And Then it Happened

8

We were all crammed into a duped out, shiny and sleek, black limousine. Everyone had pitched in a little bit of money to afford this luxurious ride. My shoulders kept brushing along Blake's every time the limo drove over a bit of uneven road. Neon lights were flashing throughout the car, as the roof of the limo had party lights that were active. Everyone was talking to each other except me. I had stayed quiet for most of the ride, slightly uncomfortable about the fact that I was sitting next to this teenage boy who I had never once talked to in my life before tonight, and also still slightly pissed about that rude comment Cameron had made earlier in the night about me never being hot. I knew I wasn't gorgeous or pretty by any means, but he didn't have to be a dick about it.

My eyes glanced over to see Cameron had slung his arm around Sydney's shoulder as he pulled her tighter against him so that their sides were touching. He was talking animatedly to Blake, his hands waving around in the air as he made multiple hand gestures in an attempt to get his point across. Sydney was sandwiched between Cameron and Ashlyn, and she was in deep conversation with the latter. My eyes roamed all over the interior of the limo. To be perfectly honest, I was a little overwhelmed with all of the sensory overload I was receiving. Between the flashing neon lights, the loud music, the constant chatter, how hot the inside of the limo was from all of the body heat that emanated off of us, as well as being super close to Blake and feeling his shoulders brush with mine occasionally – it was just too much for me. I would much rather be at home, curled up on the couch and reading a good book.

The sudden feeling of a hand resting on my upper thigh snapped me out of my thoughts and I immediately looked down at my thigh. His hand was warm and huge compared to my small, girlish hands. My skin prickled and goosebumps dotted my skin. I had never had any sort of touch like this from a guy and this was completely new to me. I felt uncomfortable but didn't want to make a scene, so I gently picked up Blake's hand and moved it back to his side of the car seat. I gave a ghost of a tight-lipped smile when Blake looked to me, his eyes questioning. I gulped and turned my head the other way to look out the window and watched the street signs and buildings whoosh by.

I tensed when I felt warm breath fanning my ear. "Sorry," a deep voice mumbled in my ear. "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable" Blake added, pulling his face away from my ear.

I turned to face him, my eyes meeting his gaze to see if I could sense any form of insincerity, but I found none. "It's okay, I'm just feeling a bit claustrophobic in this car. Too many people and my senses are being barraged." He nodded and I felt a sense of relief as he kept his hand to himself the rest of the ride on the way to Homecoming. I felt another pair of eyes on me during this time, but I ignored it. I was just being paranoid; no one was paying attention to me. And why would they?

"Okay, who's ready to get this party started?!" Lily exclaimed, bringing out a flask of some sort. I immediately knew what it was. Alcohol. I could smell it from here. She twisted open the flask and took a swig before handing it around to everyone.

Apprehensively, I looked to see if the limo driver could see what was happening, but the sliding door that separated the driver from us in the backseat was tinted black and closed shut. We were underage and the last thing I wanted tonight was for us to get caught drinking before we even made it to our venue. Then all the money I spent on this dress and shoes would've definitely gone to waste.

I wasn't the biggest fan of drinking, but my friends were so I rolled with it a lot of the times. When the flask was eventually passed down to me, I shook my head. I already felt a bit nauseous from the over-stimulation my body was receiving at the moment, and I didn't think drinking would help make me feel any better.

When Cameron noticed I wasn't drinking, he of course, just had to make some sort of comment to piss me off. It's what he does best. "Aw, c'mon Rachel... it's just a drink. Don't be such a goody two-shoes. Maybe if you stopped being a prude for a second, you'd actually get laid for once."