Ch. 6: Where did all my friends go?

"Why? Why are you always around lately?" I question, while looking at him. Asher only laughs and grins. Despite his terrible personality, it's easy to see why half of the female student population is infatuated with this man. Not wanting to get caught staring too long at him for the second time in a week, I keep my thoughts about his stupid attractiveness to a minimum.

"I'm sorry sweetheart. I didn't realize I couldn't hang out in my own kitchen without your approval." Asher says, coolly.

Shit. I'm a moron. When Nina mentioned the football guys throwing a party, I completely spaced on the fact that Asher would be here. Why wouldn't he be? This is his house. I glare over at her, but she only winks at me, as she takes a sip from her cup.

"Well, now that I know you're here, I'll be leaving now." I reply. I start to walk out before Nina grabs me, forcing me to turn around.

"Oh no you don't. You promised me you would stay as long as the party doesn't get too crazy, and it's not. So, drink up!" Nina remarks.

"This idiot lives here," I say, while pointing at Asher. I ignore his protested, "hey!", and continue. "Is that seriously not enough to want to leave immediately?" I ask, pretending to be confused. Sure, I was having a good time up until Asher walked in, but I will take any chance I get to be able to head back early. I frown and groan in defeat when Nina shakes her head no. "Fine. If I have to stay, then I'm not nearly drunk enough." I chug the rest of my drink and move to grab another. Nina cheers as Noah laughs. He clinks his cup with mine, and we both take a drink.

"Damn. Who knew little Miss Makayla Davis could pull the stick out of her ass long enough to have some real fun?" Asher says, as he and the rest of the people in the kitchen laugh, besides Nina. Noah starts to chuckle, but Nina whacks the back of his head. I hear him cry out in mock pain. My face gets hot. What's his problem? He doesn't even know me. Okay, so I also don't know him, and I was insulting him first. No way is he going to get the upper hand again. I finish my drink quickly, and fill my cup up again, staying silent. I hear everyone talking in hushed voices, confused that I haven't fired back another insult. I make my way over to Asher and stop right in front of him. The room quiets down. Asher's smirk falls when I trail my fingers up his chest. His eyes hold a questioning look from my actions. I stand up on my tiptoes and grab his neck, pulling him closer.

"Maybe if you pulled your head out of your own ass, you'd realize you don't know everything." I whisper into Asher's ear.

I take a step back, and glance up at him. It's obvious I caught him by surprise, judging by the faint flush in his cheeks. It lasts only for a second. If I hadn't been standing so close, I would have missed it. I smirk, proud of myself for getting under his skin this time around. I jokingly blow him a kiss before laughing and grabbing Nina. As we make our way out of the kitchen, I look back to see Noah slapping Asher on the shoulder and laughing at him. I grin as we head out to the makeshift dance floor. Yeah, Nina was right to make me stay.

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I've been searching for Nina for the last half hour now, and I have no idea where she is. Last time I remember seeing her, she was dancing with Colton. I wish they could just figure out a way to make it work. I know Nina wants a relationship, but she's told me time and time again, she doesn't want to settle. I've seen the way Colton looks at her though; the dude is crazy about her, even if he has a terrible way of showing it. The two just need to sit down and talk everything out without storming off in anger or frustration.

I sigh, as I slightly stumble through the crowd. Ugh. That's what I get for trying to prove what Asher said wrong. The fun is wearing off, and the dizziness and inability to walk is kicking in. I slowly make my way up the stairs, trying to find Nina, or even Char. Where the hell has she been? I think back, trying to remember when I saw her last. I lose my train of thought when a guy and a girl push me out of their way, as they look for an empty bedroom. Ugh, gross! How someone can hook up in a stranger's bedroom is beyond me. I really need to find Nina, so she can help me find Charlotte. I pull my phone out of my back pocket and check the time again. 1:42. Great. It's nearly 2 am... I'm drunk, and I have no idea where my friends are. I'll say it again...nothing good happens at parties!

I really don't want to check in the rooms, afraid of what I might interrupt. I look down the hallway and see that one of the rooms is open. I stumble slightly into the room, and plop down on one of the beds. Thank God, a place to sit! I'm so tired that I don't even pay any attention to the fact I have no idea whose bed this is or if it's clean enough to sit on. I look around the room, noticing the big tv and play station by the door. Football memorabilia and playboy posters are hung up all over the wall. The two desks by the window are overflowing with loose papers and textbooks. The dressers are of no use, with all the clothes being on the floor or hanging off the other furniture in the room. Typical college guy bedroom.

"Um, either I'm so drunk that I'm imagining a cute girl sitting on my bed or I forgot to lock the door, and you decided to make yourself comfortable?"

I look up and see a boy leaning against the door frame, staring at me. His curly brown hair flops over his eyes, not letting me have a good look at the rest of his features. I can feel myself blushing. Whether it is from the effects of the alcohol pumping through my body or the embarrassment of being caught somewhere I shouldn't, is still to be determined. The guy at the door is still looking at me but now looks confused. Oh shit. He asked me a question. What was it again? Just say something!

"Hi." Girl what? That's all I could come up with? A simple hi? What is wrong with me? I nearly smack myself in the head.

