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"Come on, Charlie! Just one party. If you don't like it, I'll never make you go to another one again," Elizabeth declared to the girl sitting on her bed.
"It's just… not really my scene."
Elizabeth sighed dramatically and fell back against her bed next to her friend. "But Charlie!" She put on her saddest and most pathetic face. "Does our friendship mean nothing to you? What if I get drunk and need someone to drive me home?"
"Then you can call me."
"What if I'm too drunk to call you?"
"Then the only one to blame is yourself. You're not stupid, Lizzie."
"Char…" Elizabeth pouted.
Charlie frowned looking down at the girl laying sprawled out as though this were an earth-shattering crisis and not some ridiculous high school party parents weren't told about. "Why do you even want to go to this thing? You're going to hate everyone there, aren't you?."
"Obviously, but if I never show up to any events outside of school during my senior year I'm going to look like a stuck-up prick. Besides, do you have any idea how many people get their first kiss at these things? Sure, it didn't work out with Jackson, but I have backup plans. Brent is the one hosting, you know."
"Course I know, I'm not that out of the loop," Charlie replied with an eyeroll. "I thought you said Brent was too nerdy for you?"
"That's what I thought! Yet, have you not seen him around? He's gotten better style this year. Socialized a bit more. And have you seen his mother? Good genes in his family. Not to mention I'm so bored of all these jocks, so I've decided to shift the social dynamic a bit more. Loud, strong boys are out, and mature, thoughtful young men are in!"
"Huh… I guess I have noticed that. Wait, that was you?"
"Who else?"
Charlie shook her head. "Alright. Fine. Brent. Any other reasons you're going for him?"
"Well…" Elizabeth grinned, sitting up and twirling her hair with her finger, only slightly hindered but how curly her locks were. "He has been flirting with me as of late." She paused, waiting for a reply, but Charlie only wrinkled her nose. "Personally invited me to his party, as a matter of fact, said he hoped to see me there and perhaps we should have a drink and dance together."
Charlie chewed her lip. "I don't mean to be a downer or anything like that, but have you considered he might just be trying to use you for your social status? Like, he's noticed because of you he's not seen as a loser anymore, and now he's trying to, like, claw at more of that status?"
"Of course he is! Don't be daft, Charlie. That's the point of dating in high school, to advance social status. If one is lucky enough, they'll find a decent person who can increase status into adulthood. The goal is always to be a power couple."
"Oh."
"Sometimes I forget how much you don't know. Really, you could be so popular if you wanted." Elizabeth sighed heavily. "Alas." She stood up and pranced to her wardrobe. "Dress or skirt?"
"Probably a skirt. These things are super casual, right? That skort you had on last weekend is cute."
"I do like the skort. Cute, short, but not inhibiting my movement. See! This is why I can always come to you for fashion advice despite you dressing like a hobo. I'm quite serious when I say you could become more popular than me if you put a little effort into it." Elizabeth pulled out the skort and set it to the side before comparing a few different blouses.
"Uh-huh."
"Green or white?"
"Green. It looks good with your hair and someone will probably spill something on you if you wear white. The color's cursed, I think."
"Brilliant as always. Green top with the dark blue skort. Not necessarily my usual style, but it'll practically be like having you there with me, since you're too lame to go."
"I'm not lame."
"You are, as a matter of fact. Thank goodness we grew up together, otherwise I would've never bothered with you, and then I wouldn't have any real friends since you're better than anyone else in this rotten town."
"Except for you, of course," Charlie joked.
"I suppose. At least you never play pretend. I appreciate how genuine you are, even if it does make you considerably less palatable to most people."
"Thanks?"
"Of course!"
Now Elizabeth was at a stupid party all by herself.
Well, strictly speaking, she was not at all by herself. She was constantly surrounded by crowds of people she floated through with the effortless grace people had come to expect from her. Still, Charlie wasn't here, so she had to pretend she wanted to be here and was having a good time. Although she supposed she did want to be here, in a way. It was a good way to make sure her status didn't slip. Sure, she was well aware most of her popularity had nothing to do with her own actions— it was always helpful to have a rich father— but if she refused to come to casual parties, people would think she was too stuck up and then she'd get labeled a snobby rich kid and people would simply avoid crossing her instead of bending over backwards to earn her favor. That was how Charlie lived, after all, and she couldn't live like Charlie, that would be humiliating.
About an hour in, she noticed a figure out of the corner of her eye. She didn't stare too long, but glanced over just long enough to confirm their identity.
Shit.
She turned to the girl on her right. "What's Jackson doing here? I haven't seen him since he switched schools last year."
