Sixth Street ✓

Tuesday 3rd December

Penelope weaved through the crowd with a tacky red plastic cup in her hand for Dan, alcohol sloshing up dangerously close to the rim. She could see Dan beside Zac - perfect. With a barely noticeable eye roll, she slipped past a couple practically doing it on the dance floor to join them.

"Great party, man!" Dan slapped Zac drunkenly on the shoulder, his eyes bulging and a vein popping out of his forehead. "There you are, babe!" Penelope was crushed into a sideways hug as he flung a gigantic arm around her shoulder, his breath reeking of cheap beer. She wondered why boys insisted on addressing their friends as 'men' and their girlfriends as 'babes'.

"I think," she said whilst firmly clutching the cup, "that you've had enough to drink." He pouted at her, his mouth snaking round to whisper in her ear.

"Come on," Dan spoke so softly she could barely hear the words. "Just one more." He was kissing her ear, and she knew he would continue it down to her neck in the way she had mistakenly told him she liked. He was kind of a sloppy kisser, especially whenever he was drunk, and she liked light butterfly kisses around that area, not ones that made her wonder if he was going to sink a fang into her neck. She pulled away, her skin tickling with the feeling of kisses that used to be.

"It's been just one more for the past two hours!" She pointed out, laughing a little. She looked over at Zac, who was growing bored of the conversation. He was probably looking for a girl that was too full of liquor to say no to him - he'd already hit on her a couple of times, to no success. "Thanks for the party invite."

He looked at her a moment, blinking through his stupor. Did he even remember how Kirsty had got their invites? Evidently not, as he slurred with a grin, "No problem. But could you answer something for me? Is Hannah a babe?"

She creased her eyebrows. "Hannah who?"

"From your class." He persisted.

She shook her head. "There's no Hannah in my class." He looked confused for a moment, then he walked away a lot less elegantly than she had, making her wonder how he still couldn't handle his drink well despite the amount of times this had happened.

She shrugged away from Dan as he came closer. "Hey!" As he insistently tried to kiss her, her drink finally did what it had been threatening to do and spilt all over her dress. "You're such an idiot!" She flung the rest of the contents of the cup at him, feeling immense pleasure as they dripped down from his golden hair to his mouth, where he tried to lick the beer from around his face. "Disgusting." She snapped.

"I'm sorry, Pen," he apologised, reaching out. "Let me make it up to you..."

She jerked away. "You forgot the 'elope'." He looked confused. "The rest of Penelope? Nobody calls me Pen. Just... leave me alone. I'll see you tomorrow - or, I guess, today." She looked down at her watch, realising it was Tuesday morning. "I'm going."

She felt a little dizzy, despite steering clear of beer - hastily 'spilling' it when Dan's attention was diverted - and she couldn't help but wonder why she had even orchestrated her invite to the party anyway. This just wasn't the scene for the glamorous, richest, prettiest girl on Sixth Street. In fact, she had enjoyed seeing the obvious pain on Steven's face as she left more than she was enjoying the actual party.

Penelope looked round for Kirsty. She could spot her immediately despite the people squished around her; she stood out with her finely tanned skin and near nakedness. She was dancing with Joe, and even though she didn't falter once Penelope knew she'd been at the keg. For some reason, she felt annoyed at her - for so meekly putting on the dress and accepting the beers pushed into her hand by Joe - even though she'd done exactly what she'd told her. She wriggled once more through the crowd and grabbed Kirsty's wrist.