A Loser With A Cellphone (Alex Standall)

39

Alex stumbled a bit, almost dropping his phone, his head filled with a delirious alcohol-induced joy. He slipped it back into his pocket, watching the vague blur of people coming and going and swaying along to the steady beat of the song.
He suddenly remembered what he had just read - she was here! He had to find her. In that moment, he was absolutely certain that if he saw her, he would know that it was her. There had to be some way for them to finally meet, and there was no way that he was going to give this opportunity up.
He attempted to push forward through the swirling sea of bodies but was immediately spit back out. He laughed a little bit, shaking his head, and tried to dive right back in when he felt a hand grasping his arm, pulling him back.
"Lemme go," he slurred, using all of his energy to try and let go of the firm grasp on him.
"You're drunk. You should probably go lie down somewhere," a female voice rang through to him, over the buzz. He turned his head rapidly - so quickly that it set off a short dizzy spell. He blinked a couple of times to regain his orientation.
"Yeah, you're really not looking too good. If you're gonna be sick or something, just tell me so I can get you to a bathroom."
Her face didn't look familiar to him, but then again, nobody's did right now. The beer temporarily faded away all of the troubles that plagued him, but it also took away everything else - Including important things, like remembering who people were and where he was and what exactly was happening again? Before he had time to remember, he felt himself being lightly guided through the crowd. He looked down to find that the girl had grasped his hand as she assisted him through the house.
"I'm guessing you've been here before. Do you know where the bedrooms are?"
Alex nodded, pointing up the stairs. Wow. This girl was so, so pretty. So so so so pretty, so pretty. Beautiful, really. He swayed forward as if to kiss her on the mouth right then, but she continued on determinedly, unaware and probably mistaking it for a random drunken sway.
She paused momentarily upon reaching the foot of the stairs, quickly glancing back at Alex, as if assessing his ability to climb them.
"I can do it," he said proudly, giving her a thumbs up before climbing the first step and almost falling upwards.
"You're worse than I thought," she sighed, her words getting a little carried away by the buzz and noise of the party. Why was she doing this, anyways? Where was she taking him? He wanted to party. He expressed this to her, but she just gave him a small, apologetic smile.
"I think you've had enough partying for tonight, buddy," she said, before guiding his arm around her waist and stretching her own around him.
Climbing the stairs felt as big as a feat of climbing Mount Everest, and it took about as long, as well. When they finally reached the top, Alex felt like he had exercised every muscle in his body.
"I can't believe I climbed a mountain," he said, and with that, the mystery girl let out a giggle that sounded reminiscent of a wind chime. Alex smiled too, unsure of what he had said that was so funny, but glad that he could make her happy.
She helped him into an empty bedroom, guiding him into the bed and making him lay on his side. She moved a trash can next to the bed and patted his head.
"You sleep well, okay? I'll get you a cup of water and set some aspirin on the side table for when you wake up." She leaned over and gently kissed him on the forehead before leaving the room.
Alex had blacked out before she even came back.