Becoming Beautiful

Chapter 5

It was loud in the house. Very obnoxious was blasting loudly, causing an impending headache to settle into my brain. I repeatedly wiped my face in hopes of magically wiping away the headache. If only I were wearing boots, I could click the heels together and I'd be home. Wouldn't that be amazing?

A guy began approaching me, or at least the area I was in. I didn't think much of it- I am near the kitchen and he probably wants a drink. Leaning against the wall, I sighed. I can't wait until the girls decide they want to leave. Knowing them, it'd be half past three in the morning. "Hey."

I stood up a bit, furrowing my eyebrows at the guy who had been walking in my direction. "Hello?"

He smiled. "You sound surprised that I'm talking to you."

I returned the smile before shifting on my feet. "What's your name?"

"Spencer," he told me. "What's yours?"

"Kennedy," I responded and he frowned slightly.

"That's a guy's name," he informed me as if I hadn't heard it a thousand times before.

I shrugged. "It's actually a unisex name."

He nodded. "So, Kennedy, why are you here?"

I pursed my lips. "Well, I'm actually a designated driver."

He leaned forward slightly, making me press my head against the wall to avoid coming into contact with him. Talk about personal space intruders. "Why is a pretty girl like you a designated driver?"

I coughed awkwardly and pushed him away gently before moving myself away from the wall. "I don't drink."

His face fell and he licked his front teeth. "You don't drink? As in ever?"

I shook my head. "In case you didn't realize it, I'm underage."

He snorted, motioning to the people surrounding us. "That's not stopping all of these people!"

I suddenly knew what type of guy he was. He was the type of guy that once did things to fit in but then found out that he actually liked those things. Drinking being one of them, and partying just might be another. Who knows what he does in his free time? "So? I'm not like them."

"Have just one beer," he spoke, placing his hand on my shoulder.

I shook my head, growing annoyed with him. "No."

"Come on, it'll do you some good," he tried to persuade me but I continued shaking my head. Why can't he take no for an answer?

"I doubt that," I sneered and he grabbed my hand, wrapping it around the bottle of beer he was holding.

"Just take one sip," he told me and I tried to push it away but he closed my hand around it. "Come on, beautiful, it's not that bad." His hand was tightening around mine as it was pressed against the beer bottle. I noticed my fingers turning white beneath his fingers and his grip only seemed to be tightening.

"No," I told him again but he only tightened his grip. Panic began to set in. People around us were drunk. They wouldn't know what was going on. I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place, literally.

I stared at him for a minute. Bringing the bottle up to my lips, I swigged it. The taste was disgusting and I wanted to spit it back out- into the boy's face, just to show him that he can't control me. He nodded as if telling me to drink it. Swallowing the bitter liquid, I nearly gagged when I realized that the taste doesn't get any better. It tasted odd. I've tasted beer before, but it usually doesn't taste like that. He motioned for me to sip the bottle again and I shook my head.

"I took one sip, now leave me alone," I told him trying to bypass him but he grabbed my arm, tightening his grip once I tried to pull away. My eyes widened as I stared at the guy. His eyes were now hard and dangerous. "Let go of me."

"Don't be like this. You came here to have fun. You can't have fun staying sober and leaning against the wall like a wallflower, now can you?" he purred, allowing his hand to run through my hair while his other had an iron grip around my wrist. "Now take another sip of the drink."

I brought the bottle up to my mouth again, sipping it as he stared at me with satisfaction on his face. He continued urging me to sip the beer and eventually, the bottle was empty but he continued to drag me over to a table where several bottles of liquor were lined up. He grabbed two shot glasses and placed them beside each other before snagging a random bottle of liquor and pouring it into the glasses.

"I'm not drinking those," I tried to tell him but he placed his finger to my lips and with his other hand, he raised the glass to his mouth and downed it in one go.

"Your turn," he spoke, nudging the drink towards me. I began to shake my head and he sighed. "The only way you'll be accepted is if you're drunk. And you want to be accepted right?"

I nervously brought the small glass up to my lips and poured a bit into my mouth. My face twisted in disgust and once again, I urged to spit it out but quickly swallowed the revolting drink. "Now the rest."

I shook my head and he nodded, placing his hand on my shoulder as he pouted his lips. "For me?" When he saw I wasn't going to drink it, his grip tightened on my shoulder and his jaw clenched. He gave me another shot, and another. And the more I told him no, the harder his grip on me got. He'd only loosen it when I'd drink the shot he was putting out for me. What do I do? What do I do?

I quickly downed the rest of the shot, allowing the disgusting liquid to pour down my throat. "I'll be right back, stay right here."

I nodded and the moment I knew that I was out of his vision, I struggled to make my way through the crowd- looking for the stairs. I had to get away from him and away from everybody else. I know what happens to girls who get too drunk, they get taken advantage of and I really don't want that.

Slipping into an empty room, I sighed and quickly locked it before flopping onto the bed and closing my eyes. I sat like that for about twenty minutes, wondering what the girls were doing. I felt lighter and giddier when I decided to open my eyes. The moment I opened them, my vision was a bit blurrier and I groaned loudly at the pain in my stomach and I knew I'd vomit sooner or later. I took out my phone and scrolled through my contacts before dialing Noah's number. It rang a few times before his cold voice came through.