l i n h   s o n g

"this is it." linh pointed. room 281. the music was audible through the door so it must've been blasting inside. linh wasn't a fan of loud noises, that was one of the reasons why she didn't go to parties. she was a little anxious of what would be inside, was she really going to a college party? even marella, who normally would be storming right into a crowd for attention, had a hesitant look on her face.

the option to leave was taken from linh when the wooden door swung open to reveal a tall, buff, and tan god. her jaw dropped, no one at foxfire high looked this...manly. he smirked back at sophie, who was as equally as surprised, and moved past them. if this was what all college boys looked like, linh had a feeling she wouldn't have trouble leaving foxfire high. "i wouldn't mind going home with him."

"marella!" sophie exclaimed.

"what? you can't tell me you wouldn't. i saw the way he was looking at you."

sophie flushed and responded in a hushed tone. "i mean it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world..."

she appreciated how little attention the three had gotten when they entered the dorm room. linh texted wylie, her god brother, in advance to let him know she was coming. he had responded with a thumbs up so she was surprised when she found herself standing before him. "hey."

"h-hi." linh stuttered. wylie looked much more mature than the last time she'd seen him. his jaw more defined, arms buffer, and toned calves. wylie's bright blue eyes popped against his contrasted darker skin tone, making linh's heart flutter. she remembered him as the scrawny, tall, unathletic eight year old. wylie was a year older than her but tiergan and her father arranged playdates for them every sunday after church. tiergan was more of a role model and care taker than her own dad but she hadn't known wylie too well since he mostly hung out with tam.

marella nudged linh with a stupid grin on her face. "we're gonna go get a drink." she decided for her and sophie. the two blondes went off to the next room where there were bound to be mounds of alcohol, probably bought illegally. linh's face flushed red and wylie stood, seemingly waiting for her to say something. as she met wylie's eyes, linh caught him looking her up and down. was he checking her out?

"you look...different." was all he said before walking out to the balcony where it reeked of pot. linh let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. it took linh a minute to fully register her, sort of, conversation with wylie. did he say she looked different? what was that supposed to mean? and why did she care so much? ugh. linh needed a drink. she joined her friends in room 283 that was connected through a single door between the wall.

sophie, who looked very uncomfortable, was sipping on a sprite while marella, clearly in her element, chugged a white claw. linh waved to sophie, which seemed to settle her a little. "what happened? why are you back so quickly?" she questioned.

linh grabbed a corona from a nearby cooler and shrugged. "dunno. he went out to smoke or something." she was trying to play it cool but linh could tell sophie saw right through her. "why are you so uptight? you're at a party. loosen up a bit. have fun." linh gave her a light playful shove but she could barely believe the words coming out of her mouth. they were more advice for herself than sophie.

"you're right." sophie agreed. "hand me a beer." linh raised her eyebrows, surprised she followed her suggestion, and leaned down into a cooler to grab her a drink. after passing the bottle to sophie, she looked around for marella who had mysteriously disappeared only to look back at her friend and find her with an empty beer. her eyes widened and she inspected sophie. she puckered her lips and cringed.

sophie motioned for another and linh skeptically handed her a can of white claw, giving her a less alcoholic drink. "you haven't drank before have you?"

"wat murks ye sey thirt" she slurred.

"and you're a lightweight. not surprising." linh chuckled. she replaced sophie's beer with water "why don't you drink some water, we'll find marella, and head home." she planned. maybe coming here was a mistake.

sophie hiccuped then smushed a finger up to linh's lips. "no no no. it's-i'm fine. we cam here to haave ther fun"

"what happened to her?"

"where did you go?" linh confronted marella.

"long story. there was this really hot guy eyeing me from against he doorway, leaning it on it all sexily," linh sighed in disappointment but marella went on. "so i went over and we were really hitting it off before his girlfriend showed up."

"you know marella this is most likely going to be your school in a few months so you might not want to make enemies going into your first day. leave boys with girlfriends alone" she advised.

marella groaned and rolled her eyes. "how was i supposed to know he had a girlfriend? it's not like he was wearing a promise ring or anything." she defended. "why did you need me so badly?"

"right. sophie's-"

"missing." marella finished with a concerned look on her face. linh panicked when sophie wasn't standing behind her and freaked when she saw her standing on the pool table in the middle of the room.

