Billy Carter

Chapter 10: Makeout Party

Papa Keynes dropped us off at Natalie's, where we were greeted at the front door by the hostess herself.
"Hey guys, thanks for coming!" Natalie gave us both a hug and welcomed us through the door. "I'm pleasantly surprised to see you here Bill, Ollie said you were grounded...?"
"Yeah, but mum said I could go out tonight and start my sentence tomorrow," I told her with a shrug. "I'm not gonna fight her on it."
"Well the party's in the back of the house, through the hall," she told us, pointing down the hall. "I'll take your bags and pop them in my room if you like." Me and Trent argued that we could take our things up to her room ourselves but she insisted to the point where we were scared to refuse her, so while she went upstairs to put our stuff away we found the party. Down the hall was the living room, and the living room opens onto the back yard, so everyone was spread out between the two - or the kitchen, where there were snacks and drinks available. 'Everyone' consisted of pretty much the same group at Jenny's Birthday party a week before, plus a couple of Natalie's friends I didn't know, but I found Ollie in the crowd almost immediately. I could never find fucking Wally in those books as a kid, but I can track down Ollie like a goddamn bloodhound.
"Why, hello there," I said as I snuck up next to him. He turned and grinned at me.
"I thought you were grounded?"
"Mum gave me the night off."
"Nice. How'd you manage that?"
"Got her a new job."
"Oh?"
So I told him about Don's restaurant upgrade which I hadn't mentioned the night before, and asked him how football was today.
"It was great, we won," he said with a proud smile. "I kicked eight goals. Tony kicked five."
"Yeah? I've gotta watch you guys play sometime, I keep hearing all these insane stories."
"Well, there's a game every Saturday, so once your grounding is over-"
"Billy, baby!" a girl exclaimed suddenly. It gave me a little fright to be honest, and I turned around to see Annabelle skipping over with a couple of drinks in her hand. She stopped in front of me, swaying slightly with an adorable goofy grin on her face. Her hair was a tangle of curls and her lipgloss stained the rim of one of her cups. "Here! Drink it! Don't say I can't provide for ya!" she told me, shoving a cup into my hands.
"Oh, hey. Thanks Annabelle," I smiled at her, accepting the drink like I had a choice.
"It's absolutely no problem!" she said cheerily, and started bouncing on her feet energetically. Annabelle's like a fucking pinball when she's drunk. Usually I thought it was cute and funny, but while she was yammering on for my attention I saw Guy make his way over to Ollie and whisper something in his ear that made him smile. My blood boiled for a second, then I started to worry. What if Ollie didn't want to wait for me to come out and sort the rest of my bollocks? What if Guy swooped in and Ollie decided he was better? "Hey!" Annabelle grabbed my chin and pulled my gaze back to her with a playful smile. "What is so important you can't focus on the stunningly gorgeous double-D cup girl standing in front of you?"
"I- double-Ds? Really?" She winked and giggled before leaning in suddenly and giving me a kiss. She threw her arms around my shoulders which would have been perfectly fine if she hadn't still been holding a very full cup of Lemonade and Vodka. It spilled all down my back, sticky and cold. I jumped back in surprise.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" she put a hand to her mouth before she started giggling again.
"It's ok, it was an accident," I told her. "Hold this - and don't spill it." I gave her my drink and took my jacket off, followed by my jumper.
"Oh, let me help." She smirked seductively and started to pull my shirt up but I caught her hands and stopped her.
"Hey!" I said with a laugh. Natalie came up and took Annabelle's hands.
"Annabelle, go get a drink of water, sweetie," Natalie told her. Annabelle groaned and rolled her eyes, but she did what Natalie said, stomping off to the kitchen. "Sorry Bill," Natalie smiled. "I'll get these washed for you, you can change into one of my brother's shirts upstairs." She twisted around and looked around the room, finally spotting her slightly-older brother. "Hey, Mike! Can Billy borrow one of your shirts?" she called across the room. A Year 13 guy with her same round face and brown hair nodded back.
"Sure," he said.
