Paige Parker's Story

Paige grinned at Sam's comment as the brunette snatched his ball back and turned his attention towards the ongoing Briton situation. Paige sulked quietly for a moment, debating whether or not to steal the ball again. Honestly she enjoyed the short exchange with Sam. For a short moment it was just them at the table.

Paige cast a sideway glance at him, his face held its signature expression and he looked to be deep in thought.

"Outfit time!" Lacey's shrill, excited voice woke Paige up from her short trance, she watched as Lacey started talking about a shopping trip with her sisters, while she linked arms with both Amber and Violet. Leaving Paige like the kinda awkward fourth wheel. What did it matter though, she never was really close with the Lacey deciding on playing in the dirt and rain rather than shopping and partying. A slight shrug past its way across the red heads shoulders, as she decided to get rid of that awkward friend of a friend vibe she was radiating.

"Guess that's my cue." Paige said to none in-particular as she swung her backpack over her shoulder. Getting up she began to followed the trio.

"See ya Sammy-boy." Paige called over her shoulder as she stepped into the refreshing air. Hoping into the backseat, Paige snapped her seat belt in and looked out the window as the car began to drive away. Rolling down the window a smile made its way across her face as the wind began to blow through her hair, wildly wipping it around. She began drumming a tune on her backpack that layed across her lap in sync with with a woman peddling on a bike outside the window.

"Darn it!" The words slipped out of Paige's mouth as she realized she had left her bike back at the diner and would probably need a ride before or after the party to get it.

"So. I'm just wondering." Paige looked over at Violet an eyebrow raised as her bike problem vanished from her mind. "Let's say, uh. Girl A hated it when bad shit happened. And she wondered why no one tried to do anything 'bout it, right? So she ended up trying to take out the bad people to stop bad shit from happening at all... is, is that something that's okay? Is Girl A bad cuz of that?"

Paige chuckled slightly not really taking the situation seriously. "Mind not talking in circles?" She asked jokingly, her eyes still remaining on the scenery outside.

After a minute of silence Paige glanced over at Vi an awkward laugh escaping her lips as she realized she was serious. Nervously rolling up her window Paige tried to compose herself and her now pink tinged cheeks.

"Umm no. I would actually say she's awesome. Kinda like a superhero, maybe." Paige shrugged. "Why?" She asked looking directly at Violet, her dyed red hair now messily hanging around her face, and in her eyes.

---

---

---

Lacey slipped into shotgun and closed the door neatly behind her. After her belt was firmly in place, she leaned herself back against the seat and propped her feet onto the dashboard. As Amber drove she faded into silence- odd for her, but something had unsettled her. As they were walking through the doors of the diner- a place she had gone to countless of times, something triggered inside her. She had been to that diner more times than she knew, but it didn't used to be a diner- it used to be a different store... But it's been a diner for as long as I've been alive... How could I.. Her thoughts were cut short by a sudden burst from the back seat. "Darn it!" Lacey glanced back toward Paige, her brows knitting together curiously. "You okay?"

Before Paige could answer, Violet spoke up with something on her mind. "So. I'm just wondering," she started, as though she were struggling with something, "Let's say, uh. Girl A hated it when bad shit happened. And she wondered why no one tried to do anything 'bout it, right? So she ended up trying to take out the bad people to stop bad shit from happening at all... is, is that something that's okay? Is Girl A bad cuz of that?" Lacey switched back around to face forward in her seat, mauling the question over. In the end, it was Paige who spoke up first. "Umm no. I would actually say she's awesome. Kinda like a superhero, maybe.... why?"

Lacey sat up in her seat, rolling down her window so that she could lean against the empty frame and let the wind glide past her. Something was wrong, and it didn't have anything to do with her friends-- at least, she didn't think it did. The ginger haired girl closed her blue hues and tried to concentrate. Why did she have such a vivid memory of that place? A mustang drove by, blaring on it's horn causing her to glance up. A decent looking guy, probably early twenties, was hanging out of his driver side window and looking directly at Amber. "Hey, where are you fine ladies off to?" "Oh, please," Lacey laughed, sitting up from hunching over the window and leaning back so that Amber could talk if she wanted to. "Car full of red heads.. I like it. Say, you girls busy tonight?" "Actually, we are!" Lacey called back with a smirk, slowly rolling up the window to block out the guy. "Wait, don't be like that!" Lacey grinned and continued to roll up the window, forcing a pouty look on her face as the window reached the top.

The guy continued to try and yell across the road at them, trying to keep his car lined perfectly with Amber's, but his now muffled voice was lost to Lacey over the roar of the engine and the running AC. She shrugged innocently and turned a grin toward Amber. "Look at you, picking up guys before we even get to the party..." Lacey smiled and gently nudged her friend- careful not to disturb her driving. "Anyways! What were you saying, Vi, before you were so rudely interrupted?"

Paige was the first to respond, making a light chuckle. A bitter sort of shame washed though Vi's psyche- come on, she knew she couldn't rely on anyone when it came to Super Hero Violet! Wasn't that more than obvious? If they knew, they'd reject her, wouldn't they? Both the girls, and the guys too. None of them were allowed to know that she was a fighter. Scowling as she narrowed her eyes into something of a squint, Vi ignored Paige to idly stare at the window; glazed eyes not really taking in the environment. Idiot, such an idiot to have brought it up.

After some time, the awkward silence ended- Paige, seemingly recognizing her mistake (or was it a mistake? Vi wasn't sure.... but maybe she just realized that the guitar girl wasn't making a joke at all.) and she broke the silence, with a different tone, shrugging. "Umm." She looked somewhat hesitant, but continued anyways, making Vi sharply turn her gaze over. "No. I would actually say she's awesome. Kinda like a superhero, maybe." Almost as if to match with Vi's eyes, Paige's glance met Violet's almost-glare. "Why?" Paige finished, but before Vi could gather her thoughts, she heard Lacey and some car of testosterone addled idiots up ahead, screaming stupid shit that didn't matter. Vi clenched her fist in annoyance- why did it have to be those idiots? Why the hell did the trash try to, well, get to know this little group -minus Cora, that artsy freaky person- while the one she wanted, Nate, utterly blocked each and every one of her advances. The irony was great, wasn't it? Finally, the horny bastards left, and Lacey turned to Vi after making another joke to the beauty of the group- that Amber, man, attracting boys everywhere- snugly seated in shotgun.

"Anyways!" Lacey said, making it a trio of girls looking at each other. "What were you saying, Vi, before you were so rudely interrupted?"

Vi shrugged noncommittally. If she was careful, she could still salvage this, and not have to deal with trying to hide the ugly side of her- only really wanting to show the energetic self that they loved... or, at least, claimed to love. But, of course, thinking wasn't really her thing, was it? Angry at herself and at the two assholes that had hurt Brit- damn Ryan and Vic, no way in hell will they get out in one piece - she just wanted to vent her frustrations by smashing their stupid smug faces and keep them from bullying the pathetic member of the team.

"Some.. some fucktards just deserve it, that's all." Vi muttered angrily. "Just was wonderin' how nice it'd be if someone beat the shit out of 'em and then tore them new assholes."

She let out a bitter laugh. "Screw that- just, dunno, break their spines or something." Her mouth twitched, threatening to grin. She now knew what she wanted to do to the bullies. Smashing their backs in with a metal pipe and leaving them to be cripples, isn't that a worthy punishment? So, she decided to change the topic, lest the other girls suddenly notice her thought. "So, Amber." She sneered dryly. "You got like, a magic potion that makes all the guys run to you?" Stretching her arms above her shoulders; "Man, it'd be nice if we all got one'a those."

