Chaos In The Flesh

Chapter 20 (part 2)

One beer, two beers, three beers down.

Jonathan tossed the third bottle into the trash near the corner of the room. If it went in, he didn't know. It was way too dark to see, way too crowded, the lights that were on flashed through his cornea and blinded him, the music literally made his brain jiggle in his skull, and...

It felt good.

Jonathan grabbed another beer from a cooler by the side of the wall and popped it open. It was about an hour after he had arrived, and this fourth drink was about to either ruin his life or make it better.

Jordan was... where was Jordan? Oh, by the stairs talking to a few of the... were those the cheer girls? Damn, where was Sarah to pull him away from them?

Tim was standing near him, talking to some dude that Jonathan had never seen before. Anasi was nowhere to be seen, and Cassie?

Cassie was dancing, singing, and laughing. She was loving life and living it to her fullest.

Jonathan wanted to fight with her. He wanted to yell and scream at her for choosing this party over their hangout. He wanted her to maybe yell back at him. He wanted her to push him back, he needed her to push him back.

This was Cassie's life, too. She wasn't on this Earth just for Jonathan to call up whenever he was bored or upset. She had every right to be here at the party, enjoying what he couldn't give her.

He smiled to himself as she spun around with another girl. She was so happy and having such lighthearted fun. In her gold top, she literally was blinding and it hurt to look at her beauty.

But this time, he didn't mind being blinded.

Jonathan tried to take a swig of his beer, only to realize he had already finished it. He frowned and stumbled past a few people to grab another beer.

"There he is! I was looking all over for you!" Martin yelled in his ear. He gently tugged Jonathan to the farthest corner of the room where a table set up for beer pong rested. "You're gonna be on my team for a game! Let's see how you Kents work a table, eh?"

Jonathan watched as a ping pong ball was thrown at him. He caught it with a bit of difficulty and turned it around on his palm. Yeah, he could do this.

He looked to the other side of the table, aimed, and let go.

******

"You know," Cassie grunted, climbing out of the third story window onto the roof. "If you wanted some air, you could've just gone onto the patio or into the field for a little."

Sarah scoffed and rolled her eyes. She began to get up, but Cassie held out her hand to stop her. "Not yet. We need to have a talk."

Sarah huffed and shifted on the roof. She had come out here after trying to find a bathroom. When she noticed the open window and perfectly sized ledge, she decided to sit down and enjoy the bitter cold for a bit.

Cassie grunted and sat down next to her. Sarah could see the goosebumps beginning to form on her skin right next to the salt from her sweat. In her hand, she still held her water bottle filled with just water.

Sarah turned her face back to the acres of land that Martin's family owned. "Come to lecture me about not wanting to party?"

Cassie took a swig of her drink and shook her head. "No. Just here to talk about why you have such an issue with me."

Sarah chuckled. "I don't have an issue with you."

"Bullshit," Cassie shrugged and leaned back against the siding. "I don't care that you don't like me, but do care when someone lies to me. So don't you dare to even try."