❝Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we're here, shall we dance?❞ -Jeanne C. Stein, Blood Drive
Within the first hour, pretty much everyone in our senior class who could make it has shown up. People are dancing to the loud music, clearly drunk out of their minds, with others playing beer pong in the backyard, very well on their way to being drunk.
Suddenly, a red cup is offered to me from the one and only Noah, who had arrived a half hour ago with Hunter and Damon. "I'm ready to get drunk." Noah says, giving me the cup which I take breezily, laughing at Noah's eagerness. Hunter, who is already wasted, and Damon, who seems sober, cheer with him like frat boys.
"You should slow down on the alcohol, Noah," I tell him as he downs another cup of his concoction. "You don't want a hangover."
"Oh, sweet, innocent, naive Diana," Noah says, laughing. "The secret to not having a hangover is waiting for the dizzy feeling to pass before you fall asleep. I got this, I'm an experienced drinker."
"For some reason, I don't doubt that." I reply dryly, sipping the drink that Noah had gotten me. It tastes like fruit punch with some vodka, but I can't tell for sure.
Hunter's eyes grow wide as he sees Alyce on the dance floor with a boy in my Socials class. Hunter points at her, jumping up and down beside Damon. "Look at her! She's so pretty."
"Yes, she is," Damon says, smirking at his friends' current states. He shoulders Hunter encouragingly. "Make a move, champ."
Hunter slaps a hand on Damon's shoulder, looking at his friend with bright eyes. "You are such a good friend, Daniel."
Damon frowns and slowly peels Hunter's hand off of him. "I'm Damon. D-a-m-o-n, you dumbass. There isn't even a Daniel in our grade."
Hunter stares at Damon, perplexed, as if trying to register his words. Suddenly, he starts laughing, "You crack me up, Daniel."
With that, Hunter makes his way to Alyce, easily sliding a hand on her lower back and shifting her in his direction. Either drunk Hunter is extremely smooth, or his player ways are embedded into his personality even while drunk.
"Come on, Diana, you have to catch up," Noah says, putting a shot glass for me on the table as he downs another shot easily. "Don't make me look like a loner."
Without hesitation, I take the glass from Noah and take the shot, the burning liquid running down my throat, leaving a subtle tingle and warmth. I chase the feeling away with more of Noah's drink, but Noah quickly grabs the cup and pulls it away from me.
"Slow down," Noah laughs. "The drink you're using to chase the shot is alcohol, too."
"Good." I frown, grabbing the drink from him and finishing the satisfyingly sweet beverage.
The music shifts to another upbeat song and Damon offers me his hand with a sly grin. "Would you like to dance, Diana?"
I take his hand, smiling as he drags me to the dance floor and starts spinning me and moving with me on the beats. It is hard to forget that Damon is an attractive guy; girls would always steal small glances his way, dancing in wonder at the boy before them. Damon proves to be one of the most fun guys I have ever met.
With my back pressed against his chest, I feel the rumble of his laugh as Damon holds me close to him. "I told Jasper that I would stay sober with him," Damon says in my ear as the slight buzz of alcohol hits my body in waves. "So as much as I would love to get drunk with you, I am a man of my word."
I stick out my tongue like an immature child, "Men and their pride."
Damon chuckles, a sound so soft that it is hard to hear over the music.
I pull away and take him back to where Noah is sitting near the kitchen, taking another shot. Damon frowns disapprovingly. "How many drinks have you had?"
"One or two," Noah says, smiling brightly. He begins frowning, holding out his hand and trying to count on his fingers. "Dozen."
Damon's eyes widen as he snags the red cup from Noah. He begins whining when Damon gives me the cup and drags him out of the chair. "Let's get you some water and we can dance with Diana and her friends. How does that sound?"
"Peachy." Noah makes an 'okay' symbol with his hand, connecting his index and thumb sloppily.
I take sips from Noah's drink, the taste of rum and vodka combined tanging my mouth. I almost want to spit out the drink, but there is a subtle sweetness to it that makes it bearable. I finish Noah's cup quickly, throwing it away into the garbage beside me. I proceed to follow Damon and Noah to the kitchen, where Damon, being the good friend he is, is giving Noah a glass of water.
