Love on the Brain

Jade applied another layer of her red lip-gloss, before she tied her hair into a tight ponytail at the back of her head. The brunette pressed her lips together, her eyes resting on the reflection in her bathroom-mirror.

“Turn around! Let me see!” Olivia demanded, as she was leaning her body against the opening of the door. The brunette rested her hands on top of the sink and tilted her head back until her cousin’s eyes glanced over at her.

“Gosh, I love that Hollister crop top,” the dark-haired girl let out, meanwhile Jade went to pack her rucksack for the night. She loaded her mini backpack with a black knitted cardigan and a bottle of water, before she slung it over her bare shoulders.

Jade then glanced over at her cousin, who was applying a thin layer of powder, before she ran a hand through her straight dark hair. Olivia was wearing a hot pink tank top along with a denim mini skirt.

“This is gonna be so much fun!” Olivia exclaimed, as she grabbed her purse from the bed and all but pushed her cousin towards the staircase.

“Look, can I have my wine inside your backpack?” she asked, causing Jade’s eyebrows to climb high on her forehead.

“You brought alcohol? Oli, what if my parents wanna check our bags before we leave?” the brunette crossed her arms over her chest and scolded at her cousin.

“Come on, J! You know your parents love me and they trust us, seriously,” the dark-haired girl argued, before a sigh left Jade’s lips and she pulled the un-opened bottle of wine into her backpack.

“I’m not doing that again,” she warned her cousin, as the two of them said goodbye to her parents and walked towards Olivia’s car.

The sound of Britney Spears from the radio echoed through the entire Mercedes, meanwhile Olivia had her fingers hooked around the leather wheel. The girls bopped their heads along to the sound of “Toxic", as all the worries that had taunted Jade’s head about this night had disappeared.

“It’s so good to see you!” Sierra was holding a bottle of vodka grapefruit when the two girls arrived, a smile curving her peachy lips.

“You too, honey!” Olivia exclaimed, as she circled her bare arms around her already drunken friend. “Come on in, J,” her cousin said, the two girls making their way inside Sierra’s house.

Jade felt like the entire first floor consisted of one long hallway. The three girls made their way passed the staircase, and into a rather large bedroom with baby pink walls and thin purple curtains that draped in front of the windows, hiding the cool peachy sky from them.

“Olivia!” a girl with hazel brown hair beamed, as she got up from the floor and stumbled towards her friend. The girl hooked her arms around Olivia’s shoulders and rocked the two of them back and forth, bringing giggles from the opening of Olivia’s lips.

“Trace!” Olivia all but squealed at her friend, before she returned her hug.

“It’s good to see you!” the light brown-haired girl exclaimed, the huge smile remaining on her lips as she let go of her friend.

“I’m Lauren!” a butter blonde girl with light blue eyes said, causing Jade to look at the girl in front of her.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Jade,” the brunette retorted, curving her lips into a sincere smile, as she shook Lauren’s hand.

“Oh, you’re Oli’s cousin, right? She never shuts up about you! You’re like her favourite cousin!” Lauren exclaimed, her eyes widening, meanwhile a nervous laughter left Jade’s glossy lips.

“I’m actually her only cousin though,” she chuckled.

“Tracey, this is Jade!” Olivia had dragged her friend along with her, as the girl smiled brightly at her.

“Finally! I thought Olivia was kidding when she said you moved to Huntington,” Tracey admitted, a cheeky smile covering her lips.

“Yeah, same! We’ve heard so much about you,” Lauren agreed.

“But yeah, I’m Tracey,” the brown-haired girl introduced herself, shoving her hand into Jade’s direction and waiting for the other brunette to shake it.

“Jade. Nice to meet you,” she said, applying a light handshake to Tracey’s hand.

Tracey was dressed in a bright orange top that was held up by the strap that was tied around her neck, exposing her toned back. Her jeans were tight around her hips and loosened at her feet.

“Are your parents sending you to Yale as well?” Lauren asked jokingly, as the friends knew how Olivia’s parents had planned their daughter’s life for her.

“Yep, pretty much,” Jade chuckled lightly, meanwhile Olivia shook her head and laughed for herself.