"Oh, him?" Susie giggled, already red in the face from alcohol. Elizabeth was far more careful about drinking, slowly sipping from her red solo cup lest she slip up, though drinking just enough to be more relaxed and fun. "He's Brent's cousin? You didn't know that? I thought you knew everything about everyone who has ever been in our class! I know, like, Jackson left after Charlie beat the shit out of him last year for saying stuff about you, that was because of your dad, right? He totally used his money and stuff to get Jackson out of the school. I'm soooo glad he doesn't play sports anymore, I think I would die if he played our school, though Charlie might break his legs if he tried. Gosh! She's like your little lap dog!" Susie giggled again. "What was I talking about? Oh, yeah! I'm honestly super shocked you didn't know they're cousins. I guess, like, they do kind of keep it on the down low, but it's not super secret and I'm pretty sure you know everyone's secrets. Maybe that's why you don't know. It's not obvious but they're still chill about it." She gasped suddenly. "Look! Fredrick's here! I'm gonna go say hi before he leaves!"
The quiet violin player? Huh. Elizabeth had to admit she was surprised he'd showed up to this, especially given she was quite certain she'd never heard him speak. The more surprising part was that Susie not only knew him, but wanted to speak with him. He wasn't even that good looking.
She indulged herself in an eyeroll and then closed her eyes and rubbed the bridge of her nose with a heavy sigh, ignoring whoever bumped into her and before downing the rest of the contents of her red solo cup. She'd deciding she didn't want to carry it around anymore, and grimaced at how bitter the taste was before drifting off to find a trash can and another group. This was going to be a long night.
It wasn't long until she found the host himself. She didn't approach him, of course, but casually made eye contact with him, just brief enough for him to get the hint to join her.
"Well, well, if it isn't madam president herself!" Brent exclaimed. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"
"The pleasure is all mine, you've got a fantastic party here," Elizabeth said with a sweet smile.
"Eh, you know how it is. The parents are out of town so I live it up a bit and invite others to join me."
She laughed. That was louder than she meant it to be. "I wish I knew! Mine have never left over night."
"Sucks. I bet everyone would love to see the inside of the legendary Afton mansion." He playfully elbowed her side, though she didn't notice until afterwards.
"Mansion! It's hardly a mansion. It's just a big bigger than a normal house."
"Uh-huh. How many bedrooms you got in that building?"
She laughed again. It wasn't funny and she had no desire to pretend it was, but she found herself laughing anyway.
Spurred on by this, Brent continued. "I mean, come on, you guys probably have a live in maid, a pool, a giant garden… shit, might as well be calling you a princess with the way you live."
"A princess? Please, call me a queen!" She placed a hand over her chest dramatically.
"If you wish, your majesty." He bowed low with a playful grin admidst her giggles.
"You're hilarious." She stepped forward and nudged his side, only stumbling over her feet slightly, an accomplishment given how unbalanced the room had become. What a peculiar feature to add to a house. Who would want their floor to be tilting and spinning like this? It was nauseating. "So hilarious, a regular court jester!"
"I would be honored to join your court, my queen," Brent said, kissing her hand.
"Now, now, what's a jester doing flirting with the queen?" she admonished pulling her back with enough force that it caused her to stumble, nearly hitting the ground before being caught by Brent. "Thanks."
"Of course," he said softly, brushing her hair behund her ear.
The nausea got worse and she shoved him away, struggling to keep her balance finding a counter to hold onto for support. "Ew."
"The fuck? I thought girls like that kind of thing! Why aren't you— Jackson said—"
She narrowed her eyes. "Jackson?" What did Jackson have to do with anything? Susie had said something about Jackson earlier. What was it? Where was Brent looking? She followed his line of sight, which led straight to the bastard himself. That was right, Elizabeth had seen him here earlier, right before someone had bumped into here, and she downed her drink, and started feeling dizzy and… shit. She needed Charlie. She fumbled for her phone and typed a quick message asking her friend to come pick her up. Surely people would understand if she left a little early, right?
Charlie hadn't gone to bed even though it was well past midnight. It wasn't as though she expected her phone to ring, she just wanted to make sure she was awake if it did. Not that she wanted Elizabeth to need her of course. But, you know, if she just so happened to need her, Charlie wouldn't fail her friend.
When her phone buzzed, she dove for it.
co. E pixk mw uo
She squinted at her phone. Just how much did Elizabeth drink? She never typed this poorly, even when in a rush. Thank goodness there was only one reason she would be messaging Charlie at this hour, or it would've taken her a lot longer to decipher the message. Still, if she wanted to leave early, it could be urgent. Charlie flew down the stairs, hesitated over her motorcycle keys, and then grabbed the car keys. Putting someone who was enbriated on a motorcycle was probably a bad idea.
