“Ethan, can I talk to you for a second,” I hesitated.

“Yeah sure,” he said as if nothing was wrong.

“So what's up?” he said looking around.

“I actually wanted to apologize for overreacting in the car today and for screaming at you, I don't really know why I was so triggered, sorry,” I acknowledged.

“Yeah it's fine,” he said brushing it off.

“I'm going to hang out with Jessie now I guess,” I vacillated.

“Isn't she in the pool or something?” he questioned.

“Yeah, I'll just borrow one of her swimsuits,” I said as I looked at her.

“Um, I would rather you not go in the pool if it's with one of her swimsuits, they're really revealing,” he warned.

“What? Why? It's not like I'm going to hook up with anyone,” I disagreed, “but now that I think about it, I would rather just stay out, later on at night I am going to be thankful for not having pool hair I guess,” I conceded.

“Yeah that’s better,” he snapped.

When I finished talking to him, I felt a weight lifted off my back, even though it was only there for like ten minutes.

Then I  walked outside and saw Daniel sitting alone by the pool. I decided to talk to him; he seemed kind of bored.

“Hey Daniel, enjoying the party?” I smiled.

“Well not really, I mean, I am not a big party person, and I'm new, so I don’t know anyone,” He shrugged.

“Well at least you know me, we can hang. I mean, if you want to of course,” I said doubtfully.

“Yeah, I mean, I guess it's better than looking at everyone silently while I drink sprite,” He laughed.

“So, you never told me where you're from?” I asked.

“Well, you never asked,” He smirked.

“But I’m asking right now,” I said teasing him.

“Ok. Well, I am from Austin, Texas,” he said with a grin on his face. “There you go, you got your answer,” He said with a mischievous smile on his face.

“Can I get more answers, or is that the only one I'm getting,” I challenged.

That moment it hit me. I was flirting with Daniel. Why? I am with Ethan, and I like being with him. I really didn't know what was going on inside my head.

That moment, Jessie came running to me. She was crying.

“Kristie, can we talk? It’s urgent,” she sobbed.

“Yeah yeah, let's go,” I spluttered. “Sorry Daniel, I really have to go right now.”

“No worries I get it, just go with her,” He said as if he were worried about Jessie, even though he had probably only spoken to her once. Or maybe not at all.

When we got to Jessie's room, she just threw herself on the bed and began crying.

“What happened Jess?” I comforted.

“Gareth was making out with another girl, at my party, in my house, right in front of my face,” She blubbered.

“Was he...like drunk or something?” I spluttered.

“No,” She said with pain in her eyes. “That’s the worst thing; he is on antibiotics right now, so he wasn’t drinking, he did it completely sober, with all of the guilt in the world available for him to feel,” She sniffed. “But he didn’t,” she said with disappointment.

I couldn't believe it. How could Gareth do that to her? He seemed to like her, really, and they had been together since May, and it was now August. I just wanted to go down there and slap him, how could he do this to my best friend?

Afterwards, I talked to Jess for like twenty minutes before she literally commanded me to go back down to the party and make sure that Gareth was gone and that everything was under control.

When I got back down to the party, I asked the girls who always seemed to be following me, if they had seen Gareth. They all told me he had stormed out after Jessie saw him kissing that other girl.

I constantly get referred to as the prettiest most popular girl in school, but I don’t really see it. I mean I just hang with my brother and his friends who happen to be popular, but that doesn’t make me popular. I also hang out with Jessie and Ethan who are really popular, but still, those are the only “popular kids” I am truly friends with, the others are just around me.

After this, I felt like I could enjoy the party with Ethan, so I began looking for him, but I couldn’t really find him inside or outside the house so After fifteen minutes of searching I decided to call him.

“Hey, where are you?” I worried.

“I'm at the garage playing beer pong with your brother’s friends,” He answered annoyed.

“Oh I'll meet you there in a second then,” I said.

“Umm...babe, I would rather you not come right now I mean we are having “Bro time” so you would kind of ruin the vibe you know, nothing personal though” He grimaced.

I then heard guys screaming in the background.

“What happened?” I wondered.

“Nothing, apparently they want you here, but I mean you know they're just joking right. It’s bro time,” he giggled.

“Yeah, that’s fine. I guess,” I conceded.

“See you later babe,” he said as he got distracted.

He hung up. I then remembered Jessie also told me to have fun. But I mean with her sleeping and Ethan in “Bro time” I didn’t have much left to do.

Then I remembered Daniel was here. Had he left? I mean he seemed kind of bored and lonely before talking to me. Maybe he had found some friends and joined the party, and well I didn't want to ruin that.

After all, I decided to go out to the pool to see who I found there. Not surprisingly,  Daniel was there. Right where I saw him last, in the chair looking at everyone pass by. Only one thing differently, this time he had a drink in his hand.

“Please don’t tell me you only got up for this drink in the 45 minutes I've been gone,” I joked.

“Well let me tell you, I also got up to pee, but the line was filled with girls that were going to change in or out of their bathing suits, so I sat down again,” he jested.

“Well I guess that’s better,” I laughed. “So, what are you drinking?” I asked.

“Just coke, I don’t drink that much,” he said.

“Oh, well that’s something we have in common” I smiled.

“Really?” he puzzled. “I thought the most popular girl in the school would enjoy drinking,” he giggled.

“What do you mean?” I questioned.

“What do I mean what?” he smirked.

“With the most popular girl thing. I mean, I am not that social” I defended myself.

“Well people don’t think of you as antisocial, trust me, you are the teenage dream,” He chuckled.

What did he mean by that? By the teenage dream. Did people really think that way, or was he just joking? Anyways I wasn't able to think about it cause my brother interrupted.

“Hey sis,” Nate said. “I see you finally chose a better guy over that asshole of boyfriend you had, this the new kid right?” He prattled.

He was WASTED, it was evident because of the way he was awkwardly leaning against the light pole.

“Um yeah, this is Daniel,” I said confused. He didn't usually get drunk on school nights; he is a pretty good kid. “Do you wanna go home or something, you’ve had a little too much to drink Nate, and you do have to wake up early tomorrow,” I said concerned.

“Well. I mean. Yeah,” he slurred. “I would enjoy that.”

I then apologized to Daniel for leaving in the middle of a conversation, AGAIN. I told him I would take him home and I did. He actually was a lot of help cause he helped me get my brother to and into the car. I then dropped him off at his place. Thank god I didn’t drink because if I had, Daniel would have had to drive. He lived in an apartment complex near the school. We didn't really talk much on the car ride, we just listened to music, but it wasn’t awkward at all. In the other side, I felt kind of comfortable which was weird but nice at the same time.