First off all, thanks to the people who reviewed :] I am typing this in my MS Office class, so yeah. Also, I know Percy's birthday isn't the 20th of November, but just go with it.

November 20, 2007

Nearly a week passed from watching James and The Giant Peach with Alex and then sleeping with a very evasive and horny Percy. That's right, evasive and horny. Particularly obnoxious combination. He kept making insinuative comments and when I asked him about his date he shrugged and told me it was good. Like I said, evasive.

I was very unlike Percy to simply shrug off an opportunity to talk about Katie. He didn't realize the very thought of her made me physically ill. I've always been a terrific actor.

But I put it out of my mind, and over that week things were pretty much normal. Or as normal as things ever were with Percy.

And so came the twentieth. The twentieth was more than just another day, the twentieth is my birthday. And Percy's. It's always been one of the coolest things about our friendship; having the same birthday. And we always spent our birthday together, sitting at one of our houses watching every John Hughes movie we could get our hands on and feasting on Snack Packs and frozen Lasagna. It didn't matter how many parties were being held or who wanted to do what with us in celebration; me and Percy always stuck with our tradition.

"So, Alex, what did you get me?" I asked sweetly as I slid onto the bench beside Alex. It was lunch time and our little group of homies had gathered in the usual spot, at the usual table in the usual corner of the reeking cafeteria. Alex glared at me over the spoon hanging out of his mouth.

"Why would I get you anything?"

"Because you love me and I'm pretty."

"You have the sweetest delusions."

I let my jaw fall open and glanced, horrified, around the table. Everyone just smiled back at me. I turned to Percy on my other side for some kind of defense, but he was staring off into space ignoring both our conversation and his French fries. I nudged him.

"Percy?"

"Hmm?"

"What's with the lack of back having?" I asked as I pulled the aluminum top off of my Jell-O cup. He blinked at me slowly then glanced at our friend Christian across the table.

"Don't look at me, I don't speak her language." He held up his hands and leaned back. Percy looked back at me.

"Sorry." Was all he said. I stopped mid bite of my desert and stared at him.

"Uh, it's cool." Then I looked at Alex. He looked just as confused by Percy's lack of sarcastic enthusiasm as I was. Percy was never void of some kind of witty remark or wise-assery. The table was silent for a few minutes, everyone picking at their food awkwardly. I chewed thoughtfully on my Jell-O and stared at Percy. When he finally looked at me, I fluttered my eyelashes at him, making him crack a small smile.

"So are you two having your usual junk food and crappy movie binge tonight?" Christian asked, his arm draped casually over the shoulders of his girlfriend and my best female friend, Marissa.

"Don't diss the Breakfast Club, biznatch. Judd Nelson is hardcore." I pointed my spoon at him, "And of course we are, right Percy?"

Percy was too hesitant about confirming. Everyone's heads turned slowly to him, all of us slightly unnerved by his strange mood. Finally he answered, "Um, I actually have to go somewhere." He wouldn't look at me.

No one said anything. I stared down into my cup and tried desperately to still the nervous and hurt butterflies that had begun savagely swirling around in my stomach and chest, "Yeah? Where?"

"My parents want to take me out for dinner."

"Oh-"

"You know, turning eighteen is a big deal I guess-"

"Well if your parents want you to go with them then it's fine-"

"I mean it's not that I don't want to hang out-"

"You can't go and disappoint your parentals-"

"We can get together tomorrow too-"

"Parents are pretty special things, yea, and eighteen is a big deal-"

"If you want to-"

"It's cool-"

"It's cool?"

"Uh..." I hesitated, really wanting him to come with me, then I set my Jell-O down and folded my hands in my lap, "Yeah, it's cool. Don't worry about it; we'll just do something tomorrow then." I gave him the best smile I could without actually looking at him. Percy's hand found its way onto my back.

"Thanks, Sophieroo." His voice had gone back to the normal happy-go-lucky overly-excited Percy Jackson we all knew, and so I tried not to feel especially bitter at him for ditching our tradition.

"Oh, shit, I gotta go. I have a test next period and I don't have a fucking clue what's going on in there." Percy got up suddenly, as if he hadn't just disrupted a birthday theme almost ten years running. He planted a quick kiss to my head and waved to the rest of the gang then he walked off out of the room. I just stared at the table top and avoided making eye contact with anyone at the table. They all knew how much our birthday meant to me and how much it had always meant to Percy. His parents knew that we did this every year, what was their problem? I tried to shove it out of my mind. How depressing.

"Sophia?" Marissa called from across the table. I looked up slowly. She looked like she was feeling sorry for me. I hate it when people look at me like they feel sorry for me. You can feel sorry for me all you want, just don't look at me like you do.

"Yes?"

"There's a party tonight. You should come with us. It'll be fun." She said carefully, like she was afraid I might bite her, "You know, since you're not busy anymore."

I frowned and opened my mouth to say something bitter and sarcastic but Christian cut me off.

"Come on, it'll take your mind off things." He covered for his girlfriend, "Besides, you shouldn't sit by yourself on your eighteenth birthday." He gave me puppy dog eyes and jutted out his lower lip. I rolled my eyes at him.

"Well I suppose I can make an appearance." I sighed, "Since I'm not busy anymore." I forced a laugh so they would think I was really okay. I was trying very hard to be alright with this, it was just one birthday after all. One out of how many that we spent together? It was no big deal; it wasn't his fault if his parents wanted to take him out to dinner, right? No. It wasn't. Nope.

