Somewhere Only We Know

Chapter 2

"You're not wearing that." Charlie said, eyeing my outfit.

"Whats wrong with this?" I asked, looking down at my clothes.

I was wearing jean shorts and a black lace crop top. Nothing special but I thought I looked fine.

"Everyone always goes crazy for these parties." Charlie said.

I rolled my eyes, and sat down on her bed. Charlie got up and made her way over to her closet. She started to look through it while I laid back on her bed.

I lied to my mom and said I was having a sleepover at Charlie's house. I mean it was sorta true. I just didn't mention the party. She would be livid if she knew.

Charlie turned back around with a black dress in her hand. She threw it at me and I caught it, looking up at her.

"Wear that, I'll even let you borrow some shoes. "

I looked down at my converse. "I think I'm fine with these shoes."

Charlie shrugged and then pulled out what she was gonna wear before starting to change. I changed as well before standing up to look in the mirror.

The dress went down to my mid thigh. It was sorta tight but hugged in all the right places.

"You look beautiful." Charlie said, looking at me.

I smiled and continued to look at myself. I haven't felt this pretty in awhile.

"I could do your hair." Charlie offered. She pulled out her curling iron.

I nodded and agreed. I've always enjoyed having my hair done but my mom is never home to do these kind of things with me.

After my hair was curled, I put on a bit of makeup before putting a bag together with things like my inhaler and chapstick.

"You ready?"

I nodded. Picking up my bag before following Charlie out to her car. The drive was about 20 minutes. We blasted Taylor Swift the entire time, both of us singing along.

When we got there, the driveway was completely full, along with multiple cars parked on the road. Charlie parked on the street before we both got out.

As soon as we walked in the house, the front room smelled strong of weed and alcohol. I started to cough a bit but tried to suppress coughing which was difficult.

Charlie and I made our way into the kitchen to get a drink. Charlie tried to convince me to drink alcohol but I refused. I was the designated driver tonight. I decided on water.

After getting our drinks, I followed Charlie out to the living room where most people were hanging out. The music was loud and there was a mix of dancing, drinking and talking.

I sat down on the couch while Charlie danced around. I laughed as she danced weird on purpose. It was hard to see and breathe due to all the smoke.

"I'll be back." I told Charlie as I stood up from the couch.

She nodded and continued to dance around.

I stood up with my bag and started to cough. My lungs were definitely not used to these kinds of things. I found it hard to get by all the dancing people. And I found myself accidentally running into someone.

"Sorry." I mumbled out, still struggling to breathe.

I looked up and it was Luke.

"You okay?" He asked.

I shook my head, continuing to cough again.

Luke grabbed my hand and led me outside by the pool. I sat down in one of the chairs, rummaging through my bag for my inhaler.

I could feel his eyes on me as I pulled out my medicine and took a few puffs of it. I leaned back, feeling the relief slowly happening.

When I opened my eyes, Luke was sitting in a chair next to me.

"Do you have asthma?" He asked.

I looked at him and shook my head. "No. Have you heard of cystic fibrosis?" I asked.

He nodded. "Yeah, it's what the characters in 5 feet apart have."

I nodded. "Yeah. That's what I have."

"Wait really!?"

I nodded again.

"Are you like, um dying?"

I laughed slightly. "I mean aren't we all slowly. My time is just a bit shorter than yours."

Luke laughed a little too. "Sorry, I didn't mean to say that. Sometimes my brain makes me say weird things."

I smiled. "No no, its okay." 

He smiled too.

"I'm Luke." He said, even though I already knew his name.

"Marie." I said.

"Thats a pretty name."

I smiled again. "Thanks."

Luke sat back in his chair, still looking at me. I found it hard not to blush.

"You don't seem like the type to be out partying." Luke said.

I nodded. "I'm not. I got dragged here by a friend."

Luke laughed and I laughed along with him. It felt nice to talk to someone new.

"Did you just move here?" I asked.

Luke nodded, messing around with his lip ring. "Yeah, my parents wanted a new change of scenery."

I nodded, keeping my eyes on him. His eyes were sparkling in the light. I found myself having an easy time talking to him. It felt like I've known him forever.

We spent a while out there talking and getting to know each other. I barely noticed what time it was until we were interrupted by a girl and Ashton coming outside.

I checked my phone seeing it was almost 2 am.

Shit, I needed to drive Charlie and I back to her house.

I stood up quickly and Luke followed.

"Everything okay?" He asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, I gotta take my friend home." Luke nodded and walked back inside with me.

I found Charlie passed out on the couch. Along with Luke's help, I was able to get her in the car.

As I was about to drive off, Luke stopped me.

"Hey, you wanna hang out sometime?"

I smiled and nodded. "Yeah, that sounds good."

He smiled back and watched as I drove away. My heart fluttered but I had a huge smile on my face.

Maybe going to this party wasn't a bad idea after all.