"who's ready to have some fuuuuuun?!" she cried. the room cheered her on and the music grew increasingly louder. her friends tried to intervene but a crowd started to form around sophie who was now dancing to the beat.

"okay there's no way i'm not getting this on camera" marella laughed. she pulled out her phone and recorded her tipsy friend. sophie wasn't drunk, linh could tell she wouldn't do anything she didn't want to but maybe things she wouldn't do if she wasn't drunk. the handsome god who had eyed sophie when they arrived was watching her from afar before she called him up with her.

"hey you! come dance with me!" sophie yelled. the man-boy climbed up onto the table with her and they both sort of stumbled around, both too tipsy to dance properly.

"keep an eye on her would you? i'm going to head somewhere quieter." marella gave her a thumbs up and linh went back to room 281 to calm the headache pounding in her head. as she walked in, a spinning bottle slowed to land on her. a group of college freshmen were sitting around in a circle all ooohed and ahhhhhed at the decision of the magic bottle.

"i'm spinning again." grumbled wylie. a few boys protested and wylie complained again. "but she's not even playing!"

"rules are rules." one of them said.

"fine. i didn't even want to play this stupid game." he drew a confused linh around a corner and looked back to make sure no one in the circle had followed them. "we don't have to kiss. the guys were just giving me a hard time about it because of- y'know."

"because of what?" linh asked.

wylie chuckled and crossed his arms over his chest. "i thought he'd have told you by now. guess not." he scratched the back of his neck. "not sure i'm supposed to be telling you this. but tam kinda declared you off limits."

linh was taken aback. "excuse me? why does he have any say in my dating life? and why would anyone listen to a highschooler?"

"the boys gained respect for him, they've gotten to know him pretty well from all our parties he's been to." he explained. "and here i thought it would be easy. didn't know how much you'd changed."

"what's that supposed to mean?" linh was unaware about how many college parties her brother had been to. she just thought he was a loner without any friends, but maybe that was a more accurate description of herself.

"it means you got hot little linh." she flushed at the nickname but furrowed her eyebrows when she realized what that meant.

"are you saying i was ugly?"

"what i'm saying is that a short seven year old with a black bob gave me serious edna vibes." wylie joked.

linh punched his shoulder but couldn't help the wide smile that spread across her face. "do you think you're coming to FUEL?" he asked. FUEL stood for foxfire university- elite levels. it was the name of the college wylie attended and the location of the party they were currently at.

"maybe. it's definitely one of my top choices."

"we could use a nerd like you." he teased. she stuck her tongue out at him, like she did when they were younger.

"would you mind doing me a small favor? maybe it could be payment for getting you into this place."

"depends on what it is." linh said skeptically.

"i'm gonna be straight with you. i need you to kiss me. no one's going to believe we did anything if you leave still looking that perfect. and i'd rather not have to kiss you in front of an audience."

"what about tam?" she asked.

"what about him? that midget doesn't scare me." wylie laughed.

"your funeral." linh shrugged as she pulled him to her face by the neck. wylie in her eyes the down at her lips before closing the space between them. the feeling was exhilarating. their lips moved in sync as what was supposed to be a quick peck on the lips turned into a full make-out  session. linh had never acted so confident. she'd never initiated a kiss. never been so bold. she blamed it on the alcohol. 

when their lips broke apart, linh was the one to leave this time. the butterflies in her stomach running into each other, her thumping heart ready to explode, and brain turning to mush. the things this boy was doing to her...she needed to escape. "linh wait-" but it was too late. she had already run into room 283 to find her friends to leave.

linh found marella first. she was sitting dangerously close to a blonde boy linh was certain she'd seen kissing another girl. marella was hardcore flirting, swatting his shoulder, giggling like a maniac, and using her high pitched voice. linh grabbed marella by the arm and ripped her off the couch."has a girlfriend." she whispered. marella pouted and turned to her friend.

"where are you taking me?" she asked.

"we're getting sophie and leaving." linh commanded.

"boo."

it took a good ten minutes to find sophie. she was hidden behind the dark haired boy she was dancing with earlier. he had her pressed up against a wall and was kissing the hell out of her. sophie looked like she was more than enjoying herself so linh felt bad for having to break them apart. well only a little. not at all, if she was being honest. she was rooting for sophie and keefe.

the three friends left the party in shame and regret.