"Hi, yourself. So, I want to ask why you're in my room, but I also don't want to scare you off. It's not every day I find a pretty girl in my bed," he smiles flirtatiously. Oh, dear lord. His attempt at flirting was so bad that I couldn't help but laugh.

"Does that line really work?" I ask. A light blush coats his cheeks, as he looks back at me sheepishly, seeming to lose all the confidence he walked in with.

"Yeah, sorry not my best attempt," he laughs awkwardly.

"No, you're fine. I'm the one who should be apologizing. I'm sorry. I was, umm, looking for my friend, and I—saw the door open, and I uh, just wanted a second to sit down." I stutter. Wow. I couldn't possibly get any more lame. He laughs and walks further into the room, holding his hand out for me to shake. I hesitantly grab it.

"It's okay. Don't worry about it. I'm Liam."

"Makayla. Nice to meet you."

"Likewise," he smirks. I drop his hand and look down at my feet. I look up again and see that he is still staring at me. Brown eyes. He has really pretty brown eyes. Okay, time to go. Not sober enough to attempt flirting with a cute guy.

"Umm, I should get going. I really need to find my friends, so we can go." I say, while heading back out into the hallway.

"Hey wait up!" Liam is already right beside me. Damn this boy moves fast. "Why don't I help you find your friends? I can get my roommate to help us. It might be easier if more people are helping you look." Liam smiles at me. My stomach fills with butterflies, as Liam smiles at me. Ugh, that smile is dangerous. Focus Makayla.

"Okay. Yeah, that would be great. Thanks!" I say. He smiles and nods before escorting me back downstairs into the party. We make our way to the pong table in the back corner of the room.

"Yo Noah! I need some help." Liam yells out to him from his place on the couch. Noah looks up and sees Liam and me. He frowns to himself before making his way over to us.

"Hey, Makayla, right?" Noah asks. I nod my head in response. "What's up dude?"

"I need your help finding Makayla's friends. Uh, what are their names?" Liam asks me.

"Nina and Charlotte. Oh! And we came with Char's boyfriend, Lucas. He's on the football team, so he brought us here tonight. He's our DD, but who knows if he stuck to that." I reply. They both share a quick look when I mention Lucas, but it's gone before I can ask what that was about.

"Well, I saw Nina leave about an hour ago with a basketball player. Colton, I think? But I'll help you find your other friend." Noah smiles. I smile in gratitude as I follow both Noah and Liam throughout the house. We make our way past one of the bathrooms. I stop, though, when I hear crying coming from inside. I pause before knocking.

"Hey? Are you okay in there?" I ask, unsure.

"Makayla?" I hear more sniffles after that. The door opens and Char is standing there, with tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Char! What is going on? What happened?" I ask her, freaking out a bit. I swear to God if someone hurt her, I'll—

"Lucas and I got into a fight. We were on the dance floor and some guy was hitting on me. Lucas thought I was encouraging the flirting and started yelling at me. He kept saying I was a tease and that if I liked the attention so much, I should sleep with that guy instead. I told him that I didn't want the guy, but he just kept calling me a liar. He just left about ten minutes ago." Char replied, while sniffling. What? Ugh, I'm going to kill that little piece of shit.

"I'm sorry Char." I pull her into a hug. I let go of her, and I notice that she's no longer crying, and her attention is now focused behind me. I look back and see Noah, who is looking at Char too. "Uh, Char, this is Noah. Noah, meet Charlotte." I say, awkwardly. I glance over at Liam, and he has a smirk on his face.

"It's really nice to meet you, Charlotte." Noah says while smiling.

"Call me Char," she smiles back. Oh, boy. I know that look. Well, it was nice knowing you, Lucas.

"So, do you know anyone that could give us a ride back to our apartment? Preferably someone who hasn't been drinking?" I ask Liam, leaving Noah and Char in their own personal world.

"I would give you a ride back, but I was drinking earlier. I mean, I should be fine now though if you—"

"I can take them." Asher interrupts, making his way over to us. Okay, how does this guy just always seem to appear? Literally, what the hell? Noah goes to thank him, but I quickly interject.

"No. That's okay. I can just call us a cab." I say, while pulling out my phone.

"Don't be difficult, Makayla. I can drive you guys." Asher replies.

"Okay, but you've been drinking. I think it would just be safer if I called a taxi service." I argue, trying to come up with any excuse that I can think of.

"I don't drink during football season; this is just water," he says, referencing the drink in his hand. "So, it's not an issue. Let's go," he ends the conversation there, walking away from me. Char thanks him and grabs my hand before I can even protest. She drags me the rest of the way out of the house, with me yelling at her the entire time. We make our way outside to Asher's car, and I huff in defeat. Noah and Char say goodbye, as she gets in the backseat. I glare at her. Now, I have to sit in the passenger seat. She only grins at me. Well-played Char well-played.

"Makayla!"

I turn back around and see Liam jogging up to me.

"You think I could get your number? I'd really like to see you again after tonight," he nervously asks. I smile at him and take his phone from him. I put my name and number into his cell and then hand it back to him. Liam goes to give me a hug, but we are interrupted by a honk of a car horn. We both look over and see Asher glaring at us in annoyance. I roll my eyes before muttering a quick goodbye to Liam, before hopping into the car.