It was just after midnight and the party to celebrate the end of mid-terms at Eagle State University was well underway. It was the last time many of them would see each other before a short break; most of them were going home for a week. Julie was designated driver for the night as always, drinking a Red Bull as she chatted with friends over the loud music.
"I think my skull is vibrating." said Shelley, Julie's roommate. She was only a little tipsy, but she was standing right next to the sound system.
"We should turn it down, I'm going deaf." said Julie.
"No, I like it!" Shelley giggled.
"Hey," said Derek, Shelley's boyfriend. "Don't you know that girl?"
Julie looked in the direction he was pointing. "Yeah! That's Dylan, my friend from back home. I didn't know she was here."
"That's what I thought. I was just pointing her out because it looks like Tyler is about to take her to one of the bedrooms. You know how he is with freshman girls."
"Oh my god, you're right. I'll be right back."
Julie pushed her way through Derek's crowded living room. Dylan and Tyler had already disappeared by the time she reached the other side, which only made Julie's search more urgent. She hadn't spoken to Dylan in a while, but she was still pretty sure that Dylan was the kind of girl that would have to be drunk and not aware of what she was doing if she was following Tyler back there.
Julie passed two dark, empty bedrooms. There was a light on in the third bedroom, the door only slightly ajar. She poked the door with one finger so she could see inside. From her position in the hallway she could see Dylan on the bed, flat on her back with the bottom half of her legs hanging off the side. Her head was turned to the side, like she was passed out. Tyler set their drinks on the bedside table, the button on his pants already undone. He sat down on the bed next to Dylan, putting a hand on her stomach and rubbing her to see if she'd wake up.
"Hey..." Tyler whispered, clearly not trying very hard to wake her. His hands started to move to the button on Dylan's jeans.
"Hey." Julie said sharply, stepping into the doorway.
"Oh, shit." Tyler muttered, holding his pants closed as he got up and left the room.
"You're disgusting." Julie told him as he passed her. She walked quickly over to the bed to see if Dylan was alright. Her eyes were closed, but she was still moving.
"Dylan? Are you awake?" Julie took her hand, shaking it very gently.
Dylan moaned. "Hunhh?"
"Come on, sit up." Julie told her. "You have to drink some water."
"Nooo..." Dylan whined. "I drank too much already."
"I know, that's why you need water." Julie said patiently. Dylan could barely sit up by herself, and she leaned on Julie for support.
"I just want to go to sleep." said Dylan. Her eyes opened slowly, and she started to look frightened. "Oh god...I'm going to be sick..."
Julie's stomach turned when she heard Dylan heave. She grabbed the small waste bin by the side of the bed and put it in front of Dylan. Dylan fell to her knees on the floor and hung her head over it. She moaned again, nothing coming up yet. Julie took the opportunity to gather Dylan's hair behind her head.
Derek and Shelley appeared in the doorway.
"Is she okay?" Derek asked. Shelley looked on sympathetically.
"It's okay, she's just-" Julie stopped, interrupted by a horrible wretching sound. Most of Dylan's last two drinks were suddenly in the trash.
"Oh, the poor thing!" said Shelley.
"I'll get a cup with some water." said Derek, pulling Shelley away from the door with him.
Julie made sure there was no hair in Dylan's face. Dylan wretched again, and after another disgusting deposit, she seemed to be done. She leaned back, pushing the trash can away from her. She was a little less out of it now that she'd purged the poison.
"Julie..." she said, her voice shaky. "Please don't tell my mom."
She started to cry, curling up in an upright fetal position.
"I won't." Julie reassured her, rubbing her back gently.
"I promise I'll never do it again!" Dylan sobbed.
"Ohh." Julie said, making a sad sound. She reached out to hug Dylan, and Dylan uncurled her legs to let her.
Derek brought in a glass of water, setting it on the bedside table and leaving without saying a word.
"I'm so stupid." said Dylan after a while, sniffling.
"No you're not. You just went past your limit."
"I don't even know that guy."
"Are you here with friends?"
"No. I..." Dylan looked down at her hands. "I don't really have any yet. I mean, except for you. But we don't really hang out..."
It had been a lonely senior year at high school without Julie, and she'd found it hard to make new friends so late in the game. She thought a fresh start at college would be a different experience, but for some reason she'd grown even more shy and closed off. She didn't share any classes with Julie, and now that Julie had gained sophomore status she didn't live in the same dorms either. They barely saw each other anymore.
"I mean, it's not your responsibility to hang out with me, I'm not trying to make you feel bad or anything." Dylan backpedaled.
Julie felt horrible. She'd always thought that Dylan was the outgoing one when they were little, but it seemed like their roles had switched.
"I'm so tired." said Dylan, rubbing her eyes. "And my mouth tastes like shit."
Julie handed Dylan the glass of water, telling her to drink it slowly.
"Why don't you come home with me and Shelley? You can spend the night in our room."
Dylan gave a half smile. "Really? Shelley won't mind?"
"Of course not! I have an extra toothbrush too."
Dylan felt so relieved to have help and company, knowing that if she'd gone back to her dorm room alone she would have cried herself to sleep again. She didn't even have a roommate to hide from, as she'd been randomly assigned to a single room.
Julie stood up, helping Dylan to her feet.
"Thank you so much Julie. I swear I'll make this up to you."
"Don't worry about it, I'm just glad you're okay." Julie smoothed Dylan's hair behind her ear, making Dylan smile sheepishly. For some reason she felt embarassed by the intimate gesture.
"I look horrible, don't I?"
"You look fine. You can't even tell..." Julie trailed off, looking at the garbage can. "I should probably throw that out."
"No Julie, I can do it." Dylan leaned down to take the plastic bag out of the can and almost fell over.
"Whoa." She said, grabbing Julie's outstretched hand to steady herself.
"I'll do it." Julie said, guiding her to sit back down on the bed. "Just drink the rest of the water - slowly - and get cleaned up. I'll let Shelley know we're leaving."
Dylan nodded, knowing in her heart why she hadn't made any real friends yet. None of them would ever measure up to Julie.