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 ^{(it's beta!)}

So, I apologize in advance, since I'm pretty sure this is a terrible present.

--

“--but I don’t know if Taylor said yes, I’ll have to ask him later. And…oh, yeah! What did you think of Mr. Leighton’s test? I couldn’t believe how hard it was…and I actually studied for once, too! His multiple choice questions are always so hard. I feel like an idiot saying that. Multiple choice is supposed to be easy, right? But he words his so funny. Like he just has to go out of his way to show us how smart he is.” a pause, snort. “Someone needs to take away his thesaurus.”

Silence.

“Kayla? Kaaayla. Earth to Kayla!”

Britney snapped once, loudly, in front of Kayla’s face, making the girl jump out of her skin. She hadn’t taken in a word of Britney’s idle chatter. Something about a history test. The thought made Kayla tense. A test? In history class?

“Sorry.” Kayla mumbled, pushing around the gelatinous blob of what the lunch ladies claimed were potatoes around on her plate. Her stomach turned and she pushed her tray away. “I had a long night. I’m kind of out of it.”

Britney instantly forgave her friend’s lapse of attention when she heard of Kayla’s “long night”. Kayla’s older brother Donnie was in college and since his return for winter break, she had been begging him to get her into college parties. He hadn’t cracked yet, but it appeared that now he had. Smiling knowingly, Britney set down her silverware and leaned in across the lunch table. The noise level in the cafeteria was atrocious. “Do tell.”

“I’d rather not, actually.” came the succinct reply.

Britney seemed perturbed by her quick dismissal, but let it go in favor of shoving some peas into her mouth. Within seconds, she was rambling again, this time about her new project for art class. Kayla promptly tuned out her friend.

The night before was a blur, for the most part. It was one of the last nights of winter break for her brother. Of course, the vacation in the high school was much shorter; she’d gone back over a week before. Kayla suspected that Donnie hoped she would stop asking him to take her to a college party once her break had ended, but he’d been wrong. She’d overheard him talking on the phone to a friend about the enormous end-of-break blowout he was planning on attending that evening; the final big party of the holiday vacation. Of course, the second he’d hung up, she’d flown into his room, begging to come with him.

Kayla had never been to a college party before. If she was honest, she’d hardly tried any alcohol. High school parties were generally small and lame, fueled by boredom and Natty Light. The thought made her cringe; whoever could choke down those beers had a far stronger stomach than her own. A college party seemed much more sophisticated to her; sure, everyone would be drunk, but the attendees would also be budding intellectuals. Maybe they had more to talk about than cow tipping when they were tipsy.

Donnie tried his best to convince her not to go. She wouldn’t know anyone, he said, and they would all be drunk, and someone might try to take advantage of her. She was pretty and stupid and she hadn’t had enough drinking experiences to really know her limit in alcohol. But she persisted, coming back with her own retorts. It was one of the last times she would see him for months, she was seventeen and could take care of herself, she was capable of making sure she limited her alcohol intake.

“Please, Don.” she’d said, giving him her best and most convincing puppy-dog eyes. “I won’t drink much, I promise. I just want the experience.”

Donnie did not buy her excuses or reasons for a minute, but within a few hours of non-stop whining and pleading, he gave in so that he could have some peace and quiet. When he agreed, Kayla squealed and immediately was up the stairs, running toward her room at top speed. There were so many things to do: she needed to pick out an outfit, find complimentary shoes, take a shower, style her hair, put on her make up. The list grew very large as she rushed from task to task at top speed.

Even as fast as she went, Kayla was still only ready just before the party began. Donnie had taken to banging on the bathroom door every few minutes, throwing out a, “what is taking so long?” or even, “you know they asked me to come early!” each time. She never answered him, knowing that if she did he would break her concentration. That would be unacceptable. It was her first college party, and she wanted to look flawless.

With five minutes to spare, Kayla floated out of the bathroom, feeling confident that she was looking better than she ever had before. She stepped into the family room, where Donnie was waiting impatiently, wearing a black minidress and ballerina flats, makeup done to perfection, and hair managed into a fancy updo that even a professional hairstylist would have envied.

Donnie looked at her critically. “Shouldn’t you wear something a bit more…modest?”

Kayla glared at him, picking her purse off the table with a huff. “Shut up, Donnie.” she muttered, before flouncing toward the door. “Are we going?”

“Yeah, yeah.” his voice sounded distant as Kayla traveled farther down the hall. She could hear his footsteps as he crossed from the family room into the adjoining hallway, where she was tapping her foot impatiently by the door. Pulling his car keys from his pocket, he sternly reminded her not to tell their parents about anything that happened.

