The Only Constant Is Change

Screw Fate

STARSHIPS, WERE MEANT TO FLYYYY-AHH-EYE,

HANDS UP, AND TOUCH THE SKYYY-AHH-EYE,

LET'S DO THIS, ONE LAST TIMEE-AHH-EYE,

CAN'T STOP…

"WE'RE HIGHER THAN A MOTHAAAFU-!" Oh Cass, always with the Nicki Minaj songs when you're wasted. You're rolling your eyes as you step from the cool breeze of the deck and into the stuffy haze of your living room.

When Cassidy had said she was having 'a few' people over, she had perhaps underestimated by a good 30 or so people. There was a full blown, raging party going down at your house, and you're starting to get just a bit worried as you look around the room… you're definitely not going to be the one febreezing the room in morning to cut down the toxic cloud of marijuana smoke, nor are you going to be the one picking up the mess of red solo cups littering every possible surface. And for the love of god, you were not going to be responsible for making sure that that one guy chugging beer straight from the keg made it to the emergency room alive.

No, those tasks were appointed to Cassidy. Considering she was now dancing on the coffee table, taking vodka shots straight from the bottle, your worries were more than justified. The three glasses of wine you had drank earlier now seemed far, far off in the distant past.

"You look waaaay too sober for this, Allie!" Lauren's laughing, echoing your thoughts as she takes you by the arm and hauls you off through the crowd of people. Glancing back at Nathan, you can't help but feel an instantaneous twinge of irritation as you see him approaching some girl, smiling and waving.

Lauren drags you into the kitchen, surveying the array of alcohol laid out on the counter. "Wow, Cass broke out the patron for this? Your roomie knows how to party," she nods approvingly, grabbing two shot glasses and filling them to the brim with the golden liquid.

"Cheers!" she grins, shoving one of the little glasses into your hand. As if she can hear the protests flying through your mind, she shakes her head, telling you firmly, "Forget about your morning classes, Allie. Your GPA isn't going to tank just because you skipped a class or two."

And with that, the two of you are throwing back shots of patron to the loud cheers and whoops of the equally drunk people around you.

---

"No, you cheater! That wasn't even a fair game, you're like three heads taller than me!" you're laughing at the guy across the table as he punches the air in victory.

"WHO'S THE KING OF BEERPONG? I'M THE KING!" he's yelling as you fish the ball from the remaining cup of beer.

He smirks while you drink what's left in cup, placing his hands across the table and leaning towards you, "You lost, fair and square babe. What's my prize?"

You're definitely not sober enough to realize his smirk is just a little past friendly and veering into seductive, but as inebriated as you are, your morals are certainly not going to let you fool around with some guy who's name you didn't even know.

You copy his stance, placing your hands on the table and leaning over. You hear his sharp intake of breath and see his eyes widen as you get closer, licking your lips slowly.

"What's your prize?" you whisper quietly, biting your lip and looking up at him through your lashes.

Pulling back suddenly, you whip the ping-pong ball still clutched in your hand at his face.

"Nothing, tall, dark and dreamy. Maybe when I can remember your name," you're giggling as he stumbles back in shock, rubbing his cheek where the ball had pinged off. As much as he looked like he probably modelled for Hollister with his beachy-surfer look (with the body to match), you were still mildly angry that Lauren and Cassidy had interrupted you and Nathan earlier.

Maybe it was all the alcohol talking, but screw fate if it thought you weren't going to finish what you had started.

---

"Lo-Lo… have you seen Nathan? And really, texting at a party?" you ask Lauren, plopping down beside her on the couch. She looks up hastily from her phone, turning it off and dropping it in her lap.

"Important text…you know how it is," she shrugs, grabbing your cup from your hands, "and it's time to stop drinking when you start calling me Lo-Lo."

You're about to remind her that this impromptu (and totally against your no drinking, just studying on weekdays rule) binge fest started with her encouragement, but you're stopped as you see Cassidy pushing her way towards you. Although she looked like a hot mess and was missing some of her usual grace, the disgusted look on her face told you she was nearly as sober as she had been before the party.

Concerned, you're about to walk towards her but she reaches you first, grabbing your arm and yanking you up.

"Cass-" you start, but she cuts you off with a sharp shake of her head. Her grip tightens on your arm, and her tone is frantic and tinged with confusion as she leans closer to be heard over the wubwubwub of the bass,

"Nathan and Jayden fucking Cross are kissing out on the deck."