The Bright Side of Darkness [Draft]

Seven (Part 1)

What I said seems to have silenced Tay for the rest of the drive. His foot never stops tapping against the floor of the car. His anxiousness is becoming infectious, and I can't help but surrender to my thought. He told me that parties were boring for the most part, but that can't be true. It's obvious that there will be alcohol, but I hope I'm not pressured to try it.

I glance at the GPS, unsure if I'm going the right way. We're on a gravel road that I haven't seen before. Travis gave me his number at lunch, and after he invited me to the party, he sent the address so I could find the party.

Eventually, I pull into a driveway, and at the end is a large house, very well-kept, despite its surroundings. There are already a lot of students standing in the field surrounding the house, including many of the football players. It's not what I expected at all. The only things around the house besides people are pickup trucks, the open backs of SUVs, and a bonfire.

I furrow my brows as I stare at the scene.

"Not what you expected?" Tay asks, taking my silence as unspoken disapproval. "It wasn't what I expected at first, but it serves the purpose well enough. It's on Jackson's family's property, so not many people really know about it."

Really? How does a group of drinking teenagers keep something like this hidden from the authorities? They have to get calls from nosy neighbors or teens looking to get back at someone else.

"We're pretty far out in the woods, and not many adults come out here, so it's never really been a problem." My side is blocked by trees, so when I let him know, he gets out and reaches out a hand to help me down. "Plus, everyone knows better than to involve adults. It would be a bigger problem for them than us."

"Oh." It makes sense, but I'm still skeptical. I shake it off and grab Tay's arm to pull him forward. "Come on." Even if he can't see everything, he's coming with me. No backing out now. I'm not doing this alone.

A few girls here and there glance down at my arm around Tay's and turn to whisper to their friends, and a few of the guys look jealous. I let go of his arm, scooting closer so he knows I'm there and hoping the onlookers don't think anything is going on between us. The last thing I need is to have someone tell Roxie something that isn't true and make her angry with me. Of course, she'll probably already be irked if I don't join the cheerleading team, but it's best to not make it worse.

"Hey, guys." Travis walks up to us. He hands Tay two beers, and Tay takes a deep drink of one before coughing.

"Man, I didn't realize how long it's been since I had a beer." He chuckles and stretches the unopened one towards me.

"No, thanks." I shake my head. Definitely not this early in the night. Who knows what kind of drunk I'll be or how much alcohol I can handle? It's best not to find out so soon. "Maybe later."

"Well, at least she's not refusing to drink at all." Travis leads us to his truck with an arm around Tay's shoulders to guide him. "I mean, that kind of thing's cute, but you can't come to a party and not drink."