Jam showed up at Lex's house just after 9.00. He was late because he had to wait for his mother to go to her church meeting, and listen to her babble on about not listening to KISS too loud and clean up the dishes. Whilst doing so, he was listening to KISS and throwing the dishes on the sink, unwashed. Arriving to a party late had its benefits; most people were already wasted, and the music was cranking.

He only had one thing on his mind when he got into the lounge room. Looking around, he searched for Jean. Finally, he spotted her over by the television. He couldn't help thinking about how gorgeous she looked, in a little denim skirt and black top.

He tapped her on the shoulder, "Hey!"

She turned around looking a bit worn, "Hey Jam."

He noticed that she had a cup in her hand, "What are you drinking?"

She screwed up her nose, "Whatever's in this cup." She looked really distant, it wasn't like how she'd been the past few days.

Jam considered taking the conversation further, but he was really thirsty. He decided to go get a drink, then continue talking to Jean.

He poured himself some of the punch, then turned around to drink it. On instinct, he scanned the room for Jean.

She was sitting on the couch with Lex, Trip and Hawk. Trip and Lex were sharing a joint, and Hawk was talking to Jean. She took a sip of her drink, then slumped further into the couch. Hawk said something to her, and she replied without opening her eyes.

Jam turned around to fill up his drink again. Turning back, he looked around the room to see who he could talk to. He couldn't spend the entire night following Jean around.

A pretty little girl in dark clothes and make-up, and a slightly nerdy-looking boy walked over to him.

"Hey Jo, hey Harry," Jam said smiling.

Jo smiled back, "Hey Jam, just talking to Harry here about the new 80's stuff. I know it's only 1980, but the 80's stuff is going to take off. I predict that in the year 2004, it will still be big."

Jam smiled and nodded, assuming that Jo was just slightly stoned. Harry pushed his glasses up, "I just apparated here from another party."

Deciding to leave the stoners alone, Jam walked passed another girl, Sophie, who he knew never drank nor smoked anything other than the usual nicotine. She didn't need to; she was crazy enough without it.

Stopping by the food table, he picked up a handful of chips, and looked back over at Jean. He stopped, hand frozen to his mouth.

Jean and Hawk were hooking up.

His eyes frozen to the pair, Jam's heart was pounding in his chest.

Jean started to climb on top of Hawk. She straddled him, and their kissing began to grow more intense. He started to feel her up, his hand moving further and further down. He was reaching down and fumbling with something.

Jam's stomach was churning and he felt like he was going to be sick. He would not take his eyes off the couple. Leave her Hawk, leave her alone.

They suddenly stopped kissing, both not moving. Jam thought he might finally be able to move.

Then suddenly Jean clutched her hands around Hawk's neck, her head pointing upwards as she jerked her body rapidly forward. Jam ran to the toilet, otherwise he would have thrown up all over Lex's living room floor. He flushed the toilet, and looked at himself in the mirror. Filling up his cup with tap water, he took a sip. Then he threw the rest of the water on the bathroom mirror.

He couldn't believe it. Hawk, one of his best friends, was fucking Jean. He always got the girl, Jam was used to that, it had been happening since 8th grade. But for some reason this was different. He wasn't sure if it was because he especially liked Jean, or because it was simply the last straw; he was pissed off.

He took a deep breath and walked back out into the living room. Hawk and Lex were the only two left on the couch now, both having a joint. Trip was off in the corner with Sophie, who looked disgusted as he shooted up again. Jam didn't want to do it, but it was almost nature to him now; he looked around for Jean.

He went into the smaller family room, and found Jean sitting on the couch. He went to leave, disgusted to see her.

"Jam!"

Obligingly, he turned around and stared stonily at her, "Yeah Jean? What?"

Her eyes looked very watery, "I need to tell you something."

He continued to stare at her.

"Can you just come sit down here for a minute?"

He hesitated, then sat down on the couch next to her.

"Jam I- I really like you. I don't know if it's the alcohol I've had that's talking or what but I've liked you since you first talked to me."

Despite all that had happened that night, Jam couldn't help feeling his spirits lift just a little. "Jean, I really like you. But after what you did tonight.."

Jean looked really scared, "I don't know what happened, I only had one drink, felt a bit tipsy, then I walked over to Hawk to ask him what I should do about liking you-I knew you two were friends and he'd been so nice to me in Chemistry- and as soon as I sat down the alcohol really hit me, and then I think I kissed him though I'm not sure and then-then.."

Jam's spirits were sinking once again, however for a completely different reason. "What were you drinking?"

"That punch stuff!" Jean was looking around wildly, with scared eyes.

"Are you sure that was it? I had it too and I'm fine."

Jean nodded again slowly, then slumped down again. Jam checked her pulse, and got her to lie down. He then called an ambulance.

Walking into the living room, he found Hawk talking to Jo and Harry. He grabbed him and threw him on the lounge.

"What the fuck-"

"Did you spike Jean's drink?" Jam said through gritted teeth.

Hawk grinned, "It won't kill her…I told you I thought she was hot, I just wanted to fuck her. You can have her now-"

Hawk stopped as the weight of Jam's fist landed on his jaw. He looked up at Jam in disbelief, wiping a bit of blood from the corner of his mouth. He glared at his friend, then walked into the backyard, slamming the door behind him.

Walking over to Lex, he explained what had happened, told him he'd called an ambulance, and apologised for ruining the party.

"That's K" Lex replied, and went back to watching a game show on TV.

By this time most of the people were crowding around Hawk, asking each other what had happened. Gradually, people started to leave. The ambulance arrived and took Jean. Jam helped Lex clean up. Trip took one last…trip, and fell asleep in Lex's bed. Jam decided to walk home, hoping to get there before his mum.

He didn't.

"WHERE ON EARTH HAVE YOU BEEN YOUNG MAN? I HAVE BEEN WORRIED SICK. I GET HOME, THE DISHES ARE A MESS, YOU'VE DONE NOTHING I TOLD YOU TO, AND YOU'RE GONE! YOU BETTER HAVE A DECENT EXPLANATION!"

Jam rolled his eyes; he'd been through enough bullshit tonight. "See, my mate Lex had a party, right? Cos his mum is out of town? So yeah, I went to that, people were drinking and shooting up everywhere. So then this girl I like, who I will probably be going out a lot with from now on, got her drink spiked, and ended up screwing my best friend. So I threw up, punched my best friend out, and called the ambulance for her. Then I decided, as you always tell me to, that I better help Lex clean up. That's my explanation."

His mum looked speechless. He waited for it.

"You called an ambulance for a drink spiking victim? Wow…I'm very proud of you Jeremiah."

This was not what he'd expected to hear. "So, I'm not grounded?"

"Oh you're grounded for the rest of the year. But I'm proud of you."

Jeremiah groaned and went to his room. In the morning he'd call the hospital and talk to Jean. But at the moment he just wanted to sleep.