unrequited love.

Chapter 6

Nevaeh:

This party is massive. There are people on the floor, half passed out but still somehow smiling like they aren't going to wake up feeling awful the next morning. The music blasts through the house, spilling out of every window and winding around each drunken dancer who is stumbling around, singing and laughing along. A myriad of multicoloured disco lights paint the walls, so the whole house looks like a rainbow just threw up on it- definitely not something i'm a fan of.

It was so crowded, I could hardly breathe in that tiny living room until I realised how amazingly large George's garden was. They had a portable bar, hot tub, massive patio with a barbecue, a pool (where a few people from my year were already skinny dipping) and a gorgeous seating area, lined with fairy lights and a huge willow tree.

I grab Loren's hand.
'It's so fucking loud Lorenzo, you told me this was a small party,' I yell.

'200 people is the same as 50 people if you think about it Nev, don't stress yourself. Why don't you go to the bar and get yourself a drink,' she replies.

I look over and see a familiar face sitting on one of the leather barstools, it was Theo. He was sitting with someone, but I couldn't make out who it was.

'No Loren I can't go over there alone, you'll have to come with me!'

'Babe, I have some serious shit to sort out with Ja-... someone. I can't be your mummy all night! Go and get yourself a beer!' Loren disappears into a mob of teenagers all screaming for the DJ to turn the music up.

Just walk over there.

I begin to wander around the garden, trying to take the longest route to the bar in the hopes Theo would get up and go somewhere else before I reached him. Luckily that's exactly what happened, he ended up getting up to dance- with another girl.

It's not like he's my boyfriend or anything, I mean we haven't even had more than one conversation this whole year- but I still feel like there could be something special there. If I wasn't so goddamn scared of going out of my comfort zone to talk to him, maybe he'd know who I was.

~

I grabbed myself a drink like Loren told me to. But that one drink ended up being about 15... or 16? I'm not sure but I was blackout drunk and feeling fab.

I'm pretty sure Loren went home or something, because I didn't see or hear from her the whole rest of the night, unless she was with a boy? No, she would have told me.

I spot Theo from across the garden- or at least I think it was Theo, everything was fuzzy and everyone looked the same to me after about eleven o'clock. 
I make my way over.

'Hey, Nevaeh!' He says with a smile.

He remembers me.

'Weh heyyyyyy' I say, flopping myself onto the seat next to him.

'Are you drunk?', He asks with a chuckle.

'And what makes you think that, mister' I say, my voice slightly slurred from the alcohol. I sound like a twat.

'You look different'

'I look different?' I ask.

'You look quite beautiful'. He takes a deep breath in and looks at me hard, like my face was telling all of my secrets. I couldn't tell if he was under the influence too, or if it was just the spirit of the night making him talk like this, but I wasn't complaining.

'Who were you dancing with earlier?' I stupidly say.

'That was Abbie,' he replies, 'she's a friend from my old  school'.

'Is she your girlfriend?' I question, my head dropping onto his shoulder.

'N- no, she's not my girlfriend. I don't have a girlfriend' ,he explains to a very wobbly Nevaeh.

Relief.

'Theo can I tell u a secret?' I whisper, beckoning him closer with a shakey finger.

'Alright...' He moves his head closer to mine, our faces are so close now.

'I want...' I say.

'What do you want Nevaeh?'. He's so close now- our noses have bumped and our lips were only inches away from each other's.

'I really like you', I give him a drunken smile and let out a small giggle before passing out on his lap, completely unconscious.

Shocked, Theo took his hand and placed it softly on my head, stroking my hair and adjusting me so that I wouldn't hurt my neck from my awkward position. He gently brushes my hair behind my ear and stares at my blank face for a moment, before lifting me up and calmly putting me down on the sofa inside. He kisses me on the forehead and then walks away, not to be seen for the rest of the night.

~

I wake up not remembering anything that happened.