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Fallon

I found myself standing in the middle of a crowded party feeling out of my depth, my red plastic cup my sole companion for the moment. I tried to feign the confidence I’d seen Kelly wear on multiple occasions, but my smile felt fake.

Maybe having a social life wasn’t for me.

A hand grabbed my arm and tugged me out of the room.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

Kelly smiled at me. “To the bar, silly.”

There was a very familiar baby pink dress leaning against the counter, a half empty glass in her hand. Sloane looked impeccable while surrounded by her entourage and swooning freshman wannabes who hung onto her every word. What kind of power did one have to have for people to cling to you like an idol?

The sight of her made me scared if I was being honest.

Kelly ignored her as she flagged down the bartender, but Sloane perked up at seeing us. Her gaze landed on us, lips curling into a vicious smile.

“Hey girls,” she drawled, clearly drunk as she pushed herself away from the bar. “You two look like quite the dynamic duo. Are you rushing this week?”

I tensed, not wanting to reply to this girl. Kelly gave her a faux polite smile. “Maybe.”

Sloane took a long swig from her glass, eyes narrowing while she focused on Kelly’s outfit–a plaid mini dress that suited her style, not the trends of those around her. “Nice dress,” she sneered.

“Yeah, thanks.” Kelly turned away to get her order in with the guy making drinks.

The group of girls started giggling, turning back to their circle, holding their hands in front of their mouths to whisper to each other. They kept glancing back at us. Amidst the whispering, I swore I heard “She’s trying to rush as a scholarship student? Gross.”

“Ignore them,” Kelly said flatly, handing me a glass of something.

We clinked our shots together and I knocked mine back. It burned. “What even is this?” I shot a look at the bartender.

He shrugged. “A blazing nipple?”

Kelly laughed. “To the blazin’ nip!”

I hope no one is lighting nipples on fire.

We grabbed a couple extra drinks and made our way out to the main dance area. Kelly pushed me into the center of the dancefloor and spun me around, our hands linked while we twirled in a circle. “You’re killing it tonight, babe!” she yelled over the music.

I blushed, downing some more alcohol. My nervous energy faded–that or I was drunk. Dancing with others around and trying to avoid stepping on toes was not my scene, but I wanted to make the best of it.

There were some giggles behind me. I turned to see the groupies trailing behind Sloane as she swayed her way through the bodies. Was she Godzilla? She looks like it. She was clearly drunk, holding a half-empty glass in one hand with her eyes locked on something. A cruel smile spread across her face.

She stopped a few feet away from Kelly and me. “I just decided something...”

I shot a concerned look at Kelly and she raised an eyebrow; we both remained silent.

“This dress is absolutely hideous. Take it off!” She started stumbling while some of the girls behind her played along with her antics.

Kelly chuckled and rolled her eyes. “Relax, she-devil. Pink is more your color than mine.”

Why was Sloane singling out Kelly? I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Hey, guys, we can just enjoy the party. Everything is fine.”

“Ew, you stand up for this loser?” one of the girls sneered from behind Sloane.

What the fuck reality show was I dropped in?

Sloane wasn’t laughing along with the rest of her crew. Her face was twisted in anger as she lifted her drink. “You two are such a disgrace to this school. Who even lets in scholarships anymore? I mean why? It’s just like–” Her hand flung the liquid out of her drink before anyone could react. “Oops,” she laughed.

The drink splashed across Kelly’s chest, soaking her dress. I gasped and stepped in front of her, hoping no one else would throw another drink at her–well, me. Kelly looked absolutely shocked before she tried flicking excess liquid off of her.

“You bitch!” Kelly snapped, stomping away. I assumed it was for the bathroom to dry off.

Before I could speak, Sloane slinked away. It was more of a stumble, but a solid attempt. I watched as she left and a familiar figure moved through the crowd heading toward her–Brent. He grabbed her arm and pulled her away from her group.

Call me a voyeur, but I kept watching. They moved farther away from people and then she pulled her arm from his grip, yelling at him that he had no right to step in. He told her that she had enough while looking heavily annoyed at her.

“Are you going to punish me for being a bad girl?” she cooed, looking at him through her lashes.

“Hey, babe.” A voice caught my attention.

I spun around. “Oh! Hey, you.”

Garrett looked around for what I was looking at. “What are you doing?”

“Oh, uh, Kelly had some bitch throw her drink on her and I’m watching her stumble away like an idiot.” I couldn’t stop fidgeting with my hands.

He leaned down to kiss me. I let him. It was nice to empty my brain for a moment amidst the drama unfolding in my life. “Kelly going to be okay?”

“Yeah,” I sighed. “She’s probably toweling herself down in the bathroom.”

“Dance while we wait?”

He twirled and danced with me for a bit until I saw Kelly come back downstairs and beeline it to the bar. She was rapidly typing away on her phone.

