because of clyde parker

because of clyde parker| one



WHEN DO YOU STOP being the person you used to be?

"Screw you, Alec Henderson!" Muttering profanities under her breath, she weaved through the crowd of walking-one-night-stands and underage drinkers.

Her eyes momentarily fell on Alec, the best friend who had abandoned her on dry-land only to be found canoodling a red head's in Mrs. Parker's slick leather couch.

She shouldn't be here.

She was satisfied being home, wrapped in her fuzzy blankets, tucked in the comfort of her bed, binge-watching reruns of GOT with the tempting sound of popcorn popping in her microwave.

If only her best friend, Mia hadn't climbed up her window, consistently complaining about her five inch stilettos and pulling the 'You know I am such a soppy drunk, what would I do without you, Dawn!' card which led to Dawn wiggling into yesterday's jeans and toss her brother's varsity jacket over her plain white tank top.

She couldn't just leave them be because leaving Mia and Alex to fend for themselves was simply awaiting a disaster to struck. Without her, the possibility of Mia and Alec tripping into a sewer covered in swamp and bile from head to toe wasn't farfetched. Yes, that happened before.

Now, here she was stuck with the 'we-are-too-cool-for-this-party' club playing designated driver to her two best friends who would undoubtedly be shitfaced by the end of the night.

The intoxicating stench of cheap booze hit her nostrils and the music went obnoxiously loud, blurring out her thoughts. Her head hammered like a drone. The neon lights beamed and the disco lights dazzled overhead.

She felt like an orchestra tuning up from within.

The dance-floor trembled beneath her feet. Red cups flying everywhere and a disgusting glob of puke garnished the once-shiny-white marble floor which was now tattered in footprints.

The pool was swarming with empty beer cans and STDs.

The Parker Manor, the posh Palace of an aristocratic business tycoon, Callum Parker now appeared like a frat house abundant of adolescents with their hormones all over the place.

Drunk adolescents, who failed to distinguish a person from a pillar.

Everything here screamed drunken sex, emotional meltdowns and bitchy hangovers to nurse the following morning.

Dawn fixed her wandering eyes at Mia, in heels she could never pull off and a dress short enough to put Mia's catholic family to shame, flirting with her next heartbreak, a blonde quarterback who appeared too old to be a junior in highschool.

Mia caught her gaze and smiled giddily, her eyes twinkling with the kind of sparkle she knew all too well.

This wasn't good.

Mia Thompson was infamous for her Chanel purse and fleeting romance which never survived till the second week.

To put it bluntly, Mia Thompson had dated every Tom, Dick and Harry in the book.

As bizarre and unpredictable her taste in guys turned out to be, Mia was a believer in trying out every shoe there was to see which one fit her right. With blue eyes, sun kissed skin, cherry blonde locks and wearing the crown with the head-cheerleader label, Mia Thompson didn't have to throw herself at guys. But she did.

And Dawn couldn't help but wonder if her best friend was perhaps settling for too little. Yet, as disapproving Mia's lifestyle turned out to be she didn't question it, in the same way Mia hadn't questioned hers.

Alec Henderson and Dawn Marshal crossed paths during middle school. They were fellow nerds who shared the same obsession with 'The Big Bang Theory' and 'Doctor Who'. However, as they grew older Alec grew out of his awkward-thirteen-year-old phase and Dawn never did.

She always thought they made an odd clique but they were her constants. For as long as she can remember, it was the three of them bonding over infinite tea-parties, play dates, picture books and soppy chick-flicks.

All Dawn knew was that there were schoolgirl crushes, firsts, break up anthems and soon their little entourage had jumped into the bandwagon of Mia's ultimate high school experience.

°•°•°

"Dee Dee!" Alec hurled one of his gangly arms around her neck in a headlock. She crinkled her nose at the major B.O. with a hint of fruity perfume,courtesy of the redhead.

He slurred, patches of sweat coated his T-zone."Non-alcoholic and meh! Just like you wanted," a glass of fruit punch wobbled in his hand. She quickly grabbed the drink and gulped it in one go.

"Someone's thirsty..." Alec winked at her suggestively before sloppily dropping beside her on the couch.

Neon lights strobed his caramel skin, making him appear in technicolor.

She glared at him. "Alec, did I ever mention that you can spew more BS than any other man in Pennsylvania?"

Not paying much heed to her words, Alec's almond-shaped eyes flickered on Mia and her new man, "Who's our new boy-toy?"

"Tim Graham. So far all I know is that he doesn't go here. Must be a gate-crasher."

"Sweet! I tell you what, fifty bucks if they last more than two weeks." Alec slammed a crispy Ben Franklin on the granite slab.

"Don't jinx it!" She slapped his arm away.

Alec scrunched up his mouth, his face turning green. He leapt out of the couch scurrying off to the washroom. She watched him stumble across the dance-floor and shove his head inside a eucalyptus pot.

Alec Henderson was a solid lightweight.

As she was watching this comical scene unfold before her, Caleb Parker's eyes caught her in daze from all the way across the room.

Green eyes scanned the room, green eyes fell on her. Green eyes smiled. She always believed Caleb Parker had the prettiest of smiles.

Perhaps, she shouldn't have given herself the liberty to admire him from afar, a story that was doomed from the very start. Caleb Parker was the golden boy and the star quarterback of Avery Fields High and with his angelic face, leafy green eyes, charming smile and the body of a Abercrombie model - he was known to drop girls like Kleenex.

She wasn't sure if he was looking at her or looking right through her.

Would the boy at the pinnacle of the social hierarchy look at the flat-chested, seventeen-year-old-girl-stuck-in-the-body-of-a-nine-year-old-boy or the bar right behind her flooding with several gorgeous red-heads and blondes in skimpy clothes?

The probability of the latter sounded much more promising.

Nevertheless, she smiled giddily then dropped her gaze fiddling with the hem of her jacket, embarrassed for doing so.

Then out of the blue, a gasp came from Penelope Grace and people gathered around the pool, whispers followed and Caleb Parker's smile faltered.



I promise, this is only the beginning and it gets better and definitely lengthier. Stay tuned for the next update, shit's about to go down already. Also, don't forget to vote, comment and share this story if you like it!