Chapter 5: The Party

A week and a day after my kiss with Newt, things were getting on my nerves.

I had barely talked to anybody, mostly because everyone was already freaking out with the finals. As soon as I finished with my classes, I got into the bus and got back home to look after Chuck and Aris. Every single day of that week and a little, which felt like forever.

It was Thursday. The day could have gone better, honestly...

I had a mid-term exam before our finals began, and I was completely positive that I was going to fail it. But no, that wasn't the only thing.

Even if I spent more hours on my pavilion than usual, I didn't encounter any of my friends. No sight of Thomas, Minho, Gally or even Alby. And not to talk about Newt, but a part of me wanted me to believe that it was better that way after the kiss.

So I spent my free periods sitting around while reading my book, The Eye of Minds. I tried to focus on that story instead of in my sulky mood.

However, when I arrived home being in a terrible terrible mood still, Chuck and Aris behaved strangely. Mostly Chuck.

I knew Aris was just quiet and a little shy. But Chuck wasn't as affectionate as usual and he was extremely quiet, which was unusual.

Tired of the exhausting morning in the campus, I plopped myself down on the couch with them.

"Everything alright, boys?" I mumbled, looking at Aris and then at Chuck.

"Yeah..." Aris shrugged carelessly, but my brother didn't even bother to reply.

"Chuck?" I insisted, but he didn't even look at me. He was just pouting, obviously sulky because of something. About what, I had no idea.

I turned to Aris with a frown.

"What's with him?" I whispered as low as I could.

"I don't know, he's been like this all day" Aris scratched his head, messing his short hair a bit, and took a look at him too. "No idea why"

Knowing Chuck, he wouldn't tell me. Whenever he was angry because of something, he always made the silent treatment and I would have to wait until he eventually burst out telling me what was bothering him.

Suddenly, the door opened and Thomas appeared on the living room.

"Hello" He greeted us with a small wave of his hand.

Chuck bolted up and gave him a hug. So he wasn't mad in general then. Not with Thomas. He was mad at me.

Once they broke the hug, I stood up tiredly and gave my best friend a heartfelt hug. It was great seeing him on a bad day such as that one.

"Hi, Thomas..." I lowly said as I pulled away from the hug.

"Who the shuck died?" Thomas bitterly said, noticing our dead silence.

"Shuck?" I smiled a bit at him, briefly looking over my shoulder to Chuck as he sat down again. "You've been spending too much time with him"

A severe pang of guilt hit me as my best friend was probably spending more time with my own brother than me. I was such a mess lately.

But Thomas was so sweet, whenever he had the time when he was not training track with Minho or something alike for his degree or going out with Teresa, he came by to check on Chuck.

"Hi, Aris" Thomas mumbled as he took a seat next to them.

"Hello" Naturally, my cousin and him knew each other from a long time ago. Thomas was almost part of the family.

"What, Aris?" Thomas stared at him, nudging him playfully. "Any girls yet?"

"Of course there are!" Aris replied, offended. "There's this girl called Rachel..."

Thomas let out an amused guffaw.

"It seems like everyone is meeting new people these days" He said in a neutral tone, glaring at me with the tiniest grin.

"Shut up, you shank" I smiled, because when I used his slang, Chuck laughed.

"By the way, Newt's really nice" Thomas mumbled, as if he said it low enough it would count as if he didn't actually say it.

"Oh, really?"

Did Thomas finally like Newt? Should I tell him about the kiss then? It would help me vent, but I didn't really want to test it. Even if he didn't hate Newt so much, I knew he would still be as protective of me as usual. He would freak out.

"Yeah, we began chatting when we left you in your class" Thomas nodded, shrugging a little. "He's not so bad"

"You too?!" Chuck exclaimed, jumping to his feet and angrily stomping up the stairs without saying anything else.

"What's his problem?" Thomas wondered, pointing his thumb towards the direction Chuck stormed off to.

