Chapter 28: I Think I'm Going To Puke
Max's POV
"Oh, I was just dropping by to say hi to my girlfriend."
I feel myself tense from where I'm standing and I'm sure Ari does as well because she takes hold of my hand that's not on her shoulder and gives it a gentle squeeze.
I know he's kidding because Ari is still upset about James, I can tell. It's the subtle things she does, she's been slightly off since their break up but pretends she's fine. I've been wanting to mention it to her but I know that'll make it worse, she's one of those people that hates opening up and asking for help.
She lets out a deep sigh before glaring at Wyatt. He's actually a pretty cool guy but I never knew he and Ari were friends which surprises me because she tells me almost everything, things she hasn't even told Ava. Not to sound smug or anything but she says Ava is her best friend but anyone close to her knows it's actually me. I'm the one she comes to when she's upset, even if she doesn't like opening up I'm still always there for her.
I heard about her crying after breaking up with James. It hurt me that she didn't come to me but I guess she had a slight vendetta against the male gender at the time and I guess Ava might be better at dealing with that heartbreak shit then me, usually I'm the one causing that. I'm not annoyed about it though.
"Really Wyatt, that's what you chose to say? You could've done something so much more creative than that," she says with an eye roll.
They must be closer than I thought. Ari would never be this sarcastic and herself around a stranger or someone she wasn't close with, she's much too shy for that.
"As I was saying," the blonde boy starts, I know I've seen him at school a few times but I can't place his name. "What are you guys doing."
Ava is about to say something but the sound of footsteps and Jordan's voice cuts her off. "What's taking y'guys so — Eli, Wyatt?"
Wyatt nods at him in recognition.
"Hey man," I'm assuming, Eli says and he and Jordan do a bro hug.
"We were about to play some drinking games, y'guys in?" Jordan asks, addressing both Eli and Wyatt.
Wyatt smirks — I don't think I like it. "You know it."
~*~*~
I could tell Ari was anxious when Wyatt and Eli walked further into the house, it looked like alarm bells were going off in her head. Her breathing rate was increasing a significant amount so without a second thought I grabbed onto her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, just like she did for me earlier.
She seemed to calm down slightly at my touch which made me smile. I'm always glad when I can help her.
Everyone sent curious glances towards us when they saw the two new people but Jordan spoke up before they could ask anything. "Guys these are my friends Eli and Wyatt, I'm sure you already know that though. Anyway, they wanted to join so here they are."
Everyone acknowledges them with a nod and we get started with the game upon Jordan's request.
"So we're going to start with some would you rather, then never have I ever and then, my personal favourite, paranoia," Jordan concludes, handing everyone a bottle of beer.
Would you rather is pretty simple. Someone poses a scenario and however many people choose the least popular have to drink. We decided that you only have to have a bit of alcohol each time, otherwise we'll never make it through three games.
I decided to start. "Let's start easy. Would you rather all your shirts be two sizes too big or one size too small?"
The girls said small and all the boys chose big so Jess, Ava, Ari and Rebekah had to drink. I know Ari isn't the biggest fan of alcohol but she seems fine today. When she wants to that girl can drink for England but that side of her doesn't come out very often.
The game continues in this fashion and everyone ends up at least tipsy by the end. I've never been the biggest fan of this game so when it's time for 'never have I ever' I get a rush of adrenaline.
This time Jordan starts. "Never have I ever had sex in a siblings room."
Oliver is the only one who drinks and you can see Chase's eyes widen. "Really bro, that's just gross," he groans but Oliver just shrugs in return, pulling Rebekah closer to his side and giving her a peck on the cheek.
"Ah, my turn!" Rebekah squeals. "Never have I ever slept with two or more people in the same night."
This time Eli—I could predict that one, from what I've found out so far he's a fuck boy— Jess, Chase, myself, Jordan and Ava all drink. Most of those were quite obvious but Ava surprised me, I never took her for that sort of person.
Next Wyatt decides to ask a question. "Never have I ever forgotten the name of a person I've slept with."
This time Eli — surprise surprise — and Jess both drink. The fact that Jessica has forgotten doesn't surprise me in the slightest. It's not because she sleeps around a lot — well, she does but that's beside the point — it's because she's an insane party animal. She gets shit face drunk and then seems to black out on the rest of the night so often forgets what has gone on and sometimes who with.
The game carries on for a little bit and I'm starting to feel slightly dizzy but I'm fine. Ari seems okay as well, she can actually drink a decent amount before she's gone. I lace my fingers between hers to get her attention so I can check she's alright. She looks up to me and smiles, showing all of her teeth and lets out a small giggle before returning her attention to the game. She's definitely starting to get drunk but she's not too bad yet, luckily.
I look over to see how everyone else is doing, everyone is clearly a bit drunk but Wyatt seems to be staying strong. I mean, I knew that guy could drink a lot but damn.
Now it's Ari's turn. "Never have I ever had my parents, siblings or friends walk in on me having sex."
