2ND HEARTBEAT

JORDI ADKINS

When I got home, I felt extremely uncomfortable from the sticky feeling caused by the juice that Xavier poured all over my body. Not only that, I could still feel the pain of the punch from my stomach. I immediately rushed towards the shower.

I hugged my legs as I began to cry in absolute silence. The sound of the cold water trickling down from the shower wasn’t loud enough to deafen my utter frustration. I really thought I could finally stand up for myself but I was actually being delusional.

Xavier punched me twice in the stomach and I almost thought he’s going to kill me, thankfully the janitress showed up just in the nick of time and eventually shooed them away. The janitress wanted to go to the principal’s office and tell everything what happened but I’m very much aware that’s not going to be a good idea in the grand scale of things. It would just make things even worse plus, I don’t want my parents worrying about me, most especially my mom.

I had to convince the janitress that everything’s fine. I could see she’s quite uncertain but she ended up letting it go.

I’m astronomically pissed at Xavier and if I could just sell my soul to the devil just so he would stop setting his eye on me, I would most definitely do it without any uncertainty. I just simply couldn’t do anything for him to stop picking on me. It seemed that he’s having so much fun in seeing me struggle in pain.

I’m thoroughly baffled as to why Xavier chose me as his poor prey when there’s literally a hundred different people at school. There’s got to be something wrong with him.

I spent almost an hour crying under the shower until the moment that I realized crying won’t make Xavier stop hitting me. It’s just making the situation even more pathetic than it always was and I might even get sick from being drenched in cold water for a long time. I quickly washed up before eventually jumping out of the shower.

I was just about to slip on some clean and comfortable clothes when my phone started ringing.

“Hi, mom! What’s up?” It was my mom calling.

“Hey there sweetie, are you home already?” My mom asked, she’s probably just checking on me just like how she usually does.

“Yeah, I just came out from the shower.”

“Okay, sweetie. I just want to inform you that I’ll be coming home pretty late.” She announced and I quickly became curious about it.

“How late is that?” I inquired.

“Probably past midnight. I really have a lot of paperwork to take care of and I have to finish them all today otherwise my boss would kill me. I’m really sorry, sweetie. Just order some pizza for dinner, okay?” My mom went on.

“Okay, mom.” I nodded.

“Bye, sweetie. I love you!!!”

“Love you, too, mom. Goodbye!”

Things just got extra interesting just now. The moment the phone call ended, I have already made my decision to go to the house party and I just have to be home at midnight.

I knew I wanted to get drunk tonight and this might just be the lucky night that I’ve been waiting for so long. I’ve been yearning for that certain numbing yet pleasurable sensation that only alcohol could provide.

I became enraptured with excitement and I wasted no time. I immediately slipped on some casual clothes. For a second, I was thinking of dressing up fancy but then I realized my mom would definitely check my laundry basket and she knows me pretty damn well. I don’t want her interrogating me about why I wore my fancy clothes.

I slipped on some casual khaki trouser, a white tank top and paired it with a simple black leather jacket. I had to put a little wax on my hair just so it would stay on place. I have curly blonde hair and they get messy sometimes.

By the time I was done, I stormed out of the house and rode a cab going towards the house party. When I got to the place, it was already dark and I’m more than ready to drink my frustration out until I forget about it.

“Oh my fucking gosh, Jordi. What the fuck are you doing here?” Nikki screamed out overwhelmed with shock the moment she saw me. She immediately hugged me with one arm while holding a cup of alcohol on the other.

“I came here to party, obviously!” I replied smiling from ear to ear. “Where’s Jane by the way?” I looked around and I don’t see any sign of Jane.

“I don’t know; I guess she’s canoodling with Lewis somewhere upstairs.” Nikki shook her head. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”

“My mom called me and she said she’s working overtime.”

“Oh my lord! Thank you, Jesus for giving Mrs. Adkins a lot of paperwork!” Nikki uttered raising her palm in the air as if she’s truly thanking the lord for keeping my mom busy tonight.

“Praise the lord!”

“Now, come on, let’s PARTY!!!”

Nikki grabbed my arm and subsequently pulled me over towards where the drinks were and she was just as thrilled upon my unannounced arrival that she was kind enough to pour me some alcohol.

“Cheers!!!” Nikki squealed as we both raised our plastic cups into the air basically celebrating this once in a blue moon event.

I gulped what’s on my cup as if I’ve been deprived of it for years. I immediately recognized vodka but with an added bursting fruity flavor. I must’ve forgotten how alcohol taste because the last time I went out was two months ago. It’s not that long ago but it feels like forever.

The place was filled mostly with students; I recognized most of them were from our school but there were also relatively new faces who probably came from other schools. The house music reverberated throughout the room and everyone’s doing their own thing.

I saw Michiko Takao in one corner talking to Arven, the team captain of the school’s basketball team. Judging from their body language, it appeared to me that Michiko was flirting with Arven. I’m confused as to why she’s already out here flirting with somebody else when she just broke up with Xavier earlier. I know she has fallen head over heels with Xavier but that looked suspicious. And even if she has finally woken up to the fact that Xavier’s a spineless scumbag, there’s at least this thing called the three-month rule. I know she’s a bit of a dummy but still, she should’ve some sort of dignity in her bones.

I don’t even know why I’m out here judging Michiko’s actions in the first place when she’s not even the one hitting me with a soccer ball nor the one who’s pouring juice on me. I don’t care if she moves on that easily.

“Come on, Jordi. I heard there’s a twerk battle in the other room.” Nikki spat as I was just refilling my cup.

“Not a twerk battle again.” I heaved out. Nikki has been fond of twerk battles and dancing in general and honestly, she’s quite the monster and she would easily devour anyone. Not only that she’s gifted with a modelesque figure, but she’s also good at working the dance floor. She might not have the biggest bum out there but she surely does have the moves to back things up.

“Oh yes, honey! I’m going to throw my ass out there and slay everyone.” Gritting with such confidence, Nikki pulled me once again.

“Okay…”

By the time we got into the other room, Nikki just handed me her plastic cup and joined the battle where there are three other girls twerking. The room was the noisiest of all and all I could hear was the thirsty screaming of dudes surrounding the ladies.

I’m not much of a dancer myself, mostly because I don’t feel like I look good while moving around and wiggling. I used to be an awkward kid when I was younger and while befriending Jane and Nikki definitely helped me get past that, I still carried the fear of being sequestered in a stage. I don’t like being watched by a myriad lot of eyes. That’s probably the main reason why every time there’s a school play, I was always either a tree or a bush.

It was fun to watch Nikki having the best night. She was really out there grooving and twerking and all I could do was watch and cheer for her. Only if I was that much confident to be dancing and twerking while everyone was watching, I’d probably be Nikki’s biggest rival.

I was jumping and screaming out Nikki’s name and then suddenly, I bumped into someone that I accidentally spilled what’s on my cup.

“Fuck, I’m really re…” I was astonished when I saw the guy was Zacheus Riley, the guy that I’ve been crushing on. “I’m sorry… I-I didn’t mean to spill alcohol on you.”

“That’s fine.” Zacheus smiled and I almost fainted seeing his perfect smile. “Jordi, right?” He asked and I almost thought I’m in a dream.

Zacheus Riley, the hottest guy with the most perfect smile knows my fucking name. That’s got to be the best thing I learned today.

“Y-yes. Hi.” I swallowed hard and it’s even more difficult to be looking at Zacheus’ perfection. “Zacheus, right?”

“Zach just call me Zach.”

“O-okay, Zach.”

“Hey, babe!” A brunette woman suddenly showed up from behind and I was just thrown in a cell of disappointment when I saw Zach snaked his arms around her waist.

“Hey,”

“Let’s get something to drink?” The woman asked using her tiny voice that sounded forced.

“Sure.” Zach nodded giving her a gentle peck on the lips.

They both walked away and I was left feeling disappointed yet somehow satisfied. That was like the very first time that I’ve interacted with Zacheus Riley and it felt like I’m in a hazy dream. Zacheus’ a year older than us and he’s really quite the popular guy in school. Based on my own point of view, he’s the epitome of perfection. Not only that he’s hot and ripped, but he’s also smart, kind and responsible. I’m sure every girl and gay guys at school have been dreaming of dating him and most of them have definitely thought of him while touching themselves. Even I had a vivid dream of dating him but it turns out that he’s off limits. That girl’s most probably his girlfriend.

Zach has been the guy of my dream, I even downloaded a picture of him that I stole on I* and printed it. Both Nikki and Jane knew that but everybody knows he’s straight and that means I have absolutely zero chance of ever dating him. And even if I was a woman, I’m clearly not on par with whatever standards he has.

By the time the twerk battle was over, I pulled Nikki as we refilled our drinks and after a few more drinks, Jane hasn’t showed up yet. The alcohol has finally entered my system and I began to feel hot and a bit dizzy which was the whole reason why I came here in the first place.

The night went on pretty wild. I don’t have a clear memory of what was going on but I know Nikki and I were both laughing hard at certain something. We had so much to drink and when Nikki got super drunk, she went crazy. I just followed her as she played prank on people and it was wild that she’s doing that and she’s getting away with it.

There’s a point in time where I finally got my senses back. It’s when I’ve drunk so much alcohol and my body couldn’t take it anymore that I had to barf. I slowly inched my way towards the nearest comfort room only to find a couple kissing and almost stripping each other’s garments.

I ended up climbing my way to the second floor to find another place to barf and thankfully, the first bathroom that I found was empty. I immediately hugged the toilet bowl and puked everything out. I don’t know how much I puked but I know I puked a lot and it was honestly relieving.

By the time I was done, I flushed everything and went to the sink to wash my face. I still feel dizzy and all but I know I could drink more. I turned on the faucet and just when I was about to touch the water, someone suddenly barged in and slammed the door with force that I got startled by the thunderous banging sound.

I turned around to see who it was but my vision was a bit blurry and while he does really look familiar, I still couldn’t tell who he was. All I see was his ginger hair and he’s definitely taller than me by a mile.

“Wh-o the fuck are you?” I inquired having no other way of recognizing who it was.

“SHHHHH!!!” The guy whispered as he drastically pinned me against the wall and just covered my mouth with his hands.

“What the… get your hands of my mouth.” I uttered as I pulled his hand off of my mouth.

After a few seconds, there was a loud knocking on the door.

“Xander!!! Are you in here?” A voice yelled from the outside and I just thought maybe I could let them know he’s here.

I don’t really know this guy most probably because I’m still under the magical spell of alcohol. He was dominant and he’s really pinning me firm against the wall. I just want some space to move.

“He’s he…” The guy covered my mouth again but I bit his fingers. Before I could even shout, he just fastened his lips onto mine.