Ash’s POV

As Harper pulled up on the side of the road where many other cars were parked, I looked at her one more time. I hadn’t been to a party like this before… or ever even a party at all. You could count Alex’s, but that was literally me just trying to get a drink, nothing else. And maybe I didn’t look good enough to compare to everybody else. Harper had been assuring me the entire way here that I looked amazing, but I just didn’t know. This was all new to me. But, hey, this was my one chance, right?”

“Come on, Ash, you look amazing!” Harper turned off the ignition and noticed my nervousness, “if I were a guy I’d fuck you.”

“Well, I’m not really trying to get fucked tonight,” I got out of the car and closed the door.

Harper joined me a second later and locked the vehicle, “well, I definitely am.”

“Good for you,” I laughed at her straight forwardness and waited for her to finish adjusting her makeup.

She rolled her eyes, “sex is amazing, Ash, trust me. If you have to opportunity, I highly recommend you go for it.”

“I already gave my first kiss to some guy I don’t like that way,” we started walking to the house that had loud music spilling out from every crevice, “there is no way I will do the same for my virginity.”

Harper gasped loudly as we stood in front of the door, “you think Alex is just some random guy?”

I shrugged and looked down at my clothes one more time, “he’s not exactly random, but that kiss was just to freak you guys out. I don’t really think of him much more than just a very good friend. I know, I probably shouldn’t have done it, but for some reason I did. Luckily there will never be anything happening between us.”

“Girl, no,” Harper opened the door and we both entered, “you don’t just kiss him like that.”

I looked around the place. There were girls and guys from our age everywhere. Many of them had red solo cups, or other plastic cups to hold their drinks. It was actually pretty busy, and you could see where the dance floor was going on. The music got louder and louder the further we went into the house.

“I guess, I did,” I raised my shoulders and gave her a half smile, “sorry if that offends you in any way.”

“But you and Alex would make such a cute-” Harper started complaining, but the music got way too loud for me to hear her. Her mouth was moving, but I wasn’t exactly that good at lip reading.

“I’m sorry, I can’t hear you!” I screamed and articulated, but she didn’t seem to understand me either. We were basically just shouting ‘what’ at each other constantly. Well, we did that until somebody very rudely bumped into me. I turned around and glared at them, finally getting a ‘sorry’ out of the guy that looked pretty intoxicated already. However, when I turned back to see Harper, she was gone.

Great. Now, my one friend at this party had abandoned me. You might be wondering where Lianne was, but I can easily answer that. She was going to come as well, but then her parents suggested to have family night, so Lianne decided to join them. And I totally understood that, I would also have put my family over this party. I probably should have, thinking about it much later, because shit really went down.

I decided to stand in some quiet corner, hoping Harper would be able to find me, but knowing her, she was probably already with some guy. It was her goal to end up in bed with someone, so it really didn’t surprise me. The only problem was that I’d have to get a ride back home, and I literally didn’t know anybody. Well, I was stuck here… but that was something to worry about later.

There were so many people walking past me with drinks in their hands, seeming so happy and joyful. It was definitely for the drink they were having, and I was craving for that feeling. The whole week I had been worried. Neither the doctors, nor my dad, had been able to get Kayden to confirm whether it was a suicide attempt or not. And because of that I hadn’t been able to talk to him. I knew that I would have been able to get it out of him, but rules were rules… and I had to obey.

All I wanted was that buzz; that feeling I had after drinking that tequila at Jack’s house. I felt so careless and free. Now, all I had to do was take a couple of steps, get a drink from the kitchen, and another one, and another one, and feel great. So, that was exactly what I did. Remembering that Alex genuinely said I actually looked good, gave me the extra push I needed. I pushed through the crowds, earning some annoyed groans and glares. The kitchen was surprisingly empty, so I took my time choosing what I wanted. Eventually I settled on some Jack Daniels and coke. I poured a lot of the alcoholic beverage, just wanting to get to buzz already, and added a bit of the sweeter fizzing drink.

