Die A Little

CHAPTER THREE

Standing outside of the gate of the biggest house on the hill on Friday night, I could feel people brushing passed me, trailing their way up to the front door. In the distance, I could see Brian ushering people inside, but I was too entranced by the size of this place to even move. What my house had one of, I'm sure Brian's had ten times as many. No wonder he wanted people here whenever his parents went away, it must feel pretty lonely otherwise.

I finally joined in the line, heading my way up to the front of the house, or should I say mansion, taking in the surroundings as I went. His front yard was more like a piece of artistry; a fountain sat in the centre as the driveway curved around in a semi-circle shape.

Approaching the front door, the crowd began to disperse as I found myself being pushed out and went stumbling into someone. I grabbed onto their arms to stop myself from crashing onto the floor. I pulled myself up and raised my head to be met by the dark eyes and crooked smile of Brian.

"Hey, it's Sal, right?" He asked as I nodded my head. "I'm glad that you could make it tonight, Man."

I smiled small, my voice lost in the depths of my throat, quickly pulling my arms away from his. "You don't talk much, do you?"

"No." I answered quietly.

"Come on inside, let's get you a drink." He offered, leading me through the people and into the kitchen.

I say kitchen, this was more like the entire size of my house. The details were grand and over the top to show off how much money this family truly had; the countertop a fine granite and the refrigerator the size of two of mine combined.

Brian pulled off the top of a beer bottle and handed it to me, to which I was quick to decline the offer. "Oh no thanks...I don't drink."

I could see the slight falter in his expression as he shrugged his shoulders and kept the drink for himself. Brian leaned a hand against the counter and looked me up and down. I was dressed in the best attire, well, cleanest, I could find; a set of denim overalls over a navy-blue hoodie and all-white sneakers at my feet.

"I have to say," Brian started, a smirk playing his lips. "I was surprised to see you here."

He took a sip, keeping his eyes on me. "You don't seem like the type to party."

"That's because I'm not." I chuckled awkwardly.

"Then what made you change your mind?" He asked pryingly. "Was it because it was my biggest party to date?"

"I felt like I should attend, seeing as you told me you'd hope I would come." I explained honestly. "Other than that, I probably would have just stayed home."

"You wouldn't want to miss out on this one." Brian was confident in the way that he spoke. "This party is going to be the craziest one yet."

He finished his drink and went to reach for another, turning to me. "You sure that you don't want one, Man?"

I contemplated the idea, soon ignoring my mother's voice in my head that repeated her rules constantly as I took the bottle from his hand and took a swig. The new taste of alcohol burned its way down my throat and caused me to splutter.

Brian reached his hand around to my back and patted hard enough to help me from choking. "Jeez, this really is your first time partying, huh?"

"Yeah," I winced.

"Come on, I'll show you how it's done." Brian smirked once more, leading me through to where the majority of people had gathered in the living room.

The music was blasting, everyone was drinking and this wasn't even the peak of the party yet. I followed Brian until I lost him in the swarm of people. Every drink that anyone handed me I drank and the worse I felt as the evening progressed. I was losing all inhibitions of control, letting myself go for one night of my life.