Disconnected // L.H

chapter two

Adrianne

"God, this party is gonna be fucking wild," Calum says. I'm not sure if he's talking to me or himself. In all honesty, Calum and I don't talk that much. Our relationship is mainly kissing and touching. With Cal, it's a lot of silence, minimal talking, and some other pleasuring sounds. 

There's also a lot of guilt in my relationship with him. I use him. For me, he is a distraction. He's kind of like a drug to me, only not as addicting. There's nothing super special about the way he touches me. His kisses don't feel any different from anyone elses. I don't feel that bad, though. I mean, he's clearly using me, too. We are technically friends with benefits. He gets the sexual benefits of being my boyfriend without committing to me and only me. I like the way that works. 

"I'm actually a little excited for this one," I reply with a small smirk. 

"Me too," he replies not bothering to ask why I'm excited. I didn't expect him too, I know he doesn't care. "Michael and I had this brilliant idea..." he trails off. "Yeah," He finishes, turning up the music.

"What? What's your idea?" I ask. It's not that I really care, but I would like to know if I am involved. Whenever Michael has a "brilliant idea" I always end up doing something to humiliate myself. Just two weeks ago they got me to streak passed a cops house while they filmed it. I didn't get caught, but fifty people saw me almost fully nude.

"You'll see. You will love it," he says, not adding a smile or anything of the sort.

As we drive to Michael's house I lean my head against the window and look out at the trees and other cars we're passing. Michael's house is decent sized, about a third as big as Keith's. It's hidden in a massive wooded area away from any other houses. His house is the perfect place to party. The cops are never called and his parents are never around. I swear to God his parents are more neglective than my mom.

We pull up to his house and Calum gets out of the car before me. He walks straight up the stairs and into Michael's house with no regard for me. He's vanished before I even get out of his car. There's already a ton of people here, and we are a half hour early. I can tell this is going to be the biggest party of the summer. Mikey always has huge parties and a particularly huge one the last weekend before school starts up again. However, this year, he's going to be a senior so practically the entire student body will be here. 

Wondering what I'm going to do next year when all of my "friends" and my brother are out of high school, I climb out of Calum's car. I make my way to his front door, smiling at a dozen people along the way. Almost every person I encounter makes a side comment about me, which I can't hear, or they giggle. Suddenly I feel very crowded and paranoid. I'm handed cup and I don't hesitate to gulp it down, not knowing what it is. It burns my throat and my nostrils sting from the familiar taste of the vodka. 

My eyes scan the house for Calum but he is nowhere to be found. I see a couple of my friends playing suck and blow, and another group is playing a game of beer pong. Uninterested, I make my way into Michael's large kitchen. There's a tacky chandelier hanging just above the beer bucket on his granite counter tops. As I take in the familiar scene of his kitchen, I feel someone's eyes on me.

I turn around and sure enough, Luke is right there staring at me. "Can I help you?" I say, a little more rudely than I had originally intended. 

Luke gives me a cocky smirk, taking two large steps so he is less than a foot away from me. "Now that you mention it, could you hand me a bottle?" he says politely. I always expect the worst from my former lab partner. No matter how hard I tried to escape him for the passed two years of high school, he's always mananged to be my partner or in my group somehow. He's also my math tutor. And my old neighbor. And my older brother's punching bag. 

"No, you can get it yourself. I was just leaving," I say, tossing my blond hair over my shoulder. "Bye Luke." I walk away and don't look back. I don't know if I can stand his dimpled cheeks as he smirks at me. 

"Goodbye Adrianne."

What is he even doing here? Luke Hemmings doesn't party. I don't think I have ever encountered him at a party before today. Luke is a square. He never leaves his house and he takes only honors and AP classes. I am not very smart, but I know how to get good grades. That's why I'm always in the same nerd classes as him.

"Adrianne!" Sadie yells at me. She is wasted, and she probably just barely got here. Sadie is my closest girl friend. And by close, I mean she is one of the few people in this world I can still tolerate. "You look fucking hot girl. I bet you can't wait for tonight! It's gonna be sickkk!" she squeaks, drawing out the word sick for at least five seconds.

"Why? What's going on tonight Sadie?" I ask. Between her and Calum, I am very confused. 

"Word got out that you haven't le-" Sadie starts to say, but is quickly interrupted.

"Hi Adri," says Rebecca. Rebecca is a coke whore and I cannot fucking stand her. "Sadie! You are a mess! Come with me, I'll help you get cleaned up," she states, giving me a huge, fake smile and a wave as she turns the corner. Looking back at me she says, "Can't wait for later, Adri," and winks.

My head is swimming with questions. What the hell is going on tonight? Where is Calum? Why is Luke here? Most importantly, how did my cup get refilled without me noticing and how much have I had to drink? The room is starting to spin and I finally spot Calum striding towards me as my legs wobble. I fall to the ground and hear Michael whisper something into my ear. "Karma is a bitch," I think he says just before I black out.