Untitled; Part Two

Keira

I cried for a long time after that, hoping, just hoping that maybe he’d come back. It’d be a big joke. “Just kidding, Keira! I love you.” But no one came back. I went to school the next day and Sean Peterson asked me if we could go out the next night. I said no.

“No!? You said you’d love to go out with me yesterday, Keira!”

I looked up into those hazel eyes I used to dream about without lifting my chin. My face was probably pretty disturbing to him. I had dark circles under my eyes from lack of sleep the night before and they were completely bloodshot from all the crying I’d done. His eyes widened slightly.

“Sean,” I said quietly. “Things change.” I slowly turned so that my back was to him, and I started walking down the school hallway. It was time for French.

Sean didn’t say anything for a few long seconds, but he couldn’t let it go just like that. “Oh yeah!?” he yelled after me. I didn’t turn or hesitate in my step. “Well, you can just go and mope at home, Keira! And don’t think I’ll ask you again! Just…Just got out of my face!”

I silently chuckled. I wasn’t anywhere near in his face. Sean Peterson is a stupid boy.



Emily, my best friend, asked me what was up when I got to French class.

I swallowed hard and looked at her. She was a pretty girl with porcelain features and almond-shaped eyes the color of chocolate. She had thick straight almost white hair that she wore in a pony tail all the time. Along with her fragile body, she had a fragile heart for anyone who was upset. She was like the mother hen of everyone. “Come tell me your problems and I’ll kiss it and make it all better.” She was my best friend.

“Something happened last night,” she said, searching my eyes.

I didn’t answer her. It wasn’t really a question she’d asked anyway.

“Let me help you,” she said and reached over for my hand.

“He left me,” I stared past her.

“Who?”

I pulled her into focus again, but didn’t reply. Class had started and Emily took back her hand and turned her attention to the teacher. I was out of the spotlight…for now.

At lunch, surrounded by all my other friends, I started to act a little more alive.

Between classes, I’d done a check on myself. Looking in the mirror had helped. I was a wreck and I really didn’t want my broken heart on display for everyone to see. So, as I stared at my sunken blue eyes, I told myself to pull it together. After all, he did tell me we’d see each other again. There was no reason to be sad. But there was a reason to hope. I forced myself to smile and told myself, “Keira, it’s over. And it might not come back for another eighty years. And you really don’t want to look like a zombie for that long. You don’t. Your friends are out there who care about you. And you can’t tell them the reason you’re so broken. Not without someone laughing at you. Keira, he won’t forget you. Between now and when you see him again, promise yourself that you’ll be ready every day for him.” That last sentence actually had the outcome of a real smile. I was right. Right now, I wasn’t prepared to see him again. I didn’t look pretty; I didn’t look happy; I didn’t look like myself at all.

And when I emerged from the bathroom, I was somewhat pulled together again. I’d stitched myself up, hoping it’d last me a lifetime.

Emily watched me carefully at lunch the first few minutes. But, after a while, she loosened up and accepted that I was ok now. Alex Murray was inspecting the milk container she’d bought at lunch. “I wonder if they still sell you these even if it’s over the expiration date.”

“No way,” Kate said, taking the box and looking for the date. “If they did that, there would be…probably a good chance someone would get sick. Then the parents could sue or something. I don’t know. So, yeah, Alex, that would be a good reason to throw it away. But your milk is fine.” She handed the carton back to Alex who made a face.

“I don’t want it anymore anyway.”

Emily smiled and then turned to me. “So, Sean Peterson…?”

I blinked a few times, thinking. “He, uh, decided not to go out with me.”

Emily gasped. “Is that the reason you were so upset, Keira?”

My eyebrows shot up. “Yes,” I said slowly. “Yeah, but I’m better now. I mean, Sean Peterson is just some stupid boy I hope I never see again.”

Kate snorted. “One word: Transfer.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Babe, the only way you’ll never see Sean again is if you transfer. And even then, you might run into each other, you know, at like the ice cream place or something.”

“Well, I didn’t mean literally, Kate.” I rolled my eyes. “It was just to put some drama into my statement.”

She laughed. “Who ever admits that?”

Alex raised her hand. “I would.”

Kate laughed harder. “So, is Erin still sick?”

“I think she’s getting better. I called her last night,” Emily said. “She said she didn’t think she’d be able to make it to school today, but tomorrow was a probably.”

Kate nodded. “That’s good. I hate the flu.”

