Chance Encounters

It was a late Friday afternoon when Ellie and Mary informed me that they were leaving to go shopping. They told me I could come along, but I decided against it. I was not one for shopping, especially if I had to pretend like Ellie and I were just friends. I doubted we’d even be able to fake being friends. Lately, we had been doing nothing but making out, so it would be strenuously difficult to try and not touch her or kiss her.

They left at about five o’clock in the afternoon. I was bored and lying around the house in my sweats. All I had been doing was eating, so I decided I needed to do something productive with my life.

I didn’t realize that Ellie took such a big part out of my usual day. It was like I didn’t have anything else to do except be around her. And although she was my girlfriend and I cared about her, it was sort of sad. Did I really not have a life without her?

Shaking the last comment off, I pulled my phone out and called one of my old friends that I hadn’t talked to in months. He was the reason I had gone to the fair in the first place.

Hell, I felt terrible that I had been practically ignoring him and my other friends.

I needed to get out of Mary’s house for once and feel alive again, like how I did before my mom had passed. I wanted that same thrill of being with friends and drinking and being feckless teenagers. I had, as of late, done nothing but sat around. It was sad and pathetic. It was like my life was draining away from me.

Brandon answered on the fourth ring, right before I had given up hope on connecting with him.

“Luke?” He said in disbelief.

“Hey Brandon. How’ve you been?” I asked. I knew I wouldn’t be able to get away with not talking to him in months, but I wanted to forget all of that.

“Seriously man? You haven’t talked to me in months and that’s all I get?” He questioned. I didn’t know if he was mad or just joking. But I took the easy way out just in case.

“I’ll explain everything to you later. Right now, I need to get out of the house. Are you doing anything tonight?” I questioned. Brandon sighed loudly. He was silent for a couple of seconds before taking an obnoxiously loud breath.

“Uh, yeah actually. There’s a party at um, Michael’s house,” he uttered.

“That’s awesome. Do you think you could um, give me a ride?” I begged. I don’t understand why I was so desperate for a party. I don’t know if I missed it too much or was just lonely, but it was something that I needed.

“Well,” Brandon started. He mumbled a couple of words before collecting his thoughts and starting up again. “Fine. Yeah, I guess so. Am I picking you up at your house?”

“Actually, I don’t live there anymore. I’m currently living with someone. I’ll text you the address, okay?” I said, smiling to myself.

“Okay, yeah. I’ll be there in about a half hour,” Brandon said.

“Hey, thanks man! See you then,” I exclaimed. We exchanged a couple more short phrases before I hung up.

I ran upstairs to my room to change into some clothes. I had never been more excited for a party in my life. It was going to be phenomenal.

~~*~~

“So, let me get this straight. That girl you met at the fair is who you’re living with?” Brandon laughed, taking his eyes off the road quickly to roll his eyes at me and joke around.

“Yeah. It’s so much better than my house. And her aunt is amazing,” I said, trying to make him realize why I had to get away from my dad.

“This girl, Ellie. Do you have a thing for her?” Brandon asked nosily. I smirked, promptly deciding that I shouldn’t tell him the truth. If our secret relationship got out, it could somehow travel back to Mary. And I don’t know what I would do if I was kicked out. I couldn’t go back to my father’s house. It was unbearable at the start, let alone the end. If I had to go back, God knows what would happen.

“Um, no. We’re just friends. She’s not really my type,” I said. Brandon nodded.

We were quiet for the rest of the way to the party. I guess we really had drifted apart.

~~*~~
When we got to Michael’s house, I could already smell the alcohol. People were dancing in the yard, singing and grinding and passing out. It was the normal nostalgic feeling I had been absent from for way too long.

I got out of Brandon’s car and made my way towards the house. I had to watch my step, just in case a blonde cheerleader or red plastic cup was in my path.

Music was blaring so piercingly loud that I could barely hear my own thoughts.

When I walked into Michael’s home, I was greeted by the scent of sweat and beer, and the claustrophobic feeling that was so familiar. It seemed like there were three hundred people here, even though I knew that was a bit of an overstatement. It was just so crowded.

Drunken bodies hung onto other drunken bodies, dancing as if their life depended on it. It was quite disgusting, really. But I knew that I couldn’t judge, saying by the end of the night, I would be just like them.

