The Bad Boy's Bad Girl

Chapter Four - Boom, Bitch

"FREEDOM!" Garrett screamed, running out of school on Friday afternoon. "Quick, anyone who wants in on this awesome-ass party better hop in!" He lowered the top of his BMW convertible and immediately, twelve people piled in - among them, Jay and Ashley. "The rest of you sorry bitches get to walk!" He shouted.

A general cry of "Aww" and "What?" went up among the crowd. Jay's eye caught that of the boy she'd seen in the office on Monday. "Who's that?" She pointed at him.

"Who's who?" A senior girl twisted around to catch a look as the car screeched out of the parking lot. "Did I miss him?"

"Yeah, I think so." Jay held on tight as they sped through the streets, the radio turned up all the way on some Top 40 trash. "Ugh, this shit makes my ears bleed," She muttered. "Don't you have any Green Day CDs?" She yelled at Garrett as the wind whipped around them.

"Honey, it's a stretch with you even being here." He called back to her.

"Damn straight. These tunes make me want to jump out of the car." She fired back.

Garrett raised his eyebrows, impressed. "May! Pop in a Green Day CD!" Then, "You're good, Everett."

The party took about five minutes to set up. A stereo system was already in place, Garrett's parents were out of town for a charity function, the keg the seniors had ordered (with fake IDs) had arrived, and the hot tub was bubbling.

It took about a half hour for people to arrive. By the end of an hour, over two hundred people must have shown up. It was five o'clock and people were already doing shots.

Ashley screamed in delight as her favorite song came on. "THIS - IS - MY - JAM!!" She started rocking out right there in front of everyone, with no sense of shame. She totally made it work, and people started whooping and joining in.

While Jay was a sucker for a good dance song, her feet were already hurting, and the sun hadn't even gone down. Everyone had strategically worn clothes to school that weren't technically inappropriate, but definitely party-appropriate. Jay hadn't bothered to pick out anything spectacular, and had gone with some old (yet still satisfyingly tight) jeans and a loose shirt.

"Jay! Over here!" Dylan's voice wafted over to her. Jay was immediately on her guard.

"What? Up for a round two? There's no one here that'll convince me to pull back this time, you know." Jay crossed her arms.

"Chill out. Just wanted to offer you some drinks." Dylan raised his hands. "Here, have a beer." He held out a red Dixie cup filled with amber liquid.

"Thanks, I don't drink with people who call me - " Jay started.

"Oh, don't be such a pussy! Here, friendly competition - whoever can finish three cups first, wins." Dylan snapped his fingers, and two of his wrestling buddies poured out five more cups.

"Wins what?" Jay asked, her finger twitching towards the first cup.

"Does it matter?"

Jay hesitated. She picked up the first of her three cups. "Are these roofied or something?"

"Nah." He smiled. "Count of three. Three, two, one - "

He tilted his head back and downed the first cup. Jay did the same - three quick beers. Three cups.

Jay slammed the last cup down. "Boom, bitch!" She yelled, slurring just a little. Not noticeably. Yet.

"Fine, you win." Dylan beamed. Jay was starting to feel the onsets of drunkenness, and the suspicious thought at the back of her mind became dulled.

Ashley's song had just ended. Jay wandered onto the dance floor, AKA, the living room floor. "Hey, Ash," She laughed.

"Hey, Jay. Woah, I'm tired." Ashley collapsed onto a sofa, next to a junior couple making out. Two guys.

"Me, too. Hey, that's a good idea - " Jay pointed to the couple next to them, and before Ashley could object, Jay leaned in and pressed her lips to Ashley's. For just a second - just the tiniest moment - Ashley kissed back. But then the moment was over, and Ashley pushed Jay away.

She looked into Jay's eyes, briefly terrified, but after a moment that gave way to relief. "You're drunk."

"Didn't you like kissing me?" Jay teased.

"God, you are shit-faced," Ashley whistled, and she squeezed through two people, then disappeared.