It was the end of a long school week, and on this Friday night there was a big celebration everyone would be attending. The birthday party of Geoff, one of the most popular kids in school, and it was like a bad omen not to attend one of his big shindigs. Even the unpopular kids on the block were welcomed to join...
"This is a waste of time." one such misfit bemoaned, as she and her longtime best friend were standing at the front of Geoff's house. Already they can hear the blasting music and cheering, and it was barely 10 minutes into the party. "...Let's just head home, Courtney."
"Aww come on Gwen, don't be such a spoiled sport!" her perky friend nudged her playfully, "We've been planning to go this whole week, we're NOT backing out now!"
"Ugh, but I barely know all those people inside.." Gwen groaned again, still feeling unsure, "...And I don't think I dressed right!"
Courtney, quickly glancing over her, couldn't quite see what she was complaining about. Dressed in one of her favorite Gothic outfits, she knew that her friend was just trying to find another excuse, "Oh shush Gwen, you look fine." she casually dismissed her, "And I'm sure you know SOME people in there, I mean why else would Geoff invite you anyway?"
"Because you happen to be friends with his girlfriend?" Gwen replied back, rolling her eyes, "..Well okay, sure...but he said he'd let you come with! Not to mention that one time you two took that life-guard class back in Freshman year-"
"-For the 100th time, it was just mouth-to-mouth resuscitation practice!" her gothic friend blushed furiously, crossing her arms. Ever since that one kid caught Gwen and Geoff "practicing", everyone else at school started spreading rumors of them being a couple. Heck even Geoff started believing it to, with how he kept on asking Gwen if she wanted to go out. Naturally, the gothic loner refused each time...but thankfully she and Geoff are more on platonic terms if anything.
"Oh I know, I was just saying~" Courtney gave a little giggle, straightening out her skirt before nodding, "..Well, let's head inside, hmm?" going up to knock on the door. Gwen just stayed behind, awkwardly looking down at her black studded boots and gripping the wrapped box in her hands. She was the one who was responsible for handling Geoff's birthday gift, which was simply a small collection of some classic 80's rock tapes. Gwen didn't even know if Geoff liked this type of music, but Courtney insisted on buying it anyway.
In just a few seconds, the door opened to reveal a heavy-framed blond teen, his mouth already stuffed with what looked like chocolate cake, "WOO! Hey girls!" he greeted them, giving his signature bellowing cheer, "You ready to party hardy?"
"Heh...nice to see you too Owen." Courtney slightly laughed, "Um, is Geoff in there? We already have his gift here and-"
"Oh yeah! The birthday boy is upstairs with Bridgette." Owen informed the two of them, extending the hand that wasn't covered in cake matter, "He left me in charge of the gifts."
"Okay!" Courtney just nodded, having Gwen come over and hand Owen the gift. Owen easily swiped it and examined it briefly, stuffing it under his large arm, "Alrighty, now you two can come inside. Enjoy the party!" stepping aside so they could both enter.
Taking a deep breath, Gwen and her friend entered...finding the whole inside of the house decked out in strobe lights, streamers, and metallic-colored balloons. Almost all of their classmates were inside dancing about, chatting amongst eachother, and just overall having a blast as it was. Mentally Gwen wondered how in the hell Geoff's parents could afford such lavish parties every friday, but she decided to just not question it.
"Well, doesn't this place look just hopping?" Courtney casually remarked, scanning the area for something fun to do while she and Gwen were here, "Don't you agree Gwen?"
"Uh...yeah, I suppose so.." the gothic loner just shrugged, trying to avoid eye contact with anyone. Courtney couldn't help but pity her friend, she never really did get the hang of acting outgoing towards others...not even to some of her own friends. In fact it was Courtney's idea all along to bring her to the party, and even that took quite a few tries to succeed.
"HAHA! Take that NERD!" the two spun around as they heard a cocky laugh from the sidelines. There, they spotted one of the nerdier kids in their class, Harold, being dunked from head to two in punch thanks to a certain mohawk-haired rebel.
"Ugh, oh great...that Duncan boy is at it again." Courtney gave a disapproving sigh, "When will that cousin of yours ever learn, Gwen?"
