Alcohol and Outs
Ch 24
Owen and I become a couple and we do all sorts of coupley things. I go to his championship soccer game and cheer when his team wins, we go out with friends of his and their girlfriends and we just hang out. I like being with him and he treats me really well. Chris and I still do homework together most nights after school, but I spend a lot of time texting Owen. Most weekends we do something together, wether it's going out or just watching a movie at his house. His parents are both really friendly and welcoming, and everything seems to be going fine until the Halloween party.
"Jessa Hale is having a monster party for Halloween. We should totally go." Owen tells me as we sit in his mom's car, waiting for a train to pass. We just finished watching a movie, but get stuck at the only train crossing in town on the way back to my house. Owen has yet to meet either one of my parents, but mostly because my parents don't really care to meet him. I'm not even sure if they know his name, which is pretty sad considering we've been going out for a month now.
"I don't know, who's going?" I'm not really huge into the party scene.
"Everyone, I don't know, a bunch of guys from my team," he tells me. "But I think it would be awesome if we could go, too. It's supposed to be dress-up."
I think back to Maggie dressing as a flapper when I was little and remember he saying how much fun she had. I am hit with a wave of nostalgia for the Princess Peach of that year, so without really thinking more about it, I agree. "Sure. Do you want to do some sort of theme costume?"
"What do you mean?" The train is passed and we're moving again.
"You know, like you go as Robin Hood and I go as Maid Marian."
"I wouldn't be caught dead in tights, Grace, that's so gay." I blanche at the use of his choice of words, but he seems completely oblivious. "How about I go as the devil and you can be an angel?"
"Sure, that sounds good, I guess."
"Great! All I need is a set of horns and a pitchfork and I'll be good to go. Are you going to be a good angel?"
"Aren't all angels good?"
We pull into my driveway and kiss until the lights flicker.
"Man, their mom is really persistent. Perhaps she should lay off, it's not like you're her daughter. Besides, I know Ian does way worse."
"I told you, she's like my mom, which means I won't cross her." I haven't told Owen everything about my childhood, and I don't think I could, but I have made it clear before that I will follow Andrea's rules, and not making out in the car for more than ten minutes is one of them.
"Bye Owen," I give him a quick kiss and run in my house.
It turns out that Jessa's party is huge. The cars are parked on her lawn and along the side of the road for ages. True to my word I am dressed as an angel, I curled my hair into ringlets and created a halo out of braided golden pipe cleaners. I got a long white polyester dress from the thrift store and altered it with a pair of scissors to shorten it a bit and make it look wispy and wrap a golden cord (from a set of curtains, I think) around my waist. To top it off I bought a pair of little kids dress up wings from the dollar store. When Owen picks me up, he agrees that I look good. He's just got the promised pitch fork and devil horns, and he is wearing a red shirt.
"I've got a surprise for you in the trunk," he says as we park behind an old pick up farther down the block.
"See!" Owen pulls out a bottle of vodka. "My brother's friend bought it for us."
"But you're driving."
"Well, maybe it's mostly for you. Grace, you need to lighten up a bit." Sensing my disapproval, he adds, "We can share it, spread the joy. Come on, Grace, let's have some fun."
Owen takes my hand and we walk towards the party, which I can totally hear from here. It's got to be insanely huge. There are people everywhere. I haven't been to a massive party before, or at least not like this one, and it's every high school movie cliche rolled into one. There are the slutty costumes where the girl wears as little as possible and attaches a tail or ears, there are the drunk kids on the lawn puking into the bushes, and some smashed pumpkins out front where people are playing some bizarre drinking games.
"Come on, Grace!" he pulls me inside the writhing throng of partiers. Our school isn't huge, maybe about 1300 students, and it seems like all of them are at this party. There are people dancing in the living room and taking shots in the dining room. There's already a line twenty people long for the bathroom, and there's a keg sitting in a washtub in the kitchen. "Do you want a beer?" Owen asks, pointing to the red plastic cups.