“Who would like it?” Emily said, sipping some lemonade.

“Oh, hey,” Alex said, turning to me. “Party on Saturday at Greg Miller’s house. You want to go with me?”

“As a date?” I asked with a smile.

She laughed. “No. I just really want to go, just not by myself. I heard Sterling Knight is going to be there.” Her eyes practically sparkled.

Sterling Knight was considered the hottest guy in the school. You know the kind. The kind of guy all the girls swoon after. All but me. I never really understood what was appealing about him. I mean, sure he was ok-looking, but his personality was, let’s just get right down to it, ugly. He had that long, nicely-combed hair (he probably even used hairspray, but that was just a rumor), he had blue eyes and a million-dollar smile. He was all about his looks. But everything that came out of his mouth spelled JERK. My instincts told me ‘don’t even go there.’

But Alex had been after him since he asked to borrow her violet crayon in first grade. Yeah, they go way back.

“Wait,” Kate said, shaking her head. “I can’t keep up with everything this guy does. Girlfriend or no?”

“Nope,” Alex said happily.

Kate sat back in her chair. “See? I thought he did.”

Emily smiled. “He did last week.”

“Who was it this time?” I asked.

“Leah Anderson,” Emily said.

“Oh my,” I said. She wasn’t the kind of girl you’d want for a long-time relationship. She was pretty much only good for a one-knight stand. Excuse the pun.

“How long did that even last? Three days?” Kate asked and then laughed.

“Two,” Alex said.

Kate stopped laughing altogether and looked at her. “Allie, if you get with him, you’ll regret it.”

Alex smiled. “If I ever get with him, it’ll be the biggest achievement I’ll ever make in my entire life.”

“I don’t know what the heck you see in him,” I said to her.

She shrugged her thin shoulders. “I don’t know. There’s something interesting in that guy. And he’s mysterious. Something just makes me want him.”

“You’re a crazy girl,” I said.

“Yeah, I know. So, will you go to the party with me on Saturday?”

I took a deep breath in and then let it out slowly. “Yeah. Sure, Alex. Anything for you.”

She squealed. “Oh, thank you! Maybe on Friday you could come over to help me pick out something to wear?”

“Ok,” I said. “That should be fun.”

“I think Saturday will be the day,” she said excitedly.

“The day for what?” Emily asked.

Alex grinned. “The day I finally get Sterling Knight to ask me out.”



Friday came too quickly for me, but I had a dentist appointment right after school, so I didn’t have time to help Alex find something to wear. She said that she’d get Erin to help her. Erin must have been feeling a lot better, because she’d also decided to come with us to the party.

So, on Saturday, I waited for Alex and her brother, who was driving us, to get to my house to pick me up. The doorbell rang a little after eight and I went to answer it. About an hour earlier, I’d started getting ready. I decided to take a shower to start myself over. I’d put some product into my hair and pulled out the blow-dryer to defuse it. After I was done with that, about seven minutes later, I had a head of extremely curly/wavy hair. I did my makeup consisting of a lot of brown eye shadow and liner, then black mascara. I never usually did too much makeup, but when I went out at night, it was my time to play with my face a little and see what I could make it do.

So, I used a lot of makeup, but not enough to make me look like a slut. I thought about using red lipstick that I almost never use, but decided against it. I used clear raspberry gloss and then threw on a Hollister casual t-shirt and my black skinny jeans along with, what else? Flip flops.

When the doorbell rang, I quickly grabbed my purse and opened the green door. “Hi…Alex?” It was one of those funny things. I’d opened the door with a big smile on my face and I’d said the ‘hi’ part enthusiastically, but when I saw what Alex was wearing, my smile collapsed and my eyebrows scrunched together. What was she doing wearing that!?

“Hi, Keira!” she said in an upbeat way. Then she squealed excitedly. “Isn’t this great?” She did a little twirl so that I could see her from all sides. But that was the thing. I could see too much of her. First, her makeup was practically caked on with black heavy eyeliner along with electric green shadow. She’d toned down her lips, so they were just a light pink, but goodness! Her hair was whip-straight unlike usual.

For Alex, usually, she wears almost no makeup and comes to school in t-shirts and jeans most days. Her usual hair is a bright, bright red color and is really curly. But not like mine. Mine is…well, no other word for it: wild. Her hair is dazzling in these beautiful ringlets that just barely reach her shoulders.