I didn’t think much of it. She was usually scrolling social media when she was bored and probably wanted to have a few minutes to decompress and dry off. That, and get another drink. Her facial expression was still weird to me, though.

I tried to refocus on Garrett and the moment we were in. Dancing with him felt normal and natural. It was the normal way college kids dated–they went to parties, danced, and hung out. At least I thought they did. What wasn’t the normal way is how Brent put me on the back of his bike after being weird to me on the porch. Plus, it seemed like we were both seeing other people.

Maybe he did want to kill me but backed out at the last second. Or he just realized you weren’t an easy lay. Stop being so paranoid.

I wanted to have a normal sophomore year and do normal sophomore things. That meant I needed to have a normal boyfriend and go on dates with him–which is what I was doing. I think .

Garrett leaned down so I could hear him over the music, his breath so close to my neck it tickled and sent a shiver down my spine. “You look beautiful tonight.”

I swallowed the nervous lump forming in my throat. We were dancing so closely. He put his hand in mine and the other drifted slowly to the small of my back, pulling me closer. The room felt smaller and his face was inches from mine. Too close.

He wanted more than I wanted, and it was clear. Before this semester, if someone told me I would have been this close to two men, I would have laughed in their face. I never focused on boys, my mom grew sicker by the day in my younger years. They were the last thing on my mind, really.

The only thing I had any experience with was a kiss that happened on a dare in sixth grade. If you could call that experience.

We danced for a while but my eyes drifted back to Kelly at the bar. I couldn’t help but think she acted weird today. Not her usual weird. It felt distracted. She was still standing there at the bar, but only she wasn’t texting anymore. Her body language looked strange while she was focused on a taller male figure speaking to her.

Who is she talking to? The person wasn’t Shane. The way they spoke looked off to me with how she was standing. Kelly leaned in closer, looking to keep their conversation private. Whatever it was, it gave me an odd feeling in my stomach.

Garrett’s voice cut through my thoughts. “Think you want to head outside for a bit and get some fresh air?”

I blinked, refocusing on the man in front of me. He looked relaxed with an easy smile while his hair was styled back for the party. “Yeah, sure,” I breathed, trying not to think too heavily about Kelly.

The stranger was still standing close to her when I took one last look. She looks fine enough, right?

We left the dance floor, escaping onto the patio in the cool night air. He looked more handsome under the lighting on the porch, but he pulled us into a quieter spot near the garden. The party’s conversations and music faded into the background.

Garrett was tall with a nice footballer build. His curly blonde hair was definitely charming and matched his honey brown eyes. Some days, I wondered why this stunning man with a nice smile hung around me. Stop overthinking it.

He leaned on the wall and took one of my hands in his. “I like you a lot, Fallon. Hanging out over the summer was one of my highlights from the break.”

Oh no.

I turned my head away and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. We had chemistry, but was I prepared for what he wanted to say? “Me too. My roommate was the one who convinced me to get out more. Since, you know, I kept to myself for a while after my mom...”

“I know.” He reached up cupping my chin, turning my face back to his. “I’m glad she did. I might not have met you otherwise.”

His hand was warm on my chin. I wanted to lean into it more, but something made me want to hold back. “Me too,” I smiled.

He moved closer. “So what do I have to do to make things official with you?”

Never in my life did I think there would be someone asking me to be their girlfriend. I wanted to have a boyfriend, but, again, something was holding me back.

Gut feelings were something my mom told me to listen to. Our intuitions knew things that we didn’t. When my mom told me she had a gut feeling about a situation, she would sit and think through it. I wondered if that’s what made her such a prudent and successful woman–by using her intuition to guide her through things.

Would I be the same, or would my lack of experience be my downfall?

I hesitated for a moment. “I...are you asking me to be your girlfriend officially?”

He held my hand in an ironically serious way. He looked serious too. “I guess I am. We’ve been on multiple dates and from what I’ve seen of you, I want more.”

After we met, we talked about school, our interests, and general information about ourselves, but I never thought a deep emotional connection had formed. We were very casual in our dating, especially since dates never went past much more than surface level conversation and maybe some kissing.

Sure his smile was infectious and he made me laugh about absolutely nothing, but were we at a point to get serious?

A silence stretched between us for the first time. The sound of the wind, the leaves, and the distant party filled the air. I smelled the garden, the pool, and the faintness of cigarette smoke. I breathed.

He raised an eyebrow. “You don’t have to respond now, I know I put you on the spot. Why don’t we go back to your place and hang out?”

Should I just get it over with?

It was safe to say the car ride was awkward. Kelly turned me down to go home early and gave me weird vibes, but she had a drink thrown on her. I couldn’t really say I’d be in the best mood with a dried cocktail on my dress either.

He walked me to my door with a nervous smile on his face. Maybe he thought I’d reject him. I didn’t want to reject him. I wanted to know him on a deeper level before we made things official. My mom never had anyone after my dad left, and she told me to be very picky with the men with my heart. And money.