Never had I ever pictured myself standing in the middle of a whole crowd of my peers, screaming as our football team's quarterback sprinted down the field with seconds left on the clock. I cheered loudly, screeching until my throat ached and still not stopping. Asher was less than ten yards from the opposing side's endzone and the nearest players were dozens of feet behind him.

Standing beside me was Christopher, who was also shouting his head off. "Go Ash!" he cheered. "Pretend he's me after you stole the last cookie from my house last night! Book it, you old man!"

I laughed, still screaming. Asher stepped across the line just as the timer hit zero and threw the football down, raising his arms above his head. His teammates joined him in the endzone, tackling him in the most aggressive bear hug I had ever witnessed. He had just scored the needed points to put them in the lead at the end of the first game of the season.

"Wooh!" I shrieked. "Yeah, Asher!'

Christopher chuckled. "I guess football isn't that boring, huh?"

I shook my head. "That was awesome," I admitted, clapping my hands together.

The crowd was still roaring, and my cheeks were starting to hurt from grinning for so long.

After a while, people began to file out. Christopher led me down the bleachers and we joined the wave of people heading toward the parking lot. We hopped into his truck and began the journey to Henry's house, listening to the radio and making conversation.

Eventually, we pulled over to the side of the road in front of a huge fence.

I looked at Christopher. "Is this the house?" I asked.

He nodded. "Yeah, but there are orders to not park inside the gate. We'll be taking a short hike if that's alright."

I shrugged. "Fine by me," I said, unbuckling.

The two of us walked along the sidewalk until we reached the open gate. The fence was seven feet high and encased a large portion of land as well as Henry's house. The house was massive, bigger than any other I had ever seen in town. It was four stories with a three-car garage and a cobblestone driveway. Plants lined the house and pathways branching off the buildings. 

Although the house was beautiful, the hordes of people already swarming it tampered with its perfection. Two people were making out against a tree. A girl was running around in just her underwear. Two guys were holding another guy by his ankles. Some cheerleaders were attempting a human pyramid. I could already hear trashy pop music blaring from the house.

"Is this what all parties are like?" I asked Christopher.

He sent me a grin. "Yup. Isn't it amazing?"

I scoffed. "It's something alright."

We walked up the driveway and into the house. The front room was surprisingly empty, so we delved further and found ourselves in the kitchen, where a guy and a girl were doing shots while Henry himself was refilling their cups.

"Hey," the host called when he saw us walk in.

Christopher pulled him into a bro-hug. "What's up?"

Henry smirked. "It's been thirty minutes and there are already people puking their guts out. This is going to be a rager, man."

My brunet companion chuckled. "I bet," he said, gesturing for me to come closer. I stepped forward so I was standing next to him while he introduced me. "This is Lindsey."

Henry nodded. "I know. Olivia's sister, right?"

I half-smiled. "That's the one."

"She's something else, you know?"

I shifted my gaze around the room and laughed awkwardly. "Sure."

Henry walked around the island and stood in front of me. "I wonder if you're just as good in bed."

My eyes widened and I stepped back. "Um, I don't want to have sex with you if that's what you're suggesting."

Christopher slung his arm over my shoulder and pulled me in close to his side. "We're going to go check out the dance floor. See you later, dude."

He guided me out of the kitchen and down a hallway. "Sorry about Henry," he said, taking his arm off of me and sending me an apologetic look. "He's a terrible flirt and always horny."

"I can tell," I muttered. "So far, this is exactly what my worst nightmares consist of."

Christopher chuckled. "It'll get better, I swear," he promised, taking a swig from his drink he snagged while we were in the kitchen.

We walked into the living room, where all the furniture had been pushed towards the walls to create a large empty space. Dozens of kids were dancing, grinding, and making out to the sound of Nicki Minaj.

"Is that Asher?" I asked, gesturing towards the center of the floor.

The black-haired football star was wading towards us, a girl clutching his arm. He sent me a grin as he side hugged Christopher.

"Congratulations," I told him.

Asher smiled. "Thank you," he said. "You look beautiful, by the way."

My cheeks heated up. I was still wearing the outfit my sister had helped me with, a tight long-sleeved blue crop top, black jeans with a belt, and black Vans. My natural blonde waves were defined into bouncy curls. Olivia had even convinced me to put on some mascara. "Thanks," I murmured.

The girl beside Asher pouted. "You didn't tell me I was beautiful," she complained.

He scanned her outfit - a skintight red mini dress with heels, a cute outfit if I had the confidence for it - and smiled a little. "You look great too, Bree."

Her face lit up. "Thanks, babe."

Asher sent Christopher a look, and I identified it as a "please save me now" plead.

"Hey, Ash," I called, "can you come with me to the kitchen?"

His eyes brightened and he nodded. "Of course. Excuse me, Bree."

He wiggled his arm free and accompanied me out of the living room. "Thanks for that," he said.