She rolled her eyes. “I’m not stupid, Donnie.”

The siblings exited the front door and Donnie unlocked his car. Opening the passenger side door and easing herself into the vehicle, Kayla could barely contain her excitement. Donnie laughed lightly, at the sight of her fidgeting around in the seat, and was in turn given a sharp glare. He quieted, turning the key in the ignition and backing out of the driveway, as Kayla peered out her window, imagining the fun that lay ahead in her night.

They arrived in a few minutes. Donnie parked on the street, and they both got out, him locking the car. Together, they trekked across the lawn to the front door; even with the door closed, Kayla could hear the faint sound of the bass thumping inside. Her heart matched the music’s beat.

The door swung wide, revealing a tall, gawky boy holding a Miller Lite and laughing drunkenly. “Donnie!” he said, stepping aside and letting them in. “And…Donnie’s date?”

“Ew, man. No. My little sister.” Donnie took off his coat threw it over the banister. Unsure of what was standard at these types of events, Kayla mimicked his actions.

The boy raised his eyebrows at Donnie. “Babysitting?” he noticed the glare coming from Kayla’s direction and quickly changed his tune, “Kidding, kidding. Donnie, thank you for bringing your hot sister.”

With a drunken wink, the boy reached out and grabbed Kayla’s hand, kissing it sloppily. Kayla didn’t know how to react; the gesture would have almost been sweet if he hadn’t been slobbering all over her appendage.

Donnie shoved him off, saying, “Lay off, Jack.” before turning to his sister and giving her a shrug. “Look, I want to leave at like, 2:30, okay? I still have to pack and stuff. Meet me back at the front door then.”

Kayla took a step toward him. “Wait, you’re not staying with me? But…but I don’t know anyone, and--”

“--I told you not to come, didn’t I? Sorry, Kay, but it’s my last night with these people and I’m not spending it watching out for you. Just stay out of trouble and don’t drink too much.”

“But who am I supposed to talk to?” she asked desperately.

She received another shrug as an answer. “I don’t know. Mingle.”

With that, Donnie was down the hall and into the kitchen. Kayla watched her brother’s silhouette reach into an open cooler and bring out a can of some kind of beer. She suddenly felt very alone amongst the crowd of people and slowly made her way through the hall and into the kitchen.

A table of liquor was set up; she’d never seen so much booze in her life. Vodka, Rum, Gin. And the labels. She read over them, trying to figure out if she’d heard of any of them before. Parrot Bay. Calico Jack. Smirnoff. Tanqueray. The beers sat in the cooler under the counter, an array of bottles and cans. She’d heard of more of those. The cheap ones, like Miller Lite. Some more expensive lagers, and a few bottles of Corona. A girl approached the table, eyes sweeping across it’s contents and eventually landing on Kayla. The girl smiled.

“I’m Anna.” she said pleasantly, sounding far more sober than the boy who’d opened the door. “And you are…?”

“Kayla. Donnie’s sister.” even to her own ears, the reply sounded awkward and childish.

Anna didn’t laugh, which was a relief. “He didn’t mention you were coming.”

“It was a last minute sort of thing.”

“Ah,” Anna said wisely. “You’re not used to this, huh?”

A blush crept up to Kayla’s cheeks. She’d hoped that the other girl would mistake her for another college student, but even with only a few words Kayla had given herself away. She nodded, and figured there was no use in lying. “I’m still in high school, and the parties people throw are usually pretty lame.” there was an long silence. “I’ve never seen this much alcohol at one time.”

Now Anna did laugh, and Kayla greatly regretted admitting her inexperience. Seeing the other girl’s look of distress, Anna quickly added, “No, that’s sweet. It’s good.” her smile was so genuine that Kayla had to believe she was telling the truth, “Listen, do you want me to introduce you to people?” Anna turned, noticing Donnie doing shots with friends, “It appears your brother has abandoned you.”

“I would appreciate that so, so much.” Kayla answered quickly.

“Grab a drink and I’ll show you around.” Anna motioned toward the table and then turned, scanning the crowd.

Kayla stared at the liquor table, having no clue what she should drink. She smelled a few of the bottles; every one of them smelled foul. Without thinking, she leaned toward the cooler and picked up the first beer bottle she could find, turning to Anna with a smile.

