Me vs. Everyone

“Bailey! Come on!”

“No! I don’t want to go!” I shouted back at my friend; my only friend around here. She sighed at me, shaking her head.

“Bailey, you moved here almost a month ago and no one knows who you are! Just come to this party with me. I promise, if you really feel that uncomfortable, we’ll go to the movies or something,” she said, her voice just dripping with exasperation. I made an uneasy sort of sound, shifting on my feet while I thought about it.

“PLEASE BAILEY?” she practically screamed, giving me a puppy dog look. I bit down on the skin around my lip ring, taking a moment to think about this party. CJ did have a point. It’d be almost a month since I moved from New York to Texas, and she really was the only person I knew. A party might do me some good.

“Fine CJ,” I sighed finally. “But if I say movies, we go.” She giggled happily, nodding.

“Come on! We gotta get you ready!” she exclaimed happily, grabbing my arm and pulling me towards her room.

“Wait, what?!”

***

The party wasn’t anything that I wasn’t used to. The wannabe club kids, the loud music, the red cups everywhere and the drunks passed out anywhere they could shove their bodies. The typical party. No matter what state you lived in, that was one of few things that never changed. As long as there was cheap beer, Yeager and red solo cups, there’d be these kinds of parties.

The second we walked in the door, CJ was basically mauled by some guy. I knew about him. Never met him though. His name was Jonathan and he was basically CJ’s boyfriend but if you said that to either of them, they’d start flipping out. Apparently, using those terms meant commitment and apparently commitment was a bad thing.

“So, is this the new girl?” Jonathan asked when he finally stopped raping CJ’s face. He gave me the quick look over, something that always made feel awkward, and giving me a nod of approval. I hated being judged by the way I look, especially by other people’s boyfriends.

“This is Bailey,” CJ supplied, giving me and him a bright smile in turn. He leaned down to whisper something in her ear and at first she got the look of someone eating something too sour or totally disgusting on her face before she broke out into a smile. She nodded, and then looked over at me.

“You should meet Jonathan’s friend, Kyle,” she told me, giving my arm a little shove. I had to hold back a groan at that. How could I have not seen this coming? No wonder she decided to ‘get me ready’ when I agreed to go. She was trying to set me up!

“CJ,” I whispered, giving her a disapproving look. She gave me a knowing smile, letting go of Jonathan’s arms to step next to me and throw her arm around my shoulders, pulling my head down to her height to whisper in my ear.

“Not like that, Bailey. Promise. He just broke up with his girlfriend. Just talk to him?” she asked, giving me the same puppy dog she gave me to get me here. I sighed, rolling my eyes before I nodded.

“I swear to god, CJ,” I grumbled, running my hand through my hair once to make it the usual semi mess that it was. She smiled, giving me a wink.

“If it makes you feel any better, he’s totally hot!” she told me, looking around to see where Jonathan was because he probably was bringing Kyle over. Poor guy. He had just broken up with his girlfriend and now he was getting shoved at some other girl. He was probably devastated over the break up or something. The last thing he needed was me right now.

I almost took back my thoughts the second I saw him. Jonathan’s friend Kyle was the guy CJ had caught me staring at everyday in lunch since the day I got to that school. He was pretty hard to miss; white blonde hair and he had to be at least six feet tall, probably over. I turned back to look at CJ, my mouth open in surprise. She just gave me a knowing smile, along with a wink.

“Bailey, this is my man, Kyle,” Jonathan introduced, giving Kyle a hard slap in the back which caused some of the contents of Kyle’s cup to slosh out over the edge. “And Kyle, this is CJ’s new best friend, Bailey.” Kyle flashed me a smile and I almost melted at the brilliant white teeth. He was perfect. How could any girl break up with him?

“Hey there,” Kyle greeted, tipping his cup at me. I giggled a little bit, waving at him. That stupid girly, wiggling fingers wave. CJ snorted a little, giving me a little push.

“Jonathan and I have somewhere to be,” CJ said, giving Jonathan a look, which bought about a grin on his face. I shuddered, having an idea of what she was talking about. Ew.

“Can you show Bailey around?” Jonathan asked. “It is your house,” he pointed out to Kyle. “Introduce her to some people. New girl.” Kyle smiled at me again, nodding.

“I think I can do that,” he informed, giving me a small wink. “You two go have fun. And use protection,” he added. “You know where I keep the condoms.” Jonathan laughed, putting his arm around CJ’s waist.

“Way ahead of you on that,” he informed, pointing at Kyle.

“Have fun guys!” CJ exclaimed as she was led away and down a hall. I watched them go, afraid to look at Kyle because I’d probably end up giggling like a little school girl or something equally as embarrassing. Kyle cleared his throat, causing me to whip around to face him. He gave me another smile before his eyes fell on his drink.

“Do you want something to drink?” he asked, raising his eyebrows at me. “We’ve got beer, vodka, Yeager, rum, soda and stuff if you’re straight edge or whatever,” he ran down the list in his head. I bit my lip, thinking about what I wanted to do. He was obviously drinking something, so why shouldn’t I?

