Treadmill

III.I

Parties have never really been my scene.

I think that I felt like they were never that much fun in high school since I wasn't about to do anything illegal like drink before I was 21, so when I actually turned 21, I didn't know how parties worked.

But this one. This one party was the turning point for my entire life. Everything about myself came together that night. Everything I wanted to be. I saw girls wearing clothes I wished I was confident enough to wear. I saw guys hitting on girls who were far too ugly for them, which seemed like the type of confidence I didn't quite want, but it was better than what I had. I saw people who were so far into the world of parties and being drunk on a Tuesday morning that I wished I could simultaneously never see them again and also...be them.

Everything about this party was something I desperately wanted to be a part of. And I was. For that night.

That night I vowed to make that my normal.

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"Robin! You made it!"

The party was already in full swing by the time the three friends arrived at 10:19 PM, and Rebecca was pretty sure that was due to the sheer amount of liquor that was strewn in every direction as far as the eye could see. There were at least sixty people in the living room and kitchen spaces, and the music was playing at a volume that Rebecca was sure would make her go deaf before the night was through.

"Rebecca." She corrected Kennedy quickly, hoping her friends hadn't heard the misstep. "Thanks for inviting me." She turned towards where Celeste and Spencer were standing slightly behind her. "These are my friends, Celeste and Spencer. I've known them since high school."

"It's so great to meet you!" Kennedy gushed, giving each of them a hug individually. Rebecca found herself staring at this girl with a mixture of awe and confusion: she was gorgeous. Completely, drop-dead gorgeous, without even seeming to try at all. Yet she was so genuinely kind to these strangers who she had never met and to a girl she had helped off the floor at the gym after she had fallen off of a treadmill. "Make sure to get a drink and find someone you don't know to talk to, I am not about to have wallflowers at one of my parties."

"Deal." Celeste grinned, meeting Rebecca's eyes and nodding towards a 6'4" guy with long hair who was milling around across the room. "I would love to meet some new people here."

Kennedy laughed and pointed out where the bathrooms were before making a final comment:

"Also, remember that if you see anything suspicious or weird, be sure to come and tell me. Safety is so important, and I want everyone—especially girls—to feel like they can come here without worrying about their drinks being drugged."

Rebecca nodded her agreement with that statement before walking over to the kitchen and aiming for the snacks. She had never had a drink before, except for a glass of wine at her mom's last birthday dinner, and she didn't feel like it was the right time to start.

"So are you bruised at all from this morning?"

Rebecca nearly jumped out of her skin at Kennedy's voice in her ear, spilling the pretzels she was holding. She spun around and looked at the other girl quickly, glancing down at the spilled snacks in embarrassment. Kennedy looked down and laughed again.

"Don't worry about it, there's so much shit on this floor already." She shrugged, "Sorry for scaring you, though. I just wanted to double check that everything was okay."