The Will To

E I G H T (the btp)

Nola's sorority was having a party tonight, but it was exclusive. Meaning, I wasn't invited. This happened frequently. Sororities were much more restricted when it came to who they could and couldn't invite to certain functions, whereas it always seemed to be a free-for-all with fraternities. The more women the better, Greek affiliation or not.

I desperately tried to rein in my rant on how institutions perpetuated sexism even when they preached "inclusivity" after Nola told me I couldn't join her tonight, as she'd already heard my speech countless times before. It was to no avail. My reins got away from me.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know, I know. Can I put on my dress now?" she'd said after I'd expended all of my pent up frustrations.

But I didn't need Nola—that sounded bad. While I appreciated her company at Greek parties, (and occasional help) I didn't need her to get into one. As I'd said, fraternities were extremely lax when it came to who they allowed inside. Prerequisites included: dress, heels, and a can-do attitude.

I'll be damned if I didn't have all three.

The Beta Theta Pi's party was on deck tonight, a frat notorious for their alcohol supply. I'd been to a few of their parties last year. While they did have quite the variety of drinks, I wasn't impressed. All of the frats had troves of alcohol. But, I supposed a fraternity had to be known for something special, didn't they?

The house was stocked with people. Some guy with a shiny face greeted me when I entered and made eye contact with a spot on my forehead. His eyes were glassy in the way indicative of overt drunkenness, and as I strode in further, it didn't take long to realize that nearly everyone was already drunk.

This fraternity wasn't infamous for their alcohol collection. It was infamous for its ability to get all its occupants trashed by eight thirty on a Friday night.

However, this worked a bit in my favor, as it meant no one typically remembered my presence at these parties. And I preferred being as invisible as possible.

Making my way to the back of the house, I settled against the wall and got comfortable in my post for the next few hours.

"Well, what're the chances?"

I snapped to the side to find Rey, his full mouth arranged in a smirk, skimming the back wall of the house and coming closer. He came to a stop next to me and I cursed, returning my attention to the group of partiers.

"I'm great. Thanks for asking," Rey replied sarcastically to my obvious disgruntlement. "And how are you?"

Smiling tightly, I said, "Listen, don't take this personally, but I really want to be left alone, okay?"

"Then what are you doing at a party?" He snapped his finger. "Oh, wait. I know the answer to that. You're doing your thing."

I sucked in a deep breath. "You don't know shit, okay? I appreciate the help the other night. I believe you were thanked properly. Can you just go back to wherever you came from and leave me be?"

"Ugh, yeah. Sure thing. But, small problem, I actually came from this house." He grimaced. "So, I can't really return to the place I came from if I'm already there. You see my predicament?"

Closing my eyes, I wished for nothing more than to be doing a punch-out on one of Talia's self-defense punching bags.

"Yep. By that expression you're wearing, I'd say you see my predicament."

"You're in a fraternity?"

Rey lifted his hands and spread them wide. "No. I'm in the Beta Theta Pi Fraternity." He slapped his chest and grunted, "BTP!"