Fight or Flight [On Hold]

[ 2 ] The Party Don't Start Till I Walk In

Lexy was grateful that the girl she trusted most in the world who was sitting next to her, driving, wasn't bugging her about what happened. She didn't know what she would've told her practically perfect best friend - that her brother was a recovering alcoholic who was just in the middle of a relapse thanks to his stupid friend didn't really seem the best thing to get someone in the party mood.

The radio filled the silence, blasting out songs at top volume. Lexy couldn't even hear herself think and didn't understand how Abby could drive in it. But it was probably for the best, considering her thoughts would have most likely revolved around how best to kill Jay.

Ten minutes passed before the car pulled up outside an impressive detached house. They were able to hear for about five seconds - until they opened the car doors. Noise invaded their ears; the ground was literally shaking from the pounding music. Lexy chuckled to herself. Howard sure knows how to throw a great party, she thought, eyeing the couple who were furiously making out against the house wall.

The front door was ajar before the two girls cautiously pushed it open. They stepped carefully over the shoes which had been littered all over the foyer and found themselves in the living room. They could see Howard dancing like a maniac on the other side of the room. Pity they couldn't see anyone else - there must have been at least a hundred people, all dancing and drinking. Howard's gaze landed on them, and he waved them over.

"Can I have your keys?" Lexy shouted to be heard over the music. Seeing all the alcohol reminded her of all the beer currently getting warm on the backseat of Abby's car.

"Sure," her pretty blonde friend yelled in her ear, starting to head out of the room.

Lexy had noticed how happy Abby had looked when Howard had waved, and shook her head. "No, you go over. I'll give them back later."

Abby shrugged and fished the keys out of her bag, to be thanked by a thumbs-up before Lexy strode out of the deafening house and towards the car.

She squinted at the key fob, unsure of which button unlocked the car. She'd seen her best friend do it a thousand times, but had never paid much attention - not thinking she'd ever have to do it.

She couldn't see any markings on any of the buttons, so she pressed them at random. The first one made the car give a satisfying click, and Lexy excitedly tugged on the door handle. It didn't budge. She wandered round the car, trying to figure out where the noise had come from, before she spotted the petrol cap sticking out. The second button seemed to do nothing. Third time lucky, she prayed, not wanting to be standing outside in the cold for longer than she absolutely had to.

When she pressed the third button the car's headlights flashed. Finally, she thought. She pulled on the door handle and the door swung open easily. Too easily, in fact.

Lexy watched in horror as the door swung into the wall. There was a loud clunk which would have been satisfying had the damage been deliberate.

She pulled the door back to inspect it, bracing herself for the worst. To her surprise, there was barely a scratch on either the door or the wall. The only evidence that anything had happened was the expression on her own face, which she quickly got rid of.

She sighed in relief and carefully balanced the door against the wall again, before leaning into the backseat and scooping up as many boxes of beer as she could carry. She was sure Abby would find some way of disposing of what she had left behind.

She closed the car door carefully and pushed the fourth button hopefully. The headlights flashed again, and the door was locked.

Lexy tottered up the drive with the precariously balanced beer and nudged the door open with her hip. She shuffled between the shoes, through the throngs of people, and finally made it into the nearly-deserted hallway.