Tonight, there was no trace of the real Alex except her voice which was a blessing. She was wearing this royal blue strapless top that showed off her whole stomach and a black miniskirt that barely covered anything. It did the job of showing off her long legs, though, that were topped off with four-inch black stilettos.

“Oh my gosh, Alex,” I whispered. I think I lost my voice.

“Sterling won’t be able to say no tonight,” she said with a huge smile.

“Aw, Alex. This isn’t you. Don’t you want Sterling to know the real you?”

She shook her head. “Not if it doesn’t get me him.”

“This,” I said, motioning to her body. “Is getting him in the wrong way.”

“Hey, if I’m getting him at all, I’m fine with that.”

“Wait a minute,” I said suddenly. “Did Erin help you pick this out??”

“Well, kind of. She told me to wear this dress I’d just gotten from Abercrombie. I mean, that was totally cute and all. But cute isn’t really what I’m going for.”

“No, it’s not,” I commented.

She just giggled. “So, I pulled out these shoes and told Erin I wanted something to go with them. This is her miniskirt.”

“Geez,” was all I could say at this point. I mean, Erin’s not some goody-goody girl, but I never would have thought she’d approve of this outfit.

“Come on,” Alex said, turning to the car where her brother was waiting in the driver’s seat. “We have to go pick up Erin, too.” She opened up the passenger’s door and slid in. I got into the back behind her seat.

“Brad!” I said loudly.

He jumped. “Oh, hey Keira.” He sounded kind of bored. I really couldn’t blame him. He probably had better things to do than transfer a bunch of fourteen-year-olds to a party.

“You let your sister walk out of the house like that!?” I was still yelling. I couldn’t seem to lower the volume.

“Like what?” he asked, pulling out of my driveway.

Like a slut. Like a hooker. Like someone who isn’t going to walk out of that party as a virgin. But I didn’t want to hurt Alex’s feelings, so I didn’t say anything hoping that he’d hear what I wasn’t saying aloud.

“I think she looks fine,” he said instead.

“Oh my gosh,” I muttered, letting my head rest on the window. “Alex, really. Do you know people will see you and then talk at school on Monday?”

“Yeah, well, by then I’ll have Sterling as my boyfriend and no one would dare say anything.”

I sat up. “But what if everything doesn’t go the way you want it to go?”

“What do you mean?”

I leaned forward more. “I mean, what if Sterling totally blows you off. He is a junior.”

“Ooh, a junior, huh?” Brad said with a smirk. “My baby sister knows how to pick ‘em!”

“Yeah, but she doesn’t know how to dress,” I said.

Alex didn’t say anything.

“Alex, please. I love you. Those clothes say, “Bedroom now!” Mine say-.”

“Caution. I’m a good girl,” Alex finished and giggled.

Brad laughed, too. “It’s true Keira.”

“All right,” I said. “Fine. You do whatever you want, Al. I don’t care.” She was silent and so was Brad. They probably knew I did care; I just didn’t really want the responsibility of taking care of Alex’s broken heart tonight.

Brad parked the car in Erin’s driveway and she ran out almost instantly. I did a quick scan of her outfit, too. I had been getting a little worried about arriving at the party with two people dressed like Alex.

Erin wasn’t as extreme, though. But she wasn’t as casual as I was. She had her hair pulled up and a little makeup, but nowhere near Alex’s style. She was dressed more in between our styles. She had a red sequin tank top on and jeans with heels, so I was able to let out a sigh of relief.

She climbed in on Brad’s side of the car and lightly touched his shoulder. “Thanks for picking me up, Brad.”

Wow. Erin’s had a crush on Brad since she was born. And I’m kind of not exaggerating.

“Ooh, Allie. Don’t you look nice tonight? You’re going to take Sterling down, babe.”

Alex chuckled. “I hope so. But that’s not what Keira thinks.”

“I never said that,” I said quickly. “I think you have a very good chance of that, Alex. I just think it’s not really what you want.”

“Oh, please. What are you, my mother?” Alex muttered.

“No, that’d be Emily,” Erin joked.

I rolled my eyes and turned to Erin. “So, you’re feeling better?”

“Yeah!” she said excitedly. “I was still feeling a little nauseas yesterday morning, but I didn’t puke or anything…” She glanced at the back of Brad’s head, a blush playing on her cheeks. “So, anyway, yeah, I’m all better.”

“That’s good.”

“So, is anyone else coming?”

“To the party?” Alex asked, turning around in her seat.

