Homeroom

23: Life of the Party

[A/N] I don't have much to say, but the song for this chapter is Life of the Party by Shawn Mendes.

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"You did pretty good on the field today," I say as we pull out of the parking lot.

"Thanks. Did you see that goal I got when 22 tripped over his own two feet? That was funny," Aaron comments, chuckling to himself.

I shake my head, another smile breaking out on my face. "Yeah, it was."

He rambles on about plays and players, glancing my way as he recounts stories about Cameron's awesome saves as the goalie. It's cute seeing him talk so passionately about the game he loves playing.

I look out the window, watching the houses becoming larger and larger. Aaron squeezes the car into a space in front of a giant white house with a black iron fence around the front law. Each window has an electric candle in it, making the house look homey and quiet.

Well, that impression of the house changes immediately when we approach it. As we walk up the path to the front door, the music starts to grow louder and louder. Laughter slips out the closed windows and doors, reaching a peak as Aaron inches open the door.

Like in the movies, everybody starts cheering when they see him. The guys on the soccer team drunkenly patted him on the back, and people congratulate him on the win, holding their red plastic cups in the air.

An unexpected spark of jealousy rips through my body when a girl squeezes on his arm muscle as he walks by, congratulating him on the win. 

As much as I don't want to admit it, I think it's safe to say that I have somehow developed a bit of a crush on Aaron. He weaseled his way into my heart, and I couldn't stop him from creating destruction. I put up my ultimate defense, acting distant and cold towards him, and it backfired. I lied to myself for way too long over this, telling myself I hate his nagging and clinginess when in reality, it's flattering.

Yes, it's annoying to see girls fall all over him, but it's not like I can do anything about it. We aren't together, and he's not mine. He belongs to himself.

"You have got to stop giving people the death glare, Callie," Aaron jokes, taking my hand and leading me to the kitchen. He heads to the fridge, pulling out two cans of Coke.

I flip open the tab and take a small sip to hide my surprise. Was it really that obvious?

"So how's the whole band thing coming along?" I ask, changing the subject.

He shrugs, taking a swig of his drink and swallowing it. "We haven't really started practicing yet, but we're going to start Tuesday night."

I nod, listening to the melody he's creating by tapping on the side of his tin can. "So when did you start drumming?"

"I was eight, and my parents bought me a drum set for Christmas. I messed around on it a lot before actually taking it seriously."

"Did you take lessons or teach yourself?"

"I taught myself, with the help of YouTube, of course."

"That's actually really cool. Seems hard to do."

Suddenly, someone comes up behind me and tickles my sides. I jump and laugh, spilling soda on myself.

"Ugh, come on," I complain, looking down at my stained jacket. I turn around and notice that the culprit was Jillian.

"Oops, sorry," she laughs, noticing my suddenly sour mood.

I sigh. "No, it's fine, but I should probably go clean up. I don't like the feeling of sticky soda against my skin."

"Alright, go ahead, we'll be here," Aaron smiles, high-fiving Jillian. "The bathroom is on the second floor, first door on your right."

"Okay, I'll be back." I dismiss myself, heading back into the crowded living room.

I push through the crowd and head up the stairs, almost tripping on the sixth one. No one seems to notice because everyone is caught up in talking, dancing, and having fun.

I head into the bathroom, stepping over a guy passed out in the hallway. I unzip my jacket and pull it off by the edges of the sleeves.

"Keep going, babe, I like where this is going," a familiar voice says.

I groan as I look over to see Zander leaning against the door fram, a plastic cup in hand. 

"I thought I was done with you," I sneer, turning on the faucet and quickly washing out the soda.

An uneasy feeling settles in my stomach as he steps closer to me, his breath reeking of alcohol, "It's really hard to get rid of me so easily."

I raise my eyebrow, shutting off the water and wringing the water out of the garment. "And I care why?"

"Five minutes," he replies lowly. "You, me, my bedroom."

"How about no," I fume, pushing around him. 

He grabs my arm forcefully, closing his fingers around my wrist. "Did I hear a 'yes'? Sounds good to me!"

"Dude, I just said no, now get off," I reply, agitated by his persistence. I yank my arm from his grasp, backing away from him as I rub the imprint of his fingers on my skin. I back into a figure, who let's out a "oomf" when he collide.

"Oh, sorry," I mutter, looking behind me to Luke of all people.

Wait, what in the world is he doing here?

The tall, blond boy glances at my wrist, and his gaze flashes to Zander. I quickly turn it away from his sight, wrapping it behind my back.

"You're such a dick, dude," he says, backing him into the corner.

"You wanna go, buddy? Fine, let's do this," Zander drunkenly replies, taking a shot at Luke's face.

Luke ducks, and shoves him into the wall. He punches him square in the jaw as his body collapses to the ground. Zander lets out a string of profanities as he attempts to regain his balance.

"Time to go," Luke calmly states, running down the stairs. "You wait outside, I'll get Aaron and Jillian."

My mind is unable to process the situation that just unfolded, so instead, I follow him down the stairs and run outside. I sprint down the pathway and open the gate, waiting for my friends outside of Aaron's car.

Never in my wildest dreams would I have predicted that Luke would take the liberty to help me for once instead of hurting me. Truly, I am in shock.

It doesn't take long for Aaron to appear outside. He hops over the fence, spotting me from across the street, and runs over to me. He pulls me into a hug that catches me by surprise. "Are you okay? I swear I'm going to beat the heck out of that--"

"Stop, it's okay. Nothing even happened," I mumble into his neck, reassuringly tightening my grip around his neck.

"That scared me, and I don't want you to get hurt and--" He continues to ramble as I tune out his outcries, focusing on his beating heart. It's steady, but fast.

He stops talking and hugs me tightly before letting me go to get a good look at me. He carefully takes my arm and examines the bruises, which are a weird yellowish color. "This was such a bad idea; we should have never come. I always end up hurting you somehow and--"

I cut him off by pressing my lips to his, forcing his to move in harmony with mine. He gently pushes me against the car and kisses me passionately, slipping his tongue into my mouth.

The car alarm goes off, breaking our kiss when I jump out of surprise.

I laugh really, really hard, laying my head on his chest in a weak attempt to gain control of my laughter.

"Better?" he asks, shaking his head. He clicks off the alarm.

"Better," I confirm, grinning widely.

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[A/N] Well, that chapter went really well. Too fast? Probably, but I couldn't resist.