"Wish I knew" I sadly said, knowing it probably had something to do with Newt. I still didn't understand why he hated him so much. Even this shank Thomas agreed that Newt was okay.

Aris sighed tiredly and stood up very slowly, as if he wasn't in the mood.

"I'll go check on him"

We nodded and stayed downstairs, sitting in the couch in silence. I sighed as I heavily put my head on Thomas' shoulder.

That day was so shuck weird.

I was even starting to like Chuck's strange made up slang.

*

At least I cheered up a bit talking to Thomas, like we hadn't done in a while. I loved our chats, we covered so many subjects and we always ended up laughing at the past memories of our childhood. Old nicknames, grumpy teachers and various shenanigans.

Like that one time Thomas was running like crazy in the school playground. He was being a little reckless speeding up so much and ran into the girl he used to like so much, Beth. They both fell to the floor, and the orange juice she was drinking spilled everywhere. They had collided so hard that Thomas was confused and had no clue what was happening. It was hilarious and I had such a strong laugh attack that my stomach hurt for two days after.

Good old times.

Going back to reality, I decided to go and check on Aris and Chuck after Thomas left, but my brother had fallen asleep and Aris was playing with Chuck's PSP, the boredom written in his face.

I smiled a little at the sight of them and then walked to my room, plonking down in my bed in a lying position.

My laptop lay next to the pillow, so I picked it up and put on some music on it as I absently observed the ceiling while rhythmically tapping my foot against the mattress.

My phone suddenly rang, and when I read that it was a text from Newt, I had contradictory feelings. I got jittery and excited, but the rational part of my brain told me that maybe I should ignore him even if I was dying to talk to him.

We had barely spoken to each other ever since we kissed because I was too scared. I once met him on the halls of my pavilion –which made me wonder if what Alby said about him going there just to bump into me was true- but I told him I was in a rush and cowardly ran away when he approached me.

I felt really stupid acting like that, but feeling so vulnerable wasn't my cup of tea.

Focusing on my phone, I read the text. He was asking me if I was mad at him. I decided to reply.

I tried to take note of the ridiculous excitement I was feeling to see him again as I sat up and told Thomas about it. While he replied, I went through all my clothes to see what I could wear to the party.

I wanted to dress casual as always, but I also wanted to look pretty. It was a party, after all.

Just when I thought I had found something, the phone rang so I went to check it.

Thomas couldn't go; he was already meeting Teresa and wouldn't make it. There went my plan to talk to him most of the time to avoid socializing as I was such a shy little klunk. But he promised to come over with Teresa to be with Chuck and Aris while I was at the party if they finished their date soon enough.

Well, Minho was still going. And Newt, of course. I tried not to think too much about it as I went to the closet again and picked up the violet dress I had seen.

*

I didn't really enjoy parties that much, but Newt was excited about it. He would introduce me to the rest of his friends and he was positive that we would have a great time there.

Minho was driving us all in his car –all of us being Alby, Newt, myself and Minho -and boy, was he a reckless driver. I was sure he knew what he was doing, or so I hoped, but he drove really fast and sharply.

Whenever we encountered a turn, I'd be thrown into Newt as Minho sharply took it. Which led to awkward mumbling and apologetic smiles between us as I scooted over again, back to my spot.

"Minho, you're going to bloody murder us!" Newt complained as he held on to his seat so tight that his knuckles turned white.

"Next time I'll drive" Alby mumbled lowly, looking like he had gotten dizzy.

Luckily, we arrived soon enough. Good thing, because my stomach was starting to feel seriously queasy.

*

Loud music, tons of people chatting over the blaring speakers, cups of alcohol going one way and the other. Laughter. Random yells. People acting stupid.

Just a normal party, I guess.

We were in Gally's place –he had prepared a special moonshine of his. He called that drink 'The Griever', I don't know why –so I immediately went to give him a hug and chat a bit with him as the rest of the boys were around greeting their friends too.

