where the time went- chloe price

removable gymnasium.

"are you sure you can't come?" i asked chloe as i slipped on my boots,
"i'm sure, rosie," she laughed softly as she laid out on the bed next to me, her feet hanging off the bed next to me, "victoria would kill me as soon as i stepped foot in the gym," she scoffed, i breathed out a laugh,
"not if i had anything to do with it," i tried to threaten but burst into a soft giggle when chloe stared at me with disbelief in her eyes, she started to laugh too,
"you're so threatening," she spoke sarcastically, i rolled my eyes in response as our laughs died down and i stood up from the bed, pulling my jacket over my shoulders and shoving my phone into my pocket.
"are you really, really sure you don't want to come?" i asked her with pleading eyes, she sighed gently as she stood up from the bed, walking towards me,
"you go," she stood in front of me, her hands on both of my arms, "i don't know if it's possible, but have fun with nathan and victoria. hang out with people you haven't seen in a while, just have fun, rosie," i looked up at her with a soft frown, pouting my lip out jokingly,
"i can't have fun without you," she laughed,
"you can and you will," she then pulled me into a tight hug, her arms wrapping around my shoulders and mine wrapped around her waist as she held me, "don't go too crazy with the drinking though, okay?" she spoke softly,
"i won't. i'm not in the mood for a hangover in the near future," i replied with a smile as i pulled away from her slowly, her hands still staying on me softly. i stopped moving when i looked up at her she was smiling down gently at me, i turned the corners of my lips up into a smile as i looked at her features, making my heart do a soft flip as i admired her beauty.
slowly we moved closer to each other, almost without noticing until her hot breath fanned across my face while her eyes darted back and forth from my eyes to my lips frantically. and before i knew it i had leant up on my toes, my height now reaching hers as i moved my face closer to hers slowly, our breaths mixing together in a warm mixture of nervousness just before i placed my lips softly on hers. i felt her freeze in shock for a split second before melting into the kiss, her hands gripping onto my hips tightly as she pulled me into her closer, our lips quickly moving together in a more passionate rush as my heart started to burn with lust and i felt the tips of my body tingle. suddenly she moved away from me and i sunk back down only my feet, she looked down at the floor and breathed heavily,
"i-" she suttered, "i-, um,"
"i should go," i nodded before picking up my car keys from the end of the bed, the sound of the metal jingling throughout the room,
"i'm sorry," she whispered as i took a step away from her, i stopped in my footsteps, "i just," she sighed anxiously, "david's home,"
"it's okay," i nodded once, "i get it," i sent her a thin smile before she opened her mouth to speak again, but closed it quickly, deciding whether or not she wanted to speak,
"have fun tonight, rosie," she gave me a short smile and i exhaled softly as i nodded,
"i will."

i stood against the wall of the gymnasium by myself, watching the people in front of me dance to the beat of the loud music under the flashing lights. it was obvious these parties were funded by the prescott's they seemed to out do themselves every time, speaking of prescott's, nathan still hadn't arrived and i was waiting on him before i decided to socialise with anyone else.
my mind drifted to the kiss that chloe and i shared back in her bedroom. it wasn't our first kiss but every part of it reminded me of our first, from the way i leant up and kissed her gently, to the way that she stiffened in shock and then melted into it, and then to the way that she pulled away suddenly, trying to realise what had just happened. it was like we were 16 again and i was desperately fighting the urge to drink to kill off any feelings that i had for her at this moment. however, every other part of my brain was screaming at me to get so drunk it was illegal for me to drive to chloe's house and kiss her again, after placing a chair in front of her bedroom door.

