Hopeless

XVII

"I wake up every morning believing today is going to be better than yesterday." –Will Smith

After the clock hit midnight and the New Year had just begun, all cheered, drank and danced like they had no worries in their minds. There were smiles on everyone's faces and no single frown could be found. Even I, after my small freak-out once the year changed numbers, managed to loosen up and have fun with my best friend. We stayed at the party until three and a half, dancing and singing and laughing.

It was all wonderfully enjoyable; the music, the drinks; all except Ian. I was not expecting to love Ian, or even like him to be honest. But what went down during these three hours I got to spend with him was enough to make me hate Ian. It happened gradually; at first I only had a strong negative feeling towards him with no reason to, just because he was named Hannah's 'best friend' when that place was already taken by me. Then, while I was near the bar ordering a drink, I saw Hannah and Ian dancing very closely, something that gave me hope that maybe their relationship was more than friendly and that could potentially turn into a more romantic one, giving me the number one place for Hannah's best friend.

That hope was ultimately scrapped when I asked Hannah about it and she responded with a roaring laugh and an explanation I did not like.

'Ian and I being what? Please, he is like my big brother or in my case, since I absolutely despise my older sibling, my cool cousin from my mother's side of the family.'

I sulked in my seat. I was exceptionally good at detecting whenever Hannah was lying and that time was not one of these.

'Besides, he has a girlfriend.' The sulking feeling was quickly and effectively replaced by an undeniable amusement forcing me to come out with the loudest laugh I had ever heard myself produce. Hannah looked at me confused as I kept laughing.

'He has a girlfriend? Well, I feel sorry for her.' Hannah laughed lightly and shook her head before asking me to go dance.

That was when things got ugly for Ian. All three of us went to the dance floor and shook our bodies rhythmically to the beat of the music. The whole situation was very fun and I was even starting to warm up to the unlikable man that Ian was. When, suddenly, Hannah's and my favorite song of the night started playing for the fourth time and we were dancing to it like we've never heard it before. Ian sort of swooped in and slowly took Hannah away from me. He would get on our sides, trying to create a small circle for the three of us to dance in, but after a second of two, Ian would grab Hannah's hand, swirl her around herself and while doing so, move away from me, leaving me to dance alone.

Hannah always returned though, after realizing I was 'gone' and I could hear Ian telling her, 'Oh, I guess she just got bored' or 'We probably got carried away.'

The laughable part of it all was that once Hannah took her eyes off him and looked at me smiling, asking me where I was and continued dancing, Ian would throw me the deadliest look I have ever seen. It did not affect me in the slightest way but it did get tiring pretending I did not it happening only for Hannah's sake; she really wanted us to get along.

The night moved quickly and we followed with excitement, every feeling of jealousy or hatred had vanished. Being heavily under the influence of alcohol Ian and I had not the consciousness to dislike each other. I do not particularly remember where we went next or what we did once we arrived there; all my mind can recall is having Hannah lunged on my left shoulder laughing and Ian getting in between a few moments later. Was I a little bit more sober and I would have most definitely injured him the exact moment he separated me from my friend.

The morning after was as dreadful as the night before, at least for me. I woke up with a horrendous headache in, what seemed to be, a house's living room dressed in clothes I did not own and was not aware how I got in to. My dress was neatly placed on the floor in a see-through bag, thankfully unharmed. Now, I was laid on a very comfortable, despite its weird 'L' shape, couch covered from head to toe with a soft burgundy blanket, definitely not unharmed. My bones were in furious pain and I had several bruises all over my hands and legs. I groaned lifting my body up to sit normally on the couch with my back leaning on the cushion and my hands rubbing my eyes. I looked around the house, focusing hard on every detail, hopelessly trying to find anything that would remind me how I got there the previous night.