So I decided to add some OC's right now, because it didn't feel right using characters from the movie.

Which, you might soon understand why.

I'm actually thinking of changing/revising/removing this chapter. So we'll see.

A Night to Remember

"So Jamie, did you find a date for the winter formal yet?"

"Uh…yeah. Pippa."

"God, finally. I thought you would never ask her," Alec replied in noticeable relief.

I bit my tongue as I put on my jacket and closed my gym locker. I didn't want to tell him that Pippa was the one who actually asked me to the dance. I didn't want to seem like a nervous underclassman in front of my team captain.

"Well, hey," he continued as he finished packing up his things, "I'm throwing an after-party up at my parents' cabin. You and Pippa should come."

I felt my eyes widen ever so slightly at the invitation. Alec was two years older than me. I knew he was a nice guy and a good leader, but I didn't expect him to want to hang out with me on his own terms.

"Uh…yeah that sounds awesome. Where is it?"

"I'll text you the address. It's not too far from here, just about a half hour or so," he said as he picked up his gym bag and slung it over his shoulder.

"Thanks," I responded looking up into his face and smiling a little in gratitude.

Alec warmly smiled back and replied, "Not a problem. I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Yeah, see ya," I said as he walked around me to leave the locker room.

As he left, I felt my pocket vibrate and I knew that my mom had texted me letting me know she was here. I quickly picked up my own bag and exited the locker room and gym.

…

"So how was practice?" she asked after I had climbed into the seat next to her and buckled my seatbelt.

"Fine. Same as it always is, I guess," I told her. I know it's a parent's responsibility to check up on their kids, but life is just so freaking repetitive that nothing that interesting ever happens on a day-to-day basis. It seems like there should be better conversation-starters. It didn't help that we've run out of things to talk about. The car ride from my school to Sophie's school to home was ridiculously long. My school wasn't in our district, since it was a private school, so my mom had to always pick me up after she was done with work and then go to get Sophie from her after-school club.

"Well, do you think you'll be ready for your next meet?" she asked, taking her eyes off the road for a split second to glance over at me.

"Yeah…I think. The upperclassmen are all really good. And the coach is even going to bring in some martial artists occasionally to teach us different fighting techniques on top of what we've been practicing."

"Wow, that sounds exciting."

It did sound exciting. I was actually really happy that I had joined the wresting team. The other people on it and I all got along really well, and everyone was determined to kick butt in the meets and tournaments. The coaches were good trainers, and somehow made me feel more confident that my scrawny-self could actually win in a fight. Granted, I gained some muscle since I started training. But I never really saw myself as a physically capable person before. It made me feel good.

"So, are you ready for your first dance?" she asked sounding almost too curious.

"Come on, mom. It's not that big a deal. I'm just going with Pippa," I retorted back. Pippa and I had made a deal that if we both couldn't find dates by yesterday, we would go with each other. And it turned out the guy she wanted to ask already had a date, and I just wasn't debonair enough to ask anyone.

"Yeah, but I'm your mom. So everything you do is a big deal to me," she said throwing me a smile, which caused me to grin and roll my eyes. "Besides," she continued, "Even if you two just go as friends, you could still have a really good time."

I guess that was true. And there was the party Alec invited to me afterwards… Speaking of which.

"Hey mom," I asked trying to tread cautiously, "Could I borrow the car tomorrow night?"

"Yeah, of course. I was planning on letting you have it anyway," she said.

"Thanks…" I said while trying to delicately word my thoughts, "And would it be alright if I went over my Alec's house afterwards? He's having a team party since we have a meet next week."

It's not exactly a lie… After all, Alec or one of the other seniors would have a get-together the weekend before previous meets. It was to promote team morale or whatever. This was no different.

After a long pause, my mother finally gave me her answer, "Alright. But you know the rules. Text me when you get there and then before you leave for home. And keep your phone on you so I can call you."

A wave of relief washed through me and I felt myself sink into the car cushion. "Sure thing, mom," I said.

…

It seemed like a strange coincidence that the winter formal fell on Jamie's birthday. Of course, none of our friends at school knew this except me. And I promised Jamie to keep it quiet. I know how his birthday puts him in a bad mood.

