A small crease of concentration cut between Kit's eyes as she studied the food store shelves before her. Gummy versus chocolate, sweet or sour, fruity or nutty. Should she make a choice at all? Or just buy every single kind of candy? 

She was seriously thinking over the last option when someone whistled as her. She whipped her head around and found Drew at the end of the aisle, his arms weighed down with several bags of ice.

"What are you doing?" he asked. 

"What are you doing?" she repeated back as she walked over to him and took two bags of ice off his pile.  

"Where's Eddie?"

He looked around like Edison must be there if Kit was. 

"Why should I know?" she shrugged. She nodded at the ice. "I know it's hot outside but this seems extreme." 

He laughed, his dimples sinking deep into his cheeks. Free of Edison's shadow, she was struck by how cute Drew was.

"They're for Grant's party," he explained. 

She quickly ran through the names she had learned over the last two weeks, but Grant was not one of them.

"He's Neil's older brother," Drew added. "He always throws this crazy party when their parents go out of town for their anniversary. I can get you in."

He gave her a flirty smile. 

"Really? What a gentleman."

His smile turned sheepish. "Well, not exactly..." She raised her eyes in interest. "The thing is, if we supply all the paper goods and ice, Grant gives us alcohol and let's us hang out in the basement."

She laughed. "Sounds like a savvy party man to me."

"It's a win-win," he said. "He gets what he wants, and we get what we want."

"And it sounds like I'll be getting what I want."

"What's that?" he asked, eyeing her curiously. 

"A good time, and another chance at the game of pool that got stolen from us," she said. 

He grinned. "If you are coming, it's a win all around. The admission price is ice, but you can get in with me."

"You're too kind," she mocked with a bow. 

"Come on, let's pay for these and go before all the ice melts."

Drew led the way to an open check out aisle. 

"Do you think Neil's brother will accept really really cold water?" Kit asked as they piled the already melting ice onto the conveyor belt.

She pulled her damp shirt away from her skin and added a bag of M&Ms to the pile. 

He chuckled. "No. But I got a cooler in my trunk."

She smiled brightly. "You came prepared."

"Of course, this is one of the biggest parties of the summer. Neil's brother started it six years ago when he was a junior, and he has done it every summer since. Everyone in Lighthouse knows about it."

She nodded. "I know I'm not from around here, but there seems to be a lot of parties and organized activities," she said. "I mean, the Fourth of July was only two days ago, and before that there was the fair and capture the flag."

He gave a knowing smile.

"Football," he said.

She gave him a questioning look.

"It's a game," she said slowly. "And you play it."

He chuckled at her confusion.

"Football training camp begins in August and the team starts prepping the last weeks of July. The team makes up most of the high school crowd and without us, there is no summer." He gave a cocky bow. "So we cram everything into the beginning of summer."

The woman behind the cash register cleared her throat impatiently and Kit hid her laugh as he quickly turned and gave the woman money. 

Drew drove them to a nice neighborhood, with large houses stacked up next to each other and bright green lawns. They found a long line of cars parked along the curb and joined it. Kit offered to help him carry the cooler to the house, but he insisted on carrying it himself. His flexed muscles didn't go unnoticed, and she caught a subtle cocky smirk cross his lips. 

The party was easy to find. It stuck out like a blue flamingo in the stuffy and posh neighborhood. With the thundering bass and colorful lights shining out of every window, it was a beacon to all guest.

Kit opened the front door and her shoulders began to dance immediately with excitement. The scene before her was unlike anything she had been in. The rooms were poorly lit, creating a mysterious atmosphere with pulsing disco lights and there was a haze hanging in the air. 

She stood mesmerized until Drew nudged her forward.

"This way," he nodded.

He led the way down a hallway and she followed, dancing as she went. They had to push their way through groups until they reached the kitchen. Drew set the cooler down and turned back to the way they had come, pulling her with him. 

"Where's the dance floor?" she asked, trying to get him to move to the beat.

"Over there." He nodded towards a dark room with strobe lights and dark bodies moving. 

"Let's dance!"

She was already dancing more than walking, every cell in her body moving to the beat. All she needed was a dance floor. But Drew didn't stop leading her in a different direction. She pulled herself free of his grasp when they ended up back at the front door. 

"I wanna dance!" she said, taking his two hands and moving her hips.

