dedicated to @PageByPage for the cover on the side! :D

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Jason stood at the entrance of the driveway, thinking to himself that he was crazy for coming to this absurd party. His friends had pestered him endlessly ever since he got the invitation to come and have fun, for an unforgettable night the week before, but he disagreed, insisting that parties just weren't his thing.

And they weren't. Jason was more of a laid back, relaxed kind of guy, which was extremely rare in his school. Most of the guys were obnoxious, loud, carefree and very arrogant. Jason was opposite of that.

Sighing, he tried not to cringe while he walked closer to the entrance, the music progressing as he made his way inside. He could barely see anything with the mass of bodies dancing against each other, and with all of the people drinking and practically having sex as they kissed.

Remind me why I'm here again? Jason thought sourly. Oh yeah, he knew that if he didn't come, he would have to deal with his friends, Dominic and Becca, the next day, while they practically murdered him for not coming. 

All he had to do was find at least one of them that were sober and show them that he came. That wouldn't be so hard, right? He hoped that one of them were sober so they could at least remember that he did show up. That way he didn't have to deal with their wrath.

Jason managed to squeeze through the massive crowd, straining his neck to search for his obnoxious friends. It was hard to distinguish which face was what, making it quite difficult to find his friends. He could feel a headache coming at the thought of staying at the party for more than an hour.

"Jason!" A faint voice called out. He whipped his head around and found the familiar redhead, Becca. "You came!" She squealed, entrancing him in a hug. Jason barely smiled, feeling a large amount of discomfort as he smelled the amount of alcohol that radiated off of her body.

"It was either that," Jason managed to say over the loud music as he replied. "Or dealing with you and Dominic tomorrow morning." 

"You know I would have done it." Becca shrugged, grabbing a random shot from someones hand and chugging it down her throat. She managed to hold it in with a silly grin at the same time. "Did you have a drink yet?" 

Jason shook his head. "You know these parties aren't my thing." She rolled her eyes, already used to her friend saying his 'trademark' phrase. 

"A lot of stuff isn't your thing!" Becca slurred, wobbling towards what Jason presumed to be a kitchen as he followed her. He was right. 

Mounts of alcohol cases were perched on top of one another, ranging from beer bottles to wine bottles, and a whole set of glass cups. Jason winced at the thought of drinking alcohol as Becca poured him a small shot of what looked to be water. When he sniffed it, it smelled awfully similar to vodka. 

"Just drink this," she instructed.

Jason sighed. Only one drink and that's it. He did come in a car, so drinking anything more than this would most like cause an accident. He quickly drank it in one gulp, ignoring the stingy warm feeling in his throat as it traveled down. "Now we need to find you a beer." 

"No," Jason protested, his throat slightly raspy as he coughed. "That's enough." 

"Just one beer that you can sip throughout the night." Becca assured, grabbing and opening a fresh cold beer from the box. Jason snatched the beer out of her hands and pretended to take a sip, which somehow managed to satisfy Becca. "Now we need to find you a girl." 

Jason sighed, knowing that it was going to be hell if he protested to Becca even when she was intoxicated. She was even more demanding and frustrating when she drank alcohol. With that thought, he followed Becca as she managed to squeeze her way through the mass of bodies much more gracefully than he did. 

Her eyes peered through the large crowd, searching for a person that seemed similar to Jason's standards. He never told her anything about what he preferred over a girl, so she just guessed, seeing a random girl on the outside deck. She had short hair that rested just below her shoulders. Her back was facing in Brooke's direction, so he couldn't see what she exactly looked like.

"Aha!" She squealed, dragging Jason into the crowd. He cringed as he felt numorous bodies rub up against him for what seemed to be the nth time. Jason abandoned his beer on a random table that they passed as Becca pulled him through the crowd.

Becca went outside and went up to a girl who seemed vaguely familiar. Jason felt his heart double as he struggled to remember where he had seen this girl before. He had met her somewhere, but where did the memory go?

"Jason," Becca began, smirking as she faced the girl. "I would like for you to meet Eliza." 

"Eliza. . ." Jason murmured, the memory finally catching up to him. "Eliza Mayes. I remember you. We went to third grade together." No wonder Jason felt his heart race with anticipation. He was her first crush. Oh, the memories. 

"Oh yeah!" Eliza laughed, her brown eyes twinkling with remembrance as she stared at the handsome man in front of her. "You were that boy who was always shy around me." Jason felt his heart race even faster than before as he took in her features. She had definetly matured. Her eyes twinkled a lot more than before, and she had that spark in her that made Jason want to smile. 

    Becca smirked and slowly inched away, letting them catch up. Jason hadn't been talking to much girls lately, claiming that most girls in his school were too girly and obsessive over things. She was glad that he was talking to someone that he used to have a crush on. If not, Becca would have thought that Jason was gay. Which, was unlikely, but as the months flew by, her suspicion became even higher. She was thankful that the thought of Jason being gay was out of question.

"Yeah," Jason's cheeks slightly tinted red. Luckily Eliza couldn't see it that well due to how dark the scenery was. "I haven't seen you in such a long time, Eliza. You look great, honestly." 

