We lost. Yep. We lost. And it was a bad one. 

The score was 116 to 71. It was our playoffs and it couldn't have gone worse. Restwood High got a new guard on their team, this new kid named Anthony Cotton, and, man, was he good. He blocked off every one of our shots; he was tall and built good for a basketball player. Really young too, from what I heard. He's a junior on the varsity team. Not bad coming from Restwood but it's still a big thing for him. I would know.

I got to meet him before we played actually. At the party. I knew why he was avoiding eye contact with me throughout the game. When I saw him run out onto the court I was shocked. He didn't say he was going to Restwood High. When we were at the party there was barely any room for a real, friend like conversation. 

My brother is a sophomore in college and he was invited to a party; he said his frat days were long past him but who does he thinks he's kidding. Despite majoring in Computer Science this guy is the dumbest person in the world. He would literally hop in any car as long as the driver has both hands on the wheel. I honestly kind of invited myself to this party but nobody literally cared. I knew most of his friends anyways; we always play basketball together whenever they come over. Collin always said, when he's sober, "No one in college will care about you, lil bro."

The party was last Thursday. My curfew was at 10:30, but since my parents are trying to do a better job at being parents- or at least trying to do what their therapists tells them to do- I was now having a 'Leave By'; for those of you who don't know, a 'Leave By' system is a system in which you are supposed to leave by X o'clock instead of having a curfew. This is supposed to be a better version of curfew because curfew is an unreliable system. If my curfew is at 10:00 and traffic is really bad, realistically I am not going to get home by 10:00. So instead I leave the house by 6:00 and therefore should return home early.

Can you tell what type of people make up my family? 

Having said that, we get to this party at around 8:00 and it was really getting started. I was given the general layout of the party. Bedrooms were upstairs, the games were happening in the formal dining room, the 'food' was in the kitchen, the fuzz and mothers are to stay in the backyard, and in the living room is where the dancing is. 

I honestly wanted to stay in the car this time but Collin made me get out. I hated parties if I am being honest. Everything, and I mean literal anything, that a guy could want could be found at this party. I just wasn't interested. I would like to keep my good health and besides these people are too much for me. I just like sitting without the burden of conversation on me, just enjoying the joyous sound of the vibrant quiet. In simpler terms, I am the secret nerdy, quiet kid who is popular but really wishes he wasn't. It isn't all that great up here. It was for the first few months but then you see how messed up it really is here.

So we go deeper into the house and everything hits me very hard. There are these annoying strobe lights blasting me in the eye, the smell of alcohol and cigarettes were heavily perfumed in this area, and I saw a total of 13 people go up the stairs. I break away from Collin and head to the backyard, which is thankfully empty.

I sit down and stare at the stars. It's such a shame that one of the best stargazing places is on the campus yet I can never see them when I am here. I am always running after Collin and his stupid friends. I made a promise to myself not to turn out like him when I get to college. Coach told me that I have a good chance of getting a scholarship if I keep doing good in school and basketball. All I got to do is keep up my good work for the rest of high school and keep my nose clean in college. I definitely want to get a dormitory on campus, I don't think I could handle living with Mom and Dad any longer. As soon as I am 18 I am getting the heck out of there. 

"Oh, sorry, I thought this area would be empty."

I turn around to meet the voice of the person. My first thought was this guy was looking really relaxed. I would know what relaxed looks like because I was never. His shoulders were resting comfortably and he had a cigarette loosely hanging from his lips, not lit though. 

"Sorry, I don't like parties. I was just trying to get away," I said honestly. I was immediately uncomfortable when he sat down next to me. I am your typical anxious, introverted guy that everyone thinks is so hot and attractive but I can tell you it is not; nothing hot about literally feeling like you're about to die in the school bathroom. 

"Yeah, I don't like them either," the guy said nonchalantly. 

"And yet you're here?" I said, accusing him more than just plain saying it. 

"A friend of mine invited me." The cigarette danced around the lips as he talked. 

"You?" he says.

"Me what?"

"Why are you here?"

"My brother."

He stared at me thoughtfully then shrugged his shoulder. Thankfully he looked up at the sky and stopped talking. I looked up again but more tensed. It was a 2 seater and he was sitting uncomfortably close. When he wrapped his arm around the sofa I sat up straighter, moving away from him. 

"Are you okay?" the guy asks

"Yeah," I lie between my teeth. I was breathing very hard, trying to force my crappy self to stay alive.

He grabs my hand which controls the shaking. My eyes bulge and start to dart around the place, looking for a place to go. That usually works in most cases, just lie about something and leave but I knew it wasn't going to work in this instance. I was going to lie about my phone then cursed myself for leaving my phone in the car. Collin's dumb rules, screw him. 

"You know how to use a lighter?" the guy asks casually.

"What?"

He pulled out a lighter and placed it in my hand. His eyes point out his lighter than his cigarette, indicating to light it up. I tried to light it up a couple a time but it kept on going out. It was starting to get to me. Just light the stupid lighter than leave! 

He wretched the lighter out of my hands and was holding it in front of my face. He held his thumb over the button and said "Go to fast the button can't register it. Go to slow and it takes to long-" he pressed it once and the flame came alive between our two eyes. "You just got to find the perfect time."

Then out of nowhere I saw him throw away his unlit cigarette into the grass and press himself against me, his mouth against mine. He turned out sideways and all of a sudden I found a pair of arms wrap around me. 

I was shocked but I wasn't doing something. At the same time I wasn't doing nothing. I just sat there. 

And the weird thing is I didn't mind.