After seeing the emptiness, Adam said, "I guess there's no party."
Emma commented, "Guys, nobody shows up at a high school party at 10 PM."
Adam added, "And I see… not even the host is here."
Then we saw the front door light turn on. Jhenna appeared. "Hi! You're the first ones here, you can come in. It's going to be in the backyard."
We went in. Brandon was sitting on the couch, drinking a drink.
Jhenna said, "The first ones, except my cousin, who helped me organize everything."
Brandon came closer and kissed my cheek. "Hi, Mia, it's so good to see you! Wow, you look so beautiful," he said, examining me from head to toe.
I felt shy.
Soon, some guests started arriving, boys I didn't know. To my misfortune, Katty showed up right after Wender. They always looked at us with disdain.
Brandon approached me again and offered me the drink he was holding. The music was loud.
"Is there alcohol?" I asked, leaning close to his ear.
"No. I wouldn't give alcohol to a minor," he replied. "It's energy drink."
I took it and thanked him. Then a boy pulled Brandon aside to talk. I took the chance to join Adam and Emma, who were dancing.
Adam took the drink from my hand and shouted, "Mia, don't accept drinks from anyone you don't trust!"
Emma agreed, "He's right."
At first, I didn't understand, but then I remembered what had happened at the lake house with Emma.
My phone started ringing. It was Chad. I moved to a corner to hear better.
"Can you come outside?" he asked.
I couldn't believe it. I went out, and there he was. He asked me to get in the car for a few minutes. I got in and hugged him.
"Hi," I said.
"Sorry, I wanted to see you. Can you give me fifteen minutes of your night?" he asked.
I smiled, looked at the clock, and replied, "I can stay with you until 1:30. That party is really boring anyway."
He smiled, started the car, and drove a little away from the party. Adam called me. I explained that I was with Chad, and he was fine with it. We agreed to return to the party at 1:30. Since it was only 10:45 PM, I would have a good amount of time alone with Chad.
As soon as he turned off the car, Chad looked at me. I kissed him with so much desire, like I had never kissed anyone before.
He pulled away and said, "Mia Hollis, don't complicate things for me."
I smiled and kissed him again. He was breathing heavily and started kissing my neck. Then he stopped.
"Mia, let's take it slow. Just the two of us here…"
I looked at him and said, "Chad, I really want to go all the way with you."
He took a deep breath. "We will, but at the right time. You're only sixteen, I'm eighteen… your dad didn't allow us to date."
"But he'll never know about this," I replied.
"Mia, what if he reports me?" Chad asked. "If he does… he would have every reason. You're just a girl, especially to him."
I adjusted myself in the seat, upset. Chad thought a lot, and I knew he was right, but at the same time, it frustrated me.
We stayed there until 1:30, between conversations and passionate kisses. He always restrained himself, thank goodness, because if it were up to me…
We said goodbye, and I went back to the party, walking so that no one could see me with him.
When I got inside, Brandon came up to me.
"Wow, I was looking for you."
"I was here the whole time… I just went out for five minutes to get some air," I replied, my stomach twisted.
He looked at me suspiciously, grabbed me, and said, "Let's dance."
Brandon pressed me against him. I felt uncomfortable and tried to pull away. He seemed drunk. When he tried to kiss me, I moved back.
"Come on, Mia? Give me a chance," he said.
I stepped away, and he grabbed my arm. When I turned, I saw Adam behind Brandon. He held him from behind, and when Brandon turned, Adam punched him. Brandon fell to the floor.
"It's no, you jerk!" Adam shouted.
Brandon's friends started moving toward Adam to fight, but Jhenna shouted, "Stop, or I'll ruin the party!"
Brandon got up, his nose bleeding, staring at Adam with hatred. They started rolling on the floor.
I panicked, not knowing what to do. I stood frozen, unable to move a muscle, watching the chaos unfold in front of me. My heart was racing, and a strange feeling of helplessness washed over me. I had always hated fights; that kind of senseless violence made me shiver. No matter how much I wanted to help, my body simply didn't respond — it was as if every fiber of me refused to get involved. I hated feeling like this, so paralyzed, so incapable. I wanted to run, scream, intervene, but all I could do was watch, hoping no one would get seriously hurt. And deep down, I wondered why I always ended up feeling so small in the face of other people's chaos.