An hour has passed since the party started and everyone was at their peak. Liv kept the shots of vodka flowing, Grace encouraged everyone to dance, Alo passed around hand-rolled spliffs, and despite what Rich had said earlier, he was having somewhat fun after he had a few drinks in him.
Some dance music was playing loudly in the background while Nick had his arms wrapped loosely around Mini's waist. They had danced for awhile, wearing proof from the light gleam of sweat on their foreheads. Mini's head was thrown back, feeling the vodka and letting the music flow within her. She felt Nick's lips trace up her neck and couldn't help but think about what it would lead to. The thought of it made her want to throw up, so she abruptly stopped and made her excuses. "Ugh, I feel sick. I need some air." Nick nodded and didn't even offer to go accompany her; he just continued to dance.
She made her way to the balcony, pulling back the sliding glass door to reveal a small figure standing there. Mini half gasped, half sighed. Not quite sure whether she was relieved or nervous. She took the few steps to get to the banister so she was standing next to Franky. She watched as Franks rolled a spliff and brought it up to her tongue to lick it. Fire began to fume in the pit of Mini's stomach. What is this feeling? Instead of looking at her, Mini looked straight ahead at the clouded skies.
"What are you hiding out here for Franks? Party's inside."
"Oh...I just. I don't know. Needed some air I s'pose. I could ask you the same thing."
Looking for you. She fought to quell that voice, silencing it. "Same thing. Music's so loud, I can't even hear myself think," she laughed nervously.
Franky proceeded to light her spliff, taking a long drag of it and holding it in for what seemed like forever. She leaned against the edge, slightly facing Mini as she blew the smoke in her general direction. When she offered her the spliff, Mini didn't even hesitate. "Cheers," she said before taking an extra long drag.
After they had passed it back and forth for awhile, Franky licked her thumb and pinched the spliff to put it out. She looked at Mini and said, "Come and dance." It didn't really sound much like a question; it sounded a bit more like a promise, which was odd. It was three simple words; why did it make Mini shiver with goose bumps? What're you doing to me Franky?
Mini tried to fight the smile, but eventually the corners of her mouth twitched up as she followed Franky. When they made their way back inside, the music had been turned down and nobody was downstairs. They stood there for awhile, looking around them until Mini shouted, "NICK?"
There was no answer the first time around, but after the third time, they distinctly heard Nick yell back, "Yeah babes, we're up here!"
They followed his voice upstairs and into his room. Mini opened the door only to find all of them huddled into a circle with an empty vodka bottle in the middle.
Nick smiled drunkenly and slurred, "Aye babes. You made it just in time. We're playing seven minutes in heaven."
Mini laughed like Nick just told the funniest joke ever. "What are we, in Year 9?"
"Oh don't be boring Mins! 'Sides, we're right drunk and it gives us the chance to know each other properly. Amiright mates?" Nick's rugby leadership instincts were definitely kicking in. And like good team mates, they all roared in agreement of their captain.
Mini looked over at Franky and she was already on her way to take a seat between Grace and Rich. She eventually gave in, and sat next to Nick who had a victorious grin plastered on his face.
"I'll go first!" Grace chimed in. She spun the empty vodka bottle. It went round and round until it finally landed on Rich who blushed beet red in comparison to his pale skin. Grace smiled widely, which made Rich even redder. All around the circle, everyone hollered in encouragement. Alo was probably the loudest. Grace pulled his lanky figure up to his feet and led him into the closet.
After seven minutes of constant giggling, drinking, and smoking, the whole gang watched as two happy people walked out to return to their seats on the floor. Their faces were flushed, and they both wore goofy smiles. Alo slapped Rich on the back, elbowing him, "Yeahhh man! How was it?"
"Shut it Alo. Besides, I don't kiss and tell…" he nearly whispered in the end of the sentence, realizing maybe he shouldn't have said that out loud after all. He was properly embarrassed now.
Nick clapped his hands together and said, "Alright! Who's next?" He surveyed around the circle, eyeing each of them. "How about Franky? You been hiding out all day. C'mon then!"