---

After choosing their outfits; it was party time. Vi was, honestly a bit nervous, in her somewhat casual-yet-a little punk outfit of hers. Poking lightly at the cat ears sewn onto the pullover she was wearing, she sighed. What the hell was the use of a party, when there we- hmm. Well, she could always try to seduce Nate, right? And blame it on the drinks. Oh, and dance with him. Licking her lips a little, she wondered exactly, how to dance? She always thought that shit was for the more girly of girls- not for someone like her. So, there was that. But otherwise, whatever. This might be her chance to make Nathan notice at long last, that she's a girl.

The music was already loud and booming, and the faint smell of liquor was more than obvious. Following the other girls in- and silently thinking that they all looked prettier than she did, Vi almost walked in, until she felt a tap on her shoulder. One of the guys who was just hanging around outside- maybe waiting for a girl? Her eyes snapped to him- and he felt like a Jeff, for some reason.

"Don't remember your name on the invite list." Maybe-Jeff said, with a chuckle. Red boiled under Vi's skin, but with her friends still close, she had to restrain herself. So, she decided to chew on her lip- accidentally going too hard and breaking the skin there; a few blood droplets being seen. "Freak. We wanted a fun party, for the, y'know, cool people. Losers like you don't belong here."

Violet turned away, trembling with anger, when she was pulled back by maybe-Jeff again. And now she recognized him- she beat him down about a year ago, more or less. She didn't remember exactly what it was for, but she was sure he deserved it.

"Pissed 'bout losing to a girl?" Violet said venomously, faking a punch to the face- and sure enough, maybe-Jeff flinched back. Vi then shoved her face into his, grinning nastily. "Fuck off. You aren't the one I'm fighting, tonight."

Hearing maybe-Jeff mutter 'freak' behind her, Violet walked in, and forced her way through the crowd to get at the beer. Couldn't pretend to be drunk if she didn't have a few sips, right?

Violet glared at Paige making the dyed red head shrink down in her seat a little. Turning her eyes to the back of the drivers seat in front of her Paige let out a silent oops only mouthing the words instead of risking the chance of having to receive another death glare from the brunette beside her.

"Hey where are you fine ladies off to?" Paige looked up, clearing her eyes of the blank stare she had just had moments ago. The sound of a male voice making her forget about Violet for a moment. Cocking an eyebrow she tried not to laugh as the boy tried to flirt with Lacey, but to no avail as the ginger haired girl shut the window on him.

Typical dude with 'swag' and too much time on his hands Paige thought as their car rolled past them.

Paige really never got flirted with much. Most guys seeing her as just another one of the boys on their soccer team. That or she come off as a lesbian, or one of those people who weren't interested in anybody. Asexual. Was the term for it Paige thought idly biting her lip and letting her eyes lazily drift to the scenery outside. I guess they really never saw much beauty in me or something Paige decided. Shrugging slightly she tried to shake the self-esteem punching thoughts out of her mind.

"Some.. some fucktards just deserve it, that's all. Just was wonderin' how nice it'd be if someone beat the shit out of 'em and then tore them new assholes." Violet said making Paige stare at her, a puzzled look coming across her face before remembering the earlier topic.

Paige nodded knowingly only really nodding in attempt to try to regain a bit more peace with Violet.

Paige took out her phone after receiving a vibrating sensation from it. "Hmm a text from Cora." Paige muttered as she silently read the text.

Hey Paige! What's up? Can we hangout soon?

Hey C, hmmm what's up? At the moment the roof of Amber's car. No I'm jk. Nm. Sure, we're heading to Lacey's at the moment, I'm with Amber, Vi and Lacey, we're gonna raid Lacey's closet, then off to some party. I think you have time to meet us there, if you don't feel like witnessing the fashion show of the century, just meet us at the party. Oh an don't forget to bring that sketch book, you still haven't shown me what's in there :p

Paige quickly typed the reply, a smirk appearing on her face as she added the last part about Cora's book. Hitting send she shoved her phone in her pocket, just as they came to a stop in front of their destination.

---

"Whada' ya think?" Paige asked to anyone who was listening as she shoved her clothes in her backpack and stood up in Lacey's.

Pushing her bangs out of her eye and behind her ear where her hair sat a dark purple beanie accompanied it the color matching the words Hakuna Matata on the white tank top she wore. Throwing a black leather jacket on she smiled shoving her hands into the pockets of her own skinny jeans.

"Are we ready? "

---

Entering the party Paige let her head bounce slightly to the beat of the music as she weaved herself through sober and not so sober kids. Nodding at the few kids that noticed her she went to stand by a small group of people who she knew, who seemed to be talking about some new song that Paige hadn't really cared for. Emerging herself in the conversation she tried to keep an eye out for Sam.

---

Amber exited with the other girls in a delicate daze. Her hair fell softly around her shoulders, the long locks shifting slightly as she stepped. Her elegant steps were soft and graceful, and she breezed along with the other girls to the car. She was happy, though joyous may be a better word. Happiness described something full, and content with great pleasure. It comes with the sound of laughter, and warm friendly times, wild or docile. Joy was similar, but there was an emptiness in joy. Joy was a smile over a sadness. It was when someone felt a happiness that they knew wouldn't last, or at least was complete. Theres nothing more deceptive than a smile and no one knows this better than the people who hide behind them. Some flash their teeth as a polite warning to their enemies, some put on beaming faces to keep their tears from falling, others wear silly grins to mask their fear. But sometimes it is that rare smile that is actually genuine for whatever reason. Amber had her own way of smiling, one that said you don't really know me, and you never really will.

She sat dreamily in the driver's seat, going through the motions almost. The streets were all familiar, like she'd been on them millions of times before. The roads were old, but they'd been repaved multiple times. Most of the buildings around the town were classically styled, only being renovated when needed. She often had memories and pictures of places as they used to be, though she hadn't recalled even being alive to have known them. Phantasmagoric images always rushed into her mind if she really felt a connection.

As she was coasting towards the intersection, the light switched to yellow. She slowed, knowing she was too far to make it. They paused at the now red light, as another car pulled beside them. A boy looking only a few years older than them leaned over, with a coquettish look directly at Amber. His haughty attitude came off quickly, "Hey, where are you fine ladies off to?" he asked.
"Oh please." Lacey scoffed.
"Car full of red heads.. I like it. Say, you girls busy tonight?" He asked, trying to be coy. It still came off as arrogant and flirtatious, and Amber couldn't help but blush a bit. She stayed quiet, and looked forward again, glancing at the still red light.
"Actually, we are!" Lacey answered, and rolled up the car's window. Amber smiled at this, letting out a giggle as the boys pleaded, "Wait, don't be like that!" The light turned green, and she began to drive again.
Her best friend turned to her again, "Look at you, picking up guys before we even get to the party..." she joked, Amber laughed in response, "Oh stop," she gushed. She barely noticed the soft nudge Lacey had given her, and she turned onto Lacey's street.
Violet brushed off her previous topic, and moved on to something more of interest in the driver herself. "So, Amber. You got like, a magic potion that makes all the guys run to you?" She didn't seem very friendly about it, more blunt with a hint of annoyance. "Man, it'd be nice if we all got one'a those." She muttered frankly.
Amber kept her face forward, and only glanced in the rearview mirror to Violet once before answering. She played along, without revealing her true feelings- both she and Violet were interested in Nathan, and as far as Amber could tell he could care less about her. "It only attracts 'fucktards', so it's really of no use." she quoted. She glanced in the mirror again, sending an amused smirk as they pulled into Lacey's driveway.