“Okay, girls!” Sierra cried out, her fingers still hooked around the almost empty bottle of vodka, while she looked at the girls in front of her. “There’s no girl’s night without a truth or dare!” the host sniggered. “Grab your shit and let’s get this party started!”

All of the girls hovered with their friend, as Olivia pulled up her bottle of white wine from Jade’s backpack and grabbed an empty cup that was waiting for her on Sierra’s nightstand.

Tracey had a bottle of Martini in her hands and Lauren cracked open one of her apple ciders. Soon the girls gathered on the bedroom floor, everyone holding their drinks but Jade, who was busy playing with the hem of leather backpack.

“Jade, where’s your drink?” Tracey asked, her eyes resting on the girl as though she was judging her.

“I don’t drink,” the girl responded in a low soft voice.

“Bullshit! Come on, we have lots of booze!” Sierra announced, her hands up in the air, before the host went to refill her glass of vodka.

“Yeah, you’re not thirteen anymore,” Lauren giggled, before she handed over a cup to Jade. “If Olivia can drink, then so can you, honey,” she added.

Jade accepted the cup, a lump resting in her throat, meanwhile her fingers cradled the cup. Her eyes looked at the liquor, as the game of truth and dare began.

Lauren and Tracey laced their tongues together in a heated kiss, both of them giggling, before the separated and looked at one another. Both Sierra and Olivia were laughing hysterically at their friends, meanwhile Jade was leaning against the wall, her hands still cradling her cup of vodka.

“J, it’s your turn!” Olivia cried, before she took a swig from her wine.

“And let me remind you that you’re not allowed to choose truth again,” Lauren added, causing Jade’s stomach to twist.

“Dare,” she whimpered, as she looked like a prey that was staring at her predators.

“Finally,” Sierra laced her fingers together, a mischievous smirk stretching out on her lips, meanwhile she eyed Tracey from the corner of her eye.

“I dare you to drink up your cup and take three shots,” the brown-haired girl requested, knowing that their newest member had no choice but to obey.

Her stomach was crying out after the first shot, the liquor burning its way down her throat, before Lauren handed her the second shot. A sigh left her lips, as her fingers circled around the shot glass as she tilted her head back and slipped the liquor into her mouth.

“You did great, J!” Olivia exclaimed, as her arm circled around her cousin and gave her a light squeeze. “You’ll sober up before you’re leaving anyway,” she said to the brunette.

Jade watched as Olivia and her friends emptied wine bottles, before they went hunting for more liquor in the kitchen. The brunette could feel a throbbing sickening pain coming from her stomach, while she looked over at her watch. Her parents hadn’t left any calls, as they figured out Olivia would bring their daughter back at an appropriate time.

The brunette tried to stand up, her hands clutching the edge of Sierra’s nightstand for support, as the sickening feeling hit her once again. The room was spinning, and as she tried to walk, she noticed how it felt like her feet had turned to jell that wouldn’t want to cooperate. Jade picked up her backpack, before she all but rushed to the bathroom, bringing the door along with her.

After another thirty minutes her elbows were still resting on top of the toilet, as the brunette tried to avoid looking down at everything that had just left her stomach. Jade pulled down the seat and allowed her legs to stretch out on the cold floor, feeling how her stomach was recovering.

The sound of loud Madonna caught her attention, as the brunette got to her feet and grabbed her backpack. As Jade stepped out, she noticed how most of the girls had nearly passed out on the floor, the only one who was still awake was Lauren, who was currently sitting on top of the dinner table and sipping a glass of wine.

Jade shook her head. She thought she knew Olivia for all these years, and now she realized that the girl she had just hung out wasn’t even close to the cousin she cared so much for. A sigh left her lips, as she brushed her hand down her top, trying to straighten out the wrinkles, before she slung her bag over her shoulder and walked towards the door.

Outside the sky was painted by bright clear stars and a cool breeze rolled over her bare skin, as the brunette looked at Olivia’s car that had been abandoned at the sidewalk. There was no way she could drive after the vodka the girls had made her drink, and as the keys were still in Oli’s pocket, Jade realized that she had no other choice but to walk home.

Her shoes drummed against the old pavement, meanwhile she had stuffed her headphones into her ears, trying to disconnect from the world for a little while. Just as her eyes looked down on her Mp3 player, she could hear the sound of voices reaching out for her. Jade felt a shiver run down her spine. She had never been out this late before and it had been years since she’d walked by herself in Huntington.

