CHAPTER 61

Dylan laughed like I just told a hilarious joke, bobbing his whole body up and down as he did so. Since his arm was still around me, I bobbed up and down with him. I suddenly felt very uncomfortable again, and wondered if such a big, loud, crowded party was too much for my rapidly changing self to take in.

Despite clearly being at least a little buzzed already, Dylan noticed my lack of comfort. "Don't worry, man!" He soothed me. "First time is always a little weird. You know what? I know what you need." He took his arm off of me and waded back into the crowd, offering me some breathing space in the process. A few seconds later, he came back with an unopened beer in his other hand. Grinning, he handed it to me. "Here you go, man." He said, satisfied with himself.

I looked at the beer in my hand and my stomach churned. I didn't even want to drink tonight, truth be told, and the party atmosphere was really getting to me. I don't think the beer's loosening effects would have countered the anxiety I would have gotten from drinking it, so I handed it back.

Dylan looked at me with a confused face. Attempting to feign confidence, I replied, "It's cool, man. I'm still trying to take in the feeling of a party. Once I've settled in, then I'll have a beer."

He nodded. "Right on." He commented flatly. He made sure I was looking at the beer then hid it behind a potted plant. "The beer's right here when you're ready for it. Are we cool?"

"We're cool." I replied, ignoring how stupid I sounded. He disappeared back into the crowd, giving me the breathing space to look around the room.

How did so many people get here?! As far as I knew, I had arrived right on time. Was arriving on time considered late for parties? Or was this small for a crowd? If it were the latter, I prayed the floorboards would be able to keep intact.

The atmosphere sure was something. What looked like a small layer of fog hung over the crowd. I wasn't able to tell if that was from the weed, a fog machine, or if fog just seemed to naturally form at these events. The music, alternating from crappy electronic pop to crappy electronic pop with steel guitars, rang in my ears with the resonant frequency of a steel bridge. No wonder no one bothered to talk – no one would be able to hear them anyway. It smelled of body spray – many different types, in fact. Everyone needed to make sure they smelled their best, and apparently, dress their worst. The heat was on full blast in the house, meaning that people could take their sweaters off with their coats, leaving a collection of ripped t-shirts, tank tops and an assortment of slutty clothing (with the guys being just as slutty as the girls) underneath, but also meaning everyone's faces flushed with the heat as well as their own drunkenness.

Not quite knowing where to go, I began to wander. Every little action the partygoers engaged in caught my eye as I wandered like they were all pieces from a museum of an alien culture, and I was just a curious visitor, passing through. Each room seemed to have its own theme – the dining room was full of drinking and eating, the living room full of dancing and humping, the deck full of smoking and laughing, the foyer full of welcoming and cheering, and the kitchen, thankfully enough, was barely populated and served as a break room for people who couldn't take in all of the hectic action. Although, it was apparent that I was the only one that fit that deion.

The only other person in the kitchen was Jeff, the VP, apparently guarding the fridge. I got the impression that Megan hadn't quite cleared my name yet. When I entered, he just gave me a cold glance and said nothing.

I didn't even bother to acknowledge his presence though. All I could do was catch my breath from the shock of so many people crammed together in one house.

"What are you doing here?" Jeff finally asked me.

"Hey, Jeff." I responded, finally able to control myself. "Your brother invited me."

"He doesn't have a say in what goes on with these parties." He informed me. "I do."

"Ah, cool." I said nonchalantly.

"I don't care who you think you are, but anyone who disrespects the council like you do is not welcome in my house." He continued. He started to approach me.

"Woah, woah, woah!" I said, backing up. "Phil told you not to treat me any differently!" I got the feeling that that particular request went through one ear of every council member there and out the other. "Megan and I are cool now! Hell, she was supposed to come with me!" This didn't stop him, so I continued. "I'm… I'm her boyfriend now!"

Jeff just stopped, looking more like he had confusion on his face than forgiveness.

I took this as an opportunity to continue. "We came to an understanding on Monday. We're good now, I promise. She said she'd clear things up at the next meeting. I'm not a bad guy. I swear!" I was breathing heavily at this point. I don't know if it was fear of being beaten up by such a big guy like Jeff, or if it was just me being sick of this shit, but I had to hold back tears. I wasn't really emotional though – they were mostly tears of fear.

"I don't care." He finally said. "You yelled back at Phil, and you fucking lied to boot. There's no excuse for that." He started to approach me again.

Actually, there was, but I was caught off guard and my mouth refused to work as he approached me. Well, I thought, it sure was a nice life I had. Too bad it had to end so soon.

Out of nowhere, like a miracle – no, like a Hand of God giving me a pat on the back, a voice from the crowd yelled out.

"Jeff!"

It sounded like a senior, a grade 12. I looked past Jeff to see none other than Paul freaking Stevens running out of the crowd. He had a completely urgent look on his face, like aliens were visiting or something.

"Jeff," he repeated, grabbing him by the shoulder and spinning him around. "You need to get to the living room, right now." His tone was flecked with genuine fear.

"Why? I'm in the middle of something here." Jeff responded a little crossly.

"Just go!" Paul all but shouted. Jeff caught his tone of urgency and promptly made for the living room. As soon as he was out of eye-shot, Paul dropped his scared expression and looked me dead in the eye. He made a gesture towards a door next to him and whistled. I caught his drift and, not knowing where the door was, faithfully followed his gesture, opening the door to find it led me to an empty backyard. He followed and shut the door behind him.

"You sure do have a talent for alienating people." Paul calmly said, reaching into a tote bag, pulling out a Coke, and opening it.

"You looked scared to death back there." I commented, not knowing what else to say.

Paul shrugged while taking a sip of his Coke. "Salvador may get on your nerves from time to time, but he's a damn good teacher."

"Fair." I replied. "Thanks for saving my ass back there."

"No worries." Paul said casually, taking another sip. "I could totally be on the wrong side about this whole thing, but I've got the nagging feeling that your actions are being misunderstood."

I gave an annoyed laugh in agreement, then turned my attention to him. "So what the heck are you even doing here? I thought you weren't popular."

He grinned at me. "My words have a way of coming back to bite me in the ass." He commented dryly. He walked around the back of the house until the deck was in view. He motioned for me to follow, then pointed to a person on the deck. "That's my reason for being here, smoking what looks blunt."

That person was May, sitting on a deck chair, getting high enough to impress Orville Wright. "Holy shit…" I mumbled aloud. I definitely didn't think May was the type.

"Yup. Might wanna steer clear of her if you want to avoid future trouble." Paul added. "I was her ride, and figured I might as well enjoy high school culture at its finest." He looked around himself in a circle. "So far I'm disappointed."

I laughed. "No kidding." I added.

"Well, Jeff's going to be looking for me." Paul remarked out loud. "I think I'll head back now. Deck's that way, you know the door to the kitchen. Are you going to be alright?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine." I replied. "Thanks again."

"Don't mention it." Paul smiled. "Just stay out of the kitchen if you can. Oh, and give me your number. Just in case something goes down and you need a ride back, I've got my car."

I gave him my number and he put it in his phone with a smile. "Cool. Enjoy the party!" He said, walking away. I would have waved at him, but he was already gone.