Crash And Burn

1. Not Good For You

“Hey there, gorgeous. Want to dance?”

I turned to find a handsome guy, probably my age or a little bit older, grinning at me lopsidedly, one hand resting on the wall beside me. His sloppy grin and shiny eyes made me believe that he wasn’t completely sober – despite the fact that it was still relatively early – but I had just arrived to the party, I hadn’t found any of my friends, and I was excited to start dancing already.

It didn’t hurt that his tan skin, bright blue eyes, and dark blond hair made him more than a little attractive, either.

Shrugging, I took his hand, and he led me to where most of the people were already dancing. The guy was a good dancer, and I closed my eyes as he pulled me closer and moved us to the rhythm of the song.

“What’s your name?”

“Annie. You?”

“Liam. Annie what?”

“Annie Scott.”

I watched in surprise as Liam raised his eyebrows, his eyes widening. “Annie Scott? Oh right, I’ve heard about you!”

“Okay. Explain, before I start to think you’re a complete creeper.”

He chuckled. “No, no, no, I promise you I’m not. I think you’re friends with a couple of my friends – Chase and Joe? I think?”

“Oh!” Chase and Joe were two friends I had met at another party a while ago – they went to a school nearby mine, and I’d ended up meeting several people from there at different parties and events. “I’m guessing you go to their school?”

“Yup.” He nodded, turning me around and pulling me closer than before. “They said you were pretty, but I didn’t imagine you were this pretty.”

I giggled, resisting the urge to scrunch up my nose. If I had any doubt before about whether or not he was slightly drunk, it was all gone – now that he’d gotten closer to me, I could tell his breath reeked of booze. “Well, thank you.”

“I’m so glad I got to meet you, Annie Scott.”

His face was inching closer to mine every second, to the point where I began to feel slightly uncomfortable. I wasn’t scared of rejecting him if he tried anything – and there was no doubt in my mind that I was not hooking up with this drunk stranger – but when guys got rejected and they weren’t completely sober, it could get ugly. They’d usually either completely laugh it off, or they’d get really hurt and angry, as though it were a complete surprise that the girl they’d just met ten minutes ago hadn’t fallen for his failed attempts at being charming.

I was thinking about faking a call or an urgent bathroom run to avoid a potentially awkward situation so early in the night, when I felt somebody tug at my left arm, pulling me slightly from Liam’s grip.

“Annie! Could you come over here just for a minute? There’s something urgent we need to talk to you about.”

I grinned at my blonde friend, who’s eyes were asking me whether or not I wanted to be rescued from this guy. Deciding it was safer to follow him, I turned to Liam with an apologetic smile. “Sorry, Liam, but I need to go talk with my friend for a while – it better be something urgent. It was nice to meet you, though!”

Without giving him a chance to respond or pull me back, I pushed Mark slightly, urging him to start walking so I could trail behind him. When we were a couple of feet away, I turned to see a disappointed looking Liam turn around before he got lost in the crowd.

“So. Hi.”

“Hi, Mark.” I grinned. “Thanks for that.”

“It’s no problem. You didn’t look too happy, and the guy seemed like a sort of creep. I take it you just met him today?”