The girl leaned forward and linked her arm in Kayla’s as they began to make their way around the party. Various clusters had formed, some doing shots, some dancing, some talking, some taking random photos on their digital cameras. A drunk girl kept trying to stand on the coffee table to dance, and had to be coaxed off time and time again. Anna approached each group, introducing Kayla and then moving on to the next closest area, all while encouraging Kayla to drink her beer quickly. It was gone in moments, but somehow another ended up in her hand. She drank it without question; it was different from the first.

“Do you like it?” she asked Kayla, watching the younger girl gulp it down.

Kayla smiled and nodded, which was all that Anna needed. “You should really try a real drink, you know? Not just beer.” She grabbed a passing boy by the sleeve. “Be a gentleman and get Kayla a drink, will you?”

The boy stopped and Kayla got a good look at him; she felt like fainting. The beer was coursing through her blood and she felt slightly lightheaded, but she couldn’t tell if it was from intoxication or the fact that Adonis was standing in front of her, offering to get her a drink.

“What do you want?”

His lips moved, but it took a moment for Kayla to register the words. A drink. He wanted to get her a drink. Even in her state, she knew that she should be flattered. She’d been wrong to call him a boy; without a doubt, this was a man.

She smiled as her vision cleared slightly and she recognized him. Realization appeared on his face at a similar time. He smiled. “Kayla.” the way he said her name made her feel five years older. “What are you doing here?”

“Older brother.” she explained, praying that she wasn’t slurring her words. “And you? I know you’re not in college. I see you at school all the time.”

Adonis ran a hand through his hair, grinning bashfully. “Yeah, but my best friend is, and it‘s his party.” he started walking toward the table of drinks, motioning for her to follow.

Approaching the table, he appraised it’s contents and reached for a bottle of rum. “You like rum and coke?”

Kayla nodded dumbly. Truthfully, she’d never had a rum and coke, but he was making it, so it had to be good. She closed her eyes and threw back her head, downing the last of her beer before discarding it on the counter. When she opened her eyes again, a red plastic cup was before her nose.

She accepted it gratefully, taking a tentative sip, followed by a large gulp. “Did you even put any rum in this?” she asked, peering into the cup’s contents. “I can’t taste anything other than the coke.”

“That’s the beauty of it.” he answered, leaning in toward her, across the counter. “All the goodness of a coke, with a few, tasteless added benefits.”

Taking a few more greedy gulps, she held it out to him, offering him the last of it. He looked down into the nearly empty cup, then up at her face, laughing. “Damn, girl. Are you that thirsty?”

“Not anymore!” she laughed, continuing to hold out the cup to him.

“No thanks,” he declined, “I had my fill earlier.”

Kayla smiled and drank the rest herself, leaning against the counter casually. The drink went to her head faster than she expected, she began to feel woozy, and strangely brave. She turned to look at the Adonis. “You are very attractive.”

Adonis snorted in a very unattractive way. “And you are very drunk.” he came around the counter to stand beside her. She could feel the heat of his arm against hers. “I shouldn’t have made you that drink.”

Her vision blurred slightly. “I quite enjoyed that drink, actually.”

He stared down at her as if he was trying to see what she was thinking. Her brain was fuzzy, and her senses felt as if they were going haywire. Without reservations, she quickly stood on tiptoes, pressing her mouth to his for one, sweet moment. Her ankle gave way, and she crumpled, wrenching her mouth from his own in the process. She felt her teeth rattle against his before she started to plummet toward the ground.

And then her flight stopped abruptly, as she looked up, her eyes focusing just enough to see the Adonis had caught her and was staring down at her with a look she couldn’t quite place.

She managed a smile and a word of thanks before she passed out.

It was still dark out when Kayla woke up, and she felt as though she had to force her eyes to open, her arms to move the strange covers--someone else’s comforter--out of the way. Carefully, she turned to her side; the red glow of an alarm clock caught her eye. She groaned she when realized it was 4:30 AM, and she had to get up for school in an hour and a half.

Every movement felt like a chore. Wearily, Kayla tried to remember the last thing she did. All of it had melted into a blur. When had she and Donnie left the house? Seven, she said to herself. Donnie had yelled at her for taking so long. He’d told her he’d been asked to come early.

Where was Donnie, she wondered, forcing herself into a sitting position. Her stomach reacted unhappily, and Kayla swallowed quickly, trying to quell her queasiness. Donnie was nowhere to be seen in the room.

Kayla pushed the covers back completely, telling herself that she needed to get up, find her brother, and go home. Her parents were going to kill her when they found out she’d been out all night. That, and all her other worries quickly evaporated from her mind as she tried to stand, only to step on something.

