Hiding in the bathroom for an eternity, I slowly dry myself off. There was a hair dryer under the vanity sink, so that helps. Even though my breathing and pulse are back to normal, I don't want to go back out there. I can just stay in here until my friends are ready to go, they probably won't notice my absence. This night has been the absolute worst, and there is nothing that will get me out of my newest hiding spot.

Loud knocking on the door quickly vanishes my small amount of peace when I turn the dryer off. Maybe I should pretend no one is in here, but the handle starts jiggling. What the hell?

"Heyyy! We know you're in there! Justin found me and told me what happened." Jade says through the door when the attempted break in stops. Oh shit, it's them.

"Open up!" Comes Emma's voice as the pounding picks up again. I debate my options, but there is no way my fat ass will fit through the small window, so they are sadly few in number. 

Sighing, I unlock the door and retreat as my friends come spilling in.
"Are you alright?" Lucas asks, concerned as he checks my pants. "It smells in here." He adds the observation, ruining his chance at a response from me. I notice his eyes are suspiciously glassy. 

"Have a bit of respect," Emma scolds him before turning back to me, "I shouldn't have left you to fend for yourself."

This bathroom is too small to have all of us crammed into it, and they're all watching me too intently.

"I'm okay." I say to placate them. "It was just a little spill, and thank you Lucas. I know I smell like a beer can. But so do you." He ignores my accusation.

"Well," Jade hedges, "We know how you tend to get when you get embarrassed. We wanted to make sure you didn't have a freak out."

I had, but they missed it.

"We are all sorry we abandoned you," Emma says as if reading my mind. "I got distracted when I went to get my drink, you know how I get. I hadn't seen you in the living room when I went back to check, so I thought you went out to smoke."

"Well that was my intended goal." I deadpan. It would take too long to fill them in on it all, and I want to go home and crawl into bed. Really, a cave or hole would work equally as well at this point. I can't people any more this evening.

After Olivia had left the room, I spent a minute calming myself down before making a break for the bathroom. Now that I'm mostly dry, I feel a little better, but still don't want to face anyone who may have witnessed my accident. Obviously embarrassment still courses through me, but I'm trying to push it down. It's fine. I shouldn't care what anyone at this stupid party thinks of me. Especially not Olivia, or I guess Ollie. The nickname isn't that cute, it's not. I wonder if only her close friends can call her by it. I'm assuming Justin is a friend, but maybe he's her boyfriend. If so that's cool, during the limited interaction I had with him he seemed nice. He also has cool hair, better than my tangled mess. So they look good together. Not that it matters at all. It's fine.

"Well you're still blushing," Lucas points out. I don't mention that my reddened face is from jealousy rearing it's ugly head, instead of embarrassment. It's high time to change the subject.

"Have you been drinking?" I round on Lucas, who's attempt at an innocent look answers my question. Damn it.
"For fuck's sake, Luc. You "promise" -," I make air quotes with my hands to emphasize his treachery. "You're such a rat bastard," I add for good measure.

"Woah, woah. Tone down the hostility there, Beck." He holds up his hands as if to ward me off. "I took a few sips. It's all good. Ask Jade!" He shoots a pleading look her way.

"It's not good, fucking lightweight!" My tone is exasperated. "As much fun as this little soiree has been, I'm ready to go home." I glare at Jade to let her know she is equally to blame for this situation.

"You were ready to leave before we even got out of the car," he huffs. "Just give me an hour."

"Why don't I believe you?" I knew this would happen, but I'm pissed. However, I don't want to be a buzzkill. They were all having a good time. Ughhh. I can't make them leave, but I want to seethe. I don't want to be a good friend, I want to guilt them for making me come in the first place.

"Oh Beck, let's go back downstairs. You can't even tell about the beer anymore. There's not a stain." Jade smiles reassuringly when she pats my shoulder.

"Besides for the sme-" Lucas is cut off when Emma pops him on the back of the head. His face sours, but he shuts up.

"How about you guys go downstairs, and I hang out up here?" The question isn't exactly a whine, but it's a near thing.
Jade and Emma turn their puppy dog eyes on me. 

"But Beckkkkk," Emma stretches out my name, definitely whining, "it's just for a bit longer. You can't sit up here by yourself."

I very damn well can, but know this isn't a battle I can win easily.

