Saved

Seventeen

Once Jonathan had found a place to park the car, they all climbed out into the cold evening air, wrapping their arms around themselves as they rushed up the driveway towards the house. The strong smell of cigarette smoke invaded Allison's nostrils, as they walked past a group of people standing outside by the front door. 

As they stepped inside, the warmth of the house and the loud music hit them all at once, and they found themselves dragged into the chaos. Jonathan struggled to shout above the noise, telling the girls to stay where they were and that he would find them something to drink.  Nancy nodded in understanding and held tightly to Allison's hand so that they wouldn't get separated.

Steve, who was already several drinks in and dancing across the room, spotted them and began weaving his way through the crowd. As he came to stand in front of them, he gave Nancy a small smile and then looked Allison up and down.

"I see that your face healed up nicely!", she yelled, trying to draw the attention away from herself.

"Huh? Oh yeah. That was no big deal.", he shrugged it off, taking a long sip out of his cup.

"Steve.", Jonathan addressed him coldly, returning with his hands full of drinks. As he handed one to Nancy and Allison, he kept his eyes locked on Steve.

"Hey, Jonathan! I didn't expect to see you here! I thought parties weren't really your thing...but I guess Nancy is. How could I forget?", as Steve slurred his words an uncomfortable silence fell over the group. 

"Um. Why don't you and I go dance...way over there?", Allison suggested, placing her hand on Steve's chest and directing him backward. Nancy grabbed her arm and shot her a look of uncertainty. "It'll be okay. You two go have fun.", Allison whispered, before leading Steve away from the couple.

Once they were across the room, Allison chugged back her drink and then snatch what was left of Steve's, doing the exact same. He stared at her with his mouth slight agape, watching the alcohol works its way into her body as a carefree smile spread across her face. 

Billy walked into the room, just in time to watch her begin to sway to the music, slowly inching closer to Steve until he joined in. Allison noticed Billy standing in her peripheral vision but chose to ignore him as she kept her eyes on Steve. It wasn't long until Allison's head was spinning, and she had to lean against him as they danced, prompting him to place his hands on her hips.

"I don't know why it took me so long to realize.", Steve breathed, looking down into her eyes, like he was seeing her for the first time.

"Realize what?", she inquired, absent-mindedly playing with the buttons on the front of his shirt.

"How beautiful you are.", he crooned, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Startled by his confession, Allison slapped her hand over her mouth to stifle the laugh that was trying to escape. "What's so funny?", Steve's voice cracked as he took a step back.

"Beautiful or not, you don't want me.", she shrugged, keeping her tone nonchalant.

"I don't?", he inquired, raising an inquisitive eyebrow at Allison, only making her laugh harder.

"Of course not!", she blurted out, her smile fading until a look of sympathy had replaced it. "You want Nancy, but you know that you can't have her you're looking for a distraction."

"Shit. You're right.", he sighed, running his hands through his hair as he was overwhelmed by a moment of realization.

"Do you want to talk about it?", she asked thoughtfully, placing a hand down on his shoulder.

"I think I need be alone right now. I'm sorry, Allison.", he began to apologize, but she cut him off with a shake of her head and threw her arms around him. As she tried to comfort her friend, she locked eyes with Billy who was glaring at them from over the top of his drink.

Once the hug had ended, Steve turned and headed for the front door, leaving Allison standing alone, drunk and disoriented. Her eyes scanned over the crowded room, searching for Nancy and Jonathan but she couldn't find them. There was only Billy, who had begun to push his way towards her.

In a panic, she spun around and ran for the nearest exit, where she found herself wandering down a dimly lit hallway, with closed doors on either side of her. Suddenly, she heard what sounded like a toilet flushing and then was blinded by a bright light as someone stepped out of the washroom towards her. 

"Well, hello there.", a deep voice addressed her and she squinted to try and see the face that it belonged to.

"Hi.", she whispered nervously, stumbling backward. She stopped falling as the stranger placed his hand on the small of her back and pulled her body against his.

"Have we met before? You look really familiar.", he whispered, staring down at her cleavage the entire time. Allison opened her mouth to speak but was cut off before she could utter a sound. "You were at the Halloween party!", he blurted out, exhaling the strong smell of alcohol into her face.

"Yes, I was.", she mumbled, trying to pull out of his grasp.

"I wanted to get to know you, but you left with Hargrove before I had the chance", at the mere mention of Billy's name, Allison felt her blood begin to boil. 

"It looks like tonight is your second chance.", she cooed, smiling flirtatiously at the boy that she felt absolutely no physical attraction to. Without a moment's hesitation, he slammed his lips against hers and tried to force his tongue into her mouth.

Never having been kissed before, Allison had nothing to compare to the slobbery mess that she had found herself in, but deep down she knew that there had to be something better. Her breath caught in her throat as his hands landed on her ass and squeezed, digging his fingers into her flesh as he led her towards the empty bathroom.

As he went to kick the door shut behind them, it was flung back open. Allison gasped for air as a hand came down, pulling the stranger off of her and back out into the hallway. She watched from the doorway as Billy pinned the other boy against the wall with minimal effort.

"I didn't realize that she was here with you...I wouldn't have touched her if I knew...I swear man.", as he whimpered in fear, Billy lifted him by the collar of his shirt and threw him down to the floor, where he scrambled to his feet and bolted down the hallway.

"What the hell is wrong with you?", Allison snapped, shoving Billy hard from behind.

"I think the words you're looking for, are, thank you.", he muttered, turning around to face her. 

"Why would I thank you?", she scoffed, laughing at the absurdity of his words.

"Because I just stopped you from making a huge mistake. If you had given that asshole your virginity, you would've regretted it!", he growled, stepping towards her until her back was pressed against the wall.

"And I suppose I should just give it to you instead?", she shot back, jabbing him in the chest with her finger.  

"I never said that!", he snapped, slamming his hand against the wall only inches away from Allison, causing her to flinch.

"Do you want to know what I regret?", she breathed, bringing her face inches away from his.

"What?", he hissed, conflicted on whether or not he wanted to scream at her or kiss her.

"That I ever let myself care about you! But don't worry, I won't make that mistake again. You can continue to sleep with whoever you want and I'll do the same because you don't own me!", as she came to the end of her drunken rant, she pushed past Billy and began to storm down the hallway. "Oh, and I hope you're able to get your window fixed soon, after all, you wouldn't want the next girl your with to get cold."

Billy's mouth dropped open as a series of emotions came over his face, starting with surprise, then embarrassment, followed by guilt, and ending with rage. His eyes narrowed on Allison, as he realized what she had seen and what she had done to his car. Before he had the chance to act on the anger he was feeling, she turned and ran to find Nancy and Jonathan.