“Rum and coke?” I asked, raising my eyebrows hopefully. He smirked a little and nodded.

“Sure. Kitchen’s this way,” he informed, nodding behind him. He grabbed my hand, making my knees go weak just a little, and led the way to the kitchen.

***

A couple hours and three rum and cokes later, and I was plastered, to say the least. Kyle and I were nestled on his couch, my leg hooked over one of his, our foreheads leaning against the other’s and his arm resting on the couch behind me.

“You have such pretty eyes,” he told me, his words coming out slowly and just slightly slurred. I giggled, blushing and giving my hair a flip.

“You’re...just hot,” I complimented, my words a bit more slurred than his. I nodded, humming quietly. He smirked at me, running his thumb over my bottom lip. He leaned over, trying to kiss me but missing my lips and kissing the left side of my chin. I giggled a little, pushing his face up and pressing my lips to his.

***

I don’t know how long we sat on that couch, making out the way we were but eventually, CJ and Jonathan had to pull us apart and CJ had to drag me out. I didn’t want to leave. I wanted to go back to Kyle on the couch. He was a great kisser.

On the way back to CJ’s house, I was all smiles. She would glance over at me every once in a while, shaking her head. I just giggled, leaning my forehead on the cool glass.

“You are so plastered,” she informed, laughing. I giggled drunkenly, nodding. I was beyond plastered. I was at least two kinds of drunk.

“He’s such a good kisser!” I informed, leaning back in my seat. I ran my hand through my hair, trying to relive the however long it was we spent kissing because it was just that good.

“I know, you’ve told me eight times in the last ten minutes,” CJ pointed out. “But I’m glad you had fun. And to think! You didn’t even want to go.”

***

When I got to school on Monday, now hangover free, I was in high spirits. I was going to get to see Kyle today. I had been thinking a lot about him over the course of the weekend. I really hoped I’d get to kiss him again.

However, as soon as I got into the building, it was painfully clear it wasn’t an option. Kyle was standing over with Jonathan and a couple other guys, CJ, and a girl I guessed was his ex girlfriend. It looked like they had gotten back together by the way she was clinging to him. The second I got near them, she gave me a dirty look, and Kyle looked away from me completely. My heart sank.

“Bailey,” CJ said quietly, breaking away from the small group and dragging me towards the bathroom. “Bailey, I am so sorry.”

I stared at CJ for a moment, unable to say anything. I probably should have seen this coming. He was pretty amazing. No wonder they got back together. I just couldn’t tell if he was happy about it, but why would he get back with her if she made him unhappy?

“I’m fine,” I told her finally, giving her a small smile. “Things happen.” She gave me a confused look.

“You sure?” she asked cautiously, giving me a look. I nodded extravagantly, sending my hair all over the place. It wasn’t like it was neat to begin with though.

“Yeah!” It was one night,” I said, shrugging. “Totally over him. He wasn’t that great of a kisser anyway.” CJ laughed happily, giving me a quick hug.

“I thought you were going to take this way worse than you are,” she mentioned, beaming at me. “And if it makes you feel any better, I don’t know what he sees in her. She’s such a bitch.” I laughed at that, but the bell drowned it out. CJ led the way out of the bathroom but I lost her in the sea of people in the hall.

I was good at candy coating things and hiding underneath. While I was all smiles on the outside, on the inside I was on the verge of tears.

***

Everyone was treating weirder than normal. It was like I had burned each of their houses down in turn, they way they were acting. All I was getting was dirty looks and I was tripped a couple times. Everything finally made sense when I got to lunch.

On my way there, I was pulled from the hall into the bathroom and slammed against the far wall. I snarled, pushing the hair out of my face to see my attacker. Kyle’s girlfriend.

“Listen skank,” she hissed, and I cringed. Her voice was like nails on a chalkboard being put through a wood chipper. “I heard you were making out with my boyfriend Friday. You stay the hell away from him. He’s mine, got it?” I snarled again, pushing her off of me.

“Listen bitch. You weren’t even together when that happened so you can just calm the hell down and get over it. Sending people after me is so lame,” I informed, pushing my hair back into place while I spoke. She pushed me back against the wall, causing me to let out an involuntary grunt when I hit the wall.

“I don’t care. In case you didn’t know, new girl, even when we’re broken up, Kyle is still mine,” she growled. I let out a spiteful laugh, rolling my eyes.

“Yeah, well. He didn’t seem that interested in you on Friday,” I pointed out. “He was making out with me, remember? I don’t know what he sees in you, whore is so four years ago.” She just had that whore air about her so I just had to point that out for her. She chuckled a little, shaking her head.

“Well, that isn’t going to happen again,” she told me. “Or I will personally take care of you.” I rolled my eyes, scoffed and pushed her away from me again.

“I’m not afraid of you,” I told her, and headed for the door of the bathroom, leaving her there.

