Light Me On Fire

“Sophie! Hurry up!” Nick yelled from downstairs.

I clasped on my gold dinosaur necklace, before glancing in the mirror. “One minute, I promise!” I smoothed out my pink tube top, and pulled down the ends of my dark blue denim shorts, before smiling at myself. I felt good tonight, and knowing that I was about to consume a large quantity of alcohol, only made me smile wider. I slipped my feet into a pair of flower crested tan sandals, and grabbed my phone, before running downstairs. “See? I told you only a minute.”

He rolled his eyes and smirked, before getting off the couch. “Well, dad, I’ll see you later,” he told my dad, who was sitting on the couch, watching some talk show on CNN.

“Have my daughter home by two,” he mumbled.

I widened my eyes. “Two?”

He looked at me and smiled. “My little girl won her softball game today. I think she deserves to go out and have fun.”

I laughed and walked over, giving him a hug. “Thanks, dad.”

“You’re welcome. Now, I want you to have fun, but not too much fun. Got it?”

I nodded my head. “I do.”

He looked at Nick. “And the same goes for you, young man.”

He laughed. “I know, I know.” I grabbed Nick’s hand and we made our way outside. “I have to say, you’re looking mighty fine tonight, Soph.”

I bursted out laughing, and wrapped my arms around his neck. “Mighty fine, Nick?”

He shrugged, and gave me a smile. “It works, right?” I leaned in to give him a peck on the lips, but he pulled back. “We’re still in your driveway, Ettley.”

I rolled my eyes and pulled my arms from his neck. “I forgot about that.”

“Good thing I remembered,” he joked, before unlocking the doors of his car.

I got in on the passenger side, and Nick took his place behind the wheel. As we began driving, I turned the volume of the radio up, and rolled my window down. “Have you talked to John?”

He shook his head, leaning back into his seat. “No, but I think he called Kennedy.”

“What did he say?”

“Just that Ellie apologized for acting like a bitch, and she’ll be coming to the party tonight, too.”

I sighed. “Oh, joy.”

He laughed and looked at me. “I thought she was your friend?”

I shrugged. “I don’t even know what Elle and I are.”

“Care to explain?” he asked, turning the radio’s volume down.

I laughed dryly. “I feel like I’m in a damn relationship with the girl. I mean, she can be normal at times, but other times … she drives me fucking insane with her attitude. It’s almost like everything has to go her way, or she throws a damn fit. I understand that she’s probably that way because her parents spoil her so much, but for goodness sakes! It just gets so aggravating sometimes.”

Nick nodded his head. “I get what you’re saying, but I honestly don’t know what to tell you.” He made a right turn. “I mean, besides you, no one else in the group can really stand her. Clearly I don’t like the girl, but I respect the fact that you at least try and put up with her.”

“Should I, though? I mean … I feel like I really only put up with her, because we’ve been friends for so long, and I’d feel bad if I just suddenly cut her off.”

“Want my honest opinion?” he asked, looking at me. I nodded my head. “I think you should just let her go. She’s not much of a friend to you as it is, and I’m not saying you have to be rude to the girl, but just let it go.” We pulled into the driveway of a house, and Nick parked alongside the street.

“Maybe you’re right,” I said with a sigh.

He laid his hand over mine. “Just forget about it tonight, okay? You won your game, and we’re here to celebrate.”

I smiled and leaned over the center console, placing a kiss on his lips. “You’re a great boyfriend, Santino.”

He laughed. “I try.”

The familiar aroma of cigarettes, alcohol, and sweat entered my nostrils as soon as we stepped foot inside the pale house. “Do you know where the guys are?!” I yelled into Nick’s ear, as the music was unbelievingly loud.

He glanced around the room for a minute, before pointing his finger towards the front of the room. “They’re by the stereo. Come on,” he said, grabbing my hand tightly, and weaving us through the bodies in the room.

I had to apologize to a few people who gave me glares as Nick and I passed by. Once we reached our group of friends, I felt relieved. “Hey, losers,” I greeted them. Kelsi gave me a smile before flipping me off. “Do you think Kennedy would approve?”

He began coughing on his drink, and Kelsi rolled her eyes. “Don’t get any ideas, Mr. Brock.”

He smiled. “Can you blame me?”

Pat covered his ears. “Ew. Please stop. Like, now.”

I laughed and pulled the overgrown child into a hug. “I love you, Pat.”

“I love you, too, Sophie,” he squealed.

Nick began pulling me into him. “Hey, hey, Kirch! Hands off of my woman.”

Pat stuck his tongue out. “Your woman loves me.”

I titled my head back, looking at Nick. “He has a point, babe.”

He scoffed and pushed me, playfully, back into Pat’s arms. “You can have her, then.”

“Awe, don’t be jealous, baby,” I cooed.

Pat grinned. “Yeah, Nicky, don’t be jealous. I’m just so much more handsome than you are.”

Nick rolled his eyes. “Yeah, but can you do this?” he asked, running a hand through his short, tousled hair. The gesture turned me on a bit.

“Can you do this?” Pat retorted, flipping his hair.

“Will the both of you shut up?” Garrett cut in, with one hand around Becca’s waist.