---

Amber had easily found what she'd hoped to borrow from Lacey, a floral top they'd bought in the summer while shopping together. Lacey had only worn it a few times, and though Amber was usually more modest she decided she wanted to have a little more fun tonight. She asked Lacey to find shorts to go with it, along with some wedges to match. The outfit was classic, girly, and even a bit vintage. She felt good, and had practiced her charming smile once before in the mirror. She used her favorite perfume she kept in her purse usually, one that smelled of daisies, her favorite flower.
She'd already texted the waiter she'd met, and he said he'd actually already heard of the party, and was looking forward to seeing her. She felt that joy again, knowing she was reluctant to really give any boy a chance as long as Nathan continued to linger in her every thought.

The party was already lively as the girls arrived, and Amber strolled gently along with the others. She could feel the eyes of a few others, but tried to keep distance from any outside-possibly unwanted contact. They hadn't even entered a party when a boy had already been a jerk to Violet. She found it sick how random people treated the girl, so cruelly for no reason at all. She felt an instant disgust towards the boy, and an anger bubbled inside her. The poise she held stayed in tact, for Amber's idea of class was to always seem calm and collected. She took a breath, and began to follow them again into the house. But, again the boy muttered something under his breath about Violet. She turned, quietly, almost so the others might not notice.

"Excuse me? Did you say something?" she questioned the boy, giving him her coldest stare. It was stern and a small furry lit behind the eyes of the fiery redhead. Only briefly was this seen, and the boy was caught slightly off guard. It was true, Amber had a reputation for being incredibly sweet, popular, and well liked. He probably did know of her, though she didn't know his name.
"N-nothing." he said, probably scared of both Violet and Amber at this point.
"Good." she said bluntly, "let's keep it that way."
Amber smiled sweetly again, her signature little smile, and turned again to join her friends entering the house overflowing with people.

Samuel Westhouse

Sam decided an afternoon shower was on the menu, and after that five minutes he promptly ruined any semblance of cleanness as he wandered back out into the woods behind his house, his hair dripping little splotches of black on his dark blue jacket. He wandered through the trails until his hair dried and the time to go was quickly arriving. The woods were cleansing, he loved them, but lingering misgivings hung heavily around his head. Dread? He was nervous deep down in his gut about something, but he didn't know what it was. Certainly not the party he was currently obligated to attend, that was no sweat. He was a quiet guy, but he had few social anxieties. He merely was not interested in talking much.

trotting back down the path, hands shoved in his pockets, the teen peered through the woods to see if his mother's car was in the driveway. It was. His mouth grew thin. Avoiding her put a bit of extra time on his clock, but running in her would take even longer. Eventually he was free to walk down the street lazily. He knew where everything was in this place because it was so small, and he knew all the fastest ways to get to those places by foot. Cutting through backyards and various varieties of private properties was no thing at all.

He arrived at the lukewarm beginning, but things picked up quickly. He shrugged around, a red plastic cup in one hand, one that was a bad habit reserved for special occasions. There was nothing wrong about having a good time. He kept an explicit eye out for Paige, or Violet, even though he had slight misgivings about talking to the girl. He didn't know how she'd react, but he had to offer backup because he'd feel bad if he'd done nothing and she got hurt. Even if she turned him down, well, at least he tried.

Half a blue eye on the door, Sam noticed right away when Paige and the rest of the girls arrived. He smiled faintly, but still he took his time making his way over to her, casting a glance at Violet, who was speaking to some other guy. Yeah, maybe he would wait a bit. She was looking a bit red in the face right now. Didn't want to offend her and spark her up further.

By the time he actually caught up to Paige, standing with a group of people he vaguely knew, he stood behind her for a second, out of her peripheral vision. None of the others in the group even glanced at him. He was a common, uninteresting shadow, just the way he liked it. He swallowed the last of his cup and moved to her side, crumbling the plastic into his fist as he did so. "Hey." He remarked in a light, disinterested tone, touching her arm just above the elbow for a brief moment. "What's up, Red? I showed up, when can I leave?" He teased a soft, serious way, only the faint quirk of a smile betraying him.

She looked pretty in purple. She could pull most things off, actually, from sweatpants to leather jackets. Sam was vaguely interested in how she managed that. He usually looked the same. He really didn't care, and he wore everything he owned with the same thrown together appearance. That really took away the edge of his distinctness. He was fine with that though. It was easier to sink back into the shadows, it kept him from being bothered by people he didn't like too much. He didn't need to bother with making friends because he already had some, so he didn't have to draw anyone's attention.

---

---

After ensuring that her closet was completely destroyed, and she wasdressed, Lacey was picked up by her friend John- who would be DJing with her that night- to head to the location early for set up. "I'll see you all there!" She left her friends rummaging through her things as she bounded out of the house and across the lawn. Hopping into John's car, she passed the tall blonde a Cheshire cat grin. "Nervous?" "Excited." "Good."

When they arrived at the location it was just the sound crew and a few early arrivals. She immediately set about trying to get all of her gear set up as butterflies fluttered around her stomach. Tonight was going to be amazing, but she couldn't help but feel like something terrible was going to happen. What if she messed up? What if she wasn't a god DJ after all? What if everyone had been lying to her just to get her up there just so that they could watch her fail? What if they were secretly planning to dump pig's blood on her in the middle of her DJing? The ginger haired girl slowly sat the headphones she was moving down, taking a deep breath. This is not a scene from Carrie, Lace. Chill the hell out. Picking up the headphones again, she continued on with her sound check, determined to not let her insecurities get the best of her tonight.

---

---

She was doing it. Her remix of We Can't Stop blared through the club as her ginger locks bounced in her pony tail back and forth rhythmically to the beat. Waves of people vibrated, fist pumped, and squirmed to the remix. Her heart pounded in her chest as she focused on scratching in the places she had practiced, her piano fingers turning nob after nob, flying across her equipment as one hand waved back and forth like a metronome over the crowd. The music swam through the room, hiccuping and screaming into the eardrums of everyone present.

Lacey's eyes glanced up from her work, scanning the crowd for her friends. Where were they? Panic gripped her momentarily. What if they had decided not to come? Dread licked up her spine, chilling her even though beads of sweat had started to form on the small of her back. Then she saw them- in the doorway. Relief flooded over her. It looked as if there were some sort of trouble happening. The girls looked pretty heated over something, but from her distance she couldn't tell what they were saying or what the problem was. She had heard that the new bouncers were assholes, but her friends were on the list so... what could the problem have been? Confused, Lacey glanced over to John and nodded to him- a silent plea for his help.

The tall blonde gave her a short nod and slipped out of the booth.Prowling his way though the crowd to stand over the bouncer, glancing between him and the pissed off looking redhead, John cleared his throat. "Let's keep it that way." The girls were coming in fine now, and John blushed slightly at having forced his way through the crowd to come to the rescue of a group of women who obviously could handle themselves. "Everything alright?" He asked in a call over the music so that Amber could hear him. "You guys are with Lace, right? She's in the booth!" His voice was nearly eaten by the music, but he hoped that they could hear him, or at least understand by his pointing toward Lacey. Lacey waved from the booth and grinned widely. They had made it, and everything was perfect.

---

After Lacey's set was over she came down from the booth and snaked her way through the crowd to find her friends. There were so many people there it was hard to keep her eyes on them from the booth. The skinny ginger forced her way through the crowd until she found Amber,the girls, and Sam- at which point she let out a squeal and threw her arms around her best friend. "What did you think!?" Her tone was shrill with excitement. "I've got sweat literally pouring off my back!" Lacey laughed and blushed instantly, adding, "That's disgusting, isn't it?" Waving her hand in the air to clear the conversation of sweaty backs she decided to change the subject. Leaning closer to Amber so that only the redhead could hear, she added, "Did Nate show up?" Lacey knew how much Amber wanted to see the boy, and after she asked she stood on her tip toes to look out over the crowd as best she could- searching for the boy's dark head. It was useless- there were far too many boys with dark hair in the dark room.