suddenly the gymnasium doors swung open and nathan walked in, i stood up straight off the wall with a smile but it quickly dropped and my face was overcome with a look of confusion as he walked into the room with kate marsh. she held onto her elbow anxiously as she came into the party, avoiding eye contact with almost everyone in the room except for mine as i stared at the both of them, my feet taking me towards them.
"what the fuck?" i asked nathan, he gave me a large smile before pulling me into a quick hug,
"i thought kate would want to come!" he yelled over the music, still smiling, i narrowed my eyes at him before nodding softly, "you guys are friends! she's never been to a party before so i thought it would be a good opportunity for her to warm up to parties," he spoke,
"so, i'm the babysitter," i spoke to him over the music, he rolled his eyes,
"well, i'm gonna look after her too,"
"how old are you kate?"
"18," she replied,
"she can look after herself. but if you need anything, i'll help you out," i gave her a nod before rolling my eyes at nathan and walking away from them both, annoyed that i had wasted time waiting for him when he was just going to bring kate marsh to the vortex club party. i don't know what he was thinking, maybe he had a crush on her and was just trying to find an excuse to be with her, but i couldn't be bothered thinking too much right now and i gave into my cravings, pouring myself a cup full of gin and downing the cup in almost three mouthfuls.
i don't know if it was because i needed to go beforehand or if the gin went straight through me but i found myself walking towards the bathroom, it was surprisingly empty when i entered and just before i flushed i heard someone walk in as well, however they didn't enter a stall, they seemed to just stand in the bathroom. i fastened my jeans and exited the bathroom, being greeted with victoria who was standing in the dimly lit room with a cup of alcohol in her hands,
"hello," i spoke as i washed my hands in the basin, wiping them off on my jeans as i started to feel like i was on a boat,
"hi," she replied quietly before inhaling deeply, i looked around the room awkwardly as we stood closely together,
"you okay?" i asked her, she nodded and i nodded once back to her, this whole encounter was beyond awkward and i wanted desperately to leave and swallow more gin.
"thanks for coming," she said,
"it's fine, i-" i replied but she suddenly interrupted me,
"i thought about what you said last week," she started, stepping closer towards me as her voice lowered, the bass of the music still booming through the gym and into the bathroom. i raised my eyebrows in response, waiting for her to speak again as her eyes refused to land on mine, "i- um. you've made me think about things," she spoke softly as she stood closely to me, "more than usual... and i've been running out of ways to distract myself. it was easier to distract myself when you were gone, but now every time i come into class you're there and it's becoming frustratingly harder to not think about this," she finally looked at me, her eyes staring deeply into mine,
"why did you invite me tonight, victoria?" i asked suspecting her words were relating to her invitation, she exhaled slowly as she stepped towards me, her breath shaky as she now stood very closely to me, her warmth echoing onto me.
"you know why," she whispered, her eyes darting around my face, i bit down on the inside of my lip trying to fight the anxiety surrounding this situation, things also mirroring how they were when i was 16. i stared at victoria's face with soft eyes as her face began to morph into one of anxiety and worry, "say something... please,"
"i-" i suttered, "what are you trying to say, v?"
"you know!" she whispered harshly before starting again, this time calmer, "you know what i'm trying to say. please, don't make me say it, rosie," i exhaled sharply through my nose,
"i-," i started but was suddenly cut off by her lips on mine, she didn't move them against mine, they just stayed there, frozen as she held her eyes closed, her hands on the sides of my arms. i don't know if it was the alcohol filtering through my body now infiltrating my actions but my eyes flickered closed, my hand rose to the side of her face and fingers wrapped around the back of her neck, my thumb brushing the bottom of her jaw as i moved my lips gently against hers. she exhaled deeply as she instantly unfroze and began to kiss me properly too, her hands sliding up to my neck as she held me, pulling my body closer to hers as our kisses became messier and more passionate. just after victoria let out a soft moan into my mouth as my fingers tangled with her short hair the door swung open, the flashing lights and loud music entering the room as well as kate marsh. victoria jumped away from me suddenly and we both stared at kate with worried expressions, my heart thudding through my body, i thought for a moment that it was what was vibrating the ground, not the music. kate stared back at us with wide eyes as she opened her mouth to speak but victoria suddenly stormed out of the bathroom, pushing kate out of the way. i went to run after her but stopped to look at kate quickly and pleaded with her,
"please, don't-," i stuttered anxiously, "please don't say anything, kate," she nodded stiffly, her eyes still wide before i went after victoria again, i saw her winding through people only a few meters in front of me,
"victoria!" i called out over the music, she looked over her shoulder at me quickly, her eyes harsh but she didn't stop, i followed her until we left the gymnasium, the large door slamming behind us and leaving us alone with the crickets and owls cooing in the trees. "victoria," i spoke softly, "she's not gonna tell anyone," victoria still didn't speak, or stop in her tracks. it was obvious she was heading back to her dorm room and i followed her quickly across the grass, "victoria, please just stop," i jogged up to her and held onto her wrist. she stopped suddenly in her tracks and ripped her arm from my hand, staring at me furiously,
"don't touch me," she spat before walking away again,
"please, just stop," i followed her,
"why?" she stopped, turning around to face me, i almost ran into her body at her sudden halt, "so you can kiss me again? no! i will be ruined because of this," she started walking away again and i huffed as i started to follow her again,
"i'm not going to kiss you again, v," she just groaned in response as we neared the dorm rooms, the moon lighting up our path, "you have to stop lying to yourself, victoria, it's hurting you," i spoke my voice harsher than i thought. she stopped quickly and turned to face me with a furious glare in her eyes,
"don't tell me how i am feeling, rosemary,"
"please know that i at least understand how you are feeling,"
"i'm not-" she stuttered harshly, "i'm not like you," i couldn't help but push out a soft laugh,
"really, v?" she stared at me with raging eyes, "you kissed me. not for the first time either. victoria-" i cut myself off with a sigh, "you're not straight," she looked down at the ground, "you know this, right?"
"i-" she whispered, "you kissed me!" i closed my eyes and sighed softly,
"do i need to remind you on how we would spend thursday afternoon's three years ago?"
"don't," she spat, "don't bring that up,"
"and every other time you were bored or lonely. why did you kiss me again?" i asked her quickly. victoria seemed to squint her eyes in pain as she stared down at the ground, breathing shakily in front of me,
"because," she whispered, "because i wanted to know if it felt how it did before,"
"did it?" i asked her, she looked up at me, tears in her eyes,
"yes."