“Yeah,” Erin said. “I mean, I pretty much know Emily’s not coming, but is Kate?”

“I don’t think so. She called me yesterday to tell me that Jake Mackenzie asked her out to a movie and ice cream.”

“That’s cool.”

“Yeah. She was excited.”

“Ok, girls,” Brad said. He put the car in park and we all looked out the windows. We were there.

Greg Miller’s house. His parents are kind of rich and they go out to different places a lot. Like, one time, they just decided to pack their bags and go to California for a few days. And they never take Greg with them. He always says he prefers that because then he can throw parties that much more easily, but I always wondered if maybe he secretly hated it. I know I’d miss my parents.

“You’ll come back to get us then?” Alex asked her brother.

“Yep. Just give me a call. I’ll probably be up either talking to Amy or playing video games all night.”

“Thanks, Brad.”

“Have fun, Allie,” he said with a smile.

I wanted to gag. He’s her older brother! Take care of her! Don’t tell her to go have fun with a knowing smile on his face! I wanted to punch the guy.

“Not as much fun as I’d have with you, Brad,” Erin said with a chuckle.

“Yeah, Erin. You’re just a ball of fun.”

Erin frowned and got out of the car. I followed her. “Wow, was that sarcasm or what?” she said to me.

I shrugged. “He’s almost graduating high school, Erin. And you’re just beginning. A little out of your league maybe?”

“Never,” she said with that pretty smile back on her face.

Alex got out of the car and then Brad drove away.

“You’re brother is amazing,” Erin said, throwing an arm around Alex’s bare shoulders.

“I suppose,” she said, quickly. “Let’s go do this thing, girls.”

“Oh boy,” I muttered. Was it still possible to just skip this thing altogether?

The house was all lit up and crazy with activity already. Linkin Park was blaring through the speakers and kids were scattered everywhere including outside in the yard. As we walked up to the porch stairs, we passed a guy that had…fallen asleep on the grass?

“I think he drank one beer to many,” Erin said and she and Alex giggled.

I just looked at the guy who looked only a few years older than me. A beer? Oh, dear Lord, please no!

But that’s exactly what it was. We walked up to the door that was left wide open and stepped right into the living room that was filled with kids dancing, eating, flirting…you name it.

“I want a beer,” Alex said to Erin. Erin nodded and they disappeared into the kitchen where I assume the food and drinks were.

I stayed where I was for many reasons; most of which I am having a hard time coming up with. I glanced around at all the people dancing and having a good time in the living room. Yes, there was Sterling leaning against the far wall trying too hard to look cool. Greg Miller was standing next to the stereo system with a goofy look on his face. Not sure why that was. I knew pretty much everyone there, just not as friends. I could put names with all the faces and stories I’d heard. I couldn’t tell you about each of their lives, though.

There was a girl who stumbled her way off the ‘dance floor’ and almost crashed into the girl next to me. “Sorry,” she said in a really giggly voice.

I helped the girl straighten up and she was on her way. I turned to the girl who had been crashed into. Her name was Cassie Morgan and I was surprised to see her there. “Cassie, hi,” I said.

“Hey, Keira.” She smiled politely at me and then glanced over my shoulder. “You come here with anyone?”

“Yeah, Alex and Erin.”

“Oh,” Cass said. Her eyebrows rose a little.

“You’ve seen her?” I asked.

“Too much, I think,” she replied.

I chuckled. “Yeah, well, apparently I don’t give good advice. She won’t listen to me.”

“Did her parents try to stop her?”

I shook my head. “I’m pretty sure they’re not home.”

“Oh. Who drove you guys here?”

“Brad, her older brother.”

“What the heck did he say?”

“He said, ‘have fun,’” I told her.

Her mouth dropped. “No way.”

“Way,” I said with a nod.

She took a deep breath. “I guess I can kind of understand that because he’s a guy, but he’s also her brother!”

“I know,” I agreed.

“Did Erin try to talk her out of it?”

I snorted a laugh. “Part of that outfit is Erin’s.”

“Oh my gosh,” Cass said. “What is the purpose of that outfit, anyway? I mean, it’s all trouble and-.”

“That’s the reason,” I said pointing across the room where the blonde super-model to-be was standing, sipping something in a plastic cup.

“She’s a goner,” Cass said quietly, watching Sterling talk to two girls dressed similarly to Alex. “Does she want him…like that? That badly?”

“Yesterday, I wouldn’t have thought so at all. It’s just a crush, Cassie. But I don’t really think so anymore.”

