Liam's house is enormous, with large windows and brown slates on the roof. There are colourful lights flashing inside the house and the pounding music blares through huge speakers.
The drive is littered with cars, but Caleb manages to find a space fairly close to the mansion to park.
As we climb out, I'm suddenly glad I'm wearing my black jeans and denim jacket, and not a dress. It is freezing.
As we near the house, I recognise the song that's playing- Falling by HAIM.
The door is wide open, while swarms of excited people cluster inside. We follow, Caleb not leaving my side.
I turn to him when he says, "Ever been to a high school party before?"
"Lone wolves don't go to parties. What about you?"
He nods. "But nothing as crazy as this one."
"This isn't just any party. It's Liam Fitzgerald's party." As we step through the door into a hallway with music coming from all directions, I ask, "You'll stay with me, right?"
He smiles down at me. "I promise."
His hand locks with mine, and we advance through the foyer into the living room. The music is even louder in here, and there are people dancing and grinding and laughing.
We both look at each other, and I call over the noise, "I can't dance."
"Thank God," he says, breathing a sigh of relief, and tugs me away from the dance floor.
Suddenly, we catch sight of Phoebe, who rushes over to us and grins. "You made it!" she squeals. "We're just about to start a game of Seven Minutes in Heaven down in the basement, wanna join?"
I shoot Caleb a look. We both nod, since we have nothing else to do.
We follow her down to the basement. There are little lights hanging along the walls, and the music is quieter down here, more relaxing. There is a cooler with alcohol in it, but neither me nor Caleb make a move to get some.
There is a foosball table in the corner, with a couple of people laughing and twisting the handles aggressively. There is also a ping pong table, but some boys and girls are using it for beer pong.
In the centre are two couches opposite each other, with a coffee table in the middle, holding an empty glass bottle.
We sit on one of the couches, beside two of Phoebe's friends, while Phoebe, Liam and two others sit on the couch opposite. There are also a number of other people crowding the coffee table or sitting on the arms of the couches. Some others watch from behind the eager crowd.
Caleb puts his hand onto my thigh protectively, as we wait for the game to start.
A year ago, if I was told I'd be playing Seven Minutes in Heaven with Phoebe and her friends at Liam Fitzgerald's house party, with the perfect new guy sat beside me, I would've scoffed and walked away.
But here I am.
"Okay, so, I'll spin the bottle, and whoever it lands on needs to go into the cupboard over there," she points at a door nearby, "with whoever the bottle also chooses. Rules: door stays closed, lights stay off, and no getting out until the seven minutes are up, got it?"
We all nod quickly.
She adds, "And the rest is up to you." She winks and spins the bottle.
The first few times, it lands on a few of the others, who either jump into the cupboard willingly, or begrudgingly mope into it.
However, on about the fourth or fifth turn, the bottle lands on Phoebe. She spins it again and it lands on Caleb.
Caleb deflates slightly beside me, and sends me a knowing look while Phoebe happily jumps out of her seat.
Caleb squeezes my thigh reassuringly, and then slowly follows Phoebe into the cupboard.
Those seven minutes last for an eternity. I tap my foot nervously against the floor, feeling an insistent need to bite my nails, something I have never done before.
I get an odd feeling while watching that closed door. I can't quite pinpoint it, until it becomes blatantly obvious.
I'm jealous.
Until the door swings open and Phoebe comes storming out, her high heels clicking against the floor. She doesn't look happy at all.
Caleb takes a seat beside me, and I mumble into his ear, "What happened in there?"
He smirks thinking about it. "She tried to kiss me, but I pulled away. From then, she started ranting at me, asking me questions like 'why did you choose Lena over me?'," he replies, doing the last part with a bad impression of Phoebe, but as he chuckles, all I can do is blush. "Seven Minutes in Heaven with Phoebe? More like Seven Minutes in Hell."
I burst out laughing, and Phoebe sends a scorching glare my way. Caleb is smiling, all his teeth showing, but he's laughing more at my reaction. I don't think I've laughed as hard as this in front of him, apart from when I sprayed milkshake over the table in the diner.
"Next," Phoebe grunts.
She spins it, and the end lands on Liam. He releases a dazzling smile. The bottle is spun again, and my heart nearly beats out of my chest.
It lands on me.
I feel Caleb tense beside me. But I'd be breaking the rules to back out now. So, I slowly stand up, and shadow Liam into the dark of the cupboard.
The door closes, and we are surrounded by blackness.
I can only hear his soft breathing, and the distant thumping of music, but other than that, we are silent.
"What did you mean when you said I'm brave? For forgiving a snake?" I whisper.
I can't see his reaction, but I feel his hand lift and the sound of his palm running through his shiny, golden hair.
"Phoebe. She's the snake."
"You hang out with her, though."
"That's more about practicality than actual desire," he replies, keeping his voice gentle.
I don't say anything.
"I need to ask you something."
"We have seven minutes. Fire away," I say.
"Being on the team, it's kind of expected that I hang with other guys on the team, and Phoebe. But after seeing what she did to you that one lunch break. Something changed."
"What are you saying?" I mumble.
I can practically see him awkwardly fumble for the words. "Seeing you and Caleb, you two are really good friends. But you're also good people. I just...I want to be a good person too."
"I'm lost," I murmur, frowning.
"I want to hang with you two from now on. I know I can't just snap my fingers and expect to be your friend, but I envy you both."
"The Liam Fitzgerald envies somebody?"
He chuckles. "Things are different this year, Lena."
"You don't say," I reply.
"Is that a 'yes', then?"
I can hear the door opening, and so I pat his arm, replying quickly, "You do whatever you want, Liam."
The light converges us, and I grin up at him, and he smiles gratefully back down at me.