As she was looking, her own eyes scanned for someone she had been hoping to see. Oscar. He was her best guy friend of the group, and she had been so excited to see him. Maybe he had better things to do? It was her insecurities again. She ran her fingers through the end of her ponytail, trying to figure out why she had such a bad feeling in her gut. Pulling herself back to reality, she turned her attention back to Amber and her friends, forcing a smile to light up her face. "So, have you guys seen everyone else?" This was directed towards the group of girls. "I tried looking from the booth, but I lost you guys. There are so many people here!"

Cora Donovan

---

And there we were. At the party I had said I wouldn't be going to not even 4 hours ago. Well, I guess it wasn't so bad. Save for the annoying music that could be heard from 2 blocks down the road. And the equally, if not-- more annoying people twisting and bumping around to the lame soundtrack blasting their senses away. Then there was the booze. Yup, plenty of that, I could see. Anyone who wasn't dancing in the middle of it all was off to the sides, drinking and hitting on their peers. Oz and I made our way through the first wave of people relatively easy, but what came next seemed impossible to navigate if you're looking for specific people. Our friends were nowhere to be seen at the moment, and not even Oz in all his tall glory was able to spot any of them. I always figured it was the poor lighting. God, what was this? A house party, or a nightclub...? Even with Lacey's talented DJ skills, I couldn't get over just how incredibly loud it all was. How were you supposed to talk to people without screaming your vocal cords dry?

Just as I managed to catch sight of a short brunette that looked an awful lot like Violet, Oz snatched my wrist and held me back, directing my attention to two very specific people hanging out with their friends in a nice little corner of the room. Vic and Ryan. It was almost too perfect. The couple of asshats weren't alone, meaning they had their reputations on the line should someone decide to mess with them. Unfortunately for them, that someone happened to be me. Well, and Oz, but I pretty much already knew how this was likely going to go down with him at my side. Fingers crossed!

"Oh-- oh, yeah! I seem em!" I said. "Good eye, Oz!" Patting him on the shoulder with a smile, I decided to head their way rather than in the direction the brunette was walking off to. Better to get this over with sooner rather than later. Although, I wasn't too sure I knew what it was that I would be doing at first... I suppose I figured on talking with them to start things off, since that's what Oz and I did. "H-Hey!" I yelled at them with a wave as we approached. "How's it going, guys?" It took the two of them a moment to figure out who we were-- well, more of who I was than Oz, but like I said; poor lighting. After seeming to remember my name after giving me a 'bro point' that came along with a "Heyyy!", Ryan slapped my hand in friendly greeting.

"Uhhh, Jake, right?" he said, giving me a smile as though he and I had been best friends since grade school.

"Uh, no! Actually, it's Nate!" I yelled back, now gesturing towards my tall friend. "And this is Oz! His name is Oscar, but we just call him Oz, cuz' he's a total wizard, yo!" Wow, where the hell did that come from...?

"Ah, bitchin'!" yelled Ryan, giving Oz the same friendly hand slap that Vic gave myself. "Killer party, right? Haha!" As if to emphasize his fascination with the event, Ryan looked around with a great deal of upper body language, to which I just nodded emphatically.

"So what brings you guys to this crazy zoo, huh?" said Vic after nodding along in agreement with everything Ryan was saying, taking a drink from his beer while he was at it. "Don't normally see you two coming to this kinda scene, or am I being stupid?" You're being stupid alright, but that's neither here nor there at the moment...

"Yeah, we know the DJ! Lacey Harvelle! You know her?" I shouted back, taking hold of one of the beers Ryan had offered me and Oz. To be honest, it was a total reflex. I was the last person at that party, save for maybe Briton, who was looking to get drunk... Trust me. I am not a happy drunk...

"Uh, hell yeah we know her!" said Vic after exchanging a rather suggestive look with his buddy Ryan. "Ain't no way we don't know about a fine piece of ass like that, haha!" These guys were getting on my nerves more and more every passing second I spent LOOKING at them, nevermind talking to. But I calmed my urge to walk away; I was hellbent on seeing this through. For Briton.

"Yyyhup! That's the one!" I yelled, exchanging a roll of the eyes with Oz as Vic and Ryan laughed and slapped me on the shoulder. At the same time, no less. "Anyway, who invited you two? The same?" The next thing I did was even dumber than accepting the damn thing in the first place; I took a drink. Resisting the urge to spit it back out at the two jerks in front of me, no matter how much they deserved it, I ended up forcing myself to swallow it. If I wasted anymore time dawdling about with Briton's bullies, I was afraid I might have taken a few more.

"Heh, why do you ask?" yelled Ryan, now giving me an inquisitive smile. "I mean, we're here, aren't we? What does it matter?" He threw Vic a humorous grin and turned back to me.

"Well," I yelled back, giving them a light shrug. "It's just that I happen to be really good friends with Lace, and I know for a fact that she wouldn't knowingly invite two of the people who regularly beat up on a friend of hers!" Aaaand another sip. It was strange, but with every word that came out of my mouth, I felt like I had less and less control of my own body. My mind was there, sure, but it seemed to have little to no control over my actions. It was starting to worry me at the point of realizing this.

"Heh..." scoffed Ryan. "I don't 'beat up' on people, for one. Okay? It's all in good fun; they know that." Another laugh. "And two, you're gonna have to be a little more specific about just who it is you're talkin' about. I joke around with a looot of people at school, y'know." Oh, yeah. Believe me, jackass, I know. We all know. You just happened to "joke around" with one too many this time... Taking another sip of my drink, much to what I assumed was Oscar's bewilderment, although I didn't see on account of not having eyes in the back of my head, I nodded in response before answering with the words that would send this little confrontation directly south in a matter of seconds.

"Briton. Hadings." I said clearly, making sure both parts of the name were each heard as they were intended. This made both Vic and Ryan's smiles instantly vanish. They now appeared to be in "serious mode", or so I figured they probably called it when they were alone together. Their reaction to the name made me instinctively snort with a small chuckle as I placed my free hand inside of my pocket, feeling the silver pocket watch within it.

"Lacey's friends with that...freak?" asked Ryan, still holding up his serious face. I merely kept smiling and moved my now slightly damp-with-sweat bangs from my eyes with a brush of my thumb.

"And so am I." I said back. "Oz too." I added with a nod up at my gangly friend. Giving up the fake smile, I shrugged. "Look, we just wanna ask you to lay off him from now on, okay? He's never done anything to you, so..." I paused, shrugging again. "Think you can pick on someone your own size for once? Just an idea!" Finishing up with a nod as if to say "Yup, that's all I got", I let Oz take a crack at it while we waited for their response, not that I needed it. I was already certain that this wouldn't end the Oz way... Even with the man himself standing right next to me with one foot in the door. And that's when it started getting a bit heated. There was a pause between the changing of the tracks just behind Oz and I, and it wasn't until the next song started playing that Ryan removed his rather transparent mask and spoke up.

"Heh... How about you and 'Briton' go fuck yourselves." he said, leaning in a bit closer so as to make sure only me and Oz heard. "If you want us to stop giving Briton what he deserves, then tell him to stop being such a PUSSY." Well, that wasn't a very nice way to accept my request, now was it? That remark made my shoulders drop, and a sigh escape my lips. Now obvious that Plan B was the only reliable method towards managing to walk away with a win after all, I furrowed my eyebrows slightly, and chose to try something new; provocation.

