Grace.

Chapter 3

I liked going to parties, still do. My life was so planned and organized that the only time I could let loose, have fun and actually be a teenager was whenever I was with my friends. And whenever we would be together we'd go to a lot of parties. We'd have a lot of fun together. Do a lot of teenage stuff together.
I wouldn't say I was living a double life. With me, I just didn't want to put myself in one box. That's boring and I hate boring. Yes, I was top in my grade. Yes, I was still one of the few virgins left. Yes, I didn't date any boy till senior year and yes I was a bit old school when it came to other things but I didn't let that be the only me.
So what if I love reading? Does that automatically mean that it's weird that I drink, go to parties and occasionally take drugs?
Is that only for bad girls? What is a bad girl? Why wouldn't I fit into that category? Is it because I do not go sleeping around?
That's stupid.
I chose to live life on my own terms. And I refused to let anyone tell me otherwise. Call me stubborn if you will. Well, anyone except Ria and our parents.

Donna is the only one in our friend group who owned a car.
And thanks to her, we'd drive anywhere we wanted to. The only thing that sucked about it was the fact that Donny would get really drunk sometimes and wouldn't be able to drive. But we had guy friends who'd help whenever that was the case. It was a group of three friends: Caleb Martin, Joshua Henderson and Hunter Sink. I was pretty close with Josh from Science class and that's how I got to know Caleb and Hunter.
You could say that Josh and I were the reason we all became friends...over time. Josh was the first one we saw outside Joe's as soon as we had arrived. He was already drunk.
"Oh, oh, hey ladies! Just in time for the party," he burped.
When his eyes landed on me he smiled and stumbled towards me. "Here you are! Finally! I've missed you!" He hiccuped, pulling me into a tight hug.
"You stopped calling," I teased.
"Now we both know that's not true. When'd you get back?"
"A few hours ago."
"It's good. I've missed you terribly. Tonight it's about to go down! Grace is back in town!"
To clarify, I was never the life of the party. It was always Lucy or Donna. Josh and I used to really have fun and laugh and have a good time whenever we were together. Which is why he was so excited to see me. He went on to greet the others before pulling his pants down and taking a piss at the nearest car.
I missed that whole conversation and the swearing that came from Lucy because I spotted a familiar car drive in. It was Luke's. He was with Ethan. Ethan Byers. I wouldn't say I liked Ethan Byers, but I noticed him. Mainly because he noticed me. No matter what, there's always going to be that one boy. Mine was Ethan...for many reasons.
We stepped into the place ready to own the night. Caleb and Hunter had already gotten a table inside and we joined them. I watched as Hunter hugged Naomi so...tightly. Even though I knew little to nothing about love and dating, Hunter was definitely into Naomi. After hugging Lucy and the others, Caleb came over to hug me.
"You're back!" He grinned.
"Unfortunately," I replied.
"Can I get you 'Welcome home' shots?"
"You're still asking?"
And with that he let go of my waist and headed to the bar with Hunter to go get us some drinks. "Get ready to get wasted tonight!" He announced. Josh was really drunk. "Hey, Josh! Come sit with me," I urged. He made his way to where I was seated.
"What were you drinking?" I chuckled.
"Everything," he laughed.
When the boys came back with the drinks, we made a toast. To our last year in high school. The beginning of a new friendship. Me being back and all of that jazz. Donna had brought weed so we had that along with our drinks. I'll admit, it was all too much. We sat around the table all eight of us, drinking, smoking and just having funny conversations.
Joe's was always crowded. It was the one place us teenagers loved the most because:
1) There were no rules
2) Drinks were really cheap and
3) The food there was amazing!
Donna was already on the dance floor with Josh. She was gone. And usually when she's like that she becomes the opposite of what she is. She's more talkative and confident when she's drunk. But she was not the only drunk one.
I grabbed Caleb and Brooke who seemed so smitten with one another and headed to the dance floor. I wasn't very good at dancing but I knew a few fire moves. The place had gotten so crowded and stuffy and the music was way too loud. All of that got us very drunk, very quickly. At around the early hours of the morning, we were tired, drunk and hungry. The boys got some food in which we ate outside at the parking lot before making arrangements to go home.
Since Donna was totally out of it, the guys offered to take us home.
Hunter drove Donna's car with Donna and Naomi. I rode with Bebe, Caleb, Josh and Lucy in their van. They took us to my place. I knew my parents would be working late. Gloria had her boyfriend Daniel over. We've had tons of sleepovers over the years. We knew each other's homes very well. At home we have a guest room. Bebe and Donna usually take that one and I'd sleep with Mimi and Lucy would always love taking the couch mainly because it was big and comfy, and she could watch T.V.
But sometimes my mom would always suggest she uses one of the beds.
"I think it's more comfortable," she'd reason. In that case, either one of us would share a bed with Ria. But since she had Daniel over, it was the couch for Lucy. My parents are very over protective and responsible. Whenever I'd have the girls over, I had to let them know as well as their parents. Always. But since we came home rather late, I texted my dad and not my mom because she'd know I was lying. I told him I had forgot to let them know and I was really sorry. Problem solved.
