(present)

"Fuckin' A!"

The crowd cheered, as the guy who yelled raised his cup and banged his head along the beat of the music. The base was so strong you could literally feel it if you touched the walls of the house.

I shook my head, making my way through the sea of bodies.

It was Friday night. We just won a game. Naturally, there was a party at someone's house. By the time I got here about an hour ago, it was already in full swing.

I nodded to Connie and Frisco when I got near them by the fireplace. I let them have a conversation while my eyes scanned the place. Some people were dancing carelessly in the middle of the room, some were sucking faces at corners, some were pulling pranks against the sophomores, some were playing cards, and the rest were simply talking.

Same old fucking high school party.

A random guy who was enthusiastically jumping up and down came out of nowhere and was about to collide with Connie. I grabbed the hem of her leather jacket and pulled her out of the way, causing for the moron to fall head first on the floor.

We stared at his unmoving body.

"Is he passed out?" Frisco asked.

I shrugged. "Looks like it."

"Noob," Connie muttered disgustedly, sipping from her red cup.

My lips curled up in a crooked smile.

Frisco chuckled as he handed Connie his cup of beer. He then helped the passed out dude get up and walked him to the nearest chair. When he returned, he took the cup from Connie, and said, "Not all of us have attended high school parties since we were twelve."

Connie snorted. "You turned out fine."

"I'm a quick learner."

"Yeah, good boy," she complimented, patting his head like a dog.

"Knock yourself out." Frisco grinned, while he lowered his curly head.

Connie laughed and shoved his head away.

"You look happier," I mentioned, watching her.

She flashed me a genuine smile, which was pretty damn rare when it came to her.

"Maybe I am."

"Having the crazy bitch out of your life that good, huh?"

As soon as the divorce her dad filed had gotten finalized last week, she'd been less bitchy and more playful. It was refreshing seeing her this good.

"Understatement of the century, pal," she replied.

"Damn, just when I was getting used to being your knight in shining armor."

"You're no knight."

I sneered. "And you're no damsel."

Frisco snickered, while Connie's jaw dropped. When she recovered, she gritted her teeth and punched me on my arm. And since this was Connie we were talking about, it wasn't an ordinary hit. It felt like a motherfucking wrecking ball without Miley on it.

"Son of a bitch," I hissed, wincing a bit and stretching my arm. "At least, remove your goddamn rings before you strike." She had on like four, and it wouldn't have hurt as much without them feeling like needles on my skin.

She laughed darkly. "Need some cheese with that whine?"

"Said by the dickless dude," I muttered.

With that, I took off before she could hit me again. I heard Frisco laughing his ass off, quickly followed by a groan. Ha. I didn't have to turn around to know that he got it from Connie, too.

I headed to the kitchen to fill up my cup from the keg, nodding to Alfie when I passed him. He was preoccupied by his girl of the night. Being the star quarterback gave him access to as many pussies as he wanted, after all.

As for me, I only hunted when I got an itch to scratch.

When my cup was full, I took a swig. I leaned back on the counter and took note of my surroundings. It was a wonder how I wasn't tired of this same old shit. But then, this was a helluva lot better than staying at home like a lonely fucker.

"Just a little more."

I turned at the familiar voice. My eyebrows slightly raised in surprise when I realized it was sweatpants girl. Okay, I seriously needed to stop calling her that. She had a name.

Halo.

She was filling up her cup from the punch bowl. I winced. The keg was way cleaner than that shit. Who knew what people spiked that all night with?

When she was done, she raised her head and frowned. Her eyes scanned the room, her frown deepening. She craned her neck, clearly looking for someone. Her body slightly wobbled, causing her to almost lose her balance. She giggled at her silliness. Then, she sighed and looked down at her cup as if she gave up.

I hesitated if I should come over and talk to her. Then I realized, what the hell was I hesitating for, acting like a fucking wimp? Sheesh.

I went to her, lowering the beer in my hand as I came up behind her and leaned closer to her ear. I whispered, "You look lost."

She jumped and whipped around to face me. This time, she really might've had lost her balance if I hadn't grabbed her arm to steady her.

"Oh, it's you," she breathed out, waving a hand dismissively.

"Disappointed?"

She giggled. "That's what you think."

I studied her, noticing that her eyes were a bit glazed. The corner of my lips curled up. She was tipsy, maybe even drunk. This night was getting more and more interesting.

"Anyway, I'm not lost," she stated, pursing her lips. "I'm simply wandering around."

I watched her heave another sigh. Her hair was sticking to her forehead from the heat. I had no idea what kind of alcohol was in her system, but the air in the house must be suffocating for her.

"Do you wanna 'wander' outside?" I offered. "Fresh air and all."

She smiled widely and nodded. "Yes, please!"

I led her outside, thankful that most of the people were inside the house.

"You came here alone?" I asked, my eyes running down her body.

She was wearing another summer dress, with a denim jacket over it. She looked way too cute for her own good.

"No, I came with my friends. They're," she paused and frowned, as if having a hard time trying to remember, "around."

We walked towards the couch swing at the other side of the yard, getting far enough from the noisy party. I helped her get settled first, then I sat beside her. She took a deep breath and leaned back with her eyes getting heavier, while my elbows where on my knees as I stared at the pool.

