Chapter 14

I'm not sure where anyone was at this point, the party was getting too chaotic even for me. Emily wasn't able to make it because she had a shift at her work that she couldn't get out of. I was kind of glad because I know the entire night she'd be hanging around Chase. She had recovered well from the drowning incident yesterday. Or what was deemed a near-drowning accident. What Noah said was true, the whole thing wasn't sitting well with me. But she was my old friend that's done nothing bad before. I have to trust her until I can't. And just because she's crushing on Chase doesn't mean I have to hate her. I feel really shitty that I don't want that to happen because I honestly have no fucking right. I got myself into this mess so I have to deal with the consequences no matter how painful they are. "Hayden!" Penn waves at me from where she sat on the kitchen island, a blue solo cup in her hand. She had the biggest smile on her face as I walked over to her. She wrapped her arms around my shoulders and pulled me to her, "I missed you so much!" "I was gone for twenty minutes." I shrug as I stand back. I glance around the room with a small frown, "Where is your boyfriend?" And in that exact moment, Noah jogs into the semi-packed kitchen holding many things in his hand, "Ok, so I couldn't decide what you wanted so I bought these rose tined sunglasses or these red love heart ones. Then I had a panic attack and I thought you didn't say sunglasses at all so I bought a Shrek mask." "Shrek!" Penn gasps as she grabs the Shrek mask from his hand and quickly puts it on her face, "How do I look?" "Beautiful." Noah chuckles as he places the sunglasses down beside her and I slowly notice how normal he was. Well—Noah-normal is much different from the regular type of normal anyway. "You're not drinking?" I question as I lean one hand on the counter top. "Nope," Noah shakes his head as he grabs me out a can of alcohol from the sink filled with ice cubes and passes it to me, "When Penny drinks, I don't. I love her too much so I need to be fully focused to protect her." My heart warmed at the fact. Noah places his hand perpendicular to his face and leans towards me as if telling me a secret "Plus, Drunk Penny is way more wild in bed and there's no way I'm forgetting any of that." And he ruined it. I quickly tilt my head back and down my drink at a very concerning rate. When I glance back at Noah, I could see him frowning at me. "They say you can't drown your problems, especially with alcohol" Noah questions as I place the empty can next to Penn who was swaying to the music with her fucking smiling Shrek mask on. She was too damn cute, no wonder Noah wanted to protect her so much. I wipe the back of my mouth, "Who the fuck are they?" "It was on the inside of a lollipop wrapper that I found on the floor of one of my lecture halls." Noah says with a shrug, "I mean it also said 'but you can by getting high' and it was was made from dodgy weed but I still ate it." I scoff as I lean back against the counter, "I know I can't drown my demons. They're chasing me and they're doing the fucking naruto run." "Best way to travel." Noah nods and I laugh at him, "Look, no matter how much you drink, Hay, Chase will still be here." "Stop being so damn wise." I pout as Noah beams a large grin at me. I then slap the counter, "I need another fucking drink." ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ I had made a promise to myself that I was going to stop drinking at 10. Then after a round of tequila shots that time was postponed till 11. Then it was twelve. And now, I wasn't really sure what the time was nor how many litres of alcohol I had consumed. I was surprised I was still alive. Maybe through all the dancing Vera and I were currently doing, I was sweating the alcohol out of my skin. Vera was of course sober but that girl can have fun anywhere and anytime. It's like her superpower, that and being extremely fashionable. The chorus of 'Blinding Lights' by the Weeknd begins to blare through the speakers and while dancing on the tips of my toes, Vera lifts our hands to the sky and twirls me. I was having too much fun to think about anything else. I could finally feel myself starting to sober up, thank fuck. Someone pushes past me causing me to stumble and when I turn around with a scowl, I notice it was someone who had come to talk to two other dancing girls beside us. "There's a fight outside. You guys gotta come." The girl beckons quickly as the two girls instantly stop dancing and follow their friend. Vera and I glance at each other with frowns, both of us having heard her, and we decide to follow as well. "Spencer is going to freak when he finds out." Vera mumbles into my ear while we hold onto each others hands. Other people were also making their way out to the front house. We hurry through the front door and out onto the porch. We look down towards the drive to see Chase and Thomas glaring at each other while many other party-goers had congregated around them. The lights from the house and the driveway were shining down onto them. Thomas says something to Chase but I couldn't hear what. As a result, Chase knocks him on his ass with one single punch. "Holy shit!" I shout as I let go of Vera's hand and run down the porch steps. I push through the bodies of people and stop at the edge to see Chase walking towards a panting Thomas who lay on the ground.