"Laken?" I called out, pushing through the drunk bodies of underaged college students. I had been given a cup when I walked in, but the cup was set down and never touched again. Alcohol smelt horrible; smoking was much better to handle. Finally out of the throng of people, I took in a deep breath of fresh air and tried to look through the dim room for my roommate. We had only been here for thirty minutes and she was already missing. Probably off with Logan in a closet or something.

After looking through all of the house that I could get to, and finding no Laken, I gave up on ever finding her that night. Might as well start walking towards a bus stations because that will be my only way back to the school.

"Watch out!" I turn and move aside just in time to miss two guys throwing another in the pool from over the balcony I was standing near. Looking over the wooden railing, the guy comes up from the water yelling and cheering. All of a sudden, three guys, completely bare of any clothing, come running up from behind me and jump into the pool.

Time to move on to another part of the house.

The party, which I'm sure had only been going on for an hour, was in full blast by ten o'clock. The kegs had been refilled at least three times and the mixed drinks were still being passed out with mini-umbrellas to decorate the fruity drinks. The two guys making them obviously knew what they were doing.

I could still hear the guys in the pool and more splashes and girlish laughter. This party would be going on for awhile, and there were going to be plenty more throughout the year, I could tell. Hopefully, Laken wouldn't drag me to those too.

Somehow I found the bathroom, but I quickly slammed the door back as soon as it was opened. Were those people really having sex in a bathroom with the door unlocked? Dear lord, I didn't want to see that!

"Lori!"

I sigh, thankful that Laken hasn't fully left me to defend for myself alone.

"Lori, there you are! You having fun so far, cowgirl?"

I give a look to Laken, not pleased with the nickname she has dubbed me with; I rode horses, not cows.

"Laken where did you go? I got worried," I tell her keeping my voice soft so other don't listen in on our conversation.

"You seem to be doing pretty well for yourself if you aren't drunk yet," Laken says with a laugh, before she brings a cup up to her mouth and takes a long swallow.

"I don't want to get roofied."

She almost spits her beer out from laughing at what I said. "Oh, Lori, you're a hoot! I'm liking this joking side of you."

I try to tell her that I'm not joking, but she grabs my arms and starts pulling me up the stairs to the highest floor of the house. I'm surprised at the size. In the loft-like room, there's a low haze of smoke hanging in the room, and my body instantly feels relaxed.

The smell of weed always makes me feel better.

"Ah, someone knows about Californian skunk, eh?" Laken teases with me. She walks over to Logan who has just taken a hit from a bright red bong that is passed to some guy to his left. There's a purple glass pipe going around along with the bong, and a cheap BIC lighter. Laken climbs into his lap, straddles his thighs, and presses her lips to his.

"Hey, you the cowgirl?"

I look over through the haze of smoke to the tall, tan skinned guy with long dark hair. He's got the biggest smile I've ever seen, and his eyes are red from the high. He has to be far gone. I nod, not sure of what to say to him. He continues to smile, but it's not a creepy smile; it's kind and makes me want to hug him for being so sweet.

"Wanna smoke?" he asks me, throwing his thumb in the direction of the two girls that are sitting side by side, one with the pipe and the other with the bong.

I've smoked plenty times before, in fact the last time I smoked was a week ago in the apple orchards a few miles outside of my little town of Ellijay. I wouldn't be driving back to the school tonight so I didn't see any problem with letting myself go before classes started. Wasn't this stuff legal over here already?

He looked at me, almost knowingly; he sensed how bad I wanted to but my fear of an unfamiliar place held me back. He lightened his smile to a soft one.

"I'm Phil, by the way. Lake only called you cowgirl, so I don't know your name."

Phil held his hand out for me to shake, and it only took me a few seconds before I took it in my own hand.

"Lori."

"Nice to meet you, Lori," Phil says, widening his smile. "Now, how about that smoke? I only get the best stuff and I'm willing to share my stash if you'll let me get to know you a little better."

Something in my head wasn't screwed in right, because next thing I know I'm sitting on the roof of the house next to Phil, slowly breathing in the smoke, letting it burn the back of my throat and make my lungs swell. I hold it in for five seconds, counting steadily in my head, and let it go. It disappears into the night sky, covered by all the light pollution of the city.

Phil and I talk for a long while, just about the most random of things. Where I'm from, my parents, what high school was like for me; we talk about him, how much he hates his job and really wants his band to make it to the top. Somehow I've grabbed his hand and am tracing my nail over the callouses he has from playing. We stop talking for those few minutes, just me observing his hands and him watching me. I'm given the pipe again and take a smaller, quicker inhale. I'm already gone, I don't need anymore.

