Rushed: Part Two.
"So, how long have you played football for?"
Stan looked to Darcy with a smile at the sweet tone of her question.
The two had been absolutely talking each other's ears off since their awkward run-in at the punch bowl earlier that evening. Neither of them had the first clue exactly how long they had been hanging out and chatting for, but judging by how much the temperature had dropped outside on Bebe's balcony, it had to be past ten o'clock at night at the very least by now.
Everyone else was still very much enjoying their Saturday night, too. The back porch was rocking and shaking with all of Bebe's friends dancing and jumping around to the loud music being pumped into the cool Spring air. Stan and Darcy had taken a seat on the couple of wooden steps leading down to the backyard and the swimming pool, leaning out of the way every now and then as the many other partying teenagers dodged the two new friends to go to and from the yard.
Trying as hard as he possibly could to keep the image of Bebe's pool out of the corner of his eye, Stan kept his vision on Darcy.
"Pretty much forever," he spoke, answering her question, "I played one season of Pee Wee hockey when I was four, then pretty much took up football straight after that. What about you? Do you play any sports?"
Darcy giggled to herself, "Not unless you count shopping as a sport?"
"You don't cheer like your friend?"
"Nah, it's not really my thing," she responded with a simple shrug, "Do you have any brothers to play football with, or anything?"
Stan shook his head, "Nope. I've got an older sister, but she's off at college, so it's just my parents and me at home."
"Same with me. Well, I don't have any older siblings - it's always been me just me and mom and dad."
Holding his friendly gaze on her as he raised his red cup up to his lips, Stan heaved his own shoulders in a shrug, "That's alright. Older siblings aren't all they're cracked up to be, anyways."
"Oh really?" Darcy asked with a teasing laugh, "Would you be saying the same thing if your parents ever had another kid?"
"Oh, hell no, dude. I would've been an awesome big brother - my sister's just completely psychotic," he laughed back, trying to make the statement sound like more of a joke than it actually was. After all, he had only been talking to this girl for all of two hours or so. Stan wasn't about to completely open up to Darcy and tell her anything crazy about his life. No matter how many intriguing queries she was throwing his way.
This thought made Stan pause for a moment as a gentle smile crossed his face again. It was like the two of them were playing one long, continuous games of twenty questions. And Darcy certainly wasn't the only one doing all the probing, either. The more that he managed to get out of her, too, the more Stan could see that this girl was way more than just a pretty face.
It was definitely a refreshing change from some of the girls he had known since elementary school.
Just as he was about to finish off the last of his punch, Stan raised a sarcastic eyebrow, "Any other deep, interesting questions you'd care to ask?"
Darcy raised her brow right back at him. There was no doubt that Stan was quite the charmer. But Darcy was all too ready to prove that she could be just as witty as he could.
"Single?"
As the last of the tropical flavoured punch trickled down the back of his throat, Stan almost spat it all back up at the sound of the callous two syllables that Darcy had breathed into the air. He coughed slightly, nearly spluttering at the harsh mixture of his drink and his choking emotions.
That was word that he hadn't spoken or even thought about in a long, long time.
Stan sighed with a dull grumble.
"Very single."
Darcy hadn't heard how spiteful or heated Stan's tone might have been when it left his mouth. All the teenage girl had heard was the specific phrasing of his reply. And all she had felt was her heart skipping a beat of joyful anticipation.
"Let me get our next drinks," she suddenly offered with renewed happiness. She sprung up from her place on the steps and snatched Stan's cup from his hand before turning around to disappear back into the house.
The second that she was gone, Stan felt his chest deflate.
It was rare these days that Stan ever really thought about the times where he hadn't been single. Very rare. Sure, he'd have his impulsive little moments here and there where he'd picture his ex-girlfriend's face or hear her voice in his head, but he never really allowed himself to simply sit back and dwell on any of it. But in that moment, as he repeated Darcy's one-worded question in his brain and uncontrollably felt his neck crane around to gaze at Bebe's swimming pool, Stan's entire body shuddered.
He remembered everything about that magical night almost two years ago now. How cool the water had been, how irresistibly soft her bare skin had felt against his touch, how the sound of her whispering his name had sent goosebumps flying throughout his soul. And how perfect it had felt to whisper her name right back.
But now, he never said her name anymore. It was nothing more than a distant memory, never to even be thought of again.
"Bottom's up!"
