"Let the party BEGIN!" yelled Summer, tripping over the doorstep. The roar of a hundred drunk teenagers answered her. She was surrounded by a group of giggling blond girls, all looking identical, and who pressed around her, hurrying to try and talk to her.
After all, Summer was a popular girl.
She was smiling widely to the noisy crowd, looking round for him without even noticing she was doing so. Instead, she caught sight of Holly, who was laughing loudly at the end of the room. Summer took the glass a guy was holding out to her and, without listening further to the spicy story he had probably planned to tell her since months, she cleared her way up to Holly.
"Heeeey! Summer! I thought you wouldn't come, the party was becoming boring." She rolled her eyes saying so, and Summer returned her a 'I-know-what-you-mean' look.
"Where's Cooper?" she asked.
"WHAT? I can't hear you, this music's too loud." she shouted. "I can't believe they're giving us that shit, by the way. I thought this band was dead!" She burst into a hysterical laugh and began dancing again.
Summer felt a surge of anger fill her veins. Seriously, what was she doing here? Holly was completely drunk. "And so am I..." she noticed to herself. She went out through the glass doors. Yes she was drunk, she always was in the end. Better that than admitting she had been hanging out with such uninteresting people during all those years, anyway. But tonight it didn't work. It wasn't working anymore. Maybe it had something to do with Marissa. No, not with Marissa herself, she perfectly knew it. She had to get a grip, drink more and - party.
"Hey, Roberts! What are you looking at? Tahiti?" The laughter of Luke echoed in her ears and she turned to look at him. Several girls around him were waving at her.
"Don't talk about what you don't know, loser." she muttered through her clenched teeth. But she shook herself, reached for a glass of beer and joined them, smiling.
Yes, it was going to work, tonight.
"Oy, Coop! Where is it you've been?" yelled Holly in her unbearable high-pitched voice.
Summer turned a bit more quickly than she had attempted to, and spilled the glass of a guy who shouted at her while she hurried to the front door.
"Heeeeeeeey!"
"Summer! Everything's okay?" Marissa hugged her. "Woo, you're so drunk!" she added with a laugh. "You should have waited for me!"
"L-Luke. He has... has some gr-great vodka! Y-Yep!" She was holding on to Marissa, staggering.
Marissa frowned midly.
"Look- Seth, Ryan, would you stay with her, while I'm getting the drinks? And... saying hi." she added, glancing to the terrace.
For once, Seth restrained himself of any commentary. He was gazing blankly at Summer, who had jumped on the table and started dancing on it.
With a last amused look at her, Marissa left them, waving to people here and there.
She liked Summer a lot, but - well, she couldn't always take care of others, could she? After all, nobody had forced her to get drunk. Now, where were those drinks, she had to get herself a drink... Luke had some vodka. Great. Vodka.
"Very well, we stop the Vodka Barbie from collapsing on her dancing table and you go and have fun with Ken. Right." Ryan called after her furiously. "What is it we're supposed to do with her, anyway? Seth? He, Seth!"
"What? Er, look, you can go with Marissa if you want to, and, I'll... I'll join you later okay?"
"Dude, are you okay?" Ryan asked, raising his eyebrows.
"Yeah. Sure. Go."
His tone was a little too harsh to be honest, but Ryan was not going to force him into talking. He had never like that, anyway. Talking. He shrugged and went away.
Seth had just turned back when she fell into his arms.
"Cohen! I thought y-you wouldn't c-come. Cause it was, a p-party, you know. And you d-don't like parties!" She was giggling.
"I like parties. I don't like your drunk and shallow friends, that's all."
She laughed more loudly and he looked around, searching for a seat. There wasn't any left, and anyway she needed fresh air.
"Come here" he said. And, half-carrying her, he drove her outside.
"That's why I got drunk" she said, looking at him gravely. "Because I thought you - you know - weren't comin'." She finished her sentence in a breathe. There was tears in her eyes now. She looked like a little girl.
"You – you don't know what you're saying." he said, looking away. "They say drunk people rave half the time. And, considering you're, um, really drunk-"
"I have a half my time to tell what I really think." she cut on him. She had settled herself on the stairs, and had her head in her hands.
He opened his mouth as though going to answer but no sound came out. He merely open and close it several times.
"Hey, there she is! Over here!" Holly was yelling, making Seth jump. "What were you doing, Cohen?" she added, back to him. She was frowning and looking supspicious.
"Nothing. I... She... She needed fresh air. I just wanted, you know..."
"Yeah. We know what you want, Cohen." smirked Luke.
"Seized your chance while she's drunk, that's it, Cohen?" said a tall guy right beneath him.
He had no chance to answer. Holly threw him a disgusted look and turned back to her friend.
"Come on, Summer. Don't stay here."
She put her arm under Summer's and dragged her into the house.
Seth was looking in disbelief at the door that has just closed, he was unable to move. Luke and his friends had just seized him when Marissa appeared, closely followed by Ryan. He made a move, as though trying to get at them but she took him back.
"Ryan, don't."
He looked at her, then back at Luke and finally at Seth, who was panting. Ryan grabbed him by the arm pushed him to the street.
"Come on, let's go."
Students were filling the hall while the bell rang shrilly. Seth was working his way through the crowd and stopped by the lockers. He stayed there alone for a few minutes. And then, she was there. "That's what she does," he thought "she just appears out of nowhere and then you can't do nothing but look at her."
"Hey, Summer! Summ..." he stopped dead as she walked by him without giving the slightest sign that she'd noticed him. She had just raised her voice a little.
"Seriously, Summer, if we hadn't been there... You were so drunk!" was telling Holly, laughing.
"Oh my god, I know! You know what it's like when you're drunk... you're raving! That's just - eeew!"
The girls laughed more loudly and went through the door. Summer turned back and looked at him. She was looking very tired, and sad. "Yes, who knows, if you lot hadn't been there..." he heard her muttering. But he wasn't quite sure of that. Next moment, she had left.
After all, Summer was a popular girl.