Being a virgin in Highschool... was fucking embarrassing. But since we're being crass about it, hearing about how awful everyone's "first time" was, gave me way more second-hand embarrassment. Thankfully, I'd never actually had the proper chance to pursue losing it, like I even wanted to. Besides, everyone's identity seemed to hinge on that overrated rite of passage anyway. Unfortunately for me, the Dennville student body fully expected the most well-known people to have to most fun. Florida isn't exactly in the limelight of social life. Besides the people I went to school with, there were freak stories about the residents here; so I was surrounded by people who were medically insane. And at that rate, the only way to catch a break was to literally not be on land. The weather here was by far the best. I loved the heat. The only plus side about living in Florida was being able to surf. But those were far off from the plans I had tonight.
Although I intended on staying home, Emily Evans was having another one of her exclusive parties. It was something she did a lot. Her parents were always out of town for business, so that was her indefinite ticket to host the event of every weekend. I actually began to think that my guessing of her fruition to popularity because of her candor event-planning wasn't too far off.
Apart from the fact that I was completely dreading it, I knew tonight's party was inevitably going to consume my plans. I'd been there a hundred times even before Emily started throwing parties, yet somehow, that space was completely changed when it was filled with blacked-out, one-way ticket to barf town lunatics. The experience was grotesque if I could even put it that way. Emily's house was so huge it could've been mistaken for a hotel; three stories with the second floor always flooded with bodies and changing lights. To say the least, Emily was known to be a generous host. People would stumble into her pool and dance the night away; some just pretended to be drunk, oftentimes, whatever it took to be seen. The struggle for popularity was pathetic, then again, I didn't have to try.
The parties were starting to become so redundant that I actually hadn't expected it to be as fun as my best friend Annalise was making it out to be this morning. She was practically begging me to go, and there was no way I was getting out of this one. I didn't really understand why I needed to make an appearance, considering I had made the roll call every other weekend. The thing is, even if I did decide to stay home, Annalise would've dragged my ass out of my house ready or not.
So there I was, adding the finishing touches to my face in my monochrome vanity and doing one last outfit check in the mirror before slipping away for the evening. A black corset top and black high-waisted mom jeans would do the trick, and some Adidas to tone it down.
Rule of thumb for attending parties you don't even want to go to: bring your own car so you can make a run for it when your social battery is dead. I parked my car in Emily's driveway because it was basically my spot at this point.
I came in through the front door and I was immediately bombarded with sensory overload. As always, Annalise was leading the games. That night, she orchestrated for all of us to play a juvenile game in Emily's "lobby" (her living room is huge). I scoffed at everyone who got paired up. There was no way in hell anyone was going to make me play even if-
"Sylvia! Perfect timing" Annalise winked at me. "Looks like it's you and Elliot sweetie." She added a joking swivel to her hips as she commanded gravity to force our bodies towards each other.
I scoffed and rolled my eyes in Elliot's direction. I knew I wasn't getting out of this one either.
Elliot and I were pushed to the center of the living room. Apparently watching two angsty teenagers getting paired up was the most interesting thing in the world.
"Off you go," said Annalise as she shoved us towards the wardrobe with hundreds of eyes gazing.
As much as I loved Annalise, I couldn't help but respond to her smirk with a look of playful disgust. She was a hell of a host but she was drunk out of her mind. Annalise was the only one that knew, and it sure as hell was going to stay that way. I'd met her during Freshman orientation. I was roaming the halls trying to find my next station suffering from an awful case of being directionally challenged. She pretty much saved me from embarrassing myself from that day forward. Since then, she's been my right hand and a dull pain in my ass.
"My lucky day!" Elliot pressed his lips against my cheek as I managed a fake smile. Holy shit was he forward, jeez let me at least finish a flashback, dude. "Let's get the hell out of here." Elliot's reflective egotistic eyes traced me with curiosity. I reciprocated with glaring eye contact. His cologne was strong, unfortunately for me, and his breath smelled of peppermint. He was obviously prepared for tonight and didn't seem at all surprised by our pairing. Elliot confidently put his arm around my shoulder and I grew increasingly unimpressed. He had changed since we were kids...In a bad way.
