Last time...
Okay, so a thought has just hit me. "Who's up for a game?" I ask everyone.
"Sure, why not? How about 'Truth or Dare'?" Alex suggests while glaring at Paige.
Okay,the smirk on Alex's face as she says this tells me that 'Truth or Dare' would turn out horribly. "Um, I don't know, Alex. That game is a little overplayed, don't you think?" I say trying to both avoid playing 'Truth or Dare' and also avoid getting Alex mad at me. "I know, let's play 'Never Have I Ever'," I suggest instead.
Ellie rolls her eyes. "A drinking game, Marco? With my history, you want me to play a drinking game?"
"It doesn't have to be a drinking game. Just... here…" I say grabbing a soda from a cooler in the living room, "everyone grab one of these, and let's play."
Alex is one of the first to grab a drink and looks pretty eager to start the game, and –in Alex's current state of mind- this can't be good. "Here, I'll start… Never have I ever..." she pauses, pretending to think of something even though it's obvious that she knows exactly what she's going to say. "Never have I ever slept with Spinner," Alex says while looking Paige straight in the eye.
Paige let's out an irritated sigh, and slowly raises up her drink and takes a sip.
9 -Have a Shattered Night (Part Two)
"So, it's true then," Alex says looking down at her shoes. She actually looks like she might cry.
Paige isn't going to back down at all at this point, though. "If you're referring to what happened between me and Spin as being none of your business, then yes –it's true. It is none of your business."
Alex returns from her momentary sadness and reverts back to her normal angry self. " 'What happened between me and Spin,' You had sex with him, Paige. And I don't see how that's not any of my business."
Paige rolls her eyes and let's out an irritated sigh, "We broke up, Alex. Remember? My sex life is no longer any of your business."
"Oh, right. Sorry, I guess I forgot. We broke up, and now you can go back to being the skank that you really are."
Paige gives Alex the dirtiest look I've ever seen in my life before getting up off of the couch. This can't be happening. Please let there not be a boxing match in my living room. I give Paige a pleading look –which doesn't solve anything because she has her eyes firmly set on Alex. No, no, no, do not start a fight in my living room. She walks over to Alex, and instead of swinging her fist into Alex's face (like I was almost positive she was going to do) she opens her mouth to talk. "Is that what you really think of me?" Paige asks barely above a whisper, obviously hurting.
Of course, even before Alex has a chance to answer Paige's question, Paige has already bottled up her emotions –going back to only being able to express anger.
Paige storms out of the living room and opens the front door. "Dylan, could you take me home," Paige says more as an order than a question.
Paige's "request" brings my attention back to Dylan. "Paige, don't be a drama queen. I think it won't kill you to stay for the rest of the party," Dylan says trying to convince Paige from living. (He might as well try to convince a mountain to move a few feet over to the right.)
"And it won't kill you to take me home," Paige shoots back.
"Come on, Paige. I'd like to stay here for the rest of Marco's party. We hardly get to see each other any more," Dylan pleads.
At Dylan's words, something inside of me suddenly takes control of my voice. "Hardly get to see each other!" I interject before I can stop myself. Dylan gives me a puzzled look –only encouraging the rant that I know is about to come out of my mouth. "Dylan, we see each other constantly: at the movies, at the mall. Hell, I can't even go to the bathroom without you following me. You're always hanging around me and when I finally do get a moment to myself you call me on my phone –which I can't turn off without you asking me, 'Why wasn't your phone turned on?' And, God knows, I can't have you asking me that question in fear that I'll tell you the truth –that I didn't have it turned on because I actually wanted to live a fraction of a second of my life without my freakishly clingy boyfriend."
Dylan stares at me with a blank expression on his face. "Just GO!" I yell at him.
Dylan gets off the couch and walks over to the front door where Paige is standing. "If something was bothering you, you should have told me. It's called communication, Marco. All good relationships need it, and I thought we had it. Obviously, I was wrong," and with that Dylan walks out of my house and slams the door shut behind him.
I take a seat on the couch –where Dylan had been sitting only moments before- and lay my head in my hands. Okay, seriously, where did that come from. I mean, everything I said was true, but… Ugh, I just don't know anymore. I feel like sitting here on the couch and eating Ben & Jerry's while watching stupid Lifetime movies all night, but I also feel a need to salvage what's left of my party. So what if Paige and Alex probably won't be on speaking terms for a month and my own love life is down the drain? There's still hope fore Jellie, right?
"Hey, del Rossi," Alex says to get my attention, "I think I'm gonna head out." I lift my head up to look at Alex standing in front of me. I must look pretty devastated because Alex adds, "Nice party." I think that might have been a lame attempt to comfort me, but I can't tell. I'm too busy laughing internally at how ironic the statement was.
"Actually, Alex, would you mind giving me a ride home too?" I hear Ellie say. At this point, I feel like I'm watching some kind of bad T.V. show because this can't be actually happening.
"Sure," Alex replies, "You and Hazel can get in the car while I go find Jay."
I hear the front door open and close –presumably Hazel and Ellie leaving- and then I hear what sounds like Alex yelling at a very drunk Jay coming from the kitchen. Normally, I'd be freaking out, but right now I feel oddly calm. My party is already ruined, Jay being drunk is just another detail.
"Are you fucking kidding me, Hogart? Why the fuck are you drunk?" I hear Alex yell.
"I am not drunk and I resentify that aquisitation," Jay responds before I hear a thud. I guess he fell over.
I hear Alex dragging him across the floor and into the living room. "Um, del Rossi, would you mind if I leave this idiot here? He just passed out and it's not like I can carry him to the car or anything so…"
"Yeah, fine. Go ahead," I say nonchalantly while motioning Alex towards the door.
"Right, uh, thanks," Alex says and I hear footsteps towards the door. "I guess I'll just go now then." I hear the door shut once more. And then there were two. Wonderful. Jimmy is the only other (conscious) person left at my "party" now and it's only ten o'clock.
"Do you want me to go?" Jimmy asks –talking for the first time since he arrived.
"Stay," I say simply.
"Okay," he says back.
We sit in silence for a while before deciding to put on a movie. We discuss which one we should watch for a good ten minutes before finally agreeing on Shrek 2. After the movie, I start to feel a little better. We start talking and Jimmy tells me what happened earlier today between him and Ellie –bad, but not too bad. Jellie is still a definite possibility. And, when I think about it, Palex isn't really a lost cause either. And, as for me and Dylan, things have been worse. And, who knows, maybe there will even be a Jayzel someday. My party might not have been a success but maybe it's not the end.
After all, we have the whole summer ahead of us now.
Note to Reader: Corny ending, I know, but it's a lead in to the sequel for this story. I'll probably be posting a sequel for this,as well asa different story altogether soon. Thanks for the comments, and I hope you read my other stories when I post them.
And for anyone who doesn't know…
"Never Have I Ever" (a.k.a. "I Never") is a drinking game played like this: Someone starts out by saying a true statement beginning with "Never have I ever" such as "Never have I ever been to Europe." (Using this example) Anyone who has been to Europe must take a sip of their drink.