"Thanks," I gave him a grateful smile and he nodded back before going back to his conversation with a group of older students I only half recognised.
"Come on, I'll show you where his room is." Natalie pulled me towards the staircase.
Upstairs was pleasantly quiet compared to the buzz of conversation and the music playing on the ground floor. Natalie showed me Mike's room - your typical messy, sport-themed lad's room - and after I took my shirt off and gave it to her she left me to put my soggy clothes in the wash. I found where Mike keeps his shirts and found a David Bowie shirt that I was happy to be seen in. I met Nat again on the staircase, and she nodded approvingly when she saw me.
"I thought you might've been a bit skinny for his shirts, but that fits you pretty well. Do you want a jumper, too?"
"No thanks, I've got an extra jacket in my bag."
"Alright then, well my bedroom's that one there. Don't go snooping." She winked teasingly and headed downstairs, and I went into her room to find my jacket. I was bending over to unzip my bag on the floor and all of a sudden someone was squeezing my arse.
"Whoa, hey!" I looked up through my legs and saw Victoria laughing.
"Sorry, I couldn't resist!" she told me. "I just had to see your reaction. I may also be a little tipsy, so don't judge."
Now I laughed, at the irony. "Who am I to judge?" I asked. I found my jacket and zipped my bag back up before standing up straight and turning to face her. "What're you doing here?"
"Same as you. Well, sort of. Checking to see if my phone's charged yet," she said with a shrug, going over the nightstand where her phone lay, plugged into a power cord. "What happened to the shirt you were wearing earlier?"
I snorted. "Drunk Annabelle happened to it. She spilled her drink all down my back."
"Ew. Are you sticky?"
"Little bit."
"Go wash it off in the bathroom. I know where the cloths are."
"Good idea. Hey, this might be awkward but could you help me wash it off? I can't exactly reach back there very well."
"No, that's fine." She shrugged again, putting down her phone. "Let's go. Bathroom's just across the hall."
So we went into the bathroom where Jenny was throwing up and Tony was rubbing her back soothingly and delicately holding her hair. "Oh, hello." I said with a grin. You're designated driver this time, huh?" I asked Tony. He nodded.
"Yeah," Tony said. Jenny gagged and vomited again. "Go on honey, get it all out," he said gently. Jenny sat back and stared up at us, a little bit of vomit on her chin.
"When'd you g'ere Bill?" Jenny slurred.
"Not long ago," I told her. Tony wiped her chin with a piece of toilet paper before flushing everything down the toilet.
"Come on baby, rinse your mouth out at the sink," he told her, helping her to her feet.
"Take your shirt off, please," Victoria told me while she rung out the washcloth.
"Oh, er, just do it under my shirt," I told her, feeling awkward.
"What? Just take it off, I'm not gonna perv on you," Victoria assured me.
"No, he's insecure. Don't bother fighting him over it," Tony told her. I rolled my eyes at them both out of embarrassment.
I've never let anyone see me shirtless and it's for two reasons. One: I'm skinny to the point of concern for my health, and I'm embarrassed that I'm not quite as muscular as most other guys my age - I'm hoping I'll get one last burst of puberty to make me look like an actual man. Two: thanks to Dad's temper over the last sixteen years I have a lot of scars in a lot of different shapes and sizes (not to mention bruises from more recent altercations) that I'd prefer others didn't see. It'd raise too many questions.
Fortunately Victoria headed Tony's advice and cleaned me up under my shirt while Tony emptied a cup into the sink then filled it with water for Jenny to rinse her mouth out.
"What happened to your face? You're all bruised up," Victoria told me.
"Oh, they're just from the mugging. Don't worry about them," I told her.
Tony leaned over to get a look at my face and winced. "Jeez, mate."
I examined my face in the mirror over the sink.  "S'not that bad. My nose is still a little red, and around my eyes is a bit puffy and blue, but otherwise-"
"Billy, you're a good looking lad, but right now you look like a well-used human punching bag," Victoria told me.
That's exactly what I am, I thought bitterly. "Well I don't feel too sore. Stop fussing over me, I'm fine," I told them. Tony sighed, and lead Jenny out of the bathroom. Victoria cleaned the last of the stickiness off my body and dried my back with a towel.
