007: The party

×Anastasia×

I haven't been to a party since my middle school graduation. Griffin had cleaned my tears, and nearly lost his jaw when he made a comment and I corrected him.

"Just wash your tears off with the fountain water. Sure it'll ruin your make-up but meh."

Shaking my head, I bent over to splash my face with water. "I'm not wearing makeup." I told him after I was done. Taking the napkin from his hand, and wiping my face with it. I found his mouth open when I looked at him.

"How the fuck are you still beautiful then?!"

My cheeks heat up. That's a good compliment if I've ever heard one. He helped me put on the helmet when once he collected himself. And slid my onto the back of the bike. Giving me strict instructions to hold on to his stomach.

He drove to the location of the party in under five minutes. He went really fast, breaking every speed law imaginable. My heart had been close to bursting through my ribs.

Now the issue with parties, are the cliques. Everyone has a clique they stick with, before deciding to mingle. This party, is no different. The outside of the house had people drunk beyond their minds. Which is weird, because it's only ten pm. Teenagers shouldn't be this wasted. In a way, I guess you can say it was good for me.

I walked alongside Griffin, too afraid he'd leave me. If he did, then I might purposefully walk myself into traffic. We only made it into the yard before the sober enough people noticed me. And they tensed.

I don't want to ruin the party for anyone. I'm about to tell Griffin he should take me back home when a girl screams.

"Get back to drinking you fucking pussies! Nothing to see here. It's the queen of mean, so what? If you drink hard enough, you'll realize she's still hot."

I bat my lashes at the blonde girl approaching me at an alarming speed. The girl next to her is the one that shouted those words. I know her, Luciana? Right? That was her name. The girl with the traitorous mother, and the rogue father.

That's how my mother used to describe her.

When the blonde stops, she frowns at me. Flips me the middle finger then turns to smile at Griffin.

"Griffy!" She coos, throwing her arms around his neck. I stepped out of the way. He hugged her back, and to my surprise, he smiled. I don't remember this female, but she can make him smile? That hasn't been possible for as long as I remember.

Which, granted, lacks three good or bad years of my life.

"Hi, Griffin." Lucia greets once she's closer. "Hey, Anastasia. Fancy seeing you at a party with Griffin." She snickers something only he understands because he frowns and blows a raspberry at her. He drops the blond to the ground.

"Where are your dates?"

Lucia rolls her eyes. "Hooking up with each other."

I guffaw. "What?" The blond sends me a look, and Lucia laughs.

"Ridiculous right? They got so drunk and started making out. We just let them go."

She seems nice, and that's a relief. Maybe I didn't do anything bad to her. She makes an O shape with her full lips. "This is Max, she started high school with us so I'm sure you can't remember her."

"You are correct." I nod. Waving meekly to Max.

"I don't like you bitch, wave to someone else."

"Suit yourself." I murmur. I don't have to sit and be nice to people. I'm just going to stick to being on my own, and take whatever they throw at me.

Lucia smacks Max in the back of her head. "Her memories can come back at anytime. Ava will be the one to suffer if the old Anastasia recounts you being snappy with her." She scolds. And drops a tank in my stomach. Of course she has a solid reason to hate me.

Let me guess, I tore out the eyes of her sister.

"Can we go in? Keep that away from me and we should be fine." Max turns before her friends can respond and jogs into the house. I can still feel eyes on me.

I should find that symbol and why it was on the front hood of a truck.

"Come on, it's time to join these hobos and party." Lucia drags me and Griffin into the house, snapping away my train of thought.

She offers me a purple drink but i refuse it. With people out to get me, drinking is the last thing I want to do. I found a quiet spot on a couch-window. Griffin and Lucia stayed close by, chatting and actually having fun.

They drank, cheered, and laughed. Max joined them shortly. I felt out of place. I wanted to leave but the loud bass thrumming through my eardrums, and almost shaking the house, was a nice change from school and my home.

I watched everyone. They did drinking competition, so many. Beer pong was the tamest one.

There were others that I hadn't heard of.

My eyes drifted to Nona, she was staring back at me. A smirk on her face. The girls behind her, giggled something into her ear.

It didn't bother me. I don't understand her issues with me. I haven't gone through my gallery but we looked like friends from the few that I had seen.

But then they turned on me.

Who needs friends like her anyways? I don't even remember anything about her. What's there to truly miss? I'm just confused.

Nona turned to face a guy, shaggy brown hair and killer grin. I feel like I know him.

She places a hot kiss to his mouth, clinging onto his shoulders like she wanted to climb him. But I was confused. Especially when I saw her open one eye to stare my way.

Creepy.

Am I supposed to care that she's kissing this guy?

Because I don't. Shrugging my shoulders with an empty look on my face, I continued looking at people. There was a group at the end, playing with darts. They were throwing it at a poster of my face.

