ELLA WASN'T QUITE SURE what to say, Levi's expression mortified. Ava and Alex seperated at that moment, but they kept staring at each other, a mixture of emotions in their eyes which she couldn't decipher. After a moment of silence Ava turned and walked away, leaving him behind without another word. She picked up her pace more and more as the distance increased until she was running, Ella following behind immediately. She caught up to her friend quite easily, Mia already out of breath several miles behind, and grabbed Ava's arm before she could run any further. It was weird to see her this agitated, a frown creasing her face and alcohol staining her cheeks red.

Mia had caught up by the time Ava spoke, her voice starting soft amidst the loud shouts of the crowd around them, before growing almost angry as she shook her head.

"Fuck," she said. She ran a stressed hand over her face, as if wiping her blush away. "I'm so angry at myself."

"Ava," Ella began, voice careful.

"No," she said, though it sounded like she was still talking to herself," because I'm not ready to go down this rabbithole again. I know how this will end, what it will do to us."

"Why are you blaming yourself so much?" Mia asked gently.

"Because I should know better," Ava answered, a hint of heartbreak lingering in her voice," I have to be the responsible one with Alex, because otherwise we're both only getting hurt, more and more." She sighed, closing her eyes. "I can't afford to be selfish."

Consoling people really wasn't Ella's forte, but Mia intervened before she could even think of what to say. The girl pulled them in a group hug, softly, so Ava could tell her to stop at any moment. When Ava stepped away a moment later, she had collected herself, none of the vulnerability from before visible.

"Thank you," she said, her confident smile back on her face," excuse me now while I go get some water, I can't go back to him still tipsy."

"We'll go with you," Ella said.

Ava shook her head, waving them off with a hand.

"It's fine, really. I'll be right there, so go and congratulate Will for me." She turned around to leave, but Ella and Mia just followed, causing her to blink at them. "What are you guys doing?"

"We're not leaving you alone that quickly," Ella said, hooking her arm through Ava's," I will let you know that I am a pro at sobering people up."

"You can always rely on us, Av," Mia smiled.

Ava rolled her eyes, but it was easy to see that it was good-natured, her lips having curled up warmly. They crossed the field towards the small cabin that stood beside it. After downing three glasses of water from the bar inside and touching up her lipstick, they headed to the location Levi had texted her. Ella noticed Will immediately, everyone having crowded around him as he beamed and answered whatever they asked. Around him most of the St Joseph students were passing around liquor and downing shots in the parking, loud music thumping from the box one of them carried.

The school bus was gone, three party buses in it's place now, Ella not even having noticed when they had swapped. Alex sat behind the driver's seat, looking absolutely wasted, Levi on the floor beside him, leaning against the side of his chair and stopping Alex from drinking any more every time he tried to grab the bottle of vodka on the dashboard. Ella was ready to help him when someone bumped into Ava.

He seemed to not even notice, ready to move on, when she grabbed his wrist, eyebrow raised.

"Not even a sorry?" she asked.

He turned around, his dark hair falling in front of his eyes and his skin a warm shade of brown. A frown had creased his forehead, his eyes narrowing, but before Ella could even step in between to tell him to calm down, he spoke.

"Oh shit, sorry," he said, his hazel eyes widening as he seemed to try to concentrate," I thought you were a tree."

"What?" Ava blinked.

"I lost my glasses," he said, looking around before letting his gaze settle on Ava again," by any chance, did you see a girl who looked a lot like me, but sportier? She stole them to be funny and now I am stranded here, blind."

"Noah!" someone shouted then," are you alright?"

A girl was running towards them at a speed which impressed even Ella, coming to a halt beside him. She looked exactly like him, with her chestnut hair and sharp jawline, but her eyes were the color of mocha, a clear look to them. He snatched the glasses from her hand once she offered them to him, putting them on with a huff.

"So you were fine," she frowned," I was out here almost worrying for you, with that vague text you sent about being murdered."

"I did what I had to do," he shrugged," knowing you, you'd have left me wandering this field for hours otherwise. Besides, I easily could have been. It's a dangerous world out here, Sofia, and you just left me here. What if I met those St Joseph delinquents?" He waved at himself, at the cashmere sweater he was wearing and his mismatched, patterned socks. "I am easy prey, I look weak."

