“Hi!” He shouted as soon as he saw me and I shushed him.
“What’re you doing here?” I asked him as I saw him stumbling on the steps.
“I was bored… at the… partyyy,” He shouted. “And I was missing you.”
“That doesn’t mean you’ll show up at my house. And that too, drunk!” I scolded as I helped him stand up properly. I swung his arm around my neck and helped him in, kicking the door close behind me.
“Seriously, Darren! What were you thinking? You could have got into an accident. You could have been hurt!”
He just chuckled at this and when he saw me glaring at him, he stopped his cackling abruptly and put his index finger over his lips like a child.
I sighed.
I hated handling drunk people. They just acted so stupid and reckless. I hated being around someone like that. And it was partially because of my hatred for drinks. I didn’t know why people drank. I could never understand why some people were even addicted to it. It was just so yuck.
Darren wasn’t a drunkard but most of my friends, including him occasionally drank and of course, I never joined them.
I half carried him to the couch, staggering a bit under his weight. I let go of him as soon as we reached the couch. He fell on the couch, spreading his arms and legs around it, making himself comfortable.
I pinched the bridge of my nose as I stared down at Darren. His green marble eyes were closed and his lips were slightly parted. He was breathing through his mouth and he reeked of alcohol. I wasn’t sure if he was passed out already or not.
Now what was I going to do with him? I can’t let him stay at my place. My mom would be home in an hour or two and she couldn’t see him like this, drunk out of his senses.
“Broke,” he mumbled.
“It’s Brooke,” I corrected him.
“Right, Brooke. My head is hurting like a bitch,” he said before bringing his hands to his forehead and rubbing circles on his temples.
I gave him an apologetic look. “Unfortunately, we ran out of Tylenol a few days ago.”
“Ah, it’s alright,” he said, still massaging his temples.
“How much did you drink?” I asked, taking a seat beside him.
“About four to five…” He trailed off.
“Four to five glasses is not much, I guess.”
“… bottles of beer,” He finished.
“What? You drank five bottles of beer?” I asked, shocked.
He held his stomach, his face suddenly turning green. “I-I think I’m going to be sick.”
My eyes widened. Crap. “Don’t puke here! I’m not going to clean up your mess. Ew. Come on, get up,” I ordered as I slid an arm around his waist and put his one arm around my neck. I pushed him off the couch, almost falling down with him but I regained my balance.
I started to drag him towards the washroom. I kicked open the door and let him in. He ran out of my arms and opened the toilet seat. I grimaced in disgust as he puked his guts out. I closed the door behind me, not wanting to see what he was doing.
After a while, Darren stumbled out of the bathroom, water dripping off his chin as he wiped it off by the back of his hand. I rushed to him and made him sit on the couch.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“Yeah… my head just hurts a bit, though.”
“What should I do with you now?” I wondered out loud.
“Maybe we could have some fun in your bedroom,” He suggested, smirking at me. I rolled my eyes.
“I should call someone to take you home,” I said, reaching into my pockets to take out my phone. But who should I call? Claire couldn’t come because she just left and I didn’t think her mom would let her go. I couldn’t call Sam, Josh or Tyler as they were at Darren’s party. I was sure they would be drunk out of their senses by now, just like Darren. I didn’t want them to get in danger and drunk drive here to pick up Darren. Hoping they weren’t passed out somewhere, I called them but their phones were either switched off or couldn’t be reached to.
My last option was Brian. I hesitated. I didn’t want to call him. I knew he was with Gemma at her house. If I called him, he would come to get Darren but Gemma would be furious at me. I didn’t want her to think me of me as competition for Brian. I wasn’t even trying for him. But one glance at Darren, and I knew that my mom should definitely not see him like this.
I dialled his number and waited for him to pick up the call. It barely rang two times before he picked it up.
“Brooke? Why are you calling so late? Is everything alright?” Was the first thing he asked me. Unknowingly, a small smile crept up on my lips and I couldn’t hide it. Did he care about me?