I took a look at the house while I sat in a couch taking tiny sips of Gally's special moonshine 'The Griever'. It was a strong drink once you swallowed it as it felt heavy to the stomach, but it had a sweet taste. Gally had said its main ingredient was caramel vodka, perfect for people who were not used to drinking.

Luckily for me, he hadn't given me that other drink he made called 'The Swipe'. Just the name...

That one was so strong and it burned your throat so much that by having a few you'd get drunk and next day you wouldn't remember a thing. Hence, 'The Swipe'.

I hadn't even fished half my drink when someone poked my side.

"Ready to make friends?" Newt smiled at me, a cup containing a dark liquid that pretty much looked like 'The Swipe' on his hand.

I shyly nodded and stood up. Newt placed an arm over my shoulders and guided me through the living room until we reached a half dozen people gathered around next to one of the speakers.

"Guys, this is Y/N" Newt slightly shoved me closer to them, still not letting me go.

The boys and the girl waved at me politely and friendly.

"These are Zart, Winston, Brenda, Clint, Jeff, and you already know Fry" Newt introduced me, pointing at each of them.

Zart was a big guy with a long face and droopy eyes and looked terribly bored even in that party.

Winston seemed to be stubborn and had his whole face covered in acne.

Brenda had long brown hair and dark eyes and seemed kind of sweet even if I had the impression she could kick anyone's ass.

And Clint and Jeff compensated each other as the first one was rather short and the last one was kind of tall.

"Nice to meet you" I said as I gave two kisses on the cheeks to each one.

Wondering where Minho and Alby were, I quickly looked over my shoulder, hardly seeing anything over Newt's arm.

I found Minho flirting with a girl with red hair and Alby chatting with Gally as they laughed and drank.

Gally then joined us, leaving Alby to talk to Minho once the girl rejected him –surprisingly, and funnily enough because of Minho's pout- and Gally soon came up with a good ice breaker.

We all said what we were studying. Clint and Jeff studied Medicine and Zart Nature Science. I forgot what Brenda and Winston were studying. Something that had to do with animals, him.

I noticed with the corner of my eye how happy Newt seemed at that moment. And I wondered if it was because I was getting along with his friends.

*

Around an hour later, I was sitting in the couch again, this time chatting with Minho as Newt caught up with his friends.

"Want a sip?" Minho offered me his plastic cup, which I smelt. By the color of it I knew it wasn't the Griever but the Swipe.

I was curious about its taste, so I took a sip and waited for the after effect.

At first, it burnt my throat and made me cough –which Minho seemed to enjoy as he chuckled –but then it settled in my stomach and made me feel a little numb.

No idea what I was thinking, but I took another sip. I just let myself go.

Maybe I was hoping that that terrible week disappeared from my memory with the alcohol. Maybe I was tired of being the same old predictable and shy Y/N and wanted to lose my inhibitions and do something out of the ordinary for a change. The thing is that I kept drinking.

"Okay, no more of this for you, young lady" Minho said, faking a fatherly voice and taking the cup from my hands.

I still had my Griever cup, and I tasted really good, so I kept drinking it. For some reason, it relieved slightly the void in my chest and all the worries that wandered in my head.

*

I began laughing out loud, causing a few of the people around me to turn around and send me weird looks.

"What's so funny?" Minho stared at me knitting his eyebrows together in a puzzle expression.

"That!" I exclaimed, pointing at his face. "I have to show Newt"

"What? But..." Minho was left there alone, mumbling to himself in confusion.

I, meanwhile, made my way through the crowd and around the house until I found Newt's blond head and tugged at his hand.

"Newtie, Newtie!" I called him, ignoring how he stared at me with concern.

"What's wrong, love?"

"You have to see this!"

Still holding his hand, I pulled at it as I dragged him around the place until we reached Minho again. Newt was probably talking to somebody before I so rudely interrupted him, but it was too late now.

"Do it again, Minho!" I excitedly asked him, clapping.