I watched Alex and Erin emerge from the kitchen and make their way toward Sterling. He was about to be attacked. And Cassie and I had awesome seats! Alex was slightly ahead of Erin and moving toward the boy fast. He spotted them almost right away and stepped around the two other girls he’d been talking to. They tossed their hair and walked away.

“Erin, hi,” he said with a smile. Then he looked at Alex and his eyes all but popped out of their sockets. I would have adored seeing that, let me tell you.

“Hey, Knight,” Alex said.

“Alex?” Sterling was staring at her. He did a quick scan of her outfit and lifted his chin to look at her again. “Wow, you look pretty amazing tonight.”

“Thank you,” Alex said, shooting Erin a look.

Erin took the hint and disappeared into the swarm of dancing teenagers.

Alex and Sterling talked for a while and that boy couldn’t take his blue eyes off that girl. I turned to Cassie who was watching the fiasco, too. “Should I be babysitting her like this?”

“I don’t know, Keira. She’s not a baby; she can take care of herself. But she’s your friend.”

I shook my head. “That really didn’t help me at all, Cass.”

She smiled sheepishly. “Sorry.”

“Nah, it’s ok. I’m going to get a drink. Want to come?”

“Sure. I just want a coke, though.”

“Me, too. Except I want root beer.”

“You want beer?”

I smiled. “No, just the kind that doesn’t have alcohol in it.”

“So, the kind with ‘root’ in front of the word? That automatically makes it non-alcoholic, right?”

“It totally does!” We giggled and went to find a cooler filled with ice and soda. “Ever had real beer before?” I asked her as I grabbed myself a root beer.

“Yeah, once,” she said, opening her coke. I closed the cooler lid and we walked back to the living room. “When I was at my cousin’s house, I was sitting next to my dad,” she told me. “And he was drinking some sort of dark beer. I happened to have my raspberry iced tea right beside it. And when I reached for my drink, I accidentally got his. Worse taste of my life.”

I laughed. “Yeah, I never imagined beer to taste actually good. But if you’ve got it in your mind that you’re going to drink iced tea, and you get disgusting beer instead, that can really mess with your brain and your taste buds.”

She laughed, too. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

I looked over at Alex and Sterling again…and they weren’t there. “Oh no,” I murmured.

“What’s wrong?” Cassie said and then automatically looked where I was looking and realized what had happened. “Where’d they go?”

“Uh, exactly why I said ‘oh no,’” I said.

“Maybe they’re dancing,” Cass offered.

“I’d like to hope so,” I said and scanned the whole room. Nowhere to be found. I stared at the wooden stairs diagonal from me. It got darker the farther you went up. It was a forbidden place unless you liked risky, scary, and stupid. “You know what? I’m not her mother. I don’t have to watch her every move to make sure she doesn’t get hurt.”

“You’re right,” Cass said, but she was still looking around. “Course, you not looking after her may cause you to have to stitch up a broken heart later tonight, Keira.”

“Already done one this week,” I muttered mostly to myself. I fell back against the wall and sipped my root beer. “Don’t care, don’t care, don’t care.”

Cass leaned next to me. “If you keep telling yourself that, you may actually start to believe it.”

“Maybe I don’t want to believe it.”

“That’s better.”

I stood back up. “But I can’t go opening every single door upstairs.” I shuddered. “I’m afraid of what I’ll find.”

“Exactly why you have to do it,” Cassie said. “I’ll help you.”

“I don’t know. We’re fourteen years old! We shouldn’t have to go searching for our friend in someone else’s upstairs bedrooms!”

“Right. She’s fourteen, Keira.”

Just as she said that, Alex came down the stairs carrying her stilettos in her left hand. Her makeup was all smeared and her hair was a tangled mess, but other than that, she seemed ok. I caught my breath real quick. Was it already too late?

“Keira,” Alex said, coming up to me. She stood staring at me like a zombie for a few seconds before she leaned forward and rested her forehead on my chest. I gathered her in a hug.

“Are you ok?” I asked, rubbing her back.

“I just want to go home, Keira.”

“I don’t have your brother’s cell number. Do you have your-?” She handed it to me without a word and I dialed.

“Where’s Erin?” Alex asked.

“I’m not sure.”

“Hello?” Brad said tiredly.

“Brad, were you sleeping?” I asked.

“Keira?”

“I thought you were going to fry what was left of your brain playing video games all night.”

