In a small and dimly lit living room thick with the odor of weed, alcohol, and the ever so present stench of body funk, a deep bass belted from a stereo system and rumbled the floor beneath the feet of a group of teenagers. However, to them, the music itself sounded so far away and distant despite being incredibly jarring, like everything else in the room. Being high could do that to you.
A bong was being passed around amongst the circle of glossy eyed young adults and as it reached Gwen's hands, she took a long and savory hit. She leaned back against the couch's legs while sat on the floor and exhaled the slow stream of smoke from her mouth. She was at a house party, held by a friend of a friend, for what was it again? Somebody's birthday?
Regardless, Gwen didn't care. She didn't have to know the people around her or the special occasion it was all for for her to enjoy herself. She passed the bong along and sat with her legs outstretched in front of her as she relished in her high.
Gwen had come with friends, although reluctantly, but at the moment, they were nowhere in sight. Things like that usually happened at trashy parties like this one, and Gwen had been to enough parties to expect her friends to split once they arrived. But the glazed over faces of her peers weren't all complete strangers. She recognized classmates, mutual buddies, and familiar looking people.
To the right of her was Joey, the football guy who she'd known since the end of last year. They shared a few classes and were cool with each other, but that was it. Gwen rolled her head and glanced over to her left. A few people down, draped over a velvet footstool, was Roxanne, the perky blonde in the cheer squad. Gwen didn't really care for the somewhat petty girl, but she could definitely hold down a joint. She was especially good at keeping it in until the next round.
The music boomed again and Gwen snuggled herself deeper into the couch behind her; riding her high to the beat of the music. She listened absentmindedly as the others in the circle chatted idly amongst themselves. Gossip, shit-talk, rumors, and personal stories. Nothing that mattered.
Gwen was a senior in high school, 18 to be specific, but even as she was reaching the end of her wasted youth, she realized that she'd never really belonged to any one clique. She hung out with the so called "popular" kids, but she also had friends in the geeks, honor students, and every other labeled crowd in her school. In short, Gwen was well liked among her peers. But she was still just another drop in the ocean.
The bong finally reached her again and she wedged it in her lap. Sweeping her black hair away from her face, she placed her lips on the mouthpiece and inhaled. The gurgling sound of the water in the bong bubbled noisily as she sucked in and then along she passed again to the next sucker.
Gwen's hair was a bit messy and unkept - giving her that reckless rebel look - and was parted like an angry tidal wave, up and over, to the right of her face. She licked at her pouty lips and rubbed her nose; sniffing a bit. A nose ring hugged her left nostril. Not as noticeable were her small faded freckles that peppered across the bridge of her nose and cheeks. And above them laid the most vibrant set of blue eyes. They were the color of spring water. Gwen was a pretty girl, anyone who saw her would generally agree.
But, as apparent from her appearance, or lack thereof, she really didn't give a fuck about what she looked like or, better yet, what others thought of her. That type of attitude tended to get her into frequent trouble with people, but more often than not, they'd never amount to anything serious because she was a pacifist at heart.
Now, there were a lot of noises coming from every part of the house as expected from a party of this caliber. And from the deafening bass of the music in the living room, it would've been entirely possible to miss the screaming and shouting that'd ensued in another part of the house, just ahead of Gwen. Possible, but not quite. Gwen's ears perked at the sound and she rose her head. She peered over the shoulders of the other party goers blocking her view from what was probably a fight going on.
Suddenly, a girl shoved her way through the dense crowd but only took a few steps before being roughly grabbed by the arm and jerked back by another, taller, girl. Gwen sat up straighter and curiously watched the scene unfold. No one else seemed to notice or care about the struggle going on between them.
The smaller girl looked angry as she tried to free herself from the taller girl's grip. Finally, Gwen realized who the girls were. They were Victoria and Evelyn. She'd seen them a couple of times in school and at other parties so knew they were dating. She guessed they were having a couples quarrel and watched as Evelyn, the brunette, pushed at Victoria rather harshly before turning around to leave.
It was obvious that Victoria, the dirty blonde, was drunk by the way she swayed and slurred. She snatched Evelyn's waist and squeezed the girl tight to her; preventing her from escaping. For seconds, they struggled in the hallway, nearly wrestling with each other. Victoria tried to lean in for a kiss which duly prompted Evelyn to turn away and pry at the strong arms latched onto her. However, the taller girl was clearly the stronger one of the pair.
With every second, the situation grew more alarming and Gwen wasn't liking what she saw. She nudged Joey. "Hey, shouldn't we do something about that?"
The red-faced jock glanced in the two girls direction and watched for a few seconds before giving a sleazy smile. "What for? It's just Victoria with her girl."
"Yeah, but it doesn't look like Evelyn wants to be with Victoria right now." Gwen fired back.
Joey chuckled, somehow finding amusement in that. "They're just chicks, man. Nothing's gonna happen."
Gwen turned back around, her worries a little abated, and continued to watch them. Victoria was whispering in Evelyn's ear - or more likely so fucking drunk she was trying to lean on her face to keep her balance - while she hung onto the girls hips and lower back with a hard grip. Evelyn was still trying to fight her off, uttering words to her that fell short of Gwen's ears, but to no avail, and when she pushed at the blonde a second time, Victoria snapped.
Suddenly, she grabbed Evelyn by the back of the neck and shoved the girl against a wall by the front of her shirt. The look of shock and terror was all Gwen could see on Evelyn's face as she cowered beneath her. Victoria leaned in close again until she was practically laying herself on top of her, and with a leg between the girl's thighs, was saying something to Evelyn that made her visibly quiver.
Joey wolf whistled. "Damn, that's hot! Evelyn's gonna get it later!" He howled.
That was enough. Gwen rose from the floor and stalked over to the girls.
"Victoria, get off of me," Evelyn whimpered viciously, her conviction withering. The initial shock of Victoria's violence had shaken her and she was struggling to gain back her courage, "I don't want to be here, anymore. Let me go."