Gimme One Reason.

~********~

Today was the day. I was finally, finally done. Graduated. Finally. Have you ever been seventeen, on the cusp of greatness, absolutely in love, ready to start your life?

Neither have I. Other than the seventeen part, that I was. But far from in love, far from cusp of greatness, and far from starting my life.

I was currently in a karaoke battle with my brother's best friend, Brian. Ding ding, Brian Haner Jr.

"And nobody told us
'Cause nobody showed us
And now it's up to us babe
I think we can make it
So don't misunderstand me
You put the light in my life
You put the sparks to the flame
I've got your heart in my sights
Nobody knows it
When I was down
I was your clown
Nobody knows it, nobody knows it
But right from the start
I gave you my heart
I gave you my heart"

We alternated parts, obviously, what kind of karaoke duet would that be otherwise? Brian gave up, ending his turn as he dropped his mic after I held my own note way to long.

"Pussy!" I Laughed as he sat down, taking a swig of his beer. Yes my parents supplied alcohol for my high school graduation.

"No, you just have lungs." He laughed, tapping the cigarette pack in his sleeve.

"Well that's your issue, not mine... Now, as all the cool kids get here, we're gonna turn over to some good music." I smirked, turning the Pandora station on my iPod, letting it fill the speakers.

French Montana Pop It came on and I turned it up as all my friends from school showed up.

One of which was my boyfriend, Jeremy Riley. Not. He was my gay best friend, we scared Zack now and then though, which was so worth it. He danced over to me as the guys filtered out conveniently, I hadn't exactly invited them but they happened to pretty much crash our house constantly. And as Matt said:

"We wouldn't miss this for the world are you real?"

"Jer Jer!" I smiled as he ground on to my hip "Freak!" I laughed as he took my beer and walked away to mingle. I caught Zack's eye as he walked out to the back yard.

"Be good" He mouthed and I shook my head, smiling wide as I grabbed my own beer.

We were all dancing, grinding, whatever you wanna call it, to some good rap music before suddenly the music changed.

Paradise by the Dashboard Light by Meatloaf came on. I groaned, turning towards my iPod as Matt looked up, smirking at me.

"Mood killer!" My friend Jacey yelled, running towards him and shoving him, earning a surprised look from Matt.

"Matt go away!" I shouted as Jacey changed the music back to rap. He walked over to me and smirked, "Barely seventeen and barely dressed." I giggled, knowing exactly why he had put the song on.

"Exactly." He grabbed my hip and began dancing with me, "So-"

"No!" I laughed, smacking his chest, "That bet was so dumb."

"Come on, I think it was a great idea." Matt smirked.

"Your girlfriend would shoot both of us." I pushed his chest arms length away, locking his eyes "And a bet you make when your fifteen to sleep with your brother's best friend if you haven't LOST IT by graduation was a dumb idea." I looked at him seriously.

Matt huffed "No, me thinking you'd fuck me was dumb." He smirked a little and kissed the top of my head "See ya later little Baker, have fun and don't fuck too many of these guys?" He gestured around as I shrugged, earning an eye roll.

Matt was.... probably the most big brother of Zack's friends. We had always joked about hooking up because we were so close, but Zack knew better. Honestly, I'd fuck any of his friends, but considering they all saw me as a younger sister... Didn't play in my favor

~**~

Zack's POV

Elizabeth was bound to get hammered by the end of the night. High school hadn't treated her well, and graduating was more than just a celebration of being done with school. It was the end of a horrific era for her.

I was only three years older than her, so her freshman year I was a senior, with Matt and also Brian. Jimmy had graduated a year before us, and Johnny was a year behind us. So he had been in school with her longer, and thankfully so. He could actually stand ground for her and keep me posted on shit she wouldn't spill.

She was... different. A good different. She was very punk, she was my little sister, but at the same time she tried so hard to fit in, she was so social, and her group wasn't very... outgoing. The popular kids had always lumped her in to the emo groups or the nerd groups. She was smart, it was fantastic, she had such a brain. But she let it all go to waste in her junior year when she started partying, completely changing her image.

She started going out more, seeing less of all of us. We all tried watching out for her but we couldn't when we didn't know where she was. Our interfering and help was always countered by her rebellion. To which my parents didn't do much about, considering they worked so much and barely knew even what her weekly schedule looked like.

She dated the football quarter back for about a semester in junior year, then she got pregnant... That didn't transpire. His parents talked her in to an abortion, something we all knew weighed on her heart daily. But she was working to move on.

So, enough back ground. Current time.

I was sitting out back with Matt and Brian, the only ones who had dared to come over during her party. Jimmy actually had a date, and Johnny was in LA at the studio tracking for the weekend. He was really getting down and in to this album. The first he was on, and the second we put out as a band.

"Hey fuckers!"

I looked up as Elizabeth drunkenly stumbled out of the house, to the back yard. A bottle of wine in her hands. I shook my head. The party had died down, just a few kids left. Apparently they left though.

"Someone's hammer faced." Brian laughed, holding his arms out as Elizabeth fell forwards, the only saving grace of her face was Brian catching her.

"A little." She looked up and smiled "You guys are no fun, no one partied with me." She fake pouted and sat next to Brian on the grass, her feet kicking up to his knees as she laid backwards.

"You're so drunk." Matt laughed as she kicked towards him "You're gonna have a hangover from Hell in the morning."

"Blah blah negativity, blah." Elizabeth laughed, taking a drink from the bottle of wine in her hands.

"Well, when mom asks were her wine went.." I laughed, standing up "Ok, let's get you back inside. We'll come in and hang out, you don't need to pass out back here." I bent down and picked her up, swinging her light body over my shoulder as we all walked in to the living room again.

"You guys are party poopers!" She giggled and smacked against my butt, making a drumming noise as she did so.

"Sure kid, sure." Brian sat down on the couch, letting me drape her body over his legs before I sat down next to him.

Elizabeth snuggled down against the couch between us, Matt sat in front of us on a chair and handed out beers.

"So, lets talk about school." He smirked "It's time to vent, Elizabeth. Let it all out."

And that opened the flood gates of Hell. Elizabeth had never sworn so much in her life, every other words was fuck or cunt. I'm just glad she could move on to better things now.