I rang the doorbell to Jamie's house and waited. Even though I know Jamie and his family well enough to walk in unannounced, I felt that the current situation called for being traditional. It was cold, but at least there was no snow on the ground.

After a short moment, Jamie answered the door and his face lit up when he saw me, which caused my face to break out in an embarrassed smile. He looked good. He was already dressed and looked like he was just about to leave.

"Wow, Pippa. You look fantastic," he said opening the door more to let me in. "But aren't I supposed to come over and pick you up?"

"Yeah...well. You were taking too long," I teased.

He rolled his eyes, partly from my sarcasm and partly because his mom gasped when she rounded the corner to see me standing there.

"Oh, Pippa. You look beautiful! Come here, let me get a picture of you!" she said gesturing for me to stand by the stairs. I must have either made the right dress choice or both of them were just astounded to see me willingly wearing a dress. I wore the stupid uniform for school, but I always got in trouble for 'violating the dress code'. It peeved me so much that the girls were required to wear skirts, but the boys could wear pants.

Also by 'a picture', Mrs. Bennett really meant fifty pictures. She took photos of me, of Jamie, of Jamie and me, of us and Sophie, of us turned around to leave... You name it. Normally I would have been embarrassed by the attention, but I knew Jamie's family as if they were my family. Plus since my mom had to work late tonight at the hospital, she was depending on Mrs. Bennett for pictures.

"Alright you two have fun!" she called to us as we turned around to leave. "And don't forget to text me and Pippa's mom, Jamie!"

"For the thousandth time I won't forget, mom. Now can we go now?" he asked. I could tell he was getting irritated.

But Mrs. Bennett simply smiled at him and said, "Yes, I'm sorry. Go on and have a good time." She kissed Jamie and me goodbye and we both left to drive to the school.

"God, I thought we'd never get out of there," he exclaimed as he pulled out of his driveway in his mom's car.

"Oh come on, Jamie. She's just excited for us," I told him, trying to get him to lighten up.

"Not sure why…"

I snorted at his negativity. "She probably secretly hopes that we'll start dating or something and then live happily ever after," I said a little humorously. It's not that I've never thought about it. And to be honest, I've thought about it more and more since we entered high school together. But…at the same time, it would be really weird. He was my best friend, and I've heard too many stories about how dating someone ruins your friendship. Jamie was too important for me to risk that…

"Yeah, well," Jamie started to say, "I feel bad because you at least tried to ask someone else. I couldn't even work up the guts to do that."

"Don't worry about it, Jamie. There's just no one at the school you like enough to make a fool out of yourself for," I said jokingly. The downside of this private school was that it was a Catholic school with a lot fewer students than the public high school. There were only so many candidates to choose from.

I saw Jamie glance over at me as he drove before saying in a soft tone, "You do look really beautiful tonight, Pippa."

I felt my cheeks warm a little at the comment and replied, "Thank you…you too."

He quickly snorted before saying, "You think I look beautiful?"

"Shut up! You know what I mean," I said laughing and gently hitting his arm.

…

I gotta say, the dance was a lot more fun than I expected. The school rented out a small hall and the music wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I honestly thought they would resort to classical music and make us all ballroom dance while warning us to 'save room for Jesus'. Granted, I think I heard one chaperone say that. But overall, it was a good time.

We met up about halfway through with Alec and his date, Allison. I felt like my mother for a second when my own thoughts described them as a very good-looking couple. It's such an old-school phrase; although, it was true. They both had stunning blonde hair and Allison's dress was a rich-shade of blue that complimented her thinner frame really well. And I'll admit that Alec also looked good in a suit that sported a matching tie to Allison's dress, which was coincidentally a very similar blue to his eyes. Christ he had amazing eyes. In general…I felt jealous.

But that wasn't to say I was ashamed of Pippa. To be fair, she matured…extremely well. She wore a black, satin, strapless dress that had bright indigo flowers embroidered up one side, bordering a slit that exposed a matching indigo layer underneath. And she even wore make-up, which surprised me because I've never seen her with it before. However, it really brought out her eyes and made her look elegant. I guess I couldn't help but take some pride in the fact she was my date.

