Julie's pov

Alright, so I don't like to talk about that night. It only happened once but once was enough. Anyway, Dr. Evans (the NJC CENTER'S on- call psychiatrist/therapist) says there's no reason why I should avoid talking about that night because I did nothing wrong. Obviously that's a load of crap because I wouldn't have gotten the beating of my life if I didn't do anything wrong. I actually did several things wrong that night.

Stacey says, "We've got to go to that party, Mark's gonna be there."

Mark was Stacey's latest crush.

Lisa replies, "You're out of your mind. Shane is never going to let us go to that party, it's all the way out in Rockwell and that's like an hour away."

Stacey retorts, "Forty-five minutes tops, and of course Shane would never LET us go. Why would we ask him? The party starts at 10pm, our curfew is 10pm. There will be boys there. Mike and Shane hate any activity that involves boys. There will be booze there and we have no way of getting there and back. Did I hit all the reasons?"

I say, "It's a suicide mission. You might as well strap the bomb to your chest."

"So you're out?" Stacey asks.

"Hell no! I'm all in. I'm dying to bust these walls."

Stacey and I had just finished a two week grounding stint and we were goin' stir crazy. The problem was, Carrie and most of our friends from school were at a weekend band camp so our plans for Saturday night were limited.

Stacey excitedly replies, "Yes! Now, let's talk logistics."

Lisa says, "Ok, our first obstacle is how we're gonna get there."

Stacey says, "We need a car. It's the only way. We'll have to steal Shane's."

"Borrow," I say, frowning at my cousin.

"Semantics," she sasses.

Lisa says, "He has the spare keys in his leather jacket."

"How do you know that?" I ask.

"I saw him put them there."

Stacey and I both exchange quizzical looks. Lisa realizes we're waiting for a more detailed explanation.

Lisa explains, "Yesterday, Mike borrowed Shane's car to ..."

Stacey and I, in unison, fill in the blank, "to drop off Carrie at band camp."

Lisa continues, "When he got back, he left right away with Dr. Curtis to go to that meeting and he forgot to give Shane his keys back. After searching for them for about twenty minutes, Shane realized Mike still had them, so he grabbed his spare set when he went to pick up what's-his-name at the airport. I just happened to see him come in when he got back and I noticed he had the spare set in his hand because I recognized the pink feather we attached to it last year that he never took off."

"Ok, so that's easy enough to get the keys. We'll use you as a diversion," Stacey says, looking at Lisa. "So, how are we gonna sneak out?"

"We don't need to," I say, with a big smile. "Shane has the front door key on his spare set."

Stacey quips, "I love it when a plan comes together."

Stacey's pov

10:30pm and all is quiet here at the NJC. I have to admit, I'm a little nervous. I mean, if we get caught, I can't even imagine. I shudder, picturing Shane's beyond angry face. It's not pretty. What's the matter with me? This was my idea. I can't back out now. Lisa and Julie would kill me. Besides, picturing Mark's sweet ass in tight jeans is enough to bring me back to, "Let's do this," mode.

"You guys ready?"

Lisa says, "Yeah, let's go before I lose my nerve. I mean, we're crazy for thinking we can pull this off, right?"

"There you go thinking again," Julie says. "That's your own fault. We all know, nothing good can come from rational thought."

Slippin' out the front door with Shane's key was about as easy as it gets. I decided to drive so Julie could navigate. As I eased Shane's car out of the parking lot and cranked up the stereo, I felt a surge of adrenaline. This night was gonna be awesome. Turns out, I couldn't have been more wrong.

Julie's pov

We got to the party without a hitch, unless you count getting lost three times a hitch, but let's not. I have to admit, the party was pretty lit. I've said it before and I'll say it again, rich people know how to party. I've never seen an alcohol spread like this one. They had a huge fully stocked bar in their house, bigger than some restaurants. Hello amaretto stone sours, sex on the beach, and Malibu & diet. Let the alcohol fueled, poor judgment commence.

Stacey quickly found Mark, leaving Lisa and I to fend for ourselves. After three or four drinks, we were chattin' up strangers, dancing, and havin' a blast. That is until...