I wanted to explore an issue for Maddie that could be very real for her someday. It's been at the back of my head ever since she stood up at Teddy's wedding and said "since I'm not old enough to drink yet..." Plenty of angst, but I might throw in some love later on. :) Enjoy.

The 2017 BMW pulled slowly into the grassy parking area.

Maddie sighed, resting her elbow on the window. She could feel the bitter cold through the glass as she watched Talia throw the vehicle into park and immediately pull down the mirror on her visor to fix her make-up.

She shivered. This was not her idea of a fun time.

"How long do we have to stay?" She asked, still making no attempt to prepare herself for the biting December wind.

Talia rolled her eyes, scrunching her blonde curls and giving her face one last glimpse before closing the mirror.

"Longer than five minutes, if you don't mind. I've been waiting all week for this."

Maddie sighed.

"I hate parties."

"You've never been to a party like this," Talia smirked, eyeing her longtime friend mischievously. "It'll be fun. And you know Weston will be here. You know he's completely into you."

"My parents will kill me."

Talia rolled her eyes again, reaching for Maddie's coat in the backseat and handing it to her.

"Isn't your curfew eleven on the weekends? They'll never know."

Maddie took the coat reluctantly.

"It's only eleven because they trust me. I really need to be studying for my finals, anyway. Monday comes quick."

"Madeline!" Talia groaned. "You know you'd pass those finals in your sleep. Why do you think you're the only one in our class getting to graduate a semester early?"

Maddie stared ahead silently. She'd worked so hard to complete her credits in December, largely in part so she could go ahead and start pursuing music professionally. She'd bargained a lot with her mother to finally have her acceptance, but it also helped that Deacon was able to put in a good word or two since they'd gotten married.

"Seriously, Mad. All the more reason to celebrate. Now let's go!"

Sighing and still silent, Maddie put her coat on and opened the door.

She couldn't help but feel she'd grown apart from Talia recently, as Talia had become grossly focused on money, appearances, boys, partying, and generally just staying away from home. It was easy, really. Her father was more involved with his other family and her mother spoiled her with no structure because she felt sorry for her. That's the assessment Rayna gave when Talia was suspended for truancy, anyway.

Maddie couldn't have been more opposite. She excelled in school, spent most of her free time playing and writing music, and preferred her simple Honda to Talia's loaded BMW.

She gazed at the massive farm house in front of her, observing a couple of people smoking outside as she and Talia approached the porch. The bass from the stereo system inside pounded through her feet as she walked up the stoop. She knew being here wasn't the best idea and she did truly believe that her parents would actually kill her, but she put all of it in the back of her head. It was just for a little while, right?

9:32.

Maddie sighed and shoved her phone into her back pocket. They'd been at the party for an hour already, though it seemed like much longer. Talia was hard to keep up with and she only knew a couple of other people in attendance. To keep herself occupied, she'd wandered around the house a little, looking at the photos and admiring the rustic décor. She honestly wasn't even sure whose home it was. The closest she came was a quick glance at the letter organizer in the kitchen where she found an envelope addressed to a Dr. Graham Keller.

She surmised Dr. Keller was either out of town or very irresponsible, based on the number of beers and Jell-O shots she'd turned down. She'd already counted three for Talia, much to her frustration. She'd gotten stuck acting as Talia's designated driver once before and she wanted to nip it in the bud before it became a habit. She sighed, guessing that wasn't happening tonight.

Growing tired of entertaining herself and fighting the stares of everyone wondering about "that quiet girl," she climbed the elaborate staircase. The hallway was brightly lit and she found most of the doors to be shut, with the exception of one at the end of the corridor.

Approaching slowly, she peered inside to notice that the room was a very large loft-style bonus room overlooking one of the living rooms below. She found Talia sitting on a leather sectional couch with one other girl and two boys. A bottle of Gentleman Jack sat on the table in front of them.

She cleared her throat, unsure if they'd even be able to hear her over the obnoxiously loud rap music and their own laughter.

Talia looked up, her eyes bright and her hair a tangled mess of curls. Her face was red and Maddie assumed from how hot it was in the room.

"Hey! There you are."

Maddie walked to the couch, sitting down slowly on the edge of the cushion.

"I wasn't sure if there was anyone up here. I was looking for you."

Talia outstretched her arm, pointing at the other people one by one.

"This is Brittany, Kyle, and Weston. You know Weston, I think. Guys, this is Maddie."

Maddie smiled shyly, giving another glance to Weston.

He was cute, certainly, with dark waves that fell just below his ears and piercing green eyes. Talia had always said he was interested in Maddie, but Maddie just assumed it was Talia knowing everything about nothing. He knew nothing about her, anyway. They merely sat next to each other in Ecology.

"It's really cool you came," He said, flashing a smile. "I'd been asking Talia if you were going to."

"Is this your party?"

Weston shook his head, pointing to the other boy having his own conversation on the other side of the couch.

"No, no. It was this cat's idea. You need a drink?"

Maddie smiled politely, shaking her head.

"No thanks. I have to drive and then study when I get home."

"Seriously?" Talia rolled her eyes and laughed, scooting closer to the two. "One drink is not going to kill you. Stop giving everyone an excuse to call you prude."

"I really don't—" Maddie continued to protest, but was cut off when Talia placed a shot glass full of the Gentleman Jack in front of her. Her breath caught in her throat.

She had convinced herself of the notion that her refusal to partake in the activity was purely based on being responsible, when in reality it was blind fear of what she didn't know.

She studied the amber liquid, not completely lost on its power. It looked no different than the bottom of her Coke glass when all the ice had melted and there was nothing but watery soda and her backwash, but she knew better. She had heard stories of what this ounce and a half could do and she had seen it when her mom was in the car wreck.

It had taken a lot of work from everyone, but in three and a half years everything had fallen into place. Teddy finally accepted her relationship with Deacon, Deacon and Rayna had gotten married two summers ago and it finally felt like Maddie had her family back and then some. She had three parents who loved her unconditionally and she often found herself overcome with gratitude.

Still, though, she knew in her heart that something so seemingly small as this shot of whiskey had robbed her of thirteen years with her real father, a man whom she could never imagine not having in her life now. To this day she watched him struggle—he still went to meetings on the regular and she'd overheard him once or twice talking to his sponsor on the phone.

Talia knew everything. She'd been with Maddie through all of the mess, so Maddie couldn't figure out for the life of her why her supposed best friend was begging her to tempt fate.

She'd often wondered what her first drink would be like—would she hate it, or would she love it too much? Should she even ever have a first drink? She could find out right now in one swift gulp, she thought. Would she be able to handle it by defying nature and giving into nurture, or was her nature too dark to be overcome?