“Mm, so did I.”

“Never mind. Brad?”

“Yeah? I’m here.”

“Can you come pick us up?”

“Pick you up? But it’s – 9:30?”

“Long story. Your sister’s not feeling well.”

He let loose with a few words I listened politely to. “All right. I’ll be there in ten minutes. Are you all going home?”

I glanced around for Erin again. “I don’t know. I have to find Erin and talk to her.”

“Oh, gosh. I hope she doesn’t come.”

“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that,” I said.

He chuckled. “Oh you know I don’t mean it.”

“Yeah sure I do,” I said. “See you in ten minutes, Brad.”

“Yeah.”

I closed the phone and hesitated. Where was I supposed to put it? Alex had no pockets. “Al, where do you-?”

She straightened up from my hug and took the phone. “I had it here.” She started to shove it into her top.

“Uh, Alex,” I said, taking the phone back. “I’ll just keep it with me. I have a purse. I have pockets. I have room for pockets.” I looked at her. She seemed sad. “Are you going to tell me what happened? Where’s Sterling?” I looked behind her at the stairs, but no one was coming down them.

Alex just shrugged at my question.

“Oh, gosh, Alex, he’s not up there on the floor in a pool of blood, is he? Gosh, I told you not to kill everyone you take upstairs!”

She chuckled a little. “Like I do that everyday.”

“That’s why I said it.”

Alex nodded softly. “I’ll tell you after I get home and take a shower and relax a little. I’m just freaking out. But don’t worry, Keira. I love you and nothing happened.”

“I feel a little better now,” I admitted.

She smiled. “I’m glad. So, Brad’s coming?”

“Yes. I just have to find Erin and see if she’s coming home now or what.”

“Oh, I’m doubting it big time,” Alex said and pointed to Erin dancing with Matt Prince.

“Let me go talk to her. Stay here.”

Alex nodded and I made my way through the kids to Erin. I felt like Moses parting the Red Sea. “Erin,” I said loudly to be heard over the music.

“Keira!” she said happily. “Isn’t this party awesome?” Matt smiled at me and I smiled back a little.

“Erin, Alex wants to go.”

Erin’s smile immediately dissolved. “What happened? Is she ok?”

“She’s ok. She’s just feeling ready to leave. Brad’s on his way here. I called him. Did you want to head home now or catch a ride with someone else later?”

Erin glanced from me to Matt. It took him a few extra seconds to catch the hint. “Oh, no, babe. I’ll take you home on my motorcycle.”

Erin’s eyes lit up. “A motorcycle? A motorcycle, Keira! This girl is a lucky chick,” she said pointing at herself and smirking at Matt. He nodded his agreement.

“Ok, have fun then, lucky chick,” I said as my farewell.

“I will,” she called back, but I was already halfway through the Red Sea again.

I found Alex and then me and her made our way to the front door. I looked back at the party and roomful of people. I still hadn’t seen Sterling. “I swear, Alex, if you killed him…”

She laughed a little. “I didn’t kill him.” She looked up the stairs. “He’s probably too embarrassed to come down because I said no. Oh, I’ll get an earful about myself at school on Monday.”

I wasn’t really paying attention to what she was saying. My eyes were glued to the sharp heels of her killer shoes. “I don’t know, Alex. Those shoes would make an excellent weapon.”

“Oh, would you shut up!” she said, but smiled.

I laughed and opened the door. We left the house and waited on the curb for Brad to pull up. My friend who’d fallen asleep in the grass earlier was missing.

“Maybe he went home,” Alex said.

I shrugged. “Or maybe he hadn’t slept enough, so he went back inside for more beer.”

Alex laughed really hard at that and so did I.





It hadn’t really been that big of a deal. The next day, I called over to Alex’s house after lunch to see if she wanted to go for a walk in the park. She agreed and I told her I’d meet her there. I biked there quickly. It wasn’t a long bike ride from my house. I had to wait a few extra minutes for Alex, however. But she seemed back to her old self when she parked her bike next to mine. Her hair was curly and her clothes were casual. I smiled. “Good to have you back.”

“Good to be back. I have so many blisters from those shoes! You wouldn’t even believe it.”

I smirked. “I don’t really want to see it either.”

She giggled. We started walking down the path that looped the playground, crossed the creek and then re-crossed it later.

“So, how are you, Al?”

She kicked a pebble with her sneakered foot. “Oh, pretty good.”

“Yeah? That’s good then.”

