Chapter Ten:

Party Up!

Extremely loud music was blaring from the residence as we entered Chris' home. As I looked around, I noticed every other girl there was pretty casual. I immediately felt out of place. I decided to wear a dark blue cocktail dress and flats. Curse myself for not bringing something to change into.

"Hey guys!" Chris shouted over the music. "Welcome to the party!" Dan, Chris, and Phil immediately jumped into some intense conversation about Mario.

"Wanna go get some punch with me?" I screamed to Alana.

"What?"

"I said," I shouted even louder, "wanna go get some punch?!"

"I can't hear you!"

"Some punch! Do you want to go get some punch?!"

"Lunch?! It's not lunch time!"

I sighed, grabbing my friend's arm and dragging her to the kitchen.

"Oh. Punch." She mumbled, now able to both see and hear what I was asking.

I dipped both of us a small glass of punch, handing one to my friend. "So, what do you think so far?"

"Um, lots of people. Very loud. Sounds like a regular party to me."

I took a sip of my punch, almost choking on it. Someone had spiked the punch? Already? I neglected my cup for the rest of our conversation.

"This stuff is good." Alana marveled.

"Lan?"

"Yeah?"

"It's spiked."

"Oh..." Alana had never had alcohol before, and even though she was old enough to drink, I feared for her. Alana could be pretty crazy in real life. There was no telling what a drunk Alana would do.

She dipped herself another cup, saying, "I can totally handle it." She smiled reassuringly. I wasn't so sure about it.

"Just be careful."

"Don't worry. I will be."

Some odd techno song came on, and Alana exclaimed that she was going to go dance. I nodded at her and she ran off.

Phil stepped up beside me, about to get a drink.

"It's spiked," I warned.

He dropped the ladle. "I don't do well with alcohol."

I laughed.

"So are you having a good time?" I nodded.

"Very loud. Very...partyish."

He chuckled. "Yeah, most parties are partyish."

I poked him in the side, and he swatted my hand away.

"I'm a little...overdressed aren't I?" I asked.

He looked me in the eyes. "You're a little over-beautiful." Phil was getting confident. Hmm. That's new.

I smiled. "Oh, shush."

"You are! Seriously, there's no one else I'd rather spend my night with."

"Well, aren't you a sweetie!" I flicked him on the nose, and he poked me back, which naturally turned into an intense poke war.

Dan walked in and found us giggling like idiots. "Looks like you two are having fun," he yelled. He'd obviously been by the loud music for too long.

I blushed and Phil just nodded.

"Hey, have you guys seen Alana?"

"Last I saw she was dancing," I responded.

"Thanks." And he was off into the crowd again. Phil looked at me, and we busted out laughing.

"He probably thinks we're insane."

"Ah, he knows I'm insane." Phil said. "It would only be natural for my girlfriend to be as crazy as I am."

Girlfriend? Nah. Probably just slipped. Nevertheless, I blushed tomato red.

"Hey, d'you mind if I go chat with Chris for awhile?"

"Fine with me," I lied. i was kind of hoping I wouldn't have to brave this chaos alone. But he was just so adorable. How could I refuse him? He beamed and bid me goodbye, taking off into the crowd.

I spent about another twenty minutes in the kitchen watching everyone else dancing and conversing before I decided I needed some fresh air.

I stepped out on the back porch and took a seat on the step. I took a deep breath, savoring the cool taste of night. I noticed out of the corner of my eye that there was a couple about thirty feet away kissing.

I immediately thought of Phil and wished he could be with me right then, wished we could be sharing something like that together. But he wasn't here.

Wait...

Those outfits look awfully familiar.

I slowly stood up, stepping closer to the couple, fear encasing me.

I finally got close enough to them to make out their faces.

"Alana? Phil?"

They broke apart. Sure enough, it was my best friend and my crush. Together.

"Elli, this isn't what it looks like..."

Alana just giggled drunkenly. "I'm not Elli..."

I could feel the tears stinging my eyes, threatening to spill.

I ran.

A/N: :O What? You weren't expecting that, were you? (Actually, you probably were. :P) What a twist! I'm so evil! xD Let me know what you thought! And if you wanna see the kissing fiasco in Phil's POV, tell me! I just might do it. Anyways, love you guys! xoxo