Back then we might've been best friends but as far as I knew, I wasn't any more than an ego boost at the moment.
I wasn't going to let it happen. No matter how smoldering his eyes were, or how much he acted as though he liked me. I was not an idiot. You'd think he would've known better, having known me for so long. But like I said, he was different.
The cheering of all the drunk teenagers in the crowded living room was deafening. Suddenly, Elliot swept me up off the ground with a "no big deal" expression across his face. I laughed flirtatiously, acting like I was enamored by him.
"Show this girl what it's like to feel like a woman!!!" Someone un-definable yelled from the crowd, as Elliot propped me up in his arms.
First of all, sexist comment. Second of all, I hate hormonal teen boys. It was too bad for Elliot that he wasn't going to get his way tonight. The best way to avoid a "What's wrong???" in the popular world, was to pretend. I guess you could say I got a little too caught up in my character, which is why I ran my fingertips up his neck and guided his lips onto mine.
"Scratch the wardrobe, I take it." Elliot leaned in closer while walking me towards the nearest room; the shouts of the wild teens dwindled. I guess my good acting cost me more than I bargained for. And off we were.
He kicked open a random door upstairs and soon I couldn't hear the screaming in the living room anymore. As the noise faded to the background, I slowly realized that I recognized the room. It was decorated with pictures of all of Emily's friends, including me. One side of the wall was lined with Cheer Competition medals and trophies; the whole room painted an aqua, bright color. Emily's room looked welcoming but smelled terrible, probably because of everyone who had hooked up in here.
'Gross.' I thought to myself, but still maintaining my fake enjoyment of the situation.
Although I couldn't understand why she'd let people use it, it did make sense to clean her own room so that her parents wouldn't suspect anything being out of place in the other rooms. Elliot shut the door and playfully threw me over his shoulder towards the bed. He held my jaw with one hand while the other traced down my silhouette. The passionate kiss he attempted in pursuing did not triumph. Making out with the most popular guy didn't as feel perfect as anyone might have dreamed. Make no mistake; there were no fireworks and definitely no butterflies in your stomach; especially when all he could do was shove his tongue down my throat. He was pushing me backward and I thought I was going to fall. As much as I needed to pretend to like it, I couldn't. I wasn't thinking straight. The unbearable heat in the room made it almost impossible to breathe. All I could think was that the taste of his despicable peppermint breath was going to linger in my mouth the whole night.
I finally gave into my disgust and pulled away. I felt the soft bed behind me; I had just realized we were up against it. The quilted aqua comforter supporting my weight. Looking around, I realized I never picked up on things Emily actually liked. I never did get to know her.
My attention was quickly returned to a longing Elliot; his eyebrow cocked.
"What's wrong?" Elliot asked bewildered. "I thought you wanted-"
I interrupted him with a straight answer. I assumed he understood we were childhood friends and nothing more. Then again, we hadn't spoken since Heely's were popular.
"Elliot." I sighed my heart racing; wanting so badly to run out of the room. I literally ran from everything but I had to own up to why I felt off. "I was just putting on a show, sorry."
"Oh come on, that was more than a show." He laughed again with his overly confident attitude.
He reached for the bottom of my shirt and teased at the idea of lifting it. I slapped his hand out of the way so fast that the expression on his face immediately changed. His lip curved down and he bit his lip in a confused and frustrated manner.
"I'm serious" I pushed him out of my way, nearly dodging the hand that took my hip back. My runaway failed. Okay, I won't lie, the way he grabbed me was kind of convincing. But I seriously wasn't interested.
"TWO MINUTES!!!" The drunks shouted. I had forgotten this was some silly game. Annalise's voice was the loudest. She had to be the first in line waiting downstairs.
I slowly turned back around to find that Elliot's grip loosened as his teeth released his lip.
"Look, we can't go out there saying that nothing happened." I sighed. I knew he was right.
It sounded like I wasn't the only one pretending the whole time. Maybe I wasn't alone. Whatever it was, I'd have to figure it out later. He was right though, these people expected us to have done something, and it was exactly what we were going to give them.
