Getting that drink had turned out to be harder than we thought. It seemed as if the amount of people dancing in the living room had doubled whilst Hunter and I had been talking.

We struggled to push our way through all the bodies. The room stank of alcohol and sweat. People were smiling whilst dancing. They were having fun.

Hunter walked in front of me, trying to clear a path for me behind so that I didn't have to keep tapping people to try and ask them to move without speaking.

When we finally reached the kitchen, I was grateful that the crowd in there had drifted away. There were only a few people left scattered around.

Hunter walked over to the counter by the window and started pulling out bottles of drinks.

I walked up next to him, watching as he poured a clear liquid into a red cup.

He turned to me and offered the spirit bottle. I shook my head and grabbed the nearest bottle of soda around.

He chuckled, placing the alcohol back down and taking the soda from me.

"Not a fan of alcohol, eh?" He said pouring the remainder of the soda into another red cup and passing the cup to me.

I shook my head, accepting the cup gratefully and taking a swig.

He watched me as he took a swig of his drink. His green eyes staring straight through me. Casually, he leaned back against the counter behind him.

"People confuse me." He said, looking through the doorway at a couple dancing in the living room.

I gave him a confused face. Why?

But before he could answer Sammy came bounding over to the two of us.

"Hey, Ri! What's going on here then?" He said as he clapped me on the shoulder, looking between me and the red cup in my hand.

His breath stank of alcohol and I managed to grab him and hold him up before he could fall.

His eyes flickered quickly between staring at Hunter opposite me and trying to send me a mental message.

"Everything okay?" He said waiting for me to answer. His hand was placed firmly on my arm, ready to ward off anyone that could cause harm. Although, I wasn't sure how much help he would be in this state. He probably couldn't hit a boat with a bottle at this point.

I nodded my head and smiled, he smiled back, accepting that I was okay. I looked back over at Hunter, who was looking Sammy up and down.

"Ah. The brother." He said. Sammy turned to look at him.

"Hey, I'm Sam" Sammy said, outstretching his hand for Hunter to shake. He wobbled a bit on his feet, but managed to regain his balance. His hand weaves left to right as Sammy tried desperately to hold it still.

Hunter looked down at it and took a swig of his drink. He placed the empty red cup on the counter and said "Cool." Not accepting Sammy's invitation.

He turned back to me and gave me a small smile. "I'll see you around Riley." He said before walking away, back into the living room. I watched him walk away, my eyes never leaving his shaggy hair.

"What was that about?" Sammy asked, moving so he was standing in front of me.

I shrugged. What was that about?

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

I woke up the next day, a little tired, but all in all okay. Which was more than what could be said for Sammy. The boy had clearly had too much to drink.

He lay next to me on the couch, sunglasses over his eyes and his hair all sticking up in different directions. He looked a serious mess.

We hadn't stayed much longer after Hunter had left. I had managed to find Alice amongst the stampede of bodies. She had spent the night with the same guy and I could see in her face she didn't regret any of it.

I didn't see Hunter again. I searched the whole house going into room after room, but he wasn't there. Maybe he left early.

Whilst I was thinking, Sammy had lifted his legs on top of mine and sunk further into the couch cushion.

I tapped his leg furiously. I didn't have anything to say, but in order for him to see what I was saying, he's have to take off the glasses. Which would then cause pain in his head from the brightness of the room.

Reluctantly lifting the glasses from his eyes, he turns to look at me. One eye was closed as if he was getting a serious migraine just peering out from the tinted glass.

I laughed, which caused Sammy to realise what I was doing.

"Stop it. It hurts!" he signed as he melted back into the cushion behind him.

I tapped his leg. "Serves you right for drinking too much." I signed back.

"Whatever, Miss Goodie-Two-Shoes" he signed.

"At least I'm not the one walking around with sunglasses indoors." I signed back. I pushed his legs off my lap and walked into the kitchen to get food.

I felt a cushion go flying behind me as I left. I turned around and stuck my tongue out at him before quickly avoiding another flying cushion.

I felt a vibration from my phone ripple through my back pocket as I opened the fridge.

Pulling my phone from my pocket, I saw that Alice had text me.

"Hey girl, hope you're feeling better than me this morning! I didn't see you much last night but we have so much to catch up on! I can't wait to see you in school! Love you lots!"