Oliver drinks, so do Rebekah and Chase. I think we can guess what happened there.
"My go!" Ava giggles and then hiccups and then giggles at her hiccups — this continues for a while — the alcohol has clearly gotten to her — out of all of us she's the biggest lightweight, with Rebekah not too far behind. "Never have I ever slept with or wanted to sleep with someone in this room."
Surprisingly, everyone drinks except for Chase. To be honest, I could never imagine Chase being into anyone in this room, he's never been the type to like complications and liking a close friend is full of complications.
After a few more rounds Jordan speaks up. "Okay let's move onto 'paranoia' otherwise we won't be able to play it."
'Paranoia' is a pretty simple game. Someone whispers a question into your ear and the answer has to be someone who's in the room. You say the answer out loud and if anyone wants to know what the question was they have to drink.
I personally quite like this game but I'm not sure if I'll be able to remember all of it later, hopefully I can. Plus, I don't want to get completely smashed, I need to make sure I can keep an eye on Aurora.
Jordan starts by whispering something into Jess's ear. "Mason, duh," she says loudly, making Jordan pout.
"What was the question?" Mason asks, taking a drink.
"Who would be the best boyfriend material," she says with a shrug. She hit the nail on the head with that one. Mason hasn't actually slept with anyone yet and he's also a sweet and kind person who thinks with his head and doesn't make rash decisions or jump to conclusions, he's a great guy to have as a best friend.
Mase smiles when he hears the answer and gives Ava a subtle nudge that I almost miss due to my current state.
Oliver whispers something to Eli and he instantly replies by saying 'Ava' quite loudly. This makes Oliver's eyes widen in surprise but he masks it quickly with a blank expression. Even though Ava is completely wasted, I can see a flicker of worry cross her face before she falls into a fit of giggles.
I'm guessing she knew what that question was about but luckily for her no asked what the question was.
Next Rebekah whispers something to Oliver and he says 'Jess'.
Rebekah gasps at his answer. "How could you say that? You were supposed to say no one!"
"Babe, I had to say someone, that's the point of the game," Oliver tries to reason.
Rebekah gets up and dashes out of the room in fury and so Oliver gets up, begrudgingly, and follows her, the two of them disappearing into another room. I think I can guess what Rebekah asked and by the smirk on Jess's face she can as well.
Ari then says something to Wyatt and he says 'Max'. This makes her smile so I'm assuming it was something good. I'm very curious to find out the question but I know I can't drink anymore, not if I want to keep an eye on her.
The game continues and you can tell by this point everyone is shit face drunk. I've managed to maintain some what sober — okay not really — but everyone else is gone except Wyatt who only seems a bit tipsy, I'm pretty sure he can handle way more alcohol than is humanly possible.
When we're about to call it a night Jess stops us. "Just one more question, please," she says. "I've been dying to ask this all night but I forgot."
Some people grumble in protest, Jordan and Chase even leave to go to the bathroom, stumbling as they do, helping each other get there in one piece.
Now it's just myself, Ari, Jess, Wyatt, Eli, Ava and Mason.
When everyone left agrees she clasps her hand in joy and gets up. She stumbles as she walks towards Ari but makes it there unharmed. After the question is asked Ari says 'Max', giggling like a madwoman.
Jess seems completely taken aback by the answer, as if she was expecting her to say someone else.
After a few moments Ari seems to come to a realisation. "W-Wait I me-mean no one. Y-eah I me-an no-nobody," she hiccups.
Jess eyes her with a shocked expression but she doesn't hold the face for long, the alcohol seeming to take away her initial thoughts. "Really?" She laughs. "Wow."
She's about to say something else but she suddenly stops and makes a gagging noise. "I think I'm going to puke," is the last thing she says before staggering out of the room towards the bathroom that Chase and Jordan went to, poor Ari she's going to have to clean that up in the morning.
Wyatt seems suddenly intrigued to find out the answer but before he can ask, Ari lets out a massive yawn. "Night guys," she mumbles before getting up and stumbling up the stairs to her room. I go to help her at the same time as Wyatt but she waves us both off and says she's fine — basically her stubborn, drunk self refuses to be helped.
I decide it's best if I get some sleep too so I go to lie down on one of the sofas. Just before my mind went completely black, one thing was on my mind. When she tried to cover up what she said I got an uncomfortable feeling in my stomach. I think I know what the question was, let's just hope no one remembers any of this in the morning.
~*~*~
Hey guys I hope you like the chapter :)
This one was meant to be a bit of fun and give you some insight into the rest of Ari's friends because you guys don't know too much about them but it did have some important stuff too amongst all the fun so I hope you picked up on it.
Also, if you guys ever want me to do a Q&A with the cast let me know cause I'm not sure if it's something you'd want to read or if it would just be a waste of time. I don't really get the chance to go into detail about each character so if you want to know more about them it might be a nice way to show you. It's up to you guys though, I don't really mind.
Well that's all for now, until next time, byeeeeee.