She sighed. “You want to know what happened.”

I shrugged. “I want to know what happened if you want to tell me.”

She smirked at me. “Otherwise, you don’t want to know?”

“Ok! I do want to know! Really bad!”

“Ok, I can tell you.”

“Yes!”

She laughed. “Well, he asked me if I wanted to ditch the party and I asked if that meant leaving the house.” She looked at me. “I was unsure leaving in a car with him because then I’d have no way of getting home if something were to go wrong.”

I nodded for her to go on.

“Ok, so after I asked that, he said we didn’t have to leave the house. We could just climb the stairs. I was nervous, Keira. Part of me wanted to scream and run away at top speed…but the other, stronger part was incredibly curious. So, I told him I wanted to go upstairs. But after I was in the bedroom with the lights really dim and everything, and the door closed…I freaked out. He said he couldn’t believe I was chickening out. But I was. I didn’t want this to happen. Not with Sterling. Not at a crazy high school party.”

“Good call,” I murmured.

She smiled. “Yeah, so I took off my shoes and told him I was leaving. He just shrugged like it didn’t really matter. Then he told me to send Erin up. Like heck I was going to do that.” She chuckled once. “So, I actually picked up a tissue box from the dresser and threw it at him before I left the room.”

“Whoa! You go, baby!”

She laughed and then shrugged. “Well, that’s the story.”

I nodded. “So, you’re ok?”

“Yeah. And Sterling is a jerk. So, did Erin go home with Matt last night?”

“I don’t know. He offered a ride on his motorcycle and she seemed thrilled for that.”

“Oh that’s cool! I hope she tells us what happened tomorrow in school.”

“Yeah. Knowing Erin, it’ll be a good story.”

“Totally.”



But it turned out that she didn’t go home with Matt. She explained that Matt had to leave early because he had work the next day, but she wasn’t ready to go yet. So, she stayed and ended up passed out till everyone but she had left. Then Greg Miller had to take her home.

“So, was there any chemistry?” Kate asked. It was Monday afternoon and we were sitting at our usual table in the crowded cafeteria.

Erin yawned. She was probably still working on getting over that massive hangover. “Not really. Sadly, I was still pretty drunk and passed out. And I had to pee really badly.”

Emily giggled.

“What about you, Katelyn? How was Mr. Mackenzie?” Erin asked, picking up a piece of lettuce with her fingers.

Kate blushed. “Nothing really happened or anything. We went to see a movie and then went out for ice cream. All that’s really worth telling is that he kissed me at my doorstep.”

“Really?” I asked, getting interested.

“Yeah!” Kate squealed.

“What kind of kiss was it?” Alex asked, eyes bright.

“Hmm, just a sweet one. Like two seconds long at the most.” Kate smiled and bit her lip.

“That’s it?” Erin said. “You guys didn’t really get into it at all?”

Kate shrugged. “Not really. It was sweet. I mean, if he had really started making out with me, I wouldn’t want another date.”

Erin eyed her. “Are you being honest, dear?”

Kate laughed. “Actually, I am.”

“Humph.” Erin went back to slowly chewing her salad.

“So, what happened to you, babe?” Emily asked, turning to Alex.

Alex glanced at me and then back to Emily. By now, she had Kate and Erin’s attention, too. “Nothing huge really happened. I mean, up the stairs we went, I chickened out, he told me to send Erin up, I threw a tissue box at him, then back down the stairs I went…along with my pride and my virginity.”

“You never told me the message!” Erin said loudly.

“What do you mean?” Alex asked.

“You never told me Sterling wanted me to go up there.”

Alex stared her straight in the eyes. “Erin, would you have really gone up there?”

“Well, yeah!” Erin’s eyes fell back on her limp salad. “Maybe not.”

“He’s a jerk,” Alex said. “Don’t mess with him. You deserve someone much better.”

“Yeah, I do,” Erin agreed and smiled. “Thanks, Allie.”

“Shut up with the freaking ‘Allie’ business and you’re welcome.” She smiled.

“So,” Emily said, leaning on her elbows. “You threw a tissue box at Sterling Knight!?”

Alex nodded.

“Way to go!” Kate said and tossed a high five.

Alex laughed. “It kind of made me feel good to turn down a guy like Sterling Knight.”

“What are you talking about?” I said. “Sterling Knight is the lowest, filthiest kid in school.”

“Now she tells me,” Alex muttered and flashed me a smile which I returned.