Love Is Hell

“So is this a birthday party? Should I say happy birthday to someone?” I asked as we got closer to the house, the loud music getting even louder.

“Nah,” Amy said shaking her head, “It’s kind of like a going away party. That’s what Todd said.”

I nodded. Todd was Amy’s boyfriend. He also went to school with us. I didn’t have any classes with him and only met him a few times since they started dating a few months ago. When I’ve met him though he was nice and seemed like a good guy. But it kind of sucked because every time we went to a party with Todd there, Amy would always ditch me to go hook up with him.

“Hey guys you made it!” Todd said as we made our way inside. Amy went over and kissed him. Todd and I exchanged greetings and then he led us into the kitchen to get us drinks.
The kitchen was small, packed with people. We squeezed our way towards the counter with the drinks. He mixed us some drinks and then we made our way into the living room where the majority of the people were.

As we entered the room, everyone, whether they were drunk, dancing, making out or talking, seemed to notice me. I tried to ignore their stares as we made our way towards the corner of the room where there were less people. We stood there talking for about ten minutes before Amy and Todd started making out.

I sighed as I turned away from them. I awkwardly looked around the room, trying to find a familiar face, but gave that up when I realized I didn’t know anyone here besides Todd and Amy. I turned back around to them, but the y were gone. I rolled my eyes.

Great, now I’m stuck all alone at a party where I know no one.

I decided to walk around, squeezing my way through people. At least I didn’t look as antisocial walking around then standing in a corner by myself. I walked towards the front of the house and saw the stairs. I decided to make my way towards them; hopefully it would be a lot quieter upstairs. I pushed my way through the crowd, eyes trained on the stairs. I was almost there when all of a sudden I bumped into someone and their drink spilled right in front of me, just missing my outfit.

“I’m so sorry!” I exclaimed as I frantically picked up the cup which was now empty, all its contents on the floor. “I’m sorry; I wasn’t looking where I was going.” I explained as I turned towards the guy whose drink I spilled.

“Don’t worry about it,” he said smiling down at me, “It wasn’t even that good anyways.”

I smiled and handed him the empty cup. He was cute. He had short, messy brown hair and brown eyes. He was tall, probably six feet, towering over my five foot four physique.

“Lorraine right?” he asked.

I nodded slowly, slightly confused as to how he knew my name.

“I saw you in the newspaper this morning.” He explained.

“Oh, right.” I said. Of course he knew me. Everyone did no thanks to the nosy tabloids and papers. And just like everyone else he probably thought I was some stuck-up bitch.

He smiled, “I’m Kennedy.”

I smiled and waved slightly. He was about to say something when someone called his name. He looked over my shoulder and nodded.

“I got to go, but it was nice meeting you. Thanks for coming.” He said smiling.

I smiled and waved at him before he smiled and walked away. It must have been his party. When he left I continued towards the stairs, this time safely making my way upstairs.

Once I reached the top of the stairs, there was a long hallway with closed doors on each side. I decided to walk all the way down the hallway to the last door on the right. Like the other doors, it was closed. I closed my eyes and pushed the door opened, hoping no one was have sex in there. Thankfully when I walked in, the room was empty.

It was a bedroom, a guy’s bedroom most likely. There were clothes lying on the floor, instruments in one corner, a messy desk with stuff all over it and a big bed in the other corner. The walls were plain white and posters were hanging everywhere, some of bands, some were pictures, and a lot of zombie posters. I smiled, I liked it. I always wanted to hang posters in my room but my mom always yelled at me, saying I would ruin the paint on the wall.

I walked over and sat on the bed. You could still hear the music and people from downstairs, but it was much quieter. I sighed in relaxation and lied down on the bed. It was kind of strange since I was lying in a stranger’s bed, but I honestly didn’t care. I turned on my side, facing the wall and closed my eyes.

I don’t know how long I just lied there, but I must have fallen asleep because I didn’t hear the bedroom door open and someone walk in. I did however hear someone cough behind me.

“Uh, hello?” they said behind me.

I instantly turned around and sat up. I winced and grabbed my head which now had a headache. I didn’t drink much and the alcohol must have worn off so I was probably slightly hung over already.

“If you’re going to puke, there’s a bathroom over there… just don’t puke in here.” They said.

“I’m not going to puke.” I said as I pushed my hair away from my face. I could tell that it was messy.

I looked towards the door and finally saw who was standing there. He was wearing boots with dark blue skinny jeans. His torso was covered by a grey v-neck and a short sleeved flannel that was left unbuttoned. His hair was short, almost like Kennedy’s, but instead of a normal brown color, his hair was a weird bronze color.