She looked down. It was her underwear.

Weakly, Kayla stooped down and picked up the scrap of cloth, tears rushing to her eyes. She stood and stepped into her panties, crying harder when she noticed blood on the inside of her thighs. The few stumbling steps to the bathroom were arduous, but she made it, throwing open the door. A couple was slumped inside the bathtub, and she shrieked that she was going to vomit. They left quickly enough, closing the door behind them.

Locking it securely, Kayla stared into the mirror. Red-rimmed eyes, makeup running down her cheeks. A pale pallor and wild hair. She was shaking. Every instinct told her to curl up into a ball and cry and cry, but she knew she couldn’t do that. Taking a few moments to clean off her face, wash her hands, and comb her fingers through her hair, as well as leaning into the sink and gulping down a very sips of water from the faucet, she turned and made her way back into the destruction zone that had once been a party.

The night was fuzzy and uncertain in her memory. As she walked through the maze of sleeping forms, beer bottles, and red cups, she tried to remember what had happened. Donnie had brought her and abandoned her. She’d met a girl whose name she couldn’t remember. And there’d been a boy…

…no, not a boy. A man.

Kayla needed to find her brother. She had to get home right away. She needed a shower and shower, a place to cry, and some Tylenol; pain had started, and each step reminded her that she had been raped.

She had been raped.

The words made the situation all the more real, and Kayla had to force bile down her throat for a second time.

Finally, she found Donnie in the corner. He was curled up asleep, hands wrapped around a forty, snoring away. She crouched, ignoring the pain, and shook him until he opened his eyes.

“Kayla?” he muttered, tiredly, “What?”

He sounded annoyed, and no matter how much she wanted to, Kayla couldn’t tell him what happened. Instead, she said, “I have school in a little over an hour. You need to drive me home. Now.”

Donnie closed his eyes, falling back into his first position. “So, take the day off school.”

“I can’t!” she persisted, desperation entering her voice.

Perplexed, Donnie looked up. He was surprised by the intensity on her face and slowly nodded. “Yeah, okay. Okay. Sure.”

She felt so relieved she nearly cried.

Donnie was ready to go within a few minutes, and although he was in no condition to drive, Kayla refused to take the wheel. He steered the car unsteadily the whole way home before going immediately upstairs and falling into his bed. Kayla went straight to the shower, where she’d scrubbed every inch of her skin three times. The hot water disappeared, but she stayed under the spray of the showerhead.

When she’d finally stepped out of the shower, it was nearly time to leave for school. Throwing on whatever she found first from her closet, Kayla went through the front door and hopped into her car.

Inwardly, Kayla was struggling. The effects of whatever date rape drug he had given her continued to make her sluggish, and she could feel a headache coming on; not only did she get to have her virginity violently ripped away, but she got a hangover, too!

Life wasn’t fair.

And the rape itself. She shuddered and pushed the thought from her mind. That seemed the only logical way to deal with what had happened. Kayla could not remember the actual sex act, but she could still feel the aftermath. She ignored the pain, ignored reality; if she pretended it hadn’t happened and went on with her life as normal, it wouldn’t bother her.

Of course, that had only worked for a few moments before she began dwelling on it, trying to remember the frustrating details that eluded her. Kayla’s morning classes passed without her truly even noticing, and before she knew it, it was lunch time and Britney was chatting away happily.

How can she? Kayla wondered. Couldn’t she feel him staring? True, he wasn’t looking at Britney, but the mere heat of his gaze should have been enough to attract her friend’s attention. Even with her back facing him, Kayla could feel his eyes all the way across the cafeteria.

“Hey, Kayla?” Britney asked, pushing her peas into her potatoes and creating a giant, monster vegetable.

Kayla snapped out of her reverie, still very aware she was being stared at. “Yeah, Brit?”

“Did you do really bad on that test?”

Britney had a habit of talking subjects to death. Kayla pushed away her sigh of annoyance. “I told you, I don’t know.”

Britney shrugged. “Sheesh, okay. I was just wondering because…” she shifted uncomfortably and turned back to her potato-pea mutant.

“Because why?” Kayla suddenly felt anxious.

An awkward shrug. “Well, Mr. Leighton’s been staring at you for like, five minutes.”

--

ITC's username gave me the setting.

ITC--I know you had to wait forever, and then you got THIS, so you're probably not too happy. If you want me to write something else, let me know. I'm not joking. I really will.