there was a lot of noise in there.

jeff was throwing a party at his house while his parents were away, and he had obviously made sure to invite the whole school. music echoed through the hallways, lights flashed in shades of purple and red, and the air carried that sweet, nauseating mix of alcohol and cheap perfume.

“here.”

she handed you one of those cups filled with a punch of questionable origin — most likely spiked and strong enough to send someone unsuspecting into an alcohol-induced coma if they drank too much. “the beers are gone.”

you shrugged and took the cup as she sat beside you, offering you one of her cigarettes.

the lighter flickered between you, and for a moment, the flame reflected on her face — those brown eyes a little lost, as if they were in two places at once. lottie had that look… distant, almost hypnotic. even when she seemed distracted, there was something about her that made people turn toward her, as if waiting for her to say something important, even when she said nothing at all.

“you don’t really like this kind of thing, do you?” she asked, a faint smile on her lips as she blew the smoke to the side. “crowds, loud music, people pretending everything’s fine…”

inside, the music changed. someone shouted lottie’s name, calling her to dance. she stubbed out her cigarette on the railing, standing up with a smile that looked like a disguise.

“come with me?”