Minho shrugged and made a weird funny face at my request that already had me laughing. Then, he put his tongue between his lips and blew, making a sound similar to a fart that I found hilarious.

"Bloody hell, Minho!" Newt complained. "I leave her alone with you for five bugging minutes..."

"She barely had any!" Minho's voice went high pitched as he shrugged, trying to defend himself. Which made me laugh more.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I was watching her!"

I suddenly wobbled and lost balance, but Newt was fast enough to catch me before I fell.

"Whoa, you're a bloody light weight, Y/N!" He wrapped his arms around me to keep me up straight while I giggled even if my head was spinning a little. Why was I giggling now? I had no idea, but whatever it was, it was hilarious. "I've got you, love"

"I see why they call them Grievers now" Minho joked, pointing at me with the hand that still held the moonshine.

Newt sighed beside me as he steadied me still. I had regained my balance, but he didn't seem to notice, he was too busy staring at Minho with an annoyed expression as he took the drink from my hand.

*

Somehow I had ended up lying down on a couch, my head over Newt's lap.

I giggled as I looked up at Newt and booped his nose, making him chuckle.

He was so adorable!

I pinched his cheeks and he didn't even look at me as he gently pushed my hands away. Wow, his cheeks were so squishy and soft.

I kept poking his cheeks, and he kept shoving my hands away from his face. Seeing as I didn't get tired, he just held my hands until I decided to drop it.

"Newt" I said, tasting the sound of his name in my mouth.

"Yeah, love?" He looked down to me with that cute little face of his.

From that angle, his face looked funny, his hair falling in his brown eyes. I tried not to laugh at it.

"Neeeeewt" I repeated, laughing to myself.

I was perfectly aware of how silly I was being and all, but I couldn't help myself. I knew I wasn't actually drunk, just a bit tipsy. It was hard to focus and I had a bit of a difficulty talking and holding my laughter in. And sometimes I got a bit confused in my own mind. But I was lucid enough to know what was going on around me most of the time.

"What is it now?" Newt softly chuckled, not understanding I wasn't actually calling him.

"Newts are sala-sala-salamanders!" Why was it so hard to talk suddenly? I snorted and covered my face with my hands as he kept laughing. "So you're Salamander Boy!"

"Wouldn't be the first one to say it" Newt smiled, looking down at me as he placed a hand on my waist firmly, like trying to make sure I stayed there with him.

"Hey, I'm not even drunk but I'm... something... Don't tell Newt" I whispered, driving my index finger to my lips. "And don't tell Thomas, please. Or Aris"

The blond guy, who looked a lot like Newt –yeah, it was him, right? I was talking to him a second ago-, was staring at me. Was something bothering him? His amused expression changed of a sudden.

"Why did you drink?" His voice sounded serious, so I frowned. "You don't look like you usually do"

"I don't know" I simply shrugged, still giggling. But the sober part of my brain told me he was right.

"Is Y/N alright, man?" Minho's voice sounded next to us. "She didn't even drink that much, I swear!"

"Yeah, but I'm taking her home" The blond answered.

Was that Newt?

"Not home!" I whined, shaking Newt's hands in mine. If Chuck saw me like that he'd hate me.

"Fine, I'll take you to my place then" Newt replied reluctantly.

Between him and Minho, they put me to my feet.

"Minho" I said, placing a hand on his cheek and keeping a straight face as I cracked up on the inside. "Thomas won't say it, but he lovingly referred to you as the sarrrrcastic asshole"

For a second, Minho's face was so confused and hilarious that I wished I could have taken a picture of it. Then he shrugged and nodded.

"I guess the stupid was right"

"Alright, love, time to go" Newt insisted, pulling at my waist as he quickly said goodbye to his friends, ignoring my giggles.

*

I vaguely recognized the place Newt took me to –he was Newt, right? Everything was so confusing –because it was his apartment.

