Polaroid

Chapter 2 : Panic Attack

" Yeah, the dream was really weird and scary. But Kasen was there, so I was fine. " I kicked a pebble that on the pathway, walking alongside my best friend, Nessa. " Uh huh." She replied sarcastically. I glared at her. " Don't make any assumptions, I tell you!" I spoke. She giggled and wiggled her eyebrows. I playfully punched her arm. 

" No, but seriously, he's nice and sweet and he cares about me. It's hard to find someone so kind in our school. An-" I glanced over and saw that her expression was rather mischievous. I made a little whiny noise. Nessa was good at teasing. That's why she loved doing it. " We're just friends. " I muttered. She sighed. 

" He doesn't look at you that way." She spoke. I swear she knew something but she wasn't telling me. I shrugged my shoulders. " It's impossible to believe you. How can I have faith in what you see when I haven't seen it myself?" I asked. " Just trust me. " She stated. I sighed and shook my head." Let's not talk about this. " 

" We're here!" Nessa yelled. I turned and saw that we had reached the house that we were intending to go to. There was party, and since Nessa was one of the popular girls, she got invited. She practically forced me to go to this stupid party, making me wear some ripped jeans and a white crop top that she gave me.

" You'll be fine." She had said. I don't think she knew how nervous and terrified and suffocated I felt in large crowds. She knew how nervous I was in general, but I don't think she knows this. It didn't matter much anyways. I mean, it always got hard to breathe, I would feel dizzy and it would feel like it's the end of the world. And-

" Diara! Earth to Diara!" She exclaimed, waving her hand in front of my face. I snapped out of my trance and smiled weakly. The girl at the front door greeted us, pulling me into a tight hug. What the hell? I didn't even know her. The aroma of alcohol and sweat wafted into my nostrils, making me scrunch my face in disgust. I already hated this.

She giggled in a drunk manner, pulling Nessa inside and slinging her arm over my friends shoulder and walking away like I wasn't there. I sighed and walked into the crowded room, mentally chanting to avoid drunken people at all costs. I searched around for familiar people, finding none. I regretted coming here and I hadn't even been here for half an hour.

A few minutes later, I spot Kasen, a bottle of beer in his hand while he was laughing with a friend of his. I felt my body ease up as I treaded over to him, noticing how he put down the liquor bottle behind him in the counter as soon as he met my eyes. He shifted around so that it was barely in my sight.

" Hey." He smiled, giving me a quick side hug. I could smell the beer from just a quick greeting. Sometimes this was boy was just so stupid. But it was cute. " Having fun with the guys and the beer?" I asked. His smile faded away. "Sorry." He mumbled. I could tell he was genuinely guilty. Kasen knew I hated when he drank. It's not good for him. I smiled and brushed a few locks of hair away from his forehead.

" Just make sure you don't get sick." I warned. He nodded and glanced over at his friend. " Diara, this is Alex. I'm sure you've seen him at my basketball games." Alex smiled politely. He seemed like a nice guy. "Yeah, you look familiar." I whispered. He smiled to reveal a particularly charming grin. Kase probably noticed how I was staring and nudged my shoulder. "I'm gonna go get drinks." Alex yelled over the deafening music.

I nodded absentmindedly, knowing that I had no plan whatsoever to drink tonight. I wasn't going to risk going home and getting yelled at by my mother. It already took me forever to convince to let me go, and she probably wouldn't let me go to another high school party if I was gonna get drunk. " Diara?" Kasen yelled. I snapped out of my trance and looked up at him. I gave him a quizzical look. His lips curled into a cheeky grin. " You were staring." He teased.

I rolled my eyes, punching him in the arm. " Ya know, I could probably hook you up with him." He whispered. I was trying to fight the urge of slapping him in the face and then cracking up. " No. That wouldn't work. I'm not worth it. "I chuckled and sighed. Kase's smile faded away and stepped a bit closer to me, cupping my chin in his hand.

" Don't you dare ever say that. You're perfect. " He mumbled, shaking his head. I kept my face expressionless, keeping my eyes on his messy dirty blonde hair. I grumbled a bit, moving my head around slightly to get his hand off of my chin. That only made it worse making Kase pull me closer to him.

We made eye contact for a hot minute, and for split second, I felt like kissing him.

No. Shut up Diara. He's your friend. Friends ever since our Grade 6 teacher put us beside one another in the seating plan. You can't fuck up a friendship like that. He probably has feelings for the hot cheerleaders. They're worth it. They're enough for him. Not you.

I looked away, taking a small step back. Kasen snapped out if it too, scratching the back of his neck and looking around awkwardly. Just in time, Alex arrived with the drinks, slamming three red solo cups onto the marble counter. " Come on, drink up!" He yelled, grabbing his cup and handing me mine. I swallowed nervously, eyeing the drink and clutching onto the cup tightly.

I took a glimpse at Kasen, who had already taken a sip of his drink. Alex inclined towards Kase, whispering into his ear and then smirking towards my direction. Kase's jaw dropped like he was about to say something. Alex placed a hand on his shoulder and shook his head. With much reluctance, he closed his mouth.

I thought about it for a second. Do I really want to drink? I mean, it's horrible for my health. But, it's only one drink. What could go wrong? Alex placed a hand on my shoulder and squeezed it gently. " Come on, chug it." He yelled. I took a deep breath, pouring the burning liquid down my throat. My first drink. It tasted horrible. It was like fire going down my throat, but for some odd reason, it felt different.

Although I had never had alcohol before, it felt peculiar. Maybe it was just me worrying too much. I could feel my vision blur and my knees get a bit weak. "You good?" Alex slurred. I nodded slowly, grinning like an idiot at nothing. I could see Kase walk away, looking back every few steps. I walked around aimlessly and I noticed that colors seemed brighter and my head was pounding at this point.

I was feeling dizzy, looking around frantically for somewhere to sit. All of them were occupied. Fuck. My breathing was getting uneven, not because of the drink, but because of the crowds. All those bodies pressed against mine, sweaty and drunk. I could barely breathe and on top of that the music was blaring.

I was looking around for Kase, yelling in a barely audible voice. "Kase!" I whimpered. I was on the verge of tears and was practically suffocating at this point. I felt a arm around my waist, snaking down to my ass. For a second I thought it was Kasen. But Kase wouldn't touch me like that. I turned around to find Alex. I tried to pry his hand off my body, all my attempts failing. Alex forcefully turned me around. "It's okay honey. It's just me." He whispered, biting my earlobe from behind me.

Nipping at my bare skin, I was basically squirming under his touch and praying that nothing was going to happen to me. Alex squeezed my ass, giving it a tight slap. I screamed, trying to move away. I closed my eyes, mumbling incoherently. A few seconds later, a pair of strong arms pulled me away from Alex.

***

Hello 💛

Ngl this chapter is not that bad. Wanna guess who saved Diara? Nvm it's super obvious. Lol bye

Thank you so much for reading!