I'd been offered unconditional full scholarships to both Stanford and UCLA and it was now up to me to make my decision on which one to attend. As it was still the start of the year I had a couple of months before the offers would be withdrawn and I decided to wait and speak to my parents when they got home for Christmas. I valued their opinions and knew they'd give me good advice but it also gave me a chance to see how things were going with Ali and to see which colleges gave her offers. I wasn't solely going to base my decision on where Ali got in but it would be a lot easier for us if we were in close proximity to each other.

Before I walked over to Spencer's I diverted next door to Alison's where she had gone after my swim meet to change her clothes and freshen up. However her mother answered the door and told me that Ali had already left. I was surprised as I'd arranged to walk with her to Spencer's but decided to head over by myself instead.

Emily: Hey, where are you? Xx

I put my phone back in my pocket as I opened the door and walked into Spencer's, I was hoping to see Ali there but was instead only greeted by Aria and Spencer.

"Where's Ali?" Aria asked as she got off of the sofa and embraced me.

I shrugged and turned to greet Spencer whilst taking in the settings. There were bowls of snacks on the coffee table and a stack of games beside it. Twister was on top of the stack seeing as Hanna always manages to persuade us into playing it. With that thought in my head the door to the barn opened and Hanna walked in with a slight skip in her step and a massive smile on her face.

"What's got you in such a good mood?" I asked whilst trying to divert the precious attention from me.

"I spent the afternoon with Caleb" she said with a wink.

"And we had sex... lots of sex." She added before any of us could comment.

"Too much information!" Spencer stated with a groan.

"No too much info would have been telling you which rooms we did it in" she laughed before adding "Kitchen" hidden behind a cough.

Aria spat her drink over the floor in a fit of laughter whilst I rolled my eyes at them both and Spencer made gagging sounds.

Spencer cleared Aria's drink up as the rest of us took our seats on the couches. Hanna sat with me and Aria took her place on the other one waiting for Spencer to join her. I checked my phone but I hadn't received any messages and I was starting to worry about where Ali was. Hanna looked at me with a questioning look but I just shook my head and she understood that I didn't want to talk about it.

"Drinks and twister?" Hanna asked excitedly.

We all agreed although rather reluctantly seeing as though we normally waited until the alcohol had taken effect before playing. But several drinks later and I started to loosen up and enjoy myself.

"Left foot red" Spencer commanded Hanna.

Much to her dismay Spencer was out first due her having to lean over Aria and not being able to resist kissing her. Aria had cleverly ducked out of her way making Spencer lose balance and the game. She was now in charge of the spinner and was taking it too seriously like usual.

"Hanna left foot! Not right." Spencer says with her head in her hands.

"Same difference" Hanna replied snarkily.

"No. No it's not. It literally defines the game knowing your lefts and rights" Spencer replied.

"Guys! Stop arguing my arms are going to give out" Aria yelled above them.

"Yeah and I don't want my head to remain this close to Hanna's ass much longer" I added.

"I had chilli" she said as she looked underneath her and winked at me. "Extra spicy"

I groaned and contemplated losing the game deliberately but my competitiveness wouldn't allow it, no matter what position I ended up in.

We collapsed on the sofas ready to sleep after several hours of playing games, drinking and dancing. Hanna had won twister, she was surprisingly flexible. Ali still hadn't replied but Jenna had posted several photos of the two of them at some party so at least I knew she wasn't dead. I was pretty pissed though, I thought meeting my friends was important to her.

"You ok?" Hanna whispered.

"I just don't understand" I replied.

Aria and Spencer had fallen sleep first and Hanna was being my little spoon for comfort. She knew something wasn't right before she had asked. I voiced my concerns to her and she tried her best to reassure me but there was still some doubt when it came to Ali. Yeah she had been open about her relationship with me but how we started still bothered me and with this situation added on I was starting to panic.

Emily: Are we ok? Xx

Emily: Ali? Xx

Emily: How is the party? Xx

Emily: I miss you xx

After sending several messages and having no reply I had turned my phone off to stop the temptation to send more and look desperate. Although I probably already looked desperate from the messages I had sent. I was really falling for her and I think that's the reason her ignoring me was having such a negative effect on me. Everything had been looking so positive between us recently and I had just wanted to celebrate my scholarship proposals with her. I ended up falling asleep full of worry and doubt which ended up leading to the inevitable.

One shot.

Two shot.

Three shot.

Four.

Pain. Searing pain.

I shot up in a panic and sweat. Hanna held me tight before getting up and leading me to the bathroom. Aria and Spencer said nothing whilst watching from their couch. They knew Hanna was the best one to deal with this situation.