"Hm..." I hummed softly, my pause likely not having even been heard thanks to the loud bass vibrating the walls around us. "Are you sure Briton is the pussy here? Because, the way I see it, you two are the only ones who fit that description; picking on someone who refuses to fight back...? Isn't that something only the weak do? You might as well punch a tree and call yourselves the champions of the forest!" 'Sorry for that one, Briton...' I thought to myself, feeling guilty for sounding as though I were making fun of my friend for not defending himself against his bullies, even if he weren't there to hear it.

"Oh yeah?! I'll show you weak--!!" shouted Vic, taking a step at me, only to be held back by Ryan, who seemed to find what I said to be rather intriguing. It was too easy to lure these guys into a trap. I hadn't counted on Ryan holding back his substantially larger friend, but that was only a minor bump along the road to victory.

"Hold on, Vic." he said, cracking a smile as he studied me. "Earlier you mentioned that we should pick on someone our own size, but...all I see are you..." He paused, pointing from me, and now to Oz. "...and Ronald Weasley over here. I'm afraid you're too small, and he's, well...too big. Wouldn't that just be unfair all around?" Clearly this guy held himself in some kind of holier-than-thou light, because he seemed to truly believe that he was bigger than me. Truth was, we were about the same height and overall weight. "Now...WE aren't going to accept such an unfair challenge... Unless, of course...YOU want to step up to the plate, Nathan?" he finished, adding emphasis to his little punchline as he laughed alongside his ape of a friend. I waved off Oz's attempts at trying to get me to walk away from this before it was too late. I wasn't going to do that. Not when I was about to win this. Well, somewhat...

"Ummm, okay!" I said immediately, my eyes looking to the right as I held up a long shrug, acting as though I were either bluffing, or just really, really stupid. This made the two of them stop laughing faster than they started up. Vic quickly scowled angrily at me before slapping the drink out of my hand, much to my delight.

"You think this is a fucking GAME?!" he shouted, taking another step at me. This time, Ryan didn't hold him back. "You KNOW I'd knock you on your ass, punk!" Flexing his rather large arms with what appeared to be some sort of warm-up exercise, he gritted his teeth at me like some kind of hybrid between a dog and a gorilla. By now, our little spout had drawn the attention of a few people who were nearby chatting with their own friends.

"Won't know for sure unless you try!" I shouted back, waving off Oz once again; this time actually pushing him away to the side, for I knew what was coming next. In one swift motion, Vic Rockford's giant fist came hurdling towards me. Like most things that threatened my life this day and age, I saw it slow down to incredible speeds. Obviously time itself didn't slow down around us, and it sure wasn't Vic who decided to hold back a little, but my ability to perceive the incoming of my surroundings was almost to the level of supernatural at this point. Of course, my current body wasn't up to par with its eyes, although I was more than capable of either dodging, blocking or reversing this thug's blow without much trouble. But time was running short, and my window of opportunity was coming to a close. Now it was time for a choice; I could either A., totally own this asshole at his own game in front of all these people, announcing to the entire party that Briton was thereby under my protection and there was nothing anybody could do about it, or B., let this guy totally knock me flat so as not to come off to my friends as a super suspicious weirdo after somehow managing to fend off someone as large and terrifying as Vic Rockford.

Just as time was about to run out, I came to one hell of a conclusion with my inner self: Hey, why not do both?

"Argh!!" I exclaimed as the sound of Vic's fist colliding with my skull flooded my entire brain. I felt the grasping hands of my friend Oz as he tried to catch me but couldn't. Before I would smack into anything on my way down, my foot happened to snag onto the cord leading to the speakers that were connected to the system providing the music, causing a sudden and very dead silence to fill the room. Well, almost silent, anyway. The sound of my back meeting with the side of the DJ's stage was more than loud enough to turn a few heads in our direction. The stage having saved me from the fall being slightly dented in, I pushed myself off of it with a hand, only to be caught by Oz, who was once again likely saying something about quitting while we were ahead. Truth was, I couldn't make out anything but the ticking of my watch while my head was ringing so loudly, so I was a bit unsure of what might have been said around me. The ringing finally subsiding, I managed to make out the sounds of Vic and Ryan laughing their asses off, damn near out of breath, or so it seemed.

"That was priceless!! HAHAHAHA!! Your really stood your ground there, didn't you, bitch!" guffawed Ryan, patting Vic on the back. "Why don't you just go home, Tate-- or NATE, whatever the hell your name was!" Laughing again at my expense, Ryan managed to get a few other people laughing. That was fine-- no, it was perfect.

"Urghh..." I grunted, finally finding my footing once more as I gave my head a little shake. "Hey! I'm still standing, aren't I?!" I yelled back at him, still not used to the near silence within the room; the music still not kicking back in just yet. Giving Oz a friendly pat for trying to catch me, as well as a look that said "I'm fine, don't worry about it.", in case he was still worrying.

"Oh-ho! Ohhh, I'm afraid he's right, Vic! You said you were gonna knock him on his ass-- better see it through, don't you think?" said Ryan, humorously. Giving him a chuckle of his own, Vic stepped forward again.

"Hold it!" I shouted, the palm of my hand prominently displayed before me. "I have a proposition for you, Vic." Curving a smile of my own, I waited to hear what the giant would say to this.

"A propo-what...?" replied the big oaf.

"He means he wants to make you a deal, you dumb fuck!" said Ryan after slapping a hand over his eyes with a laugh in regards to his friend's ignorance, and then harder at the idea of me putting up a wager.

"Oh... Alright, what? If you're trying to get outta your beating, punk, then you can forget it." said Vic, flexing his arms once again. Huh, and here I was under the impression that the two of them "didn't beat up on people... So much for that statement.

"If I can pin your back to the ground within 3 seconds of your next blow, then you have to leave Briton alone from here on out." I said, holding up 3 fingers. You know, to show that I meant business. "What d'ya say? You up for the challenge?" Ryanmade a light chuckle at those words, still thinking that I was all talk, however found it strange that I would make such an outrageous bet in front of all these people. But before he could say anything to Vic, the man in question agreed in earnest.

"You're on!" he said, laughing at me.

"Great! Now no take-backs! Unless you wanna look like a total bitch in front of all these people for not holding up your end of the deal~" I sung at him, holding up a finger to add insult to injury. Of course, this just made him laugh.

"Tch, whatever! Let's just get on with it, shit-stain!" he yelled back, taking another step forward.

"Well wait, we gotta shake on it first." I said with a smile, holding out my left hand for him to accept. This was the moment when Ryan realized I was neither bluffing NOR stupid. But before he could tell Vic otherwise, it was already too late.

"Heheh, sure..." chuckled Vic, extending his right hand to grab hold of my left. And that was when the dumbass did exactly what I knew he would; he grabbed my hand and pulled me toward him. Thanks to him pulling me into his range, there was no longer enough room for him to get the same amount of strength into his attack as before. On top of that, the momentum of the fight was against him. All I had to do was lean forward so that his left arm went over my right shoulder, plant my free hand against his chest, hook my already extended leg around his right, pull back with it and push forward with my hand. And just like that, Vic Rockford was pinned to the ground in only 2 very quick seconds. Of course, I acted as though it was nothing more than a total fluke; my yell of the word "Whoa" having planted that idea in most of the heads in the audience. And, just to make sure it sold, I stood up and clasped my hands to my head with wide eyes.

"Holy crap, I won...!" I yelled, breathing hard, then turning my upper body left and right to look at everyone else, as if to say CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT SHIT?! Needless to say, the whole crowd erupted in a large amount of drunken cheers and woos. I clasped hands with Oz, further trying to convey that it was pure accident that I managed to pin Vic down just as I had wagered I would. Jumping up and shouting his frustration at what I had accomplished, Vic shut the crowd up almost immediately. He stepped up to me again, only to stop short upon seeing Oz closer to me than before. Blinking, he looked back at me and started shouting again.

