The moon tower glowed under the headlights and lanterns strung around its base, a hazy beacon in the middle of the night. Mitch stood among the crowd, clutching his half-empty cup like it was keeping him upright. The beer tasted flat and sour now, but he kept sipping anyway, more out of habit than want.

Everything around him felt louder than it should be, the guitars blasting from a car stereo, the shouts of kids wrestling in the dirt, the shrill laughter of girls egging them on. The sounds blurred together, making his head swim.

“Hey, freshman!” someone yelled, not mean, just teasing. Mitch turned too fast and almost tripped over his own feet. He grinned back, hoping it looked casual and not like his knees were wobbling.

From his perspective, the party moved in waves. One moment he was leaning against the tower with Slater, nodding along as the stoner rambled about government conspiracies. The next, he was standing with a group by the keg, laughing too loud at a joke he barely heard.

He caught sight of Pink across the clearing, calm as ever, talking with Don and Jodi. Pink gave him a nod, just a small one, and Mitch felt a surge of pride, like being this drunk and still standing somehow meant he was in.

But as the night dragged on, the ground seemed to tilt beneath him. He stumbled to the edge of the clearing and flopped down in the grass, lying on his back. The stars spun overhead, and Mitch pressed a hand to his forehead, grinning stupidly to himself.

'This is what it’s like,' he thought, his eyelids heavy. 'This is high school.'

The grass felt cool against Mitch’s back as he stared up at the stars. The moon tower loomed above, glowing against the night sky, but everything felt like it was spinning just a little too fast. His head buzzed, heavy and light at the same time.

“Did you crash already?” a voice asked.

Mitch tilted his head, squinting against the blur of headlights and shadows. It was you, the senior girl. you crouched beside him, the corners of your mouth turned up in amusement.

He tried to sit up, bracing on his elbows.

Mitch: “Nah.” he said, his words running together. “just… resting my eyes for a sec.” He gave you a sloppy grin, like that explained everything.