The party had droned on into the late hours of the night. Some had left already, which wasn’t a bad idea considering school would start in approximately seven hours. Both Irene and herself were, surprisingly, having to much fun to really care about future exhaustion. It was a problem for tomorrow, or in this case a problem for less-drunk Wendy to worry about. 

     Even in her half inebriated state and the almost deafening, thumping bass, she managed to hear the incessant pounding at the front door. As soon as flashlights invaded in through the window, she turned to grab Irene and pull her behind a countertop littered with red solo cups and plastic bottles of cheap liquor. People darted to and fro, some choosing to duck into bathrooms and closets and others deciding to take their chances in escaping out of the well kept backyard. She could still hear the police beating the door and barking out orders among the absolute chaos. It was surprising that she heard anything at all over the unrhythmic boom of her heart. A worst case scenario was actually playing out and she found herself frozen. Scared -less was a complete understatement; not only would she have to face the wrath of her parents, she’d probably lose any prospects of a bright future. Colleges and scholarships would kiss her goodbye with a record. It didn’t help that among the heap of students, she and a few others were the only eighteen year olds, making them legal adults. That of course made the consequences all the more threatening. And she wasn’t alone. Wendy could feel Irene’s trembling hands holding onto her like a life line. 

     Her eyes followed a half couple stumble out of a room, cohesively hobbling towards the one means of safety. And she could tell that the police were angry, ready to swarm the premises like a colony of ants at an illegal picnic. Completely motivated on fear and liquid courage, she hastily stood dragging Irene up with her and headed out to the back door into the imposing darkness. Breaking out in a full sprint she could see the fence growing taller with every step. Irene skidded to a stop before Wendy decided weather or not she wanted to make a complete idiot of herself. She locked eyes with Irene, silently asking why they weren’t running for their lives, she didn’t know how much longer they had until the uniforms stormed the backyard. Irene pointedly stared down at her dress, they couldn’t afford to use their words and possibly get caught, but Wendy had gotten the message. 

     She leant in and whispered, “don’t worry about the dress. I won’t let you get caught.”

      With that she boosted Irene over the fence, holding back a wince when the fabric ripped; she wouldn’t need to wear the dress again hopefully. But as soon as she saw Irene, beaming and breathless, she figured that a night run wasn’t too bad. They were on the precipice of adulthood, doing the most idiotic, juvenile, and utterly high school stereotype she could think of. The enticing mix of alcohol and adrenaline blurred any thought of the ramifications of being caught. Irene gripped her hand, pulling her to the next fence. They were still on the escape.

     It was all so unlike herself. Sure, she had been to a few parties on Sooyoung’s insistence; but running from the cops was a whole new game. An out of body experience was the only way she could describe it, her only anchor to this world being the lithe hand that held her own and the need to get Irene as far from trouble as possible. And if it reminded her of cheesy high school movie romances then she’d keep it to herself.

     They’d made it a few houses down before clinging to the shadows and rounding the side of one of the suburban homes. They could see a group of party goers being rounded up on the curb, and more being led out of the house. She smiled at the lack of Sooyoung in the crowd. 

     Wendy and Irene crouched between the facade of a brick wall and a well trimmed hedge. There were still some officers poking around, looking for any other escapees. Flashlights beamed near their feet and they fought to keep hidden. As the boot falls fell nearer, another officer called out, signaling that others were found hiding in a tree across the street. This was the opportunity to finish the last leg of their own escape! Wendy’s car was parked near the mouth of the neighborhood and so they crept up the street getting closer and closer toward the BMW. 

     At the last few meters, they were stopped by a shout. The cop walked up, “were you ladies at that party over there?”

     From their attire is wasn’t hard to tell that they’d at least been out somewhere, and at this hour they’d need a grand lie to get out of being dragged into the line up. Wendy couldn’t even trust herself to talk, knowing there’d be a slight slur or she’d slip up and say something stupid. Thankfully she felt a reassuring squeeze from Irene and felt the girl move to speak before really hearing her. 

 “No Officer, we were actually coming back from a date, but I left my jacket at the diner.” 

At the officer’s skeptical look, she continued, “she offered to take me back to get it. I live in that house over there.” 

     The cop looked to be conflicted at Irene’s brilliant acting. “And if I go knock on the door, your parents are going to answer?” 

     Wendy was struggling to keep collected, hoping she wasn’t called on to take part in this conversation. They’d been so close and they’d need a miracle. 

     Irene smoothly replied, with a slightly entitled inflection, “I would suggest against doing so, sir. My father works in the early mornings at the firm and it would be best to avoid bothering him.”

     The middle aged man looked skeptical, before ultimately deciding that wrongfully accusing them could bring up more trouble. Besides, it was almost the end of their shift and he’d already have a mounting pile of paperwork to fill out after this. So with a curt warning to stay out of trouble, he left.

     Wendy was still on the verge of freaking out, but Irene managed to lead her to the car. It was obvious that Wendy would not be driving in her state, and so for a second time, Irene slid in behind the wheel of a car entirely too expensive to make her feel comfortable. They quietly crept up the Son’s driveway, cutting the headlights before they could shine through the window. Wendy had sobered up just enough to sneak them into her house. Her parents worked mundane office jobs and spent most nights completely knocked out on melatonin, but she didn’t want to take any unnecessary risks at this point. The last thing she wanted to do was explain why she was dressed provocatively with leaves and the like in her her hair at this hour of the night. Or, god forbid, why she’d brought a girl home in a similar state of dress. She didn’t know if they’d be angry at the supposed corruption of their youngest, or if they’d congratulate her on finally bring a girl home. Again, both situations were unfavorable. 

