Insidious(9)

“If it isn’t my favorite people,” chuckled a pleasant voice as hands draped over my eyes from behind. “Can you guess who it is?”

“Given that you sound happy to see us, I think it’s safe to say it’s not Principal Harris,” I finally laughed.

Everyone else shared in the amusement as my admirer removed his hands from my eyelids, poking his head over my shoulder to cast me a charismatic smile.

“Well, if it isn’t Mr. Blaine Ryder.”

“The one and only.” He beamed a bright smile, sharing the seat beside me. Blaine always looked suave, and tonight was no exception. Not a single strand of his midnight black locks lay out of place. The sides and back were cut short while the top layers were longer and slicked back to perfection. Between his hair, formal fashion sense, and unmistakable charisma, he was like a modern-day Jay Gatsby. And that was precisely why every female classmate was shooting me visual daggers, seeing him cozy up closer to me.

“So, Blaine, weren’t you saying something earlier about how you wanted to ask a certain someone to dance?” grinned Carly, nodding obviously in my direction.

“Car,” I growled in embarrassment.

Blaine chuckled, obviously sighting the redness in my cheeks. “Well, as a matter of fact, I did mention something along those lines.” He rose up, taking my hand into his, and even added in a small, playful curtsy for good measure.

“Awww,” Carly mused as he kissed the top of my hand.

Blaine grinned down at me, trying best not to laugh. “What do you say?”

“If you don’t say yes, we’re all gonna take turns kicking your ass,” remarked Daniel.

I buried my hands into my face, sharing in Blaine’s amusement as we both laughed. “Sure.”

“Amen!” everyone howled.

In no time at all, the dread from earlier eased away and I finally relaxed. After a number of rounds of dancing and partying though, the merriment seemed to catch up to me.

I excused myself, pushing my way through the throng of people.

“Kat? You okay?” called out Blaine, following after me.

My equilibrium gave way and I stumbled, falling right into his arms.

“Whoa.” He chuckled slightly as he adjusted his hold on me. “You know, I’ve been hoping you’d show me some interest for awhile now, but I never imagined you’d literally throw yourself at me.”

I attempted to steady myself again, but my legs felt like they didn’t even have bones to offer me support. My body started to sink down to the ground, and Blaine thankfully eased me back up.

“Kat? How much have you had to drink?” he asked, concern raking through his muffled voice.

I opened my mouth, trying to force the words out, but for the life of me, nothing would come. What was wrong with me? I hadn’t drunken anything, except soda from a closed can.

“Oooh,” howled Vanessa and Carly giddily in the distance, clearly getting the wrong impression. “Seems you two are getting cozy!”

The bass of the music suddenly pounded in my eardrums, and a guitar shriek sent my hands clawing over my ears. Everything sounded so distortedly loud.

“Hey, how about I take you home?” offered Blaine, safely snuggling me into his embrace. “You don’t look so hot.”

I barely managed to nod my head.

“Good.” He turned us around, keeping a taut arm held around me to ensure I wouldn’t stumble.

I continued to stagger, practically dragging my feet across the trampled grass. My vision blurred as a bunch of parked cars came into sight.

“Here we go.”

I heard a set of locks pop up, and a door opened to my left.

“Watch your head,” cautioned Blaine as he helped me into the passenger seat of what I assumed was his car. He gingerly propped me upright to put my seatbelt on properly, and I suddenly heard what I thought was someone calling out my name.

The passenger door closed and I looked up through the windows, but my eyes refused to focus. Blaine joined me a moment later, hopping behind the wheel.

“We’ll be home in no time. Okay?” His voice sounded so serene that it helped soothe the disarray running through my head.

The engine roared as he turned the car over, and the blurred scenery started rolling past the side window. I woozily tipped to the side, my body resting against the door of the car. As the vehicle drove down the hillside, I started sliding forward, but Blaine eased me back into my seat.

“Hang in there. You’re doing good,” he continued to assure.

I had never felt so drunk in my entire life. My lungs even seemed to struggle taking in air. Panic began rising up inside me, and I only managed to moan out something that sounded more like a whine than actual words. What if I suffocated to death?! A cry escaped my lips, and it caught Blaine’s attention.