As soon as we all got up in the morning, I had everyone call or text their parents to let them know that they were at my house. And as I'd mentioned, su casa mi casa. The girls were always at home whenever they'd come over. It was actually Gloria's idea that we leave like extra toothbrushes or clothes at each persons place in case we had unexpected sleepovers. So we all had items staying at everyone's place. Especially toothbrushes.
I had an empty space in my wardrobe so their clothes stayed there. It was a really good idea. They all made their own breakfast according to what each one preferred. We used my bathroom as well as the guest bathroom to clean up. We could've used Ria's as well but we didn't want to disturb her.
"Oh, wow! It's a full house."
We were sitting downstairs eating breakfast when Daniel came down. Daniel Marinó. Him and my sister had been a thing since high school. They were really in love and my parents as well as myself really liked him.
"Good morning! Had a good night sleep?" I teased.
He chuckled, rubbing one of his eyes. "The best," he replied. "Did you girls have a rough night?"
Unlike Edgar, the girls didn't really go crazy over Daniel. Not because he wasn't hot - trust me - he was. They were really scared of Gloria. They'd check him out, blush every now and then or even mention him in our talks but that was it! No one crushed on him. No one made a move on him.
"It was a welcome back typa thing," I chewed.
"I had to double check my phone to see if I didn't miss a text from you. I was so ready to come pick you up from the airport," he said, pouring out some juice.
"I wanted it to be a surprise."
"A 'pick me up from the airport' text would've been a surprise. But, oh well. I guess it'll be a next time thing."
He took the two glasses of juice and headed back upstairs. He smiled at the girls and they waved back.
"Total hottie." Luce mouthed first.
"Okay! What are we doing today?!" I quickly interrupted.
"Everyone's going to the lake," said Naomi.
"Yeah. The lake sounds perfect. No alcohol or drugs. Just a lot of water and fruit, please." Brooke reeled.
"Are you sure you don't want to go back to bed?" Donna asked her, concerned.
"No, no. I'm a bit hung but I'll be all right." She waved her hand in the air.
We shrugged it off, finished our food and got ready to head out to the lake. The lake was our "beach." It's hilarious I know but, it's true. Springfield is a really small town. It's not even that fancy but we manage. One thing I loved about it was how majority of the kids there always found ways to have fun. It's a small town, but never boring. I loved swimming as well as chilling around in the sun under a tree in nothing but my bikini. It felt like a holiday.
We arrived and found a nice big tree to set up underneath it.
"Can you rub some sunscreen on my back, Donny?" Lucy asked.
Naomi helped me with my back and I did hers. Afterwards I put on my shades and just laid back and relaxed.
"So, what were you guys busy with all summer?" I started.
"All the usual stuff that we do," Naomi sighed.
"She's just mad that Austin went away on a Bae-cation with Janet." Lucy mocked.
"You don't know that, Luce." Bebe defended.
"Honey, listen to me. You need to drop that asshole and move on. You've got so many options."
Lucy Anne Montgomery. There's so much to say about our dear friend but where does one start? I'll have you know, she is absolutely gorgeous. Bad girl gorgeous. Big, round eyes. The perfect eyebrows. A cute button nose. Heart-shaped lips. Defined jawline. The perfect bob which always smelled so good and had that healthy shine. She has a nice body and always dresses like a model. She looks like one, especially when she wears a black leather jacket with her black heels. She smokes...a lot. And she was always so mean. She called it being "honest." Okay, maybe we could say she was harsh.
"Lucy, you know that Austin has my heart," Naomi replied calmly.
"You mean your vagina?" Luce prodded.
"Lucy, stop." I intervened.
She abruptly sat up, fixing her bikini top. "You mean to tell me that none of you see that Hunter is really into Naomi? None of you?"
"So what if he is?" Donna shrugged.
"Naomi, not to piss you off but you need to get with someone who's all about you. Has he even asked you to the Homecoming dance?"
"Not yet."
"Do you honestly think he will? Where will Janet be then? See? Hunter is standing right in front of your face! You're going to end up alone if you go on this way!"
Naomi said nothing. Instead, she got up and headed to the lake and dove straight in. We all looked at Lucy who shrugged nonchalantly. We didn't spend the whole day by the lake. We were too hungover. So we separated and each of us went home.

When I got home I found Ria in the kitchen, busy making a smoothie. Gloria is very healthy.
"Hey. Is Daniel still here?" I asked.
"Nope. He's got an exam tomorrow so I chased him away."
"Argh, and here I was thinking we could watch Twilight!" I sighed.
"No! Not again! Not ever again!" She frowned.
"Uhm, why not?"
"You guys have watched that garbage a million times!"
"It is not garbage! How could you say that?! I will tell him. You know that, right?"
"He knows," she smirked.
"Okay, but I miss hanging out with him. I miss his laugh," I chuckled.
"Maybe when he's done with his exams you two can set a date to hangout." She suggested.
"Thanks! Best sister ever!" I grinned.
"Sure! You can borrow my boyfriend anytime," she said, sarcastically.
"Are you...jealous?"
"Of?"
"My friendship with Daniel."
"Not even a bit. Here, take this. You look horrible."
She passed me the thick, green smoothie and I could just tell there was broccoli in it. "No. Ah-uh.," I gagged. She shot me a deadly stare and I took it, quickly and unwillingly.
"But why?" I sulked.
"Like I said, you look terrible."
I lifted the glass up to my mouth, fingers pinching my nose tightly closed and swallowed the disgusting drink.