He smiled, but didn't join in. "We can dance in the basement."

"Why? There's a perfectly good dance floor right there."

She began to dance away but he reached out and stopped her. 

"Remember what I said about the deal?" He tried to gently usher her towards a side door. "Grant doesn't allow anyone in high school at the party."

"Oh please, he'll never know."

She broke free again and headed for the dance floor, but Drew stopped her again. 

"But he will," he said, wrapping her in his arms to better direct her movement. "It's happened before. He has hawk-like vision. You're cute, but I won't let you ruin this for us."

She stopped fighting his leading.

"You think I'm cute?" she smiled coyly. 

He smiled smugly. "Do you think I would have brought you to this party if I didn't?"

The question didn't require an answer and he didn't wait for one as he led her down the steps. 

The idea of a party in a basement had produced a dingy image in Kit's head, with bare walls, concrete floors and exposed piping, but Neil's basement was as nice at the rest of the house. It was completed with carpet and painted walls and no exposed plumbing.

It was big with a ping pong table at one end, a pool table at the other, and couches and armchairs. There was a small bar tucked into a corner and Kit could see the bottles of alcohol Neil's brother had kindly supplied. 

The usual crowd was there, plus more. It seemed all the high-schoolers in Lighthouse Point had turned out. But even in the packed room it was clear that Edison was not present by the way the girls were evenly spaced throughout the crowd and not gathered in one spot. 

"How about that game of pool?" she asked Drew. 

He laughed loudly. "I haven't forgotten how badly you beat Edison at Amanda's party. For my own sake, we're going to avoid the pool table."

She grinned playfully and shrugged. "Self-preservation, I can accept that." 

"Is there no one who is willing to take on the Beer Pong Champion?" a roaring voice boomed over the crowd.

Kit and Drew looked towards the commotion by the ping pong table. A tall guy at the table had his arms stretched pompously wide, searching the crowd around the table for his next challenger. Kit looked to Drew inquisitively.  

He smiled with the spark of an idea.

"How about a game of beer pong?" he asked. 

She looked back to the beer pong champion and shrugged.

"Why not? That guy looks like he could use a beating."

He chuckled. "Bobby Atkins. He's the quarterback of our competing high school. Have you played?" 

"No, but how hard can it be? You just throw balls into cups, right?" He nodded hesitantly, as if rethinking his suggestion. "And I'll be playing with the state champion quarterback, so I'm sure I'll be fine, right?" she added. 

He dropped all hesitation and smiled.

"Right. Come on."

He quickly explained some game strategies as he pulled her through the crowd to the table. Bobby stopped pacing when he saw Drew. His lips settled into a cocky smirk and he crossed his arms.

"Do you think you're up for the challenge Drew?"

Drew mimicked the challenging stance, adding an unimpressed look.

"Atkins, you've always talked a good game, but remind me, who's won two state championships?" 

Low "Ohhs," passed through the crowd as the atmosphere turned tense. Kit looked around as the crowd around the table seemed to double. Bobby laughed sardonically.

"This isn't the football field and you don't have a team to cover your mistakes," he taunted. "Find a teammate so I can kick your ass, and then I'll kick your ass at the state championship." 

Drew scoffed. 

"Teammate present!" Kit piped up as the guys exchanged death glares. She bounced on her toes, finding the tense air between the two guys thrilling. 

Bobby quickly took in her petite frame and sweet face and smirked, the game already won in his mind.

"Alright, let's begin," he said, swaggering over to his side of the ping pong table. 

Drew let out a tense breath. Kit grabbed his arm and leaned in.

"Whats his deal?" she whispered.

He scoffed again. "We've faced them in the state championship two years in a row. And we've won both years," he boasted. 

"Two state championships? Where have I heard that before?" she said sarcastically. He frowned, but she waved it away. "Alright boss, how are we gonna play this? Good cop, bad cop? Hungry cop, fat cop?"

She spoke low and quickly with an east coast accent. She waited for a response but his frown just deepened, like the more she spoke, the more lost he became. She sighed heavily.

"Never mind. We'll just play it the boring way and try to get the ball in the cup."

He perked up at something he understood. "Right, go for the cups in the middle. Those are the easiest. I'll go for the more challenging shots," he said. "We can't let Atkins win."