"That was a load of shit, and you know it! A total fluke!" he yelled. Jabbing his finger at me.

"Well of course it was!" I said. "But a win is still a win, dude! And fortunately for me -- unfortunate for you -- I won." I let out a nervous laugh, still acting shaken up over the whole spectacle. "And you know what the wager was~" At first ready to refute our earlier agreement, Ryan chose to cut him off, wearing a rather sour expression himself.

"He beat you fair and square, Vic." he said, now walking up to meet me by his side. "Own up to it, or else you're nothing more than a punk like him." He put great emphasis on the word, likely trying to convey that it wasn't over with just that. Conceding, albeit rather begrudgingly, Vic let out a huff of air and flung his arm up before turning away from me and Oz. The scene finally dying down and the music kicking back up thanks to someone reconnecting the cord I had pulled out by accident, all seemed well, until Ryan stepped up next to me and spoke in a low tone so that only I could hear.

"Live it up while you still can, Nathan." he began, his voice practically trembling with anger at my arrogance. "Just know that I'm not as dumb as Vic." The words that followed instantly left me stunned. "I'll say it again, only a little more clearly this time: you want me to stop messing with that little faggot Briton, then you're better off just telling him to stop being such a pussy. Because..." Pausing before his final sentence, I realized that I had made a terrible mistake that night at the party. One that I couldn't take back.. "... You didn't make that bet with me..."

I only managed to stop one of Briton's bullies... Or so it seemed. At the time, I didn't think even Vic Rockford would stoop so low as to bully someone through their personal life. I clearly underestimated the man's sense of humility... As well as his choice in targets. But more on that later...

Giving my shoulder a hard nudge with his own, Ryan waved to Vic, mumbling something along the lines of "This party turned to shit, let's get out of here.", and left with him. I was practically shaking with fear at what I might have just set in motion; my mind immediately beginning to think of every possible outcome that could be traced back to this very moment. I instantly hated myself again. Everything that had happened over the last few minutes felt like a total dream. Things weren't normal for me and my friends, they weren't fixed... And yet, somehow, I managed to fool myself into thinking that, even for just a fleeting moment at a loud party, life was simple again. I knew I would pay for my mistake later on, but worse than just that; so too would my friends...

"Hey. What's up, Red? I showed up, when can I leave?" Paige instantly turned around at the light brush of fingers across her arm. Coming face to face with the one she had been looking for since she had arrived at the party, a smile made its way across her face.

"What's up Sammi, oh come on the party just started. You didnt even ask me to dance." Paige teased back nudging him playfully.

Was she flirting? The though flittered across her mind as she stared at Sam waiting for his response. A slight almost unnoticeable blush made its way across her face as she realized she might have been.

"What time did you get here?" She asked hurriedly trying to change the subject and his train of thought, an attempt at distracting him from what she had just said.

"What did you think!?" Lacey's excited voice stole Paige's attention before she could catch Sam's response.

"It's great Lacey, I think everyone's enjoying it." Paige responded though doubted the girl caught her words as she continued to chatter on to Amber.

Rolling her eyes in a playful way Paige turned to Cora as she heard the familar hello, a smile graced her lips as she greeted her friends.

"Hey what's up Cora, we missed you at the diner." Giving the short haired brunette a quick hug, Paige smiled. "Bring that book of yours?" She asked smirking at the girl.

The sudden absence of music made Paige glance behind her, her eyes landing crowd of people who seemed to be surrounding something.

Probably a fight Paige thought not really giving it much mind. High schoolers never knew how to solve problems without using their fist.

"We'll I'm going to go get a drink anyone want to join me?" Paige asked just as the music turned on again getting rid of the kind of awkward silence.

Stealing a quick glance at Sam she headed off toward the kitchen trying to get rid of the slight embarrassment she still held from talking to Samuel. Stopping in the kitchen Paige poured herself a cup of hopefully not spiked punch.

Samuel Westhouse

Sam kept one eye on Violet as he talked to Paige, waiting for a moment to catch her. Paige seemed pleased to see him. She nudged him playfully, teasing him about dancing. "Maybe I was waiting for the right moment." He jested back. She seemed to hesitate a moment, as if something uncomfortable had just popped into her mind, but then she changed the subject. What time had he gotten here? He opened his mouth to answer, but Lacy caught her attention before he could. He didn't slump, but inside he could feel himself Wilt a bit. He didn't need much, but sometimes he wished he could have Paige's undivided attention for at least a little bit. Maybe it was the buzz growing in his brain, but he had the urge to cut in again, pull her away and give her that dance she had been teasing him about or something. But no, her other friends were important to her too and he couldn't do that to her. He turned his attention back to Violet for a moment, searching out her location. She was talking to Briton. Cora had shown up over at their little group, and Paige was talking to her. Maybe...maybe now was a good time?

He laid his hand on Paige's shoulder for a second. "I'll be right back in a second." He murmured in her ear, close enough that she could hear him. He wound his was towards where she was standing, and the music cut out for a second. He barely noticed though, so intent on catching her. As it crackled back to life, Sam saw Violet turn from Briton and run straight into two big guys. Chaffon and Rockwell, the bastards. Shit. He sped up as the girl started walking with them, stumbling a little. Was she really that drunk, or was she playing with them? Either way, this was not good. She was going to get hurt.

They managed to get out the door before he could plow through the people in his way, and once he burst out the door they were already off. Shit. Shit shit shit. He cast about himself, but there was nothing. He'd just run then. It was a neighborhood, hopefully they wouldn't do over thirty. As long as he could keep them in his sights he'd be fine.

The boy took off from the front stoop, landing halfway down the sidewalk running. He wasn't lithe enough to be a sprinter, but he pushed himself down the sidewalk, using his elbows to cut his way through the people lounging outside. He raced down the street, completely focused on running. He was a little unsteady, maybe he shouldn't have drunken anything, but his buzz was only serving to make him angrier. He was focused on trying to break the wall, let his adrenaline flood his body and remove the feeling of wear in his muscles, even if that point was still far off, when he heard someone yelling from a couple blocks away.

'Dammit.' He made out fuzzily. He didn't stop running, but he focused his ears harder. Was it one of the guys? Had Violet already started up? 'Violet!' The voice shouted. No, it wasn't one of the other guys. It had to be either Nate, Charlie, or Oscar. No one else could possibly be calling out her name. He had to stop for a second. Any backup he could get would be helpful. He paused, tracking the car he was chasing around the corner before halting. "Over here!" He called, cupping a hand around his mouth. It wasn't nearly loud enough because his lungs were starved for oxygen.

"Over here!" He shouted again, managing to get his voice loud enough that it rang off the houses around him. Hopefully the other guy heard him and could follow the sound. He started running again, crossing the road to follow the turn the car had made. He would make it there. He didn't intend to do anything super-hero-ish, he didn't want to save the day, he just didn't want Violet to get hurt.

---

Charlie slowed to a walk as he was able to clearly make out two figures standing only a few feet away from him. Nate and Sam.

Charlie was panting as his lungs gasped desperately for air and his legs burned from the surprise run, this have had better have been a big emergency for him to nearly die running.

"Hey...Nate..what's...the...big.....deal?" Charlie managed to get out between huge swallows of air. Coming to a stop next to his black haired friend, he finally saw the crumpled up body of Violet. She looked hurt, more than that she looked like she was in pain, excruciating pain.

"Vi..." Charlie's voice was hollow as he stared down at the girl who was now cradled in Nate's arms.

Wow how so much could change in a matter of hours. Just early he was joking around with Violet, laughing with her. Now she was lying on the sidewalk looking to be on her death bed.

