Nathan pt. 1

"What are we doing here Mia?" She parks the car "I was doing homework and you stopped me for a stupid party!"


Letting go of the wheel she turns to me "I'm not graduating" "What?"

"I got it in the mail this morning, I failed calculus and I'm not walking next month" I sigh "Mia why didn't you listen to me? I begged you to take this serious"

"Don't alright? We all know I'm a screw up so I screwed up, I just want to get drunk with my best


friend tonight before I tell my parents tomorrow. So will you please put responsible Riley in your pocket and help me forget how much I messed up?"

"What about tomorrow? When you wake up from tonight with a massive headache and a reality check"


"I'll deal with that then" grabbing the keys she gets out of the car running towards the house.

For the past four years of our lives Mia has done this, I push her to study and to try harder but she doesn't, and now she drops this bomb in my lap acting like it's just a regular freaking Tuesday, it is a Tuesday by the way.

"Mia! You made it!" Mia's popular friends call her over as I lag behind, I just want to make it through high school and for Mia, this is probably as good as it's gonna get. That hurts to say and she's my best friend so of course I want so much more for her, but how do you help someone who doesn't want to help themselves?

Standing in a corner like the loser that I am I look around as everyone else enjoys their senior year with no worry "I got you a drink" Mia sticks a red solo cup in my face

"No thanks" I push her hand away and she moves it back "we've been here 20 minutes and you've already had 2 drinks, Mia, one of us is

gonna have to drive us home so no thanks" I push her hand again.

"Party pooper" she frowns walking away. She's not wrong I am a party pooper but that's only because I don't go to parties I get dragged to them, then ditched in a corner making sure Mia doesn't totally lose her head or shirt.

Finding a couch I sit between 4 face sucking beasts ready to tear each other's clothes off, why me god?

Getting a perfect view of the front door I feel a little of my sanity slip away when Tristan Sawyer and his right-hand man Nathan Skylar walk through the front door. "Ugh Tristan is here" Mia drops next to me

"I can see that" we stare at them

"Why'd he have to come I just wanted to have a good night"

"Because despite breaking up you 2 still go to the same school and know the same people" looking at her sad face "we don't have to be here, let's go back to my house and we'll study maybe it's not too late to-"

"No it's too late trust me" she sits up not paying attention to me anymore

Looking over at Tristan he's staring right at us, or her I should say. They're giving each other sex eyes in the middle of a party "Mia no"

"What? I'm not doing anything" her desperate face and sneaky grin says other wise "Don't fall for it, Mia! He cheated remember?" popular jerks always cheat

"It's not like last time trust me it's just sex"

"No it never is" she gets up and I grab her arm standing up too "if you sleep with him you'll regret it" "That's future Mia's problem" she walks away heading right for him.

I tried, everyone saw that I tried. Walking away I go to the kitchen looking around trying to find something remotely like water or even a soda, but nothing. Nothing but beer, vodka, and shame "do these people drink anything else?" I look deep in the fridge.

Turning around frustrated I bump into someone's hard chest, looking at their face as I rub my hurt forehead I see Nathan staring at me handing me a water bottle. God, he's so hot in that jacket and those jeans "they keep them downstairs" I take the water from him and he smiles then walks away.

Nathan Skylar, the second most popular guy at our school, an enigma that's in and out a lot and no one can ever figure out. Tristan is typical but Nate he's- "I forgot how much of a good kisser Tris was"

Mia walks up to me

"Yeah I think your messy hair and smeared makeup can prove that"

She takes my water bottle "I needed a drink before things heat up" she drinks my water "I'm heading back up there, but are you good?"

"I'm fine you've ditched me for less"

Laughing she hands me the bottle "I love you" and rushes back up the stairs.

—

What else do you do at a party you're not enjoying? Taking out my notes I sit on a couch studying trying to block out the noise. "A house full of people and you're studying?" A familiar voice drops next to me

He lays back on the couch and I turn to him "finals don't care where I study" "You're smart"

"Question or observation?"

He smiles "say something smart" Nathan Skylar is talking to me "You're drunk"

"A little bit" I look back at my notebook "what are you doing here if you hate it so much?"

"I don't hate it"

Jumping on the couch he opens his arms and screams "YOU'RE ALL POSERS WHO WILL PEAK IN A YEAR!" Then jumps off the couch

laughing "remember that?" He drops back down

"One speech a year ago" I drop my head in my hands in shame. I was in a bad place and one day in junior year I couldn't take it anymore

so during lunch I stood in front of the whole cafeteria and told them how I felt, guess I haven't lived that down.