Chapter SIX

At least it was Friday, which was the only good thing about the next day. Talia and Tanner decided to walk to school, so I drove alone. The car still smelled like my dad's cologne, so I made a mental note to get an air freshener. It was clean though, and I loved it. And it was mine.

   Mickey came right to my locker before first bell. Her dark hair was straightened again and her thick-framed glasses were her on her nose, a bit. She was always dressed a bit crazy, and today it was jean overalls and a neon yellow tank top.

   "I just heard Megan Jones broke up with Tucker because he wasn't spending enough time with her," Mickey announced, too loudly. It wasn't like I even cared.

   "They dated for two weeks," I said, rolling my eyes.

   "Well, Tucker spent a lot of time with you. Like, a lot. I rarely saw you, actually," she went on.

   "So?" I asked. I wasn't about to tell her that Tucker brought me places but didn't actually spend time with me.

  "What if he tries to get back with you?"

  "Uh, he did, sort of. He came to my locker yesterday and said Happy Birthday, and he was..."

  "Shit, Bea. Tucker wants you, Carter wants you -"

   "Shhh!" I leaped forward and covered her mouth. I was definitely not going to tell her about Davis. Not yet. It might have been nothing, anyway.

      Mickey laughed. "I gotta get to calculus. See you at lunch!"

     I nodded and watched her walk away, her bag hung over one shoulder.

   I walked to first period alone, sat at the back and tried not to think about anything. Mr. Carson was so monotone and boring as he read us some History notes, that I almost fell asleep. But just before the bell rang ending the class, James Smitson turned around in his seat.

   "Hey, Bea," he started, as if we were friends. Everyone acted like I was their friend. "I'm having a get-together tonight - you want an invite?"

   I smiled at him, because being friendly was my superpower. "Yeah," I nodded. "For sure."

   "Sweet, I'll give you the details in French?"

   I nodded again. "Cool."

   I never turned down an invite to a party. Maybe that was why I was popular. I was always invited, it seemed, some way or another, even now after Tucker had broken up with me. For a long time, I assumed being Tucker's girlfriend was why I got to attend all the good parties, why practically everyone at school knew me. But in reality, that all happened before Tucker.

   James Smitson was a football player, who I had known since freshman year. We had never dated, likely because I did date his older brother, Lucas, for a few weeks. Lucas was a junior then, I was a sophomore, but he was a bit boring and a sloppy kisser.

   At lunch, I sat across from Mickey, dropping my lunch bag on the table. No TJ, but sometimes he had band practice during lunch, so I didn't think anything of it.

   "You know James Smitson?" I asked her, opening my lunch bag.

   "Didn't you date him last year?" She pulled out a container of strawberries as she asked.

   "No, I dated his brother. But anyway, I got an invite from him to a party tonight."

   "Oh, nice! You gonna go?" She was now eating her strawberries one by one.

   I shrugged. "I haven't decided. I was thinking I could be DD."

   "You've never been DD. You always drink," she told me, then laughed.

   I was just staring at her strawberries, only a few left. I was always jealous of her fresh fruit, her perfectly-made vegetable wraps, her flawless lunches. Her dad had a lot of money and they always had a kitchen full of awesome food. My Mom, on the other hand, usually forgot to get groceries and I had had to make half a peanut butter sandwich and throw in some stale crackers.

   "But now I have a car," I said, pushing aside my lunch after only taking a couple of bites.

   "Who will I drink with?" she wanted to know. Everyone knew that Mickey and I were a package deal. I never went to a party without her.

   "Uh, TJ?"

   "Titan Jeremiah and I are... fighting," she told me quickly.

   "What? Since when? You were all kissy-kissy last night," I grinned at her.

   "This morning, on the way to school. He said I'm self-obsessed. Who says that?"

   "Why would he say that?" I asked, surprised.

   She shrugged. "He said I'm wearing too much makeup today. He asked me who I'm trying to impress."

   "Uh, him?" I said right away. She was wearing a lot of make up today.