Elizabeth yawned and blinked against the harsh sunlight filling the room. Where was she? She'd been at a party, and she wasn't in her room. Shit, surely she wasn't stupid enough to… she squinted at the room. How'd she end up in Charlie's room… on Charlie's bed… speaking of Charlie, she looked down to see the girl herself sleeping in a nest of blankets and pillows on the floor. Elizabeth considered waking her and demanding to know how she got here, but Charlie looked so peaceful…
Ugh. This buzzing in the back of her head was so annoying. No, wait, that was her phone. She picked it up. "Hello?" she whispered not wanting to wake Charlie.
"Elizabeth!" Susie's high-pitched voice squeaked from the other side. "How are you doing? Are you okay? Did Charlie get you home safe?"
Safe? Why wouldn't she be safe? "I'm at Charlie's house right now, why?"
Susie gasped loudly. "Wait— do you not remember last night?"
"I was at Brent's party." Elizabeth rubbed her forehead. Was she hungover? Had she drank too much on accident? Was that why her head hurt and she couldn't remember anything? "Did something happen?"
"Woah… so you really don't remember anything, like, at all?"
"What happened?" Elizabeth pressed.
"What's the last thing you remember?"
Elizabeth rubbed her forehead. She was in too much pain for this nonsense. "I was at the party at Brent's, I think we were talking? I'm not entirely sure, I fear I may have drank a bit more than intended last night."
"Oh! Wow, okay, so you, like, really don't remember then?" Susie asked.
Elizabeth covered the microphone and took a deep breath. "No, Susie, I do not. Perhaps you could simply tell me what happened?"
"Yeah, totally! I just, like, expected Charlie to have either told you or for you to remember at least a little bit."
"Charlie is still asleep, so tell me what happened," Elizabeth said firmly.
"Right! Of course. My bad. Anyway, so, like, we were hanging out and chatting, and we saw Jackson and you were totally annoyed at seeing him— for good reason, he, like, is the worst. But anyway, I told you he and Brent are, like, cousins and then I left to go talk Fredrick who turned out to be so totally boring, like, how's he ever going to get a girlfriend when all he talks about it is, like, music and stuff? It's so boring…"
Elizabeth cleared her throat.
"Sorry! But, then, like, anyway, I glance over at you and you're flirting with Brent, which was, like, so totally weird since you, like, never flirt like that! I figured you must've gotten drunk or something, which kind of seemed out of character, but, like, it's a party and you don't go to a ton of those so maybe you wanted to, like, let loose? Still was weird. You even fell over and Brent caught you and brushed your hair back and it looked totally romantic but you seemed totally annoyed about it! Next thing I know, Jackson and Brent are arguing about something while you're curled up on the floor, so I, like, walked over to check on you, and you said you wanted Charlie and you texted her a while ago but, she, like, wasn't there yet? We checked your phone and it was only, like, less than ten minutes ago you texted her. Anyways, apparently Jackson slipped some ketamine into your drink right before you finished it off! I guess Brent was trying to get with you and thought it would be easier while you were high, so I, like, started yelling at him, and then he had the audacity to say it was fine because he just wanted one kiss, and you were, like, totally into him already, and I told him once you recovered you were going to absolutely ruin his entire reputation, which you totally will, and then thankfully before he could react, Charlie showed up, and, like, I didn't want to be there anymore so she, like, gave me a lift back home since she brought her car. She's so cool, and we talked a bit and I had to, like, convince her not to beat up Brent and Jackson because there would totally be a huge fight and well they would, like, definitely deserve getting beat up, she needed to be able to, like, drive you home and maybe the two of you could plan together how to best make them regret what they did."
"Oh."
"Wait! I forgot something. Remember when you said you wanted your first kiss last night?"
"Yes?" If Brent kissed her well she was inebriated, she was going to cut his face off.
"Well! When Charlie showed up, you kissed her! It was, like, actually really cute. It was a pretty tame kiss, but definitely a kiss,"Susie said with a giggle
"I see." Elizabeth cleared her throat, thankful that Susie couldn't see how red her face was turning. "At least I wasn't high for my first real kiss then."
"I dunno, seemed pretty real to me."
"You know what I mean, Charlie's a girl. What do you take me for, a homosexual?"
"I don't really care."
"Whatever. I'm not, and neither is Charlie."
"Totally. Do you have any plans on what to do about Brent?"