“I’m fine, thanks. However, Darren isn’t,” I said and sighed. How could Darren be so stupid and walk all the way to my house from his party? I knew that drunk people acted stupid. I just didn’t know that they acted this stupid. What if he had strayed to the middle of the road and a car had hit him? Or what if he was murdered or robbed?
“Darren?” Brian asked confusedly. “Is he with you?”
“Brian, who is it?” I heard a girl’s voice from the other end and I immediately recognised it as Gemma’s. It was so late. And he was still with Gemma. What were they doing together? I subconsciously clenched my fist as wild possibilities ran in my mind. I didn’t care? what they did, I reminded myself.
I didn’t hear him answer her so I answered him.
“Yeah, he walked all the way to my house from his. He can’t stay at my place, though. Can you-”
“Are you okay with him? He didn’t um… try anything on you, right?”
I chuckled. “Of course not. He’s my friend, Brian. Of course he wouldn’t do anything to me.”
“Are you home alone? I mean your mom is home, right?”
“No… She has a late shift. She’ll be back in an hour or so. And she can’t see Darren like this! Could you, maybe come here and take him home. I can understand if you don’t want to.”
“No, no. It’s fine. I’ll be right there,” He said immediately.
“Brian,” I heard Gemma’s faint sound in the background. “Are you going to leave me?”
“Yeah, it’s important. I’ll see you tomorrow,” He replied to her.
“Brooke, I’ll be there in a while.”
“Are you sure? I don’t want to ruin your date with Gemma.”
He chuckled. “I’m not on a date, Brooke. Don’t worry, you can still try to get me,” He said and I could almost hear the smirk in his voice.
“You wish. Hurry up,” I said as I heard a car start up on the other end.
“Yeah, just wait for a while. I know you’re missing me and dying to see me and all. But just wait for a few minutes.”
I rolled my eyes at him even though he couldn’t see it. I didn’t bother to reply and so I just hung up.
I turned back to see if Darren was still conscious or not, but I yelped as I saw him directly behind me. I placed a hand on my rapidly beating heart to calm myself down.
“Damn it, Darren. Were you trying to scare me to death?” I glared up at him and he stared down at me.
“I have s-something to tell you, Brooch,” He stuttered.
I immediately covered his mouth with my hand, almost gagging at his breath which reeked of alcohol. I turned my head away from him and breathed in clean oxygen.
“Gosh, Darren. Your breath smells. Just sit down on the couch till Brian comes to get you,” I said, holding his arm and leading him to the couch. We sat beside each other in silence.
“Brooke,” he called, dragging the ‘o’ in my name. “I said I have to tell you something. Something? veryyy important. It’s my top secret,” He giggled and I stared at him blankly.
“What do you want to tell me?” I asked.
“When I saw you for the first time in fifth grade,” he hiccuped, “That time I knew you were someone special. You were so beautiful,” He said and reached out to touch my cheeks.
“Um… thanks,” I said, holding his hands which were on my cheeks and slowly lowering it to his lap. I looked away. Darren was acting so strange today.
“Look at me, Brooke,” he said. So I turned my head to the side to stare into his emerald green eyes.
“I’m telling you that I like you since fifth grade,” He said and my eyes widened for a split second.
“I like you too, Darren. You’re a great friend,” I said, hoping he meant it in that way, and not in that way.
“Why do you see me only as a friend?”, He whined, annoyed with me.
I swallowed. Did he mean that he liked me in the way I think he did?
“Darren, you’re drunk. You don’t know what you’re talking about. Stop talking and lie down,” I ordered.
“I know exactly what I’m talking about. Brooke, you don’t know that I’ve liked you from the start. I have been liking you for six years now,” He held both of my hands. I just stared at him, wide eyed. He liked me like that?
“Why can’t you see the signs? I like you! No, actually I think I love you,” He said before closing his eyes. He leaned in, titling his head a little to the side. I gulped. Oh my God, was he going to kiss me?