“Ey!” someone called, causing the girl to pull out her headphones and look over her shoulder.

Jade looked at a raven-haired girl she soon recognized as Michelle’s sister, Valary. A tall guy with jet-black hair companied the girl.

The brunette was standing completely still on the pavement, as the two of them walked over to her. Valary was dressed in a mini skirt with military print on it, a pair of fishnets and a black tank top. The guy who was walking with her had a torn Metallica t-shirt and a pair of ripped jeans.

“You’re Jade, right?” Valary asked, even though she already knew the answer. Michelle had been thrilled when she told her twin about her.

“Yeah, and you’re Michelle’s sister?” Jade asked back, her fingers hooked around the strap of her backpack.

“That’s right! Just call me Val,” she confirmed, a sincere smile appearing on her face.

“I’m Jimmy!” the raven-haired boy called, a wicked grin flashing on his face, as he shoved his hand towards her.

“Jade. Pleasure to meet you,” she smiled back.

“What are you doing here all by yourself? It’s pretty late, you know,” Val crossed her hands over her chest and rested most of her weight on her left foot.

“I was just walking home from a party,” Jade confessed, hoping that the disaster wasn’t written all over her face.

“Look, we’re heading the same way as you. Let’s company you,” the dark-haired girl insisted. Val knew she’d want the same if she or Michelle was the one lurking through the street in the middle of the night.

“If that’s okay for you,” Jade mumbled back, not wanting to interrupt the two of them.

“Of course! We girls gotta stick together, right?” Valary nudged the brunette, already treating her as one of her own, meanwhile Jade chuckled lightly.

“True,” Jade agreed.

“And I gotta stick out for my girls,” Jimmy grinned.

Valary rolled her eyes at her friend, as the little trio started walking again. Jade quickly realized how open-minded and welcoming they were. Valary was chatting with her as though they had known each other for at least five years, and Jimmy’s shrieking laughter and bad jokes really made her night take an unexpected way.

“You’re Syn’s chemistry partner, right?” Jimmy asked after a while, as he had been dying to get a chance to bring it up to her.

“Syn?” Jade asked, confused by the name.

“He means Brian Haner,” Valary explained. “Syn’s just his stage-name,” she added.

“Oh, yeah. Or I was,” Jade said, realizing that she couldn’t express her frustration when his friends had decided to walk her home.

“Speaking of the concert, are you coming? It’s gonna be lit as fuck!” the promised, another wicked grin crossing his face.

“Michelle told me about it. She sounds thrilled,” the brunette admitted.

“It is! We’re gonna make it out there, you know! Soon girls all over the world will envy you because you were walked home by Jimmy Sullivan, the one and only!” Jimmy sounded hysterically dramatic as he spoke, and Jade couldn’t resist the laughter that tickled her stomach.

“Is that so?” she cocked her eyebrow at him, knowing that he was being super genuine with her.

“Yep! Avenged Sevenfold is gonna be the world’s biggest band,” Jimmy replied, confidence oozing from his voice.

“I can’t wait,” Jade smirked.

After another twenty minutes, the trio had reached Jade’s house. The brunette noticed that almost all of the lights had been turned off, everything except for the lights in her father’s office. Jade soon looked at Valary and Jimmy, who were studying the huge house behind them.

“That’s one crazy house,” the drummer mumbled. “How many siblings do you have?” he asked.

Jade chuckled, feeling the warmth that reached her cheeks. “None,” she admitted.

“Shit,”

“Thanks so much for walking me home. Seriously, that’s incredibly nice of you,” Jade said to the two of them.

“Girl, don’t mention it!” Valary insisted. “As I said, we gotta stick up for each other,”

Jade nodded, as her hands crawled into the pockets of her crimson red skirt. “Is it anything I can do to thank you?” she asked, as she really wanted to return the favour somehow.

“Nah, don’t mention it-” just as Valary was about to finish the sentence, Jimmy poked her.

“I actually think there’s one thing you could do,” Jimmy expressed, a mischievous smirk playing on his lips, before he exchanged a look with Valary.

“Yeah, me too,” Valary said with a cheeky grin.