077 | iridium

                                    

                                          
× Mercury

                          


                          
"Do you think there's someone here who would have sex with me?" Jillian asked.
                          
            I thought that was a stupid question. We were at a party with half the people around us already drunk off their asses, I was sure someone was willing. But I didn't say so. The only reason she was asking was because of her ex-boyfriend, Alex. Ever since she caught him cheating on her, she had been crazy hooking up. She had always disliked Chloe for that exact reason, but apparently that didn't apply to her.
                          
            "Maybe you should take it easy tonight, Jill," I suggested. "I get that you're young and heartbroken, but sleeping around to get an easy fix isn't going to help you."
                          
            "Oh, what do you know, anyways?" she said with a wave of her hand. "You've been dry since you got to London."
                          
            She wasn't right about that, but I wasn't going to correct her.
                          
            "Maybe you need to get laid tonight," Jillian continued as we moved through the crowd. "You wouldn't believe all the boys that talk about you in my classes. It's like, because you're on the football team you have this position to attract every tosser there is. You should give one of them a go."
                          
            I looked at her with raised brows. "I think I'm okay."
                          
            "Are you sure? Because there is this really cute boy named Michael in my English literature class and-"
                          
            "I'm sure," I interrupted.
                          
            It was New Year's Eve and everyone was celebrating it with cheap booze and party hats. The good vibes flew through us like a virus, all hyped up and ready to give us a good time. 
                          
            Everyone inside the campus house was sweaty. It didn't matter how cold it was outside, they were sticky with sweat. In the kitchen people talked and took vodka shots, in the living room people danced to some rap song, in the halls people were making out, and in the bedrooms people were taking it one step further. It was only ten in the evening, but that didn't stop them from getting what they wanted, apparently.
                          
            I was never a fan of New Years. It didn't make much of a difference to me; just another day that people use as an excuse to get shit-face drunk. The clean slate illusion trips a lot of people up, thinking because January 1st begins another 365-day cycle that mistakes from the past year are irrelevant. I've known that to be not true first hand as I am still paying for my consequences years later. The whole idea of having parties or staying up until midnight just didn't amuse me. There's so much build up to midnight, then in a split second, the year changes... yet everything and everyone look exactly the same. And the kiss at midnight? Why? Who came up with that anyway? Why not a midnight drink or piece of cake? I just don't understand the hype, and the only reason I was there was for Jillian.
                          
            Jillian leaned against me, already chugging down her third beer. She tripped over her own feet and her head was tilted to the side like the weight of it was too heavy to hold up.
                          
            "Well," she said, "one of us should get laid, and if it's not you, then it's going to be me."
                          
            I should have probably stopped her, knowing she wasn't actually like this and was only acting out in spite of Alex. But I let her do what she wanted because in all honestly, I didn't care what she did. If she wanted to have sex with a stranger, good for her, I guess. Who was I to tell her no?
                          
            "I saw someone in the dining room checking you out," I encouraged.
                          
            "Oh, shut up, he was probably looking at you."