the hating game ; lrh

twenty-nine

"IT'S SERIOUSLY FINE, YOU stay."

"No dude, you stay. I got this."

"Dude, she's my sister. You stay."

I am sitting on the couch, my head lolling back against the arm rest, waiting for Calum and Luke to decide which one of them would take me home and which would remain at the party. Anna had kept me company for some of the time, though she had run off to chase a college boy quite a while back. In the time that she'd been gone, I had managed to down two more drinks without either of the boys noticing, though now I had become impossibly more intoxicated. Needless to say, there were two Calum's and two Luke's arguing in front of me right now.

The couch beside me sinks as somebody sits down. I spin my head to face them, the whole world blurring together as I do so and making it incredibly difficult to identify who the person beside me actually is. After a few moments, when the world finally begins to settle, I recognise the messy blonde hair and sweet smile.

"Hey, how you feeling?" Jaden asks kindly, though all I can seem to focus on is how incredibly white his teeth are.

"Better," the word escapes as a stranger slur, though Jaden either doesn't notice or doesn't care — or I'm too drunk to even identify his facial expressions. I lean forward, narrowing my eyes at his teeth. "Are those veneers?"

Jaden lets out a light chuckle and shakes his head. "I get them whitened," he reveals shamelessly. I let out an 'oh' and lean back against the couch, nodding as I take in the new information. "How much have you had to drink tonight?"

I shrug carelessly. "A lot," I guess, though it's definitely true. I would be regretting this all tomorrow. "I'm bad at drinking games."

"I know," Jaden laughs, reminding me that he was, in fact, sitting beside me throughout said games. He nods toward my brother and Luke. "What are they arguing about?"

I glance over at the boys, who are still avidly arguing, and roll my eyes dramatically. "Which one of them gets to take me home," I tell him, shaking my head as I do so.

Jaden raises his brows. "Surely Luke doesn't want to take you home," he questions, and rightfully so. Contrary to what was going on behind closed doors, I am reminded yet again of the facade that is still being maintained amongst everyone except Michael. I simply shrug in response, knowing that I'm not currently capable of producing long sentences let alone explaining how the mind of Luke Hemmings works. "Plus, he's been flirting with Cara all night — why would he want to leave now?"

My heart tugs at his words. I feel the urge to defend myself by denying Jaden's words, but I know that it will only raise suspicion which would, in turn, anger Luke even further. I don't want any more arguments tonight. "Yeah... I don't know," is what I settle on uttering. Jaden simply nods in response. After a moment of strange silence I let out a shaky sigh. "Anyway, I should go."

Jaden nods instantly, swallowing. "Yeah, of course," he says, standing up from the couch and helping me do the same. When he's sure I'm somewhat stable, he smiles sweetly down at me. "It was really nice to chat again, Rory."

"Yeah, it was," I respond truthfully with a nostalgic smile. I can't believe it's been so long since I've spoken to Jaden. I find myself missing our friendship and wishing we hadn't ruined it by sleeping together all those years ago.

"Listen, maybe we could hang out sometime?" He proposes, seeming slightly nervous.

"I..." I trail off, unsure of how to respond. Even if I weren't seeing Luke, I would be hesitant to agree to rekindling whatever I had with Jaden due to the friendship I rather seek. Thankfully, I don't have to answer because he quickly interrupts with a slightly panicked chuckle.