Please, Alpha

Don't Forget Your Jacket, It's Cold Out

After ten long minutes of me doing my best not to punch Lily in the arm while she was driving and kill us both, we pulled up to the two story house that was host to the party, Lily parking the car a couple houses away. Music was pouring from the house, bass thumping loud and hard enough to rattle the bass in my lungs. I looked over at Lily with a small shred of regret, only to be met with an excited grin. I sighed and sipped a little more of the half-melted slushie before setting it back into the cup holder and opening the door before my anxiety could settle in anymore. "Let's get this over with." I sighed, stepping out of the car, the air having cooled down to make the flannel less of an accessory and more of a useful part of my outfit.  

Lily bounded ahead of me, giggling as she pulled me along inside. Within seconds, I had a drink in my hand and was incredibly uncomfortable with the amount of people touching me, grazing by me, and yelling loudly around me. My ears were already starting to hurt from the amount of noise, and I grimaced as I trailed behind Lily, who chatted animatedly with some of the people there, swaying and bobbing along to the music.

My eyes trailed over the unfamiliar faces, drinking the (thankfully) water Lily gave me earlier, my whole body on end as I shouted to her that I'd be right back, needing to be... well not where I was. Her brows furrowed but she nodded as she let go of my hand, allowing me to walk off and head towards the bathroom I saw earlier. I squeezed my way through the crowd, shouting 'Excuse me!' and 'Sorry!' to people as I went past them. I was almost inside the bathroom when a guy bumped into me, flashing me a smile, briefly distracting me from my goal.

"Oh hey, I know you!" He shouted, smiling at me. "You're in my bio class, Tuesdays with Mr. Martin, right?" He asked, his voice just loud enough to hear over the music. I nodded, giving a small polite smile.

He seemed familiar enough, my brain helpfully supplying that he sat at the table across from mine. He was a few inches taller than I was, and looked like he stepped out of a cheesy movie about surfers, with sun bleached blonde hair, blue eyes and sun-kissed skin. "Yeah! You're uh..." I snapped my fingers a couple times, trying to recall. "I'm shit with names, sorry. What's your name again?" I smiled at him, slightly flustered.

"Lucas. And you're... Phoebe, right?" He raised an eyebrow for confirmation, a crooked smile still on his face. I nodded, opening my mouth to reply when a guy a few feet from us shouted Lucas's name. The loud noise immediately drew my attention, a dude wearing a football jersey coming up to greet us both, a grin on his face that only widened when he saw me.

"Luke-a-duke! We've got a beer pong game set up in the next room, and I need a partner!" He called, giving him a toothy grin. His eyes moved to me. "Who's the girl?" I felt a hand on my shoulder and suppressed the urge to pull away from it as Lucas introduced me.

"This is Phoebe, we've got bio together. Phoebe, this is my best friend Craig." He motioned to jersey guy, Craig, standing in front of us both. He gave a thumbs up.

"Nice to meet you!" I gave him the same polite smile I had given Lucas, feeling slightly overwhelmed.

"Heeeey." He raised a hand in greeting, reaching out for a fist bump that I awkwardly returned, internally cringing. I took a drink of my water, too distracted to notice the small amount of powder that was quickly dissolving in the bottom. "You mind if I borrow Luke for a little while? You're free to come watch us crush these Beta Phi nerds." Craig was practically dripping with confidence that I wished I could borrow for a second. Then again, my ego would be as fragile as a Faberge egg if I did that.

I shook my head, taking a step towards the still empty bathroom, feeling relieved as I felt Lucas' hand drop off my shoulder. "Nah, go for it. I gotta use the bathroom real quick. I'll catch your game in a second." I smiled as I moved away and into the bathroom, quickly closing the door behind me and locking it as I leaned against it, letting out a breath. My heart was hammering against the inside of my chest, my anxiety boiling in my veins as I pulled myself away from the door to sit on the closed toilet seat, leg bouncing nervously as I chewed on my lip.