Cloud 69

41:

a/n: just putting this here to let ya'll know this chapter isn't going to be in Maddie's p.o.v (crazy, I know). It's in third-person. that's it, peace out <3

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Maddie rarely drinks.

Okay, maybe not rarely. But, honestly, she doesn't drink that much.

There's a lot of stories, and sure, it seems like any noteworthy time lately has involved her drinking, but still, the truth remains that Maddie doesn't drink that much. At least, not as much as she used to.  

At parties, she tries to limit herself to one, maybe two drinks, and usually that's enough; usually she's satisfied with one or two. But sometimes, her conscious evades her by the second drink, and she has no mind to stop her from indulging further, but that itself is a rare occasion. 

The problem is: she's a lightweight, and every time there's a reason for more than one or two drinks, she's carried away in the grandeur. She knows she'll regret it in the morning, clearly visualizing herself hunched over a toilet bowl and gripping onto it for stability while throwing up every food she's consumed prior to the drinks. But sometimes, she just doesn't care. Sometimes she chases the promise of a good time, or the notion that a drink could be a distraction or a vice, without any care at all. 

Maddie doesn't drink that much. But when she does, it's usually a shit show. 

*

"Okay, we're here," Dylan huffed, as he pushed open the front door and shuffled into the house. He was fully sober. Not that he minded. He didn't really like drinking all that much. However, being sober tonight was a burden, trying to lug everyone else to the house on their walk back from the beach.

Jason and Luna hurried in and moved to the side to hold the door open for everyone else. The tell-tale signs of a good night shone on their glowing faces. Luna's hair had been wildly thrown out of the perfectly neat bun she had slicked it back into earlier, and Jason's shirt had been half-untucked from his trousers, while one of his bronze shoulders remained bare where the shirt fell. 

Zach stalked into the house next, his eyes red and glassy, not fully focusing on anything, just wandering placidly around the room. His nose was a sunburnt pink that gradually grew more vibrant throughout the dark night, and it stood out drastically from the rest of his much-paler skin. 

"Come on, Maddie," Carson's tired voice echoed as he emerged just outside the door, pulling his overexcited and very giddy girlfriend with him. He had one of his arms hooked tightly around her shoulders, and the other gripping onto her wrist, doing his best to keep her from toppling over or turning back in the direction of the beach once again.

She let out a long string of laughs that sounded unusual coming from her as she stumbled through the doorway. Dylan looked her over from where he stood a few paces away. Her hair was quite recklessly tousled, and although her shirt was just as it was before they had left earlier that evening, her jean shorts were still unbuttoned from her attempt to take them off at the beach. 

All six of them could agree that tonight was the wildest party they had ever attended, easily outdoing all of Jason's house parties, and giving him quite a few ideas for his next one. 

All of them seemed to have lost any self-restraint that night– their last night in Hilton Head– with the understanding this would be the last party before their last year of high school. The beach had already been packed when they arrived; the entirety of the crowd was made up of strangers– mostly high schoolers and some college students– all tourists on vacation, celebrating their final nights of freedom.