“That’s looks very good,” somebody said from behind me. I turned around and came face to face with a guy that seemed a bit older than most kids here. He had a chiseled jaw, gorgeous brown eyes, and I couldn’t deny he was super fucking hot.

“I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing,” I turned back around and giggled before putting the cap back on the coke bottle.

“Really? You look like professional,” one of his hands was placed on the counter right next to me, “but let me tell you, that will be very, very strong.”

“Oh,” I grabbed the cup and turned around, smirking at the guy that was standing really close to me, “good.”

I pushed past him lightly, and walked out of the kitchen, but not before I caught him off guard by grabbing his hand and pulling him along. He happily followed me and stood with his chest against my back when I stopped in a corridor to find out which was to take. I did not know what suddenly made me act this way, but I definitely liked it. I actually felt pretty confident, even though I had never done this before.

“Where are we going?” I could feel his lips moving against my ear while he whispered in a low voice. Goosebumps formed all over my skin, and I shivered slightly.

When I finally found out where everything was, I pulled him along with me again until we were standing at the door I was about to open, “outside.”

“And why’s that?” He smirked down at me while I sat down on the porch in the backyard. There were a couple of other people here, but the party was mainly going on inside.

“Because it’s dark outside,” I looked up at the clear sky, “and the stars are out, shining as bright as always.”

The guy, who’s name I didn’t even know, but who I was definitely attracted to, sat down next to me, “you know what else is beautiful?”

I rolled my eyes and took a big gulp of my drink. It was definitely very strong, just like I had been told, but I actually enjoyed the burn. The pain just made me feel closer to my brother. And, since I was a lightweight, I could already feel the alcohol slowly entering my system. I loved it, but I wasn’t going to far. I didn’t need to regret anything the day after.

“You know, I was actually going to say me,” the guy grinned and looked out at the stars as well, “but I’m guessing you’re expecting me to say you.”

“How do you know what I am expecting, you don’t even know me,” I pointed out, hoping he got the hint that I wanted to get to know him a bit.

“Hmm,” the guy raised his eyebrows, “I guess you're right. So, let’s start with me asking you your name.”

“You actually think I’m going to give you my name, without getting to know your’s first?” I teased and simpered, “how do I know you're not just going to run around using my name for rumours?”

“Fair enough,” he laughed and shuffled even closer to me so he could whisper seductively in my ear, “my name is Luke. I know, you can give my parents credits for the creativity,”

“Well,” I turned to look at him so our faces were just inches apart, “my name isn’t that much better.”

“Is it now?” he inched closer.

“Ash isn’t that creative,” I teased him by kissing his cheek, before going down and slowly kissing his jawline as well.

He moved his head to the side, so I had access to his neck, “Ash as in Ashley?”

“No,” I moved my way down to his neck, like he gestured for me to do, “Ash as in Ash.”

If it hadn’t been for me already finishing more than half of my drink, I probably wouldn’t have dared to do anything I was doing. I wouldn’t have kissed his skin like that, and I wouldn’t have put one of my hands on his thighs. All I would have done was be the boring Ash I was. Being buzzed was definitely the best feeling ever, and I wanted to keep it for as long as possible.

“How drunk are you right now?” He asked after letting out a quiet moan, which caused my body to shiver and lust after more.

“Not drunk enough,” I smirked against his skin and broke away from it to finish the rest of my drink.

“Well we have to do something about that, then,” he stood up and reached down for me to grab his hand. However, we both never let go. His hand was large and rough compared to mine. My hands were fragile and had long fingers, perfect for the piano, while he had hands you would expect to find on a fighter. It was pretty comforting and strong.

We both got another drink and moved to a quieter place inside of the house, instead of outside where it was getting a bit colder. Our conversation continued while I was getting drunker and drunker by the second. It just all felt so fucking good! And the way Luke fended off all the other guys just made me swoon over him more. Random drunk guys from school would come up to me and tried to do, let’s say, stuff. Luke would warn them or even threaten them if they were to try anything else with me, but at the same time he wasn’t really claiming me. It was just so hot.