“So…” he said, his expression was shocked when he first saw me, and then changed to confusion, “What are you doing here?”

I looked around the room, forgetting where I was. I noticed a picture on the wall near the bed; it was of him and some girl. This must have been his room.

“Oh,” I stood up, “Sorry, I couldn’t find my friends…” I said.

He nodded slowly, “Ok, but what are you doing here, in my room, in my house, at my party?” he asked.

I opened my mouth, unsure of what to say. This was his room and his party. And I didn’t know him at all and yet I was at his party. What could I say to that?

“Uhm… my friend’s boyfriend is Todd Penn… he invited us and—” I began but he interrupted me.

“No, I mean what are you, Lorraine Andrews, the governor’s daughter, doing here in my room, in my house, at my party?” he asked, slightly irritated.

I blinked, “I was invited…” I was pretty sure I already said that.

He rolled his eyes, “Yeah, I got that. I meant don’t you have some fancy dinner party to be at or something?”

I furrowed my eyebrows, “I’m sorry, do I know you?” I asked. I didn’t even know this kid and I’m pretty sure he was insulting me.

He laughed, “No of course not, and yet you’re at my party.”

I frowned, “Ok, whatever.” I said before making my way towards the door. I wasn’t going to stick around if he was just going to be rude.

I heard him sigh behind me, “Wait, that was rude,” he said, “You can stay here if you really want…”

I sighed and turned around to face him again. He looked unsure. I just nodded and walked back slowly towards his bed, “Thanks I guess…”

He nodded and sat down on his bed, pushing himself all the way back so his back was resting against the wall. I hesitantly sat on the edge of the bed. It was awkwardly quiet between us for a few seconds before we heard loud chanting coming from downstairs.
“So, why aren’t you down there? Isn’t this your party?” I asked, breaking the silence.

He shrugged, “I’m not really in the partying mood so it’s no fun.” He explained.
I nodded.

“I’m Garrett by the way.” He said, introducing himself.

I smiled slightly, “Lorraine.”

He nodded, “Yeah I know. I saw your picture in the newspaper this morning. You were at some benefit that all you rich people go to.”

I scoffed, “Excuse me?” just when I thought he could be a decent guy, he insults me again.

“What?” he asked, “It’s true. That’s why I was surprised you were here. You rich people go to expensive dinner parties and fundraisers, not house parties.”

I glared at him, “You rich people? Really? What is your problem?”

He rolled his eyes, “What? It’s true! You’re the governor’s daughter, what do you have to worry about? I’m sure you get everything you want served to you on a silver platter.” He said.

I laughed, “What you think my life is perfect?”

Garrett nodded. I snorted and shook my head, “Trust me, it’s anything but perfect.”

“Are you kidding me?” Garrett asked as he sat up, “I wish my dad was the governor.”

“No,” I said shaking my head, “You don’t. You’re constantly dragged to fundraisers and all these social events that are so boring and are filled with all these stuck-up people that only talk to me because I’m the governor’s daughter. They wouldn’t give me the time of day if I wasn’t. Then there are all these fake people that just want to be my friend because of my dad and money. I only have one friend because of that. And seeing yourself on TV and in the paper is just so annoying.” I sighed, “Trust me, my life is not perfect. It may look perfect, but it’s really not.”

Garrett was quiet. I didn’t want to turn around and see his expression. I’ve never admitted how I felt to anyone before and I didn’t want to see his reaction to how pathetic I must have sounded.

Before he could say anything though, my phone buzzed. I took it out of my pocket and saw that I had a new text message. It was from Amy, she was finally ready to go. I texted her back, telling her I’d meet her by the car and then stood up.

Not sure what to say, I awkwardly made my way towards the door. “Wait!” he said. I heard him get off the bed and then a drawer opening and closing. I turned around to find him writing something on a piece of paper. He turned back around and walked over towards me.
“Look, I’m sorry for assuming.” He said. “And here,” he said sheepishly and handed me the piece of paper, “If you ever just need to get away. I can’t say I know exactly how you feel, but I do know what it feels like to want to get away from everything.”

I looked down at the paper and saw a number scribbled on it. I nodded and took it from him. I then turned back around and opened the door, the music becoming louder. I quickly made my way back downstairs and out the front door. Now, I just wanted to go home. After admitting everything to Garrett, I was almost depressed. Everything I said was true though. And the fact that he was actually jealous of my life made me want to laugh and cry at the same time. I sighed, if only he knew how jealous of him I was.