"And are you?" Ava asked amusedly.

"I am," he replied without skipping a beat," but if it ever comes to a match of chess, I can't lose."

"When will it ever come to that?" Sofia said.

Noah scowled at her, turning around to leave, but before he did so he glanced at Ava, gaze flicking down and back up. Just when Ella thought he would make a flirty remark he grabbed something from his pocket and pressed it in her hands, nodding at her after.

"Your feet," he said," you seem hurt. If you can, you should bandage it up."

Ava seemed surprised, Mia immediately fretting over her as she just noticed the flaming red skin around her heels. With a look at the bandage Ava blinked at him, before chuckling.

"You just always carry this around?" she said.

"My sister is a sports fanatic and gets a new injury almost every hour," he shrugged, ignoring Sofia's offended look his way," so yeah." He nodded, his frown fading. "Take care."

With that he was gone, Sofia following as he walked away. Mia was already on her knees, ready to bandage Ava up, eyes wide.

"You ran all that way in stilettos, Ava," Mia worried," I'm sorry for not seeing it sooner."

"I'm fine," Ava reassured her," there's no need to bandage it up, I have a comfier pair of heels in the party bus."

"Why?" Ella said," how did you even get it there?"

"Alex..." Ava's voice trailed off, but she breathed in and spoke again. "He hired the buses and seeing as we were going to dance, I thought I'd take out my party heels."

Mia tried to support Ava on her way towards the bus, but Ava waved her help off with a smile. It was surprising the guy from before had even noticed anything at all, with the way Ava was walking she honestly seemed like she wasn't in pain at all, her back straight and her heels clicking with every confident step. As soon as they neared Will excused himself to the people around him and ran up to them, warmth coloring his eyes. Levi and Alex probably hadn't told him anything to keep him from worrying and Ava seemed grateful for that.

After she and Ava had congratulated Will, Mia scraped her throat, looking like she was gathering courage. He opened his arms towards her with a grin, ready to pull her into a hug, when she stood on her toes, pecking him quickly on the cheek. Will froze, lips parted and cheeks coloring pink, but Mia ran off to the bus before he could say anything. Ella waved a hand in front of Will's face, trying to get him to come back to Earth, but he seemed like a lost cause.

"They sure do grow up fast," Ava sighed as they walked towards the bus, Will's friends crowding around him again, this time concernedly.

"They do indeed," Ella chuckled.

Ava got on the bus, but she walked past Alex without a word, joining a flushed Mia in the back row. She was hiding her face in her hands, but the tips of her ears were clearly red, betraying her. Half of the bus was full already as they sang along to an old Rihanna song, a disco light flashing through the dimmed lights. Everyone else who got on walked with an arc around Levi, which was quite difficult considering he was sitting by the entrance, Ella the only one who paused by him, a smile tugging on her lips.

"What are you doing here?" she said.

"Alex," Levi said, his words seeming to leave him with difficulty as he slowly nodded his head," tequila."

"I'm drinking my sorrows away, babe," Alex sang, swaying in the seat. He didn't even seem to have noticed Ava passing him earlier, too far gone. "Levi joined me, a bottle or two ago."

"We were gone for about ten minutes," Ella frowned.

"Time isn't real," Alex said," Levi, give her the bottle."

"I think I'm going to die," Levi murmured, eyes closed.

Alex got out of the driver's seat, squatting in front of Levi and shaking him until he opened his eyes.

"We are all going to die," he said.

With that message he stood up, a wide grin on his face as he shouted at the guys outside to get in. The bus drivers came as well, all three of them not looking excited about being surrounded by drunk delinquents at all. Levi got to his feet slowly, Ella taking the bottle of alcohol from him before he could drink anything else. She walked towards the back row, but got pulled into one of the seats then, losing her balance as she fell into Levi's lap.

He had sat down randomly, his arms around her waist as he nuzzled his nose in her neck. She tried to get off to sit down beside him, but he didn't let her, voice soft.

"Stay," he said.

"You are drunk," she stated.

"No," he answered, expression as neutral as always. He turned around to look outside, before staring back at her then. "Unrelated, but the world is spinning really fast and it feels like I'm getting thrown like a frisbee, so don't be surprised when I die."

Oh, this was going to be a very weird night.