Careful What You Wish For...

O N E

Vivian's P.O.V

Being 23 isn't all it's cracked up to be. I thought I'd be off in college, and partying on the weekends. Getting wasted.

Nope.

I'm just a highschool graduate, who could never afford to go to college. Who can also, barely afford to live on her own. But I'm doing it. Juuuusstt barely. I currently only have one job, but I'm entertaining the idea of a second one. I work at my local vets office. The hours are fine, the pay is what's lacking. I'm only a vets assistant. You would think they make more, but sadly, they don't.

Today is one of my off days, and I'm absolutely stumped on what to do. I'm scrolling through Facebook when I come across a bunch of my old classmates, sharing a party that is happening today. More like a bonfire. "Anyone more than welcome to come, BYOB. Lets get this baby lit!!" The post reads. I spend about an hour contemplating on going. I call my best friend to get her opinion, plus maybe convince her to go as well.

"Hey, whatcha got going on tonight?" I chirp once Amy answers the call. "I was thinking about going to this bonfire I've seen all over my Facebook, honestly!" I laugh, considering that's the exact reason I called her. We talk for a little longer, agreeing to meet up and just go together.

.......

It's now 6 O'clock, nearing the time of the bonfire. They said to show up around 7:30 for a little bit of food before they actually lite it. As I pull up to Amy's apartment, she's standing outside, dressed casually. I just threw on a pair of ripped shorts, along with a black band tank top, and sandals. Probably poor choice in shoes, but I absolutely refuse to get my new white converse dirty. I made that mistake with the last pair. And why would I want to wear my work shoes? Amy hops in the passenger seat of my Kia Optima, strapping her seatbelt over herself.

"Where do you want to go for drinks?" She glances up at me, clicking in her seatbelt. "I have no clue. Where's the best place? I need options." I giggle, considering I don't drink very often. So I have no idea what to even get. We settle on The Warehouse, a liquor store in downtown. It wasnt far from Amy's apartment, so it wasn't out of the way. It was a 10 minute ride, Amy and I just having small conversations.

"So what are you thinking?" I look at Amy. She's searching through the cold cases, stopping when something slightly catches her eye. "I'm not sure. I'm in the mood for something fruity, but not overly fruity." She gasps slightly, yanking open one of the cold cases. "Got it!" She pulls out a case of Redds Apple Ale. Yuck. I've had beer before, and I absolutely despise the taste. Granted, it was only one kind, but I definitely don't want to taste that again.

I continue to look through the cases, landing on just a basic Cayman Jack Margarita. Only 6 of them. Someone still has to drive home.

After pulling the address from the post, we head out. Deciding to just put Amy's Spotify on shuffle, playing random music anywhere from Taylor Swift, to Slipknot, to SpongeBob music.

I can't say anything, my playlist is pretty much the same. And hey, SpongeBob music slaps okay?!

We arrive to the field the bonfire is going to be lit in, and park far enough away from the giant pile of brush that's out in the centre. It's about 7:52, and a few people are already here. It's about a good 28 people. But it's still early. Amy and I grab our drinks, and make our way over to one of the groups of people standing out near the pile. We greet everyone who has already arrived, making sure to check in with the one and only who's making this happen; Alexander.

He was in a few of my classes throughout school. We were always friends in any class we were in, but never really spoke outside of class. "Oh, hey! Long time, no see Viv!" He offers a side hug. I hug back with the free arm I have, and I smile at him. "Look, theres a table all the way over there where you can set your stuff down. And I left a marker over there so you can put your name on your drinks." Alexander directs me to a white fold out table thats set a good distance from us. We make our way to the table, noting that more people are pulling up.

"Looks like it might be a good turn out!" I jump slightly, as Alexander comes up behind Amy and I, putting his arms around the both of our shoulders. "You scared me!" Amy slaps his chest lightly, as he laughs a little. We follow him back over to everyone else, the groups getting larger. We all have stupid conversations as more people show up.

All of the sudden, we hear someone from across the field yell. "Aye!" A few of us yell back. A bunch of them sprint towards each other, like they're in a war, laughing as they go. Some of the guys tackle each other, as some of the girls just give hugs, with the occasional pushing back and forth. "Lets get this party started!" Some of them yell, all walking back towards the brush pile.

.......

*Actual talk of drinking, and intoxication starts here*

After the fire was lit, you could see just how many people were around it. There was about 60 or so people standing out here. Amy had disappeared through the bunch, as I was back and forth talking with some old friends. I'm about 3 and a half drinks in, feeling a slight buzz. Some people were already plastered, with some standing away from everyone puking.

There is a good amount of people here that I don't know, some looking older. "Bro, she sings pretty good, she was always in the school plays." Alexander walks over towards me and the few girls I was talking to, his arm around someone's shoulders. "That was literally in middle school!" I say back, as he tries to introduce me to the guy he's holding onto.

"It was still good," he points at me, "this is Viv. That's Carly, and that's Eva. Guys, this is Noah. He's a chill ass dude." We all smile and greet him. Hes standing awkward, due to the way Alexander is holding onto him. Hes dressed in nearly all black, holding a beer in his hand.

"I'll be back!" Alexander stumbles away, disappearing through the crowd that was around us. "I literally have no idea why he brought me over here." Noah chuckles, taking a sip of his beer, pressing his lips to the bottle, with his tongue slightly out. He seems kinda... Hot.  I think to myself. That's the alcohol talking. I pour out the rest of my drink, responding to him. "Alexander is weird like that." I laugh.

"I literally just met him. I actually followed my brother, Nick, here. We were talking about our favorite music, and instruments we play and he just told me to come with him."

Noah and I talk a little more, unsurprised that Alexander never made his way back to us. I pull my phone out of my pocket, to notice that I was 1 in the morning. Damn, I must have been standing here talking to Noah longer than I thought. I seen Amy a few times, her holding on to a guy, then holding onto a girl. Just having a blast. I wound up offering out the rest of my drinks, which was only 2. "I have to find my friend, I think it's time for me to head out." I glance over at Noah who had peaked up a conversation with a couple of the guys who were standing around us. "You talking about the friend who ran around the bonfire?" He smiled down at me. "Yes, that friend."

"I think shes passed out on the ground over there." He points over towards a girl, laying face first on the ground like she's sleeping on a bed. "Oh my God." I chuckle, covering my face with one of my hands. "Yep, that's Amy."

"Say, you mind helping me?" I smile at the guys standing next to me, as I gesture to the clearly plastered girl snoozing on the ground. "She rode with me."

Noah and one of the other guys helped get her off the ground, and carried her to my car. I opened the passenger door, leaning the back of the seat down so that she could lay in the seat with the seatbelt still around her. The other guy walked off, leaving Noah to adjust her legs into the car. "Thank you so much!" I say, holding onto the door of the car, it being between Noah and I.

"Absolutely." He smiles back at me, strapping her seatbelt around her, as she groans.

"Say, you think I could get your number? Or Snapchat?" Noah turns to me, grabbing the door from my hands and slowly closing it. "Hmm, I think not." I say furrowing my eyebrows. He widens his eyes a little, letting out an "oh".

"I'm just kidding, sure!" I laugh, as I gesture for him to hand me his phone. I gave him both my Snapchat, and my phone number. Not really expecting anything out of it. "Alright! Vivian! I will definitely text you sometime. Show me some of that middle school singing you do." He jokes, pulling me in for a side hug. We said our goodbyes, and I drove both Amy and I back to my place...