(edited)

Before I actually left my room, I debated on taking my phone with me or just leave it charging back in there. It's almost at 40%.

My initial thought was that it's pointless to take it with me since I'm staying in my house, but then I remembered that I can't go for five minutes without checking it.

Whenever i'm in an uncomfortable situation I just pull my phone out and act as if im texting someone or scrolling through instagram. I basically make myself look busy, which in my opinion definitely makes me look less socially awkward.

As I stand on the edge of the stairs, I can already tell there's a lot of people, and I'm not even fully downstairs yet. This is going to be such a nightmare tomorrow.

I've proposed multiple times to just hire cleaning ladies for the day after. This place looks trashed and we waste our precious time having to scrub every last corner of the house.

The house leaders fucking dismissed me claiming there was no budget left for that, that it would be too expensive. They also said there were plenty of girls in the house and we could get the job done easily.

Have you seen a bathroom after a party? Hell fucking no.

Before fully committing and walking down the stairs, I decide to remain where I am, I have a higher position and can spot my friends easily. Scanning the place on the lookout for a tall blonde babe I finally look through the big glass windows which are now open, just to find Angel standing in the backyard along a group of people. By the looks of it, they're smoking something... this definitely peaks my interest

Excusing my way through the heaps of people I finally reach them, jesus are big crowds of people annoying. Once outside the smell of weed fills my nostrils. Real question is, should I smoke today or simply choose the path of sobriety.

I wouldn't consider myself a full stoner, it's not like I actively buy it and smoke 24/7, however if there is weed available and I'm in a safe environment, I really don't mind smoking some. Or obviously when I need my anxiety to calm the fuck down. That often becomes a two sided blade since it can make me more aware of my surroundings

As I approach the group where Angel is I notice Vicky is there too, she is the first one to see me, sending a warm smile towards my way.

I really like her, you know? Even though we are not all that close, she is always so warm and inviting with me and Angel. Maybe it's because she isn't intimate friends with anyone in the house, something I could never actually decipher why. Everyone likes her, yes, she's great! I just haven't seen her being really tight with anyone in specific like Angel and I, or Steffy and Macy.

"Hey Char, you finally finished getting ready! Do you want some?" she says while handing me the joint. I laugh a little bit and nod, I'm at my own home, so I guess this won't hurt anyone. I put the joint on my lips and just inhale, taking the smoke in, I hold it in my lungs just to slowly let it out after a few moments.

The little joint manages to go round four full times, now I'm 4 hits in and completely blazed. When it comes to any substances, I'm such a lightweight, with pot I get it, because it's not something I usually do, but with alcohol it's just weird. You would think that after drinking so much booze you'd grow some resistance to it... but not me, jesus not me.

I turn to look at Angel and suggest we go get shots, but she sternly denies my invitation and prevents me from going to get a drink for myself.

Alcohol + weed ? Not a very good idea

Memories of the last time i mixed them comes flashing back into my memory, I felt my heartbeat racing and my palms getting sweaty. Just this irrational fear that I was gonna die. That obviously did not end up happening and I lived.

Still very fucking scary though.

I get pulled out of my memories when my best friend speaks up next to me

"Charlotte, you remember Lucas, right?" she carefully says, and I look to the side giving it a little bit of thought.

Lucas?

Lucas...

Oh, Lucas!

"Yeah, the blue eyed weirdo that hit on us both at the exact same time to see which one of us would take the bait and actually sleep with him?" I nonchalantly tell her, earning an eager nod from the blonde standing next to me

"Well... he just texted me he said he's going to a party that's fifteen minutes away from here, would you come with me pretty please?" Angel says giving me puppy eyes

I don't want her to go alone, it would be very dangerous, I don't fully trust Lucas. And I know she doesn't either, that's why she's asking me to tag along. So I can't say no. We always look after each other, we put each other first. That's our thing, and that has been our thing from the very beginning of our friendship.

No matter the guy, the situation or whatever, we both came first. Always. No excuses.

