Let me go Jake!!

Emily's POV

The moment we stepped inside, everything hit me at once.

Music pounded through the walls so hard I felt it in my ribs. Laughter burst from every corner, sharp and careless, 

mixing with the greasy smell of popcorn and the unmistakable sting of alcohol that made my nose wrinkle. 

The house was packed—students everywhere, bodies pressed together, drinks raised high, conversations overlapping into a chaotic hum.

I froze just inside the doorway, clutching my purse like it might anchor me to reality.

This was… a lot.

I’d heard about parties like this—whispered stories in the hallways, exaggerated retellings during lunch—but being here was different. 

Louder. Wilder. Like stepping into a world I’d only ever watched from the outside.

“Emily!” Sarah squealed beside me, already glowing with excitement. “This is amazing!”

Before I could answer, she grabbed my wrist and tugged me toward the corner of the living room where a makeshift bar had been set up.

 A folding table sagged under bottles of every color imaginable. 

A couple of seniors stood behind it, laughing as they mixed drinks in plastic cups like they actually knew what they were doing.

“Let’s get a drink!” Sarah said, bouncing on her toes.

I hesitated, my heart stuttering. “Uh—maybe we should just get soda?” I asked, eyeing the neon liquids sloshing dangerously close to the edge of the cups. “Or water. Water’s good.”

Sarah laughed like I’d just told the world’s funniest joke. “Relax, Em. One drink won’t kill you.”

“I didn’t say it would kill me,” I muttered. “I just said—”

“You’re only a senior once,” she cut in, lowering her voice conspiratorially. “And you deserve to have fun. You’re always so careful. Just tonight—let yourself breathe.”

Her words hit somewhere soft in my chest.

I watched her order a bright blue drink without hesitation, her confidence making me feel smaller by comparison. 

The music surged, the crowd cheered at something I couldn’t see, and suddenly I felt painfully aware of how much I wanted—just once—to stop overthinking everything.

“Okay,” I said finally, exhaling. “Fine. One drink. And that’s it.”

Sarah grinned like she’d won a prize. “Yes!”

She shoved a cold cup into my hand. I stared at it for a second before taking a cautious sip.

Sweet. Tangy. Almost dangerous.

“Oh,” I admitted quietly. “That’s… actually good.”

“Told you!”

As we moved deeper into the house, the noise swallowed us whole. I found myself laughing more easily, the tight knot in my chest loosening with every beat of the music. 

People called my name—friends I barely talked to at school suddenly acting like we were close. 

Someone complimented my dress. Someone else spun Sarah around like they were in a movie.

Then the music changed.

The bass dropped lower, heavier, vibrating through the floor.

“Dance with me!” Sarah shouted over the music, already pulling me toward the center of the room.

“I don’t dance,” I protested weakly.

“You’re dancing now.”

Before I could argue, I was surrounded by bodies moving without fear or embarrassment. 

At first, I felt stiff—hyperaware of my arms, my legs, the way I probably looked—but Sarah didn’t care. 

She danced like no one was watching, laughing and spinning, and somehow that made it easier.

I let myself move.

Not perfectly. Not confidently. But freely.

For the first time all night, I wasn’t thinking about grades or expectations or being the “good girl.” I was just… there. Breathing. Smiling. Alive.

Time blurred.

I chatted with classmates I’d only ever nodded at in the hallways. I laughed until my cheeks hurt watching two guys attempt the most ridiculous dance-off I’d ever seen. 

Someone spilled a drink, someone screamed, and someone else slipped and laughed so hard they couldn’t stand back up.

Then—

I saw him.

Jake.

He stood near the stairs, surrounded by his usual crowd, head thrown back in laughter as he took another drink. He looked effortless—dangerously so. 

Tattoos peeking out from his sleeves. That careless grin that had haunted my thoughts more times than I cared to admit.

I hated that my eyes were drawn to him.

I hated even more that my heart skipped.

There was something about him—something deeper than the bad-boy reputation, deeper than the bullying and the cruel words—that made me curious despite myself. And that curiosity scared me.

Because Jake hated me.

“Hey, Em!” Sarah nudged my shoulder, breathless from dancing. “Ugh there’s my brother.” She must have just noticed him. Unlike me.

I turned—and my stomach dropped again.

As I noticed Jake’s eyes scanning the room, confident and sharp, until they finally landed on me.

For half a second, everything else faded.

Then two girls appeared at his sides, draping themselves over him, giggling and whispering into his ear. My chest tightened painfully, a twist of something bitter and unexpected.

I swallowed. “I think I’m gonna go,” I said, suddenly desperate for air.

“No,” Sarah said firmly, planting her feet. “You’re staying. You deserve to have fun too. Don’t let my brother ruin this for you, just ignore him, he's an ass hole anyways.”

I opened my mouth to argue—but then Jake frowned.

His gaze locked on me, dark and intense.

He shoved past the girls without a word.

My pulse spiked.

He walked straight toward me, ignoring everything and everyone else. I took a step back, panic flaring, but before I could turn away—

His hand clamped around my elbow.

Hard.

“Jake—” I started, but he didn’t stop.

He dragged me toward the stairs, his grip unyielding, his jaw clenched tight.

I see Sarah’s eyes go wide and a look of surprise on her face before she comes to.

“Jake leave her alone, she's my friend you ass.” Sarah shouts at her brother.

“This doesn’t concern you Sarah!” Jake spits.

“Let go of me,” I whispered, fear flooding my veins.

He didn’t answer after that.

And before I could run—

He pulled me upstairs.