"No, I'm good."
"Well let me get you a drink at least."
"Fine, I'll have some vodka with ginger ale."
Owen goes to the fridge and comes back with a glass of something red. "No ginger ale, so I mixed it with kool-aid instead."
"Thanks." I take a sip and it is almost all vodka and very little juice. I'll just have to have small sips. Owen has a drink of his own too. When I point to it, he tells me it's just coke.
We wander for a little bit, then find some of his friends at the bonfire in the back yard. I'm not sure if an open flame this big is a good idea with all these drunks around, but so far everything is okay. Owen is involved in an animated conversation about some soccer thing, so I look around. I know Chris is supposed to be here somewhere. I am debating pulling out my phone to text him, when I can feel someone staring at me. I turn towards the back corner of the yard where a group of people are passing around a bong, and there's Ian. He's staring at me with a huge smile on his face, like I haven't seen in years and he makes a little whirl in the air, like my ringlets. There's a tug inside me and I smile back at him. I hold up my cup like I'm saying cheers and his face drops to the familiar scowl. I guess angel Grace isn't supposed to drink. Shrugging, I turn back towards Owen.
"Need a refill?" he asks me a little bit later.
"Sure." My cup is empty, but mostly because I poured a lot of it out. "But something not so sweet next time?"
"No problem, back in a sec."
Owen returns quickly, this time with vodka and ice tea. It's a fraction better than the kool-aid, but not much; it's still really strong. I take a quick sip in thanks, and he goes back to his conversation. I'm not having the best time, but Owen leans over and gives me a little peck every once in a while or puts his hand on my back, so it's okay. He's enjoying himself.
"Hey, Grace! Having fun?" Chris comes up and gives me a hug. He's dressed as a choirboy in the robes and everything, as are all the guys he's with, and they look funny, but cute.
"It's okay, I guess. Owen's having fun at least."
Owen, hearing his name turns to look, "Whoa, you guys look like a group of faggots!"
Chris takes a step back and my eyes open wide, "WHAT DID YOU SAY?" I am losing it. "How dare you say something like that!"
"No, Grace, it's fine," Chris tries to calm me down, grabbing my arm. I know he doesn't want me to out him at the party, and I don't intend to, but I can't be the girlfriend of someone who says shit like that.
"No, it's not fine." I wheel back to Owen. "Where do you get off saying something like that?"
"Relax Grace, you have to admit, they look like a bunch of girls." He is swaying a bit and waving his arms for emphasis. "Are you drunk?"
"Of course I am, it's a fucking party."
"Yes it's a party, but you are supposed to be driving you bigoted asshole." A group of people have now gathered around us, and he is feeling egged on by the attention.
"Oh, I'm the asshole? I have a fag hag for a girlfriend who won't even let me have a little fun. Oh, I'm Grace, I'm an angel. It's not just a costume, everyone. She's so perfect she sets her own early curfew, even though her parents don't care." That last comment more than sealed the deal for me.
"You arrogant prick. How dare you? What, you think you're so great that I should just fall to the ground with my legs open? Screw you!"
"I can't Grace, I'd love to, but you're too busy hanging off your faggy friend."
Suddenly Ian and Kyle Mann jump Owen and knock him to the ground. Ian is sitting on Owen's chest just pounding him, while Kyle holds back Owen's friends. Chris grabs me and pulls me back, away from the melee to protect me from flying limbs.
"Stop it! STOP IT!" I am screaming trying to get them to stop. As much as I'd like to pound the crap out of Owen, myself right now, I don't want him to get killed, and Ian is like a man possessed. "Kyle, stop him before the cops come." I plead.
Kyle must realize the sense in this comment because he pries Ian off Owen, and gets him on his feet. Ian, Chris, Kyle and I run out of the party to the street, and I can hear the sirens coming. "We have to get out of here. This party is so busted," Kyle says.