"But you can stay here with him, your room is literally free" I say trying to convince her to stay in our home. This clearly doesn't work, my best friend is as stubborn as one can get. Angel simply looks at me, almost pleading with her eyes and I sigh.

"Jesus, fine" I say earning a huge celebration from Angel, clapping and all causing me to hysterically laugh. Was it funny? No. Am I high as heck? Yes. "But i'm not paying for the uber" I add and she euphorically nods

"I love you, I love you, I love you" she says kissing my cheek

I'd never thought I'd see her this happy over fucking Lucas. Weed can do wonders I'm telling y'all.

Angel violently turns around, grabs my arm and starts to walk towards the door.

How the fuck did she order an uber so quick? Was she planning this and just assumed I would say yes?

All of my questions get answered once we walk outside and get closer to this said uber, here I can see a very cheerful Lucas sitting in the back.

Guess we're riding with him.

The drive is painfully awkward as both Lucas and Angel constantly flirt with each other and the uber driver tries to make some small talk with me. This is not how I wanted my night to go.

Finally arriving at the house, I notice I don't recognize a single soul in here, panic starts to settle in. What the fuck am I supposed to do now? I desperately look around trying to find someone I know, and as if God was real and an angel sent him, I spot Jake.

"Jakeyyyyyy" I happily say approaching my tall bug brother, instinctively wrapping my arms around him

When Jake turns around his grin turns into a look of worry.

"Why are you here alone?" he says grabbing me from the shoulders pushing me backwards to get a better look "And are you high?"

I try and process what he just said but my brain is going slower than usual, so I just look at him dumbfounded not knowing what to say, I also begin to wonder what Clay might be doing right now... My mind starts to go somewhere else when I feel myself shake again

"Char I asked you a question, answer" Jake firmly says and I rapidly blink at him, my sight getting foggy and my breath quickening

"Uh- I don-don't think I feel very good" I mumble grabbing onto him to keep me from falling on the floor

"That's it, I'm taking you home" my brother firmly says, throwing me over his shoulder and walking outside. Once I'm sitting inside his car, realization hits me.

Angel.

"No wait" I manage to say and Jake abruptly stops "Angel is still here"

"Where?" he asks, but before I can even answer he speaks up again "She is coming too then"

Not doing this to her. Not ruining her night. A million options go through my mind, truing to think about what I could do to get me to calm down and make sure Angel doesn't become an actual angel.

And as if I lightbulb lights up in my head, I find a solution.

Clay

"Wait no, I can call a friend of mine so they can pick me up, and you can make sure Angel gets home afterwards" he looks at me analyzing the situation and nods

"I'll just wait out here with you" my brother answers, leaning agains his car.

I quickly go over my phone trying to find his contact number. After clicking on his icon my phone begins the call process. Just three rings, he picks up

"Charlotte? Are you alright?" Clay asks, worry filling his voice

"Not really, can you come pick me up? Angel dragged me to some random party and I'm not feeling very good" I whisper onto my phone

"What happened? Where are- Just shut up Sapnap" he says and confusion flushes over me

"If you're with your friends then I don't want to bother you" I tell him. The last thing I want right now is to disrupt another of my friends. It would be pretty hypocritical of me given the fact that I am trying to avoid exactly that but with Angie.

"No, no don't worry, you're fine" he confidently says "Just give me the address and I'll head o- What? No George we can finish filming later, I just need to- huh? WHAT" He says, clearly having two conversations at the same tike

"Clay, really it's fine, you're fine you don't need to come" I say hoping i'm not a burden

"No no, my friends are being dumb, I'm on my way, I'll be there in..." Clay whispers and I can hear the light tapping of his phone as if he was entering the address into a navigation app "10 minutes, don't move" And before I can answer, he hangs up the phone.

"Is your friend close?" Jake asks while looking over at my phone, I giggle a little bit, feeling slightly better now that I am outside and the warm Florida night breeze hits my face. Fresh air is such a good remedy.

"Like ten minutes away" I answer, Jake nods satisfied with my answer

As I sit in silence, my mind begins to ride wild again. I just put everything that has happened the past to days into perspective, Do I really like partying that much? Two shitty nights in a row must be the universe trying to tell me something. So I decide that for the time being, I'll be taking a break from these.

