youngblood // p. hockstetter // 0.1

//twenty-two

•••

Things started to get fucky around midnight, both literally and metaphorically. Being one of the only other sober individuals at the party, Rosemary found herself hanging around Belch and another girl named Isa, whom smelt strongly of perfume and cigarette smoke. Rosemary had avoided Henry like the plague after he arrived back from his little shopping trip with several others, all of whom where off their face drunk.n

Rosemary was listening intently to Isa as they discussed school. Like every other girl there, Isa's brown, mousy hair defied gravity and stood loudly around her head as a statement along with her black eye shadow and huge hoop earrings. Despite her dreary outward appearance however, she was excellent company.

"You thinking of leaving Derry when you finish school?" Belch asked Rosemary, sipping from his Pepsi.

"Maybe? It depends on what happens with Jude. He kind of wants to move after school and take me with him"

"No offence hon but why does everything you do have to involve your big brother?" Isa asked calmly, exhaling a lung full of smoke. "You're what, sixteen? seventeen? You gotta start making your own choices instead of letting Judas or whatever his name is sway your opinions and thoughts"

Rosemary smiled amusedly into her can as she sipped from her creaming soda. If only she knew.

Belch nod in agreement, "Yeah. Rose, I know you're smart enough to notice, your brother is a bit..."

"Protective?"

"I was going to say possessive but protective works to" It was only then that Rosemary realised that Jude wasn't sat between Louis and the other boy she'd left him on the other side of the bonfire, who where also gone.

"Where is Jude?" She stood quickly from her seat beside Belch, scanning the area and finding him nowhere. "Oh dear..."

"He's a big boy, can't he handle himself?" Rosemary looked back at Isa and without skipping a beat responded with a look of slight distress.

"No, he absolutely cannot handle himself" Belch and Isa shared a brief look of concern while Rosemary slipped Jude's shirt off her shoulders and tied it at her waist. "I'm gonna go look in the house, if he walks by or out here, could you please try and get him to stay still? He's very...energetic, when he's tipsy"

"Can do hon" Isa nod whilst Belch drained the last of his Pepsi.

"Sure thing Rose"

Jogging into the house, Rosemary was once again struck by the pulsing music emanating from the wooden stereos around the house. People danced in the darkness while red and green lights danced around the room and she was once again irritated by the lack of alcohol in her body.

If only Jude wasn't around.

Pushing into the lounge area, she searched in slight desperation for her brother, hands and arms bumping and groping her. After ten minutes of unsuccessful searching on the lower floor, she made the quick decision to look upstairs, her feet thumping on the wooden staircase as she stepped around two passed out teenagers she recognised from her Mathematics class.

"Jude?" She called out, reaching the top of the staircase.

"Rosemary?" Mark was more or less surprised to see her in such a hurry up the stairs but hastily stood as quickly as his drunken mind would allow him. " Wha're-" He shook his head, swallowing as he stepped between Rosemary and the closest door to where he sat on the floor. "What are you doing?"

"I'm looking for Jude. Have you seen him?" He shook his head. "Can I look in there?" She moved closer to the door and he slid in front of her, minimizing the distance between them to a few centimeters.