I checked my makeup for the tenth time in a row. It was a bit more than I usually wore. I added a hint of eye shadow and eye liner in addition to the foundation, mascara, and eyebrows I usually had on.

I walked to the kitchen and pulled out the vodka my mom had in her cupboard. I filled a shot glass and allowed it to burn down my throat. Vodka was a substitute for anxiety pills. My mom would never even think of taking me to the doctor for something like that, which was ironic really because she probably needed the medication as much as me.

I felt my phone buzzing, and I grabbed it from my back pocket.

Jo had snapped me. She was trying to talk me into going to this sketchy house with her. I'm pretty sure the guys who lived there were crackheads, so I decided to sit this one out. Besides, I already told Liam I would play his dumb game tonight.

Liam's name appeared on my screen. Why was he calling? Why couldn't he just snap me like a normal person?

I contemplated not answering and ditching him tonight. I took a deep breath and put the phone to my ear. "Uhm. Hi."

"Hey. We're here can you let us in?" Liam's voice was on the other end.

"Sure." I hung up and walked to the entrance of our small apartment building.

There was a brown haired girl with a smiling face who looked about our age, Liam, and Jack. I awkwardly smiled and opened the door.

"Holy fuck, it's cold." Jack mumbled.

I didn't mind the weather though. This was my favorite time of year.

Owen was at his dad's house for the weekend, making it so I could go out tonight. He wasn't a part of his life until about two months ago. I'm pretty sure my mom didn't even tell the father about him until recently. I had never met his dad and knew nothing about him, but he seemed to be a better caretaker than an alcoholic mom and a depressed 17 year old.

"We're gonna head over to Tyler's house and chill there for awhile. Brady is there too." Liam explained.

We approached a gray truck that said "Silverado" on the front. It wasn't new, but it was well taken care of.

"I call shotgun!" Jack yelled ripping open the door.

"Fuck off. Charlie gets the front." Liam said as he unlocked the doors. I gave Jack a smug look, knowing that he couldn't win this battle.

I opened the passenger door and climbed in. A fresh aroma filled my nose. It smelt like fall, and that was the best way to explain it.

The car ride was mostly Liam and Jack talking and making jokes. The brown haired girl, whose name I still didn't know, occasionally made comments. I silently listened to them. They were all really funny and witty, and I enjoyed the banter amongst them.

"You're always so quiet, Charlie." Jack said just as we pulled into Tyler's driveway. His house was huge with three stories.

I shrugged not knowing what to say.

"Why?" He asked.

"Jack." Liam shot him a glare.

"I just don't have a lot to say." I shrugged.

He accepted that as a good enough answer, and we all crawled out of Liam's truck. I stayed close behind Liam as we entered the house.

"Hey you brought some pussy!" One of the two guys on the couch yelled. They were both holding controllers in their hands with eyes focused on a large flat screen tv with cars chasing a ball on it.

"You're such a dumb ass." Liam rolled his eyes then looked down at me. "Do you want anything to drink or eat?"

I shook my head no and gave him a polite smile.

Jack was already on the couch along with the other boys. I felt awkward and out of place, but the brown haired girl next to me seemed just as awkward. I found it comforting.

"Don't listen to any of the guys they're idiots. Just ask Lauren." He attempted a smile at me and nodded to the brown haired girl.

Lauren. That was her name.

"OHHHHH!" The tall blonde haired boy jumped up. "In your face Brady!"

"Fuck off." The chunkier boy, Brady, rolled his eyes and tossed the control next to him.

"You wanna play?" The standing boy looked towards Liam and me. I'm assuming his name was Tyler.

Liam looked at me with an eyebrow raised. "I'll go easy on you."

"Oh please, I'll totally kick your ass." I said.

I had played Rocket League many times. My moms ex boyfriend left his Playstation at our apartment, and I played it whenever I got bored or had free time. He tried getting it back a couple of times, but my mom refused to let him anywhere near our apartment. I was thankful because that was also how I watched Netflix.

"Sassy. I like it." Liam winked at me.

I gave him a smug grin and walked towards the couch reaching for a controller. Liam wasn't far behind me.

He stretched out his arms and back like he was about to run a marathon then sat next to me with a controller in hand. He pressed a couple of buttons, and we appeared on a screen seconds later.

•

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" Liam yelled as I scored another goal with four seconds left.

"Told you I was good." I flicked imaginary dust off of my shoulder. I had kicked Liam's ass; four to one.

"You got lucky." He tossed the controller on the floor and stood up.

"Some call it luck. I call it skill." I also stood up not knowing what to do.

"Whatever. Do you have any food here Tyler?" Liam asked.

"Yeah, just look in the fridge." He responded as him and Brady went for the remotes.

I followed Liam into the kitchen. He held the fridge door wide open as he scavenged through items. He finally decided on a cheese stick.

"Do you want anything?" He asked.

"No, thank you." I politely smiled at him.

"Do you know what I like about you Charlie?" Liam leaned on the opposite side of the counter I was leaning on.

I shook my head no. He liked things about me?