I quickly replied with; "Hey girl! I'm actually feeling okay this morning, the same can't be said for Sammy! The sunglasses are out! Do we have a lot to catch up on?! Can't wait to hear all the drama! Love you lots!"

Sammy pulled the fridge door wider open, making me jump.

"Sorry." He signed, laughing as I moved out of the way.

"Do you remember much of last night?" I signed to Sammy after he pulled a pint of ice cream out the freezer.

"A little. I remember walking in with you, then partying with Jake and the lads. I'm not really sure about the rest if I'm honest with you." He signed pulling out two spoons, placing the tub on the kitchen island and handing me the second spoon.

"And where did you disappear off to?" He signed as he chewed on a mouthful of ice cream.

"I just explored for a bit, then bumped into Alice." I signed back, not telling Sammy about Hunter. I'm not really sure why, it just didn't seem like the right moment to. Especially if he didn't remember what happened.

Why had Hunter acted so weird around Sammy? Has Sammy already done something to offend him? What could Sammy have done? Or maybe it was him, maybe it was me? Had I offended him somehow?

We spent the rest of the morning just lounging in the house. I don't think Sammy even wanted to talk about the possibility of going outside. He soon retired back to bed, convincing himself that all he needed was to 'sleep off the rest of the alcohol in his system'.

It seemed like the perfect opportunity to spend some time to myself. I got my act together, picked up my favourite book and started my walk to the tree.

I hadn't been at the tree in a while; it seemed that life just got in the way. The people I passed on the way varied. A couple jogged past me, little children rode their bikes towards the entrance of the park as I walked towards it. Dogs ran around the grass; chasing at birds as they flew down.

I reached the tree; it hadn't changed since I was last here. The leaves still hung low creating an escape from the surrounding areas.

I said hello to 'Daniel' as I sat down. It was a habit now, I always felt weird sitting by the tree if I didn't acknowledge the bench opposite me. I found the nicest way to do that was to just say hello. Maybe that made me seem crazy, maybe not, but it didn't feel right just invading his space.

I pull out my headphones from my pocket. I always bring a set of headphones with me when I'm in public. Obviously not to use, but if I'm wearing them then people tend to leave me alone.

Pulling out my latest novel challenge, 'Jane Eyre', I placed the bookmark beside me and began to get lost in the literature genius of Charlotte Bronte.

I had just reached the part where Jane had began to realise that she was secretly falling in love with Rochester, when a football interrupted my thoughts and landed at my feet.

I quickly looked around and sure enough a guy comes bounding over to reclaim his lost ball.

He says something as he approaches but I can't make out what it was as his hand was in front of his mouth. He continually fidgets around. His hands run from his chin through his hair and then to his pockets in his shorts.

The boy had brown hair, it was spiked as if it had recently been shaved. He couldn't have been much older than me, although the bags under his eyes hung deep. In the distance I could see a group of other guys all calling to him.

"So, can I?" he said. I realised I had been staring at him and I had no idea what he said.

I showed a confused face. He just laughed and motioned for me to take my headphones out of my ears.

Oh, he thought I couldn't hear him because of the headphones.

I pulled one bud out of my ear and scrunched my eyebrows together.

"Can I have my ball back?" he said, motioning to the football still sat between my feet.

I nodded, picking up the ball and throwing it to him.

Catching it with ease, he said "Thanks. I'm Lucas, by the way."

I waved and smiled. I motioned to the book still sat in my lap.

"Right, of course. I'll see you." He said as he turned to leave.

He looked back at me as he walked away. Within seconds he was back, standing exactly where he was before.

"Look this is crazy, but can I get your number and call you sometime?" He said as he reached me under the tree.

I don't know whether it was the heat from the day, or whether the romance from Jane Eyre had hit me, but I found myself agreeing.

I nodded and motioned for his phone. He happily gave me it and I typed in my name and number. He bounced around from foot to foot whilst he was waiting. He waved his arm back to the group of guys further down the park, clearly dismissing their protests.

I handed him his phone back and smiled.

"Cool. I will call you, sometime-" He said before looking down at the phone then back at me "-Riley."

He smiled at me and waved, picking up the football and walking back. I returned the gesture, and picked up my book, ready to learn more about the world of romance.