“Hey, we’re having a party over at Todd’s house, you should come?” I heard a boy say to Paige, who was currently with me inside of her car. We were done with another day of school – hell – and she was going to drop me off home before going back to her own.

I rolled my eyes, when the boy, who was leaned down to be level with the car, gave me a look. I could not tell you how much I wanted to wipe that look off of his face with a wet wipe, and then spit on it before rubbing it with his t-shirt, and then finally, slap his face to bring a shine to it.

Smirking at my thoughts, I had zoned out of the conversation that Paige and the boy were sharing now.

“Uh – no. I don’t feel like partying.” Paige mumbled with an apologetic smile, which wasn’t genuine at all, but it fooled him anyway, and then made him determined to make the blonde come to the party.

“Oh, come on. Just for a while. You could bring Piss Pants over as well.” My eyebrow raised from behind my paper bag, while Paige glanced at me with a genuine apologetic smile. Piss Pants? If it wasn’t being used to make fun of me, I would’ve admitted to him about how creative and original it was. But, then again, I didn’t want to seem like I enjoyed them making fun of me, so I stayed silent.

Paige seemed hesitant in her answer, but then she nodded her head in agreement. The boy smiled wide before he gave her the whereabouts of this Todd person’s house, which was – according to the boy – completely rad.

We were now on the road, on our way to my house, with silence covering the confines of the car. Paige seemed fidgety in her seat, while I kept my hands to myself, and not on the radio.

The silence was killing me, and I could kill to have music fill this large gaping hole of silence and brooding. My foot tapped impatiently as I wished for my house to come soon enough for me to survive this assault of nothingness that was covering the car’s interior.

Sighing, I chose to talk to the blonde to fill the silence, “So…”

Paige glance at me, before she turned back to the road, making me sigh again.

“Um – I’m trying to talk to you.” I muttered unintelligently and watched as she nodded her head in acknowledgement. “I know.”

“So… are you gonna go to the party?” Honestly speaking, I was hella curious about her going over to this Todd’s house, and dancing herself out. She, on the other hand, I guess, felt nothing but dread.

“No. I hate parties.” I nodded, already knowing why.

Paige didn’t drink nor dance, neither did she like being surrounded by people, and not to mention that the people surrounding her are drunk and sweaty, and hormonal. She would rather stay home then to attend some lame party that was gonna be dance, dance, drink, puke, and repeat.

Even I don’t like going to parties, so, I knew her reasons.

“Do you – um, do you want to go?” She glanced at me for more than a second, and I became worried about my life more than the answer I should give to her. Was I supposed to say yes, or no? Did she want to go to the party if I’d go with her?

Even though, it was only my imagination talking, but then again, it would be pretty awesome if I was the reason why Paige went to this party in the first place.

“Do you want me to go?” She fidgeted a little before she quickly glanced at me. “No.” I was a bit taken back by her answer before I realized that I was just expecting something that was quite far too reach.

I stayed silent after that, not wanting my disappointment to be clear in my words. The silence surrounded us as she drove and after a long while, I was grateful to see my house come in view.

She stopped the car just outside of my house, but didn’t kill the engine. I waited for a while for something that I wasn’t even sure of, before I opened the door and got out.

As I stood on the curb watching her car, she drove away.

Maybe, she really didn’t like me, as a friend or something more than that.

***

It was after 9, when I had eaten dinner and was just leisurely sitting on my bed with a great book in my hand, when the doorbell downstairs rang.

Since, mom and Caleb were both asleep because they were tired, I was the only one awake, and I groaned before getting out of bed to go open the door.

Whoever it was, was going to get a word from me. That word specifically being: Dumbass.

Groaning with every step I took to go downstairs, I had finally gotten to the door.

Opening the door, I was met with someone that I didn’t expect to see.

“What are you doing here?” Suddenly self-conscious, I just crossed my arms so that he could not see my stained sweatshirt. Aware of my action, he smiled before he stepped inside of my house without even asking for permission.

Well, he really didn’t go by the rules.

“I can’t come visit my bestie.” I wasn’t sure if he was being sarcastic or just plain out rude. You see, Tim was like those people that had an aura of mystery around them and you really never knew what he was thinking or even speaking.

“I didn’t think that after seeing me embarrass myself like that in class, you would still consider me your friend.” I closed the front door before looking at him. He turned to me before he gave me a small apologetic and pitiful smile.

I hated that.

“If you remember, I was drunk in class.” Well, he was drunk.

“That doesn’t change anything. You know about it, right?” I looked away from him with embarrassment. I was embarrassed. Who wouldn’t be?

A sigh came from him before he placed a hand on my shoulder, making me look at him. His eyes held sympathy and support but I still wasn’t sure if he really was being genuine or not.

“Yeah, Paige told me about it.”

I can’t believe it. So, that day in the cafeteria, they really were talking about me. I just can’t believe that she was talking to my best friend about my not-so little accident.

“And she also told you about how I wear that paper bag right?” My voice came out more hurtful than I wanted it to. Tim’s eyes strayed away from my own and he nodded silently, making me frown.

“What are you even doing here, exactly? I don’t think that you’re here to make fun of me, since you could just do that in school or something.” My arms stayed crossed as I shifted all of my body weight on my left leg, and gave him the hardest stare that I could muster.

He didn’t seem affected by my stare but he did flinch slightly from my words. I knew I was being mean and not in the least understanding. “Actually, I’m here to drag you to the party that’s at Todd’s house.”

Great, even Tim was invited there.

“I don’t want to go.” My frown deepened and I turned away from Tim, to go to the kitchen. Since I was already downstairs, might as well just get a snack. “But, Paige, told me to take you there.”

I stopped rummaging through the fridge, I stopped moving, I wasn’t even sure if I was breathing anymore.

“Paige asked you to take me there?” I slowly turned to look at him, and saw him with wide eyes and a wide-open mouth. Guess, he wasn’t supposed to say that part out loud. “Shit, yes.”

I smirked before I turned back to the fridge. So, she really did want me there and she was going there as well. Makes me want to go there now.

“Okay.”

“Okay? Are you serious?”

I turned around completely after grabbing a juice box from the back of the fridge. “Yeah, I’ll just go change into something good.”

He smiled before he came in to give me a hug. I gladly took it since I was missing my best friend. I was happy that at least he wasn’t so disgusted by me.

I changed into a black and white t-shirt and some black jeans, with black boots.

Grabbing my wallet and everything I needed, I was about to exit my bedroom when something caught my eye. My reflection.

I looked at myself, with my short hair and face that wasn’t covered by something anymore.

I was about to go to a party that a boy in my school was throwing, without the paper bag over my head. Was I really okay with going there without it?

It wasn’t that I liked having my face hidden or anything, but just the thought of being sure that no one would see my face was what brought me to the conclusion that I really did need the protection.

When I had come downstairs after getting ready, I saw the way Tim’s eyes stayed on my face longer than they should, and I also saw him giving me a small smile that was pitying me.

I didn’t like his smile then.

“Ready?” I nodded and then we were out of my house.

Mom and Caleb were asleep, but I still left them a note so that they wouldn’t be worried to see me not in the house.

“Paige’s going to be there, right?” I asked Tim, as we got to his car, which was parked in front of my house. “Yeah.” He answered without hesitation which made me smile from inside my paper bag.

“But, she won’t like this one bit.”

I smirked when I heard what Tim had just spoken to himself, believing that I hadn’t heard him.

Like that would be possible with me having great hearing. But, apart from that, I was happy that Paige wouldn’t like me wearing my paper bag over my head.

Let’s see what she has to say about that.

***