"Kyle, did you drive? None of the rest of us have our licences." I'm pretty sure he knows that, but I'm not thinking too straight.
"Yeah, come on." We run to down the street to Kyle's car and hop in. I'm in the front, trying to take off my wings, when Ian leans forward and pulls my curls.
"Nice hair," he says with a grin, wiping a bit of blood from his mouth. I roll my eyes at him and stick out my tongue, teasing, but god he looks so damn good.
"Yeah, I like it too," Kyle says.
"You better not have any gum, asshole!" I tease Kyle. Perhaps the vodka had a bit more of an effect on me than I thought, because ordinarily I wouldn't be so talkative. "Chris, I am so sorry. I wasn't trying to out you, but I can't sit there and let someone call you a faggot, even if they don't totally know what they're saying." Then I remember Kyle is in the car. "OH SHIT, did I just out you?" Okay the alcohol has definitely made me too chatty.
"Relax, Grace, I'm fine with it. I've known Chris since kindergarten and it doesn't change a thing. Plus my cousin's gay and I would do the same thing for him." Kyle tells me.
"Well, you've just come up in my estimation." I tell him and I lean back in my seat.
"Grace, I'm sorry about your boyfriend," Chris tries to offer me consolation.
"Why? Because he's a homophobic creep or because he decided that trying to get me drunk would be a good way to get into my pants or because he decided to get drunk even though he was my ride home? Because you really don't have to apologize for any of those things."
"I just meant I'm sorry he turned out to be a creep."
"Yeah, me too, because most of the time he was pretty nice, plus he was the only guy to ask me out after Kyle apparently told everyone they'd get beaten up." It was nice being kissed and having someone to go out with, and even though things are obviously over between Owen and I, it still hurts. So much, that I start to cry.
"Oh crap, guys, I'm not equipped to handle this. There's an angel crying in my car." Kyle actually sounds upset, but I can't help it. I'm not crying over Owen, exactly, but at the opportunity of being part of a couple, being normal.
"Grace, he's not worth your tears." Ian icily states. For whatever reason, I've pissed him off.
"Ian, don't be an idiot. That's not why she's crying." Chris informs him, then asks me, "Is it the small pond thing, Grace?"
"You mean a puddle."
"I hear you."
'What the hell are you two talking about?" Kyle asks.
"Don't worry about it." I say, wiping my face as Kyle pulls in the driveway next door.
Ian's still angry, and jumps out of the car, slamming the door.
"What the hell is his problem?" I ask.
"I don't know." Kyle says, watching Ian storm into his house.
"Thanks for everything, Kyle. You're a ton nicer since that time you threatened to take my swing." I bat my eyelashes at him exaggeratedly.
"That was MY swing, besides, that was, what, like ten years ago?"
"Something like that." I smile at him.
"I only did it because I thought you were cute. Who could resist those curls?" he reaches across and gives one of my ringlets a little tug.
"Oh God, that's my cue to leave." Chris climbs out of the car in a hurry.
"What did I do?"
"Nothing, Grace, you've done nothing wrong." Kyle tells me as he sits pressed into his seat, hands back on the steering wheel.
"Thanks for everything, Kyle, you know, pulling Ian away, getting us home and most importantly for not making a big deal about Chris." I lean over and give him a kiss on the cheek, then climb out of the car and walk into my house, forgetting my wings on the floor of his car.
The cops did bust the party, I find out on Monday. There were a bunch of alcohol violations and piles of parents called. A few of Owen's friends give me dirty looks in the halls because he got beat up, like it was my fault he's a jerk. One of them said it was my fault Owen got a ticket and his parents were called because Owen was too injured to run when the police arrived. Either way, he moved his seat to the other side of the room in English, so we are for sure broken up. Thankfully, as far as I can tell, everyone thinks the fight was because of what Owen was warned about. You mess with Grace, you feel the wrath of the Reed twins.
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