I get pulled out of my imagination once more by a sweet voice that I remember perfectly from last night

"Charlotte? Are you feeling better?" the familiar voice makes my heart warm, Clay is finally here

"Uhh, this is your friend?" Jake asks, pointing at the blonde guy standing near us. I nod in response

"A guy?" he pushes again, and I nod, again

"Hell nah, you're not leaving with a random man I don't know" he sternly says, putting himself between Clay and I

"Jake" I groan "It's fine! Clay drove me home yesterday, plus he saved me from a shitty situation"

"Shitty situation?" He says, sternly looking at me

What's with the fucking question holy shit

"Nothing major, a weirdo tried to hit on me and Clay over here" I point at him "Saved me from the dude"

I know I'm lying through my teeth once more, and Clay knows that too, it was more than a weirdo hitting on me. Thankfully he doesn't say anything and just remains silent, watching the situation unfold in front of him

"Nonsense, I'll drive you home and come back to wait for your friend" he says, still not giving in

"But what if something happens to Angel while you are gone?" I ask "Just trust me, I know Clay, I won't die, nothing bad will happen" I say reassuring him. I get off his car and make sure he locks his doors.

Jake's eyes wonder between me and Clay, and he just lets out a loud sigh

"Look man" he says, finally acknowledging him "If I find out you laid a single finger on my sister, I'll-"

"I won't" Clay smiles, interrupting him "I'll get her home safe. She can call you once we get back to her house" he suggests and my brother nods. Then a look of confusion wins over his face

"Wait, your voice sounds oddly familiar, do I know you from somewhere?" My brother asks.

A look of panic flashes over Clay's face but he quickly recomposes himself, loudly clearing his throat

"Yeah, I get that a lot actually, I guess I just have a common voice" He says

My brother hums in agreement "Seems legit" Once he turns around I hear him mumble something "Now, where the heck is that bimbo"

"Hey!" I shout at him, giggling, and then full out laughing

When my laughter dies down, I turn to look at the tall guy standing next to me, now closer than before. "Thank you so much for saving me again" I say, earning a soft smile

"I'm always down to save a damsel in distress" he smirks and I can't help but laugh again "Hey, I was thinking we could go back to my house?" Clay says, and I look at him with a strange look on my face "—No no not like that, I remembered you said there was a party in your sorority and if you were feeling bad I know wouldn't like going back there, I can give you a ride tomorrow" He adds, trying to clear my confusion

I open my mouth in an o shape, I fucking forgot about the stupid party.

"That would be great, thank you" I smile and Clay grabs my hand to guide me towards his car

While getting inside it, I check my phone to see it's 2 am, I bet the party at the house is still going on. Clay's right, going back it would make things worse.

"You should really stop saying thank you for anything I do you know?" he tells me, and even though I'm not looking at him, I know he's smiling "I like spending time with you, I should be the one saying it" Clay says as he turns the car on and a smile creeps up on my face.

He... he likes to spend time with me?

The drive to his house is quiet, but the silence is not awkward at all, I find it quite comforting actually. It just lets my thoughts sort out and my breath go back to normal

Once at his house, I get out of the car and just stare at the gigantic mansion standing in front of me, taking my sweet time to take it all in.

There's no way in hell this dude isn't a drug dealer. A high school dropout who codes lives in here?

"So... How do I get into coding again?" I jokingly ask

"Well, there's more to it than just coding" he slowly says, lightly laughing.

Oh, this man has a meth lab in his basement. He just fucking confirmed it, holy shit.

"Here let's get inside I'll show you"

As we walk inside I'm even more shocked, this dude is rich rich.

I stand on the main entrance, looking at the big staircase in front of me, when suddenly I feel something furry rub itself on my leg. Looking down, I see a cat. I can't hide my excitement letting out a loud "aawww" and then getting on my knees so I can pet the kitty

"Oh look Patches likes you, like, a lot" he chuckles "This is so weird, she's usually very shy" He adds, and I can't help but smile at that.