I looked at her and wriggled my eyebrows, causing her to laugh. “It’s not even like that,” she said.

“Mhm. Sure it isn’t.” I looked around and noticed that everyone, save for Nick and myself, had a drink in their hands. “I’m going to get a drink.” I turned to Nick. “Come with?”

“Of course,” he said with a smug smile, before turning back to Pat. “I guess this means I win.”

It was a struggle to move through the room, once again, but after a good minute, we made it to the kitchen. It felt slightly cooler than the living room, and I was grateful for that.

“What do you want?” Nick asked me.

I shrugged. “Doesn’t matter.”

He searched the cooler set beside the island, before grabbing out two bottles of Bud Weiser. He handed one to me, and I wasted no time in downing half the bottle in one large gulp. “Slow down, babe.”

“I’m just trying to catch up with everyone else,” I stated.

He laughed. “I’m sure.” He took a sip of his own beer, and I glanced around the kitchen, my eyes settling on a couple who were standing near the backdoor.

“There’s our little dysfunctional couple,” I said, nodding my head in the direction of the door.

Nick turned around and shook his head. “At least they’re not arguing.”

“O’Callaghan!” I yelled at the top of my lungs, causing everyone in the kitchen to turn around, including John and Ellie. I shrugged as they gave me looks, and waited for the two to walk over to Nick and I.

“You and that mouth,” John muttered, coming to a stop beside me.

I smiled. “You taught me how to use it.” This comment earned me a look from both Nick and Elle, and John began laughing, holding his hand to his stomach. I groaned. “Not like that, for goodness sakes!”

Ellie rolled her eyes and cuddled into John’s side. “I hope not.”

Before I could say anything, Nick pulled me beside him. “So, I was talking to Halvo earlier ... ”

John’s brows quirked upward. “Really?”

Nick nodded his head. “Him and Justin are thinking about coming down for a few days, but they need a place to crash.” He gave John a sly smile.

“Tell them I’ll talk to my parents about it,” he said.

“Thanks, man!” Nick said, before taking another sip of his beer.

I did the same, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ellie giving me a disgusted look. I chose to ignore it, as I guzzled down the rest of my beer. I set the now empty bottle down on the counter, and let out a loud burp.

“Sophia!” Ellie gasped.

I began laughing hysterically, as did John and Nick. “Ex … excu … excuse me!”

She shook her head, sighing. “That is so un-lady-like!”

“Oh, bite me, Elle!” I said, before grabbing another beer, and Nick’s hand. “Let’s go dance, babe.” I dragged him back into the living room, and once I spotted an open space, I went straight for it.

“That was the funniest thing I’ve seen all day, Soph,” he told me, still laughing.

I smirked. “I’m sorry if that turned you off.”

He shrugged. “I don’t really care. You’re forgetting that I’ve known you for years, Soph. I’ve heard you burp, I’ve watched you cry, and hell, I’ve even heard you fart before.”

I gasped and hit his shoulder, feeling my cheeks warm up. “You have not heard me fart before, Nick!”

He laughed. “Yes, I have!”

“When!?”

“Do you really want me to count the amount of times I’ve heard you fart over the years?” he asked.

My cheeks were full on burning now, and I pressed the cold bottle of beer in my hands to my face. “Damn you.”

He smiled and pulled me into his arms. “Don’t be embarrassed. You’re only human.”

I scoffed. “Still! I don’t want to think about my boyfriend hearing me fart!”

He laughed and leaned his mouth close to my ear. “Wanna know a secret?”

“What?”

“I fart, too.”

I rolled my eyes. “That’s no secret.”

“Fine.” He pulled away and looked into my eyes. “I have another one.”

“Tell me,” I demanded.

“Maybe another time,” he said with a smirk.

I was about to open my mouth, when ’Punkbitch’ by 3OH!3 came on. I quickly chugged a good portion of my beer, before I began swaying my hips. Nick quickly placed his hands on my waist, and we began dancing together. When the chorus came on, nearly everyone in the room screamed ‘punk bitch’, which made Nick and I laugh. I shook my head, and pressed my body closer against his. I pushed my hips into his, and he gave me a look.

“What are you trying to pull, Ettley?” he asked with a smirk on his face.

“I’m just dancing with my boyfriend,” I told him innocently.

He pushed me backwards, until my back hit against the wall, and our bodies became even closer to each other. I could feel his warm breath on my neck as his breathing became shallow from the constant grinding of our hips, and I could feel my own breath becoming hard to catch. I soon felt Nick’s lips on my neck, and I leaned my head back, allowing him more access to kiss and suck as he pleased.

Just as things began getting heavy with us, the song ended, and Nick pulled away, causing me to groan. “I was enjoying that.”

He laughed. “I would hope so, baby girl.” He took a sip of his beer, just as the next song began. It took only a moment for the both of us to register that the voice belonged to none other than Nick himself.

“’Cause we can barely talk about it, can’t go on, can’t live without it, carry on without your love,” I sang along to the song, and Nick began blushing.

“This is … awkward,” he said.

I laughed and pulled him back to me. “What are you talking about? My boyfriend’s song is playing and he sounds amazing.”

