"Queen Lisa, here is your royal brew-sky," Joe brought another glass of beer to Lisa on a silver platter. "I'll drink to that!" she smiled as she took the glass. He took her other hand in his. Lisa smiled charmingly at him.

"Lisa, I think you've had enough," Kelly told her, taking the glass from her friend.

Lisa leaned toward the glass in an attempt to take one last sip. She frowned when it was out of her reach. "But I'm the queen," Lisa pouted, folding her arms.

"Yes," Kelly agreed. She leaned toward her and whispered through a forced smile,"A queen who I just found flirting with a guy who wasn't Zack!" She grabbed Lisa by the arm and dragged her away from a buzzed football player. "Which means, you've had enough," Kelly said firmly.

"Where you goin'?" Joe yelled out.

Lisa turned, smiled and waved goodbye clumsily as Kelly continued to pull her by the arm.

"It's not the beer, Kelly. It's just, sometimes, I forget I'm not single," Lisa tried to explain as Kelly sat her down on the couch.

"Maybe. But tonight, it's the beer," Kelly told her matter of factly as she took a seat beside her friend.

"You know what you need," Lisa leaned forward and put a hand on Kelly's shoulder. "A drink," she whispered as if she was delivering the secrets of the universe. "It'll help you cut loose a bit. Have more fun," she nudged Kelly playfully. "Oh, Joe-" Lisa cooed sweetly.

"Um… no, thanks, Joe," Kelly corrected quickly.

"That's a no-go, Joe!" Lisa yelled out. She laughed at her rhyme.

Kelly shook her head. She scanned the room taking in the scene of the party. Her attention quickly switched from Lisa to the mantle where she watched Steve smash a beer can onto his head, then, stumble backward and land right on top of Screech.

"Aah!" Screech's cry was somewhat muffled by the football player's body.

"Screech," Kelly called out as she rushed over to help her friend up. "Are you ok?"

He nodded as he took her hand and got up from the floor.

"Can you do me a favor?"

"Sure," Screech agreed. He picked up the smash can and set it down on a nearby table.

"Screech, have you-" when he saw Kelly look questioningly at the can, he interrupted her quickly.

"Are you kidding? I get a buzz from cough syrup!" he twisted his mouth into a goofy yet thoughtful expression.

"Alright, then, Screech, I need you to stay with Lisa," Kelly ordered. She shoved him down on the couch next to Lisa. He sat on the edge of the couch with both hands in his lap making a goofy face.

"Just keep her here," Kelly instructed. As soon as she said those words, Lisa plopped her head down on Screech's shoulder.

"I don't think that'll be too hard, even for me!" Screech concluded.

Kelly glanced at the clock—1:00 am. Her parents wouldn't be worried, since they thought she was staying over at Lisa's. Lisa's parents were out of town and wouldn't be back home tomorrow until around the time of the homecoming parade. She was just ready to leave this party.

"Hey, Slater," she walked over to the entry where he was talking to some of his teammates.

"What's up, Kelly?" he grinned at her.

"Hel-lo," a few other of the guys huddled around Slater greeted her.

Unsure of how to react, Kelly just smiled uncomfortably. Slater shoved the other guys back. Then he shot the other guys and angry look, warning them to stay away. He walked with her away from his animal like pals.

"I really need to get Lisa home," she told him, "but it's too late to call Jessie, and we need a ride. Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, this parties dead anyway," he told her as he stepped over a sleeping body. "I'll just need to find Zack and Screech. We all rode together."

"Screech is with Lisa in the living room," she pointed to the couch where Lisa was snoozing on Screech's shoulder. "I'm not sure about Zack," she told Slater.

"Maybe he's in the kitchen with the candlestick," Slater joked.

Kelly chuckled. "You don't seem like you've had nearly as much to drink as everyone else," Kelly admitted.

"Nah, just a few beers," Slater said nonchalantly.

Suddenly, Animal came up behind them, pushing himself in between both Kelly and Slater. He draped his arms around their shoulders.

"Hey, Animal," Slater greeted, "Where have you been?"

"Puking my guts out," Animal admitted smiling.

"As long as you're having fun," Slater forced a smile as he gave Animal a friendly elbow off him. Kelly and Slater looked at each other in disgust.

They both turned quickly toward Ox who let out a war cry. "Hey! Let's trash this place!" He picked up a lamp from one of the tables in the living room.

"Wait, Ox!" Slater rushed toward him grabbing his arm. "This is your house," he reminded him.

"Oh yeah," Ox remembered, placing the lamp back on the table gently.

Slater raised his eyebrows and shook his head. "You look for Zack, and I'd better stay here and keep an eye on these guys," Slater instructed Kelly.

