Love Never Fails - |SAMPLE|

•ONE•

Anna-Mae

"Hey. Let's get out of here." I looked around nervously and felt so out of place.

It was a little after midnight and there were so many people here. Everyone dressed like they were at a club including Liz—except me. I looked down at my own outfit—cropped cardigan over a simple dress—and felt extremely overdressed. 

I don't belong here.

I wanted to crawl back into my warm comfy bed and finished the book I was reading.

This kind of setting usually made me anxious: loud, crowded, messy and filled with mostly drunken people. What made me feel the most uneasy was intoxicated people—they were not clear minded and couldn't be reasoned with in case they got out of control.

My cautiousness kicked in even though nothing bad had happened yet. Typical.

"Are you crazy?! We just got here." Liz huffed in annoyance. "It took me almost an hour to persuade you to go to this house party with me." She gave me another stern look and said with finality. "No. We are staying. Look. How about you try to give it half an hour or so before you decide on hating it."

"Fine. One hour." I compromised.

She sighed, shook her head and continued. "I still can't believe this is your first real party. Come on, let's have some fun! You do know how to have fun don't you?"

Liz, short for Elizabeth, was my roommate. We had met during our last year of high school when her family moved into town. We clicked instantly and even decided to go to the same university.

"Of course, I do! Maybe just not the kind of fun you're thinking of..." I tried to defend myself.

What's wrong with reading books and watching movies for fun? They're not only fun but also safe.

Even though Liz and I were best friends, we were total opposites at times; she loved experiencing new things and wanted to make her college experience as worthwhile as she could while I would be content simply going to class and getting good grades.

She was the definition of an extrovert and I—the introvert.

I had never cared for alcohol, parties, drugs, or anything people my age were usually curious about and wanted to experiment with. I tried to stay away from things that could lead to bad consequences. For instance, if one drank too much alcohol, she could be vomiting and have a splitting headache the next day. No, thank you.

As I followed Liz deeper into the crowd, weaving around people was quite a challenge in itself. Liz looked back at me and yelled, "What do you want to drink?"

"Water. Thanks." I yelled back due to the loud music.

"Are you serious?" She gave me an incredulous look. "We. Are. At. A. Party. And you want a water? How are we even best friends? No. I'm getting you a drink. A real drink. You're 19 now, you definitely need to try at least one drink."

"I don't think age has anything to do with it." I mumbled to myself since Liz had been drinking at the age of sixteen.

"Well, the legal drinking age is 21." I loudly reminded her.

She ignored me and went into the kitchen to grab us drinks. She came back a few minutes later with two red plastic cups in hand.

I took one and skeptically looked inside. "Do I have to? It smells gross." I made a face.

"Stop being a baby and try it! It's just Gatorade and vodka." She took a big gulp as if to prove a point.

I sighed. Feeling resigned, I took a sip and choked. "Ugh. That's disgusting! Sorry, but I don't know how you drink this stuff."