Franky shrugged, took a drag of her spliff, and left it hanging on the corner of her mouth until she spun the bottle. All the while, Mini was as nervous as ever. Her heart was pounding with what it seemed to be anticipation, but for what? A war waged inside her; Oh god, please be me. Noooo, please don't let it be me. It looked like it was about to land on Nick, but to Mini, it seemed like a gust of wind just blew it onto her. So when it landed on her, she had a moment of solitary panic. Her ears were ringing, her eyes began to blur, and the room suddenly just started spinning. After what seemed like forever, she slowly looked up and stared at the brown eyes in front of her. And at that moment, it felt like those eyes just anchored her back into reality.
Franky smirked, "Shall we?" She stood up, and once again, offered Mini her hand.
As they stumbled into the closet, Nick shouted, "Don't have too much fun without me babe," punctuating it with a wink. Everyone followed, chanting "Woo!" and "Go Mini/Franky!"
In the tiny closet, there was only about an inch separating them. Mini attempted to be light-hearted, "Ugh, we are definitely partying with a bunch of Year 9s."
"W-We don't have to do anything…y'know? It's okay either way.."
Mini smiled nervously, thankful but disappointed that Franky had said that. She wasn't sure what she wanted to do, but the words slipped out before she can help it. "Don't be silly Franks. It's just snogging, not a big deal. Doesn't mean anything, yeah? It's the drugs and alcohol."
She was silent for awhile, but she managed to get a few words out. "Yeah…right."
Mini gazed into her eyes, almost transfixed. She dared to lower venture onto her lips, staring at them as if it would magnetize her own lips to meet hers. Shit. What are you doing Mini? But eventually, another voice spoke louder within her. Oh fucks sake, shut up. Just do it. So she gave into temptation, and used her forefinger and thumb to tilt Franky's chin up. She slightly tilted her own head and leaned down to press her lips against hers. It didn't feel like a shock this time, but instead it felt like fireworks. It started out slow, but it quickly turned into something so much hungrier and frantic.
Franky placed her hand on the back of Mini's neck, pushing her deeper into the kiss. The small soft hairs of her neck became entwined between Franky's fingers. This feeling fueled the fire in the pit of Mini's stomach. It became even more frantic, hands flying everywhere, pushing and pulling, but their lips never parted. And when it finally did, they both gasped for air for a second only to have Mini claim Franky's lips once again. She sucked on her bottom lip and traced the contours of her upper lip with her tongue. Their tongues clashed together, massaging against each other. It was a constant push and pull with no clear winner. Mini tasted the mixture of vodka and spliff in Franky's mouth.
Eventually, Mini snapped back into reality and started softly pushing Franky's shoulders back against the wall, finally parting their lips. Franky's hands were on Mini's waist, subconsciously drawing her in. Their foreheads were pressed together, as if they couldn't bear to be physically disconnected. Mini fluttered her eyes closed and whispered, "Shit. This…this didn't happen." Their breaths were labored, panting from the lack of space and from the kissing.
Franky moved her hand to cup the side of her cheek, stroking it with her thumb. "..But it did Mins."
She slowly shook her head, "It wasn't supposed to."
Franky looked at her for awhile. Realizing that she wasn't as strong as she first came off. She looked broken down, wary for some reason. Like maybe she laid her armor down once again. Maybe she was just tired. After all, Franky didn't know what the kiss meant for her anyway. "Hey," she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, "It was the drugs and alcohol right? Didn't mean anything.."
Mini felt something break inside. She was absolutely disappointed, but figured at least Franky offered her a way out. So she just played it off and smiled, "Yeah…that's what it was..." They both quickly stood up straight, fixing each other's clothes and hair.
There was a slight lipstick smudge on the corner of Franky's mouth, and Mini couldn't help but smile as she noticed. "Wait Franky," she licked her tongue and wiped at the stain until it was finally gone. "There. That's better."
Franky grinned in return and said, "Ready?" as she reached for the door knob.
"Yeah, whenever you are."