   "Exactly. Right? Guys are so dumb." She went back to eating her lunch.

   "Okay, so no TJ tonight."

   "Just us. And you're drinking! My dad will drive us," she said, twisting my arm.

   I took in a long breath. "Fine."

   Carter was in my last period Geometry class. We always sat together and I copied his work because I despised math. Today, he sat in a row up, where there were no other seats beside him. I sat right behind, then kicked his chair. He turned around.

   "What the hell?" I asked him, quietly.

   "What?"

   "Why are you sitting there?"

   He froze, for a minute too long. He was trying to come up with something to say, some excuse that would make me be okay with this.

   "It was nothing, okay? It was stupid," he finally said.

   "What was?" I asked, trying to play dumb.

   "Last night, at Don's... I -"

   "Nothing happened," I said, shaking my head. "We're cool?"

   He smiled, relieved. "Cool."

   I  knew better than to do anything but this right now, with Carter. I didn't need any more drama, and I was a fixer. This was the quick fix. He was my friend and it was better this way.

    The party that night actually was a "get-together", not a party. When we walked in, the front room was empty. Weird. The living room had a handful of juniors, James' football buddies, and a few girls. I waved at Skyla Arbor, who used to be a close friend. Very recently she had started dating Dean Walters. I was unaware if they were already dating at the time that I almost had sex with him. It was all a bit awkward for us now.

   We continued on to the kitchen, where James was pouring shots, a few guys standing around him.

   "Hey! It's Bea! And... her friend!" he called to us.

   "Mickey!" she said loudly.

   "Right. Weird name. Have a shot!"

   There were far more shots poured than people in the room, so Mickey and I both did a whiskey shot. It burned my throat and Mickey made a face at me right afterwards. James came closer to me, dropping his arm around my shoulder.

   "You know, this is the Elite party... like personal invite only," he said into my ear. So, I should be feeling 'elite' at the moment?  "We're also having a rager tomorrow."

   "Parents out of town?" Mickey asked, rolling her eyes.

   He nodded. "All weekend. There's some other drinks in the game room down there, or come back and find me for more shots."

   "Will do," I said, forcing a smile as Mickey pulled me away from him.

   "He's giving you the eyes, girl," she laughed, pulling me down the hallway into another room, where a few people were playing air hockey, drinking and laughing.

   "Well, that's a shame for him," I smiled, spotting Lucas and a couple other guys I knew.

   Lucas was a senior and he looked different now - he had a bit of facial hair and his reddish hair was a bit longer. He smiled when he saw me walking over.

   "Hey, Bea."

   "Hey," I answered.

   "You want to have a beer with me?" he asked, looking hopeful. We had dated so briefly that I generally forgot about it. It was a couple months before Tucker and I got together, and I had almost zero feelings for him - then or now.

   "I'm here with Mickey," I said, knowing this didn't answer the question. "But maybe in a bit?"

   I realized very quickly that this "elite" get-together was mostly guys that wanted to sleep with me. The girls that were there were with their boyfriends. There really weren't any other single girls. Since Mickey was mad at TJ, she wanted to get stupid drunk. I was on board, after making her promise to not let me leave with anyone besides her.

   An hour later, we were dancing with two other girls, guys whistling and cheering at us. I'd had two shots and two beers and I was feeling buzzed - Mickey was straight up drunk. It was fun, up until that point. 

   "Suck and Blow! Who's in?" I heard someone yell.

   "Oh yes!" Mickey shouted, grabbing my hand.

   I'd seen this game played at other parties over the years, but I'd never participated. The thought of sloppy kissing a random person by accident did not appeal to me. The anxiety I felt about having to pass a playing card around a circle of people's lips, not letting it fall - or having to kiss the person - was gut wrenching.

   "C'mon Bea!" Mickey yelled.

   "Oh, I don't think-"

   She was already pulling my hand and leading me to the group of people gathering to play in the kitchen, before I could finish my sentence. There were about ten people, James, Dean and Skyla included. Mickey barged her way into the circle, with me behind her.

