𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙮 𝙜𝙞𝙧𝙡 / 𝙛𝙤𝙪𝙧

"party people"

"Thanks mom!" I called out as I left my house and walked towards Adam's car. It was only a hour after practice but Joey's house was 30 minutes away so we had to leave sooner rather than later. 

I pulled open the door and was greeted by Adam, Charlie and Polly. 

"Hey Ella!" Charlie smiled from the back and I waved. Polly shyly nodded at me and I saw her cheeks heat up as Charlie sat back and leaned towards her. I raised my eyebrows at her reaction.

"Hey cutie." Adam patted my leg and pulled out of my driveway. "What'd your mom say?"

"Home no later than 12 since it's a school night and have a good time." I recounted what my mom had told me right before I had left.

"12? What a loser." Adam joked and I hit his arm. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Charlie, Polly you need rides home?"

"Nope, my mom is picking me up after her shift. You can come with me if you'd like, Polly."

"Oh, um yes, that'd be great!" Polly answered, a little too excitedly. 

"Alright, sounds good. No rides for us." Charlie sat back and Adam nodded. 

The rest of the ride was uneventful and soon we arrived at Joey's. His house was a big white colonial style home, in a cal-de-sac. I hopped out of Adam's car and slammed the door behind me. A few other cars, belonging to the Ducks, lined the street.

"What's up my party people!" Joey called from his front door and waved us inside. I followed Charlie and Polly, with Adam's hand in mine. 

On the floor in Joey's living room sat most of the members of my team. Paper plates and cups littered the place, some in people's hands with pizza, chips and cookies. 

I walked over the the snack counter and grabbed a Diet Coke. 

"Ella please come over here and tell the boys that The Outsiders is a good movie!" Connie called to me from the living room. She was sitting in front of the TV with multiple VHS tapes spread across the floor.

I laughed and walked over, taking a seat next to her. "Connie's right you guys. Outsiders it is." The boys groaned as I popped the VHS in but they eventually cooled down, and even seemed to enjoy it.

"Hey Joey, that Johnny guy looks just like you!" Dean hollered and I looked closer to compare the two. He was right, the resemblance was uncanny.

"I get that a lot, trust me." Joey sighed and bit down on a chip.

I glanced around the room and noticed that a few people hadn't shown up. Marco, Russ and Ken were no where in sight. Both Julie and Nina had shown up, but left within a hour for other commitments.

The movie had just ended when Averman picked up his empty Pepsi bottle and asked, "Who wants to play spin the bottle?"

"Oh come on, that game is so middle school." Connie groaned and I nodded in agreement.

"It'll be fun! Consider it, team bonding." Goldberg backed up his friend's idea and the two took a seat on the couch. The rest of the team reluctantly made a circle around the living room. I sat next to Adam and Dwayne on the floor.

"Who's gonna start us off?" Charlie questioned. "How about the leader of the game?"

Averman looked around before leaning forward and giving the bottle a spin. We watched it go around a few times and as it slowed, stopping on Jesse.

"Oh heck no man!" Jesse threw his hands up in protest, "Sorry Averman, but you ain't getting your lips anywhere near me."

"Yeah, okay." Averman passed the bottle to Goldberg and I shook my head. There's no way anyone here was letting Goldberg kiss them.

He gave the bottle a spin and I stifled a laugh when it stopped on Connie. 

"Nope, nope, nope." Connie shook her head and the room laughed. 

"Okay, I think this game is a fail." Adam stood up and walked towards the kitchen. Everyone else slowly did the same and our short game of spin the bottle was over. I glanced at the clock which had just hit 10pm. 

"We should get headed out in about a hour." I told Adam, who agreed.

"Oh lord, can we please watch something besides Karate Kid?" Joey asked Connie who was again sitting next to the TV. 

"That movie is the best!" I yelled, smiling at the two.

"Thank you!" Connie pressed play and Joey threw up his arms in defeat. 

"I can't stand that Daniel kid. Plus he looks exactly like me!" 

Adam patted the seat next to him, on the beanbag. I sat, careful not to spill my soda. The movie started and I leaned my head on his shoulder. 

Within a few minutes I could feel my eyelids getting heavy and just like that, I was out.

_

if you guys ever have any ideas for this book, please let me know! i'd love to incorporate some stuff that you guys want to happen<3