𝐜𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐢.

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐫.

The three teenagers walked into the party, James and Tia with eskies in hand. The front door was open, signalling the guests to welcome themselves. Hannah decided to hang back in three trio's single file line, anxiously awaiting the bustling house filled with intoxicated adolescents.

James walked in first, followed by Tia, and then Hannah. James immediately walked off to integrate himself into conversation with his usual clique. Tia noticed Hannah's once excited demeanour had faltered negatively, so she turned around to face her. "You're going to be okay, Han." She comforted warmly. "Just stick with me, alright?" Hannah didn't say anything, she simply nodded and smiled in agreement.

The two girls made their way through the overcrowded room until they had found the back yard. Tia lead Hannah to an empty spot on the lawn. There were a few empty chairs near the back fence, so the girls adopted them into their possession temporarily. Tia sat her esky down next to her chair and opened it, taking out a can of Jack and Coke. Prior to the party, Hannah had seen Tia pace herself with her alcohol, but this time, Tia downed the whole thing within a minute. She quickly crushed the can, exclaiming loudly. "My aim for tonight is to get as drunk as possible." She giggled, looking to Hannah with a smile on her face. Hannah had decided not to drink all that much tonight, but she had a feeling that might not last long.

A few hours in and Tia was just as inebriated as all the other attendees. Hannah tried to put her own personal anxieties aside and elected to go inside to find her friend some water or something to sober her up just a little. However, on her way inside, she bumped into Cody "Oh hey, Eugenia!" He greeted, his words slurred slightly. Hannah requited the greeting, a joyous look on her face. "I'm so glad you could make it! What time did you get here?" He questioned, looking at her quizzically. "Oh, I got here around maybe 6 or 7 maybe." Hannah answered. Cody feigned an offended expression. "And you didn't come and say hi?! I am so disappointed in you!" He laughed, a fake sense of disheartenment in his voice. Hannah decided to play along, her inner anxieties slowly fading away with every minute that passed. "I'm so sorry!" She laughed, feeding into his little drunken act. "I've just been so caught up with Tia." Hannah explained, gesturing to her friend who was dancing around to the music with her peers, nursing a bottle of vodka.

"That girl has no control when it comes to alcohol." He started, sounding serious at first."And it's one of the reasons why I'm friends with her!" Cody then laughed, allowing his solemn expression to falter. Hannah and himself shared a fit of laughter before he picked up an unopened can of beer from the table behind them. "Have a drink." He offered. Hannah studied the can closely. She knew she had implemented her own little 'no alcohol' policy before the party, but in technicality, she'd already defiled that. Besides, when she looked at Cody, she found it hard to say no.

"Fine!" She accepted happily as she reached her hand out, grabbing the red, aluminium can from the boy's hands. She took a long swig as Cody stood there and watched with a smile. He smiled at her widely. "That's my girl!" He exclaimed proudly, patting her back. She felt a certain warmth appear in her cheeks, however she didn't know if it was the alcohol or the comment her male counterpart had just made. She figured tonight was not the night to be overthinking, so she just let it go. The pair stood there talking until Hannah had finished her drink. She accepted another alcoholic beverage from him, and he grabbed her hand to lead her into the kitchen. He opened the fridge, revealing an array of alcohol lining the interior, not unlike Tia's esky.

A few more hours had passed, and Hannah was totally gone. Considering it was her first time really consuming alcohol in such a large and frequent manner, it hadn't really taken her much to get there in the first place. Tia was too. Most people were wondering how she hadn't passed out yet. Within the past few hours, Hannah had danced, sung, talked, and drank till her heart's content. At this point, she was passed out on the couch, a bottle of Jack's she had in her hand was spilled all over her dress. At the end of the night, Tia stumbled in, looking for her blonde friend. "Hannah?!" She slurred, worry lacing her drunken voice. She stepped over countless discarded cans, bottles, and red cups with great difficulty.

Eventually, she finally came across Hannah's unconscious body. Tia placed her hand in Hannah's and cooed. "Wake up, Han. It's time to go home!". However, her efforts went in vain. After a few failed attempts, Cody walked in the room. He was obviously still intoxicated, however most of it had worn off by now. "It's fine, go. I'll take care of her." He spoke. Tia looked at him with suspicion. "I know you would, but I don't like the idea of leaving her here on her own. I don't want anything happening to her." She protested, the alcohol distorting her voice. He tried to reason with her. "Do you remember that time at that party the kids from Malborow High hosted, and I walked in on that guy trying to like, you know, while you were passed out in the bathroom?" Cody recounted, seriousness guiding his expression. Even though she was extremely intoxicated, Tia knew what he was talking about. She nodded her head slowly. "You kicked the guys ass. Badly." She responded, her mood deescalated. "I promise, that if anyone ever tried that with her, I'd do the same thing as I did that night. Besides, we're the only ones here now. Nobody will hurt her."

Tia took a moment to consider. "Fine, but can you help me put my esky into the uber? There's like jack shit of my alcohol left, but I know I'm going to be hungover as shit in the morning and I don't want to have to get up and come back to get it." She slurred, almost falling over. Cody ran to her side and caught her, smiling at her. "Yeah, sure. Thank you for trusting me.". Tia nodded, staying silent. Cody helped her get the esky, and walked her to the uber.

After her departure, he walked back inside, wading through trash and puddles of spilled alcohol. He made his way to the couch where Hannah was sleeping, picking her up and holding her in his arms. He walked through the house and navigated his way to his bedroom. He laid her down on the bed, tucking her in to make sure she was warm. He placed a bucket beside the bed just in case she needed to throw up. "Goodnight, Eugenia." He whispered, walking out of the room and shutting the door before making his way back to the loungeroom to sleep on the couch.