"Got it, get the ball in the cup. I think I can handle that. Also, you are designated drinker," she said. 

He shrugged, barely hearing her, his focus already shifted towards winning. They stepped up to the table, and Drew rolled his shoulders and cracked his knuckles like he was preparing for a fight. Kit smiled and played along, following his lead. Someone handed them ping pong balls and the game began. 

By the time the teams got down to only two cups each, the crowd was in a frenzy. Kit jumped around in anticipation as Bobby threw his ball and it landed perfectly in one of their cups. Drew pursed his lips in defiance before chugging the beer and throwing the cup on the ground.

"Look at me." Kit took his shoulders and made him look at her. "We got this! They only have two cups left. We are state champions. We are winners. We aren't losers. Now, let's win this!" she cheered. 

"Yes!" Drew shouted, fired up.

He grabbed the ball and swung his arm to loosen it up. Kit circled their end of the table, motioning for the crowd to cheer. They followed her command and filled the basement with a thunderous roar. 

Drew stepped up to the table and the crowd took in a collective breath as he let the ball fly. It landed with a subtle plop in one of the cups and cheers rang out. Both teams were now down to only one cup each. The first one to get a ball into a cup would win. 

Drew and Kit held each others hands nervously as Bobby's teammate stepped up to the table and made his shot. The ball bounced off the rim of their cup and onto the floor and they cheered excitedly. 

Drew squeezed Kit's hands and made her focus on him.

"You got this," he said seriously. "Forget the crowd. Forget the noise. Leave it all on the field. This is do or die. We end this tonight!" 

A small part of Kit mocked his deadly serious look, as the rest of her got swept up in the intensity. She shook out her shoulders and swung her arms around, loosening up her joints before she stepped up to the table and picked up her ball. She stared down the last cup across the table from her. She pulled her arm back dramatically like a baseball pitcher, took a breath and let the ball fly.

It made a perfect arc in the air and landed with a small bounce in the last cup.

The crowd cheered loudly, their voices bouncing off the low basement ceiling as Drew wrapped his arms around her waist and spun her around victoriously.

"We won! We won!" they chanted together. 

When he set her back on the ground, she was dizzy with excitement, and her eyes shone brightly as she grinned up at him. He smiled back at her, his dimples bursting and his arms still around her.

Without giving it any thought, she reached up and kissed him. 

She could feel the smile on his lips as he pulled her closer and lifted her off the ground. It took a moment for the celebrating crowd to notice the kiss, but when they did, low "ohhs," filled the air.

Kit was aware of the shift in the crowd, but she didn't care. She also didn't care that kissing Drew was nothing compared to kissing Edison. All that mattered was they had won. 

But their victory kiss was cut off when someone grabbed Kit's arm and roughly pulled her away from Drew.

"What the hell?" Edison barked angrily.

Still dizzy from the spinning and kissing, it took her a moment to focus on Edison.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?" he said again. 

She froze.

Edison. He was at the party.

What was he doing there? Her stomach dropped as her brain caught up to the moment. An apology rose to her lips, but she remained frozen. The look on his face stopped her. It was filled with anger and directed straight at her.

While it was jolting, a quick thought zipped through her brain, telling her his anger was better than the way he had been looking at her the other night. 

Drew stepped in. "Eddie, lay off it. We were just having fun," he said. He reached for Kit, but Edison swatted his hand away angrily. 

"Don't touch her," he growled at Drew.

He turned to Kit and the hard look in his eyes confirmed her train of thought. 

She took a steadying breath and pulled up the excited energy she had had a moment before. She could tell Edison's anger had given him tunnel vision, and he couldn't see the crowd pressing in around them. But she knew they were there, and for his sake, she didn't want to cause a scene. She shrugged off his hold, but smiled playfully.

"We were just playing a game! We won!" she cheered, throwing her arms up victoriously. 

He scoffed loudly. "Sure as hell didn't look like a game."

She could practically see the smoke coming out of his ears and feel the crowd around them lean in closer. 

She gave him a knowing smile. "You know how it goes. It was a MVP kiss!" 

"That's just something stupid you made up."

"And?" she questioned lightly. "You didn't seem to mind it at the time."

He glared at her. "This is different, and you know it." He pointed an accusatory finger at her.

