Noah slouched down in his seat, not wanting to be seen by anyone as Lydia pulled up to the house.
"House" was an understatement. This was a mansion. There were fountains surrounding a sundial in the centre of the giant, circular pool in the front courtyard, and fairy lights delicately casting warmth through the boulevard trees. A long, winding driveway ended in a roundabout in front of the double doors, and the building itself bloated from that point in a mass of bay windows, towers, and stone blocks.
"Do we really have to do this?" whined Noah.
"Yes, now shut up and get out of the car before I come over there and do it for you."
Carefully eyeing the surrounding area for anyone who knew him, Noah stepped up out of the sports car and looked towards Lydia for approval, raising an eyebrow.
"Hey, you'll be fine, okay? The bitch with PMS has your back." She smirked.
After one last longing glance at the dark road behind them, and thoughts of how easy it would be to flee, Noah gave in and followed Lydia to the front door. After a few loud knocks on the polished oak, a boy with straight, dark hair answered the door with a huge smile on his face.
"Lydia! I'm so happy you could come! And good on you for bringing a friend!" He stepped back from the door, letting the two inside and closed it behind them, winking at Noah and then running into the bowels of the house.
"He's cute, don't you think, Noah?" Lydia inquired. "His parents own this place. He's on the soccer team, and his name's...."
"Tyler, yeah, I've seen him at practice before. I'm not completely socially awkward, you know."
"You learn something new every day, don't you?" Lydia giggled.
"Screw off."
The two friends took off their shoes and coats and proceeded into the next room over, where they found brightly coloured, flashing lights and throbbing electronic music, setting the scene for a mass of around fifty people all grinding on one another. Noah soon realized that Lydia was no longer beside him, probably lost in the crowd, and he left the room, nervous and disgusted. He pushed past a few people in the hallways and ended up on the second floor in a very large kitchen. The white marble counter tops were covered in a random arrangement of colourful drinks, and there were a couple of kids hanging around that Noah recognized from his classes. They made eye contact with him and smiled sweetly, setting his nerves at ease. It also helped that it was far quieter up here; the bass of the music downstairs the only sign that he was at a party.
Noah decided to wander around some more, and discovered a cozy looking games room on the far end of the house. Rounding the wall dividing the room, he ended up in what looked like a miniature bar. Stools were lining a long island and bottles of alcohol were stored in shelves and in transparent miniature fridges along the bottom of the counter.
There was something there, however, that Noah wished he hadn't come across. Sitting on the leather couches in the centre of the room taking lime green shots was a group of Bryce's friends, their ringleader pouring the drinks from a small, metal canteen. The noticing of Noah's presence was inevitable, and in an instant he was looking up into the eyes of his most feared person on Earth: Bryce MacKenzie.
"Hey, fag," whispered Bryce into Noah's ear, "I thought you'd have sworn off parties by now, especially after that incident..."
By now, the two had backed behind the cover of the wall, and Noah was scared shitless. Bryce leaned back in towards him, his hands on his shoulders, digging them into the wall. The larger boy reeked of alcohol; the smell hung off of him palpably, making Noah gag. Still holding his gaze, Bryce brought his mouth to Noah's ear.
