quarantine // h.s.

part 8 // jealous

"all we do is get drunk." penelope laughs.

"yeah... what's your point?" i giggle, taking another sip of my drink. it had become a regular thing at this point to start partying when the sun went down. it distracts us from whats going on and brought us together in some unbeknownst way.

"touché, girl." she says.

tonight, the energy seemed different. a few days have passed since the news, and it seemed as if we've accepted that this is our temporary reality- whether or not it's happy or sad. everyone had a smile on their face with warm cheeks and bright eyes. it felt good, like a little paradise away from all the craziness of the world.

the chatter and music came to a hush when ashton stands on the table and clinks a fork against his beer bottle. "i just wanted to make a toast to all of you all. this has really sucked but i'll cherish this time with all of you until i fucking die. cheers!" he says. a few aw's and cheers fill the room before we take a drink.

"now let's get fucking drunk!" alex shouts and holds his drink up in the air. i turn to penelope somewhat dramatically and roll my eyes with a smirk. she laughs and sticks her finger in her mouth to fake-gag.

i'm called over to play beer pong with michael, and i walk over with a little pep in my step while pushing up my sleeves. "are y'all ready to lose?" i laugh. penelope stands on the opposite side of the table and harry walks over to join her.

"are you ready to kick some ass, penny-girl?" he asks penelope as he high-fives her and i glance over to michael to see if he's also sensing something strange. he catches my glance and shrugs, giving me a look that intends "well talk later." i look up at harry and he winks at me.

god, he is so irritating. i think. i hate the way that i felt a twinge of jealousy when he gave penelope attention and a little flutter of a butterfly in the pits of my stomach when he winked at me.

"wren, eye to eye?" harry asks, initiating the first throw. i roll my eyes and lock eyes with him, tossing the ball across the table and fortunately making a cup- while he misses. i smirk and motion my hands to give me the balls back. his cheeks twinge a slight shade of pink out of embarrassment and he sends the balls back to me. michael makes a cup, however i don't. harry and penelope both miss.

we finish up the game somewhat quickly, as michael and i obviously win. we play a few more games until we lose to alex & kaleb, and decide to move outside to the deck to smoke some weed. i pull my grinder and some rolling papers out and start rolling at the table on the back deck. a few people follow us outside and join us at the glass outdoor table and jess waltzes up to me.

"its sexy that you're rolling for us." she teases me and squeezes my arm. i flip my hair and giggle a bit, finishing the joint as she plops down next to me. conversations break out around us as we pass around the joint, and jess turns to me.

"are you okay after last night?" she asks. i shrug and look down into my lap.

"he's such a dick. that's like all i can say at this point, it's ridiculous." i scoff.

"yeah. i knew he was a douche sometimes but not like that. i literally can't believe it." i nod and begin to respond until i'm interrupted by alex opening the door to the deck.

"we're going to play suck and blow if you guys want to join!" he invites. jess and i glance at each other and roll our eyes before letting out a giggle. alex was always the stereotypical frat guy- with floppy hair and a slight form of alcoholism.