Deception

"I'm not really into the whole...'drinking' thing." I shove the cup of beer away from me and back into Sofie's chest. She shrugs. The only alcoholic drink I've actually had is champagne on New Years. I didn't feel so good after wards.

"Suit yourself. You're already an outcast, and now you're making your situation worse." She sips the vodka slash lemon juice slash Pepsi mixture. Her ginger hair looks ratty from the rain outside. Her white shirt's wet. I snatch the cup and take a sip.

When in Rome, do as the Romans do.

"Get your own." Sofie skips off into the mounds and mounds of people in Alex's house. First, I wonder why I'm here. Then, I remember. Lori was having a party deficiency, and Alex invited us to his little "shindig". A pot-smoking, beer guzzling, gross grinding, loud music pumping shindig. The kind Lori enjoys the most.

And there she is, splayed on the couch with Mr. Zachary Merrick, also now known as pretty-handsome-awkward boy. The Used song comes to mind. I have to admit, he is cute. But he needs a haircut in the near future. "Big hair" was so twenty years ago.

A hand drops onto my shoulder. I fix the strap of my peridot-green dress. "Hey, don't you want something to drink?" Alex dangles a bottle of Budweiser in my face. "Freshly opened. You can even feel the bottle perspire."

That sounds really gross.

I shake my head. "I'm not a drinker." Alex shrugs and takes a swig from the bottle. "Hey." He raises his eyebrows. "Won't your parents get mad at you?"

Gulp. "For what?"

"The mess." I stare at the ugly, dark stains on the white carpet.

"That's why steam vacuums were invented." He points to the closet. "Don't worry so much, Kaleb. Have some fun; it's your first real party, right?"

Cue the eye roll.

Alex grabs my hand and starts to sway back and forth. "C'mon, Kaleb. Dance with me!" The loud techno music reminds me of my first and last Homecoming dance during my freshman year. I hesitantly move my hips, and Alex gets a kiss from a girl. She glares at me as she walks by.

Zachary and Lori leave their spot from the couch and join us, but Lori pulls me aside. "I need to talk to you." We waltz out onto the deck and shove some couples grinding out of the way. Outside, there's a cloud of smoke, and there's so much haze we can barely find the stairway down to the grass lawn.

"What?" I ask once we find a spot under the deck to hang out under.

"Zack is awkward." She crosses her arms, blowing her blonde strands out of her face. "I mean, it was fun making out with him, but..."

"I thought we already established this."

"Yeah, well..." Lori bites her lip. "Kales, you don't understand."

"What don't I understand?" The smoke is making its way down beneath the deck, and I start coughing. I wonder how Alex's parents don't know about this? Ends of joints shower down on us, and we lean against the glass door. "You're not making much sense. How much did you drink?"

"Not much! Now listen to me!" She lowers her voice. "I..."

"Spit it out!"

"I'm not a virgin."

"You're telling me this now?" I should've known. The girl's boy crazy. I mean, the whole thing with Gaskarth...it's understandable. It's obvious, even.

"You're not surprised?" She hits me. "God, Kaleb, you make me feel like a fucking whore."

"Sorry." I start to go back up the stairs and back into the party, this time covering my nose and mouth with my hands. Alex grabs my hand and drags me into the kitchen. "What?" I'm really sick of this "pulling Kaleb aside" game.

"I want to talk to you."

"About what?" I wonder where Jack is; I haven't seen him since the party "started". I hope Lori doesn't think I'm a bitch, because I didn't want to listen about the blow jobs she gave behind the bleachers.

"Just talk." Alex reaches for a can of Sprite on the granite island.

"Okay." I sit on a stool, and he does the same. He offers the can, but I refuse. He shrugs and takes a sip. "How often do you have parties at your house?"

"Often."

"Do you have a fake ID?"

"Sort of." He flashes me his driver's license. It says "AGE: 17". "I have connections."

"What do you mean?"

"I know someone who works at a grocery store. She lets it slip by." If that girl gets caught, she's automatically out of a job. "Our cover story is my father is paralyzed and since my mom left him, the only thing he can do right is drink. If I don't buy him beer, he beats me."

"I thought he was paralyzed."

"Only the lower portion of his body is paralyzed. He's pretty decent and swinging at bat."

I don't find this believable. But, hey, he and Jack weaseled me out of the awkward family dinner I had with Dad and Liz. If a woman hears a sob story, she'll usually fall for it. No matter how cheap it may sound.

"Okay, this might be one of the strangest things I'll ever say to you, but...your mom's hott."

"She's not my mom. She's my step mom."

"How old is she?"

"Five years younger than my dad."

"...which means?"

"She's thirty-five."

He whistles. "Your father must've been young when he had you."

"He was twenty-three." My mom was barely out of college, and within months of having me, she left. That stupid bitch has been attempting to make a comeback into my life since I was fifteen. Dad attempted to get back together with her, but he realized they were way too different from each other. That, and she had a crazy ex-boyfriend.

"Wow."

"My life story really isn't that exciting." Liz better not show up to my meet next weekend.

"That's what you think. I'd say your life could be made into a soap opera, without added drama." Alex touches my hand. "Kaleb, if you ever need anything, I'm here."

I could really use a friend that's not a slut.