Let Me Perfect It

Chloe's point of view

I sighed, sitting by the bonfire that had been built about an hour into the party. It wasn't that I wasn't allowed to drink; it was that I had to make sure none of the girls did anything dumb. While it was normally Sophie who watched us, when it came to a party she was not one to sit on the sidelines, so I was left on guard duty. I watched as a giggling Molly walked by with Sisky.

I don't really mind my job, though. I've never been a fan of drinking - barely remembering anything you do isn't always fun; neither is waking up with a killer headache.

"Hey," I heard someone say, pulling me from my thoughts. I looked towards the voice - it was Brendon. We'd barely spoken since the scene with Sophie, and I think it bothered me more than it should have.

"Hi," I said softly, looking towards the fire.

"Why are you just sitting here by yourself?" He questioned with a small chuckle.

I looked towards him again before responding. He was holding a plastic cup, just like everyone else at the party; he was drinking. "I'm the designated driver," I said simply, but I had to hold back a laugh when he cast a skeptical glance towards the tour buses. "Well... if we weren't on tour, I'd be designated driver for this sort of thing. But since the buses have drivers, I'm just designated, um... watcher." I smiled.

Brendon again chuckled. "You're telling me you don't drink?"

"Right," I nodded, looking towards the fire again.

"I thought it was Sophie's job to make sure everyone stayed out of trouble," Brendon said after a few moments of silence.

I shook my head. "Sophie lives for parties. It seems like the only time she loosens up anymore," I sighed. I wasn't going to tell Brendon that Sophie's constant edginess was most likely my fault.

Slowly, my mind wandered to the past. It was almost two years ago that I started dating Travis. Sophie didn't seem to like him, but I didn't care - I felt like the guy was the only one for me. We dated smoothly for almost a year, before that fateful midnight when I came to Sophie's house with a busted lip, bruises forming on my sides, and a fresh black eye.

My phone vibrating in my pocket broke me from my thoughts. I wanted to ignore it and enjoy the party, but I couldn't help but reach into the pocket of my skinny blue jeans.

Travis.

"Um, Brendon... I'll be right back," I heard myself saying, even before I'd decided to answer my phone, "I've gotta take this," I gestured towards my phone quickly before standing and walked away. After a few moments, I answered the phone with a quick "Hello?"

"Hey, babe," Travis's voice spilled into my ear, I couldn't help but smile. It's odd, how I could go from dreading talking to him one moment, to... this.

"Hey," I said, a smile in my voice, "What's up?"

"I wanna see you," I murmured, his voice slurring. He was drunk. "You should come over."

"I... um, I can't," I stammered. I'd been so wound up with excitement from the tour, and so busy with getting ready, that it completely slipped my mind to inform Travis I was leaving.

"Why not?" He questioned. His voice was slurred enough that I couldn't pick up a certain emotion.

"I'm... not in t-town," I whispered.

"Where are you?"

"I'm... in Milwaukee.." The name of the city we were in barely left my throat. I was scared to tell him, afraid of how he'd react...

"What the hell?" His voice got louder in my ear, "Why?"

"I'm with the girls, the band," I said quietly, "We got an opening spot on a tour, last minute.."

"What the hell, Chloe!" He was yelling into the phone now, his voice still horridly slurred, "You could've told me!"

"Yeah, right," I said, my voice suddenly gaining confidence. I was away from him; I could stand up for myself, for once, and he couldn't lay a hand on me. Realization was slowly setting in, as I spoke. "You would've thrown a fit! You'd tell me not to leave; to stay back and let them go."

I heard a sigh and thought I'd struck a cord somewhere; but I must have been wrong. "It's just cause I need you here," His slurred voice said, trying to weaken me, make me feel guilty.

"No you don't," I snapped. "You don't need me for shit." I wasn't quite sure where my words were coming from, but I didn't care. "You just want me around because you think you can get me into bed when you're wasted and horny."

"Don't talk to me like that," He snapped.

"And when I don't listen to you, you get pissed. Leave me the hell alone," I said before shutting my phone, ending the call.

I trudged back to my seat by the fire, my mood completely different. Brendon was still sitting where he'd been before I left. I sighed and sat next to him, even though I didn't want to talk. "Who called?" He questioned.

I knew the question was just for conversation, just to have something to talk about, but I couldn't help my response. "Nobody," I snapped. I didn't want to talk about it, especially with some guy I didn't know.

"Well then, it was obviously someone..." He said, his speech slurring slightly from his drinks. "Is it some guy Sophie doesn't approve of?" He asked, passing a glance towards her before looking back at me. "I'm not gonna tell her,"

I almost laughed at how close his guess was. "It was nobody," I repeated, getting a bit angry with him, "You shouldn't care, anyways. It's none of your business."

"You're so hard to talk to," He said with a small chuckle. "You either only say a few words to me, or randomly get pissed. It's confusing." His voice slurred more. "You're confusing."

I shook my head, "Then why do you keep trying?" I snapped, before standing up and walking away, towards the buses. I didn't turn to look at him.