Saturday evening.

"You're not dressed yet?!"

I hold open my dorm room door for Ferris, he looks at me in shock as he takes in my current ensemble; navy pj shorts and an oversized T-shirt with flecks of paint scattered across the front.

"I just need two minutes." I reasoned.

Ferris pushes his tongue to the inside of his cheek with a heaved sigh. He was clearly getting antsy for the party, he hated having to wait for me, but there was a part of me that secretly enjoyed pestering him like this. Being an only child, this was as close as I would ever get to tormenting a sibling.

He strides into the small room and plops onto my bed, taking out his phone to occupy himself as I change. I don't bother leaving the room, Ferris has seen me in my underwear more times than I can count, and I know he's not interested in anything I have. My roommate, Lydia, went home for the weekend, so I take advantage of the full length mirror on her side of the room.

"Ok, all set." I annouce as I slip into my "nice" shoes; a pair of no lace sneakers with very minimal paint spots.

Ferris looks up at me from his phone and takes in my outfit for the night. Dark skinny jeans and a loose fitted v-neck shirt. It's comfortable, and I think I look nice, but one look at Ferris's face tells me he doesn't approve.

"Oh boy." He sighs. "Must I do everything?"

"What?" I shrug my arms out at him. "I think I look nice."

"Did you even do anything with your hair?"

"I brushed it." I deadpanned.

Ferris grimmaces at looks at the ceiling with his hands in mock prayer. "Give me strength with this one."

A few minutes later I find myself in a deep emerald satin cami--usually reserved for under another shirt--and a shiny chain necklace that droops low down the middle of my chest. Ferris finds a clip on my dresser and pulls back the top half of my hair, letting just a few strands fall loose on each side. As we head for the door I grab my black hoodie from my closet. Ferris is quick to snatch it and toss it on my desk chair with a quick, "No."

"It's supposed to be cool tonight." I reasoned. "What if I get cold?"

"Then you find someone to keep you warm." He winks at me then exits into the hall.

I shake my head at his back and quickly grab my hoodie before following him out of my dorm.

.

I begin to think Ferris was right about literally everyone coming to this party. There are so many cars parked along the street and in the yard of the frat house we end up having to park a couple blocks away. I clip my keys to the belt loop of my jeans and grab my hoodie from the back seat, tieing it around my waist. Ferris stares incredulous at me. I just shrug at him.

"What am I gonna do with you?" He sighs with a shake of his head, but he still smiles. "Come on. Let's go make some bad decisions."

We walk arm in arm down the street, we can hear the thumping of the party before the house even comes into view. I'm surprised they don't get noise complaints called on them, but the neighbors must all be used to it by now. Noise comes with the territory of living near off campus housing. Empty beer cans and bottles litter the path leading to the front door and there's a girl throwing up in the bushes by the porch, another girl holding back the sick girl's hair. Clearly she made her bad decisions early on in the night.

The front door was propped open by a folding chair. There's a guy sitting in the chair, passed out, with some unfortunate drawings on his face. I glace over at Ferris, my look doubtful.

"Tis but one man's misadventure." He states, motioning to the human door stop. "Not ours." He adds, wiggling his finger in a no gesture. Although there are many groups of people milling about the main floor of the house, Ferris leads me to an open doorway. The original door having been fully removed from it's hinges was nowhere to be found, the empty doorway frames the entrance to the basement where he claimed the "real" party is.

The beat of the music sends vibrations that seem to pulse through every surface of the house. My feet were tingling just from walking down the steps, the wood beneath me thruming with the bass. As I reached the bottom step and the full basement came into view, I was surprised to find it looked more like a nightclub than the basement of a frat house. The walls seemed to be painted black, there were multi-color strobe lights, flashing to the music. Bodies crammed in the center of the room, most of which were dancing together in a motion that could only be described as gyrating.

There was a makeshift bar along one wall which looked to consist of a sheet of plywood sitting atop too kegs. A strip of red LED lights were strung up under the board, giving the do-it-yourselfer a bit more apeal. And on the opposite end of the space there was a group circled around a game of beer pong. As I squinted my eyes at the game, I found they were using a door as a table, the missing door that lead to the basement no doubt.

"What now?" I half yelled to Ferris as I tapped his shoulder for his attention.

"Now we get drinks and mingle!" He coupled his answer with guiding me by my elbow toward the bar.

It wasn't exactly an easy feat. We had to slide passed the sweaty bodies of the dance floor, getting jostled every now and then from the bumping and grinding group. As we emerged from the throng and approached the bar, I notice one of the frat guys is posing as bartender, their greek insigna embroidered on the chest of his polo shirt. He presses his palms on the thin board of the bar, which bends slightly with his weight, as we walk up.

"What'll it be?" He asks with a smile, he has a kind face. The type that probably lets him get away with a lot of things.

"Hmm," Ferris ponders, tapping his index finger to his chin. "I'm always up for something, fruity." He looks at me with a wink.

The bartender gives a chuckle. "Daiquiri, got it. And for the lady?" He looks to me in question.

"Well, I'm driving later so-" I trail off leaving my answer hanging.

"How 'bout I get you a coke?" The greek guy offers and I smile my thanks.

"That would be great."

After he throws together the daiquiri in a red plastic cup and hands it to Ferris, he excuses himself to go grab my coke from the kitchen. I offer to go up and get it myself, but he smoothly insists I stay and enjoy the party downstairs. He gives me an easy smile and assures me by saying, "It's no trouble."

"Alright," Ferris annouces between sips of his drink. "We need to find us some pretty boys and start making some bad decisions!"

I chuckle and shake my head as he begins to scan the room with his careful gaze. The room is even more packed now than it was a moment ago when we arrived. There seems to be a steady stream of people flowing into the area. I almost lose my balace when a hard body knocks into me as they pass.

"Hey watch it." I scold as I turn to glare at the person who bumped into me. But when I turn I'm faced with bare collar bones peeking out of a black, button up shirt. Though, button up might be the wrong term as only two buttons actually seem to be fastened below the chest line. I have to tilt my head up to face the assailant and I find a pair of emerald eyes staring back down at me under a worried brow.

"Sorry, my mistake." His voice is low and warm. 

I swallow a sudden lump in my throat as I shake my head and shrug up one shoulder.

"It's fine, don't worry about it." I attempt a reassuring smile which he returns with a partial lift at the corner of his mouth, giving way to a slight dimple in his cheek. He turns and walks away toward the center of the packed room. My eyes follow him through the crowd as his long legs, wrapped in dark denim, extend the distance between us with their broad strides.

"I see you found your pretty boy already." Ferris nudges my shoulder with his own. I turn to see my friend watching me with scrutiny, his brows giving a suggestive waggle. I let out a breathy laugh.

"Yeah right. Like I could get that guy to look at me twice."

Ferris holds out his arms in a why the hell not? kind of gesture.

"Come on, I can't just walk up to a guy like that and be all, hey you're pretty, wanna make out?"

"Why not? Works for me!" He says.

"We can't all be endowed with your charm." 

He just lifts a shoulder and purses his lips in response, then tries to convince me to join the danceflooor, but I just assure him I'm fine waiting at the bar for my coke. He shrugs again in a "suit yourself" gesture as he holds his cup to the ceiling and does a jazzy moonwalk and disappears backward into the fray of dancers.