Suddenly being snapped from his haunting trance, Stan blinked and gazed back up as Darcy rejoined him on the step below him. She grinned, handing him his red cup as he glanced at her with his own grateful smirk.
"Thanks," he said, taking the beverage straight to his mouth. As soon as the first few drops passed his lips and splattered onto his tongue, Stan's nose and throat flared up in surprise at the strong, burning taste of the liquid. He expelled another cough from his lungs as he shot a knowing frown over to Darcy, "Okay, that does not taste the same as it did before..."
With an innocent shrug of her shoulders, Darcy bit down on her bottom lip, "Sorry. Marissa and I didn't realise this was gonna' be such a tame party."
Feeling his eyes narrow even more, Stan followed Darcy's gesture as she opened her black purse and held it out towards him. The twinkling lights hanging all around the balcony caught the silver colour of the small flask that shone back at him.
For a second, the teenage boy only stayed silent. The taste of vodka wasn't completely unfamiliar to him. He had drunk a couple of times before since he was about sixteen, but usually in a much more controlled environment. Normally it had just been he, Kyle, Cartman and Kenny sneaking drinks whenever any of their parents were out for the night. But this situation was different, and the concoction that Darcy had prepared for him was certainly much stronger than anything he had ever made himself.
"Is it okay?"
The apologetic tone in Darcy's sweet voice immediately brought Stan's eyes back to hers. Eventually, he could only nod his head with a smile, "Yeah. Yeah, of course, it's fine."
His bright expression made Darcy melt. She shyly glanced down into her lap for the briefest second, before she stared back up and held her own cup out towards him, "Okay, well... here's to new friends and new adventures."
Gazing into her brown coloured eyes, Stan felt his heart pitter-patter lightly against his rib cage as a curious smirk popped up in the corner of his lips. He wasn't quite sure why, but as he leant in and dinked his own cup with Darcy's, something about this particular new friend actually seemed sort of inviting...
"Cheers to that."
Bebe's cheeks were an uncomfortably hot shade of pink as she stared across the room at Kyle.
The adorable, green-hatted boy was standing in a group with the rest of the guys on the other side of the living room. They were messing around with one another and filling the room with loud, hilarious laughter. Bebe was so happy to see how much Kyle was enjoying himself.
There was only one tiny issue - he was still yet to spend any time with her.
Scraping on the brakes in the back of her mind, Bebe suddenly shook her head to herself. It didn't matter how much of a huge crush she had on Kyle, there was nothing even slightly serious going on between them. Even though he might have asked her especially if they could hang out later, he wasn't necessarily at liberty to seclude himself from the guys and commit a specific amount of time to her. Then again, it was her birthday...
"Is that him?"
Jumping in surprise as she heard a voice echo from beside her and felt a sharp nudge in her ribs, Bebe flicked her head around to find Marissa standing next to her. For a second, Bebe could only frown until her friend rolled her eyes and gestured towards Kyle.
"Oh," the blonde girl answered, "Oh, yeah, that's him. That's Kyle."
The Middle Park girl took a moment to let her eyes wander Kyle's frame up and down. Soon enough, she shrugged her shoulders with a small smirk, "I guess he's pretty cute. Does he know you like him?"
Bebe mirrored the heaving of her friend's shoulders, "I dunno'. I think so."
"Well, is there any sign he might like you back?" Marissa asked, latching onto Bebe's arm and pulling her down onto the couch with her. She leant in towards her to speak more clearly above the loud music still resonating in the tightened space, "Like, has he ever been super flirty, anything?"
Again, Bebe could only shake her head with an uncertain sigh, "I don't know. I mean, we've been friends for, like, ever, and we've always just kinda's clicked," the teenage girl paused for a second as she felt her heart flutter, "We've kissed before, but that was only for the sake of stupid, little kiddy games."
At this admission, a delighted smile instantly formed on Marissa's face. That was certainly an important factor that she hadn't yet been informed of. As the excitable cogs in her mind began to turn, the brunette Middle Park girl reached towards the coffee table in front of the couch. Snatching up an open bottle of cola and two empty cups, she glanced back to Bebe with a grin.
"Well, good thing we're not kids anymore," she commented as she filled up the two red cups, "Sounds like it's time for you to step up your game a bit."
Bebe watched her friend with a curious frown as Marissa poured enough cola into the cups so that they were about three quarters full. In the next instant, she looked around for a split second before she dug her hand down into her bag that was hanging from her shoulder and revealed a silver flask identical to the one that Darcy had also been carrying.
