My Lover Boy| JJ Maybank

Chapter 5

Two days later, Evelyn was feeling more ready than ever for this party. It was all they had been talking about with the boys. Sarah had told her she'd invited JJ, but Evelyn wasn't sure he would come. It was a Kook party after all.

As people started showing up, Evelyn found an empty room to collect herself in with her unopened bottle of vodka. She hadn't seen her brother since the incident. In fact, she hadn't seen any of the Pogues since then. It worried her, but she tried to convince herself they were fine.

Her arm was feeling better. It was still bandaged and she had to be careful with it, but she didn't care. She wasn't going to let those two barbarians ruin the rest of her summer.

By the time the party had kicked into full swing, she'd already downed three-quarters of her vodka. Evelyn knew she was going to regret it later, but until it kicked in she was going to enjoy herself.

She walked out by the pool, just in time to hear the crowd chanting Sarah's name. Evelyn looked up and saw Topper pick up Sarah. After Sarah fought him for a bit, he jumped off the roof into the pool.

Topper was being reckless, trying to prove something by making Sarah do that. She took another swig of her bottle.

When they surfaced, Topper yelled, "Can you believe this girl right here? Coolest chick in the OBX!"

Evelyn rolled her eyes. Topper was usually a sweet, responsible person, but ever since Wheezie told him about John B, he'd changed.

She looked around, hoping to see the blue eyes and messy blonde hair of a particular boy, but Evelyn didn't see him. She let out a sigh and finished her vodka.

It was surprising she didn't feel it yet, but it would come soon. Evelyn couldn't wait. She hadn't let herself drink this much for about two years.

She found herself a nice spot on the edge of Topper's yard, overlooking the ocean, the bottle still in her hands. It was strange to her that she couldn't get JJ off her mind for the past two days, even now that she was drinking.

"Ev?" a voice called. She turned around and saw Natalia behind her. "How are you doing?"

"Alright," Evelyn replied, starting to slur her words a bit. "Enjoying the view."

"Do you want me to take the bottle?"

Evelyn handed it to her. There was no use in holding onto an empty bottle. She hated the way her friends had looked at her with pity the past couple of days. Everything was all about making sure she was alright, but all Evelyn wanted to do was go back to normal, to forget anything happened.

Before Natalia finally left, she said, "Someone is looking for you. One of your brother's friends."

That caused Evelyn to perk up, but she stayed where she was. She couldn't let her friends know about her and JJ. They would be furious she kept him from them, and even more so now that he's pulled a gun out on Topper.

"Okay," Evelyn slurred. "I- I'll look for him in a minute."

Truthfully, Evelyn didn't think she could walk, but she didn't need Natalia following her for the rest of the night. Natalia seemed to take the hint that she wanted to be alone and walked back to the crowds of the party.

In a perfect world, JJ would walk right up to her, sit down, and talk with her all night. She knew JJ though. He was going to stay wherever the party was at, so that was where she had to go.

As she stood up, Evelyn felt nauseous. The vodka had finally hit her. She stumbled her way back to the house, walking in a very curved line. She pushed past people, sometimes falling into them, but she didn't care.