SHUT UP. ( K. COSENTINO )

028.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* LIFE *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

DELANEY GRABBED RYLAND'S HAND AS they walked up the steps, squeezing it once as he repeated the gesture. He opened the door, tugging her behind him as she was instantly hit with the overwhelming smell of weed and alcohol, a small frown setting over her face.

She had never been a big party person, she'd rather sit in a friends room and watch movies all night but this was supposed to be a fun weekend and of course, having fun with her friends meant doing what they wanted to do and faking a smile.

Alejandro and the rest of their friends had gone early on Delaney's request, unbeknownst to the fact that the same girl that had smiled when they left fell victim to one of the most brutal anxiety attacks she had ever had only seconds later. Ryland had stayed behind, dealing with her how he knew best.

"You okay?" Ryland leaned down to whisper in her ear, nodding when she did the same. She gave him her best smile and jumped as Sebastien Andrade came bounding up to them, pulling the smaller girl into a hug.

"Laney!" He slurred, grinning as Delaney laughed softly and grabbed the bottle from his hands. She took a large gulp and screwed up her nose at the taste, trying her best not to gag. "Hi, Seb," she grinned, leaning her head against his shoulder as he pulled in into his side.

She glanced around for Ryland and sighed when she realized he was gone, knowing that sooner or later he would turn up. She wanted him to have fun, this was a party, after all.

She asked Sebastien if he had any idea where her friends were and he nodded eagerly, staggering as he pulled her behind him. Throughout the trek through the large house, Delaney continued to sip from the bottle, the taste slowly subsiding until it was finally bearable.

At the sight of Mattia, she laughed loudly and took off towards him, not bothering to give Seb back his bottle before, and weaved in and out of the creators that surrounded her.

Mattia turned just in time as she practically threw herself into his arms, the anxiety subsiding even more so as the alcohol began to kick in. She then slipped past him and fell onto Alejandro's lap, giggling when he smiled and grabbed the bottle from her hands.

"You finally made it," Alejandro groaned playfully, wrapping his arm around her body as he kissed her bare shoulder, resting his chin against it. "Yup," she responded, peering around as she caught sight of Ryland and some blonde girl making their way upstairs.

Again, Delaney giggled at the sight and snatched the bottle back from Alejandro, taking a large gulp as Kairi stared at her with wide eyes. He had never seen Delaney Quinn drunk before and he was sure that it was gonna be a night to remember.

Celia gently grabbed his hand and leaned her head closer to his, laughing at the sight of her friend practically chugging Sebastien's bottle, the same boy who reappeared moments later and let his mouth fall as he realized that it was in fact his alcohol.

The gesture broke Kairi's stare and he turned to look at her, smiling softly before she leaned up and kissed him once. The girl smiled in return and excused herself, taking off to go meet up with more friends.

"Let's play never have I ever," Sebastien slurred and Delaney scoffed at Mattia as he groaned. "Dude that's so boring—"

"I wanna play," Kairi spoke up, getting up from his previous seat so that he could be closer to his friends. He met Delaney's eyes and quickly looked away as she agreed with his statement, moving off of Alejandro's lap though his hand still stayed wrapped around her.

"Fine. Me first, though. Never have I ever kissed another person from tiktok," Mattia declared proudly, knowing damn well that it was a lie but Delaney was already too out of it to call him out, taking a sip from the bottle as Alejandro mimicked her actions.

Sebastien dropped down onto the arm of the couch and snatched the bottle out of her hands, taking a sip for himself before he cleared his throat. "Never have I ever been cheated on," he frowned, watching as Delaney froze before snatching the bottle back and taking a sip.

"Nice going," Mattia snapped, shoving him roughly as Delaney widened her eyes. "Hey he didn't know!" She shrieked, grabbing his arm as he moved to push him again.

Mattia paused before apologizing, laughing softly before everyone began to join in. By the end, the laughter was overwhelming and Delaney wiped at her eyes as the friends slowly forgot about the stupid game.

Soon enough, Ryland and Celia rejoined the group and Ryland took his place on the opposite side of Delaney. She leaned over and softly teased him about the girl, laughing loudly when he shoved her away. Alejandro joined in with her laughter as leaned over to kiss her.

Kairi found himself staring yet again and when he felt Celia lean into him, he turned to face her raised a brow at the small smile on her face. "What's up?" He asked her, leaning in so that nobody else could hear their conversation.

"You like her, don't you?"

Kairi froze at the question and turned so that his whole body now faced her. "W-What?" He stammered, not quite sure with the point she was trying to prove.

"I see the way you look at her. You look at her the same way that Alejandro— well not even just him, Ryland looks at her like that too. You just look at her like I want to be looked at," Celia admitted with a shrug, clearly not too upset with the situation.

"I don't—"

"You do, Kai. We both know that you do and I'm okay with it. I'm not gonna say anything to Alejandro or anything but I know how you look at her," she smiled and leaned over to kiss his cheek, turning back towards the group.

And Kairi reset his focus on Delaney and how she smiled in a way that he had never seen anyone smile before, wishing desperately that he was the one that was making her smile, but of course, he wasn't.

idk when to make shit go down