I found out that Luke was 20 years old and that he was in his second year of college, studying communications. It did explain why I hadn’t seen him before, unlike the many other guys here, and something about it just made me like him more. And he seemed pretty interested in the fact that I was an exchange student, from Germany, but that I was originally British. Let’s just say we really hit it off.

There were quite a lot of touched being exchanged between us, and eventually Luke even started doing to me what I had done to him outside. But we hadn’t exchanged a proper kiss yet, which other couple were definitely already doing. I was absolutely sexually attracted to him, and he seemed to feel the same way about me as well. However, I wasn’t stupid enough, even drunk like I was, to have sex with him. I was not going to have sex with a guy, only to have him disappear before I woke up, and for myself not to remember anything.

Suddenly Harper appeared, walking up to me and Luke, swaying slightly from one side to the other. But she wasn’t alone, there was a guy behind dragged behind her, who also seemed very drunk. She shouted my name and hugged me tightly, “you’re going to have to find a ride home. I’m going to go up stairs with this guy,” she patted his hand lightly. Only then did she realise that I was with somebody as well, “oh, he’s hot,” she gasped, “are you guys going to go find an empty room as well.”

I couldn’t help but giggle like a schoolgirl, which I technically was, but still, “noooo. Not tonight.”

“We’re not?” Luke pouted while he looked down at me.

I blushed and realised that Harper had started climbing the stairs in a really dangerous way, “nooo, I can’t do that!”

“Can I still do this?” He cupped my cheek and smashed his lips against mine before I could even realise what was going on. But drunk me, just went along with the flow. Thank god for getting Alex to teach me a bit! I wrapped my arms around his neck, dropping the empty cup that had been filled 5 times already. His hands traveled down to my hips, pulling me closer, our hips touching. I couldn’t get enough from the way he felt against me. It was like I never wanted to leave. And when his thumb started drawing shapes on my bare skin exposed at my stomach, I went crazy. I couldn’t get enough of this guy: I wanted more, I needed more.

----
Alex’s POV

“Do you think Ash is ok?” Jack frowned at me from the mattress that was basically permanently on my floor.

I looked down at the boy, whose face was illuminated by the light of the screen of his phone, “yeah… why?”

“It’s 2am…” he pointed at the digital clock I had on my bedside table, “I just didn’t think she’d be gone for that long.”

“She’s probably staying with Harper,” I shrugged and continued to scroll through my own twitter feed, “Harper wouldn’t let her do anything stupid. She’s knows that I like Ash… She wouldn’t let her do anything stupid right?”

“I don’t know,” Jack raised one hand in defense, “I was just wondering, I didn’t want to get you all freaked out or something. She’s most likely fine.”

I nodded and stated confidently, “yeah, you’re right,” but was he? Maybe something could have gone horribly wrong. Dammit! We should have gone to that party!

The only way I could get my mind off of it, was by thinking of how I was going to ask Ash out. I actually felt confident, like I actually could do this. But first I needed confirmation from my best friend, so I asked him, “hey, do you think I should ask Ash out?”

“Umm, dude, I’ve been telling you to since we met her,” Jack rolled his eyes and made exaggerated gestures to emphasize how ‘stupid’ I was being.

“No, no you haven’t,” I copied his actions to mock him, “you actually helped me make fun of her.”

“Fine, but as soon as I you realised you’ve got the biggest crush on her, I was all for it,” Jack corrected himself, “but I say you should totally go for it.”

“Ok, I’ll do it tomorrow.”

----

2:30am. Jack and I were still up. Ash was still not home, nor had I heard a word from her. I was getting really worried and could only think of things that could have happened to her. Maybe she had been drugged, maybe she had been raped, or kidnapped, or murdered. Maybe it was a bit less worse, and she passed out. But no word from either Harper or Ash just made me feel queazy. I did not like it, not at all.

