Who She Is

~16~

*Violence warning

Alyx's POV

"Yeah!" All the guys cheer and take their shots, too.

Oh my god. It hurts so bad. My throat burns. My nose burns. What was I thinking? Amaya was right. This is so much worse than that beer.

"Here," Amaya says, causing me to look over. She's passing her bottle of soda to me. "Drink some. It'll get the taste out of your mouth. Most people like to chase liquor with soda."

She's offering me her drink? The same drink that she had her lips on just a few seconds ago. But if I do drink some, that's like an indirect kiss.

I slowly take the bottle from her grasp and unscrew the lid. Her lips were literally on this. Oh my god. I need to hurry and get this taste out of my mouth. Quit freaking out about drinking after your crush, Alyx!

I bring it up to my lips and drink some. Oh. She was right. Any trace of alcohol got washed away. I screw the lid back on and hand it back to her.

"Thanks." I lick my lips and lightly smile to myself. I can't believe my lips touched something that her lips touched! I know I'm being ridiculous, but I don't care.

"Here's another one." Aaron is pouring more in the little glass. "It gets better the more you drink. A few more shots and you won't need a chaser. You'll be feeling great."

"Cheers, boys," Jason says, tossing his glass back. I hold my breath and down the whiskey again. Ugh. I try to ignore the burn and restrain myself from reaching for Amaya's drink, but she passes it to me anyway and tells me to keep it. I give her a grateful smile, taking it from her.

After another shot, I look over to see what Amaya's doing. She looks up at me, sighs, and looks away. What's that about? Is she sad?

"Let's build a fire," Dylan says.

"Sounds good to me, as long as you don't fall in it with your drunk ass," Kayson says.

"First, more shots!" Dylan says. We do another round. It's starting not to burn as bad. We take another, and I'm starting to feel funny. I don't know if it's good or bad funny. I blink a few times. Why does it feel like my eyes are heavy?

"Gavin and I are going to get some firewood. I'll be back," I hear Jason tell Amaya. I must've zoned out for a second. They walk off towards the woods, and Dylan stumbles back over to sit with Lexi. I wonder why Lexi isn't over here talking to Amaya and Elaine. Her eyes meet mine and narrow into tiny slits. I quickly look away. What was that about?

Kayson starts making strides over to me, making me nervous. Is he coming over to talk to me? "Hey. Alyx, right?"

"Yeah."

"I'm Kayson. You can quit drinking whenever. Don't let these pricks peer pressure you."

"Oh, okay."

"I just don't want you to get sick. I remember the first time I got too drunk. It's rough."

"Thanks," I say, giving him a small smile.

"What's your last name?"

"Reed."

"You're also in the top twenty, aren't you? I remember that name."

"Yeah, a couple below you."

"You'll catch up this year. You might even beat me," he jokes with a laugh. Suddenly, his name is called, drawing his attention behind me. I turn to see Elaine smiling at him. "I'll catch you later, Alyx. It was nice meeting you."

"Yeah, you too." He pats my shoulder before he walks off. I knew he was nice but damn. He's so nice, it makes me wonder if it's just a facade. Either way, I'm glad one of Amaya's friends is nice.