CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO;
PEACH FANTA AND VODKA.

"holy shit, is the room spinning for you, too?" a more-than-tipsy max asked, sprawled out on her back atop of her bed.

el giggled before nodding, "i feel like i'm floating! why haven't i ever done this before? it's just so... what's that word? it means fun but like more than fun. you know? well, i don't, but that word."

max titled her head back to look at the brunette swaying back in forth on the floor. "i have no idea what word you're talking about, but me too." the two friends burst into a fit of girlish laughter before el's grabbed her cup of the concoction max mixed for them hours prior.

if you hadn't caught on quite yet, they were drunk.

like, really drunk.

coincidentally enough, max's parents were out of town for the weekend and her step-brother was likely spending the night with some random chick he met on tinder so they had the house to themselves. upon finding this out, max instinctively decided to raid the liquor cabinet. no worries, she would, like always, fill the bottles with water before they got back. somehow they never really noticed how watered down their alcohol tasted.

as expected, el immediately objected max's proposal. the girl never once had an alcoholic beverage before in her life. she would like to say it has something to do with her father being the sheriff, but she knew the real reason was that she had no friends to corrupt her and coax her into it.

well, until now.

"i don't think this is a good idea, max," el worried, nervously eyeing the glass max extended towards her.

the redhead huffed, "oh, my god, it's a great idea. look, no one's home, we aren't driving, it's fine. perfectly safe! plus, it's not even that strong, i swear."

el reluctantly took the glass containing a pinkish liquid and held it to her nose to smell, "what's in it?"

"peach fanta and vodka. it's my specialty drink," she simply replied with a smirk before pouring another glass for herself. the two 17-year-olds brought the beverage to their lips and let it run down their throats.

unlike max who seemed to enjoy the peachy taste, el's face instantly soured. "that is so bad!"

"no, you just have to get used to it. think of it like really strong coffee. you have to build up a tolerance," she explained, taking another gulp.

el hesitantly complied and took another sip. while the liquid was still disgusting and left a peachy burning in her throat, it wasn't as battery acid-like as the first sip.

and so, she took another...

"what do people without thumbs do when they get challenged to a thumb war? do they just like, not partake? or, like, do they have an index finger war? oooh, they could have a pinky finger war! pinkies are so strong! they're the most underrated finger, in my opinion," el rambled, unusually talkative in her intoxicated state.

max gasped before rolling over onto her stomach to look at the cop's daughter. "oh, my god, they really are! ugh, we are so smart. how are we not billionaires?" el nodded enthusiastically in agreement. suddenly, max perked up with a wide grin, "wait, i just had a fucking fabulous idea! we should make tiktoks!"

the giddy girl sitting on the furry, orange rug fell backward to lay on her back. "um, no we shouldn't! the one who shall not be named would see them, and he would know i was here," she explained with a light slur coating her syllables.

max scowled, "fuck mike, he's a loser. plus, he doesn't even have a tiktok. it's one of the reasons he's so uncultured. the kid only has instagram and snapchat, and he only follows people he knows. i think it's one of the reasons he annoys me so much, he never understands my references."

"you're right, he is annoying. i don't really see the appeal," el claimed and then attempted to drink more whilst laying down, resulting in her spilling the vodka-infused soda on herself.

max laughed. "so, you don't like him, anymore?" she asked, already knowing the honest answer and the lie el was about to tell.

"nope, not one bit. i'm so over him. like, seriously, who does he even think he is?" she began, her cheeks heating up with anger at the thought of the curly-headed boy. "okay, first, he promised he wouldn't ever lie, and then what does he do? he lies for weeks! how is that okay? and, also, how the heck is he mad at me?" she abruptly sat up and exhaled a long breath. "and like, i don't know. i just really thought he was a good guy because he seemed like he cared so much, like he was always asking if i was okay or if people were being mean to me. i really thought he cared, but if he cared, i wouldn't feel like this, right? i wouldn't be so sad, again. i wouldn't feel like he just ripped open my chest and took my heart and ran away with his perfect little girlfriend."

finally finishing her alcohol-fueled rant, her dazed eyes flickered to max who appeared to be quite shocked. "um, i'm too drunk to have this conversation. can we reschedule it for tomorrow?"

el's brows furrowed and her nose scrunched up before she vehemently shook her head. "no, actually i have a better idea!" she quickly drank the last bit of her peach drink before setting the cup down and looking around for her phone.

seeing the device in her hands, max hastily interjected, "hey, hey, hey! i'm all for drama, especially if said drama could result in him dumping kendall, but i'm your friend and, as your friend, i can't let you drunk-call or drunk-text, whichever you're planning on doing."

she reached out for the phone but el snatched it back. "stop it! i have to talk to him."

still on her bed, she leaned out further trying to steal the phone from her grasp, "okay, you can talk to him tomorrow when you're sober. now, give me your phone, el!" leaning too far, max slipped off her bed onto the floor beside el. "ouch, you whore!" max jokingly insulted, rubbing her elbow where she had hit it on the ground.

with a devious smirk, el took off out of max's room and down the hall to the bathroom. she stumbled into the confined room and hurried to lock the door behind herself. "i have to tell him," she exclaimed, knowing max was on the other side of the door.

"el, you're going to regret this tomorrow. i promise," she warned, suddenly sounding less drunk than before. it seemed her worry had broken her from her vodka-induced spell. after receiving no reply, she beckoned, "el? come on, just come out. don't text him."

pressing her ear to the door, the auburn-haired girl heard an obnoxiously drunk giggle.

"too late!"

...

a/n: ok drunk el was sooo not part of my original plan, but we've seen drunk mike so it's only fair!! i have an idea of how the next chapter will go, but i'm not 100% sure. i don't know when i'll get that chapter up tho. i have to write an essay and there's a hurricane coming so i'm kind of prioritizing that over this in case the power goes out. once again, please don't comment "UPDATE NOW" it's not v motivating lol. ok, thanks for reading!! hope u enjoyed drunk el. she will return next chap! xx

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