“Jack…” I whispered, watching as his eyes flickered to me, “I still haven’t heard anything of either of them. Do you think they’re ok?”

“Probably,” Jack shrugged and turned off his phone, “but I am actually pretty tired, surprisingly. So, can we just go to sleep?”

“This doesn’t feel right,” I did the opposite, and turned on my phone which I had turned off to think about ideas for the date, “maybe I should call her.”

“Suit yourself,” Jack turned onto his side.

I unlocked my phone and scrolled through my contacts, trying to find her number. Since I was so nervous, I went through them all a couple of times, before realizing I had just saved her as Ash, so her contact would be at the very top. I was about to start calling, when I heard the doorbell go off.

“That’s probably her!” I exclaimed as a whisper, hoping not to wake up my parents, if they hadn’t been woken up by the doorbell ringing.

“Or it could be a murder,” Jack muttered.

I got out of bed anyway and opened my door, “I’m willing to take the risk.”

Before Jack could make anymore stupid comments, I ran downstairs, trying my best not to trip over anything in the blinding darkness. Luckily, I had maneuvered my way in the dark before when I came home from parties, so I didn’t have too much trouble. All those hangovers and stubbed toes actually did have a good use.

I opened the front door and was so relieved to see it was Ash… but she was being supported by a guy. They were holding on to each other tightly, and I could feel jealousy surge through me. Who was this guy? And why was he here with Ash?

“Alex!” Ash giggled and tried to take a step forward, but she almost fell forward, so the guy protectively grabbed her.

He chuckled and looked at her, “I think you should go to bed. I know you don’t want to, but you’ll want to sleep this off.”

“Ok,” Ash nodded before looking up at him with puppy dog eyes, “will you bring me to bed?”

I hesitantly stepped aside and opened the door further so they could walk in without hitting the doorpost. Maybe this guy was just trying to help her out. I jumped to conclusions, and shouldn’t have. There was a possibility he was just being nice and was helping a girl that was obviously wasted.

“Her room’s upstairs, second one on the left,” I closed the door behind them and was going to go straight back to bed, but decided to help them out a bit more. I opened the door to Ash’s room so they wouldn’t have too many obstacles; they had already hit a couple of things in the living room.

The guy put Ash on her bed and fully let go of her, but Ash didn’t. Her arms were tightly wrapped around his neck, in the same position they were when he was carrying her up the stairs bridal style. I had some suspicions as to what was going to happen next, but didn’t think it would actually go down, because it was Ash. But it did. She pulled him down and connected their lips, allowing them to share a heated and passionate kiss.

“I’ve got to go,” he told her after they broke apart.

Ash whined and moaned, “no, stay.”

“I don’t think I’ll be allowed-”

“You can stay,” I mumbled before I went to close the door, “just don’t be too loud.”

I managed to close the door quietly and composedly, but it was not the same for the door to my room. I stormed inside and slammed the it shut, the sound echoing throughout the house. Without stepping on Jack, I jumped into bed and punched the wall.

“What’s got you all worked up?” Jack chuckled, thinking I was not being as serious as I actually was.

“You’ll see tomorrow,” I murmured before I pulled the covers over my head.

I could have cried right there and then.

Notes

Oops... not only was this 3350 words exactly, but I might just have messed up your guy's fantasies. Ashlex had been disrupted! I'm so sorry! Agh, I feel so bad.

But now I can finally get into the good part of the story! I have no idea how I will ever make this story a reasonable amount of chapters long... shit! This story was supposed to be shorted then Hospital Beds and Memories. Well... I guess that won't happen. This is chapter 22 and only now things are starting to happen, this is even later than when I started to make this happen in Hospital Beds and Memories. But things just don't seem to go to plan, I guess. But now it will!

So how do you guys feel about this?

I guess I'm going to have to add a new character profile. It will probably already be up when most people read this, so go check it out.

Anyway, a gif that might fit with this... hmm... what about this: