A Little Time to Get to You

under the influence

The weeks following the night that Ricky stayed at my house were calm. He went back to his home after only a few nights, but he seemed to be doing better as he coped with his family drama.

In fact, we seemed to be doing better.

Rehearsal was never tense, we were able to act smoothly together. Classes were fine, we weren't overly friendly but we acknowledged each other's existence. We even texted occasionally when I worried too much about his mental state and needed to reach out to check on him.

Overall, we were civil. Distant, but civil.

***

As we entered the first weekend of October, every senior in the school began buzzing about the upcoming party that the quarterback of our football team would be holding.

It was tradition that that one member of the East High football team would hold a party for the entire senior class on the first weekend of October. No one knew exactly how or why the tradition started, but everyone acknowledged that it was a particularly loved one. Even I was excited, especially as Kourtney was rummaging through my closet to find the outfit I'd be wearing to it in just a few hours.

"This." Kourtney says, catching my attention from where I was focused on scrolling through Instagram. I open and close my mouth, shocked that I even owned the article of clothing that she was holding. The barely-there tank top straps held up the fabric of the low cut neckline and the high cut skirt line. The dress was white with sunflowers on it though, and it portrayed a bit of innocence despite the risky item itself.

"Well... okay I guess." I cave and Kourtney claps excitedly. "Perfect, now put it on, get your cute floppy sandals and I'll go get into my outfit." She says, making her way over to my desk to grab her clothing that she had brought. "Then it's makeup time." She announces and I grin, giving her a nod. "I don't know about you, but I'm lookin for a boy tonight." She mutters and I laugh, slipping off the bed to grab the dress she picked out. "Not exactly my plan, but it's not a crime to look hot."

***

"Are you going to the party tonight?" I text Ricky on a whim before wincing and tossing my phone onto my bed. Kourtney looks at me in the reflection of my vanity mirror and laughs before glancing back up to finish putting on her mascara. "Moment of weakness girlie? Text someone you shouldn't have?" She asks and I sigh heavily. "An extreme weakness. And you know exactly who I texted." I tell her, irritation present in my voice.

"If I can pull myself together enough to go, lol." I see when I pick my phone up again.

"I'll have a drink waiting for you when you arrive haha" I respond, and I can only picture the smile on Ricky's lips from a couple miles away as I get a laughing emoji and a heart emoji in response. I myself smile, before groaning and flopping on my bed. "I'm so screwed." I verbalize and Kourtney laughs. "Aren't we all."

***

The party was no where near as good as people had originally buzzed about. To me, anyway. Other people seemed to be having a blast and Kourtney was long gone, having found a cute, kind guy that seemed to be interested her. I had laughed and waved her away before she felt guilty for trying to leave me behind, so apart from brushing off a few guys who were trying to hit on me, my evening was pretty dull.

I push through the crowds of people, watching giggling couples run towards the staircase hand in hand and watching friends dance together on what was supposed to be a makeshift dance floor.

Making my way into the kitchen that was significantly less crowded, I grab a sparkling alcoholic drink and downed it aggressively within a minute.