“My name’s Ashley,” the girl said, hopping off the counter. “And like I said, I know where the water is,” she said, wriggling her eyebrows comically.

“Well then, take me to your leader,” Spencer said, feeling her head throb. “And it’ll be great if your leader has a pack of ice as well. My head’s hurting like a bitch.”

“Oh. I’m sorry about that, by the way. Come, let’s go get you some water and maybe a bag of frozen peas,” Ashley said, making her way towards the back door.

“Um, wait, I thought you said you know where the water is,” Spencer said in confusion.

“Yeah, it’s at this magical place called the convenience store. Have you heard of it?”

Spencer rolled her eyes, which inevitably made her head throb again. “Alright, but I hope you know my mom has always thought me not to go anywhere with strangers.”

Ashley laughed. “I’m not a stranger. You know I’m Ashley. In fact, I should be the wary one here. I don’t even know your name. For all I know, you could be a drunk teenage girl trying to rape me.”

Spencer rolled her eyes. “Spencer Carlin.”

“Nice to meet you, Spencer!” Ashley said, grabbing Spencer’s hand and shaking it vigorously, making Spencer laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation. “So now that we’re no longer strangers, are you coming with me?”

“Give me a sec, I need to tell my ride I’m leaving,” Spencer said. “Don’t move.”

Ashley clicked her heels together and saluted the blonde. “Yes ma’am!”

Spencer laughed again before making her way back to the chaos of the party. It took some time, but she eventually found Sara in the middle of a drunk game of strip poker. Her best friend was winning, judging by her fully clothed body and the various states of undressed the other players were in. “Sare, I’m leaving. I found a ride so I’ll see you in school tomorrow, okay?”

Sara nodded, intensely focused on her game. “I’ll text when I get home,” she said, carelessly kissing Spencer on the cheek. It was their after-party ritual. They always made sure to text one another when they went home separately from a party, ever since that one time when Spencer got into a minor accident in the middle of the night.