He smiled and wrapped his arms around my waist once more. “Really?”

I nodded my head. “I can feel it in your heartbeat. Mysterious love, fool everyone, fool everyone,” I continued to sing, whilst dancing against Nick. I felt his lips by my ear and he began singing the words to the song, causing me to shudder; the recorded version was nothing compared to actually hearing him sing the words.

When the song was over, he pulled away and gave me a peck on the lips. “I guess it wasn’t as awkward as I thought.”

I smiled. “You do crazy things to me, Santino.”

“Is that good?”

I shrugged. “Maybe.” I heard someone clear their throat, and I turned to see John standing with his hands in his pockets. “Hello, Cornelius.”

He gave me a fake smile, before rolling his eyes. “Can you two stop dry humping each other for one song?”

Nick laughed. “Where’s your girl at?”

“Outside talking to her cousin. Apparently, there’s too many people here that she doesn’t like,” he said with a shrug.

“So you came to disrupt me and Nick’s wonderful dance?”

“I was wondering if I could cut in, actually.” He looked at Nick, who shrugged his shoulders.

“Go ahead, JohnO. I actually need another beer anyway.”

“Oh, sure, don’t ask me what I want or anything,” I said sarcastically.

John laughed and looked at me. “Do you want to dance with me, Ettley?”

I smiled. “Of course, O’Callaghan.”

Nick laughed and shook his head. “Have fun. I’ll be back in a few, babe,” he said, giving me a kiss on the cheek, before walking off.

“Miss Ettley,” John said, holding out his hand, palm up.

I laughed and laid my hand in his. “Mr. O’Callaghan.” He led us away from the wall, and back to the spot Nick and I had previously been dancing in. A soft strumming guitar filled the room, and I recognized the song immediately. It was one of my favorites. “I love this song.”

John gave me his infamous smirk. “I know.”

I looked at him. “Did you set this up?”

“Maybe,” he sang. I rolled my eyes, but wrapped my arms around his neck, and he pulled me in close to his chest.

”If you’ll be my star, I’ll be your sky. You can hide underneath me, and come out at night. When I turn jet black, and you show off your light; I live to let you shine. I live to let you shine. You can sky rocket away from me, and never come back if you find another galaxy far from here, with more room to fly. Just leave me your stardust to remember you by … If you’ll be my boat, I’ll be your sea. The depth of pure blue, just to probe curiosity; ebbing and flowing, and pushed by a breeze. I live to make you free. I live to make you free …”

I could feel his grip around me tighten, and I nuzzled my face into the crook of his neck. We continued slowly swaying to the soft music, and I hummed along softly to myself, until the next part of the song came along. “If you’ll be my star, I’ll be your sky. You can hide underneath me, and come out at night. When I turn jet black, and you show off your light; I live to let you shine. I live to let you shine …” I rubbed small circles with my left index finger on the back of John’s neck, and he nestled his face against mine; the warmth of his skin radiating onto my own.

When the song ended, he pulled away and stared me in the eyes. “Thanks … for the dance,” he said softly.

I smiled and stood on my tip-toes, placing a kiss on his cheek. “You’re welcome.”

“Oh, my fucking goodness! Your boyfriend is here, and you’re still trying to get with mine!” Ellie’s shouting rang in my ears, and I closed my eyes, sighing.

“Ellie, don’t start this. Not right now,” John said.

She laughed and looked around her. “I think right now’s a perfectly good time! I mean, my supposed best friend is over here slow dancing with and kissing my boyfriend!”

I turned around and glared at her. “Ellie, stop it!”

I could see Nick pushing through the crowd, his bright hair standing out from the others. When he finally made it to the front, he looked between me and John. “What’s going on?”

“Your girlfriend is over here kissing my boyfriend!” Elle shrieked.

Nick’s eyes widened and he looked at me. “What?”

“Nick, that’s not what was happening. I simply gave John a kiss on the fucking cheek, and she just comes up blowing this whole thing out of proportion!” I said.

John walked over to Elle, and grabbed her arm. “We need to go.”

“I’m not going anywhere, until you expl-“ before she could say anymore, John was already dragging her through the crowd.

“What the fuck just happened?” Kelsi asked, coming from behind me.

“I don’t fucking know, but Elle has, once again, managed to piss me off,” I seethed.

Nick walked over and placed a soft kiss on my forehead. “Let’s just go home, okay?”

I sighed but nodded my head. “Stay over tonight?”

He smiled. “Of course, babe.”

I turned around and looked at Kelsi. “I’ll text you later.”

She nodded her head. “I told you she was no good.”

I playfully hit her shoulder as she laughed, before grabbing Nick’s hand, going to leave the house. Once we were outside, we quickly ran to his car and got in. My pocket began vibrating, and I pulled my phone out.

’Can I come over later to talk?’
- John

I quickly hit reply. ’Maybe tomorrow? Nick’s staying the night.’

It took only a minute for my phone to buzz again.
’Oh.’
- John

I sighed, but relaxed into my seat and laced my fingers with Nick, who was busy singing along to whatever song was playing. He’s your boyfriend, Sophie. Not John.