gutter

"Whoo, you need me to call 911? Because you're smoking hot, girl!" He winked at me but got distracted by his drink before I could give him the finger. I rolled my eyes and just turned around.


See, this is why I hate parties. Slimeballs seem to live and reproduce at these things because everywhere you turn, you find another one who's drooling in your face. And to think I could've been home finishing this weekend's homework...


Freya suddenly appeared next to me, panting from probably dancing. "Having fun yet?" She laughed at my expression and patted me roughly on the back. "You have to go out there and dance! Loosen up a little." I shook my head, but she took my hand anyway and began to drag me to the next room.


"Did you hear what that creep said?" I yelled loudly to her over Kanye's auto-tuned voice. Why would anyone want to blast his music at a party is beyond me. "How can I be having fun when there are people like that who actually exist?"


Freya laughed and swung me into a mass of sweating, stinky people. "Dance!" she said, bumping my hips with hers. "Forget him! Just make sure you're having fun!"


I grumbled to myself, but I couldn't help smiling back at my friend. "Dance!" she urged again, nodding her head in encouragement. Rolling my eyes, I began to move my body and tried to feel the music.


A body knocked into our way, and suddenly I wasn't facing Freya anymore but a tall guy with black hair. "Sorry," he coughed out. He glared at someone before turning back and smiling at me in what he probably thought was a charming way.


I snorted and began to move away from him. "Hey wait," he said. "Do you want to dance?"


I sighed loudly and tried to find a way out from the mess of bodies. Geez, it's hot. "Go crawl back into your gutter," I said without turning around.


A hand touched my shoulder and turned me back, making me shriek in surprise. "I'm not trying to do anything," the guy said, smiling at me. "Just want to dance, that's all."


I crossed my arms defensively. "And I just want to leave."


"Oh." We awkwardly stood there in the throng of dancing bodies, looking oddly at each other. His eyes darted to the side. "Um, just one dance?" he asked unsurely.


"Who are you looking at?"


"No one!" He scratched the back of his head and began to turn away. "Er, uh, sorry..." he said dejectedly, trying to move between a couple dancing.


Maybe it was how sad he looked or maybe it was Freya making weird faces at me, but something inside me made me blurt out, "Wait!" He turned around uncertainly.


"Uh," I stammered, looking at Freya's encouraging face. "I'm a pretty bad dancer," I admitted. "I dance like a penguin."


His eyes crinkled as he chuckled. "And I'm from the gutter, apparently. We'll just make do, I guess."


I laughed a little and began to relax. "Yeah, I guess."