THE MUSIC PULSED THROUGH MY ears as we walked around inside, navigating our way past the drunken and swaying bodies of sweaty teenagers. The music was so loud I could feel my heartbeat beginning to match the tempo of it, my whole body vibrating as the floor thrummed with pounding feet.

I needed to get out of there, so I yanked Monica towards an emptier area where red solo cups littered an island in the middle of the floor. Alcohol was everywhere on the table, beer cans opened and unopened.

"Well someone's in a hurry to get a drink," Monica murmured and I felt my cheeks flush.

"You know I don't drink, I'm just...uncomfortable," I replied and searched the table anyways, hoping there'd at least be something there for me to have.

"Hey, you wanted to come tonight," Monica retorted and gave me a look, signaling that I was not allowed to duck out. She was right. She got me invited and I had willingly come along. There was no ducking out now.

"You're right," I shook my head and looked around, watching tons of people conversing, and making out, and doing— AVERT EYES AVERT EYES. Monica just rolled her eyes at me and placed her hands firmly onto my shoulders.

"Finnley, you are an amazing person and I think it's time that you finally get out there and have some fun. So, in other words, good luck!" She gave me a wide smile and suddenly ducked into the crowd, leaving me standing there all alone.

What the hell.

I wasn't quite sure what to do with myself at that point. Yes, I had been eager and super excited to come, but now that I was here, my introverted and claustrophobic self was screaming at me to leave and return to the comforts of my bedroom. I bit my lip as I looked around the room that was full of teenagers making memories they'd never remember as they chugged down the devil's juice inside their famous red cups.

Monica was gone and there was no way I'd find her now, even though that had been a specific rule of my mom's. Great. Just great. I cursed under my breath and prepared myself to head back into the party. I knew this was Monica's thing, but I guess it was finally time for me to branch out on my own.

So what better way to start than hiding in the bathroom?

I just needed a second to breathe, and the bathroom would allow me that. Trying to go outside would mean I'd have to find my way through the maze of people, and I wasn't quite prepared to do that.

No, Finnley. You're here to have fun. Hiding in the bathroom is exactly what you shouldn't do. Have a drink and go have some fun! With a deep breath, I grabbed my wits about me, picked up and unopen beer, snapped it open, and took a swig.

"Bad idea," I sputtered since it really did taste like piss water, but nonetheless, I pushed myself forward.

I walked past people and tried to see if there was anything I could do other than dancing. Maybe someone was playing a card game? I didn't know, I never went to these things.

Before I could even react, some guy ran into me and made me spill my beer all over my brand new shirt.

"Oh, sorry, my bad," he laughed and pushed past me. I gaped at the stain and stared daggers after him. So maybe the bathroom had been a good idea all along.

"Shit," I hissed and quickly searched the house. It felt like I had looked all over to find an open bathroom. Unfortunately they were all occupied (not surprising) so I settled for a small TV room instead. I shut the door and kept the lights on, hoping that it would be a sign to keep others away.

I looked around for something to clean my shirt, and noticed that this wasn't just a TV room, but a whole theatre.

"Okay, what the actual hell," my free hand clapped to my side as I dropped it. But maybe if this was a theatre, some napkins would be close by. And maybe water.

I searched the cabinets on the far side of the room and smiled when I found a stack of napkins and some unopened bottles of water. I gently wet the napkins and started to dab at my shirt, chucking the beer can into the garbage.

The napkins and water weren't doing much, but it looked a lot better than it did before. And with the house so dark, no one would really notice the stain. It still made me angry since I just bought it, but I could always look up some hacks to get out beer stains when I got home.

I threw away my mess and took a deep breath, settling down in one of the luxury recliners. It felt nice to just be alone for a while when the door opened and some red-haired kid stumbled in.

"Oh shit, I'm so sorry dude," he apologized after seeing me, yet still walked inside, snickering as he pulled some blonde chick in with him.

"I'll just— yeah," I murmured, taking that as my cue to leave and got to my feet. I left abruptly and shut the door behind me, shuddering as I heard the girl squeal out the name Brian.

Gross.

So this was not my cup of tea, and that was okay, but I still wanted to enjoy myself. Set on finding Monica, I went into the crowd one more time. I knew I'd have more fun if I was with her, and she would really help me loosen up.

As usual, stuck in my own mind, I didn't notice the group of people gathered ahead of me.

"Um, excuse us."

My gaze flicked to a girl with black hair and hazel eyes. She seemed annoyed and I realized that I had interrupted whatever they were doing by pushing my way into their circle.

"Oh, um, I'm sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going, I guess," I nervously chuckled and tried to exit what I had entered, but the two guys behind me wouldn't budge.

"Actually, since you just entered without asking, you have to play now," the black-haired girl inquired.

My heart started to pound rapidly. They want me to play with them? Why can't they just let me go?

"Play what?" I stared at her.

"Seven minutes in heaven," she stated like it was the obvious.