I jumped out of my thoughts when I felt someone put a hand on my shoulder. I turned around to see Alec. "You know how to get there, right?" he pseudo-shouted at me over the music.

I turned a little to look at him. "Uh, yeah. I looked up the directions earlier. But, why are you leaving so early?" I asked considering there was still half an hour left of the formal.

"Yeah. Just to set up and stuff. Feel free to show up whenever though," he said smirking at me and I noticed his eyes flicker over to Pippa. I think he's got the wrong idea about her and me…

"Alright, see you soon!" I told him. He nodded and left out the main doors with Allison.

…

After driving and Pippa making fun of me for getting lost, we finally made it to Alec's cabin. It appeared to be part of a neighborhood that was situated near the lake. If it weren't for the light coming out of the house, the area would have been a lot more eerie considering that the forest was pitch black.

As we walked in, we were greeted with loud music and cheers from the people who got there before us.

"What's going on?" I asked smiling at Alec as he walked over to us.

"Nothing, they're doing that for everyone that walks in. But come on in," he said as he wrapped an arm around my shoulders and led me into the kitchen. "Help yourself," he said gesturing to a keg and an array of liquor bottles on the counter.

"I...uh…" I faltered not really knowing what to do.

"You haven't had a drink before have you?" he asked. He wasn't being condescending, just making an observation.

"Ehm…no," I admitted honestly.

"Don't worry about it. I'll look after you. Just stop at three beers and see how you feel. I can guarantee that three won't really do much to you," he said reassuringly.

I gave him a small smile before grabbing a cup to fill it with beer. I did trust Alec. In fact, I kind of looked up to him.

And Alec's advice would have probably been solid, if it weren't for the two shots I did in addition to the beers…

"Damn Jamie, I didn't realize how hard you partied," Alec said laughing a little as he took a drink.

"Yeah, me neither," I said glancing over at Pippa. She was sitting next to me on the couch and I had my arm around her. She had brought a change of clothes with her, whereas my clothes just became heavily disheveled. My shirt had come untucked and I had to loosen my tie and roll up my sleeves. The apartment was really hot… But I liked how much the alcohol made me relax. Why the hell was I so worried about getting close to Pippa anyway? Maybe by the end of the night I could…

"You don't even know partying, Alec," Allison exclaimed interrupting my thoughts, "I don't think you'll be able to keep up with me when we go off to university next year."

"Heh, and why's that?" Alec said smirking over at her and taking another drink.

"Because you know I can go harder and longer than you," she said winking over at him, causing a couple of guys around us to laugh at Alec for the wicked burn his girlfriend gave him. I found it really hard to hide a grin as well. I just didn't expect that out of the petite blonde girl.

"Tch- And what exactly was the hardest partying you've ever done?" he inquired curiously while raising an eyebrow at her.

"Oh…you know," she said thoughtfully while crossing her legs, "I went to my sister's friend's party a few months ago, it was all girls. And we ended up drinking so much that I ended up making out with this other girl. And you missed it," she added teasingly pointing at him with her pinky finger.

Alec's smirk grew wider as he said, "Eh, I call bullshit. You're just making stuff up at this point."

"Say what you want. Doesn't change the fact that she was a better kisser than you. Must just be a girl's natural trait," she added giggling. A loud, drawn-out OH came from the rest of the group at how she managed to burn him a second time.

"Well put your tongue where your mouth is Alli," Alec's best friend Mikey challenged while perching himself on the arm of the couch. "I dare you to kiss Pippa and prove it," he said smirking at her.

My smile faded and I instantly glanced over at Pippa, whose face I saw had reddened a little. I knew why she was nervous. "Pippa," I muttered so only she could hear, "You don't have to if you don't want to. I'll tell them to-"

"No, it's alright Jamie," she said quietly. "Better I practice on someone I don't care about first, right?" she asked rhetorically, while smiling a little over at me.

"Right…" I said slowly. I knew that Pippa hadn't kissed anyone yet and that she was kind of saving it for someone important. But, if she was alright with it…

Pippa got up off the couch and leaned over the coffee table towards Allison. But Allison put her hands up to stop her before saying, "Woah, woah, woah. If I'm doing a dare it's only fair you guys do too. If I have to kiss Pippa, I dare you," she said pointing at Alec, "to kiss Jamie."