"I have NO idea.." Gwen just shook her head. Ever since they were in preschool, her 1st cousin Duncan always had to be the one to cause trouble wherever he went. Throughout junior high, even til now...there wasn't any mischief Duncan wouldn't cause if it meant getting a laugh out of it later. Granted Gwen knew he wasn't THAT bad a kid deep down...but like HE will ever admit it himself..
"Haha~! You shoulda seen the look on his face!" Duncan bragged to the other students, only a few laughing amongst him. In the meantime Harold managed to sneak away and go upstairs to clean himself
"Hmpf, well I didn't find anything FUNNY about that!" Courtney boldly declared to him, giving him a condescending huff. Duncan, not one who likes being told off (especially not by a girl), just gave a little smirk and replied, "Pff, oh lighten up princess! It was just a joke. Besides everybody likes a little slap-stick once in awhile, am I right fellas?" turning to the crowd as they just chuckled back in response.
"I suppose if you're a half-brained neanderthal you would." the C.I.T. princess retorted, casually flipping her hair back, "But for those like me, I'd rather just stick to intellectual conversation with a little side of actual wit on occasion. Maybe you should pick it up sometime~"
"Wha-?" Duncan raised his unibrow in confusion, before huffing, "Why you-!"
"Knock it off, man." a voice suddenly called from behind him, gripping the rebel by the shoulder. Turning around, Duncan and the others saw that it was the school's resident musician, Trent. Usually a pretty laidback, cool guy who didn't mind being friends with anyone...but was in no way a pushover when it came to conflict like this, "She already told you off, so just let it go."
"Pff, oh great, you're taking HER side now?" Duncan just grunted, brushing Trent's hand off his shoulder, "Ah whatever! I'mma go hit the can.." stubbornly huffing as he stomped away from the rest of the crowd. Trent, focusing his attention onto Courtney and Gwen now, just gave a friendly smile and waved, "Hey girls. Enjoying the party?"
Courtney responded first, just giving a casual smile back, "Oh yes! We sure are, aren't we Gwen?" she turned her head over to her friend, "...Uh, Gwen?"
The goth in question wasn't able to hear her, as she was too busy staring silently at the boy in front of her, a clear blush rising to her pale-as-snow face. It wasn't really a secret that Gwen had the biggest crush on Trent, even if he himself didn't seem to notice. But others like Courtney, certainly did.
"...Heh, don't mind her! She just, uh...ate some bad sushi before she got here!" covering up for her friend's antics with a nervous grin. Trent, giving a little laugh, just waved a hand casually, "Oh no no it's fine. I tend to get that way around bad sushi too. You should eat some of the cake and punch to wash it all down." giving a little tidbit of advice.
"...u-uh, t-thanks." Gwen softly replied, ducking her head down to avoid anymore awkardness. Giving another friendly smile, Trent shrugged it off and excused himself, "Well, I better go head back to DJ and the others, see ya!"
"Bye bye now!" Courtney waved back at him, with Gwen just giving a weak nod. As the guitarist left, Courtney took the time to comment on Gwen's behavior, "...Sheesh, talk about awkward! Why didn't you just say hi?" she asked, "W-Well I couldn't help it Courtney!" Gwen replied, flusteredly looking away, "You know how I feel about Trent...I didn't wanna say something stupid..."
"Better than just keeping quiet.." her friend reminded her, shrugging her shoulders, "Look, why don't we just go out and mingle with some of the other party guests? You know like dance, eat with them, actually TALK-"
"-Alright, alright." Gwen tried to block out her nagging, but was still feeling rather reluctant, "...Um, let me go and eat for a sec. I haven't eaten any dinner.."
"If you say so." Courtney shrugged again, then left to go out onto the dancefloor. While she was busy trying to "mingle", Gwen took the opportunity to sneak on over to the food table. Trying to ignore the people around her, Gwen started picking at a slice of pizza when a familiar voice called out to her...
"Ahhhh, look who it is~" the voice annoyingly high and condescending. Gwen sighed, already knowing who this was, "...What do you want, Heather?"