Noah takes a sip of the water and holds it in his mouth like a pufferfish, then spits it out onto Damon's face.
He starts laughing; a true, genuine laugh that I hadn't seen before. The corners of his eyes crinkle with joy, his straight teeth show as he clutches his stomach from laughter. Damon scowls at his friend, grabbing a towel near the sink and wiping his face.
"How you get girls is beyond me, Noah," Damon grumbles. "You're fucking disgusting."
Noah pouts and his eyes catch mine. He begins smiling again. "Diana! Hey! When did you get here?"
Even though the alcohol is hitting me, I am certain we had seen each other moments before. "I've been here since six."
"What time is it now?" Noah tilts his head to the side, leaning against the cold fridge.
"Ten." Damon answers for me.
"In the morning?" Noah's eyes are wide. "We have school! Why are we partying?"
"For fuck's sake, man," Damon groans in frustration. "Just shut up and dance with Diana, alright? I'm going to find Jasper."
Noah grabs my wrist and practically skips to the living room. During prep, we had pushed the furniture to the side, opening up the room and allowing people to dance if they feel like it.
Even though he is drunk, Noah still dances well. He holds my hands, guiding me with the rhythm while keeping close proximity. When I look up at him, I find him already staring. His eyes are probably the most beautiful eyes I had ever seen.
Despite the fact that I had never really liked the colour hazel, his eyes may as well be my new favourite colour. They are lovely.
"I meant what I said before," Noah says, his mouth close to my left ear. "About how I want to get to know you and become your friend. I don't know what you did, but Hunter and Damon already love you." Noah laughs dryly.
I smile at the compliment, a feeling of warmth running through me. Maybe it is just the alcohol running through my veins, or maybe it is the fact that I am, quite simply, happy.
Noah is staring at me when the song finishes. "You're really pretty, you know that?" His words are slightly slurred, but he manages to smile nonetheless.
"And you're really drunk." I laugh.
Noah shrugs. "I may be drunk, but I'll be sober in the morning and you'll still be gorgeous."
"God, you're a charmer, aren't you?" I roll my eyes.
"Can't help it," Noah grins cheekily. "It's like a knee-jerk reaction whenever I see a pretty girl."
"Back to back compliments," I muse. "You are good at this."
"Did you ever really doubt me?"
After Noah and I finish dancing, I take him back to the kitchen where I grab myself a glass of red wine and Noah a glass of water.
Noah and I turn around, ready to find Alyce and Hunter, when I run into another figure about my height and build. We both crash onto the floor since we are both tipsy, my drink flying out of my hand and spilling all over the girl in front of me.
Mackenzie gasps angrily as she pushes her wet, brown hair out of her face. "You fucking bitch, you did that intentionally, didn't you?"
The hostility in her voice makes my anger rise to the surface. With liquid courage in me, I am ready for an argument. "Why would I waste perfectly good alcohol on you?" I snap.
"Jealous bitch," Mackenzie grumbles as her friends help her up and Noah helps me up. "Who even are you? You think you can just dump wine on my dress and get away with it? This was expensive." Her words begin slightly slurring.
"That's your fault for wearing a designer dress to a party," I tell her honestly. "I know you're not the smartest girl out there, but at least have some common sense."
Mackenzie glares at me. "Just stay out of my fucking way."
"Gladly." I glare back. She finally breaks my stare and stomps away with her two friends trailing behind her.
Noah witnessed the whole drunk feud with wide eyes. Then, he smirks, "You know what? That was kind of hot."
I shove him playfully, not remembering that he's wasted, and he tumbles ungracefully onto the floor. I help him up quickly, trying to hide my laugh.
"You got me falling for you already," Noah jokes, staggering to regain his balance.
I roll my eyes for what feels like the twentieth time tonight. Boys.
A/N: here's a better introduction to Mackenzie's character! Of course we had to have a little drunk fight in there.
To be honest, it's quite hard for me to write from a drunk or tipsy persons perspective. I was trying to think of my personal experience in that state, but I realize now that I really don't pay a lot of attention to things when drunk. Oops.
Anyway, what do you guys think of Damon? I'm throwing a little bit more of his character into the story, since I feel as though he didn't get enough attention in the original book; poor bb.
Hope you guys liked the chapter!