AFTER. (lxc version)

Chapter 16.

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What should I dare her to do? I know she will do whatever it is just because that is how she works. "I.. hmm. I dare you to ..

"To what?" She says impatiently. I almost dare her to say something nice about each person in 

the group but I decide against it, however amusing it would have been.

"Take your shirt off except your bra and keep it off the entire game" Vanessa says for me and I am glad. Not because Lauren will be taking her shirt off of course, but because I couldn't think of anything to have her do.

"How juvenile" She says but lifts her shirt over her head. My eyes go directly to her long torso. The way black ink of the tattoos is painted across her surprisingly pale skin is somehow appealing. Under her swallows she has a butterfly tattoo on her stomach, it looks much better than a butterfly should on a woman. Her arms have many more tattoos than I expected, small seemingly random tattoos are scattered along her shoulders and hips. Lucy nudges me and I tear my eyes away from her praying that no one saw me staring. The game continues and Vanessa kisses Jessica and Normani, Lucy tells us about her first time having sex and Dinah and the new girl kiss. How did I find myself in the middle of this group of gay college students?

"Camila, truth or dare?" Jessica asks.

"Why even ask? We know she will say truth" Lauren interrupts.

"Dare" I say, surprising them and myself.

"Hmm.. Mila, I dare you to.. take a shot of vodka" Jessica smiles.

"I don't drink"

"That's the point,"

"Look, if you don't want to do it.." Dinah starts to say something and I look over at Lauren and Vanessa sharing a laugh at my expense.

"Fine, one shot" I say and Lauren's green eyes meet mine. She gave me a strange look.Seconds later I am handed the clear bottle of vodka. I mistakenly put my nose against the top, smelling the foul liquid. It burns my nostrils and I scrunch my nose, trying to ignore the chuckles behind me. I try not to think of all the mouths that have been on the top of the bottle before I tilt it back and take a drink. The vodka feels hot and burns my tongue all the way down to my stomach but I manage to swallow it. It tastes horrible. The group claps and laughs a little, except Lauren. If I didn't know her any better I would think she was mad or disappointed? She is so strange. I can feel the heat in my cheeks and the small amount of alcohol in my veins that grows with each round that I am dared to take another. I oblige, I have to admit I am pretty relaxed for once, I feel good.

"Same dare" Normani laughs and takes a drink of the vodka before handing me the bottle for the fifth time. I don't even remember the dares and truths that have been happening around me for the last few rounds. This time I take two big drinks of the vodka before it is ripped from my grasp.

"I think you've had enough" Lauren says and hands the bottle to Dinah, who takes a drink. Who the hell is Lauren to tell me when I have had enough? Everyone else is still drinking so I can too. I grab the bottle back from Dinah and take a drink again, making sure to give Lauren a smirk as the bottle touches my lips.

"I can't believe you have never been drunk before, its fun right?" Normani asks and I giggle. Thoughts of irresponsibility flood my mind but I push them back. It's only one night.

"Lauren, truth or dare?" Vanessa asks. She answers "dare" of course.

"I dare you to kiss Camila" she says and gives a fake smile. Lauren's eyes go wide and I want to run away.

"No, I have a boyfriend and im not into girls, sorry" I tell them, making them laugh at me for the hundredth time tonight. Why am I even hanging around these people who keep laughing at me?"We know everybody is not straight, my grandma thought she's straight but turns out she's not," Lucy said.

"Uh i dont know ab-"

"So.. it is just a dare. Just do it" Vanessa interrupts me.

"No, I am not kissing anybody" I snap and stand up. Lauren just takes a drink from her cup. I hope she is offended, actually I don't care if she is. She hates me and is rude anyway. As I get to my feet, the full effect of the vodka hits me. I wobble but pull myself together and walk away from them. Through the crowd, I manage to find the front door. As soon as it opens, the fall breeze hits me. I close my eyes and breath in the fresh air before going to sit on the familiar stone wall. Before I realize what I am doing, my phone is in my hands, dialing Matthew.

"Hello?" He says, the familiarity of his voice makes me miss him more.

"Hey.. babe" I say and laugh. We do not call each other ridiculous pet names.

"Camila, are you drunk?" Her voice is full of judgment. I shouldn't have called him.

"No.. of course not" I lied and hang up the phone. I press my finger down on the power button, I don't want him to call back. He is ruining the good feeling from the vodka.

I stumble back inside, ignoring whistles and crude comments from drunk frat people. I grab a bottle of brown liquor off the counter in the kitchen and take a drink, too big of a drink. It tastes worse than the vodka and burns even worse. My hands fumble for a cup of anything to get the taste out of my mouth. I end up opening the cabinet and using a real glass to pour some water from the sink, making sure to put the glass in the sink afterwards.

"Excuse me," a blonde with an attitude pushes past me and tosses an empty cup into the sink.The water helps the burn a little, but not much. The group of my "friends" are still sitting in a circle playing their stupid game. Are they my friends? I don't think they are. They only want me around so they can laugh at my inexperience. How dare Vanessa tell Lauren to kiss me, she does know I have a boyfriend. Unlike her, I don't go around kissing everyone. I have only kissed 2 boys in my life, well and a girl. Yeah im not straight i'll admit it. Noah and Johnny, and then there's Jade. Johnny, a freckle faced kid in third grade who kicked me in the shin afterwards. Jade, my puppy love when i was in 8thgrade. And then Matthew. Would Lauren have went along with it? I doubt it. Her lips are so pink and full, my head plays an image of Lauren leaning over to kiss me and my pulse begins to race.

What the hell? Why am I thinking about kissing her? I am never drinking again. Minutes later, the room begins to spin and I feel dizzy. My feet lead me upstairs to the bathroom and I sit in front of the toilet, expecting to throw up. Nothing happens. I groan and pull myself up. I am ready to go back to the dorms but I know Lucy won't be ready for hours.

Before I can stop myself, my hand is turning the knob on Lauren's bedroom door. It looks the same as before only this time the room is moving around beneath my feet. The copy of To Kill a Mockingbird is missing from the shelf where it was but I find it on the bedside table, next to Pride and Prejudice. Lauren's comments about the novel replay through my mind. She has obviously read it before, and understood it which is rare for our age group. Maybe she had to read it for class before, that's why. But why is this copy of To Kill a Mockingbird out? I grab it and sit on the bed, opening the book halfway through. My eyes scan the pages and the room stops spinning.

I am so lost looking at the book that when the door opens, I don't hear it.

"What part of no one can come in my room did you not understand last time?" Lauren booms. Her angry expression surprises but humors me at the same time.

"S..sorry. I ."

"Get out" she spits and I glare at her. The vodka is still fresh in my system, too fresh to let Lauren yell at me.

"You don't have to be such a jerk!' My voice coming out much louder than I had intended.

"You are in my room, again after I told you not to be. So get out!" She yells, stepping closer to me.

"Why don't you like me?" I am not sure what possessed me to ask her this. I don't think my already wounded ego can take the answer.

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