The girl in question, Heather, looked rather amused at the moment, flipping her raven hair back casually, "Oh, nothing much. Just wondering how in the world your loser-self managed to sneak YOUR way into Geoff's party." then she gave a little devious grin, "...Unless of course, something 'else' is going on between you two again~"
"NO!" Gwen got all defensive, causing some random onlookers to stare at her. Regaining her composure, Gwen cleared her throat casually, "..Er, I mean no...we're not. His girlfriend Bridgette knows Courtney, and through her I got an invite...that's all."
Heather, looking disappointed, rolled her eyes, "Sheesh, even you couldn't get an invite on your own terms? What a waste I say..."
"Then why the heck are YOU invited then, Heather?" Gwen wanted to get this girl out of her hair, "Did your 'boyfriend' Alejandro bribe Geoff into inviting you?" reminding her about that one rumor spread around...about Heather and the resident 'playa' Alejandro, getting it on together that one time.
Now this seemed to have fired Heather up, as she quickly and nervously glanced her head around to make sure no one heard that, "...I told you never to talk about me and him...I don't even like that jerk!" she quietly threatened, then made a sort of gagging noise.
"That's not what you said last weekend, mamacita~" Alejandro suddenly shouted out of nowhere, some random hoots and hollers following suit, "S-SHUT UP AL!" Heather shouted back, blushing hard, "I FREAKING HATE YOU!" throwing a cup of punch at him, causing him to cry out in shock, "AYE! My new designer shirt!"
Giving a little smirk of victory, Gwen just walked away to leave Heather and "Al" alone. About an hour and a half passed by, before the birthday boy Geoff and his best gal Bridgette finally came downstairs with a party plan.
"HEY DUDES AND DUDETTES!" Geoff excitedly hollered to the crowd below, "You all having some fun down there?" following that, everybody below started to cheer, "GOOD! 'Cause me and Bridge came up with a totally epic party game for us to play, right Bridge?"
"Hehe, you bet babe." Bridgette smiled at him, then held up an empty root beer bottle, "It's called...'7 Minutes in Heaven'~"
The crowd gave some mixed reactions at that news. Some were pretty stoked and cheered, some didn't seem to care much, while others (such as the single crowd) looked a little anxious. "Aww cheer up guys, it'll be fun~" Bridgette assured the worried folks, walking towards the center of the room while leaning against Geoff's arm.
"Ooooh boy, 7 Minutes in Heaven~" Courtney looked quite intrigued, "I've read about that game...it's where two randomly selected teens are chosen by the single spin of the bottle, only to be locked inside a closet for 7 minutes or more and...well, do 'something' for the time being.." she watched as the interested party-goers gathered around in a circle, "...Wanna join the fun, Gwen?"
"Huh? What, ME...playing THAT?" Gwen looked quite skeptical, "...Yeah, count me out Court. I think I'll just sit this one out." turning to leave before the prep grabbed her by the arm, "Aww come on Gwen, don't be shy." she tried to change her mind, "Look, there's alot of people in the circle forming, I bet you won't even get chosen anyway. Just give it a shot...please?"
Gwen was about to refuse again, before she saw Courtney giving her the sad eyes. And when Courtney gives the sad eyes, it's almost impossible to say no afterwords, "...Okay fine! But I better not get chosen." she reluctantly agreed, as her friend dragged her over to the circle of party-goers. Once everyone was all set, Geoff got up with the bottle in hand.
"Alright! Now as the birthday boy, I get to choose who spins first." he explained to everyone, thinking hard before picking, "...Duncan! You first!"
"Awww YEAH~!" the rebel gave a pervy smile of approval, swiping the bottle away and setting it onto the floor, "Now which one of you fine babes gets the honor of joining me tonight~?" asking around playfully, before setting the bottle to spin...
"Ewwwww, what a freaking perv!" Courtney joked to Gwen next to her, giving a little giggle, "I pity the girl that has to spend 7 minutes with that loser-"
She paused mid-sentence when the bottle landed onto her, "Aaaaand looks like Courtney gets to spend 7 minutes in heaven with Duncan!" Bridgette announced to the crowd, causing the crowd to holler and cheer as Courtney looked on in horror, "W-W-Whaaa? M-Me, with HIM?" looking shocked at a very amused Duncan, "...No way, I demand a respin!"