My eyes grew wide and I saw Alec glance over at me before boldly looking back at his girlfriend and agreeing casually, "Fine, whatever."

"Alright," Allison said grinning at him. "Come here, beautiful," she said playfully as she stood up and leaned over the table.

The instant those two locked lips, the guys all broke into a roar of hoots and hollers. I on the other hand just watched Pippa as if in a trance. She and Allison were trying not to smile as their lips gently pressed together and pulled apart. Those few seconds they were kissing passed by almost in slow-motion. And as Pippa pulled back, Allison licked Pippa's top lip, which caused Pippa to burst out in a high-pitch giggle as she fell back next to me with her hand over her mouth. God, she was cute.

"Alright, gentlemen!" Allison exclaimed as the rest of the party had gathered around us at that point.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm a man of my word," Alec said as he turned his body towards mine and took a sip of his drink.

I leaned up on one knee and turned towards him. The group around us started to count down and I could already feel my face reddening in embarrassment. I haven't really kissed anyone before either. And now I had to do it in front of everyone? How…? But Alec smiled at me encouragingly and held out his cup offering me another drink. I took the cup and downed a large gulp, of which I realized was a rum and coke. As I slowly swallowed that liquid courage, I heard the crowd reach the number three.

Before the crowd even managed to make it to one, I felt Alec gently hold the side of my head as he smoothly leaned into me.

At that moment, I think my breath stopped. His lips were soft and gently moved against mine, guiding me and my movements almost reflexively. As if they were off in the distance I heard the loud cheers of the girls just as the guys had done for Pippa and Allison. But mostly I was concentrating on not messing up.

I felt Alec grab onto my hip as he tilted his head and pushed into me. Without even thinking, I opened my mouth and gave him my tongue, which prompted the room to burst out into screaming. He playfully toyed with my tongue for a while before biting onto my lip.

"Oh my God! They're so into it!" a random female voice shrieked in the background, which prompted me to reach up and pull Alec's hips against mine.

After a few more seconds we both halted and I opened my eyes to see Mikey pulling Alec away from me, whose cheeks displayed a prominent blush and he buried his face into his hand.

"Hey Alec! Say hi!" one of the girls called to him and I looked over to see her holding up her phone to us. He laughed and pushed her hand away, which caused her to focus on me. "Come on Jamie!" she said trying to insinuate me to acknowledge what just happened. Bashfully, I smiled and ran my hand through my hair before holding my fist out in a peaceful gesture to Alec, which he reciprocated and bumped his knuckles against mine. It was a measly effort at restoring our manhood.

…

The next week at school was…interesting. The girl who took the video of us had posted it on an app that included all the students in the school. So the story spread in a heartbeat. I noticed girls staring at me more in the hallway, and even blush once they realized I had noticed them watching me. It was the weirdest and most satisfactory feeling I've ever had. I couldn't help grinning myself when I walked past them.

Outside of practice, the only time I saw Alec was during Psychology. My mind was having a hard time pushing the kiss out of my mind, but not even he let me forget about it.

I was sitting in the back, half-paying attention to what the teacher was explaining when I saw him turn around to look at me. He smirked when I caught his eye and pursed his lips to silently kiss at me. My face reddened a little and I hid my embarrassed grin behind my hand. I looked up after a second and he was smirking at me, but then he seductively ran his tongue along his lip as if trying to entice me. I removed my hands and attempted to return the gesture; however, I cracked halfway through and ended up grinning before averting my eyes.

Could I honestly say that I enjoyed the playful flirting? I've never been much of a flirtatious person, but with Alec it was easy for some reason. Maybe it was because we were already friends, or maybe it was because we had already kissed. Which…still managed to make my stomach flop whenever I imagined it. If kissing a guy was that good…I could only imagine what kissing a girl would do to me…

"Uhm, I'm looking for an Alec Pearson? They need you in the office for a second" a voice behind me called. Everyone turned around, including me, to see the athletic director in the doorway leaning inside.

"Alec," the teacher nodded to him and dismissing him from class before resuming her lecture.

