"Marco!"
I knew this was a bad idea from the start—I was never the type of person to go to a party. I always preferred staying at home with a cup of hot chocolate and an adventurous book, away from reality. I always stayed clear from people at our school; I was never the type of person to do well in social situations.
Inna the Introvert, they called me.
Well, at least Marco, my best friend, did. Where the hell was he anyway?
"Jesus Christ," I muttered under my breath as I pushed past a couple humping each other against the wall of the hallway. Knowing Marco, he'd probably found someone to fool around with. Too bad, he was my ride home. "Marco!"
"Polo!"
Someone "accidentally" elbowed me in the rib, causing me to stumble backward and have someone tip their solo cup, spilling their entire drink all over my dress. Great. There was no way I could go home now; I reeked of alcohol and disappointment.
I had to find Marco and pull him off whatever guy he tangled his tongue with. He got me into this mess, now he's the one that's going to fix it. He'd take me back to his house and let me borrow his sister's clothes. Now, that was a plan.
Only problem? The main part of my plan was missing.
"Marco!" I called again over the loud music. This was getting pointless. He could be anywhere at this point. For all I knew, the person he was hooking up with could've hacked him up and buried him in the woods somewhere.
Focus Inna, I reminded myself. This isn't a book, this is real life. Marco isn't dead.
"Polo!"
I ignored the idiot shouting back from seemingly nowhere. I made my way towards the backyard. I assumed that he could've been outside and that's why he hadn't heard me beforehand. I was going to get to the bottom of this, before this dumb party got any worse.
"Marco!"
"Polo!" The idiot shouted once again, only this time he seemed closer. Maybe he knew Marco? If anything, he could help me find him. He sounded sober enough to do so. Even if he was an asshat.
I scanned the crowd outside and around the pool and came empty-handed when it came to finding Marco. I spun on my heels quickly in order to rush into the opposite direction back towards the house when I crashed into someone's chest.
The person nearly knocked me off my feet, but thankfully, I was completely sober and was able to catch myself. Nevertheless, the stranger thought that I was just another dumb drunk and he held onto my forearm in order to keep me steady.
"I'm alright," I brushed him off. He was a tall person with a lean build, with messy dirty blonde hair and chocolate brown eyes. The smug smile on his face and the droopiness of his eyes suggested that he was definitely drunk. Before thinking, I asked: "Have you seen my friend Marco?"
His eyes brightened. "Ah, Polo!" He nearly shouted in my face.
I couldn't restrain myself from slapping his shoulder. "So you're the asswipe that keeps shouting 'polo'! You're really not funny, you know that?" I actually found him quite funny; he followed me around this entire time shouting 'polo' every time I'd call for Marco. I just hoped he wasn't a creep.
He mocked hurt. "I take great offence in that," He held a hand to his heart. "Name's Grayson, but you can call me later."
"Okay, later!" I deadpanned and I turned to walk away from him.
He grabbed my wrist, laughing. "You're quite the comedian yourself, aren't you? Miss..."
"None of your business." I crossed my arms. There was no way I was going to fall for this asshole's antics and give him my real name.
"Quite the beautiful name," He rubbed his chin in thought. "But very long. Do you happen to have a nickname?"
"Sure, it's Mind Your Own Beezwax." I offered.
He narrowed his eyes at me. "You don't want me to know your name? Game on."
"Huh?"
"Well, I'm sure Marco will tell me," He wiggled his eyebrows. "He's the gay one, right? I saw him with some guy a few minutes before you started looking for him."
I nearly jumped with excitement. "Really? Where did you—"
"Oh, no," Grayson cut me off. "I'm not gonna help you that easily. You're really gonna have to work with it, Mind Your Own Beezwax."
I knew what this guy was up to, and I was having none of it. Who did he think he was, anyway? "Listen here, Gray," I poked his chest..
"It's Ray."
"Whatever, I flailed my arm. "I don't know who you think you are, but you probably think you're preying on a young girl who's all alone and doesn't have anyone to defend her. But here's the thing: I can defend myself just fine on my own."
He scrunched his brows in confusion. "What?" he scratched the back of his neck. "That's not what I wanted, I—"
"You? You what?" I was growing impatient with this dude. "Spit it out already, I have to graduate soon."
"I just wanted to keep you company, alright?" he explained. "Your 'friend' Marco went to one of the bedrooms with his boy and you clearly don't have any friends and I just wanted to be around you. To make sure you were safe, alright?"
I blinked. "What on Earth—What did you think, that I was made out of paper and plastic? I can fend for myself! If anything, I see you as the type of person that would take advantage of girls!"
At that, the look on his face shifted. He clearly wasn't amused anymore, and maybe it was for the best. He'd finally leave me alone. "Fine," he said. "But don't come running back to me when you're in trouble."
"Wouldn't count on it!" I watched him as he stalked off, probably to prey on another girl.
I huffed and then realized that he was the only person at this damn party who actually knew who Marco was and he was my key to helping me find him.
Damn, maybe I shouln't have just pissed him off like I did.
I told myself that he was lying anyway and that he was just trying to get me alone, but there was this tiny part of me that slightly felt bad for the guy. Maybe not all guys were the same—perhaps there was a select few that actually cared, and didn't want to see girls hurt.
Shut up, you hopeless romantic, you. No more romance novels for you.
Just as I was about to give up and walk home, the one and only Marco stumbled out and rushed towards me. I was shocked and mad at the same time. He looked angry himself, but I didn't understand why.
"What the hell happened?" he shouted over the music.
"You ditched me," I flailed my arms wildly. "To play tonsil tennis with some random dude!"
Marco rolled his eyes. "Yeah, that game had to be cut short."
"Oh, how come?"
"'Cause Ray came in and told me that you were all alone and that you wouldn't let people watch over you. Your mom would jail me for life if you accidentally died or something! Why didn't you just stick with Ray?"
Huh?
"Listen," he sighed. "He's a good kid, alright? He was just looking after you. I know him. I trust him."
"How come I've never heard of him before then, huh?"
