A/N Thanks everyone for the great reviews! I'm really glad you're enjoying it. The new character Blair is mine. He isn't based on anyone etc. Just made up for the point of the story. Anyway...thanks again for the reviews. The story's been pretty harmless so far...just a warning; it's gonna get a bit heavier. Enjoy!

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"Here you go Abby"

"Thanks Blair" she said, taking the bottle of beer the guy was holding out for her. Blair was a senior at her school, meaning he had a car…and a fake ID. Abby met Blair at the school dance last year. She was sitting outside having a smoke, when he came up and asked for a light. They were both having a crappy time, so they ended up ditching the dance and getting drunk together instead. There was nothing between them, and Blair had never tried to make a move on Abby or anything. They were just really close friends. It was a hard relationship to explain, but somehow, she managed to have fun when she was around him. They never spoke to each other at school, but every now and again, Abby would get a message from him telling her where and when. She'd always spin some lie to Susan, then go and get pissed with him and his mates. She's never actually thought that she'd have another friend that she had to lie to…

"So how's school been treating you?" Blair asked.

"Not too bad I guess. No real complaints as yet. You?"

"Yeah same. Can you believe that a year from now I won't ever have to go to school again?" he said excitedly.

"Now that is something to live for!" she answered smiling.

"Dam right! To my last year of high school" he said, raising his bottle in to the air. They clinked their bottles together, then skulled the rest of their drink.

-

"Wow. I never realized how dark it is at night"

Abby said rather loudly, stumbling onto the footpath. She'd left Blair and his mates half an hour ago, assuring them that she'd be right to walk home. Turns out, she thought wrong. She had no idea where she was, let alone where she was going. Her head was throbbing, and she couldn't understand why she kept tripping over things. Before she knew what she was doing, she was crouching onto the footpath, throwing up her guts.

-

Carter walked out to the front of his house, unable to sleep. It was just after 2am, and he was sick of lying in his bed, unable to shut his brain off. It's not like he was thinking about anything in particular, he was just a bit restless. He was perfectly happy at his new school. It was so much better than attending the stuck up private school he used to go to. The one where everybody was judged by how much money they have, and what their parents did for a living. He couldn't stand the pettiness, eventually whining enough to his parents to let him change schools. He had no real friends at his old school, and yet this week he had met two amazing, but different 'real' friends. Susan was great, and he found that their conversations never felt short. There was always something to talk or laugh about! And then there was Abby. Even though he was trying not to think about it, he knew deep down that he had fallen pretty hard for her. She was all he thought about, and he knew from the very first day he saw her that there was something between them. He just hoped that she'd soon realize that too! His thoughts were broken as he heard a loud noise from the footpath outside his house. Heading cautiously to his front gates, he looked outside. There, outside his house was a girl, trying to get herself up from his front lawn. She was having great difficulty, and kept collapsing into a fit of giggles. A she rolled onto her back, he realized who it was.

"Abby?" he asked in shock.

"Carter? Is that you?"

"Yeah it's me. What on earth are you doing?" He moved towards her, and got her up off the ground.

"I was with some people…and I must have had just the teeniest little too much to drink" she said, motioning the 'teeniest bit' with her hand.

"The teeniest bit hey? Looks like your drunk to me Abby." He said, taking her into his front yard.

"I'm not drunk ok!" she shot back at him, pushing out of his grip.

"Abby. Come back. You can stay here tonight." He called as she walked quickly towards the street again.

"I'm fine!" she shouted over her shoulder, stumbling back onto the footpath.

He shook his head, and then ran back to where she was.

"Look your not fine Abby! I care about you ok. I can't just let you wander round the streets." He said, breathing heavily.

"I don't need your help"

"I'm not saying that. At least let me walk you home…"

"I said I'm fine ok!" she stopped, turning suddenly on him. "Trust me Carter…I've been doing this for a long time now…way before I met you. I've been in this situation a million times before. I've never had anyone to help me then…and I don't need anyone to help me now."

She stared long and hard at him, before she walked away. He watched her go, unsure of how he should be feeling. He didn't understand why she would do it. Sure…it's fun to have a few drinks and be happy and stuff…but this was way beyond him. Abby was drinking to the point of depression. She obviously wasn't just having a few drinks. She was drinking to forget about things. She was trying to make her problems go away.

He walked slowly back to his house, knowing that he was definitely not going to get any sleep tonight.