"You're so quiet and sweet on the outside, but deep inside of you there's hidden sass." He smiled.

"Hidden sass?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, ya know? Like a side not many people see." He took a bite of his cheese.

I nodded, but I still didn't understand what he was talking about.

Silence fell over us before I finally asked "So how do you know Lauren?"

"Oh, she just moved in across the street from me a week ago. She's actually a senior at tech with us. She moved from the cities." He explained.

"Wow. Switching schools before your senior year? That's gotta suck." I said more to myself than Liam.

"Yeah. My mom talked to her aunt, and she said her house is getting foreclosed on, so her mom sent her to live with her. She doesn't share much, but she's nice. Kind of like you." He took a bite of the cheese stick, and I could tell the conversation was over.

I looked over at Lauren who was sitting on her phone in a chair. I instantly felt for her and thought maybe she wouldn't be as bad as most high school girls.

Minutes later, we got into two different teams. Liam, Lauren and I were against Tyler, Brady, and Jack. I was really nervous and wished for another shot of vodka, but I knew that wasn't going to happen. I found myself wondering if Liam has ever even drank before. He seemed like such a goody two shoes.

I climbed into the front seat of Liam's truck and took a deep breath.

"Are you okay?" Liam asked from the seat next to me.

I gave an awkward smile and nodded.

"Don't worry. I'm not going to drive you to the middle of a forest and chop you into pieces." He chuckled a little and started the car.

"That's reassuring." I mumbled. I wish he would just murder me. That was probably the only way to get my heart to stop racing.

Rap music began playing, and I automatically rolled my eyes. I instantly felt bad, hoping Liam didn't see my rude gesture.

"You don't like rap?" He question.

"Sorry. Whatever music is fine." I apologized. He probably hated me by now.

"Mumble rap is trash." Lauren said from the back seat.

"To be honest, I don't even like it that much either. I just play it cause all my friends give me shit for not listening to it." He turned the dial down.

"What kind of music do you listen to then?" I asked.

"Funny story. I saw you wearing a Mayday Parade shirt one time, and I was like 'who is that,' so I went home and searched them. I've been hooked ever since then." He looked forward and scratched his head.

I smiled. "You actually just got so much more attractive."

"You think I'm attractive?" Liam raised his eyebrows at me.

"I.. uhm.." I felt my face turn bright red. I cannot believe I just said that.

"It's okay, Charlie. Everyone thinks I'm attractive." He finally started pulling out of the driveway.

"I don't think your mom counts as everyone." I smirked at him.

"Ouch." He chuckled. "This is the hidden sass I'm talking about. You go from blushing and quiet to this feisty little girl within seconds."

"Oh. I'm sorry." I bit the inside of my mouth feeling like I was messing everything up.

"You don't have to be sorry for anything. It's quite entertaining actually." Liam smiled.

"If I'm gonna third wheel the whole time, maybe I should go with the other guys." Lauren laughed.

"Maybe. I think Jack kind of has a thing for you." Liam turned around to face her.

"Yeah I noticed. And let's just say there's a reason I chose to third wheel instead of getting in a car with him." She rolled her eyes. I didn't know her very well, but I was beginning to like her.

Liam handed me his phone and allowed me to find a Spotify station on his phone. It took me awhile, but I finally decided to create one based on the band "Brand New." He had no idea what he was missing out on!

"So where are we going?" I finally asked after a minute of silence.

"There's a neighborhood with a huge house up here. Their driveway is at least 600 feet. They have a ton of reflectors going up to the house." He explained.

"What if we get caught?" I asked.

"Then we get in the car and drive as fast as we can." He smiled at me.

He parked along a street with multiple trees scattered along it. All of the leaves were different shades of red and orange. I found night time so relaxing during fall.

"Ready?" Liam pulled me from my deep thoughts about nature and killed the lights on his truck.

I nodded and opened the door, hopping out into the cool air. I inhaled the night around me and felt my heart calming down. Lauren was already on a mission to get the reflectors.

"You okay?" Liam studied me with his hands in his pockets.

"Yeah, sorry." I walked towards him and followed him down the road.

There was a dirt driveway that separated the trees along the road. It lead all the way up to a large brown house.

"How many are we grabbing?" I asked, watching Liam pull a reflector from the grass.

"As many as we can." He walked forward and grabbed another.

There had to be at least a hundred, but I obeyed and began pulling them out of there place.

"What's so funny?" Liam asked me as I plucked my fourth one.

I didn't even realize I was laughing until he pointed it out. A smile took over my face. "This is the dumbest thing I've ever done." I was shocked at how much fun I was having with such a stupid game.

Liam just stared at me, clutching the reflectors. My smile faded, and I stared back.

"You don't get to be a teenager much, do you?" He questioned.

I didn't respond. I just stared at the ground, creating silence between us.

"I'm sorry Charlotte." He turned away from me.

The front lights of the house flickered on, grabbing both of our attention's. I stood there frozen. Shit. We were caught.

"Run!" Lauren yelled and started jogging down the driveway past us. She had at least 20 reflectors in her hands.

