PROLOGUE
She didn't know where all these people were coming from, but they had been continuously flowing into the house for the past two hours. She shouldn't have been that surprised though; Nathan was hosting the end-of-summer party for the third year in a row. At first, there had been no more than 30 people. That number had doubled the year after. And this year, well… Apparently it was now common knowledge in their school that Nathan's parties were good. Not just good, they were great. Again, that shouldn't have come as a surprise for her, as she had spent a lot of time in his house for years now, and she knew how great it was.
It was huge. Really huge. And that meant anyone could have fun at his parties : you could find people to drink with, people to dance with, people to debate with, and Nathan being who he was, people to play sports with. All at the same time, at the same place.
She sighed, walking around the living room, into the kitchen, scanning each room as she was looking for a familiar face. Any familiar face. It was apparently no use.
She turned on her heels and went back to the living room, where a group of students stopped her and asked her to have a drink with them. A year ago, she would have complied, but she had apparently matured enough in the meantime to tell them that she was driving tonight, and she couldn't drink anymore.
She went around them, greeted another group of students and refused yet another drink, and then she finally managed to get out of the house.
She let out a sigh of content as she walked outside; the house was so crammed with people that just breathing was starting to get hard.
She went around the house, passed by the driveway and reached the calmer side of the party. There were people there, but Nathan had decided this year not to put out any alcohol in his garden or near his private court. So they were mainly talking and playing basketball. She decided not to join them and instead went to sit down on the patch of grass between the basketball court and the flowerbeds.
Her eyes suddenly stopped on a silhouette lying across the grass, a few feet away on her left. She tilted her head, squinting as she tried to recognize who that was. Darkness made it difficult for her to even throw a guess; she looked away, deciding that it didn't matter until she heard that person move suddenly and retch on their left side. Well, she couldn't ignore them now, could she?
As she got up and walked over them, surprise struck her as she recognized the boy lying down in front of her, his face dangerously leaning close to a pool of vomit.
"What's up with you?" she couldn't help but ask him, kneeling down next to him.
He turned to her side and looked up at her, his eyes red, his whole demeanor screaming disappointment.
"She rejected me" he said, his voice turning into a whine she was not used to from him.
And then she remembered seeing him, earlier that night, going upstairs with a girl that she knew well… Her best friend. She hadn't helped but notice how hopeful he had been then. She knew – no, everyone in their high school knew that he had been pining for her best friend for more than a year. Apparently, he had finally decided to tell her how he felt about her.
She had not known how her friend was going to react. She tended to be quite mysterious when it came to the matters of love. Well, now she knew.
"What did she say?" she asked him with a soft voice.
"That, erm…" he said, rolling his body on one side and lifting himself up with his elbows, "she did not see me that way."
He managed to stand up, his eyes shifting between her and something invisible right next to her. She frowned; he really didn't look well.
"There's two of you…" he mumbled, before wobbling back and forth.
"Maybe you should si−" she started saying worriedly, but it was already too late. His body dropped on his side, falling down right on the pool of vomit he had made a few minutes ago.
"Fuck." He said, facing the grass, his eyes closed in a frown. "This is so fucking pathetic."
Had she ever heard him swear before? But then again, had she ever heard him say more than 5 words?
"Alright", she said, standing up and bending over to grab one of his arms, "come on big boy, stand up". She managed to help him up again and this time, as he used her as a clutch, he did not fall. "Let's go", she told him, as she tried to pull him with her.
He wasn't moving though. "Where?" he asked her.
"We need to get you cleaned up", she said, pinching her nose as she was trying not to get sick with the smell stuck on his shirt.
He blinked twice, looking at her as if she had gone mad. The alcohol probably had its role in his confusion, but she knew it wasn't just that. After all, they had never really talked before. And her very own best friend had just broken his heart, leading him to get drunk. But she wasn't heartless; she couldn't just leave him to swim into his puke, could she?
"Come on", she simply repeated, pulling on his back.
Thankfully, as she knew this house's every way in and out, they went through a backdoor and managed to avoid the crowd that was in the living room. She helped him upstairs and opened a door, revealing a bathroom behind it.
"Alright", she turned to him, "you sit here and don't move."
He still looked confused by her behavior but obeyed anyway, sitting down on the floor tiles, his back leaning on the bathtub.
She went back in the hallway and moved quickly to its other end, where she knew was Nathan's room. She knocked on its door, and when she got no answer, she knew she was free to go in. She walked over to his chest of drawers, randomly opened them until she found what she was looking for. She knew Nathan wouldn't mind her borrowing a few clothes, considering who it was for.
When she returned to the bathroom, she noticed that he had not moved an inch, which made her chuckle.
