this is the start | gilinsky

Chapter Six

    "Want a drink?" An unfamiliar voice questions me as soon as I approach a stool in the kitchen to sit down. When we first got to the party Gilinsky, Johnson, Sammy, Mallory and I all stuck together, but then more people started showing up and they all got dragged away to their own group of friends. For some reason I let them all leave me by myself. 

    "Hello?" The voice speaks again. I clear my throat and look around to see that almost everyone has a red cup in their hand. 

    "Sure?" I don't even bother asking what drink the guy is talking about because I already know it has to be some sort of alcohol. He nods his head and pours a brownish liquid into a red cup then slides it over to me. 

    "It's beer." He tells me with a light chuckle. He must've seen the look on my face.

    "Thanks." I blush. 

    "You new here? I've never seen you around...I'd remember a pretty face like yours." 

    "Oh - I...yeah." I can feel my face becoming hotter and hotter as the seconds roll by and I want to rip out my hair. I'm too awkward for this. I knew I shouldn't have come. I catch the guy staring at my chest and I remember that Mallory's shirt is way too tight on me. Not knowing what to do next I pick up the red cup and gulp down half of it's liquid; within two seconds I'm choking on it. My throat burns and my eyes are spilling tears. 

    "I'm assuming that was your first drink?" The guy who served it to me laughs. I take a few deep breaths and nod my head, trying to contain my coughs. People around us start to stare and I want to run away and hide. "It's alright, you'll get used to it." He tells me. Get used to it? I'm never taking another sip of that.

    "Ehhhh..." Is all I can manage to say to him. 

    "I'm Nate." He sticks out his hand but I ignore it. Not because I'm trying to be rude, but because my hands are sweaty and I don't want him to notice. After a few seconds of his hand hanging uselessly in the air I watch him place it back on the counter where it was before.

    I wonder to myself if I should tell him that my name is Marley, or that it's Jade (my middle name). I guess I take too long trying to figure that out because Nate doesn't even let me reply to him before speaking again. 

    "You're not one for talking, huh?" 

    I shrug as a response. 

    I sit there with Nate for a while. I watch him fill people's cups over and over again. Sometimes with water (which would've been a much better choice for me), other times with beer or even wine. He's just as gorgeous as all the other Omaha boys that I've met but there's something different about him. 

    "Why don't you hang out with some people?" Nate asks, trying to strike up a conversation. 

    "I'm hanging out with you." I answer nonchalantly. God, I sound so stupid. 

    "I wouldn't say we're exactly hanging out." He smirks. 

    "Then what would you call it?" 

    "If you really wanna hang out with me, since I'm so cool and all, we should head outside..." Nate suggests. He hops over the counter and lands next to me. I swallow hard. I've never actually "hung out" with any guys before.

    "Um...here's fine." I say. I want to roll my eyes at myself so bad but I know I shouldn't because that'd be weird. 

    "I don't bite." Nate laughs. "Besides, if we stay here, everyone will keep asking me for drinks." 

    "Aren't you like a bartender for this party or something?" As soon as the question leaves my lips I groan. Out loud. How stupid could I possibly get? Nate laughs again. 

    "No, sweetheart, I'm the person who's throwing this party." 

    My heart stops and my stomach drops, "Oh..." 

    Nate's still smiling and I notice he has cute dimples. "Let's go." Taking my (sweaty) hand in his, he leads me out through the back door. I try hard to control my breathing and stay calm. It feels so foreign to be holding someone's hand like this, our fingers intertwined. 

    As soon as we make it out the door I see loads of more people and I stop in place. So many people. Nate notices that I've stopped moving so he turns back to look at me. "What's wrong?" 

    "Uh - nothing." I state quickly. Shaking my head I force a smile on my face. Nate nods then starts to walk again. I reluctantly follow. Everyone is staring. Why is everyone staring? My shirt is too tight; this skirt is too small. I can barley walk right in these heels. 

    When we stop walking I realize that we've reached a fire. It's dark, but from what I can see it's all just unfamiliar faces all seated in white plastic chairs. All the girls are sitting on top of a boy's lap and some are even making out. Right there in front of everyone to see. I'm not that kind of girl, I haven't even had my first real kiss yet. I feel so prude. I shouldn't be here.

    "Take a seat." I hear Nate tell me. I realize that he's sat down on one of the last empty chairs. He's pointing to his lap. I'm going to puke.

    Then I hear it. A familiar voice call my name. I look up across the fire to see Mallory sitting on Johnson's lap and I sigh out of relief. "Hey!" I say, a little too excitedly. Nate sits up in his seat and notices Jack. He looks back and forth between us with a surprised look on his face. 

    "You know each other?" He asks. 

    "Yeah." Jack and I reply in unison. 

    "She's a family friend." Jack says, which makes Nate laugh. 

    "Family friend, huh?" 

    "No!" Jack turns beat red, the light from the fire showing the contortion of his face. "Not like that - I mean she's literally a family friend." I hear Mallory giggle.

    Furrowing my eyebrows I kick at the dirt. Was 'family friend' a code for something? Jack seems to be reading my mind because then he says, "Don't worry about it, Mar." I cringe when I come to terms with the fact that he called me Mar. I look over at Nate to catch his reaction. 

    "So that's your name." He smirks. I shrug in response.

    "Where's Jack and Sammy?" I question, wanting to change the subject. Nate's head perks up. 

    "Jack is with some girl, and I'm assuming Sammy is too." Jack says. 

    A feeling of disappointment launches itself in the pit of my stomach but I try to push it away. "I asked where, not who."  I seem to get sassy when I'm frustrated.

    "Hey, don't get fresh with me, sister." Jack laughs. 

    "Sorry." My face reddens. 

    "Take a seat, relax, Mar." Nate soothes. I clench my jaw. 

    "She doesn't want to sit on your nasty-ass lap, Nate." Mallory speaks for me. I choke back a laugh and put my hand up to my mouth to hide my smile. 

    "The lady can speak for herself, Mal." Nate sneers. 

    "I think I'm just going to head inside..." I say awkwardly. Nate flinches and I can tell I hurt his ego. I don't know what to say after that so I just quietly head back inside the house and look for a clock. I find one hanging from the ceiling above the fridge in the kitchen and sigh when I see it only reads 11:44pm. I won't have a ride home until at least 1:00am. 

    This is going to be a long night. 

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Thanks for reading, guys! I hope you liked it and that it wasn't as boring as the other first chapters! Chapter seven is coming soon, if you have any suggestions don't be afraid to tell me, much love - gilinskyshigh