“Hey Luke!” Michael shouted, walking up to me. He attempted to hug me, but then realized hundreds of liquid-filled cups were occupying his hands.

“Hey man! How have you been?” I asked, trying to be heard above the noise.

“Good. Want a drink?” He queried, putting a cup of stale smelling beer in my hands without waiting for a reply. I nodded at him, letting him know that it was fine.

I followed him into the kitchen to partially get away from all of the noise. But, to my surprise, there was a crowd of people in there too. I sighed, but stayed anyway. I was closer to the beer, and could drink as much as I pleased. I just hoped that Ellie didn’t find out about this. If she did, I most likely would be kicked out.

When I had finished my first cup, I walked to the keg to get some more. Despite the clusters of overly-energetic people, it wasn’t as difficult to move as I thought.

For the first forty-five minutes of the party, I was in the kitchen, consuming as much alcohol as I could. If an outsider had seen me, they would have thought I was parched and hadn’t had anything to drink in months. But really, I had an obsession. Well, nothing too big. I just loved the taste of the bitter, cold liquid as it trickled down my throat. It was a way to escape my pain, even if my life was going surprisingly well.

After a couple of mugs later, I was completely drunk. It wasn’t the worst I had been, but I recall screaming and jumping around with everyone else.

I eventually had traveled into the living room again, where the main party was. People were everywhere. Couples were on the couches, slobbering over their partner’s lips. It was quite a disturbing image, really, because some people were so into it that it looked as if they were eating their significant other’s face off.

I remember awkwardly standing in a corner, attempting to dance without falling over, when Brandon pushed me into a gorgeous, absolutely intoxicated blonde. He didn’t know better, mostly because I had lied to him and said I didn’t have a girlfriend. But he wasn’t the one to blame.

When she started to sway seductively, I wanted to push away. But she continued to get closer to me. If I hadn’t been so drunk, I would have stopped. She was so alluring, though, and I gave into the desire.

I pulled her into me, feeling her head against my chest. I rested my hands on her hips, magnetically drawing her into my thighs. I groaned softly, rhythmically dancing with her.

I don’t know how long we stayed like that. But it was long enough for me to somehow black out and not remember anything.

~~*~~

When I woke up the next morning, I had no idea where I was. My head was pounding and I could barely move. Every sound that I heard, I clasped my ears in pain. My throat was dry and desperately aching for water. I realized that if I even tried to talk, my voice would sound raspy and slurred.

After I could finally sit up straight, I looked around the room. There were people strung out everywhere. They all were passed out, and from the looks of it, had been completely intoxicated.

I pulled out my phone, and rubbed my eyes. To my astonishment, there were fifteen missed calls and twenty texts. All from Ellie. I didn’t blame her though. I didn’t tell her I was going anywhere.

I dialed Ellie’s number and waited for the inevitable.

“Luke!? What the hell?!” She screamed, making my headache even worse.

“Ellie, can we please not talk about this now?” I asked.

“Are you kidding me?” She asked.

“No. Ellie, I’ll explain later. Can you please pick me up?” I asked, desperation filling my voice.

She sighed deeply and strained her voice when she mumbled something to herself. “Yeah, where are you?” She muttered.

~~*~~

“So, you went to a party, got drunk, and?” Ellie asked. I was still contemplating whether I should tell her the whole story or not. No, she wasn’t my parent and she wouldn’t kill me. But she was my girlfriend, and I was terrified of what she was capable of.

“And I passed out,” I said breathlessly. I realize I should have told her about that girl. But honestly, nothing happened. I didn’t kiss her. I didn’t have sex with her. And I hadn’t even started it. I was drunk and had no control over what was going on. Therefore, it couldn’t have been my fault.

Besides, Ellie wasn’t as scary as I had made her out to be. She didn’t even care that I had gone to a party. The only thing she was worried about was that I had left without telling anyone. So, I was almost positive that Ellie wouldn’t mind if I told her that I practically grinded with that mysterious, bubbly blonde.

Almost.

Ellie and I were quiet the rest of the way. We didn’t have anything else to talk about. She had already yelled at me earlier, but she realized that wouldn’t help me out in this condition.

Even though I may have made some stupid decisions, I’m glad Ellie was there to scream and then forgive me. Despite how ridiculous that sounded, I loved her for it.