I shrugged. "No worries," I told him. "Those girls sure are obsessed with you."

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, it can be kind of annoying, but I don't want to be rude. They just don't get that I'm not interested in getting a girlfriend at the moment."

I cocked my head. "I heard you've only ever dated one girl. Is that true?" I asked.

Asher nodded. "Yeah, I dated Sarah Reed in freshman year for like two months. She was sweet, I guess, but I didn't love her. Not as much as she loved me, at least."

Sarah Reed was a girl in our grade. She was the captain of the cheer squad, even though she was only a junior, and had been with more guys than I could count on both my hands. After she and Asher broke up, she began sleeping around a lot. She was like the scarier, more promiscuous, and feminine version of Asher.

We reached the kitchen, which no longer contained its earlier three drinkers. This time, there were just two seniors digging through the cooler.

I sat down at one of the barstools and Asher sat beside me after grabbing two water bottles.

I took a swig from one and scrunched up my nose at the taste. "What's your dream girl?" I asked all of a sudden.

Asher winked at me. "You want to apply?" he teased.

I blushed and nudged his arm. "No way," I said. "I'm just wondering."

"Well," he began, "she has to be nice, funny, and caring. I like short girls. She should be trustworthy and honest. I hate when people act one way around kids their age and another around adults, so she has to be the same with my friends as she is my parents. I like blondes. I like girls I can have a long, easy conversation with or just sit in comfortable silence with. I hate awkwardness, so anything to avoid that."

I laughed. "I feel you."

"I think that's everything," he said.

I rested my head on my hand and looked over at Asher. "That's quite the list," I told him.

"Which is why I have a grand total of one girlfriend," he joked.

I rolled my eyes. "Out of the two of us, you're winning."

"You've never had a boyfriend?" Asher questions.

"No," I answered.

"Huh," he said. "The more you know."

I smiled a little, taking another drink of my water. My head was starting to hurt, so before I knew it, the bottle was drained.

"I want to dance," I blurted.

Asher raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

I nodded. "Let's go dance."

He stood up and offered me a hand. We exited the kitchen and returned to the living room, which was even more crowded than before. It was a good thing that Henry's living room was the size of half of my house.

The racy rap song switched to one I actually recognized and I grinned. I grabbed Asher's hand and dove into the center of the crowd, throwing my arms up and swaying my body to the beat. He laughed and joined me in my crazy moves

A few songs later, my head was pounding and my throat was parched.

"I'm thirsty," I stated.

A girl beside me offered her cup to me, and without thinking, I gulped down the liquid. The tangy drink stung my throat and I coughed. The girl laughed and continued to grind on the guy behind her.

Although I wanted water, the mystery liquid did the trick and I continued dancing. Another couple of songs had passed and Asher was no longer in my sight. I searched for him, weaving between people with ease thanks to my short height.

Someone's hand wrapped around my waist and I whirled around, hoping to see either Asher or Christopher. Instead, the pale green eyes of Henry locked on my own.

"Hey," he drawled.

I frowned. "Excuse me," I said, turning around again.

He put a hand on each of my hips and pulled me back into his body. My butt collided with his crotch and he murmured something in my ear.

I spun in his arms to face him. "Stop that," I told him, glaring.

He clutched my butt and swayed his hips against mine. I tried to push him away, but his grip on my body tightened. I hiked my knee up and shoved it into his crotch.

Henry groaned. "Quit that," he spat, hugging me to his body and kissing my neck.

Hot tears flowed down my eyes and I screamed in his ear, but the music drowned me out. No one was paying attention to me.

Suddenly, Henry's body was wrenched away from mine. A tall, dark-haired guy shoved my harasser to the floor and straddled him.

He held Henry's shoulders down with one hand and punched his jaw with the other. "Don't touch her," Asher's voice growled.

A ring began to form around the two as Henry began to retaliate. I was still crying, hugging my body and watching my new friend beat the living daylights out of the party's host.

I tugged the arm of some bulky guy and pointed at the brawl. "Can you stop them?" I pleaded.

The guy glared at me and went back to making out with the girl he was with. I wanted to stomp my foot like a little kid. There was a fight going on and no one was going to do anything about it.

I shoved my way closer and braced myself before grabbing Asher's arm and tugging him off of Henry. "Stop!" I shouted at him, hiccupping.

His electric eyes locked with mine and he immediately hopped up. He encased me in a hug and I wept onto his shoulder.

Asher scooped me up in his arms and walked out of the room. The crowd seemed to part for him. Once we made it outside, I buried my face in his neck and sobbed some more

I didn't stop crying until I was buckled into the passenger seat of Asher's black Camaro. He held my hand as he drove away from the party.

"You're leaving your victory party," I pointed out.

He chuckled. "It's alright, Lindsey."

I nodded. "Thank you."

"Of course."

My eyes began to droop and eventually sleep encased me.