saturday mornings are for pancakes // a dream x reader fanfiction

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: PARTY

"Where should I park?" The car rolls slowly through the street. Cars line both sides of the road, and I carefully watch for drunks aimlessly walking.

"Somewhere close," Gemma says, "I don't feel like walking." She checks her makeup in the car's mirror.

I try my best to maneuver into the next open spot. "I think this is the closest you're getting." I take the key out of the ignition and sigh, trying to prepare myself for this anxiety-filled night.

"Oh poo." She fake pouts. "I should've made you drop me off closer to the house."

"And walk into the party alone?" I open the car door, shaking my head. "Not a chance. Never leave your friend at a party till you know she has someone else to talk to. Basic party rules."

"This-" she gets out the car and shuts the door, "-is why we are friends."

I tuck at the hem of my black shirt, urging it to become longer. I wish I had more time to pick out a better outfit. "Or is it because I'm always the designated driver?" I ask.

"That too." She bounces up and down on the sidewalk as she waits for me.

I smile halfheartedly. I'm only at this party because of Gemma. The idea of going out tonight didn't even dawn on me until she burst into my room demanding I come with her the other day..

My ear drums pound from the party's sound. Gemma's hand guides me through the thick crowd. My eyes scan the crowd for familiar faces. I recognize a couple from Gemma's pictures but nobody sticks out as a friend of mine.

Gemma immediately has a girl wrapped around her arm. I know in one instant that it's coffee shop girl. Gemma bounces deeper into the crowd, leaving me alone with no one else to talk to. So much for basic party rules.

I take a deep breath in. I do not want to be alone right now. Not at a party I didn't want to go to.

I decide that walking around would be a good way to find someone I know. The walls are shaking from the music's bass. The people around me are laughing, stumbling around.

My cheeks burn a little. I move over to a wall to rest for a bit. I wave my hand in front of my face to cool off.

Two guys are play-fighting to my right. At least I think it's play fighting. One has the other in a headlock. Nobody around them seems too worried. They tousle their way towards me. I press my body against the cold wall to get out of their way.

There are way too many people in this house.

Once they pass, I push through the crowd, the opposite way of the boys. I stumble into a kitchen. The counters are littered with chip bags and alcohol. Where did they get so much alcohol?

I turn in a circle around the room. What am I doing here? The closest thing I see to a familiar face is a girl that's on Gemma's instagram feed pretty often. Gemma where are you?

A breeze sweeps through the air and onto my legs. It came from a sliding glass window. Perfect.

The outside air is nice compared to the stuffy party inside. There aren't very many people outside on the tiny patio. One group sits in the grass, smoking something, and the second resides in the corner. I ignore both groups and wander to a corner of the patio across from the second clique.

I lean my body on the railing, looking over nothing in particular. I inhale the fresh air. I always take advantage of things until they're taken away from me. A little bug climbs up the rail's wood.

I think of when a bug gets trapped indoors. How they pound their little bodies against a window, thinking they could get out. They keep doing it no matter how many times it tries. I want to have as much hope as a bug trapped inside.