(Peyton POV)

Before I knew it, it was the 23rd. The day of homecoming, aka one of my least favorite days of the school year. I hated homecoming, because it was a useless event. Tons of horny teenagers in a confined spot, dancing with and on each other to overplayed hip hop and rap music. It was a deplorable event, in my opinion. I couldn't fathom why anyone would subject themselves to such an event. Then again, I went to a school full of idiots, so it wasn't that surprising.

My mother and father knew I hated homecoming, so they never forced me to go. Instead, homecoming was a free date night for them while I was to babysit my baby sister. Which, in some ways, was worse than homecoming. But I'd rather suffer through watching my whiny two year old sister than subject myself to the horrors of homecoming, or any school dance for that matter.

Surprisingly, Michelle Willows had rejected every single guy who had asked her out, and rumor was that she wasn't even going to attend homecoming.

My mom and dad returned home early that night at only 8 pm, letting me go out and walk around freely. I decided to walk past the high school, where I saw a few teens passed out on the lawn. Surprisingly, I saw Michelle amongst the wasted teens, however, she was clearly not that drunk, compared to the others. She was stumbling slightly as she walked in platform heels over the wet grass.

She spotted me, however, and shockingly waved her arm at me.

"I didn't expect to see you here." Michelle spoke as she reached me, her speech the slightest bit slurred.

"Oh, I'm not here for the party. I'm just here to see how many kids have already gotten wasted." I responded matter-of-factly. Michelle laughed, of all things. "Why are you laughing?"

"That's the fucking lamest excuse I've ever heard." She spoke through tears of laughter. "Seeing how many teens are wasted? Are you fucking kidding me? What's your real reason?"

"That is my real reason!" I fumed. Michelle seemed to realize I was telling the truth, as she stopped laughing.

"Ah. Well, that is a dumb reason." She stated bluntly. "But, I've done things for dumber reasons."

"You? I doubt that." I scoffed, and Michelle nodded eagerly in response.

"Oh, I have." She replied, her voice filling with enthusiasm. "I once came to a party simply because someone had told me some kid was gonna bellyflop into the pool. Never did happen though. The kid had just wanted me there to ask me out."

"A plus planning to that dude." I said sarcastically. Michelle just laughed in response. "What?"

"You're actually pretty funny." She laughed. "I would've never known, cuz you never talk to anyone."

"I don't particularly like people. Also, my mom needs me back home, so I have to go."

"Oh phooey." Michelle complained. "I was just having an actual, real conversation with you." She seemed almost upset, even in her drunken state.

"What, like you want to talk to me? Me?" I spoke incredulously.

"Well I mean, yeah." Michelle replied, shrugging her shoulders. I paused. "You always glare at me as if I did something wrong. Whatever it is, I want to fix it. I hate being hated, especially for any wrong-doing I've done."

"You're rich. There's a hundred things you've done wrong." I hissed before walking away hurriedly. She cried out after me, but I quickly vanished, and all I heard was her slightly slurred voice calling out my name before I disappeared into the night.

Sorry for the long pause! I've been busy writing another story and my girlfriend's been visiting since the 20th so I've been busy with that, and I completely forgot to write this story. Let's see how quickly I can get the next chapter up, hmmmm
~ Liz