"Good boy" she said, handing him the t-shirt she had brought him. He blinked again, his eyes travelling from her face to her stretched out arm. "If I were you, I'd change my clothes" she told him with a shrug.
"Oh. Right", he said, apparently just realizing that his t-shirt was smeared with vomit. He took off his t-shirt… Correction, she thought, trying hard not to laugh at him, when she noticed how hard he was struggling with removing his t-shirt.
She kneeled down: "Stop moving a second" she told him as she pulled his shirt over his shoulders and off him. She then got up and went over to the sink, washing the shirt and throwing it in the laundry basket.
When she turned around, she froze as she saw that, though he was now wearing a fresh and clean t-shirt, he was looking down at the floor, his head slightly bobbing.
"What now?" she asked with a sigh. "Are you gonna be sick again?"
He looked up at her with a pair of sad puppy eyes she had never seen on him before. "What's wrong with me?" he asked, or rather whined.
She hesitated, looking at the door. Maybe if she could find Nathan and tell him, he would be able to talk to him. But it was no use, she had barely managed to find her friends earlier; finding Nathan was a lost cause. She looked back at him; he was still staring at her with the same look on his face. Well, she could not leave him alone now, could she?
She sat down next to him, facing the wall in front of them, and turned her head to him. "That's just the booze talking" she said with a nudge.
He shook his head, and then looked as if he was regretting doing that. When his eyes seemed stable again, he looked back at her. "No, I'm serious. There has to be something wrong with me. I mean, she… She said she couldn't see me that way. But why ─"
"Look, it's no use beating yourself over it. I know her, ok, I've known her my whole life and she's, erm… She's hard to convince. There's nothing wrong with you."
He frowned, then looked down again. "No, can't be, there has to be something."
She shook her head, wondering how she would be able to get out of this situation. How was she supposed to convince a drunken person that they were not worthless? "You know, I got dumped too."
His head jolted up, probably a tad too fast because he looked dizzy again for a second. "You did?"
"Yeah, Mike dumped me this summer" she said with a shrug. Had she managed to sound nonchalant? And then, for some reason she added: "He said he couldn't do the long-distance thing".
He seemed to have a lot of trouble taking in what she had just told him. "He said what?"
"That he couldn't do the long-distance thing" she repeated, emphasizing on the last words. "You know, he was moving out this summer to ─"
"Yeah, I know", he cut her off. "But I didn't know he broke up with you. Mike's an idiot".
She was so surprised from his reaction that she couldn't help but smile. "Thanks. But I still got dumped. And yet, you don't see me dragging myself down, or drinking my problems away."
"Yeah, but you're… you."
"Look, it did hurt for a while, but… You shouldn't let it get to you so much. So what if that one girl doesn't want you? Maybe it's just not meant to be", she said with a shrug.
His eyes narrowed a bit: "Those are very wise words."
"I can be wise sometimes", she chuckled.
"And here I thought you were only good at drinking and ─" he stopped talking, abruptly, his eyes going wide. "Oh no, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean… I'm such an ass."
For some reason, she didn't get mad at him. Maybe it was because he looked quite pitiful at that moment? "That's okay", she said with another shrug, "I'm pretty sure that's what everybody else thinks of me. But I wish…" she stopped, wondering why she was telling him all that. Oh, screw it, it was not like he was going to remember any of this anyway, not with his level of drunkenness. "I wish I could show them that there's much more to me, you know. I wish I could make them see…"
"I can," he said, his voice suddenly steadier.
"Huh? You can what?" she frowned, confused
"I can see it. I mean, you. I can see you."
All of a sudden, his puppy eyes were turning into a much more intense look and she had to look away for a second, feeling her cheeks turning a slight shade of pink. "Well," she said with a grin, "one down, 300 to go."
He looked away at the wall before them and seemed to have an epiphany, as he turned to her again and snapped his fingers so close to her face that she startled. "I know what you should do!" he eagerly shouted. "You should represent us."
"Huh?" was all she could say as she was once more at a loss for words.
"Yeah! For the student council! Turner said the election would be held this year!"
"Erm, okay, but how exactly did you go from ─"
"Come on! You're cheery, and funny, and you're hot," he said, the words seemingly tumbling out of his mouth before he could realize what he was saying, "so you should be our president. Oh, and now you're wise too."
She stayed silent for a second, not knowing whether she should laugh or be embarrassed. "Erm, thanks for all these compliments, I mean really, thank you, but… I'm not sure it would be enough to win the election."
"No, it would definitely be. I would vote for you."
She couldn't help but laugh at that; she stopped after a few seconds when she noticed he was dead serious. "You really mean it", she murmured, not sure how to react.
"Yeah, why don't you try it." He then tilted his head a little, looking slightly confused. "Or, maybe it is the booze talking. I feel a little…" he slurred. His head dropped on her shoulder, startling her.
