Right Place, Wrong Time

2. Name of the Game

Lauren was sitting on Darren's bed, where she'd escaped to in an attempt to figure out a game plan for tonight, when she heard the doorbell — barely — over the noise of the party, music that had been creeping up steadily in volume and the sounds of friends reuniting after summer break. It could only mean one person; anyone else would have known the door was open. She jumped up and raced out of the room, along the landing and halfway down the stairs, hoping to greet him first and do introductions herself. But when she saw Darren opening the door, pulling Joey into a hug, beginning to lead him around the room, her heart sank, realising her hopes for how this night was going to go had just gone up in smoke.

She'd neglected to mention to Joey that it was her boyfriend's party for the same reason she neglected to mention that he would be the only freshman in a house full of people who had been friends for two years: she wanted him to say yes. An inexplicable urge, but she'd never met anyone so instantly likeable as Joey. It took confidence to approach a stranger, especially one two years ahead of him and not least when she knew she hadn't been the most welcoming in their first encounter, and she was prepared to take him under her wing a bit. It wasn't as if she was going to fall for the dorky freshman with the cute jaw. But she was about to be caught out in her lie by omission, which might mean her chance at friendship with Joey had just crumbled right in front of her.

As if from outside the scene, she watched Darren look around the room for her, finally spot her on the stairs, start making his way towards her, beckoning Joey along with him. Her legs no longer her own, she made her way down the rest of the stairs. Darren reached for her by the hand. She saw Joey's eyes follow the movement, but had no choice but to let Darren pull her to him and wrap an arm around her waist.

"This is my girlfriend, Lauren," Darren said. And like that, the game she hadn't wanted to admit she was playing was up.

"Hi," Joey said, smiling despite his obvious discomfort. Lauren wished the ground would swallow her up.

Darren clearly picked up on the tension too, looking between the two of them. "What am I missing?"

"We've met," Joey said, Lauren still unable to find her voice. "Lauren, uh... she's actually the one that invited me."

"She is?" Darren sounded confused, though not displeased, and when he turned to Lauren she managed a weak smile and nodded.

"Yeah, we, um, met in class," she said.

"Well that's great!" Darren said, oblivious to how not great Lauren and Joey were finding it, maybe because he was already buzzed. "I have more people to say hi to, but Joey, you're in good hands," he said, and left them with a slap on Joey's back and a kiss on Lauren's cheek.

She couldn't quite meet Joey's eyes once he was gone, picking at a loose thread she'd just noticed on the hem of her dress.

"You didn't tell me it was your boyfriend's party," he said. Not accusingly, more of a question.

"I didn't know you knew him."

"He was helping out at my freshman orientation."

Lauren nodded, and they fell back into silence. Then, "I'm sorry if I gave you the wrong impression," she said, still unable to look at him.

"Not at all," he replied, though he couldn't keep the disappointment from his voice, despite how gentlemanly he was trying to be about it.

"You want a drink?" she asked, because Darren wasn't coming back to be host any time soon and it was only polite.

"Sure." He followed her into the kitchen where she poured him a beer, at his request, and a quarter cup of vodka for her, the rest coke.

"You look nice," he said, taking a swig from the cup she handed him. "I like your dress."