I could hear everyone downstairs again, "15...14...13..." they exclaimed.
"We don't have much time," I stated the obvious while buttoning down his shirt. "We'll button it up on the way out." I slowly looked up at him and almost paused.
"Smooth idea, Sylv." He leaned in for a kiss while I held onto both sides of his button-down shirt. The kiss wasn't so bad this time; the smell of peppermint lingered once again and came back stronger...this time I didn't mind.
I draped myself over him sluggishly and flung the door open, leading the way downstairs to a gawking crowd of drunkards teasing "OOOOOHHHHH!"
Elliot pulled away slowly as we walked past bodies. "You have green eyes." He whispered gently into my shoulder.
I looked back and rolled my eyes again. "You're funny. Let's go get a drink." I replied, ruining his candid moment that I secretly wished lasted a little longer.
I grabbed his hand and strode into the already ecstatic crowd nearly tripping over used cups and people who had passed out. Throughout the rough exit towards the kitchen, there were the constant bellows and shouts over drinking games still going strong. I dragged us through and Elliot held a loose grip over my hips with one hand.
We both ignored them all as we pushed our way to fresh air and we sat at the bar by the pool. I started dozing off staring at the way the light hit the pool water, realizing how exhausted I was. Elliot interrupted my daydream and reached across the bar to grab two Dr. Peppers. He handed me one thoughtfully, half smiling.
"How'd you know I liked Dr. Pepper?" I questioned. "And don't you want a beer or something?" I myself couldn't even answer why I had brought him here. Seemingly, he had no problem with it.
"Best Friends all through Elementry school, hun. Didn't think you'd wish to forget it that fast." He chuckled, glancing up at me and taking a drink of his soda. "And I want a drink, not a hangover. Shot in the dark says you don't want one either."
I looked up from my drink to him and smiled bitterly. "Fair enough. I guess you're entitled to remember some things about me."
"Of course, I am" He added knowledgeably. "How could I forget about one of the coolest girls I know, or used to according to you."
Maybe he hadn't changed as much as I'd thought.
One of the girls who was standing by the pool screeched while being thrown into the pool by two Jocks. We both turned and just laughed.
"I never said that," I said, still staring mindlessly into the pool.
"Well, that's what everyone says." He argued.
"Alright, so you're incompetent in the critical thinking category..." I turned towards him, smiling at the smart remark I made.
I finally took a sip of my Dr. Pepper, too caught up in talking that I had almost forgotten about it. I was still taken aback that he'd sat down to have an actual conversation with me.
"Heyyy Woah." He laughed. "And you didn't lose your sense of humor I see."
"You wouldn't have any humble left in you if I did." I smiled intently.
"Oh I'm not so bad" He laughed. "I'm still the same guy that raced you at Swim Camp and lost every time."
"Sure you are, it's not like you croaked" I stepped off the bar chair, set my drink down, and tried to smile at the same time. Although this blast to the past was fun, I had to get home. "I'm gonna head home Ellie."
"And the name still lives!" He laughed. "We should catch up, Sylv, seriously."
"I'd like that, maybe" I replied while locking eyes for a moment. How I missed his innocent smile. I smiled back at him and turned around to make my way out. I felt his stare linger for a moment as I walked off and decidedly left the building. It seemed as though the music got louder the further I got. Some party I was going to miss out on, I thought sarcastically. Surely, Annalise was still playing cult leader inside.
I realized that I hadn't even bothered to check the time. My iPhone read:
11:32 PM
Annalise Williams: Where the HELL are you!?
Annalise Williams: What happened between you and Lover Boy? ;)
I knew I was not going to hear the end of it from Annalise later on. I finally made it to the driveway and slouched into my seat. I shivered, my cold leather seats were not helping. I turned on the engine and drove nearly half asleep. It was a good thing I didn't have any drinks tonight. Elliot might've saved my ass from a car accident for all I knew. I remembered how easy he was to talk to, and how he agreed to pretending that we had done something. His willingness to shift out of his performative character was kind of admirable. Maybe I was wrong about him. Maybe Elliot was only acting, just putting on a show like I did.