Charlie's mind went blank, he needed to help her, but how. He wasn't a doctor, he didnt have any medical experience, but he needed to help.

"Charlie, help Sam up-- please." Charlie's eye locked with Nate's, a kind of relief flooding through him at something to do. Giving a swift nod he watched as Nate brushed past him and began to walk down the sidewalk with Violet in his arms, before he quickly scurried over to Sam.

"You okay man?" Charlie asked concerned at the site of the sick looking teen. Gently placing a hand on Sam's back he helped him up, hooking an arm around the boy's waist while he threw one of Sam's arms around his neck. He had no idea if Sam actually needed any help walking or he just needed help getting up, but the way the usually tanned skinned teen now held a kind of pale color gave Charlie the hint that he wasn't really in the right mood to talk.

As they finally arrived back at the party, Charlie let Sam go, instantly getting out his phone.

Violet needed an ambulance he was pretty sure of that, and he could do that. Charlie shakily dialed 911 knowing he wouldn't be the most popular guy for the next few weeks for crashing the party.

"911 what's your emergency?" The operator's voice came on making him feel kind of shaky.

"Uhh..hello. I need an ambulance for a friend. She's hurt, I don't know how, but I think it's bad."

"Okay where's your location?"

Charlie blushed feeling stupid for not adding his location, quickly telling the lady the address of the party he hung up and roughly shoved his battered phone back into his pocket.

"Okay I called an ambulance. Hang in there Vi." He didnt know if she could actually hear him, but he hoped the words would soothe her if she could.

"Oh I'll text everybody." Charlie added after a few second taking out his phone again before sending a mass text to everyone. Well almost everyone. His finger hovered over the button, that would either exclude Oz from the text or add him to the list.

Oscar is Violet's friend, it wouldnt be right for him not to know she's hurt Charlie reminded himself. The image of Oz rubbing Briton's back flashed through his mind, instantly making him send the text before adding Oz's name. Biting his lip guilty Charlie shoved his phone into his pocket.

Samuel Westhouse

He probably looked green as sin, he felt like he was going to be sick any second, partially because of the unpleasant mix of lost adrenaline and booze in his body, and partially because he couldn't quite come to terms with what was in his head. He watched Nate carry Violet away instead of thinking about it. There was a job done somewhat right. Good enough, maybe. At least she wasn't too terribly wounded. She could have died. And it wouldn't even be in the kind of reincarnation-y way he now remembered. They still had a bit of time before that. Suddenly, Sam became aware that someone was standing above him, talking to him. Sam silently let himself be picked up, testing his weight on his feet. His body wouldn't easily forgive him for that stint.

He tried his best not to lean too heavily on the other, and once they made it back to the source of the pulsing sound and bright lights that had been the beginning of this mess he pulled away, forcing himself to take his weight again. "Thanks man," He mumbled to Charlie, bumping him halfheartedly on the shoulder before stumbling away. He heard the boy mention something about an ambulance into his phone before the sounds of the party swallowed him up.

He had to find Paige. He wanted to know what she knew, but at the same time, was it a good idea? What if this was all in his head...some kind of waking lucid dream. Hallucinations were pretty common after pushing himself so hard, but nothing this..vivid. Maybe it was the alcohol's fault. Maybe it would be best to keep it to himself. Yeah, that sounded like a good idea.

Nobody seemed to even notice him as he pushed through the crowd, maybe they assumed that he was drunk off his ass. He didn't care what they thought. He had more important things to do than worry about any kind of appearance he might have. It wasn't like he spent much time actually in school anyway these days.

He managed to make it over to where he'd first spotted her, but nobody was still there. He stopped for a second. Where could she have gone? Oh yeah, she went to get a drink, didn't she. How long ago had that been? It seemed like ages ago, but he couldn't have been out for that long. Maybe she was still there. He pushed back into the crowd of people, shamelessly cutting through groups of people to make it to the kitchen. Ah, there she was. Cora was there too.

Gratefully he made a direct path to the two and caught himself on the edge of a counter. He should probably rehydrate himself, but would there be anything left at this point that wasn't spiked. "Hey," He started to say, but then his cell phone along with the other girls' buzzed. He produced his from his pocket and looked at who it was from before opening the text. Charlie. He already knew what it was about.

"Vi got hurt." He said abruptly, trying to force himself to breath normally. "Charlie called an ambulance. We should probably leave before the police come to investigate." he hoped at least one of them had brought a car. He really didn't feel like walking home, or walking anywhere. He mostly just wanted to sit down, organize his thoughts, then sleep before his body really turned to jelly. Or he puked. Or both.

He didn't notice that he'd sunk to the floor until he realized that he was looking up at Paige to see her response. He needed to stay on his feet. Was he still pale? He hoped not. He probably looked a sight, he realized. Great. He pushed himself to his feet, swaying slightly, fingers clinging to the counter behind him for support.Yeah, this really wasn't the place for him.

This definetly tasted funny, not the way regular punch should have tasted, it kind of had an after taste. Paige thought absentmindedly as she sipped her drink and watched the people around her laugh and talk. Watched girls flirt their way under boys arm with just a smile and a flip of their hair. Why couldn't she be that way, why did she have to be so awkward and weird around boys she liked, well maybe liked. Paige took another sip from her drink, in denial pratically written all over her face.

"I hope you don't mind that I have come to join you."

Paige turned her head to see Cora, a soft smile making its way across her face, illuminating her already pretty appearance. Why couldn't she be like Cora, naturally beautiful. Why had she chose a football over a Barbie? Maybe she wouldn't still be single and still have virgin lips, if she chose the pink skirt over the jersey.

" No not all, I was actually starting to get lonely." Paige flashed the girl a smile and took another sip of her drink.

Yep this definitely tasted funny.

They stood in silence for a while, until Paige finished her drink and made her way across the kitchen to get another one.

"Want a drink?" She called over her shoulder as she slipped by people and was in front of the punch bowl once again. Not waiting for a reply from Cora or hearing one, she made two cups and made her way back to her artistic friend.

"One for you," She handed Cora the cup and gave her a smile. "And one for me. Cheers." Smashing her cup against Cora's she felt the content's of her drink spill over the edge of her cup and onto her hand along with the floor.

She smiled foolishly and mouthed a silent opps before quickly downing the rest of the beverage.

"Another drink?" She asked Cora getting ready to make her way for the punch bowl again unaware if the girl had even taken a sip from her cup. The sudden image of Sam stumbling between two people in her peripheral vision stopped her.

She turned fully just in time to see Sam catch himself on the edge of a counter. Whoa he did not look good, he looked like he had just been through hell. The sudden vibration of her phone in her pocket made her hesitantly tear her eyes away from the boy in front of her and retrieve her phone.

It was Charlie, hmmm it wasn't everyday she got a text from him.

Paige's face twisted into a face of worry as she read the message. Violet was hurt, and going to get in an ambulance. Crap they needed to get to the hospital, not all of them had even turned eighteen, this was not a good sign.

"Vi got hurt. Charlie called an ambulance. We should probably leave before the police come to investigate." Sam got out before sinking to the floor.

Paige instantly reached for him without a second thought. "Are you okay?" She asked as he began to stand.

Slipping an arm around his waste so he wouldn't go tumbling again, she cast a glance at Cora and motioned for her to get his other side.

" Let's get out of here, you brought a car didnt you?" Paige asked Cora, she really wanted to get out of here before the drunken teens basically ran over each other to get out of the house when they finally realized what the flashing lights meant.

They were a few steps away from he door when the siren began to blare and flashing lights entered the house through the windows. Everything seemed to stand still for a minute, only the pounding of the music keeping it from being deathly quiet. All of a sudden it was a sudden flurry of legs and shirts, people and people and more people. Some being helped out like Sam some even running out with their shirts off.