"Sorry Court." Bridgette shrugged her shoulders, "Rules are rules." she had the two get up and go upstairs to one of the many closets that Geoff had. "Remember, only 7 minutes you two. No backing out." she reminded, before pushing them both inside and locking the door behind him.
Gwen could only pray that her friend doesn't hurt her cousin too badly in there, as Geoff called for the next participant, "Okay then...Trent! You're up next dude!" letting the black-haired musician step up to spin.
"Heh, if you say so man." Trent chuckled, setting the bottle down and letting it spin. Gwen gave a sigh, as some of the other girls eagerly waited and watched. She knew it wasn't going to land on her...she just knew it deep down-
"Aaaaaand looks like it landed on you, Gwen!" Bridgette announced, getting the whole crowd of girls to gasp in shock (Gwen included). She couldn't believe it, she was actually picked this time...which could only mean...
'Oh crap,' she thought, '...I gotta spend 7 minutes ALONE with him! Crap crap craaaap...' already getting the nervous jitters. Geoff, not seeming to notice, helped her stand back up, "Whoa, congrats dudes! Ready to get this started?"
'AH! No no no no no no no...' Gwen kept chanting in her head, but she was too flustered to speak, "...Uh, yeah sure I guess." Trent just gave a little shrug, almost looking like he was blushing too. "Alright then! Let's get going!" Geoff smiled, patting them on the backs as he lead them to one of the other closets. This one looked rather cramped, and stuffed with funky smelling Hawaiian shirts, much to Gwen's dismay.
"Now remember, like Bridge said...just 7 minutes and NO backing out." the party boy reminded, before letting them both walk in and shutting the door behind them. The whole room went dark, as Gwen was nervously looking around for a way out. 'Shit shit shit shit SHIT, what do I do now?' she thought to herself, now trapped in the closet with her crush.
"Uh...so, Gwen." Trent spoke up, trying to lighten the mood, "...You know what we're supposed to be uh, doing now?"
This got her attention, as she shook out of her panicked state of mind to answer, "...Huh? W-What do you mean? You...never played this game before?" she asked, sounding confused. "Well, not exactly...I know how the game first goes out.." Trent tried to explain, "...But I was never told what we're supposed to do once we're inside. Do...we like, chat or something?"
"Chat?" Gwen repeated, almost not believing it. Her dream-boy was really THAT clueless? Still, she guessed she couldn't really fault him...never really seeing him to be that kinda guy to fool around like that. Plus, it was almost kinda cute, "...Oh y-yeah sure, we can do that. I-If you want to, I mean..."
"Heh, okay then...sure." Trent gave a nod, reaching his arm around to rub his neck, "...Um, what kind of music do you like?" asking first, just to break the mood. Gwen, now feeling much more relieved, just shrugged and looked to the side, "Oh, well...I kinda like all types of music, actually. Uh, like rock...a bit of r&b...some of the relaxing, slow songs..that kinda thing."
"Ahhh, how neat." Trent replied, "I like those types too. You ever play instruments yourself?" asking next. "Well, I tried to...one time." Gwen tried to recall, then gave a little laugh, "...But then I think I almost busted my cousin's ear-drums for a whole day by accident."
Trent couldn't help but laugh at that too, as the awkward mood was starting to be lifted. A few seconds passed of silence next, as the two teens looked around for something else to talk about, "...So, um...Gwen?" the musician spoke up again, getting her attention, "...were those old rumors, true?"
"Rumors?" Gwen lifted her head up, raising a brow, "...Which ones?"
Trent, giving a nervous shrug, looked off to the side, "About you and...Geoff?"
Gwen, once again getting flustered, rolled her eyes and groaned, "No, they AREN'T! We were both training to be life-guards, got assigned to go practice mouth-to-mouth, and I guess some kid saw and blabbed at school and-!"
