Chapter 9: A Party Like No Other

Earlier in the week, I let Chase know I would go. Hannah was going to tag along to keep an eye on me, but she was called into work at the movie theatre so couldn't come. Chase said he would come to pick me up. I heard a rumble outside and some yelling. Chase was sitting on his motorcycle. Behind him was a Jeep with a few people in it. The guy in the driver's seat waved at me as I approached. Chase took off his helmet. He nodded for me to get in the car with his friends. Uneasiness swirled in my stomach. I hopped into the passenger's seat, and the driver reached out his hand. "Hi, I'm Mike! Sorry for the crowd. We usually carpool." Behind him were a few girls from school who I recognized as Shelly, Amber, and Jennifer. They were on the cheerleading team, but they weren't usually around Courtney unless it was at practice. "Nice to meet you, Mike, ladies." I waved, and they returned smiles to me. On the ride there, I learned that Chase didn't have all bad friends, but it seemed they were more acquaintances than friends. The house we pulled up to was in the suburbs. It was a nice white two-story house with navy blue shutters and a simple driveway. Luke was standing outside. I locked eyes with Courtney. I suddenly wished I had found my own way there so I could hightail it back home. Chase came up next to me, holding his helmet. "Hey, how was the ride with Mike?" he asked. "It was nice. They were polite and nice to get to know." The three nice cheerleaders passed me and smiled, then ran into the house. Courtney glared at them, which brought a smile to my face. We walked into the house. It looked normal enough. There was a lot of white and navy, which was weird until I noticed a sea-themed house. I started to feel myself relax. This didn't seem to be a party house or somewhere I could embarrass myself. "I want to introduce you to a few people." He walked me around. There were maybe ten people there, half of whom I was already familiar with. "Hey, Thomas!" he shouted. A short guy with brown hair and some facial hair turned around. He was wearing a black beanie with some band logo on it. He looked familiar, and my memory resurfaced. This was the guy Chase was with at the mall. I remembered Hannah said he was a druggie. He just looked like a skater boy. "Hi, I don't think I have seen you at school before," I offered up, not acknowledging that I saw him from a distance not long ago. He and Chase laughed. "I graduated two years ago, so I doubt you've ever seen me." He nodded and excused himself to head into the basement. Chase put his hand on my arm. "I will be back in a few, okay?" He lingered, waiting for my answer. I eventually nodded, and he disappeared into the basement after Thomas. A few of the guys followed him down, leaving the girls upstairs. Courtney was lying on the couch watching me while the other girls were playing on their phones and going off into giggle fits. "Why are you here, new girl?" Courtney asked, dragging it out slowly. "Chase invited me. And you know my name, so try using it," I responded with some sass in my voice. The other girls put their phones down and watched us. "Oh, I bet he did. He loves playing with innocent losers." She winked at me. "Okay, nice. You're not worth my time," I said, and a few of the guys came back up. Shelly offered me a beer, and I wave it off, saying, "No thanks." Mike waved me over. "Hey, Chase was asking for you." He pointed at the basement, and I headed down. I would have rather been anywhere than in a room with Courtney at this point. "What's up?" I reached the bottom of the stairs. I saw a ping pong table lined with small baggies, needles, and a scale. Chase and Thomas were deep in conversation when they saw me. "Aria! Thomas has some goodies here. I thought you might be interested in checking them out." He smiled and offered his hand out. "What the f*ck is this, Chase?" I asked. Looking at him, I saw that his eyes were red. "Not much, babe, just some party favors. Interested?" he asked. Thomas pulled out a few baggies from his bag. "Yeah, girl, not sure what you're into, but I've got it all. Coke, molly, LSD, even weed if you just want to chill out," Thomas replied, pointing to a few things on the table. "Ugh, not cool. Oh, and don't call me babe ever again. I barely know you." I furiously stomped upstairs. He brought me to a drug house. Did he honestly think that the virgin would be interested in drugs? That didn't even make sense to a crazy person. As I exited the house, I heard Courtney laughing. The girls had beers in red solo cups in their hands when I made it up the stairs. "Once a loser, always a loser. Bye, Aria!" She waved through the window. Chase caught up to me, grabbed my arms, and spun me around. "Where are you going?" he asked. He seemed to be confused. "I'm going home right now," I replied. "What's the problem? What did I do now?" he asked and grabbed my hand. "Look, we have different interests. Spend your time and money on what you want, but this scene is not for me. I can have fun without exploring drugs." I shot back at him. He was high on something, so his reaction speed was delayed. I remembered reading about different kinds of drugs in science, and, of course, my mom told me about her wild days when she was younger. It was never something I was curious about, today included. "Look, um, okay, okay. Let me give you a ride home. I'll grab my helmet." He ran inside before I could say no. Courtney came out holding a red cup. "You know, he never lets anyone ride on his motorcycle." She pointed at the bike. "He's probably never coming out of that house to get you either." As she said that, he pushed past her with his helmet in hand. "No, not a chance." I waved my arms back and forth. He stopped and stared at me. Confusion set in. "What? You said you wanted to go home. I'm going to take you home. You can wear this." He tried to hand me the helmet, but I declined. Part of me was grateful he was offering to take me home, especially in front of Courtney as she just told me he never let anyone on the bike. The other part of me, the realistic part of me, was not. "You can't ride like this." I waved my hand up and down his body to indicate he was not in his right state of mind, whatever that might have been. "Oh dammit, I am fine, Aria. Trust me, I do this all the time." He tried to get on the bike and struggled. I didn't know what he had taken, but it was setting in fast. His eyes were bloodshot, and he was talking fast but slurring. I had never seen something more unattractive in my life and equally terrifying. "Well, that doesn't mean I am okay with it. By the way, you shouldn't do drugs, let alone operate a motorcycle under the influence. That's basic knowledge," I furiously said. How did he think this experience was going to paint him in a good light? "How are you going to get home, Aria? I guess you're staying here with me. You don't have any other options," he pointed out, looking equal parts sad and angry. I knew how that felt. My mind rotated through everyone at the party. They were either drinking or taking drugs. I literally couldn't get anyone to help, and Hannah was at work. I thought there is a bus station a mile down the road. I had a few bucks on me. I thought that was my best bet. "You're right. I need to find another way home since you clearly cannot help me." I started to walk in the direction of the bus stop. "Fine, go! You're bringing me down anyway!" he yelled as I keep walking. He started to yell something else, but I couldn't hear him anymore. I could probably make it to the bus stop before the next bus arrives. I pulled out my phone and furiously typed away to verify the next bus route. It worked perfectly. I texted Hannah and told her what happened. I could not wait to get home and never think about this night again.