CHAPTER ELEVEN.

BIRTHDAY BASH

"This doesn't look like 'a small get-together.'"

Mitch was right. Angeline's birthday party had officially started twenty minutes ago and Paige's house was already filled with teenagers desperate to have a good time. She sat in the passenger side seat, her favourite little black dress on and and her hair and makeup done to look nothing less than professional.

She shot the man beside her an apologetic smile. "Okay, so it might be a little bit more than a few friends..."

"No shit," Mitch scoffed, running his large hand across his chin as he watched a group of guys walk up the long drive to the front door.

"Look, I'll walk home with Ciara and I'll be no later than, like, three. You don't have to wait up for me, just put the gate on pin-mode or whatever and I can just buzz myself in," Angeline proposed, not looking at him as she pulled down the sun visor to reapply her cranberry lipstick in the mirror.

"I'll be waiting," Mitch said. "No longer than three."

"Okay, deal. Thanks, Mitch." Angeline slid her phone into the small bag she had brought with her and flung it over her shoulder. "See you at three."

She heard him sigh as Angeline pulled open the door and climbed out onto the pavement, the warm night air causing goosebumps to momentarily rise on her bare arms. Mitch didn't pull away from the curb until Angeline was all the way at the front door and being pulled into Paige's arms.

"You're here," Paige grinned. "And you look hot as fuck, birthday girl."

"Thanks, Paige," the brunette replied, reciting similar words back to her friend. "Are Ciara and Darcy here yet?"

"Mhm. They're somewhere on the dancefloor." The blonde girl dragged her by the wrist to where the bar was, pouring her a shot. "First shot of alcohol as an adult. Go ahead."

Angeline smirked a little, clinking the shot glass against Paige's before the pair of teenagers both downed the alcohol. It warmed Angeline's chest and made her throat feel a little tighter, but in a way that had her craving more. She wanted to forget about how her family had forgotten her birthday and there was no better way to do it than with alcohol, good music, and her friends.

"Another, another," Angeline cheered above the loud music.

She waited for Paige to pour another as she leant against the bar behind her, looking at all of the flashing neon lights casting around the house. Hundreds of rich teenagers were having the times of their lives and Angeline found herself watching all of them, silently deciding who would forever live off their parents money and who would have genuinely successful futures.

Most of them were all fake as hell, but there were some good ones out there. A few of them came up to Angeline to say 'happy birthday' as she drank next to Paige. Some people were already pissed, and if this was like every other party of Paige's, people were most likely smoking high outside by the pool or doing some Class A drugs down in the basement.

Hip-hop was playing through the speakers, the bass causing the entire house to vibrate as Paige and Angeline monouvered their way through the crowds of people to try and find the other half of their friends. Her brown eyes landed on a familiar mop of blonde hair and Angeline paused in her tracks.

"What the fuck are they doing here?" Angeline burst, causing Paige to stop.

Paige's blue eyes scanned the crowd, narrowing on Levi and Grace who were making out against one of the pillars, his hands squeezing her ass through the tight jeans she wore. Angeline felt anger ignite in her chest, wondering what the hell made them think that they could turn up to her birthday party after she had made it clear how much she despised the both of them. 

"I didn't invite them, I swear," Paige promised.

The alcohol was already buzzing through Angeline's system, but if she was being real, she would have confronted them even if she was sober. Paige followed as the brunette stopped behind them, her dainty hands gripping them both by their shoulders and yanking them apart.

"Levi, Grace," she put on an exaggerated grin. "So cool of the two of you to turn up to my birthday party. Only..." She started to pout. "I checked the guest list and you weren't fucking invited."

Angeline's face was as hard as rocks, no signs of cracking anytime soon. Levi glanced down at the short girl with his bloodshot eyes and swollen lips, chuckling as he shook his head.

"Aw, no need to be like that. Don't get yourself so worked up, Angel."

"You know what?" Angeline suddenly yelled, although above the music and singing she was barely heard by anybody else. "You know fucking what, Levi?"

She yanked on his shirt and shoved him as hard as she could against the staircase he'd been kissing Grace against, watching gladly as he winced.

"I am so fucking sick and tired of men speaking condescendingly to me as if I'm some sort of idiot that can't comprehend basic English language!" She snapped. "Don't use that fucking tone with me, don't call me Angel, and don't ever fucking bother turning up to one of Paige's parties ever again. Either of you!"

Levi and Grace stared at Angeline in surprise before Grace was tugging on his arm and whispering something about leaving. The blonde boy stared at Angeline with a clenched jaw for a second longer before he gave in to the tugs on his denim jacket, following Grace towards the front door.

