In My Dreams

Chapter 9

I checked myself in the mirror of her car one last time, inspecting the thick layer of strawberry flavored lipgloss before closing the mirror.
Jane had impeccable taste. Even I, who normally just wore hoodies and wouldn't be able to put together an outfit even if I was held at gun point, thought I looked good.
Really good.
My hair was pulled back into a ponytail, long curls draping down my back and shoulders that were too bare for the October weather.
Jane used every tool in the book to get me to wear the mini skirt and the bralette that I insisted on covering with a hoodie.
Even shoes that I could wear socks with would have made me feel better, the strapped heels she had tied me in pinched my toes.

Jane had her hair in a braid that nearly reached her lower back, somehow making a lime green tube top and miniskirt look fashionable.
"You do understand that this is a frat party, right?" I crossed my legs in the passenger seat of her lime green Honda.
"It never hurts to look good" tapping her lipgloss, she smacked her lips before grinning and twisting her key in the ignition.

______

Music thumped against the walls and leaked out into the neighborhood as we pulled up, wrenching the keys from the ignition.
"Alright, here's the rules" Jane angled herself towards me, staring right into my eyes. "Two drinks only, don't follow anyone upstairs-"

"I'm not stupid" I cut her off,

"Yes, but men are" she continued to talk while pointing to each one of her fingers. "Don't drink take drinks from anyone, don't walk away from your drink, and if you want to smoke, all power to ya', just don't get too high to function" I slowly nodded while gathering my jacket from my lap "right"
It was hard to imagine having fun with all of this in the back of my mind.

Nervous chills tickled up my spine as we climbed the stairs, Jane hooking her arm around my shoulder and leading me past the threshold of bodies. She easily melted with the crowd, releasing me to talk to a short blonde with piercings. I clutched my jacket to my stomach and smiled my way into their conversation.
It was impossible to hear them over the music, all I could get from the conversation was the name "Annie", which I'm assuming is the blonde. I grew antsy in the crowd and peeled away from Jane, moseying over to a punch bowl in the high ceiling kitchen.

"Don't drink that" I jumped from the voice that brushed against my neck, spinning around. "Drink this instead" Blythe and his charming smile, handing me a red solo cup while taking my empty one from me.

Jane's voice replayed in my head as I looked down at the clear liquid in the cup, slowly looking over my shoulder at the punch table.
"What? Don't drink?" The twinge of a slur in his voice told me he was already mildly intoxicated, his face a bit flushed.
"Uh, no, it's not that. I've already had a few drinks already" I kept my eyes at stable as possible.
"I see, one more wouldn't hurt though, right?" He swayed and grabbed the bottom of the solo cup, bringing it to my mouth with enough force to alarm me. I leaned back and pursed my lips, the pungent scent of vodka hitting my nose "I said I had a few already". Something about the way his expression fell made my heart skip beats, in a scared rabbit kind of way.

I slipped away from him and out of the kitchen, hoping to disappear into the crowd of bouncing, grinding bodies. My job is to have fun tonight, simple. I don't need alcohol to have fun, but the idea of having a few drinks and leaving my test crammed life behind for a few hours was severely tempting.
Besides, I knew Jane would look out for me.
With that in mind,

"Screw it"

I cracked open my first beer of the night.