I picked up my pen to try and continue taking notes on the history of psychotherapy; however, as Alec walked past my desk, he discretely traced his fingers up my right arm. I smirked ever so slightly, but resisted looking at him out of fear of drawing attention to our antics. Although, I couldn't help but feel as though his fingers left a trail of electricity up my arm…

…

But all thoughts about the party and the attention I was getting in school were finally pushed out my mind at practice. Our coach was relentless and pushed us to the limit constantly. At least practice this week was interesting though. He brought in an instructor, who spent the last hour of each day teaching us basic judo. The idea was to either get us interested in other fighting styles, or at least train us in other methods of fighting.

As this was my first year, I had never received this instruction or was very good at it. I tried my best, but that didn't stop me from getting flipped by my teammates a lot.

"Mikey! You and Jamie!" the instructor called to him before pairing up everyone else.

Ah great. The team was already giving him and I crap for what happened at the party, and Mikey was one of the worst. Now I'd have to hear him taunt me about how Alec takes my breath away or how cute I am on my back. I knew they were teasing, but it still managed to bother me.

As expected, Mikey flipped me within like five seconds. We were in the same weight class, but he was definitely stronger and better than me. However, our coach and instructor told us constantly that strength doesn't ensure victory when it comes to wrestling or fighting.

I jumped back up and prepared my stance. My bangs were stuck to my forehead, so I blew a breath up to cool myself a little. He smirked at me again as if daring at me to try and take him. We took several seconds sizing each other up, but then Mikey quickly found his opening and came at me again, wrapping his arms around my waist to flip me. But on the way down, I grabbed his leg pulling him off balance, causing him to fall with me.

He quickly recovered and crawled on top of me, crossing my arms behind my back and holding them there, using our combined weight to prevent me from moving. I grunted and struggled to break my arms free. But he kept me pinned…

Then as if to further restrain me further, he shoved his knee between my legs and crossed his ankles underneath mine, completely preventing me from kicking free.

I clenched my teeth and panted through them, struggling to escape however I could. If this were a real meet, I would have lost so hard.

I attempted to thrash in any way I could, but Mikey only responded by tightening his grip.

"Mikey…stop," I grimaced, arching my back to try and push him off of me as best as I could.

I opened my eyes and looked up at him. His dark hair was also heavily disheveled and he was looking at me with the smallest hint of a smirk. As if he liked seeing me like this.

"What?" he said in a low tone, "I thought you liked this kind of thing."

At that moment I realized that he wasn't just joking around with me. "Get off," I growled still struggling to push him off of me. I glanced around the gym, but the coaches were spotting other pairs.

"Say you'll quit the team and I will," he demanded under his breath.

I knew Mikey never liked me, but I didn't realize he wanted me off the team entirely. And the last thing I wanted was to give him that satisfaction.

"No," I grunted while attempting to twist my body and roll him off of me; however, he was unmovable.

"Well...Can't say I didn't ask nicely," he said. And then suddenly, he roughly shoved his lips against mine before springing off of me and wickedly smirking down at me. "Get up, faggot," he sneered causing several people around us to glance over.

I wasn't about to put up with that. Burning with anger, I stood up and stormed out of the gym. I needed to get out…

"Jamie!" I heard Alec call from behind me. But the damage was already done. Mikey and the rest of them weren't just teasing. They wanted me gone.

My eyes burned as I grabbed my bag from my locker desperately trying to settle my thoughts. What the fuck was I even thinking at the party?

"Hey," I heard his voice as he rounded the row of lockers to see me. He leaned one hand on the wall as his back rose and fell from panting heavily. "Wait-"

"Just get away from me," I choked out, betraying the tears I was holding back, before turning to head away.

"Jamie!" he called again.

"LEAVE ME ALONE, ALRIGHT!" I yelled at him before turning out the door. I didn't want him to follow me. I didn't want to talk to him. I just needed to get away.

It was pouring rain. I sniffed once before pulling out my cell phone.

"Hello?" I never thought I would be so happy to hear my mom's voice in my life.

"Hey, mom, I need you to come get me."

"Honey, I can't right now. I'm in a meeting and I'm across town."

"Please, mom," I begged as the tears finally broke free and fell down my cheek.