Kelly pushed through the swinging door of the kitchen. She found Zack sitting at the kitchen table. There were a couple guys with their heads down on the table around him.

"Hey, Kel," he smiled at her. "Wanna join?" he asked her as he shuffled some cards in his hands. "As you can see the competition is fierce," he motioned to the other guys at the table. One snorted and turned his head over to reveal a potato chip stuck to his cheek.

"Poker," Kelly observed.

"Well, it was," he admitted. "Now I've just been making bets on who passes out next," he kidded. "You know, there's not much profit when you're betting against yourself," he smiled.

Kelly shook her head with a soft chuckle. Then, her eyes fell on the table where she noticed beer cans in front of him.

"I didn't have much," Zack responded, feeling the need to explain himself.

"I didn't have any," Kelly admitted sheepishly.

"I wouldn't expect anything different," he replied with a tender smile.

"Yeah," she whispered. He couldn't tell if the look she gave him was a look of disappointment because he drank or disappointment because it didn't surprise her that he drank.

"Kelly, I know I plan a lot of crazy things, but I didn't plan this," he motioned to the beer on the table. "Neither did Slater," Zack assured her. He could see her face brighten a little.

"I guess I believe you," Kelly agreed slowly, "Your plans usually leave people regretting what they've done immediately—not a day later," she said giving him a coy smile.

"You know me too well," he nodded trying to hide the smile from the remark she had just given him.

She moved over to the table and took the seat across from Zack. "I'm just not used to these kind of parties," she confided.

"As hard as it is to believe," Zack whispered to her leaning in, "Neither am I. But don't tell anyone. I've got a reputation to keep," he joked adjusting his toga with mock pride.

Kelly giggled. Zack could always make her feel comfortable even in uncomfortable times.

"And since we're being honest, this is the first time I've ever taken a drink," he admitted as he twirled the leftover beer in his can making a sloshing noise. Then, he sat the can back down on the table.

Kelly slowly reached across the table and picked up his can. She sniffed the top of the can and frowned. "Smells great."

"Yeah, I could use a few tic tacs right now," Zack admitted. He watched intently as she investigated the can. He could tell she was curious. She sat the can back down on the table, but kept it close. Then, she slowly slid her hands toward her on the table. She clasped her hands together and twiddled her thumbs.

Zack locked eyes with her as he reached across the table and took the can from her reach. He immediately got up from his chair and threw the can in a giant trash bag laying on the kitchen floor. Kelly studied him curiously. She watched as gathered other cans and plates on the table. He dumped all of it into a black trash bag next to the kitchen counter.

Kelly brushed a lock of brown hair behind her ear and stared at the now clean table. She knew that this wasn't good hosting etiquette. Zack just wanted to remove the temptation. She gave him a knowing look.

"It doesn't live up to the hype," he tied the trash bag up, then, walked slowly toward her and his tone became more serious. "You would've regretted it," he gave her a meek smile. He leaned on the chair next to her as he spoke the next words, "I know you well, too," he gave her a warm look.

Kelly smile formed on her lips.

Before she could speak, Slater, Screech, and Lisa barged into the kitchen. Zack jumped up from his relaxed state on the chair and took a one hundred eighty degree turn toward his friends. Kelly spun her body toward them quickly, her mouth open slightly.

"I hate to be a party pooper here, but I need to get some beauty sleep before the parade tomorrow," Lisa demanded. Kelly noticed she spoke clearer than she had earlier. The few minutes of sleep must've helped. "I'm ready to get out of here."

"Yeah, me too," Slater agreed.

"You need beauty sleep or want to go?" Screech asked tilting his head.

"Grrr," Slater scowled at him and lunged a bit.

"Beauty sleep it is!" Screech concluded jumping back.

"Who's going to drive?" Slater asked. "I'm feeling a little," he waved his fingers around his head, "I don't think I should."

"Definitely not me," Lisa threw in.

"I could drive," Screech volunteered.

"You can't even walk without bumping into things! No way!" Lisa argued throwing up her hands.

"Well, I didn't drink either," Kelly admitted. "I could take us home."

"We drove Slater's car," Zack explained. "It's a stick shift."

They all looked at each other for a moment. Then, Zack broke the silence. "Look, I feel alright. I didn't have much. I'll take us home."

"Are you sure that's a good idea, Zack?" Kelly asked.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," he assured her.

"Alright, here you go, Preppie," Slater handed him the keys.

Lisa, Screech, and Slater headed out to the car. Kelly followed but looked back at Zack one more time.

He nodded, "We'll be fine."