Everything's Changing Now

“Bro! Come on, you and your girl are holding us up!” Josh yelled from somewhere inside the party. Stephen glanced at Sophie with a slight look of concern on his face, but she shrugged and grabbed his hand to pull him towards the sound of Josh’s voice. When the two arrived in the kitchen, they were each handed a shot of an amber liquid.

“Alright, shoot it back on my count. 3..2..1!” John shrieked, nearly spilling his shot down his shirt, earning him a round of chuckles from the group.

“That was the most foul thing I’ve ever tasted. What was it?” Sophie asked, a look of disgust on her face.

“Captain Morgan, one of my favorites,” Stephen answered, grinning.

“Well you can keep it as your favorite, I’ll stick to wine coolers,” Sophie retorted. “Show me what there is to do for sober people in here.”

“I vote we watch our family members get trashed. John’s always a riot when he’s wasted.”
“Delaney’s better, I promise. Let’s go find them,” Sophie said, trying to find her way through the many bodies in the house. “How the hell do his parents not know this goes down?”

“They’re either extremely oblivious, or don’t give a shit,” Stephen shrugged, stopping in front of a game of beer pong where John was currently situated. The two watched as John continually missed, most likely on purpose, then drank large gulps of beer. When it was Delaney’s turn, she did worse than John.

“How much have you had already?” Sophie asked her cousin, answered by an arm flung out in front of her with seven Sharpie lines on it, each messier than the last. “We’ve been here for not even an hour and you’ve had seven drinks already?”

“And I’m not done yet!” Delaney slurred before being whisked to the dance floor by John.

“She’ll be fine, don’t worry. Doesn’t she always drink this much?” Stephen asked.

“Yeah, but she’s still a lightweight. Tolerance hasn’t hit her yet,” Sophie replied. “We should go dance.” She dragged Stephen to the area she assumed to be the living room, where all furniture was pushed aside and large speakers were blaring loud, pulsing music Sophie had never heard before. As the two got more into the music and moved closer together, Stephen saw Taylor and Josh standing and pointing at the pair.

“Let’s give them something to talk about, “ Sophie said, noticing where Stephen’s eyes were looking.

“If you insist. You seem to be the one who knows how to dance, you lead,” Stephen replied, to which Sophie wrapped her arms around his neck after placing his around her waist. Soon, the two were fully pressed into each other, keeping time to the music and each other. After a few more songs, they stopped dancing and walked towards the kitchen for something to drink. Taylor ran over to them, a smirk on his face.

“You guys are trying to tell me you’re not together, but you were dancing like that? Bullshit,” he laughed.

“Think what you want Juwig, but I’ve seen the way you’ve danced, among other things, with girls you just met that night,” Stephen retorted, pushing past him.

“I give it two weeks til you guys are official. Your brother gave you three days, don’t let him win, okay?” Taylor yelled to the back of Stephen and Sophie’s heads, to which he received a dismissed hand wave and the finger.