"I hate you all," I say as I hand Emma her purse.

● ● ●

After being forced from the bathroom, I'm back downstairs. It's less crowded now, people must have started to leave. We are posted up on a living room couch, laughing as Lucas tries to tell a joke. He fails miserably, not even getting to the punch line before he cracks up in laughter himself. This isn't so bad I guess. I'm still checking the time on my phone every five minutes, but it could be worse.

"I need a cigarette!" Emma says as she finds her pack in her purse, it's a little smashed but she pulls one out and it's not broken. "Who's coming with me?"

The three of them stand up and look at me. I shake my head, not feeling like going back to the scene of the crime. I don't want to be left alone, but I'm not a baby, and can probably survive five minutes unsupervised.

"Are you sure?" Jade asks, not wanting to leave me alone.

"Yeah, it's okay. I'm alright. Just don't take forever," I say, leaning back on the couch.

The three laugh and make promises as they head outside.
When we first made it back to the party, shots were quickly consumed at Emma's suggestion. Lucas didn't get any, but he only pouted a little. I had been hesitant to drink more at first, but she was right. My body is warm as I people watch from my spot in the corner. Someone turned the music down to a lower volume, so my ears aren't bleeding and I feel slightly calmer. The liqour definitely helped. I'm busy being thankful for small miracles, when I see Olivia standing across the room. She's talking to a group of people, but I can't hear what they are saying. Blue haired Justin is nowhere in sight, and Ollie is gesturing around as she talks. All of her jewelry glints as it catches the light with every movement, and she is captivating.

She seems more social outside of school, I wonder how she knows all these people. She must feel me watching, because she turns to catch my eyes for a second before I look away. She always notices me watching her, so why the fuck do I keep staring at her tonight. The alcohol, it has to be the culprit. It makes it easier to lie to myself at least. 

It's clear I don't need anymore drinks, and we should be leaving soon. I pull out my phone to check the time yet again, when a shadow falls over me. 

Drunk guy has found me again, and he looks even more fucked up than earlier. His shirt is covered with multiple stains, and he smells as bad as my jeans. There isn't a drink in his hand, maybe someone decided to cut his stupid ass off. Not soon enough, though. Is he just wondering the party looking for poor, unsuspecting victims?

"Heyyy, I remember you," He says too loudly, leaning over me. The vodka induced calm I had felt quickly evaporates. He flings himself onto the couch beside me, and I move as far away as the limited space allows. My friends should be back soon, thankfully, but in the mean time I don't want to deal with his shit. It's been the longest night ever, and I'm fucking over it. The liquor burning in my veins gives me a little more courage than normal as I turn to level him with what I hope is an intimidating glare. My heart rate speeds up, a mad flutter in my chest.

 I hate altercations. My tongue feels numb, my mouth dry. I need to say something. Why are words so difficult? 

"Can you leave?" It comes out as a question, instead of a demand, and not as loud as intended.

"Ahh, don't be like that," he pauses, searching for words in his drunk haze. "Earlier was just a misunderstanding." I highly doubt that.

"My name is Mike." He bulldozes on, even though I don't care what his name is. Does he not understand the concept of a brush off?

I clear my throat, preparing to try again when a pretty voice stops me from speaking.

"Problem here?" She drawls.

We turn at the same time to see Olivia standing by the couch. She's not looking at me, her eyes are narrowed on the poor sap at my side.

"Not at all, sweetheart." He quips with a smile.

"Oh, I doubt that. She doesn't want to talk to you. Can you not read social cues?" She leans in closer, "You can't use alcohol as an excuse for being an asshole."

At that he stands up, much taller than her, but his size doesn't stop Olivia from flinging another insult.

"I mean obviously you are dense, I just didn't realize it was to this extent." She shakes her head. It must be the shots, but I am currently in awe.

He laughs, not reading the vibe. Mike's face is still amused as he teeters back and forth. 
"Oh, look at you! You're so small." He glances at me. "Do you know each other?" I look at him blankly to let him know he's on his own here.

She steps closer, quickly invading his space, causing him to jerk his attention back to her angry gaze. Her eyes are glaciers and her expression is venomous as she advances. He backs up in surprise, almost tripping over my feet.

"I think she told you to fuck off. Or it was heavily implied anyway," her voice is cold as she tilts her head, a vicious grin appearing.