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I open the door, revealing Rafe. He had on his usual polo shirt and khaki shorts.
"Hey." He says looking at me. "Woah, you look nice."
"Thank you." I say.
"Ready?"
"Yeah, let's go." I follow him out to his car and get into the passenger seat next to him.
Rafe turns on the radio as he drives. He nods his head along with the beat of the music. He has one arm resting in the open window and the other sitting at the bottom of his steering wheel. I glance over at him, looking at the boy's relaxed state. I feel a small smile tugging at my lips.
"I don't think I've ever seen you this relaxed, Cameron." I speak up still looking at him.
"Well, I've got my friend with me in the car and it's my day off. We're going to a party and I'm completely sober."
"Yeah, for how long?" I ask with a light laugh.
"Hey, no drugs tonight I promise. But I can't promise anything on alcohol."
"That's okay, I'll drink too."
"Okay, good."
He pulls up in front of a large house. There was a ton of cars already in the long driveway, meaning there was already a ton of people inside. Rafe gets out of the car and moves to open my door. I step out thanking him.
Before I can walk toward the house Rafe stops me by grabbing my forearm gently. "Wait, Mila. If you ever feel uncomfortable or if you want to leave, let me know and I'll get you out of there."
"Aw, Rafe. Are you going soft on me?" I tease.
"Mi, I'm serious. Some of these people can be really intense. Especially my friends."
"I'll be okay. You'll be there."
"You sure?"
"Rafe, I'll be fine." He lets out a sigh before walking jto the front door with me.
He opens it and reveals a loud party. Loud music vibrates in my chest as we make our way through the house. I feel a hand grip mine. I look down to see Rafe's hand in mine, keeping me close to him as we navigate through the crowded room.
"Hey, Rafe!" A blond boy walks over to us. Rafe let's go of my hand quickly. He hugs the blond boy. The blond looks over to me. "Who's this?"
"Uh, Mila. She's a friend." Rafe explains.
"Friend?" The boy asks skeptically.
"Yes, Top." Rafe turns to me. "This is Topper."
"It's nice to meet you." I say.
"You as well." Topper turns to Rafe. "We are discussing this later." He walks away, leaving us alone.
I felt uncomfortable after that conversation. I look down at the ground .
"Mila, I'm sorry." Rafe says to me.
"For what?"
"I don't know, that was just a weird conversation."
"It's fine." I look away. "I think I'm gonna go get a drink."
I see Rafe's face drop as I turn to walk away. I try to not think about it as I walk toward the drink table. I grab a beer from the table, hovering in that area. I sip on the beer as I watch the party.
A girl walks over to me. I look over at her. "Hi, are you Mila?"
"Yes?" I question.
"Rafe was looking for you. I'm Sarah, Rafe is my older brother. He asked me to find you."
"Oh, um, I can go look for him." I say.
I move past the girl to look for Rafe. I go back to where I last saw him. When I don't find him I begin to look around the house.
Rafe's voice catches my attention from another room. I stop walking when I hear my name.
"Mila is my friend, okay, Top?"
"But there's gotta be more." Topper challenges.
"Look, Mila is an amazing girl. I love being around her. She's funny and kind and.. like, I don't.. man, I can't even explain it."
"Bro, you feel something for her."
"No I don't. We're just friends."
"Right.."
"I'm serious."
"If you say so."
"Shut the fuck up." Rafe laughs smacking the boy in the back of the head.
I walk around the corner, pretending I hadn't heard the conversation. Topper gestures toward me by nodding his head. Rafe turns around, looking at me.
"Hey, I was looking for you." He says.
"Yeah, uh, Sarah found me. I'm ready to go if you are."
"Yeah, I can head out."
"Bye, Top."
I follow him back out to the car. We both get into the car. I look over at him.
"You okay?" He asks me.
"Yeah, sorry. The whole atmosphere in there was just, weird. The way they all looked at me was off putting."
"I'm sorry, I should've thought about that."
"Oh, it's okay. I mean when a guy and a girl hangout exclusively, like, of course people will assume there's something going on. I mean I don't really know what we are but you are my friend."