"Thanks!" She said, blushing all too noticeably. "I transferred schools fourth grade, that's why we didn't see each other fifth grade and ongoing." 

"I wondered why," he laughed. "I liked seeing you during school." 

"Are you saying that you had a crush on me?" Eliza accused, playfully.

"I still do." Jason admitted, feeling more confident in saying so because of the small dosage of alcohol he consumed.

"You're kidding." Eliza scoffed, not letting herself believe it.

"Nope," he said, a real smile on his face as he noticed how Eliza blushed again. "Why don't we get out of here and go somewhere more quiet?" 

    "Sure." Eliza agreed, excited. Jason took of his cell phone and sent out a quick text to both of his friends, stating that he had left the party. Not even seconds later, Becca had replied, saying that he had better 'get some' with Eliza. Jason rolled his eyes and put his phone in his pocket, gestering for Eliza to follow. 

"So what made you come to this party?" Jason asked, finally speaking at a normal tone where the music wasn't as loud as they left the party.

"I was forced." She admitted. 

"I technically had a choice. If I didn't go, knowing my friends, they would give me hell because of it." He laughed. 

Eliza grinned. "Where are we going?"

"I was planning to go to the park." Jason said, scratching the back of his head as they walked, slowly. "Is that okay?" 

"Yeah--" Suddenly her phone rang. "Hold on," Minutes later, after her phone call had ended, she looked at Jason with a disappointed look. "I'm sorry Jason. But I have to go." 

"It's alright." Jason assured, even though he was slightly disappointed himself. It wasn't everyday that you can find your childhood friend, escpecially after so long. "Maybe we can continue this another time?" 

"Yeah." Eliza agreed, smiling sadly. "Give me your cell."

Jason did as told and took his cell phone, both of them exchanging numbers. "I'll call you soon?" Jason asked her, taking in her breathtaking features as if this was the last time he was going to see her.  

"Definitely." she said, giving him a small smile before walking away. Jason blew out a heavy breath and tried to calm his heart down which was beating erratically. He wanted to call her right away, but he didn't want to seem desperate. 

His own cell rang ten minutes later, while he was driving home. It was Dominic, his other friend. Sighing, he picked up the phone. 

"Yeah?" he replied. 

"Jason, where are you man?" His friend slurred, his voice hard to comprehend because of the loud music playing in the background. 

"I'm left." Jason replied, easing on the accelorator as he stopped at a red light. 

"You are such a fucking party pooper." Dominic insulted, although the insult had no effect on Jason. 

"Everyone there was having fun except for me." Jason explained, not in the mood to be arguing or explaining his actions to him. "I have to go." Before Dominic could protest, or make another witty comment, Jason hung up the phone and shut it off, knowing that Dominic was going to swarm him with phone calls for the rest of the night. 

Jason arrived at his house shortly, noticing that the lights were still on. His parents were awake, which was something they had been doing for a while now. They were never awake at this time of the night until a couple weeks ago. The second week of when he noticed this, Jason had became curious as to why his parents were staying up so late. He figured they were doing the dirty deed, but in reality they were actually arguing. About what? Jason still didn't know. 

"You bastard!" He heard his mom shout as Jaosn entered the house. Jason clenched his jaw, feeling the curiosity wander to a whole new level as he tuned them out, despite the fact that he wanted to know what they were talking about. Rushing off to his room, still hearing the echo's of their argument, he took off his shoes and threw them by the door as he slammed it shut. 

Jason flung himself on his bed, putting the pillow over his head to block out any excess sounds. He tried to focus on his breathing, hoping to tune out the agressive shouts between his parents.

He hated this so much. In front of him and others, which was something that he had noticed a while ago, they both acted like they were the world's most perfect couple. But then when no one wasn't around, they literally acted like they didnt know each other, arguing about who know's what most of the time. He never understood the main reason why they argued and fought whenever he wasn't around. The mere thought of not knowing why sparked something deep within, a feeling that Jason did not like. 

It would have been better if they told him straight up, instead of faking that everything was fine when it wasn't. Jason figured that they were most likely stressed. The economy wasn't at its best spot right now, from what he heard on the news, so he guessed that that was the reason why.

His door suddenly opened, snapping him out of his thoughts. Jason sat up, pushing the pillow away from him as he checked to see who it was. It was his mother and father. He abrubtly noticed how tense and on edge they were. It was quickly erased as they noticed that Jason was awake and at home.

"Jason!" His mom greeted with unknown happiness that was absolutely fake, as she took a step forward. "We didn't know you were home." 
 
"Oh, cut the crap, mom!" Jason snapped, feeling angry and irriated that they still hadn't told him what their problem was. He was their son. Shouldn't they tell him what the problem was? Jason was old enough to understand. He was not a little child anymore. He deserved to know what was going on between them.

"Jason!" His father scolded his son, frowning as he replied rather roughly. "Treat you mom with respect!" Jason scoffed angrily, standing up. He couldn't believe his father had the nerve to say that, after all the countless arguments that were going on between his wife.

"Oh, like you do to her?" Both of them exchanged looks as Jason continued, the words spilling out before he could comprehend them. "You guys don't think I hear you arguing every single fucking night?"