They were barely able to pull Sam through the door as more people squeezed their way out the of the small exit.

" You okay Sam?" Paige asked breathlessly looking up at the male.

Quickly scanning her surrounding she searched the cars littering the area before spotting a car that looked like Cora's.

" I think I see your car Cora." Paige pointed to a car a little ways away.

" Lets go." She whispered the flashing lights behind her starting to make her nervous.

As they finally arrived at the car Piage helped Sam into the back seat and slid in after him, leaving the driving to Cora. Reaching across Sam she caught his eye as she buckled him in. She had never really noticed how blue his eyes were. A blush made its way across her face, was she really admiring his eyes at a time like this?

---

Cora smiled at Paige's response, good she had hoped that would be her answer. There was no way that she wanted to be a bother to Paige. Afterwards Paige had offered her a drink which Cora of course shook her head to but obviously Paige had not seen it due to the fact that she already was giving Cora a drink. Glancing momentarily down at the contents of the drink she looked at Paige then carefully smashed her cup against Paige and taking a step back in case any contents of the drink decided to spill over the side. Cora's smile grew as she heard Paige utter a soft opps under her breath. It was then that Cora finally took a tiny sip of the drink, wondering what it really was because it didn't taste like it looked. After her sip she watched as Paige surprisingly downed the entire cup of what ever this drink was. She shook her head, taking another small sip of the drink. "Another drink?" She heard Paige say to her before her expression changing. Cora would have said no anyways so it didn't mater if she didn't respond. Turning in the direction that Paige was looking she noticed Samuel stumbling in.

Not once had she even thought to check her phone when it had vibrated in her pocket. "Vi got hurt. Charlie called an ambulance. We should probably leave before the police come to investigate." Cora heard Samuel as Paige went to help him stand up. Cora's face went from suddenly worried to really, really worried. Quickly she put her cup down, moving towards Samuel and slipping a frail arm around him to help Paige hold him up. She nodded to most of Paige's questions and helped Paige support Samuel all the way to the car. On their way there it was like a battle, people fled from the house as flashing lights and sirens blared as they pulled up.

Once they arrived some what safely at Cora's car and both Paige and Sam were buckled up in the backseat with the back doors closed she slid into the driver's seat, glancing in the rear view mirror in case Lacey or Amber happened to stumble out of the house. Perhaps they were already out and at the hospital though. Sighing softly she threw any items that had previously been gripped in one hand into the passenger seat and retrieved her keys. Quickly she turned her car on and threw it into drive. The flashing lights were getting close and there was once a police man that came into Cora's view. Her foot tapped the gas and she soon began to maneuver around a couple frantic people who were making their way to their car. Once they were away from people and had made it fully onto a main road she stepped on the gas more, waiting until she could no longer see the flashing lights or even just hear the sirens. She wove carefully past and around cars before soon she began to slow down a good 5 mph. Letting out a long breath of relief she glance in the rear view mirror at Samuel and Paige. "Sorry," She apologized quickly. "How are you guys doing?" She asked as she returned her eyes to the road and tried to pay attention to where she was going. One hand gripped the wheel firmly as she reached over and grabbed her phone from the passenger seat. She reviewed the message quickly, only glancing up a couple times to make sure she wasn't swerving into the other lane. Once she was positive about where she was going she click the phone off and tossed it to the side as she began to once again maneuver her way around to get to where she was going. Although she didn't speed up nor drive like a crazy person. Carefully pressing the on button on her music she turned it way down to where you could just barley hear it. "Um, do you guys need anything? You good back there?" She questioned with a worried look. Her hand stayed near the radio as she clicked it to a station that she liked which was playing Brave by Sara Bareilles. Cora sighed softly, turning it down another notch so that you really could barley hear it. In fact she made the music only be able to play in the front of the car unless they wanted to listen to music. They weren't far from the hospital or at least she didn't think they were.

Samuel Westhouse

He was again drifting, two different arms around him, pulling him along. He really needed to pull himself together. Deep breaths. Okay. Okay. He just needed to sit down again maybe. Take the stress off his body and put it elsewhere. There was little chance to focus now though, with all the people hurrying out in different states of consciousness and ability. Nobody wanted to get caught here. Would they know who called the cops? Sam hoped not. Charlie would get some kind of hell for that. Once Violet got better, she was going to get some kind of hell for what she'd done too. Nate's face, the way he'd been talking to her had told Sam that the boy was really shaken up by that turn of events. Sam was having some difficulty keeping all the strands of his life in their own place, mostly thanks to the booze and exhaustion in his system. Who was alive? Who had died? In which bodies? Was he even alive right now?

The dark haired boy glanced at his hands as he partly sat partly fell into Cora's car. No, he was there. So was Cora. So was Paige. That was good. Nate was alive. Charlie was alive. Violet was maybe alive. Mostly alive. That left four unaccounted for in his mind. He'd wait and see if they were okay. Yeah, that sounded like a good idea.

"I'm fine." He responded to the question Paige had posed in the door way much too late. She smelled like booze too. Did she drink? No, he didn't think so. Maybe he was imagining it. He tried to help her pull the seat belt over his chest, and her eyes caught his. He stared at her for a second, trying to ground himself in this reality.

His name was Samuel Westhouse. He was in Cora Donovan's car, Paige Parker was sitting next to him. They were all in their normal bodies. Okay. Okay. That was good enough for now. He'd sort out the rest of the blurry thoughts later. Yeah. That was good. Cora spoke up, asking how they were doing. "We're good." He said, his voice too soft at first but peaking much louder than he'd meant it to. "Thanks Cora."

Dark scenery passed around them, highlighted by headlights. Were they going to the hospital for Vi? Probably. That was a good idea. He didn't even know how she was doing. He'd just left her with Nate. That was the way to do things though. Nate was better with problems than he was. Of course he was. Nate was the leader. Sam leaned back in his seat and sighed loudly, letting his exhaustion rush out of his body in a huge gust of air.

"Hey." He said, his hand going to Paige's shoulder suddenly as a thought popped in his head. His voice came out very gently slurred, as if he was inventing the words just as they tumbled out of his mouth, just a little too fast and a little too slow at the same time. "You never did...get your dance." He looked away for a second, a slightly awkward expression passing his face for a half second. "You think an IOU would...be good? Or a pickup game in...that old lot...tomorrow?" Maybe now, when they were hurrying off to make sure one of their other friends was okay, wasn't the time nor the place for this kind of thing, but he really needed a distraction. He had certainly pushed himself past his bodily limit in both drinking and exertion, and perhaps in mental taxation, if his current mental wasn't a reality, and he was going to have to pay up for all those things at some point. He'd just leave it for later. It was easier to fall apart when he was alone to pick himself back up without having to worry about the well being of his friends. Right now he should focus on Cora and Paige.

He examined her for few more minutes. He could still smell sweet alcohol in her breath, off her body. Maybe he should ask her about that. She'd gotten on him for doing that kind of stuff before, she didn't seem one to just start randomly. Anyway, he only did it because there wasn't anywhere else for him to go, so what was the point in staying in top physical condition. She, on the other hand, could go off and play college level. She couldn't be doing those kinds of things to her body. Okay, maybe he was being a bit protective, and hypocritical, but really. He wanted the best for all his friends, because they deserved it.

"Have..have you been drinking?" He asked her cautiously, his own voice stumbling over the words, after a few more moments deliberation. His perpetually sleepy eyes flicked from her to the cut of Cora's face he could see in the rear view mirror. Cora would be able to answer it if Paige didn't."No-not that there's anything wrong with that...I just didn't know you..." he trailed off, losing the thought before he could finish speaking.