"Hell yeah, Angel," Darcy's cocky voice came from behind them, causing the brunette to turn on her spot.

She was wearing a smug smile on her painted lips, one of the shortest skirts that Angeline had ever seen on her legs and a lacy crop top on her top half. Darcy had spiced up her outfit with more chains and some jewellery, looking like every father's worst nightmare.

"You put those assholes in their place." Darcy watched where they left before averting her eyes to the Lewis girl and leaning to speak against her ear. "Kinda turned me on."

Angeline was left breathless by Darcy's straightforwardness. Paige was talking to Ciara a few feet away, completely oblivious to how close Angeline and Darcy were standing. The brunette girl swallowed thickly, not used to this kind of attention from girls.

She'd had a boyfriend before Levi, but those two were the only people she'd ever done stuff with. Unless making out with Ciara that one time counted, or the stranger she'd kissed at the beach for a dare once.

"Yeah?" Angeline replied breathlessly, her eyes flickering from Darcy's green ones to her full lips.

All she wanted to do was smash her lips against hers and dance with her to the Arctic Monkeys song playing loud throughout the house.

"Guys!" Paige squealed. "We have to dance to this."

What the Hell by Avril Lavigne blasted loudly and Angeline was being tugged to the dance floor. Ciara handed everyone red solo cups filled with fruity cider and the four began to sing the lyrics loudly, Angeline's cloudy mind drifting completely away from the moment she had just shared with Darcy.

Just like every party, the girls stood in the very centre of the floor, batting off boys that came too close and enjoying each other's presence. Darcy was on alcohol duty, topping their cups up every time they ran out.

Around midnight, Angeline had no idea what number she was on. All she knew was that her head felt heavy and her body was reacting to everything in slow motion. She laughed at the smallest things, zoning out for entire songs and snapping back to reality when Paige got excited over whatever song was playing next.

A small game of Never Have I Ever took place by the bar for about half an hour, led by the Queen Bee herself. About fifty people joined in, and it ended when a girl started to throw up over herself.

"Fuck this!" Paige huffed, rolling her eyes as she came back with tissues to clean everything up. "How did a fucking freshman end up here, anyway?"

Angeline just giggled as she watched Paige cover it up half heartedly. Flashing Lights by Kanye West started to play and Angeline felt the need to dance, looking around for a friend to join. She spotted Ciara by one of the couches, her tongue halfway down a girl's throat.

"Here."

Darcy handed her a red solo cup and Angeline gulped it down until there was none left. "You wanna dance?" She called over the music.

Darcy's arms wrapped around Angeline's neck and she was pulled close to her body. She peered up slightly into the green eyes, smiling a little as she copied Darcy's actions, the two of them dancing with each other— or more like against each other

As I recall, I know you love to show off

But I never thought that you would take it this far

What do I know?

"Fuck it," Darcy whispered under her breath, diving forwards and crashing her lips against Angeline's.

Angeline groaned into Darcy's mouth, tasting all of the bitter alcohol on her breath. The brunette loved it— she kissed Darcy deeper, her arms moving from around her neck to her waist.

Darcy didn't like Angeline taking the lead and her hands moved to grip the smaller girl's hips, tugging her forward so their bodies pressed against one another. Angeline gasped into the kiss, making the blonde pull away and start to kiss down her jaw.

Angeline kept her close as Darcy left sloppy kisses against her neck, sucking on the spot below her ear that had the brown-eyed girl seeing stars. She moaned quietly, her hands moving back and tugging a little at Darcy's curls.

"You're so fucking hot," Darcy pressed kisses all the way down to Angeline's exposed collarbones, making the brunette pull her back up.

"Not here," she whispered.

Darcy's green eyes lit up in excitement as if she couldn't quite believe what Angeline had said. Angeline clasped the teenage girl's hand and they headed for the staircase, moving up whilst small giggles escaped the brunette's lips. She staggered down the hall, blurry vision looking for one of the many guest rooms in Paige's home.

She found an empty one and they entered. Angeline was pushed up against the door as soon as she shut it, her breath hitching when she felt Darcy's breath back on her neck. It hit the hickies that she had made before, making Angeline whine. She wished she could turn around to see Darcy's face, but the girl had a good grip on her.

"Dar- Darcy," Angeline whimpered. "Please."

"Oh, come on, Angel," Darcy chuckled darkly from behind her. "Use your words. Cat hasn't got your tongue now, does it?"

"N-No," she mumbled, closing her eyes when she felt her lips reattach to her neck. "Please, Darcy. Let- let me touch you."