I realize I find myself doing that a lot when I'm around him, just smiling.

"I love cats" I truthfully answer, looking down at the brown with black and white spots creature standing near my legs "I had to leave mine back at home for University" I never stop petting Patches

"Really? What's its name?" Clay asks, walking over to his kitchen. I get up from the floor and simply follow him there

I noticed this a lot. Clay just does things and I immediately understand what he wants, we get each other. He doesn't need to tell me what to do, I just know

"Her name is Misty, I miss her so much, can't wait to go back on winter break" I add, breaking the silence that had fallen between us

"I like that name" Clay says while opening some cupboards and then grabbing some cookies, handing them to me. "You look pale, mind telling me what happened?"

I nod and grab the package "Someone had weed at the first party and I just had too many hits, I guess I just had an anxiety attack"

He nods silently as I munch onto the cookie

"I also came to the decision that I am not going to parties anymore, well, for the time being at least" I add

"Why? You said you liked partying" He asks, remembering what I had told him the night before.

"Yeah I know, I know, it's just that - parties were never really my scene, Angel made me get into it and then I slowly started to really enjoy them—" His gaze makes me stop for a second because of the way it intimidates me "—but after two really horrible nights I just want to tale a break from it y'know?" I finish saying

"Understandable, a break is sometimes just what you need" he says and I nod "Also, I think you might want to call your brother... just so that I don't get murdered and he knows you're alright" he chuckles and I nod

Looking down at my phone I try calling him, but the call goes into voicemail. I could totally he getting murdered right now and Jake wouldn't give two flying fucks.

Finally I decide on leaving a message hoping it will ease his anxiety once he remembers to check on me.

"He isn't picking up. I just texted" I say pointing at the phone in my hands and he hums in response

"Why didn't you tell your brother about yesterday?" he asks me and I let out a loud breath

"He, well he kind of always worries about me. A lot" I begin explaining "Nothing major never ended up happening because of you... so it kind of seemed pointless. I don't want him to worry about me"

Clay looks at me for a moment before he speaks up

"Look, Char" he says getting closer to me, placing a hand on my shoulder "It's goos that people worry about you, it means they care. Don't let it stop you from opening up about stuff which happened to you. It's fine, It's normal and It's something fucking amazing, because YOU are amazing"

By the end of his little speech I notice how close we ended up really being. Our breaths turning into one, and I notice him looking down at my lips, then back into my eyes again.

Panic begins to settle in me, and I move back from him, loudly clearing my throat.

"Anyways, I uhh- was in the middle of something before you called" Clay says scratching the back of his head and embarrassment flushes over me

"You could've told me that when I asked earlier, Clay" I almost whisper, getting closer to him so I can grab his bicep just ever so slightly directly copying his actions from just a moment ago, I can notice his cheeks turn slightly red... is he blushing?

To ease his pain I decide to speak up again, "I really do feel bad for just dumping my problems onto you"

"If it wasn't important you wouldn't have called" he answers reassuring me, he stops for a moment before continuing "And... there was something related to that which I wanted to show you, follow me" Clay says, grabbing my hand.

I follow him through this big ass house. Trying to figure out how the fuck he manages to pay for this, and alone i may add. By the way things are neatly into place and the house kind of empty, it gives off the impression that no one else actively lives in here besides him and Patches.

After going up two stairs we get to the end of a hallway with a singular door, and he stands in front of it looking back at me, trying to cause more suspense.

This is it, he is literally going to open up that door and reveal a meth lab, I know it.

When he opens the door I quickly take a peak inside just to see a big computer with a bunch of lights and buttons and shit. Well, of course there would be a computer, he fucking codes for christ sakes

"What? Why did you sound relieved? What were you expecting?" Clay says, chuckling. I might have released the breath I was holding

"A meth lab" I bluntly answer

"Oh come on now, really" he laughs ay my confession and I throw my shoulders up

Clay then steps in and signals with his arms towards the big computer "Well here it is, this is what I work as"