She Was The Challenge He'd Been Waiting For.

Isabella smiled widely as Alex pulled away. “Wow.”

“Wow.” He replied.

She couldn’t explain the way Alex was making her feel, mostly because she didn’t quite understand it. He made her feel alive, yet so nervous. She was more than tipsy, but he made her feel like she was walking on air.

She hadn’t much thought of what her first kiss would be like, but she had wondered what kissing Alex would be like. The feelings he gave her and the way she felt nervous around him seemed to be all she could think about. Of course, she hadn’t thought much whether he was only doing this because neither of them were sober.

“Are you okay?” He asked quietly, bringing a hand to her face.

“Y-yeah.” She spoke quietly.

“Good.” The older boy smiled, pulling her small body closer.

Alex had a plan to reel in Isabella. She was different than all of the other girls; he didn’t have to try as hard because she didn’t know any better. It was a childlike naïveté, a trust in a person she barely knew. The wide eyed look she gave him or the way she managed to look graceful while drunkenly stumbling around the dancefloor.

He was the first person outside of her family to befriend her. It was like now she was able to see what it was like to be sixteen. She wasn’t punishing herself, or locking herself in her room to avoid what was really going on. She was done mourning her brother’s death, and hiding in her room.

Alex made her feel alive. It was something she hadn’t really ever thought of. Did he want to be her boyfriend? Did she want him to be her boyfriend? All she knew was that kissing him was really nice and she’d like to do more of it.

“I’m glad you brought me here.” She spoke quietly.

“Me too.” He grinned.

He smiled at her, bringing a hand to her face and pressing his lips to hers gently. Isabella could feel her heart beating in her ears, but all she could focus on was the way his lips moved against her. She didn’t really know what she was doing, but Alex didn’t seem to mind or care.

With his hand, he tilted her face to the side, deepening the kiss. Isabella had never really thought of having someone else’s tongue in her mouth. The idea sounded really disgusting, but it didn’t feel gross. In fact, it felt really nice.

Isabella smiled as he pulled away.

“Do you want to go somewhere else?” He breathed.

“Where?” She asked softly, not understanding what he was inferring.

And then Alex realized it was too soon to offer to go upstairs. He was going to have to work harder to get to that point with Isabella. He had a feeling he could convince her to do anything, but it was too soon. There would be a time for that later. So instead of what he was known for, as the King of the Party Scene, he decided that they should go somewhere other than upstairs to a bedroom.

“Let’s go get some air.” He spoke, letting go of her waist and taking her by the hand.

“Okay.” She spoke shyly, clutching Alex’s hand as she tried to not pay attention to all of the girls who seemed menacing that she’d stolen him away. And all of the boys who were wondering who she was.

“Don’t worry about them.” He spoke as if reading her mind. “Come on.”

Drunken Isabella was a bit more fun than sober Isabella. She was content being curled up against Alex, and talking about nothing. As long as they were touching, she was happy. But still, drunken Isabella was less inhibited and the words she probably kept tightly behind her tongue were now falling freely from her lips.

“Alex, did you hate Dan after he died?”

“What?!”

“I don’t know if I’m allowed to be mad at Travis the way I am.”

His usual smile faltered. “Of course you’re allowed to be upset.”

“I didn’t know… he was j-just laying there. I didn’t know he was dead.” Her eyes were glazed over and he could already see the tears that were threatening to fall out.

“Baby, its okay.”

She flinched at being called “baby.” Her parents sometimes called her “honey,” but she’d never been called anything endearing from someone outside of family. The one word made her heart beat faster and made her sigh. He comforted her in a way she’d never felt before. Alex made her feel as if everything was okay for once. He made her feel a way she’d felt before Travis died.

“I’m gonna go get something to drink.” Alex spoke, letting go of Isabella and standing up from the lounge chair.

She didn’t respond, just laid back in the lounge chair, staring up at the stars. She began trying to locate the Little Dipper and Ursa Major. She smiled, thinking about stars made her feel so small. She liked feeling as if the world was so much greater than she was. She didn’t seem to notice the boy who sat down beside her until she felt a hand on her shoulder. She expected it to be Alex, but was a little disappointed to see a boy with darker hair and darker eyes.

“Hey.”

“Hi.” She spoke shyly, wondering why he was sitting so close to her when they were total strangers.

“So how do you know Becky?”

“Becky?”

“The girl throwing the party.”

“Oh… I-I don’t.”

The boy smiled softly. “I’m Andy.”

“Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you…” He began, pausing thoughtfully for Isabella to fill in her name, but she didn’t realize.

Instead, she brought her gaze back to the sky. The boy beside her, Andy, brought his own gaze to the sky, wondering why the girl was so fascinated. He didn’t see what was so special about the night sky, especially when he couldn’t see any stars.

“So you like stars?” He asked.

“They make you feel so… insignificant, you know?” She spoke, her whole body jerking uncomfortably at the hand that wandered to her lower back. “What are you doing?”

“I’m-“

“Dude, back off. She’s with me.” Alex spoke, standing before them, using his free hand to push the boy away from Isabella.

“Sorry, Gaskarth.” The boy spoke, standing up quickly and rushing back into the house.

Alex sighed, taking the place he’d left before. He didn’t say anything just opened the bottle of vodka he’d snatched from the kitchen. He took a swig before offering it to Isabella. She smiled softly, taking the bottle.

It burned her throat and gave her a lightheaded feeling, but still, it felt nice. She liked that Alex had made that boy go away. He made her feel safe, and the liquid courage was something that was helping her open up to him. That was something that he really appreciated.

“Izzy?” A female voice called, and soon Kara emerged.

Isabella looked up at the brunette and grinned. “Hey Kara!” She exclaimed drunkenly.

“Wanna come to the bathroom with me?”

The younger girl didn’t understand what her new friend was offering, but she wanted nothing more than to do right by Alex and his friends. So, she reluctantly let go of Alex and stumbled over to where Kara stood. Alex grinned, taking another swig of vodka.

He didn’t know what Kara was up to, so he tilted his head to the side and gave her a questioning look, but she didn’t meet his gaze. She wasn't totally sure how to handle the situation because she really liked Isabella. Kara thought that Isabella was a great girl and would be a great addition to their group.

Kara was kind of tired of being the only girl among the four boys, but she did feel a bit protective over the younger girl. Isabella didn't know what Alex was capable of. She wasn't the usual victim of Alex's one night stands. The girl was naive and sweet; she had no idea what was going on. She didn't know what Alex really was like.