I pulled my head back. The more I pulled away, the more he dipped his head forward to my lips.
“D-Darren,” I whispered, not moving my lips much because if we get any more close, our lips would touch.
A car honk sounded in my driveway and I diverted my attention to the door. I heard a car door shut and footsteps walking up the gravel path. I got up and Darren’s? face stamped on the couch. I exhaled in relief at the knowledge that my first kiss wasn’t with a drunk Darren with a very bad breath. I heard a soft knock on my door and I practically ran towards it, yanking the door open.
“Hey,” Brian greeted, running his hand through his already messed up, tousled hair. Who messed up his hair like that? It looked like the hair one would get after several rounds of amazing sex.
“Hi,” I croaked, trying hard to get rid of my previous disturbing thoughts.
“Where is he?” He asked, stepping inside.
“On the couch,” I said as I made my way to the living room with Brian trailing close behind me.
I saw Darren lying on the couch. His eyes were closed and his lips were parted. One leg was on the couch and the other was on the floor.
“How much did he drink?” Brian whispered in my ear. I jumped a little as I didn’t feel him coming that close to me.
I shrugged, “He told me he drank four to five bottles.”
He raised his eyebrows at that. “That’s too much.”
“Please just take him home,” I said in an abrupt manner.
“Did something happen?” He asked, frowning at Darren.
Yes. He said that he liked me, and he almost kissed me. By the way, what happened to your hair?
I shook my head, “No, my mom will be home soon. You should take him home before she returns.”
He stared at me for some time before finally nodding, “Help me.”
I scoffed, folding my arms over my chest. “I thought you could handle him. I should have called Sam.”
“It would have been easy if it were you,” He said and before I knew it, I was swooped into his arms, bridal style.
I gasped at his actions. “Brian! Put me down.”
He just chuckled at me. “See, you are light so I can carry you. Not him, he’s not light at all.”
“Okay, okay. You can put me down now!” I yelped as he pretended to drop me. My grip on his neck tightened involuntarily.
“You’re cute,” he grinned, brushing his nose against mine. “I’ll never let you fall.”
My cheeks burned bright red. “Just put me down.”
He laughed before finally letting me stand on my own two feet.
“So it’s not you and he’s heavy. Grab his arm,” He instructed me.
And so I did what I was told. Brian lifted Darren off of the couch by his arm. Darren leaned heavily on him and Brian staggered a bit under his weight. I quickly ran to Darren’s other side and threw his arm around my neck so that his weight gets equally distributed between Brian and I.
Darren mumbled a few incoherent words. We dragged him to Brian’s car and stuffed him in the backseat. I watched as Brian set Darren’s feet down.
“Brooke,” Darren said a little loudly. Brian looked at me. “Brooke.” He said more louder.
“Y-yeah, Darren,” I almost whispered.
Darren, please don’t say you like me, in front of Brian. Please.
“I-I love you, Brooke,” He said for the third time.
Brian stared at me with wide eyes. “He loves you?” He questioned the obvious.
I sighed, “I know. He told me a while ago.”
“So that’s what was wrong,” Brian said to himself.
“Just take him home,” I said, throwing a last glance at Darren. I looked at Brian. He had an unreadable expression on his face.
“Do you like him back?”
That took me some time to answer. Did I like Darren back? I didn’t know. I never thought of him in that way. He was always a close friend to mine.
“I don’t know,” I told him honestly. “I don’t think so.”
He nodded.
“What if I had said yes?” I asked. “Why did you ask?” I smirked at him. “Do you like me or what?” I waggled my eyebrows.
I didn’t know why I asked it but I knew I was going to regret it.
He smiled at me. Not a smirk, but an actual smile, “Maybe.”
I stared at him, waiting for him to laugh and say he was kidding. But be didn’t.
“What?”
His smile stayed intact. “All you have to know is that I won’t give up on getting you, no matter how many hungry sharks I’d have to beat.”
He unlocked his car door and slid in. He waved at me and drove away, while I just stood there dumbfounded.