Only Young Once

PROLOGUE

The Summer Before Senior Year

Everything was loud at the Rockwell's beach house that Friday night. The sounds of speakers blaring, people chatting loudly on a crowded sofa, cheerleaders singing 2000s pop songs on the home karaoke, and boys trading joints and swearing drunkenly in the backyard while cannonballing into the swimming pool.

The smell of booze, sex, and weed fill the air. It was chaotic, to say the least. 

Mason Rockwell decided to throw a college farewell party just a few days after graduating, as his parents weren't scheduled to return from a business trip in Europe for another three days. And why the hell not? He was in the mood for something this spontaneous.

Currently, Gabriella Mitchell was leaning over the posh marble sink in the upstairs bathroom, miserably cleaning vomit off her red chucks. She grimaced as she wipes the underside of her shoe with toilet paper, chucking it in the nearby trash can.

"God," she makes a gagging sound and curses, which is something not specifically aimed at Amara Wright, but it might as well be. She is, after all, why this unfortunate situation came to be. Instead of feeling completely angry, Brie kind of felt saddened by the fact that Amara doesn't seem to know how to handle her alcohol. Before being hauled away by her brother, Amara had vomit streaks running down the front of her cream-colored, camisole top, quite hysterical about some stupid boy who "got what he wanted and split."

Midst her shoe-cleaning ordeal, Brie's contemplation was disrupted by a knock on the door.

"Just a second!" she called out while dealing with her left shoe under the running faucet.

"It's me." Came his muffled yet familiar voice. Resigned to the icky situation, she undid the tie on her other shoe and kicked it off, opting to walk home in her socks.

Brie opens the door to Kyle, who appears distractingly cute with flushed cheeks, tousled hair, and a can of beer in hand. Grinning mischievously, he leans his forearm against the door frame.

"What's up with you?" He asks, with a playful gleam in his blue eyes. His eyes seem darker in the dim light of the hallway and Brie's chest began to flutter.

She shook her head and sighed, offering what she hoped was a casual shrug. It's really not the time to be swooning over Kyle, especially now that he's suddenly dating Violet Rockwell. The idea alone caused her stomach to drop and the butterflies in her chest vanished, completely replaced by heavy lead.

"Amara Wright had too much of the punch." She deadpanned, internally cringing at the recollection of how the poor girl hurled her guts out all over her favorite shoes. Kyle scrunches his nose in response and she gave a bit of smile at how adorable it was. 

"Makes sense. I just saw Sebastian basically dragging her out of the house." Kyle states matter-of-factly, taking a sip of his drink. He combed his fingers through his already messy hair. Brie looks at him narrowly avoiding his eyes. She clears her throat, nervously tucking a tendril of hair behind her ear.

"So, where's Violet?" She asks, instead. She didn't really want to know, but she asked anyway for fear she might spend the rest of their interaction gawking at him. He simply gestures his beer can towards the makeshift dancefloor down the hallway. Brie pokes her head out of the door just enough to catch a glimpse of Violet swaying to 'I Wanna Dance With Somebody' along with Skylar Vaughn and Jenna Hillridge.