I came to my senses after a moment and began running after Liam with more laughter exploding from inside of me. My heart was pumping from the adrenaline running through my veins.

I quickly threw all the reflectors I was holding in the bed of Liam's truck and jumped into the passenger seat. He started the engine and drove off.

"That was crazy!" I smiled.

"Ya think so? We'll have to play more often." Liam turned his head to look at me for a second before focusing on the road again.

His brown hair made his hazel eyes look like trees dancing in the wind. His face was quite flawless, and I wondered what such a beautiful boy was doing wasting his Friday night with such an ugly girl.

"What are you thinking about?" He had caught me staring at him.

"Nothing." I looked away quickly and folded my hands in my lap.

We continued to drive around until ten when we met Tyler, Brady, and Jack at McDonald's. I had a good feeling we were going to win. Liam, Lauren and I stole a ton of reflectors.

"57." Tyler smiled at us.

"Dude, no way! How do you get that many?" Liam asked.

"Because we didn't stop every five minutes to make out with each other." Jack smirked.

"Fuck off. You're just mad you couldn't make out with Lauren." Liam rolled his eyes. "We have 31."

The three boys cheered, and I drowned in disappointment. I really thought we would win.

The fast-food place was nearly empty with the exception of a couple people sitting at tables.

"What do you want Charlotte?" Liam asked me as we stared at the menu.

"Oh, I'm fine thank you." I smiled at him.

"Are you one of those girls?" Brady asked.

"W-what?" I stumbled. I feared they all knew my secret of my eating disorder.

"Where you really want food, but you just hide it because you don't want to seem fat or needy?" He answered.

I shook my head, not knowing what else to say.

"It's fine Charlie. I don't mind spending money on you. If you want anything, I'll pay for it." Liam cut Brady off before he could say anything.

"Really, I'm not hungry. I had a ton of pizza with Owen before you picked me up." I put a fake smile on my face but knew I hadn't eaten anything but a salad today when I got home from school.

The lie seemed to be good enough for him. All of the boys ordered tons of food.

"Lauren do you want anything?" Jack asked.

"Not from you." She laughed and walked up to the counter, placing her own order and paying for it by her own damn self.

I held back a laugh to save Jack's crushed soul.

~~~

"I'll walk you up to your apartment." Liam offered as we pulled into the parking lot. Lauren decided to catch a ride with the other guys, leaving Liam and I alone.

"No, really it's fine." I opened my door.

He turned his engine off and got out anyway. "Charlie this isn't the best neighborhood, and I... just let me walk you up. It would make me feel better."

I knew what he was trying to say. These were not great apartments. Cops came here often, and people were freaks around here.

"Charliee!" I heard a voice say. It was my mom's. She was sitting in front of the door with a lit cigarette, very drunk. My heart raced. Liam stared at me with wide eyes.

"Uhm." was the only thing I could say. I walked towards the door. I unlocked it and embraced my mother who had stood up just to fall on me.

She began laughing. "I made so much money tonight! Pull tabs were good! Who is this person?" She started walking towards Liam.

"Hi, I'm Liam." Liam held his hand out to my mom, but I knew she wasn't going to take it.

"Ahh, are you having sex with my daughter?" My mom abruptly asked. "Ya know Char, I like this guy. He's got a nice face."

"Thanks." Liam responded, but his eyes were locked on mine.

"You should probably go." I wrapped an arm around my mom, stabilizing her.

"Are you gonna be okay with her? Do you need help getting her upstairs?" He asked.

"No, this happens a lot. She'll just sleep it off anyway. Everything will be fine." I assured him. I hated that I admitted the frequent behavior.

"Okay. Snapchat me? Just so I know everything's okay?" He asked, and I nodded.

"Alright, let's get you to bed."

"I wanna see my baby first." My moms words were so slurred I could barely understand her.

"Owen is at his dad's." I explained, dragging her to our apartment.

"That fucking bastard. He thinks he can just take him from me. Well I can get a lawyer toooo." She smiled as I opened the door.

"Wait. What are you talking about?" I asked.

"He thinks he can get custody of him just because he's got some big old fancy job. The least he can do is pay me some damn child support." She pulled herself up the stairs using the railing as well as my body for support.

We finally got to the apartment, and she immediately plopped onto her bed. I quickly got her a bottle of water from the kitchen and brought it back. I tried to ignore the fact that my little brother was going to get taken away from me.

"Char. I love you so much." She mumbled and took the bottle from my hand. "You take such good care of me and your brother. You're my baby girl, and I love you." Her eyes were concentrated on the water bottle as she struggled to pull the top off.

I didn't respond. I knew she didn't mean any of it. I just opened the water for her and walked to my room. Tears formed in my eyes from her small speech.

I wish she meant it.

I was so embarrassed that Liam saw my mom like that. Or saw my mom at all. I could never talk to him now. No matter how fun my night was.

I began wiping off the layers of makeup, thinking about Owen. Tears were smeared all over my face, making it easier to get the makeup off. I tossed the wipe in the trash and plopped on my bed, almost instantly falling asleep.