"O-Okay okay, say no more." Trent held up his hand, giving a little laugh, "Sorry I asked...just wanted to be sure that's all." mentally slapping himself for embarrassing her. Gwen, calming down a bit, sighed in relief before asking, "Uh, why did you want to know?"
Rubbing his neck again, Trent started to look a little nervous, "...Well, uh..it's because I..." pausing for a moment, before boldly finishing his sentence, "...Wanted to make sure you were...well, 'available'.."
"...Available?" Gwen got more confused at that...before she paused herself in realization, "...W-Wait, does that...does that mean you...?"
Seeming to get her question already, the black haired musician blushed and sighed, "...Yes, I...l-like you, Gwen." finally admitting to her face. It was almost too real for the gothic loner, her own crush...the same popular and totally cool dude who all the girls would kill to go out with...likes HER, of all people?
"...Y-You serious?" she finally asked, stuttering in disbelief, "T-This better not be some kind of prank...I mean it!" glaring hard at him
"What? No way Gwen!" Trent got a serious look on his face, shaking his head, "Of course I like you! I've liked you for the longest time...even back in Freshman year."
"You...you really mean that?" she asked once more, still having some doubts, "But...WHY me, Trent? Surely there's other girls that are way...WAY better than me..."
"...Like?" Trent raised a brow, crossing his arms. Gwen, at a loss, started listing off random names, "O-Oh you know...like, Lindsay...Courtney...Leshawna...H-Heather.." cringing when she listed the last name. Trent, looking unimpressed, suddenly lightened up with a little smile, "Well, let's face it Gwen...I just like you, and only you. None of the other girls make such an impression on me, anyway."
Once again, Gwen went all pink in the face, looking away slightly, "...Hmpf, well what IS so special about me then, Trent? What can possibly be so attractive that you just HAD to like me...?"
Softly smiling, Trent started to list off, "...Well, for starters...you're very artistic, creative, bold when you need to be, mysterious.." while he kept going, Gwen could feel him moving in closer, "...clever, intelligent, witty, and very...VERY pretty.."
Her eyes opening wide, Gwen just stared on as he leaned in closer, "...Y-You really mean all that, for serious-" her sentence was interrupted when she felt Trent's lips gently pressing against hers, his arms slowly forming around her. Her mind started racing at that moment...Trent was actually KISSING her...in the freaking closet of all places!
..Still, she couldn't help but melt into the moment, as her eyes fluttered closed and arms slowly wrapping around his neck. Their kiss started getting deeper, MUCH deeper...until...
"TIME'S UP!" Bridgette's voice called from behind the door, "7 minutes have passed, time to get out-" the door suddenly swung open as the crowd saw Trent and Gwen kissing right in front of them. Gwen could've sworn she heard some anguished female groans coming from the crowd.
"Whoooa man! You guys must've been going DEEP!" Geoff remarked at the sight, as the two young lovebirds pulled away from one another, blushing hard and smiling. "Reminds me of the first time me and Bridge spent 7 minutes in heaven..right babe?"
"Hehe, you bet~" Bridgette smiled back at him, kissing him on the cheek when everyone heard a loud thud from upstairs. "Oh crap! Forgot about Duncan and Courtney!" the birthday boy gasped, rushing up the stairs to make sure nothing important was broken...or his folks would throw a fit later.
As he and the rest of the party were busy going upstairs to investigate, Trent and Gwen stayed behind. "Man...talk about being in heaven for 7 minutes..." Trent gave a slow sigh, still pretty red in the face, "...Kinda makes me wish I WAS in heaven for real.."
"Hehe...y-yeah..me too..." Gwen giddily replied, dreamily looking on with a content smile. Seeing as they were now alone, Trent got an idea, "Hey, I think that one icecream shop is still open at this hour." he mentioned, taking Gwen's hand in his, "...Wanna go ditch the party and head over there?"
Smiling big, the goth couldn't help but accept, "Sure, let's get going." As the two snuck out for themselves, Geoff and the party-goers were too busy gawking awkwardly at the sight they found in one of the closets. With Duncan and Courtney half-dressed, and already caught up too far into their little "heaven", it was surely going to make headlines at the school's newspaper in the week to come afterwords...