Elizabeth hummed under her breath, thankful for the change in subject. What To do indeed? Of course she wouldn't just let it slide, but this was a bit more complicated as it would be difficult to involve her father in this, she didn't want to imagine his reaction if he found out she'd gone to a party, so legal action was out the window, which meant she couldn't force him to switch schools the same way she'd done with Jackson. Perhaps she'd discuss is with Charlie. "Still deciding from a few different things."
"Oh, for sure. I'm glad you seem to, like, being doing okay. Call me if you need anything!"
"How kind of you, I suppose I shall." Naturally, she had no intention of calling Susie. The only person she'd go to for help was Charlie. Perhaps Michael if Charlie was unavailable and it was urgent enough.
"Alrighty, cya!"
"Indeed." Elizabeth hung up and shook her head. Frankly, it was none of Susie's business to be calling and asking her how she was, though Elizabeth had to admit she was glad for the update on what had happened, otherwise it would've been Charlie who'd told her she kissed her.
Fuck.
Why had she done that? It wasn't as though she liked Charlie in that way! She liked boys, of course. She was supposed to like boys, and if she didn't like boys that would ruin all her future plans and she would get disowned and then she would move in with Charlie and they'd get two cats and… what? No. Elizabeth buried her face in her hands. This must be the residual effects from getting high. Oh, she was going to kill Brent and Jackson. Kill them? No, that'd be a waste of time. She would simply Make them wish they were dead.
"Should I go make us breakfast?"
"Huh?" Elizabeth looked down to see Charlie propped up on her elbow looking up at her.
"Breakfast. You know, that meal a lot of people eat in the morning?" Charlie stared at her, barely blinking. It was a stupid, blank face that shouldn't have made her heart rate increase.
"Y-" Elizabeth's voice caught in her throat. She coughed. "Yes. That seems suitable. ill assist you and get some water as well. My throat seems to be dry."
Charlie nodded and stretched, Elizabeth could only wonder if Charlie had intended to flex her biceps. "Sounds good. Anything in particular you want?"
"No, thank you. I'm fine with whatever you usually have."
A few minutes later, Elizabeth found herself sipping water as she watched Charlie prepare omlettes for the two of them. It was a nice silence, and Elizabeth hated to break it, but she supposed it was necessary. "Charlie?"
Charlie glanced up from the frying pan and tilted her head. "Hm?"
What was she supposed to say? 'Sorry I kissed you, not sure why I did that. Maybe because you looked absolutely stunning and you were my knight in shining armor and because I was very high and confused for a moment I didn't care if you were a girl'? Obviously not, she would rather scrub the floors with a toothbrush. "I simply wanted to thank you. For picking me up. Last night." Elizabeth turned away and took a drink of water. Great, now it was awkward. Although it had probably already been awkward for Charlie since they kissed and Charlie would remember it completely.
"Not a problem!" Charlie flipped the omelette by effortlessly tossing it into the air. "I would be a shitty person if I hadn't. Soeaking of which, how are you feeling this morning?"
"Good. How about you?"
"Don't insult me like that," Charlie replied with a sigh, flipping the other omelette with the same grace Elizabeth had never seen from her before. "How do you really feel?"
If only Elizabeth couldn't feel the stupid smile creeping up her face. "Tired, quite out of it, not entirely sure I'm real. I assume that's to be expected. Listen, Charlie, about last night—"
"Yeah, Susie told me what happened to you. I'm sure you don't want your father to find out, so I was thinking, Susie was there, yeah? She could say she saw Jackson and Brent with ketamine, and that she was pretty sure they took some themselves. They probably did, after I picked you two up. So, we bust them with her testimony, I use my dad's money to hire lawyers, and no one will ever fine out your name is attached to it!"
Elizabeth blinked. "That would be nice."
"And hey, if we can't find a way to get them in trouble legally, I'll run them out of town myself." Charlie slipped the two omlettes onto plates. "Susie and I will make sure you're safe, one way or another." She handed Elizabeth a plate.
Elizabeth stared at the plate. Slightly browned, a pinch of cheddar, and lots of tomatoes and peppers. Just the way she liked her omlettes. It was perfect, so why did it make her want to cry? "Thank you," she said quietly. She took a deep breath. "There is something Susie mentioned last night I wished to speak about with you…"
"How about later?" Charlie suggested while filling up a glass of water. "Nothing you did while drugged last night was your fault, and right now you should be recovering, but, if you want, we'll talk about it once you've had a bit more time to recover from it all." She handed Elizabeth the glass of water. "Deal?"
She nodded and took a sip of water, the ice cubes clinking. "Deal."