Honestly, I don't blame them. And I might be high on something I'm smelling but I want to chuck a dart at my face too.

What the fuck happened to me? How could I have gone so fucking wrong?

I fucked up my life for myself.

Lucia plops on the couch next to me. Then she whistles. It's drowned out by the horrible music blasting through the speakers.

"That girl, is a fucking hoe."

I turn to her, she motions Nona with her fingers.

"How?"

Lucia stares at me for a second, contemplating whether to answer or not.

"That's your boyfriend."

I gasp, dropping my mouth open with shock. How the-

That guy-

Nona pulls back from the kiss with him, her lips swollen. He turns his neck, waving to someone next to Max and Griffin. Giving me the clear view of his face.

Caramel skin, shaggy hair over his face, this mega hotty was my boyfriend?? His jacket shows he's on the football team.

The Reapers!

Oh my god, he's a quarterback?

How'd I score that and wait- I do know him! He's one of the jocks who called me a slut, and asked if I'd like for them to pee on me. I'd recoil into my skin if I thought it was possible.

There's no way I dated this jerk. No fucking way. How could I?

"I know right. You scored one of the hottest dudes, and the one guy on the team that rejected Nona."

Then why is he kissing her?

As if she could read my mind, Lucia answers. "Maybe you being, well confused and not yourself, made Nona suddenly look good to him."

"Good for them. He's hot, but I would like to travel back in time and undo-” I made unexplainable gestures with my fingers at the the jock and Nona. Lucia laughs with me.

It feels good to laugh. God it feels fucking fantastic.

She hands me her untouched beer.

"Drink, you need to loosen up and relax. Unlike the rest of them, I don't hate you. I'm taking this as a second try at being your friend."

That made my eyes soften. It did register that she said second try, which means bitchy me made the first one horrible.

I took the drink from her hand, and took a small swig. My face squeezes, and I habd it back. "Bitter, hate it." Is all I can get out. It's disgusting. Who can drink that?

Lucia cackles and takes a swig. She only winks, clearly okay with the taste.

The party goes on, and everyone drifts to the back of my mind. To think about later in my room. Lucia and I chat about art.

She shows me pictures of her graffiti art, and her sketches. She's fucking talented.

And very nice.

Soon she convinces me to try the purple drink and it taste much better, sweet even. It only takes one cup for the room to spin.

"Okay, you're weak to alcohol." She says. "No wonder you don't drink at parties. I always thought it was your way of staying fit, and super healthy as you put it."

"I sound like a conceited bitch."

I hear choruses of YES. Being chanted through the air. It makes me giggle. The room doesn't spin for long, but I feel lighter.

Griffin has a dark look on his face, he spreads his arms for me. And I wobbly stand, and walk into them.

"Let's get you home."

"Gimme a call." Lucia tells me.

"Okay!"

We traded numbers at some point, I don't know when. After the purptel…. pertel …. purle…. purple drink, I kinda lost track of- so I -

What the fuck is wrong with my head?

I wipe my eyes on Griffin's jacket.

"This was fun. I had fun."

He grunts. "I bet you did."

"What died in your asshole?" I burst out laughing.

"Nothing. You're drunk, and some guys were eyeing you."

Oh. Dang.

"Poor-" I close my mouth just as a blech was about to escape. "Poor fellas. Did you know I was dating some hot stud?"

"Yes. Unfortunately." He responds.

"I agree. Unfortunately, the dude maybe hot, but he asked if I wanted him to pee on my person. The day before the Y."

I see another dark shift in Griffin's expression, but I pay it no mind. He tosses my helmet to the floor.

"Hey *hiccup* that was mine." I make grabby hands at it, almost falling flat when I try to bend.

Griffin grabs me by the waist, hoisting me onto the bike. But the wrong way.

He slides in, arranging me so my legs are crossed around his hips. It's actually comfortable. I lean my head, placing in on his shoulder. My fingers grip his jacket tighter.

His arms are on each side of me, as he grasp the handles. I can't see it, but I know that's what he's doing.

That's the last part I can process before I fall asleep.

The next time I wake up, Griffin is helping me to the door of my house. Alexis is there.

He plants me on my feet, "make sure she gets into bed. I'll know if she doesn't."

"Shush, don't tell Lexi that. She's afraid of me."

He grunts again, and then he's gone. My vision switches in between black and clear. Like a light switch.

Surprisingly, Alexis helps me to my bedroom and sets me on the mattress. She sits next to me, while I try to get my brain to work.

"I'm sorry Lexi, for the way that me hurt you. I'll stay out of your way." I almost cheer at my clear sentence.

"Thank you." She says after a while of silence and me struggling not to fall asleep.