression, but there wasn't one.
"I'll walk you home." Axel ignored me.
That's a surprise.
"I'm capable of taking care of myself."
"You're crazier than I thought if you think I'd let you walk home in the middle of the night by yourself, drunk." Axel bit, his jaw clenching.
"Fine." I sighed, not wanting to argue anymore.
He was ruining the drunken haze I was almost enjoying.
I walked a few steps ahead of him, stumbling sloppily as I stared up at the stars, watching as they shone brightly in the sky.
"Why do you drink so much?" Axel questioned out of the blue, catching me off guard.
"Same reason as anyone else. To get drunk."
He shook his head, as if he was disapproving my answer. "I don't believe that."
"I couldn't care less about what you believe." I muttered, looking away from him.
He laughed coldly. "I'll never understand you."
You and everybody else.
The rest of the walk was filled with silence, the only sound being heard was our footsteps against the pavement. When we got to my house I walked up the stairs of my porch, not looking back, walking through the front door wordlessly. I watched through the peephole as he ran a hand through his hair aggressively, before shoving both his hands into his jean pockets, walking back in the direction we just came from.
***