Crestfallen

26: Evening of Legalization

"Yeah, I'm actually the youngest of two sisters. I think we're all surprised I'm not gay or at least questioning," Liam admitted, causing my lips to overflow with laughter. Forgetting entirely about his dislike towards being touched, I reached out and grabbed his shoulder as we walked, trying to keep my balance. However, I noticed that he didn't stiffen this time, he simply laughed along with me. Maybe he just had to get used to it. "What about you? Any siblings?"

My laughter paused for a moment and I retracted my arm for a moment, suddenly somber. I had nearly forgotten the events of last night but now they came rushing back to me in a flood that nearly toppled me. Liam grabbed my arm and I quickly steadied myself. "Sorry, it just brought back a memory," I told him truthfully.

"It's okay if you don't want to share, I understand," he said, politely giving me emotional space. Curiously, I looked up into his eyes only to find two pools of compassion awaiting me. I let a small smile grace my lips.

"Her name is Valerie, she's living in Atlanta right now. I haven't seen her in two years," I revealed though I concealed some of the truth.

"Why not?" he inquired though I could tell he was trying not to be invasive. I shrugged.

"We weren't that close and she wanted to get away from home," I lied though I kept smiling. Eager to change the subject, I asked, "So how did you get to be a popular kid?"

If Liam noticed my evasion of the topic, he didn't comment on it. "Is that even a question? I am hot," he stated, licking his finger and touching it to his arm, making a sizzling sound. I chuckled a bit and so did he but then he shrugged. "I mean, that's not a lie. I'm pretty sure that's the only reason Jeremy keeps me around. It's like a stupid movie or something, hot people can only talk to hot people otherwise you're ugly by association. I went for this girl in junior year and sure, she wasn't all that pretty, but she was smart and I genuinely liked her personality. But the day I was going to make a move, Tiffany stepped in and completely destroyed her, said she was a blemish on the Earth and just her existence was an embarrassment to the human race."

"You liked Sarah Porter?" I gasped in realization. I had been in the cafeteria when it had happened in junior year, that's when I first decided to stay away from Tiffany. Liam looked at me with a sad smile and nodded.

"To add to that, Jeremy laughed. I think he even threw in an insult too. After that, Tiffany cornered me on the way to one of my classes, told me something about how I shouldn't taint my flawless genes by considering someone like Sarah. In hindsight, it was probably my fault for confiding in someone as shallow as Jeremy. Learned that lesson pretty quickly. But... that's why I was so excited to see you stand up to him like that, even over a stupid pencil."

"It wasn't stupid, I only have two..." I trailed off quietly though he just laughed in response.

"And the fact that you're not shallow or conceited. The only way I could describe you as self-obsessed is how many of those internal conversations you have with yourself. I see you daydreaming in class all the time and it's so--" he stopped himself short and widened his eyes. "It's cool. Yeah, just to see someone so content with themselves." I was about to ask what he meant to say before, but suddenly Macy's house came into view, and the loud music flooded into my ears.

"We're here!" I yelled excitedly, grabbing Liam's arm and dragging him forward towards a jog. Wait, he noticed I was daydreaming?

I brushed it off as we approached the steps of her house. I rang the doorbell and hoped someone would hear us over the music. While we were waiting I realized I was still holding Liam's arm and quickly dropped it, an unfamiliar blush spreading across my cheeks. Suddenly, the door flew open, revealing an already drunk Macy. "Casey!" she slurred, throwing an arm around my shoulder. "Oh, hello there," she added, noticing Liam. She put her arm around him too and brought us into the house. There were probably only thirty people in the foyer but it seemed to be packed though it was only around six-thirty.

"Welcome to your birthday party!" she yelled over the chatter and music. "And nice choice of dancing partner," she added in a lowered voice with a wink.

"I'll leave you two to enjoy yourselves for a while," she said as she let go of our shoulders and slithered away into the crowd with a suggestive look on her face. I rolled my eyes and found Liam smiling down at me.

"Shall we?" he inquired, reaching out his hand for me to take. I hesitated, but only for a moment before I grabbed his hand and he pulled me through the crowd. As we approached the kitchen, he turned to me and asked, "are we doing birthday shots? Or do you plan to be sober on the evening of your legalization?"

"Legalization? That is literally the worst way to say it," I yelled back over the music.

He shrugged. "So is that a yes or a no?" I thought about it for a moment. I'm at Macy's house which is generally pretty safe though I'm not sure I can trust the people. I looked around to make sure. If anything happens Macy is here to look after me and it is my eighteenth birthday... It's basically a ritual. But am I only doing it to appease social expectations and norms? Or is it-- I looked up and made eye contact with Liam, suddenly all my worries and questions floating away. His blue eyes bore into mine as he patiently awaited my decision and I decided that I could trust him.

"That's a yes."