Growing Pains

Chapter Twenty-Two

Gwen

"I'm gonna go find Justin. I'll catch up with you guys later," Courtney said before ducking off into the crowd of intoxicated teenagers. We got here only an hour late and the party was already in full swing. I could already feel my headache coming on with the heavy bass.

Bridgette turned to us, "I'm gonna go get a drink."

Geoff turned to DJ and said, "Wanna go out back? I think there's a pool, which means hot babes in bikinis."

DJ rolled his eyes, but smiled anyways, "Yeah, sure, man." I watched as they walked away, the only reason why I could still see them was DJ's height and Geoff's noticeable cowboy hat.

I turned to Trent, "Wanna dance?"

He squeezed my hand, "Always."

We made our way over to the dance floor. I was never one for dancing, but I liked the feeling of Trent's hands around my hips. I don't think there would ever be a time when I didn't. I wrapped my own arms around his neck, pulling him closer and breathing in his clean smell like fresh cotton.

He kissed my forehead and leaned in and whispered into my ear, "You know, I love you, right?"

I nodded my head, smiling. "Of course," I whispered in his. His comment prickled at my nerves, but I tried to relax.

There was no need to worry.

"Good," he said before he pulled back. He had seemed weird all day today. He was zoning out and jittery when I talked to him. I brushed it off as I leaned my head against his chest and sighed.

I was so content.

We swayed to the music, getting lost in each other. I pulled away, "Hey, can you get me something to drink?"

He nodded, "Water?"

"That'd be great," I responded. He smiled at me before ducking off in search of drinks. I pulled away from the center of the crowd, finding and sitting down on a couch tucked in the corner of one of the walls. I checked my phone, surprised to see that we had been dancing for over an hour.

I sat on the couch, somewhat awkwardly, as I waited for Trent to get back. I scrunched my nose as a nauseating sight came into view. Duncan was playing tonsil hockey with Dakota, who was probably only fooling around with him to piss off her parents. I was so disgusted by the smug look on his face earlier this evening when Courtney was getting irritated. He's being a major asshole right now. But hey, what else was new?

"Hey, Gwen," someone called beside me.

I turned to look and, to my surprise, it was none other than, "Cameron! Hey."

He smiled sheepishly at me, "I know, it's weird seeing me here."

He must've read the look on my face. I felt a sense of guilt rush through me. "What? No! it's not that. It's just—"

He cut me off with a laugh, "It's okay, Gwen. This isn't exactly my scene. My mom forced me to come. She told me that I needed to get out of my bubble."

I smiled, "Well, how are you liking it so far?"

He leaned in, "Honestly? I hate it."

I laughed, "Yeah, it's not my favorite thing either." I checked my watch. It had been over fifteen minutes and Trent hadn't come back with the drinks. What was he doing?

I got up, ready to walk away, but I stopped mid-stride. I turned around, "Hey, Cam, do you want to come get a drink with me? It'll give you a chance to get out of your bubble."

He smiled at me, "Sure." He got up and followed me off to the kitchen.