***

Two weeks went by, and all that time was nothing but was misery. She had turned the entire school against me. It was so ridiculous to see people doing her bidding for her. Every day I was getting dirty looks and jeers and stuff thrown at me. I was sick and tired of it. It did push me to ask myself, ‘why do I put myself in these situations?’ because it made no sense anymore.

On my way to the library from study hall, where I now spent most of my time, I caught sight of a familiar person; the reason for all of this stupidity, standing in front of an open locker, going through his backpack. I took a breath before going over and slamming his locker shut. I stood in the way of his locker, arms crossed and glaring at him.

“Hey....Bailey,” he greeted slowly, obviously noticing how pissed I was. “Listen, I’m sorry...” he started, causing me to shake my head.

“No,” I growled. “You do not get to say I’m sorry. You’ve done nothing to stop this! You’ve just stood around and let her turn the entire fucking school against me!” I shouted. Kyle shifted on his feet uneasily, sighing.

“Bailey,” he started again. I shook my head, shutting my eyes for a second before I gave him a determined look.

“You’re not worth putting myself in these situations, Kyle.” I shook my head once more before walking off towards the library.

***

Kyle and I didn’t speak again after that until my third year of college. He went on to be in some band, CJ and Jonathan eventually broke up, and the two of us girls decided we’d go to college. She would talk about their band all the time, Jonathan and her ended on good terms and they stayed friends, but I never had any real interest in them. I’d be lying if I told someone that I just let that thing with Kyle go.

In my junior year, CJ decided she’d drag me to the show our college held on the campus lawn before spring break. I had tried to avoid that show at all costs, leaving for Spring Break the second my classes were over, but that year I had gotten stuck on campus for another day after my last class.

“Just trust me, this band is amazing,” she reassured on the way towards the stage, bobbing along happily through the crowd. She eventually pushed me in front of her, against the barrier. I couldn’t see what she was making such a big deal of until I got a good look at the band. There, behind the drum set was a familiar mop of white blonde hair. I bit my lip, looking back over my shoulder at her.

“Their drummer is pretty hot,” she mentioned, nodding knowingly. I rolled my eyes, shaking my head. She couldn’t seriously be going through this again.

***

She was seriously going through this again. When the show was over, she shoved our way over to the side of the stage and eventually behind it. I was reluctant to follow, which she picked up on and remedied when she started tugging me along with her.

“CJ, don’t make me!” I begged, trying to stop walking, but she continued to tug me along. She sighed loudly, pulling me faster.

“It’s been four years, Bailey. Just let it go and get to know him!” she exclaimed. “For my sake!” I rolled my eyes.

“Guilting me isn’t going to work!” I informed. She stopped short, sending me into her back but she didn’t budge from where she was. She looked around to see a door, smirking.

“But maybe this will!” she exclaimed, shoving me into the room the door guarded, closing it quickly behind me. I stumbled, almost falling but was caught by someone behind me. I grunted a little, letting the person help me to stand.

“Sorry about that,” I apologized quickly, turning to see who had caught me. There, in that awkward little closet, was the still hot as ever Kyle Burns. Age probably made him look even more attractive to be honest. It wasn’t like he was an old man or anything....just more mature looking.

“Hi Bailey,” he said quietly. “Can we talk for a minute?” I shifted on my feet, looking back at the door.

“Seeing as we’re probably locked in here, I guess I don’t have much of a choice,” I said, my voice still harsh as it was the last time we spoke, but it was so much harder to muster that now. He sighed, pushing some of his hair out of his eyes.

“Bailey, I am so fucking sorry,” he started. “I didn’t...I didn’t know what I was doing that night. Hannah and I had just broken up, and it seemed like it was for real that time and I kind of noticed you looking at me in lunch because I was looking at you and that’s why CJ and Jonathan introduced us, because I asked them to. I wasn’t planning on getting as wasted as I did, and I doubt you did either...but I don’t regret us making out or anything,” he explained. “I was miserable with Hannah from the get-go, and then you proved that not all girls were as crazy as she was....I don’t know why I let her back into my life and I should have put an end to what she did to you but I was fucking scared of her,” he went on. “And I know, this apology is too little, too late, but if you could ever forgive me....I’d really like to go get a cup of coffee or something with you,” he finished.

“Uh.” I stared at him for a minute, trying to find what to say. All the hatred I felt towards him left my body at the moment when I saw that look on his face, and my heart melted completely. “I’d like that Kyle,” I told him finally, nodding. He beamed at me, so big it looked like his face was going to split into two.

“Awesome! Maybe now? I don’t know of the next time I’ll be around,” he mentioned, shrugging. “If you want. Or we could wait. Either way.”

“I could go for some coffee now.” His smile got wider before he leaned down to press his lips to mine for a brief moment.

“Let’s go then!” he exclaimed, opening up the closet door, letting me out before he walked out himself. I don’t think anything could wipe the smiles off of our faces then, not even CJ and Jonathan standing there with smug looks on their faces.