"Come on Sierra, she doesn't want to play. You're making her uncomfortable," I flicked my eyes to the boy who had just spoken up and I felt my breath hitch in my throat.

Jamie.

Sierra glowered at him and pursed her lips. She took a step towards Jamie and looked from him, to me, and back to him.

"Seems like you're sweet on her, Jamie. Why don't you take her to the closet?" She smirked, her hazel stare as cold as ice.

Jamie's cheeks flushed a deep red and his jaw tightened, signaling that he'd stay quiet.

"Now then, close your eyes and spin around with a finger pointed out. Whomever it lands on is who you'll go with," Sierra smiled, but it seemed forced.

Seeing as there was no way to get out of this, I listened and did as I was told. I closed my eyes, spun around, and stopped. When I opened them, my stomach churned. I could literally feel it doing flips.

There, my finger was pointed directly at Jamie. For the love of God I thought and clenched my teeth, Jamie avoiding my gaze.

"What are you waiting for? Go!" Sierra lightly pushed me forward and Jamie opened up the circle, letting me out.

Maybe if I just started running I could disappear into the crowd and leave. Maybe he'd stop following me and go back to the circle. Maybe I could just pretend to throw up or duck into the crowd. Maybe—

I turned and stopped to look at Jamie as he grabbed my hand and laced his fingers with mine. I felt my heart go into my throat as we looked at each other, his eyes just as confused as mine. Jamie shifted his gaze and tightened his grip, leaning down towards me.

"So I don't lose you," he murmured into my ear and walked forward, leading me to a closet. He kept me close the entire time, never letting me get too far away.

Was I dreaming? I knew this was all cliché (really cliché), but it was happening. So I must've been dreaming. That was the only answer to this equation.

Jamie opened up a door and pulled me inside. He closed it and pulled out his phone, bringing up the timer and starting the countdown.

7:00.

It was dead silent between the two of us. I felt so awkward. This whole thing was uncomfortable and time was just ticking away. What were we supposed to do for seven minutes?

"You guys won last night, right?" I finally spoke up, breaking the silence between us.

"Oh yeah, we murdered them."

"What was the score?"

"45-17."

"I guess that qualifies as murdering," I laughed and and Jamie did too.

"Did you not stay?"

"No, we left after half-time and I—" I was about to tell him why but decided against it. We weren't exactly friends so it wasn't really his business. It was also partly his fault.

"You should've, I made some pretty great plays," he bragged and I scoffed, brushing some loose hair out of my face.

Jamie disregarded my scoff and pulled out his phone, revealing the time we had left.

1:30

"Only a minute?" I peeked at his phone.

"Not yet," he stared at it.

1:00

"Now it is," he left his phone on as we both watched the timer go down.

Silence. Horribly, deafening, awkward silence. The tension of it was insane. I wanted to leave so badly. Just as I was about to ditch, Jamie cleared his throat.

"I never forgot about you. You don't forget your first kiss."

I choked. I'm not even kidding. I started to cough uncontrollably as I tried to remember what breathing felt like.

"Hey, you okay?"

"Fine," I sputtered. Just my pride was hurt.

0:45

"Well, we should probably show them that we actually did something. Here, I'll roughen up your hair," it sounded like he was smiling.

His hands gently tousled my hair, working through the locks to give it a somewhat messy appearance. "There. Perfect," he joked, as if he could really see what he just did.

I looked up at him and smiled. I couldn't tell how close we were, but when I brought my hand up to brush some of the hair that fell onto my face, it hit his chest. I now realized that we were indeed very close.

I felt myself leaning in, the tension rising between us. There was a new energy that I could feel, my chin tilting upwards. I couldn't tell if he was leaning in, but his hands gently cupped my face and—

BEEP BEEP BEEP

In an instant we both pulled away. I grabbed the door handle and bolted out of the tiny space, disappearing into the crowd as fast as I could. If I could have any power at this point, it would be invisibility.

I couldn't tell if Jamie had followed me, but I didn't dare look behind. I needed to get away from there. I needed to breathe. I ran mindlessly through the house, trying to find an exit, anything that would get me out of this hellhole I was stuck in.

I finally came across the back door and practically stumbled through it, gasping as I walked out into the yard and found an outdoor chair to sit in, flopping down. It was metal and uncomfortable, but it was the only thing out here besides the dirty ground.

I didn't know why I had gotten so upset, why I was so angry with him. Why wasn't I happy he remembered me? Was it because he never talked to me again? Was it the fact that even though he kissed me six years ago, he never even decided to tell me his feelings? Was he embarrassed of me?

Jamie had occupied my heart and brain for years, and I had only been this girl in the back of his mind. I was stored away like some lost piece of treasure he never really wanted. I guess it wasn't a good thing that I finally found out he remembered. It only showed me that he never cared. That I was just some girl he gave his first kiss to.

Maybe this was exactly what I needed to finally wake up and get my head out of the clouds, because boys like Jamie didn't go for girls like me. And as sad as that reality was, it was just the truth.