Chapter one
It's nearly 10 o clock at night when my friend Maddie drags me out of my house, unwillingly of course. Previous to my unwanted kidnapping, she'd stripped me down and shoved a bright red, tight dress over my head. Somewhere between making fun of me and calling me boring she'd managed to cake my face with make up I didn't know I owned.
I love my friends. I really do. It's just that sometimes they deserve to be kicked in the face.
"You sit inside too much! You read and write about all of these amazing lives and stories and then you watch mean girls. So. I'm taking you out, you fucking loser. Put these on." She thrusts a pair of heels that are entirely too high for me into my face, and I reluctantly take them and slip them on.
"I'm going to fall on my face. It's going to happen. It's inevitable." Tonight is going to be absolutely fucking horrid.
"Nah, boo, I'll hold your hand!" She smiles wide and wraps her fingers around mine, handing me my purse.
It's all I can do to just sigh and follow her out to her shit car. The radio crackles as soon as we get in so she turns it off and smiles at me. "I promise we'll have fun! Maybe you'll meet a boy, and at the very least you can get shitfaced and throw up and become a legend."
She ignores me as I glare and swerves to avoid a car.
"Maddie...you know this isn't really my thing." I fidget with my fingers and the hem of my dress. "I...you remember what happened last time."
She winces and chews on her lip. Everyone in town knows what happened last time I partied. It involved wings made of paper plates and a broken leg, and it was my least favorite memory. I can't even eat off of paper plates anymore.
"Right. But...this time I won't let you near any plates or duct tape, and a few other people are going too! You'll be okay. There'll always be someone there to watch you." She turns into the parking lot of the local club (Why did they name it Line? That is literally the least exciting night club name ever) and turns off her car.
"So not only have I been kidnapped, I'm being babysat?" I cross my arms and sit resolutely in the seat as she gets out. It's not long before my door is yanked open and I'm lifted to my feet.
"Have fun or I'm telling your mom you're unhappy, and you know what happens then." I straighten up and plaster a smile on as the bouncer lets us in. Last time my mother found out I was unhappy, she had shown up at my shitty apartment with my least favorite kind of pie and forced me to eat it while she played shitty pop and talked about the family. So. No thanks.
Inside, the club is an array of lights and people and I'm not oblivious to the obvious drugs being passed around. The smell of weed is thick in the air and Maddie presses a pink tablet into my hand and hands me a drink. I raise my eyebrow and she rolls her eyes.
"They're safe, babe. Just do it. Relax!" She throws her own pill back and smiles, leading me over to a table of people as I swallow my own.
"Guys! This is the girl I was telling you about!" She throws an arm wide, like I'm a trophy, and everyone at the table laughs and smiles.
From what I can see there are about 10 people, though it's rather hard to tell because the back corner of the club is dark. There's a bright blue eyed boy with a shock of blonde hair, who's staring into his empty cup as though wondering where his beer went. He waves, distracted, and says, "Niall." The girl next to him takes his cup and hands him hers and he smiles and presses a sloppy kiss to her face. She smiles at me. "Tessa. Or Tess."