Darcy grinned widely as she pulled back, her grip softening so that Angeline could turn back around. As soon as she did, the brunette was kissing Darcy hard on the lips, her tongue slipping into her mouth. She pushed Darcy towards the bed, the blonde falling down as soon as the back of her knees hit the mattress.

Angeline crawled on top of her, legs either side of Darcy's torso as she took her time kissing down Darcy's pale skin, taking advantage of finally having control. Darcy made sure to remind Angeline who was really in charge, her hands holding on Angeline's hips and squeezing every time she did something particularly good.

The blonde moved her hands to the bottom of Angeline's black dress and she peeled it up and past her head, and smoothed her hands up and down Angeline's curves. The heat on Angeline's skin started to feel more intense, her head even heavier. When she blinked, everything was a blur, and then she blinked again and everything was fine.

"Are you okay?" Darcy's voice sounded underwater.

"Mhm," Angeline was lying to herself as well as Darcy.

She rolled off of Darcy and laid beside her on the queen-size bed, pursing her lips together and humming to herself, her eyes closing.

"Really tired," she slurred.

Angeline wasn't sure why this had come on so quickly, but the next time she blinked she could see Darcy standing up a few feet away, going through something. She tried to prop herself up onto her elbows, but her body felt too heavy.

"Darcy, what- what's going on?" She asked. "What are you..."

"Shh," Darcy glanced up from whatever was in her hands. "You've drunk too much, Angel. Sleep for a bit."

Angeline did as she was told, or rather she had no choice, her body shutting down as she fell into a deep state of unconsciousness.

...

Angeline's legs felt weak as she searched the dance floor for one of her friends. She found Ciara next to the beer pong table, watching a couple of guys from Angeline's biology class play against each other. The bubblegum-haired girl smirked as soon as her dark eyes landed on the teenage girl and she grabbed her hand, pulling her away from the small crowd.

"How was it? You guys were up there for a long time."

"Hmm?" Angeline hummed, swaying slightly.

"Your first time with a girl, dumbass," Ciara snickered.

"Oh," Angeline giggled. "I can't really remember... just that she's a really good kisser."

Ciara raised her brows with a small grin. "That good, huh?"

The brunette shrugged, assuming that must be it. When she said she couldn't remember, she was being honest. She must have been drunk off her ass because when she woke up Darcy was beside her on the bed, just waking up as well. Darcy said she couldn't remember much either, but they'd fallen asleep after... doing it.

"Wha- What time is it, Ci?"

Her friend pulled out her phone from the back pocket of her jeans and checked. "Half two."

Angeline frowned. "Half to what?"

"No, idiot. Half past two in the morning," Ciara scolded her slightly with a roll of the eyes.

"Oh, shit!" Angeline giggled. "I'm a lil late home."

Paige was suddenly rushing over, bold lips turning up into a smile as she grabbed Angeline and led her over to where the DJ was. Angeline's ears felt like they were going to burst from how loud the music was as they got close to the speakers and she watched the blonde beauty say something in the DJ's ears before he was handing her the microphone and turning the music down.

"Hi, guys!" Paige greeted, earning cheers from people in the house. "Thanks so much for coming out tonight for Angeline's eighteenth birthday. I have great news, we got cake! If you guys on the dancefloor could part for Josh then that would be great."

Angeline smiled a little when people did as the queen bee told them to, Josh, a boy Paige knew, came through with a huge cake and eighteen candles on top. People were singing happy birthday to her but she didn't even feel uncomfortable, way too buzzed on alcohol to even think about what she should do with her hands.

The cake was baby pink and said 'happy birthday angel!' in hot pink icing, a shit ton of glitter tossed onto it. It looked like something Angeline would have reblogged on Tumblr when she was thirteen, and she adored it. Once everybody had finished singing, she blew out the candles and laughed at the cheers she received.

"Thanks, guys!" Angeline called before the music returned and people went back to whatever they were doing. "Paige, I kinda have a curfew tonight--"

Paige looked appalled. "Oh my God, girl! It's your eighteenth birthday party, nobody has a curfew on their birthday. You're sleeping here tonight."

"Okay," Angeline agreed without much thought, completely forgetting all about Mitch who was probably having a heart attack right now.

...

Around four, Angeline sat in a circle with her friends and some others from Fair Hill High outside on the grass, a fire going on in the middle of them. A can of cider was in her hand as she glanced towards the house, watching as people still had the time of their lives, music thumping and teenagers dancing.