"Great, is Alby here?" I exclaimed, feeling for some reason like I needed to be loud so Newt could hear me. It made sense in my head. "Albyyyy!"

The aforesaid stick his head out of the bathroom at the end of the corridor, a toothbrush hanging from his mouth.

"What the...?" Alby frowned, probably wondering why the shuck Newt had to hold me as I giggled out of control. "Newt?"

"Please, don't bloody ask" The boy replied, quickly settling me in the couch.

"Dan't blahdy askh" I mimicked his voice, with British accent and all, laughing at my own imitation. Even if it would probably earn an award for the lamest thing in history of lame things.

Alby frowned, confused and maybe a little concerned, as he slowly went back into the bathroom. I heard a chuckle coming from the room, though.

"Bye, Al!" I exclaimed while Newt tried to shush me.

He sat next to me and placed his hands on my shoulders.

"Love, I think you should go to sleep" Newt was staring at me, and I wondered why he looked like he could burst out laughing any moment. His lower lip was quivering.

"But I need my pajamas..." I whined, pulling at the top of my dress. "I can't sleep with this"

"I'll lend you something, come here" Newt led me by the hand like I was a little kid and walked me to his room. I tripped once, and Newt stared at me with his eyes wide, scared.

"I'm fine" I assured, wrinkling my nose jokingly and smiling.

Newt sighed and rolled his eyes. He took me by the arm instead.

We arrived in the room and he sat me in the bed carefully. Newt rummaged through the drawers of his closet until he picked something up and handed it to me.

"You need any help getting changed?" Newt asked me with a smirk.

I angrily took the long loose shirt from his hands and nodded.

"I can" With my words, Newt turned around and headed down the corridor again, leaving me to get changed. I remembered something last moment so I shouted it to him "And you can bring me my purse, Newtie!"

I could have sworn I heard Alby chuckling in the room next to Newt's.

I quickly put Newt's white shirt on and felt really comfortable and cozy on it.

Still, I regretted drinking. Even if I barely had that much and I was only a bit tipsy. What would Thomas think if he saw me like that? Or Aris? Or Chuck?

I didn't like being like this in front of Newt either, I felt irresponsible and stupid. I had so many things that need being cared of and I was acting like that instead. Couldn't I do anything right?

And Chuck and Aris were home alone. Ugh.

"At least you aren't throwing up" Newt joked as he came back with a glass of water and my purse.

I almost drove the purse to my mouth, but I managed to switch it on time.

I drank the water in one go and searched for my phone in my purse as Newt put the empty glass away. I wondered where my purse had gone all that time, but I figured Newt had carried it all the way there.

"I need to make sure Chuck's okay" I said, slurring the words I pronounced. Being tipsy wasn't even that fun anymore.

Newt took the phone from my hands and looked me in the eyes.

"I should be the one talking"

I just nodded, not really appreciating the idea of talking to any of them so they heard me in that state.

Newt's voice suddenly sounded really far away as I got drowsy, like if someone had turned down the volume. I lied on the bed, stirring to get comfortable, and closed my eyes.

"Are they okay?" I asked when I heard Newt putting the phone on the bedside table and I noticed he had stopped talking.

"Yeah, Tommy and his girlfriend are with them"

I smiled a little when I was reminded of what Thomas told me. He was going to drop by if they finished soon, and he kept his word.

But my smile didn't last long as I knew I should be the one being there taking care of my brother. And yet I was there instead, tipsy and an emotional mess while Newt took care of me.

"I shouldn't have drunk, Newt" I frowned, feeling emotional.

"Don't worry about that now, love" Newt softly rubbed my back. "Just get some rest"

I tried to nod, but I was half slept already.

Before I completely fell into the abyss I felt Newt shoving me gently until I rested on my side and placing a warm blanket over me.

A few hours later I woke up for like ten seconds. I felt someone slightly shaking me and calling my name, but I groaned and swatted him away. I just wanted to sleep. So I did.