     Irene followed her footsteps as she avoided every creaky floor board like a soldier in a mine field. Once locked away in the safety of Wendy’s room, they allowed a handful of delighted giggles to break free. Wendy practically dived to retrieve her water bottle, she might have been a lightweight but she had no intention of throwing up and the water would help quell the nausea lurking behind . Irene had already busied herself with navigating to Netflix, taking care to glance over every now and then to check up on her. After draining half of her water, she turned to the closet, grabbing two sets of shorts and t shirts. They’d settled into her bed approximately five hours before school would start. 

     It was going to be a very long day.

————

     They’d woken up late, not a surprise but an inconvenience none the less. Hell, with the pounding in her head, Wendy was surprised to have waken up at all. Her phone alarm had attacked her brain like an angry swarm of bees. After debating for a solid five minutes, they’d decided that it wasn’t worth it to rush to class. Fifteen minutes into first period would still result in an absence for the class, so they technically had the next forty five minutes to spare. Irene, in her infinite wisdom, had suggested getting breakfast at the local diner to wash away their respective hangovers. Wendy readily agreed. Her parents had already left for work so there wasn’t a need to be pseudo spys like they had been just hours before. 

     Altogether, breakfast had been a successful affair. Not only had she gotten to spend the morning next to, a slightly dead but nevertheless, beautiful girl. She also managed to assuage her headache. The pancakes were a nice highlight. Wendy had written Irene’s tardy excuse and Irene had in turn written hers. They were the perfect team. She couldn’t help but wonder why she hadn’t spent time with Irene as much before this. Other than admiring the beauty from a respectable distance, they’d never exchanged anything more than the usual pleasantries. And that was a complete missed opportunity. Wendy was almost shocked at how compatible they were, conversation flowed well even if Irene was known to be a very reserved person. Wendy tried not to feel sad as she drove them to the school. Maybe they’d hangout again sometime.

———

     Sooyoung’s tray clattered against hers. Just by looking around the cafeteria, she could pick out every person that had attended last night’s bash, they all looked similar states of disheveled and sleep deprived. She could also tell by just how many fellow students hadn’t showed up for class at all; a handful of empty desks filled all of her periods so far. But as expected, Sooyoung was her usual self- all bright and bubbly. Her friend had gone into complete interrogation mode about Wendy’s night, both about the successful escape and her opinions on Sana. In Wendy’s spotty recount of her interaction with the Japanese girl, another two trays joined them. Irene had shown up with another brunette bombshell in tow, the girl quietly greeted them as Seulgi. Leave it to Irene to only befriend other beautiful human beings. They’d conversed shortly as a group before Sooyoung resumed her previous topic, very intent to know how her set up had worked. 

 “Like I was saying, she was nice, but I don’t really think she’s my type.” Wendy concluded anticlimactically. 

     Through a mouthful of chicken tenders, Sooyoung called bull. “She’s everyone’s type, you absolute egg.” 

     Wendy could barely respond, mock offended at the rather colorful insult. Really? An egg? That was just rude. Truthfully Sana was exactly her type, but how could she pursue anything like that when she’d brought Irene? Going by how tense Irene had been at the beginning of the night, it was easy to assume that the other girl was out of her depths, she couldn’t have just let Irene wander around alone while she galavanted around with some girl she’d just met. 

 “Who’s everyone’s type?” 

     Wendy looked over at Irene in alarm, if she’d ever had a chance before, she knew Sooyoung wouldn’t hesitate to make her life harder. But her best friend was too busy cackling at the prospect of a new partner to tease Wendy. 

 “Sana Minatozaki, a.k.a. The hottest gay around. You know the one that has, like, a legion of followers?” Sooyoung dipped her chicken in barbecue sauce. “A.k.a. The girl I set up with Wendy last night. Or at least tried to.”

 “Oh, I know her! She’s in dance with me. She is really pretty.” Seulgi supplied, ignoring the chilled atmosphere radiating from her best friend. 

 “You set her up with Wendy last night?” Irene poked her salad. 

     Either Sooyoung hadn’t taken Wendy’s pleading look into account, or she definitely had and decided her friend’s distress was entertaining. With Sooyoung it could really go either way, the girl was alarmingly intuitive. 

 “Yup, and after giving her the opportunity, she decided to leave her poor date alone.” The smirk that topped the sentence off had assured Wendy that Sooyoung knew and was definitely having fun at her expense. Sometimes, she hated to love the taller girl.

 “I told you not to set me up with anyone anyway!” Wendy weakly defended herself to no avail. 

 “Wait, you really didn’t fall for Sana? Are you some kind of alien?” Seulgi wasn’t a harsh person, it was just surprising, and it showed on her innocent face. 

     Sooyoung’s annoyingly loud laugh brought the attention of onlookers. Wendy huffed, “I had more important things to focus on, besides, she’s pretty and all but I care about a connection too.” She tried not to look at Sooyoung’s face. She could feel the look calling her out on the half truth.

 “That’s cute.”

     Her face was set aflame by Irene’s comment, or maybe it was those damn eyes shining at her. Either way she felt like she’d made the right decision last night. “Now can we please talk about something else?” She turned to Sooyoung. “How did you get out of that line up last night?”

     Her friend’s gaze intensified, as she narrated her ‘daring’ escape like an Animal Planet commentator. 

————

     Wendy waited in her car, the air conditioning fully blasting to cool down the oven that had become of her car. Irene opened up the passenger door, slumping into the seat. 

 “Netflix at yours?”

     Wendy chuckled, she could never deny Irene.

 “Of course.”

————————————

Y’all I made a new friend on aff and we’ve been talking in almost real life. She’s hot too. She knows exactly who she is ;) lookin at you babe