No Turning Back

We Aren't Friends

Victory used to be sweet. The cheers from the bleachers and the bear hugs from my teammates used to be the best thing in the world. I used to like being handed the trophy and then being held up for the world to see. I used to love to see the confetti fly down from above us like snow. I used to love the feeling I got as I felt as if I'd achieved something. I used to bask in everyone's praises and then party until I passed out. We always had off the Monday after the homecoming game so that we all could recover from our major hangovers. Usually I would spend that day passed out in my bed. This year, though, I felt totally different about everything.

When I scored the winning touchdown, I didn't feel the happy high I usually felt. Instead, I felt...bored. When everyone began cheering and my teammates tackled me into hugs, I felt annoyed. When I got handed the trophy before being tossed in the air, I put on the fake smile but I still didn't feel anything. I knew that I would the same when I tried to party. For some reason, everything just felt so wrong. While my body was there, my heart just wasn't in it anymore. I didn't know why but it felt as if something was missing. I scanned the bleachers curiously to see all the usual fans and students but I didn't see the face that I realized I was looking for. I didn't get to dwell much on it before I got put down and Melanie tackled me into a hug. Not too long after she let go, Mia jumped on me and planted a big kiss on my lips. Everyone around us cheered even more. Their screams didn't affect me though. It didn't make my emptiness go away.

"You were so great out there," Mia said as she hopped off of me. I looked down at her and smiled. She looked cute in one of my old jerseys and my number painted on her cheek. "I am so proud of you," she said as she grabbed me into a hug. I chuckled under her embrace but returned the hug.

"Thanks babe." She tugged on my hand as she pulled out of the hug. "Where are we going," I asked as she towed me towards the parking lot. I noticed she was making a beeline for my car. I raised an eyebrow as I looked down at her and waited for a response.

"Everyone is going to Luces Baila to celebrate so I thought we could go. It'll be fun, don't you think?"

"Yea. Okay. Let's go." I opened the passenger door for her and let her get into the car. I then jogged over to the driver's side and drove into the line of cars to get out the parking lot. It didn't take us long to get to the huge building nor did it take long for everyone else. By the time we got into the restaurant, everyone from our school was there. Of course, they were all drinking but that was expected. Our parents always let the place we were going to know that we were allowed to drink. I don't understand why they did that but they did. I'd never actually paid much mind to it before. Normally, I just went along with the whole festivities. But now that I think about it: weren't parents supposed to be trying to prevent their kids from drinking instead of reinforcing it? "I have to go change," I told Mia before heading into the bathroom. I was still in my football stuff and I needed to get out of it badly. I went into a stall and quickly stripped down. Then I dug through my bag to pull out a clean white tee, a pair of jeans and some sneakers. Once I had put those on and packed away my football stuff, I walked out of the stall. I looked in the mirror and frowned. I looked a mess. There was still dirt on my face plus my hair looked like a bird's nest. I grabbed a couple of paper towels, wet them, and began to clean my face up. While I was doing this, Jayden walked into the bathroom. He was clothed in his usual black waiter uniform with his hair messy and the usual annoyed scowl on his face. He glanced at me and the scowl faded a bit.

"Hey," I greeted him.

"Hi," he said simply as he walked past me. I watched him as he grabbed a couple paper towels and began to wipe his hands. I then noticed that his hands were wet with brown liquid. I'm guessing that someone spilled beer on him or something.