It was difficult, but I made it through the week, with the help of Lilly. She came over on Thursday to spend the night. We showed each other our party dresses again, this time with the entire look. Hers was a dusty rose color, it was a normal cocktail style. She paired it with golden strapped sandals and insanely large gold hoops. I paired my black dress with gladiator style heals and a bunch of different rings on my fingers.

"I think I want a lip piercing..." I spoke, holding one of Lilly's many dresses up to my body. We were the same size, but she was taller than me.

"Absolutely not. Do a nose piercing, you'll regret it way less." She lectured, holding one of my dresses from my cousins wedding. It was a champagne color and had a giant stain on the front from when my boozy aunt ran into me with a glass full of wine. She turned to me, looked at my hair and grinned, "I want to do your hair." She said, grabbing me and pulling me into the bathroom. She sat me down on the toilet and began to mess around with my hair. She braided a few pieces, tucked them places and tied it up.

"Check it out." She stood me up, and pulled me to the mirror. My hair was in an updo, braids tucked into it. I looked like a princess, I smiled brightly as she pulled at it.

———

On Friday, Lilly drove me home after school. She left her dress and heels in my house so we could get ready together. All the boys accepted the invitation, including Harry, which Lilly had the honor of asking. She did my hair and makeup and I wasn't allowed to look, not even when we switched places. I did her hair, loosely curling it and giving her beach waves. She had a middle part, so I grabbed the hair on both sides of her face and braided them back, pinning them behind her head.

We both took a look in the mirror. Our mouths were hung open at how we looked, we had no time to gawk at ourselves. We quickly got dressed, applied last minute perfume and we both were out the door, shoes and phones in hand. On our way to the party, she told me about her friends from Crawford.

I zoned out after the fourth person she started describing, watching as we pulled up to a house. I let out a nervous breath as I grabbed my heels and phone, sliding out of the car and tugging my dress down. I saw Liam's car parked on the street, which made me feel better, knowing I knew more than one person at this party. Loud music was playing and different colored lights were pulsing in the windows as bodies were jumping.

"There may be more people than I expected..." Lilly mumbled, looking at the window. She grabbed my wrist and pulled me inside. When we stepped through the door, we dropped our heels on the floor with everyone elses and made our way through the living room, pushing our way into the kitchen where I spotted Niall and Ellie, she wore a dark green dress with holes along the sides. She was pouring liquid into shot glasses and laughing, Niall had an arm around her shoulders. When Ellie looked over, she let out a shout and ran over, leaving Niall behind.

Her small body crashed right into mine as she wrapped her arms around my neck. She had been gone from school all week on vacation and had finally come back today. She suddenly lifted me off my feet and spun us half way around. I flailed my feet and squealed until I was put back down and Ellie let go. I watched as she ran back over to Niall and grabbed his arm, snatching the drink from his hand and handed it to me, which I took a drink of.

I wasn't a big fan of beer, so tasting the bitter sweet stuff in the cup made me scrunch my nose. I passed the cup to Lilly, who took it and carefully sipped. She smacked her lips, then shook her head.

"Is that Miller Lite?" She asked, her face contorted in a disgusted look as she wipped her chin with the back of her hand. She wiped her hand on a drunk body passing by and handed the cup back. Ellie nodded and drank the rest, disappearing to make herself more. Lilly grabbed my arm and pulled me into the living room, where the rainbow light was pulsing from a book shelf and dancing bodies swayed with each other. I spotted Louis dancing on a girl, while Zayn and Noelle smoked weed in the back corner. Thats where Lilly pulled me.

"Rolland!" She shouted, hugging a boy with black hair. He had tattoes all over, skinny jeans and a black t-shirt covered his body. When Lilly sat next to him, I awkwardly stood there, my arm crossed over my stomach. Rolland looked up at me and patted the seat next to him. I carefully took a seat next to him and watched as Zayn and Noelle made out in front of us.

That's when a blunt was passed to me and I took it. Without thinking, I took a drag of it and quickly passed it to the next person. The burning feeling settled at the bottom of my chest, in my lungs, but I ignored it, trying not to embarrass myself. I blew the smoke through my nose, turning to Lilly and her friend.

"Ew! You're gonna get nose cancer doing that!" A guy shouted, his voice was forced because he was holding the smoke in his lungs.

"You don't get cancer from weed, Kenny." Lilly said back, laughing and rolling her eyes. I giggled, brushing my hair over my shoulder.

A few more were passed around, I refused them because I was already buzzed. Lilly stood up and pulled me into the dancing crowd, a song I didn't recognize played over the speakers. We started dancing together, Ellie appeared and handed us a shot glass. I tossed it back quickly, Lilly did the same, as we danced with the crowd.

Drinks and shots were handed to me every five minutes until I could barely stand. My mind was spitting out words to Lilly, about how much fun I was having, but my brain was screaming and telling me to leave. Ignoring it, I continued to dance to the music. I started to feel sick to my stomach, knowing what was going to happen next.

———

The next morning I woke up on the floor of a bathroom, Lilly was next to me. I slowly sat up, a pounding feeling hit on my temples. My mouth was extremely dry and my stomach was in knots. I tried to remember what happened, it was almost like my memories had been erased, all I could remember last was taking my tenth shot, dancing and stumbling around with Lilly and falling into the arms of someone... It was Harry.

I grabbed the sides of my head and groaned. Lilly sat up, her mascara was smeared under her eyes. I stood up and looked in the mirror. My hair was all over the place, mascara was all over the place, my dress was all over the place. I pulled down my dress and went rummaging through the cabinets until I found a brush. I raked through my hair until it was smooth, then I put it up in a messy bun. I grabbed toilet paper and wipped the mascara from under my eye.

Lilly turned and passed out on the bath mat again. I walked over, brushing her hair and putting it up in a messy bun. When she sat up again, she wiped her makeup off her face. Her dress was ripped on the side, so I went into the bedroom across the hallway and grabbed a sweatshirt, giving it to Lilly. I grabbed myself one, and put it on, it had "University of Phoenix" on it. We walked out of the bathroom, heads pounding, mouths dry, stomachs screaming for food.

I could smell bacon and eggs as I stepped over Liam's unconscious body, I grabbed his shoulder and shook him awake. When he woke up, I grabbed his arm and helped him up. In the kitchen, a girl was making breakfast. A lot of it. I recognized the girl as Penelope, she fed me shots with Ellie last night.

"Good morning! A few people passed out around the house, so they get eggs and bacon!" She chirped, stabbing my brain.

"Thank's, Pen." Lilly thanked with a raspy voice as she passed Liam and I cups of water. My lip quivered as I took a drink. Thats when it came back up. I stumbled forward and vomited into the kitchen trash can, hands rubbing my back.

After eating, I ended up throwing up again. My stomach was knotted and I had an obnoxious headache. I was finally able to eating without throwing up, I devoured everything on my plate. All my friends had passed out in the house, including Harry. A girl I didn't recognize had her arm around his waist, they were both on the floor in front of the couch. I glanced up at Lilly, who noticed this and grabbed my wrist, pulling me out of the room.

"Okay, well. I have to get her home. I'll see you all on Monday!" Lilly shouted as she tugged me to her car.

———