"Hey", she told him with a frown, "what are you doing?"
"I'd like to take a nap", he answered, his voice gradually fading away.
"So? Do I look like a bed to you?" she retorted, but realized it was too late. He was fast asleep.
She sighed, then looked at him and couldn't help but smile a little. She had never thought he would be so… surprising. But then again, she had never really tried to talk to him before. And he had never either. They were just so different; it had never occurred to her that she could get along with him.
She waited for a while, checking her phone and listening to music. Not long after that, she felt his head moving on her shoulder and turned to see that he was sitting up, running his hand in his hair. "What am I doing here?"
She decided she had done enough babysitting for the night. She stood up, her hands resting on her hips, and told him in an assertive voice that she was taking him home. He looked half befuddled, half asleep, but still complied.
She helped him stand up then dragged him out of the house, to her car, opening the passenger door and helping him in.
She reached his house after taking a little detour, since he had given her wrong directions. "You can go now", she told him with a nod towards his house.
He looked at the house, then back at her. "I can't."
"Why?" she asked with a sigh.
He started laughing, surprising her once more. "I think I left my keys at the party."
"That's not funny!" she frowned, stripping his smile off his face.
"Right, sorry."
"What am I supposed to do with you now? I'm not gonna keep driving you around all night long… Wait, aren't your parents home?"
"Yup, probably sleeping."
"So, we should just call them."
And suddenly, he looked like a fawn getting caught by hunters. He grabbed her shoulders, and leaning closer to her, whispered: "No, my mom will kill me!"
Why was he whispering now? Afraid he would wake his mother up? "Then who else can we call?" she asked, mimicking his tone.
"Keith?" he said, or rather asked. He then took his phone out of his pocket and squinted as he was fumbling with it.
"Oh, just give me that", she told him, rolling her eyes and grabbing his phone. She went into his contacts and tapped on Keith's name. Fortunately for them, he answered quite quickly. Unfortunately for him, he sounded as if they had just woken him up.
"Yeah?" they heard him say in a hushed voice.
"Erm, hi sir, I'm parked right in front of your house and…"
"Keith!" the boy next to her interrupted her, shouting in the phone she was still holding. "Keith, it's me! You'll never believe who's in the car ─"
"Stop it!" she ordered him, backing away from him as far as she could. "Sorry about that, erm, I guess you know why I'm calling you. Could you open the door for him, he forgot his keys at Nathan's."
There was a long silent, as if Keith was taking in everything that had just happened. "Alright," he said very quietly, "I'll be out in a second."
He hung up and she looked up, handing back the phone. "Off you go now."
Well, she wasn't done with him yet. She still had to help him out of the car and after he put his arm around her shoulders, walked him to the porch, just as the front door opened and a man, around his forties, appeared in a bathrobe, looking drowsy.
"Well, what do we have here?" he asked his nephew, and she could see that despite the tiredness in his voice, there was glint of humor in his eyes. He walked over to them and put his nephew's other arm around his own shoulders.
"Hey Keith, check it out," he says cheerfully, "that's our future president!"
Keith looked at her with a perplexed frown. "Not of the United States", she explained, "just the student council. If I even sign in", she hurriedly added, realizing his drunken words had somehow crept into her mind. "Okay, I guess I can go now that you're in good hands", she said, letting go of his arm.
She looked at them going up the steps. Before they got in, Keith turned to her with a tired but genuine smile. "Thank you for driving him back. You didn't have to."
"Oh", she said, embarrassed, "you're welcome, no one could have done it anyway everyone was so hammered ─ I mean, no, it wasn't that bad, erm… Well it's just too bad that we don't have…" She slowed down, as she seemed to realize something. "A system," she murmured, "with students, who would take turns in driving other drunk students home… Wait that would actually be great!" she said enthusiastically. "Sorry, I'm keeping you up. Good night sir."
"Sure", Keith said, "thanks again."
She turned around and stopped, looking over at them one last time. "Bye Lucas".
He lifted up his head from his uncle's shoulder and looked at her, his face beaming with a smile. "Oh yeah, see you around Brooke."
She chuckled and went back to her car, wondering if he would even be able to remember this night. Probably not. Should she bring it up at school, the next time she would see him?
Well, as it turned out, she never brought it up. They had kept living in the same town, going to the same school, attending the same lessons, and yet they had barely talked to each other for another year. Then, and only then, did things start to change.
Hi reader !
You may know me from my previous work here in English or in French.
Down the rabbit hole is a whole new project that's been on my mind for a while, so I hope you'll enjoy it.
Chapters will probably come every two weeks or so, I'll see how my writing process goes with this one.
See you soon.