"There you go, all clean and dry." She smiled at me in the mirror and I smiled back.
"Thanks Vick." I straightened up my shirt and stretched. "Shall we return to the party?" I asked, opening the door and holding it for her.
"Sure," she smiled and we went back downstairs together. I stopped on the staircase to look around and locate my friends. Tony and Jenny had relocated to a couch, where she sat on his lap, slowly sipping on a bottle of water. Trent was standing next to them, chatting to Tony with a smile. I looked around and eventually spotted a mass of red curls bobbing through the crowd, heading out towards the backyard. I decided to follow Cynthia and say hello, see what she was up to. I squeezed through the crowded lounge room to the sliding doors, saying hello and briefly catching up with people I recognised as I went. Out in the chilly Autumn air I stood on the tips of my toes to try and see over the crowd - I'm only average height after all, I'm not a giant like Jimmy. I guess that's not such a bad thing after all, I think if I had his height I'd look even skinnier and lankier - awkwarder.
I did spot Cyn's vibrant red hair through the crowd though. She was over by the garden with Annabelle, Natalie and all of their other friends I don't really know.
"Oh my God, finally!" Annabelle exclaimed when I made my way over. "I've been holding your drink literally forever!" she complained dramatically. I took the drink back and thanked her.
"Oh, so you're the guy from that Instagram picture!" One of the girls I didn't know said. She had short blonde hair and a big mouth.
"Yeah!" Annabelle nodded. I had no idea what they were talking about.
"Huh?" I asked. Annabelle smacked my chest a bit harder than I think she meant to.
"Our date at Hyde Park, remember?"
"Oh, yeah."
"Isn't he a cutie?" Annabelle asked her girlfriends, grabbing my arm and pulling me closer to her side.
"So are you two official yet? Or just dating?" the girl with the big mouth asked.
"Well, I don't know," Annabelle shrugged and looked at me.
"Uh, no need to rush into anything, is there?" I asked gingerly. "I mean, it's not like I'm seeing anyone else, and what's wrong with testing the waters a little bit before jumping straight in?"
"Nothing!" Annabelle nodded happily, still hugging my arm tightly. I sighed in relief - on the inside - and decided it would be a good time to start drinking. I sculled the drink Annabelle had gotten me while she and her friends gushed about what a cute couple we made - you know, in theory.
"Annabelle, where'd you get the drink?" I asked her. I needed another.
"Oh, the kitchen. There's a whole bunch of different soft drinks and I've brought a bottle of Vodka. It's in the pantry, you can help yourself," she told me. She grabbed my arm as I turned away, and I looked back at her. "Bring one back for me, would you? Lemonade flavour."
"Sure." She gave me a quick kiss before she let go of my arm and I left. I saw Ollie with Tommy, Greg and fuck-head Guy a little distance away as I went towards the house, and caught Ollie watching me and Annabelle with hurt in his eyes. I tried to give him an apologetic look, tried to show him somehow that I felt like a piece of shit for hurting him the way I was, even if it was only for appearances' sake. Ollie wouldn't look at me though, he turned away and finished his beer.
I felt like crap as I poured me and Annabelle a cup of Lemonade each, with a single shot of vodka for hers and two for mine. I spotted an open packet of plastic disposable shot glasses, and lined eight up on the counter top. To cheers from the people around me, I downed each shot one after the other like a pro. I just wanted to get sloshed, I wasn't interested in feeling so nervous and anxious and guilty and confused; I just wanted to give my brain a break and have some fun with my friends. I re-joined Annabelle, Cynthia, Natalie and the others in the backyard, and half an hour later the shots kicked in, spurred into action by the bubbles in my lemonade-vodka mixer. Of course, I didn't stop there. I wanted to get so drunk I forgot everything shitty that was happening in my life. I wanted to forget about Dad, I wanted to forget about the Ollie and Annabelle bollocks, I wanted to forget I was failing school and I wanted to forget about the looming foster care threat. I wanted to wipe the whole fucking slate clean.