"You shouldn't wander around by yourself," I told her.

"I bumped into you. I'd say it's doing me gooood," she giggled, taking a sip from her cup. "You're welcome, by the way."

"For what?"

Although, I knew what she was talking about.

"For the free beer."

I looked at her, leaning back on the swing. Her eyes were closed, while she put her fingers on her lips and smiled as if saying she could keep a secret.

"Why'd you save us that time?" I couldn't help but ask. It had been bugging me all week. The curiosity was fucking killing me.

"He was mean to my gay friend," she pouted, half-opening her eyes and looking at me. "I'm no angel. Who was I to stop you?"

I couldn't, for the life of me, figure out this girl. And hell, that was saying something. I was pretty damn sharp. Not when it came to her, apparently.

"'Sides," she said with her words beginning to turn a little slurry, giving me a pointed look, "why do you think I covered up so much when I was there?" Her face scrunched up in grimace. "He's a perv."

I burst out laughing. That sure explained the outfit.

"Hey," she whispered, when my laugh subsided. It was kinda obvious that she was struggling to keep a straight face. "I think someone spiked the punch."

I shrugged. "Maybe someone did."

"Oh, no," she gasped, a hand flying to her mouth. "I'll get drunk!"

You already are.

She looked at me with horrified eyes.

"I'm underage!"

I didn't even realize I was smiling while I watched her.

"I'm not a cop," I assured her.

"I know that," she replied, rolling her eyes as if I said something stupid. "You're the football team's running back."

I cocked my head curiously. "What else do you know about me?"

I'd never been this interested in knowing what someone thought of me. But this girl was hard to read. I'd take what I could get.

"Not much," she answered nonchalantly. "Just that you're sometimes," she covered her face with her free hand and peeked at me through her fingers before adding, "scary."

I didn't speak for a moment.

"Do I scare you?" I asked quietly.

"No, I think you're interesting."

I blinked. This girl was so fucking weird.

She removed her hand from her face and closed her eyes, continuing, "You're like a mystery that needs solving. I like mysteries."

I smiled crookedly. "Oh, yeah?"

She nodded and gave me a thumbs up, without looking at me. "I'm obsessed with CSI and Law & Order. I'm also addicted to thriller novels because it gives me such," she paused dramatically, "thrill."

I laughed out loud – again.

"You're such a dork, you know that?"

"I'm adorkable," she grinned at me.

Ain't that the truth.

She moaned, swinging her body sideways like a kid about to have her tantrum. "High school parties are fun."

"Is this your first time attending one?" I asked, staring at her.

"Yup." She leaned closer to me with a serious face and lowered her voice, saying, "My friends sneaked me out." She giggled. "Pops thinks I'm sleeping over at Brooklyn's tonight. But you know what?"

"What?"

"I'm not," she whispered, looking at me like it was the best thing ever.

I chuckled. After rubbing my face with a hand, I stared at her with a smile that was plastered on my face. Cool thing was, she didn't look away and gazed right back. I got to see those purple orbs up close – even if they were technically half-closed.

"I miss that look," she mumbled.

I blinked, taken aback by her statement. She was staring at me, dazed by what she was seeing. I looked at her questioningly.

"No," she whined, her brows furrowing. "Don't do that." Without warning, she threw away her cup and reached out to grab my face, slapping me in the process because she was drunk as fuck and she was probably seeing doubles. Stretching my cheeks, she said, "Smile!"

I was too shocked to move a muscle, frozen on the spot.

"Oh, my gosh! Halo!"

I heard footsteps nearing us, but all I could see was Halo's droopy adorkable purple eyes. And I didn't complain. They were fucking out of this world.

"I'm so sorry!" a girl said frantically, removing Halo's warm hands on me.

When my eyes turned to the two newcomers, it was their turn to freeze. Yeah, I had that effect on people.

"Holy crap on sticks," the guy gasped. I wasn't sure how, but I automatically knew that he was the friend Halo was referring to earlier. Must be the green hair.

"That's an odd visual," I commented.

They didn't reply.

"You're Halo's friends."

They nodded cautiously.

"She's pretty drunk," I informed them.

"That's what this is," Halo beamed, facepalming. She looked at her friends, got to her feet, and bounced towards them happily. "Brooklyn! Milo! I'm drunk!"

The girl named Brooklyn bit her lip to keep herself from laughing. "You'll so regret this in the morning," she said in amusement, grabbing Halo's arm and putting it around her shoulders.

"Oz!"

My head turned to the voice. Frisco was calling from the house. He waved his hand, telling me to come over. He looked like he was freaking out. Shit.

"Problem!"

I nodded, then turned to Halo's friends.

"You got her?"

They nodded again.

My eyes landed on Halo, whose eyelids were almost closed now. "Later, dork," I murmured, lightly pinching her cheek. With that, I turned to leave.

"Sayonara, Wizard of Oz!"

Shaking my head, I couldn't help the grin that creeped up to my lips.

_____________

Why is it that y'all like Halo when she only had a couple of appearances? Why don't you like Snow? :( But you gotta admit, Halo was so adorbs in this chappie. Haha! #HalOz

Dedicating the next chapter to whoever comments the funniest thing they ever said to someone. ;)