I'm supposing Phil is used to it, since he's barely buzzed, and he was smoking before I even got up there.

Or it could have been the fact that he was barely taking any hits and letting me have a majority of the skunk. I didn't notice it, though.

"Lori," he says, just as I take my hit. I turn to him, blinking my eyes slowly as I try to keep them open. I'm tired, still, and it's past midnight. The party is loud below us, but I barely notice it. I slowly let my lips part to release the smoke from my lungs, but it doesn't get very far as Phil leans forward and presses his lips to mine. The smoke gets shotgunned into his mouth, but I don't think he was trying for the smoke.

It takes me a few moments to realize what's happened, and I instantly pull away. Phil looks at me, smoke trickling past his lips. My lower belly burns suddenly from how intimately close we are, and from how hazy my brain is, and from how much I just want to kiss him back because usually don't make those kinds of moves on me - at least not where I'm from.

Phil leans in to kiss me again, but I keep pulling my head back, and he stops when he realizes I'm not going to let him do it again. He keeps his head there, looking me in the eye with a slightly confused expression, but pulls away and goes back to his personal bubble. I slowly straighten my back out, and stare at my lap.

"Sorry," we say at the same time, and I try my hardest not to, but I snap my head in his direction with surprise. Did he just apologize? I lead him on to thinking I was interested, I shouldn't have let him take me up here alone, I should have brought Laken.

"I'm sorry," he says, and puts the pipe and lighter to the side. "I read into the signs too deep, I guess. Forget it happened."

"No, no, Phil, I..." I pause and bite my lip. He doesn't look up still. "I shouldn't have let you give me some of your stash, I'm sorry. You're a nice guy, but I'm not the type of girl to do things with guys I hardly know."

Phil looks up at me, and there's a small grin playing on his lips. "So I got a chance?"

I feel my shoulders shake as I half laugh. I give him a nod. "Yes, Phil, you have a chance."

The grin grows back to the one I had seen him wearing earlier.

"Sweet." It's all he says before standing slowly and holding a hand out for me to help me up. I take it, picking up the pipe and lighter just as he helps me to my feet. "I should get you back to Lake. You guys are going to need to eat something before Logan can take you back to campus. Be careful, some of the shillings are loose."

Before I can take more than three steps, one of my shoes slips against the shilling and Phil reaches out to grab under my arms before I fall. I squeal, and squeeze my eyes shut, scared that I'll hit the ground in just a few seconds, but when I don't go any farther than I did, and hear Phil chuckling, I open my eyes.

"What did I just tell you?" he says with amusement in his voice.

"Be careful," I say, trying to hold back my smile but I end up laughing with him as he keeps me upright as we go the next ten feet to the open window that we went through to get out on the roof. The room still has a haze of smoke, much thicker than when I first went in there, but only two people - both higher than the clouds - are sitting on the couches as the party continues downstairs. Phil takes my hand and leads me down from the loft, kicking empty and filled cups out of his way as we take the stairs.

The main floor is full of bodies, and more booze and drugs are being passed around. I watch as two guys gradually pass out small pills to a group of giggling, drunk girls.

"Ecstasy," Phil whispers in my ear. My brain takes a few extra seconds to process what he's told me. The haze of my high makes me simply nod as I continue to watch the girls take the drug, and then they disappear farther into the bodies of the party. Phil holds my hand tight, and continues to search for Laken. We find her with Logan and I'm guessing a few of his friends as they chat idly with Lake passed out in Logan's lap.

Phil doesn't let go of my hand as we reach the group. His grasp is warm, and the callouses on his fingers feel nice against my palm.

"I think it's time you take Lake and Lori back, Lo."

The alliteration of L's throws me off slightly. Laken, Logan and Lori - whoa.

Logan nods and repositions Laken in his arms so he can stand. He begins to walk out, moving through the party. Phil follows behind him, and I follow behind Phil. Logan's car is parked in the driveway, and he doesn't have to worry about anyone being in his way since they blocked the driveway and the part of the street that connected to it. Logan slid Laken into the front passenger seat, and Phil opened one of the back doors to the red car for me.

I smiled at him, and just as I went to slid in, he took my hand, stopping me. I turned to him, confused, but he gave me a small kiss on the cheek as a goodbye. We smiled at each other, nodded, and said our "goodnights".

Logan slowly backed the car from the drive way and drove away from the house party. Phil stood in the front yard, watching, with his hands stuck in his jean pockets. I waved, slowly, but I don't think he saw it, and that made my heart clench slightly.