   "We're playing!" she yelled, stumbling a bit.

  "Yes," James grinned, already putting the card to his mouth.

   Mickey was close, so he passed it to her. I got shuffled back a bit and in between two guys. I watched as the card was passed around, everyone sucking and blowing as needed. Suddenly it was my turn to suck the card from Dalton McQuire's lips, but to my left I felt someone squeeze in, bumping my arm. I turned my head, holding the card with my mouth and immediately saw that it was Tucker. I should have just turned away but for some reason, I leaned into towards him. I let go of the card but he let it fall, pulling me into a kiss. I kissed him back for a second, as he felt familiar, but quickly I realized what was happening. A few guys cheered.

   "Shit, Tucker, what the hell are you doing?" I yelled at him, stepping back.

   "Winning you back," he said, then lowered his voice. "I really miss you."  I hadn't even seen him there, over the past hour.

   "I already turned you down yesterday, remember?" I said loudly.

   He tried to take my hand, to pull me away from the crowd, to try to convince me that we should get back together. I refused.

   Getting back together with Tucker again would be like taking five steps backwards. I knew this, even half drunk. His dark eyes were practically begging for me. But this was karma, for him. Not just for kissing Megan, but for breaking up with me the way he did.

   "You blew it Tucker, I told you. We're done," I said quieter, so only he heard.

   "What, are you seeing someone else?" he asked, now getting angry.

   "It's not your business if I am."

   "Who is it? Is he here?" Tucker started looking around frantically.

   I shook my head. "You're such a meathead."

   I walked away, back to the game room. Tucker didn't follow me, which surprised me. On the table, I poured myself another shot, slammed it back and then leaned against the wall. There were only two other people in the room now, making out in the corner. I needed fresh air anyway, so I found my way through the kitchen to the back door and stepped outside.

   I sat down on the step of the deck, listening to the sounds of cars driving by in the front yard. My head felt heavy, that last shot was hitting me hard. I closed my eyes for a second, then heard the door open and close again. Someone sat down beside me.

   "Hey." It was Nate. Davis.

   "I didn't know you were here," I said plainly, instead of saying Hi.

   "Just got here in time to see you kissing Kingston," he smiled at me.

   "It was Suck and Blow. He didn't suck," I said, feeling so embarrassed.

   "Obviously."

   "I actually just want to go home," I told him, now looking away.

   "I can take you. I haven't had any drinks," he replied.

   "You just got here."

    He shrugged. "It's just a party."

   "I have to find Mickey," I said, but didn't move. I didn't want to go back in there.

   "Okay, we can find her together," he told me.

  "Why are you being so nice to me?" I wanted to know.

   He grinned, but then let the smile fade. "I'm a nice guy."

   Inside, Mickey was in the living room, dancing with Skyla. Suck and Blow was over, and it seemed like there were less people in the house now.

   "Mick!" I called to her.

   She looked over. "There you are! Come dance!"

  "No, we're going," I said, trying to wave her over.

 "I talked to TJ! We're good! He's coming to get us later!" she yelled back, ignoring me.

  I walked closer to her, leaning in. "Come on, Mick. I have a ride for us."

  She looked right into my eyes. "I'm waiting for TJ."

   I stared at her, knowing how drunk she was. Who knows if she had drank even more since I had seen her last. We always left parties together, it was part of our pact. I was about to be a bad friend, but I really wanted to get out of there.

   "TJ is coming, for sure?" I asked her.

   Now, she realized I was actually going to leave without her. She stopped dancing again, forcing a smile at me. "Yeah. Yes, he's coming."

   "Okay. Nate is going to take me home," I told her.

   "Who's Nate?" she yelled back.

   "Davis."

   "Oh, right. He's here?"

   I nodded. "I'm just not feeling it tonight, with Tucker here and..."

   She was dancing again, moving away from me. "I'll text you later!" she finished, turning away from me.