The Unseen

Bonfire

Friday rolls around faster than I anticipated and I wait in my living room for Drew to come pick me up. Bianca sits scratching Stanley, my ghost dog, while waiting with me. She helped me pick out my outfit. I wear a purplish pink angled top and denim shorts. My nails are painted to match my shirt and my hair is down.

A purple, obviously borrowed purple minivan drives up, bass blaring from the speakers.

I look frantically to Bianca and she sets a reassuring hand on my arm. "Rainy, you're going to be fine. Just don't let him in your pants on the first date. You don't want to be labelled as easy." She pushes me out the door. "Go, it'll be fun."

Drew hops out of the back of the van and meets me halfway up my sidewalk. "Hey, sorry I'm late. We had to pick up a few more people than I thought." He grabs my wrist and leads me to one of the backseat doors and opens it and I find it packed so tight with teens that the car may explode. "Follow up apology: it's really cramped back there." Two or three people sit in each seat meant for one and it's a good thing the windows are tinted or the cops would have had them all in trouble.

"It's ok," I say.

He gets into the seat closest to the door. I silently wonder how I'm going to fit in when Drew moves his legs apart enough so that I'll fit. I blush and sit in his lap, hoping no one notices the tomato I'm sure my face has turned into.

Drew moves his face next to the window and my ear and whispers, "Hey, don't be nervous. I won't hurt you." He wraps his arms around my waist and I lean into him. He feels solid, strong, and warm behind me. For a moment, I'm enveloped in only the sweet, distinctly male scent of Drew. But all good things must come to an end.

"Hey Drew! Who's your friend?" I turn and look over Drew's shoulder to see the guy who yelled at him when we first met. He sees me and whistles. "Damn, and can I get her number?"

"Lay off, Mike," Drew says jokingly.

He laughs from the back of the van. "You better keep an eye on that one, D."

Megan and her demons sit next to me with Landon not far behind them. Fiona continues to shoot daggers so I assume that her and Drew are supposed to be soulmates or something in her mind.

"So Ryan," Megan looks over to me. "Since when are you doing Drew?"

Her minions laugh.

"Rain. And I'm not doing Drew, thank you very much," I tell her, turning my head so I can ignore her.

Drew runs his hand over my arm. "Don't worry about them. They're jealous of you. Megan and Britney have been trying to hook me and Fiona up for ages. But I don't like her. She just wants to be with me for show."

We hit a rocky dirt road not too long later and I look out the window ahead of us. There's no houses nearby but the road goes on for miles more. There are woods on the right side of the road and an open field to the left. About halfway up the road, the forest opens up just a bit and we turn into the break in the trees. Cars are packed into the smallish clearing and a few people sit on the tailgate of a truck. What kind of a bonfire has no bonfire?

They park the van and I pull the door open and get off Drew. He quickly follows me out of the car, closing the door behind him so the three witches have to go out the other side.

Megan leans over and whispers something to Fiona which makes her smile and come bouncing over to Drew, walking very closely. Drew grabs my hand and moves towards me, effectively shutting out Fiona.

We walk, hand in hand, up to the forest wall. A path small enough that you'd have to be looking for it to see it lies in front of us. Drew sets a hand on my back and drops my hand, "After you." I smile and follow Mike, Landon, whoever was driving, and whoever was riding shotgun. I'm glad now that I wore my black converse shoes instead of my white ones because they would have been trashed in this dirt.

The path winds through the woods for a bit but then opens up to a secluded, yet large opening. A huge bonfire sits in the center with orange flames blazing through it. Logs made into benches make a somewhat circle a safe distance from the fire. Music blares from an iPod speaker next to a space meant to be a dance floor. The music is loud, but not loud enough to be heard from the road we came in on. A cluster of coolers sit in the corner opposite of the dance floor. Littered around them are already emptied cans and bottles. Chairs are strewn around the place at random, but in large clusters. The people here so far are either completely drunk, despite the fact that the sun is just starting to set, or getting there. Yup, this place looks like a party.

Drew turns to me. "I'm going to go say hey to a few guys, I'll be back in just a minute, ok?"

I nod. "Don't get lost." I head over and sit by the fire. Even though the sun is just barely starting to set, it's a bit chilly outside and the fire warms my skin. A couple sits making out on the log across from me. They're probably drunk. I take a look around. The people here are mainly a mixture of upperclassmen with a few sophomores and freshmen sprinkled around. A group of what I'd assume to be college students stagger around the cooler area.

I sit for about ten minutes. I jump, someone grabs me from behind. I scream. Drew laughs from behind me. "Relax it's just me." He slightly slurs his words. Only a little bit though and I'm surprised that I hear it.

"Sounds like someone's been drinking," I say, jokingly.

He picks me up and tosses me over his shoulder. "Sounds like someone needs a drink."

I laugh, playfully clawing at his arms. "Put me down! Put me down!"

"Never!" he says, but gently sets me down when we get to the coolers. Drew's arm remains around my waist as we stand there.

There's a black haired girl with tattoos and piercings sitting on a rock. "What d'ya want?" She looks to Drew. "Back again?"

"Well my beer was good, what can I say?" Drew smiles dopily, "Can we have two more? Please Sam?"

She pulls out two beers from the cooler in front of her and hands them to Drew, "Because you said please."

He waves to Sam and turns us around, handing me a beer. "Thank you."

"No problem." Drew walks me over to a tree and sits down at the base of it. I follow him down and sit next to him. "Beautiful girl for a beautiful night."

I blush and playfully tap his beer. "How many of these have you had?"

"Rain. I'm not drunk.....yet. But then when I am you'll look twice as beautiful as you do now which, by the way, I don't even know if that's possible." He sets his arm around my shoulders and shakes his head like he can't believe I don't believe him. I just don't. No one has ever made me think that I'm beautiful, despite my mother naming me for my so-called beauty.

"Thank you," I say quietly. I set my hand on his knee. Something about Drew makes me feel safe and warm and happy. I don't want to lose that feeling....I don't want to lose him.

+++

Four beers and a sunset later, Drew and I drunkenly slow dance to a Lady Gaga song that's completely wrong for slow dancing. But neither of us care. The wind bites my skin as it blows past and I shiver.

"You cold?" Drew asks. He doesn't wait for an answer before lacing his fingers in mine and walking me towards the path. "Come'ere."

He scoops me up and starts running and I just laugh. Words aren't coming to my mind so I just giggle and I run my finger over his eyebrow. "It's so fluffy!!!" I giggle. I run my finger over his nose, his jaw, his eyelid, his cheek, his chin, and even his ears, just exploring his face. Drew stumbles around and I think he might drop me but he doesn't. He just keeps staggering down the curving path.

We get to the van and it's already unlocked. Drew sets me down against it and failing to stand, I slide down onto the ground and lean against the tire. He opens the door and rummages around for a moment until he comes out with a sweatshirt. "Be nice. This's my football one." Drew hands it to me and I slip it over my head gratefully.

"Thank you," I tell him.

He kneels down in front of me and I look up at him. "You look pretty in moonlight." My eyes flicker over his face and in this moment, it hit me. Drew is what I want and all I want. I want nothing more than to be able to call him mine and to have him call me his. In this moment, I can't tell him all that. But I can kiss him. And I most certainly do.