Anywhere But Here

Hollie
I groaned quietly and finally let my eyes open, feeling confused at first by my surroundings. I sat up, a little nervous at the idea of not waking up in bedroom and not knowing why, and then realized that I was in my living room and had apparently slept on the couch. Looking down, I saw that I was still in my dress from the night before and had a dirty cloth in one of my hands, and then it all came back to me.

I could still smell the beer all around me from where it had been sprayed all around the room. I had stayed calm up until Jimmy Sullivan and his followers had pulled out of the driveway, and then I flipped. I was crying and screaming about how my parents were going to kill me when they saw the house or smelled the beer and began begging everyone to help me clean up. Everyone mostly just looked at my like I was insane and before I knew it, I was all alone, slowly being swallowed up by the huge house. I could remember getting all of the cleaning supplies I could find, and I began cleaning up the beer with tears falling on the rubber gloves covering my hands. I must've fallen asleep in the middle of my cleaning.

As I looked around, I saw that my emotional fit of cleaning really hadn't helped much. I could still see the sticky spots where beer had dried on various things in the room. There were crumbs and food wrappers all over the floor from the party. A lamp had been broken at some point, I assumed during the fighting, and was still in pieces on the floor.

I sighed and looked up at the clock, seeing that it was almost eleven in the morning. My parents, who had stayed in the beach house the previous night so I could have the party, had told me they would probably be back around six. I figured that if I got started right away and didn't waste any time, I could have the house spotless again before they got home.

Going as fast as I could, I ran up the stairs so I could change out of my dress and into something a bit more appropriate for cleaning the house. I opened my top drawer and grabbed a tank top and an old pair of cheer shorts, then practically tore my way out of my pink graduation dress so I could put them on.

As I was on my way back downstairs, the doorbell buzzed loudly throughout the house, making me jump and nearly trip down the stairs. I rushed toward the door and pulled it open, unsure of who to expect or who it could possibly be. Immediately, my eyes dropped to the floor when I saw Zack Baker standing there.

I cleared my throat and stepped back a little. He was probably the last person I expected to be on the other side of the door and I had no idea what he wanted. "Can I help you?" I finally managed to say.

He reached up and rubbed the back of his neck, and I could sense thaat he was nervous about something. "Uhm, hi. I know I'm probably one of the last people you want to see right now, but I just wanted to come by and say that I'm really sorry for what my friends and I did last night."

"It's okay," I replied. "I mean, it's really not okay. You guys kinda destroyed the party and if my parents come home and see the house like this they'll ground me for the rest of eternity, but thank you for apologizing."

He stopped rubbing his neck and let his hand drop to his side, giving me a small, crooked smile. "I'm Zacky, by the way."

"I know who you are. We had English together all year, and you sat in the desk next to me. Just because we never talked didn't mean I didn't realize you were there. I mean, I don't think you ever once glanced in my direction, but you still know who I am, right?"

"That's different," he said, chuckling softly. "Everyone knows who you are."

I didn't know how to respond, so I began looking at the ground again. I knew he meant no harm by his comment, but I'd always hated it when people said things like that to me.

"Anyway," he kept going, "I know what we did was really shitty, and I was wondering i there was anything I could do to make it up to you?"

I sighed, stepping outside and closing the front door behind me. I sat on the steps and motioned for him to take a seat as well, which he did. "Well, you can tell me why you did it. I know lots of people don't like me and think I'm spoiled and everything, but honestly I can't think of one bad thing I've ever done to you or your friends."

He bit his lip, and I could see all over his expression that he was truly ashamed and sorry for what had happened the night before. "It really had nothing to do with you. It was mostly about some of your friends, like the ones we fought with last night. They've been giving us shit for years and I guess it was kind of like our final revenge. We figured we'd never see them after graduation night. We also knew that they would all be here at your party."

I didn't say anything, and Zack squirmed a little before reaching up and rubbing the back of his neck again. "I know this probably won't help, but I really didn't want to crash your party. I knew it was a bad idea and even tried to tell the guys that, but they wouldn't listen to me. They were already convinced that it was going to be the best thing ever. I don't know if they feel any differently about it now, but I know I'll regret it for a long, long time."

"Hey," I said softly, feeling a bit bad for him. "I don't really think there's any reason to beat yourself up about it. I can tell that you actually are sorry about it, and I really respect you for coming here today. I can tell you're nothing like your friends."

He laughed a little. "I wouldn't go that far."

The atmosphere grew kind of awkward, which made sense considering all the party crashing and the fact the we didn't know each other very well. He rubbed his neck again and stood up. "I guess I"ll go now. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

I smiled and shook my head, preparing to tell him no when another thought entered my mind. "Actually, I could use some help. I have to have the house cleaned before my parents get home. You totally don't have to help me do that if you-"

"No, it's fine," he cut me off. "I owe it to you."