Sal and Violet danced to another few songs before they were interrupted by the front door opening. They stopped in their tracks but kept their hands in place. Violet had rested her head on his collarbone and closed her eyes, taking in his scent. Once she heard the door creak, she lifted it and turned to see the culprit.

"Hey, you guys found each other!" Came Neil's voice as he smiled at the pair. "I just counted the ballots for the costume contest. Wanna come in and hear the results?"

Both teens had completely forgotten about the contest. With the chaos taking place inside and the precious time they'd spent dancing together, the entire thing slipped their minds. Violet even forgot that she was wearing a costume. If it weren't for the music, she was sure she'd have forgotten that she was at a party at all.

"Sure, we'll be right in," Sal replied. The boys nodded to each other before Neil disappeared behind the door again.

Violet looked up at her friend, her hands twiddling with the ends of his hair behind his neck. She liked how soft it was. "Thank you for dancing with me, Sally."

"Any time," he smiled. "I liked it a lot."

Hand-in-hand, the two made their way back inside. Sal loved the way Violet's fingers felt interlocked with his own. Her hand was so soft and frail. Whenever he gave it the slightest squeeze, it felt as though he'd break her bones. It was hard not to tighten his grip on her in this crowd.

Violet may not have noticed it, but he did. She was turning heads. Particularly the heads of sexually frustrated boys. He saw how they looked her up and down, their eyes landing on her chest, legs, and rear. He hated it. He even tried pulling her closer to him just to give the other boys the impression that they were a couple. Either none of them got the message, or they simply didn't care. Sal knew that he'd have to keep a close eye on her for the rest of the night, especially since Violet had alcohol tonight. It may not have been much, but it was still affecting her. He couldn't have her getting into any trouble with one of these pigs.

"Sally, look!" The girl shouted to him, pointing ahead of them. "There's the group!"

Sure enough, Larry, Ash, Todd, and Neil were all gathered together next to a set of speakers. Larry was holding a microphone and lazily laughing at something Ash said.

"Good eye. Lead the way!" The blue-eyed boy shot a dark glare at a guy dressed as a lifeguard as he pointed at Violet and urged his friends to look at her. At this point, he couldn't wait for this to be over.

"Sally Faaaace! You made it!" Larry cheered as they approached.

"The ballots are in!" Ash squealed.

Violet gestured to the microphone in Larry's hand. "What's that for?"

"To announce the winner, duuuhhhh!"

"How much have you had to drink, Larry?" Sal questioned.

"The most out of all of us, that's for sure," Todd remarked.

Violet had been so consumed in other things that night, she hadn't even noticed that the redheaded boy was dressed as a zombie scientist. Ash must have found time to do his makeup as well. He looked amazing.

Larry flipped the switch on the microphone, creating an ear piercing feedback noise. The entire party filled with disgruntled shouts and groans. "Uh, sorry bout that, folks. How's everyone doin toniiiiight?"

It took a few seconds, but the house was soon filled with excited screams and chants. Ash giggled and let out a cheer of her own. Violet only clapped her hands, as the noise was already worsening her headache.

"My buddy Neil here is gonna announce the winner of the costume contest. Winner gets a prize!"

Neil stepped forward and accepted the microphone from Larry, muttering a small 'thank you'. Violet felt her heartbeat all the way in her fingertips. She really hoped she had what it took to win. Her idea may not have been very original, but Ash made her look amazing. She squeezed Sal's hand, shifting her weight back and forth on her feet.

"Nervous?" He asked.

"A little."

"Don't be. You look great."

"So do you and Larry and Ash and Todd."

He chuckled. "I think you got this one."

Neil cleared his throat into the microphone. "The winner of the contest gets a...bottle of Fireball. Wow, I wonder who came up with that creative idea."

A few people laughed as Larry sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck.

"That winner is...Violet Sinclaire!"

The room erupted with booming cheers. Sal released Violet's hand and pulled her into a tight side hug, giving her arm a quick rub before nudging her forward. She didn't have any time to process what was going on around her. She just won the contest! And she won a bottle of Fireball instead of a stupid eraser! Take that, stupid Timmy Larson!

She was elated, to say the least. Her nausea and headache were long forgotten. It was too bad that she couldn't tell her father about her achievement. He'd have her head on a platter if he found out she was at a party with alcohol and boys. Besides, he was still angry at her about the algebra situation anyway.

"Congrats, Violet. Do you have anything you wanna say?" Neil said, handing her a large glass bottle containing an orange liquid. He held the microphone up to her mouth.

"Uhh...thank you for voting for me," she stammered. Her face grew hot as a blush flooded her cheeks. Her eyes fell onto Sal, who was laughing while applauding her.

"Yay, Violet!" Ash cried out.

"Let's goooooo!" Larry boomed.

Overall, tonight was a good night. A very good night.