"I'm sorry, baby, but the soonest I could be there is in another hour…"

"Fine, never mind. I'll see you at home," I said curtly before hanging up. My mom was supposed to be there for me. But she was always fucking working. Why, for once, couldn't she come through when I really needed her?

Frustrated, the only thing I could do was turn around and kick the metal door as hard as I could. Then I remembered that Alec or someone was probably still in there…

I turned tail and ran as fast as I could across the campus grass. I ran down the streets. I ran as far as I could, the cold rain soaking instantly into my clothes, but I didn't care. I didn't care that my house was ten miles from my school. I didn't care that my lungs burned and my hands were numb.

By the time I got home, my body was frozen. I unlocked the door to my house and trudged up the stairs and upon entering my room, stripped myself of all my wet clothes and crawled under my covers.

I was shivering erratically. I curled into a ball and hugged my knees trying to conserve my heat, but there was nothing I could do to stop it. At the same time, I still liked the cold. As if feeling my body numb could also numb my thoughts and feelings. I didn't even know what to think anymore.

Yeah I kissed Alec. But I like girls. I wanted nothing more than to kiss Pippa when I was drunk that night. Her…yet I kissed him. And then I flirted with him. Maybe there's just something about him…

Not that it matters. I couldn't look at him ever again. He was just messing around with me. He didn't mean any of it.

The tears bled from my eyes as I held my knees against me. I was just starting to warm up when I heard my mom and sister downstairs. Next thing I knew, my mom quietly opened the door to check on me.

"Jamie?" she asked quietly.

I didn't move. I would rather pretend to be asleep than talk to her. The last thing I wanted to do was tell my mom about my day today. Thankfully, she left after a minute.

Lost in thought, I lay there for hours. So many hours as countless questions flooded my mind so quickly that I didn't know how to deal with them. What would people say?

Realizing I could check, I got out of bed and walked over to my bag before pulling out my cell phone. I logged on to the gossip app, which just the previous day was filled with stupid rumors about who hooked up with whom after the winter formal. Now, the first thing I saw was with Mikey's pseudonym:

Hilarious! Jamie Bennett couldn't help but cream himself once Alec had his hands all over him. #wrestlefag #off the team #pitch a tent much?

Jesus-FUCK! That didn't even fucking happen! He wanted me off the team that bad? Why?

And then there was more. So much more.

Adam and Eve, not Adam and Jamie Bennett. #fag #banBennett

No place for homos at our school. #banBennett

I hope he dies from AIDS. #banBennett

Knew he was gay. His hair is too fabulous.

No wonder he joined the wresting team. #pervert #banBennett

Sinners to hell! #banBennett

Fucking fairy trash #banBennett

I cry escaped my throat and before I knew it, I chucked my phone against the far wall. Leaning down into my knees, I pulled at my hair and sobbed relentlessly.

This would spread like wildfire. That school is extremely conservative and any scrap of a reputation I had was about to be shattered. I couldn't go back there. Just after one night. One mistake.

After several minutes, my body started to shiver again. It was late. My mom and sister had already gone to bed. I walked over to my dresser and pulled out pajama pants and a sweatshirt. My feet were still freezing, I could feel a draft coming in from outside.

Walking over to lock my window, little swirling flecks caught my attention. It was snowing…

Changing my mind, I threw open my window and leaned out on the ledge.

"Jack! Jack! Please!" I called out begging like an idiot. "Please! I still believe in you! I don't ask you for anything, but please come back! You promis-" I felt my voice crack as I realized there was no one out there. He wasn't coming. I'm too old to have a Guardian…

I buried my face in my hands, feeling truly alone for the first time in my life. There was no one else I could talk to.

No one I could turn to…

Interesting enough? Or god-awful?

Let me know! Reviews always appreciated and encourage me to write faster!

*Disclaimer: I did take several scenes from the movie "Suicide Room". I don't like straight-up taking scenes from movies and originally wasn't going to include a backstory of Jamie at all. But when I saw the film I thought "What a fantastic way to incorporate the issue of cyber bullying into this!" So that's why I did that. Incredible movie by the way, but extremely sad.

**the rest of this story will be nothing like the rest of that movie. I couldn't write something that good anyway.