Bebe's eyes widened as she caught a smell of the liquid Marissa was using to top up the two drinks with, "What is it?"
"It's vodka," Marissa spat with an obvious tone, "Have you never had anything like this?"
"Maybe, like, once last year," Bebe argued as she took a nervous hold of the two cups.
The brown haired teen examined the apprehensive expression in her friend's features, "You don't have to get totally wasted, or anything, ya' know. Just loosen up a bit and turn one of those fake, kiddy kisses into a real kiss."
Bebe took a deep breath. Her parents were still milling through the crowd of teenagers somewhere, supervising them and keeping a very close eye on everything that every one of them were doing. She knew that they would absolutely kill her if they caught her drinking alcohol, but in a weird way, Bebe was sort of curious about the whole experience. And not just the experience in itself - but also how it might just assist the timid atmosphere between she and Kyle.
"This is what you want, right?"
The urging tone in Marissa's voice snapped Bebe out of her thoughtful trance. She blinked and stared blankly at her friend for a passing moment before the blonde girl firmly nodded her head.
Marissa grinned in anticipation, "Good! Well, how's about you take this," she spoke, shoving the flask into Bebe's jacket, "And in case you need it, there's still a whole bottle in my dufflebag I left up in your room."
Before Bebe had the chance to protest or say anything further, Marissa simply gave her a comforting squeeze on the arm and then ducked back into the crowd of party-goers. The second that she was gone, Bebe felt her confidence dwindle a little bit. She got up from the couch and twisted her body around slightly, nervously glancing back over towards Kyle.
The blonde girl gulped, finally taking one brave step forward. By the time she was about halfway across her living room, the Jewish boy just happened to flick his eyes up and notice her walking towards him. His features immediately brightened with delight.
Running his quick gaze over the group he was standing in, Kyle's smile grew to find that Clyde, Craig and the rest of the guys were far too distracted by their pointless conversation to notice their friend slip away and meet the birthday girl in the middle of the room.
Both of their hearts began to race as they beamed at each other.
"Hey," Kyle exclaimed.
Bebe smirked softly at him, "Hi."
There was only the shortest silence between them before Kyle cleared his throat.
"So... you enjoying your night?"
"Oh, yeah, totally!" Bebe replied, "I hope you guys are, too?"
Kyle felt a couple of goosebumps pop up on the skin of his arms, "Totally."
As the nervous quiet began to slowly overcome them again, Bebe suddenly remembered the two drinks she was holding in her hands. She subtly bit down on her bottom lip, hesitating for a just a second longer before she offered one to Kyle.
"Oh, thanks," he said, instantly taking the drink to his lips. Before any liquid even made any contact with his mouth, Kyle stopped, scrunching up his face as he caught a whiff of the strong fumes billowing from the small cup, "Jesus, dude," he commented with a sarcastic chuckle, "Where'd you get this from?"
An embarrassed blush fell into Bebe's cheeks. She knew Kyle was referring to much more than just the cup and the cola, "One of the girls brought it..."
The teenage girl waited with a breath held in. She hadn't exactly considered how Kyle might react at her attempts to basically force feed him alcohol, but before her nerves could completely eat her alive, the red-head grinned down at the gorgeous girl in front of him with a cheeky smile. As he raised the cup back up to his mouth and took one, big gulp, Bebe smiled right back at him.
"Do you wanna' go sit down somewhere, or?"
Bebe frowned for a second. The music thumping between the walls of her living room was so loud that she hadn't quite heard what Kyle had asked her, "Huh?"
Kyle matched her furrowed brow for a short moment before he chuckled to himself again and leant in towards her. Bebe's heart stopped. As her crush's head moved closer to her's and he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, she could almost swear that she was about to steal a page out of Stan's book and vomit everywhere in pure nervousness.
Using the hand that he was still holding his drink in, Kyle carefully pushed Bebe's blonde curls behind her ear and spoke into it with a slow and gentle tone, "I said do you wanna' go find somewhere to sit down and hang out?"
His breath was so deliciously warm in her ear that Bebe wasn't sure if she had the power within her to form a sentence and reply to him. But soon enough, she slowly shuffled back a bit from Kyle and then mirrored his previous action as she took one, long sip of her own drink. She tried not to cringe too outwardly at the unexpected burning sensation in her throat.
Pushing through the strong taste, Bebe simply smiled at Kyle and twinkled her emerald green eyes at him.
This night was going to be amazing.
