skater boy - sapnap

chapter 39- why

"hi!" i hear from two drunken voices behind me. they're high pitched and the "i's" are drawn out for ten too many syllables. i swivel around and am met with the unknown red head that is always popping into my life and her dark haired friend that i've never seen before.

"hey... guys," i mutter unenthusiastically, trying not to be obvious with the fact that i have zero idea who either of them are.

"your name is cassandra, right?" the dark haired one says.

"uhh, cassia. but close enough."

"ohh, so sorry, babe! i'm horrible with names. i'm nessa. poppy has told me about you, i've seen your face before but i don't think we've ever met." she extends her hand and i take it, silently thanking jesus that she just name dropped the two of them and gave me information that i've been curious about for months now.

"ahh, i see. well, it's nice to meet you, nessa. and nice to see you again, poppy."

"you too, girl!" poppy says. "where's sapnap?"

"uhh, i don't know. off talking to his friends somewhere right now. why? do you need him?"

"oh no! nothing like that. i just... i can't believe you're comfortable with letting him roam around freely at a party like this! you know a ton of girls would kill to be with him, right?"

"yeah, i know..." i say in a weary tone, not liking where this conversation is going. "but he's not a dog. i don't want to keep him on a leash. he's social and likes to talk to people, so i want him to have fun."

"you don't go with him?"

"nah, he enjoys socializing more than i do. plus i'd rather we not be clinging to each other all night. that would get annoying."

"but aren't you worried that he'll do something with someone else?" nessa asks. "we all know what happened last time he got drunk at a party..." the two girls snicker.

"first of all, neither of us were drunk. we were consenting adults that happened to have a few drinks beforehand but made choices that we were fully aware we were making," i cut her off, annoyance quickly rising. since when did i become so defensive over us? "second of all, yes. we all know what happened. he kissed his girlfriend. and said girlfriend is not worried about him kissing other girls while he's in a relationship." nessa laughs.

"you're stronger than me, girl."

"clearly." it comes out snappier than intended, but i desperately want an out for this conversation. i look around, trying to spot a familiar face to run up to, but no one stands out. i look towards the dance floor and it's full of strangers. where the hell is noel?

this situation is so uncomfortable that i consider running up to one of those strangers and pretending to know them. but as soon as i scope out the perfect person, poppy opens her mouth again.

"isn't he the whole reason you're here tonight?" she asks. i whip my head back to look at her and a mean smirk appears on her face.

"what's that supposed to mean?" i ask, furrowing my eyebrows together and frowning.

"well, you're really not that well-known..." she giggles. "i mean, the only reason you started becoming successful is because you're dating sapnap. if he wasn't in the picture, you wouldn't have any of this! you'd probably be at home sleeping right now if that video didn't get leaked."

"pardon?" my grip on my solo cup tightens and the cup crushes slightly.

"oh, don't act dense. you know i'm right."

"poppy, isn't that a little... harsh..?" nessa asks while eyeing me cautiously. very ironic coming from miss "aren't you worried he'll do something with someone else?"