November 20, 2007

That night, at about nine, I stood in front of my mirror, fidgeting with the end of my skirt and chewing on my lip. I had been to thousands of parties, but Percy was always at these parties to protect me from the scary jocks and drunken cheerleaders. This time he would be sitting in some fancy restaurant with his parents eating weird French food and talking about life while I gulped down gallons of Jack Daniels and inhaled second hand marijuana with strangers and weirdos. I sighed and briefly debated calling Alexis to cancel. I didn't like going it alone. And alone is how I would truly be going it. Although I would arrive with Christian, Alexis and Alex, I would inevitably end up alone. Christian and Marissa would go off together to make out and Alex would be drawn to the pot like a moth to a flame. So I would spend my eighteenth birthday virtually alone in a cloud of smoke and a sea of hormonal teens.

Ahh, the irony.

A car horn honked outside and I skipped down the stairs and out the front door with a shout of goodbye to my mother. Christian's black car was parked crookedly along the curb and Amelia leaned out the window, already half in the bag, to blow a perfect smoke ring into the dark, cool air. I slid into the backseat along with Alex and boy I had seen a few times but never really spoken too.

"Hello." I said to him. He smiled shyly and shook my hand.

"That's Luke." Marissa told me with a giggle; I could see clearly from the backseat that Christian's hand was on her thigh, and I inwardly groaned knowing that they probably wouldn't even get out of the car.

"And she's Sophia." Alex told Luke. We both smiled at each other.

"It's your birthday?" Luke asked me. I nodded. He nodded. We nodded.

"Yes." I said quickly.

"Uh, happy birthday." He said awkwardly. I smiled.

"Uh, thank you."

The rest of the car ride was filled with absurd giggles from the front seat and Alex singing from the back. I don't know if he was tuning out Marissa and Christian or if he was already slightly stoned, but his usually beautiful singing was off key and nauseating.

We finally reached the party and I practically leapt out of the car, Luke only seconds slower than me on the other side. I shot him an understanding smile over the roof and headed toward the house. The minute I crossed the threshold someone handed me a plastic cup of something dark. I stared into and seriously debated drinking it. I already felt like I needed a drink and not just because I was eighteen and wanted to get plastered, because I was feeling depressed and neglected and annoyed.

Someone pinched my ass and disappeared into the crowd. I set the cup down on the table beside me and moved on, opting for a fresh beer rather than the possible roofie awaiting me in that cup.

The house was extremely crowded. I didn't know very many of the people, but that didn't matter. I smiled at anyone who made eye contact and usually they smiled back or said hello. I didn't bother checking behind me for Alex or Luke or the others, I knew they weren't there, and part of me wanted to lose them.

I found my way to the kitchen and the alcohol. With a long and dramatic sigh I popped open a bottle of beer and took a thorough swig. The cold liquid flowed through me and seemingly cleansed me of some of the tension in my body. I liked the thought of being cleansed, so I drank the rest of it. And at least four more. I don't know for sure, I didn't even bother counting. Time became something like a stop motion film. I remember setting down an empty bottle and then suddenly I was standing in the middle of the dining room with a beer bong as the gathering crowd around me cheered. I know I saw Alex's face, complete with red glazed eyes, watching me. He was cheering along with everyone else. I bet if he wasn't stoned he would have stopped me.

After the beer bonging, I found my way into the living room and onto the couch with some boy in a letter jacket with badly groomed facial hair and a tongue stud. I made out with him for a while, and gave him my number before rushing up the stairs and, with some unusual stroke of luck, into the bathroom to hurl into the toilet.

Then there's a long period of nothing, just nothing. I don't know how much time passed, but later I found out it wasn't very long at all. Something like, twenty minutes, before I opened my eyes and got up from the bathroom floor. There was a girl passed out on the floor next to me, and a boy in the bathtub. The shower was running, and he was wearing nothing but a leopard print thong and big plastic Patrick Swayze sunglasses. I averted my eyes and rinsed out my mouth. I felt incredibly sober right then. It's amazing what a good vomit will do for you.

I stumbled tiredly out of the bathroom and started down the hall. I was going to find Christian and Marissa, I wanted to go home. I had gone to the party like they wanted, I had gotten my mind off of things. It was great. Sarcasm, it's lovely.

I leaned against the wall for some support, I felt very exhausted, and my body was still shaking from throwing up. As I passed over numerous closed doors I tried not to giggle at the sound of what the occupants were doing. I'm very mature, as you see. At least they're considerate enough to shut their doors, even if they aren't being very discrete about their activities. I thought. My thought was interrupted, however, as I slid passed a door that wasn't shut all the way. It swung open when I leaned against it, startling the couple inside. I fell sprawled across the floor and considered pretending to be unconscious so they wouldn't think I was some creepy pervert.

"I'm sorry!" I began, before even getting off the floor, "I wasn't spying! I swear, I'm not some weird, pervy crack head! I was just wandering down the hallway after puking and-"

"Soph?" The boy in the room asked. Something about the way this easily recognizable voice said my name made my stomach plummet. I sat up on my knees and looked up at the couple. I almost threw up again.

"Percy" I asked, shocked, "What are you doing here?"

He just stared down at me, and I realized very suddenly that he was not only shirtless but pants less. And he was not alone. I didn't even hide the look of incredulous and painful disbelief on my face as I covered my eyes with my hand and crawled out of the room. As I rounded the corner I reached up and pulled the door shut, ignoring Percy calling my name as I did so.

November 21, 2007

3:30 a.m.

Ring

I lay on my bed staring at the ceiling. My eyes were red and sore from hours of confused and angry crying.

Ring

Those same eyes shifted painfully sideways to glance in the direction of the ringing. I knew who it was.

Ring

I reached over slowly and curled my numb fingers around the receiver. I lifted it up, and set it back down. Then I picked it back up and let it drop to the floor.

Empty dial tone

I rolled over and stared out my window, closing my tired eyes as more tears began to fall. Eventually I managed to cry myself to sleep.