A game of Suck and Blow was going on, and so far Paige had made out with James from Chemistry and Ciara had kissed another guy, much to her dismay. The card had been ripped a little every time it had been dropped, so by now it was nearly in half, making it harder to pass around the circle with their lips.

When it got to Darcy, who was sitting next to Angeline, the girl took it from the boy on the other side and was about to press it to Angeline's lips when she accidentally dropped the card. A chorus of 'oohs' came from the teenagers all around them, some who weren't even participating in the game and just watching.

Angeline reached behind Darcy's head and grabbed the back of her neck, tugging her close so that their lips smashed together. She ignored the whoops and cheers from a bunch of teenage boys, wondering if they'd have the same energy if two boys kissed and knowing the answer.

Darcy held Angeline's jaw, the kiss ending about ten seconds later when Paige laughed, "Okay, we get it!"

Angeline pulled away and the two girls giggled at each other, Darcy's thumb moving from Angeline's jaw to swipe at the brunette's lips which were shiny and swollen. Before she could say anything, a guy called Jordan was coming over, bringing the stench of weed with him.

"Yo, Angel," he called, jerking his thumb back towards the house. "Dude inside is looking for you. Said his name is Mitch."

"Oh, fuck." The teenage girl stood up and turned to face the circle who were all looking at her expectantly. "Thanks all for the great time tonight. If you don't see me on Monday it's cos I was due home at three. Peace out."

She did a salute with her fingers, earning laughs from the school mates. Paige got up and gave her a hug and Ciara went after, squeezing Angeline tighter.

"I have a bad feeling," Ciara mumbled against her.

Angeline frowned as she pulled away. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know, it's probably the weed I smoked earlier," she laughed, making Angeline giggle and shake her head back.

"You scared me, idiot," Angeline shoved Ciara's shoulder.

"Sorry," the bubblegum-haired girl grinned. "See ya Monday."

Angeline repeated her words before she smiled in the direction of Darcy and started to head towards the house. As soon as she was back inside it felt like the temperature had gone up by ten degrees and the smell of alcohol was intense. She wandered to the front door, seeing Mitch stood by himself next to it, hazel eyes scanning the crowds.

When they landed on her he sighed in relief, moving to grab her wrist. "I said three," Mitch glared.

"I know, I know," Angeline winced. "I'm sorry, I- I lost track of time."

"You're wasted," Mitch sighed, running a large palm down his face as he pulled her outside and towards the car parked at the curb. "Your father's not going to be happy in the morning. You didn't tell me you were supposed to be having dinner with your family last night."

"Didn't want to go," Angeline said as he peeled open the passenger side door.

Mitch's hands were helping her into her seat and she fiddled with the seatbelt for too long, annoying him. He leaned across her and plugged it in himself before he slammed the door and went around to his side, climbing in.

"Did you have fun?" Mitch sighed after a few minutes.

Angeline nodded tiredly, head leaning against the glass. "Oh it was fun alright."

Mitch squirmed a little at what she was insinuating, his hazel eyes flickering off the road momentarily and over to the girl. Angeline's eyes were closed as she leant against the door and she'd curled her legs up onto the seat, nearly dozing off right there.

"Hey," he tapped her bare leg. "Legs down. If we got into-"

"A car accident, my legs would break, I know," Angeline sighed before she added, "but that, Mr Rapp, is a risk I am willing to take."

Mitch scoffed and shook his head in amusement. The smile dropped from his face when he glanced over, the streetlight lighting Angeline's skin up and illuminating some hickies on her neck. Any amusement he had felt simmered down and he sighed through his nose, thankful that the empty roads meant they'd get home quicker.

"My dad's gonna be so mad," Angeline whispered as they pulled up to the road the Lewis household was situated down.

Mitch looked at her and found her with her head in her hands. "He went to bed. As long as you nurse that hangover properly in the morning you can lie about where you were."

"No," Angeline whimpered and she felt tears burn in her eyes. "He forgot my birthday a-and now he's gonna hit me or something."

Sober Angeline would never open up like this-- she used humour to mask her pain and she never brought up things that she couldn't mention without tearing up. Especially not to somebody like Mitch, who wasn't Paige or Ciara. The alcohol was making her brain go foggy and she didn't even realise she was crying, she was just zoning in and out of her own head in the seat, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Hey," Mitch said softly. "I won't let him touch you, okay?"

"Okay," Angeline sniffed as they pulled into the driveway.

However, Mr Lewis wasn't asleep like Mitch had thought-- he was standing at the door and he looked pissed.

..

so this isn't really proofread or anything but oh well

yeah so darcy's not really all that ++ things KICK OFF next chapter i swear

dyiansobrien