She playfully swatted at it and he dropped it, his face turning into a cold stare. She glanced around at the crowd, trying to remind him where they were, but he couldn't see beyond her. 

"Eddie!" Amanda stepped forward, grabbing his arm and looking at him desperately. "I'm sorry you had to see that, but I told you that she was a s..."

"Shut it, Amanda!" Edison said, whirling on her. She froze in hurt surprise. 

Kit shook her head and left. It seemed like the only way to avoid being the night's entertainment. The party seemed to have doubled since she had started the game and it took effort to push through people on her way to the bar. The air had turned hot and stuffy. 

"Where do you think you are going?" Edison called after her. 

"I'm going to celebrate!" she called back, putting her hands up in the air as she danced to the music.

She ignored the looks she was getting from everyone she passed and focused on her destination, a celebratory drink. But she didn't make it there before Edison grabbed her arm. 

"Kit, stop!" he said, spinning her around.

Everyone around them turned in their direction. 

"What do you want Edison?" she asked, with a hint of exasperation. 

"What do I want?" he shot back mockingly. "I wanna know where the hell you've been! You disappeared. I haven't heard from you since the Fourth of July."

She could see him seething, but she remained calm. She didn't want to make it worse for him than it had to be.

"I told you I don't know where my phone is," she said.

"That's never kept you from me before."

"Maybe I've been busy," she offered. 

Her lack of emotion seemed to only set him off more. "I stopped by your house." 

"I was probably golfing."

She fanned herself with her hand, trying to break the suffocating heat. 

"Stop!"

She froze and took in his angry frown, tense frame and the tiniest look of hurt. Even though she was certain she was doing the right thing, it was hard to almost physically feel his fury. For a moment, she wanted to break and apologize. She wanted to say anything that would change the way he was looking at her.

But clarity came back to her in Jaxon's voice: "Whats going to happen to him when this is over?", and her resolve solidified. She tilted her head and put on a playful smile.

"Lighten up Reigns, it's a party!" 

She went to give him a playful slap but he caught her hand and glared at her.

"What is going on Kit?" he asked in a low voice, the smallest hint of emotion breaking through in his voice. 

She clenched her hand. He wasn't going to make it easy on her, but that didn't change anything.

"Whats going on..." she pulled her hand free, "is that you have killed my party buzz and now, I'm leaving." 

She spun and quickly headed for the stairs, wondering when he would have sense enough to just drop it. Wasn't he aware of the scene they had already made? He needed to let it go. 

"Eddie!" Amanda called out shrilly, not far behind Kit.

Kit gritted her teeth and kept pushing through warm bodies, refusing to look back. 

Jaxon caught her just as she reached the stairs and blocked her path.

"Kit-Kat, whats going on?" he asked, concern written on his face.

She sucked in a deep breath, suddenly weirdly dizzy.

"Not now, Jaxon," she said, pushing past him. 

"Kit, don't run away," Edison called after her. 

"Eddie, she isn't worth it," Amanda said. 

"Amanda, shut up!" Edison yelled. 

"Why are you chasing her?" Jaxon questioned roughly. 

"Stay out of this!" Edison said. 

Kit could hear Edison's steps pounding on the stairs right behind her. He caught up to her as she pushed through the door leading to the rest of the house. He tried to make her look at him but she pulled away. The noise was even louder at the main party and the air thick from the fog machine. Kit's breathing felt tight as she looked for the front door. 

"You can't run away!" Edison said. He grabbed her arm to stop her from searching. "Talk to me."

"Hey, no high-schoolers allowed up here," a deep voice boomed. They both turned to see a large guy eyeing them suspiciously. "Get out."

He didn't need to tell Kit twice. She pulled her arm free and her vision went in and out of focus for a moment as she moved towards the front door. She yanked the front door open and sucked in a deep breath of fresh air. Her heart was pounding, and she couldn't tell if it was because of her dash up the stairs or the fact that Edison was still chasing her. 

"Seriously Kit, stop!" Edison said, his voice right behind her.

She instinctively pulled her arm away as he reached for her. She slowed and rested her hands on her hips as she tried to deepen her breathing.

"Look at me," he demanded.

But she ignored him as her head started to pound. He faded to the background as she continued to take steady breaths and reached up to massage her temples. But he grabbed her arm.

"I said, look at me." 

She wrenched her arm free and whirled on him.

"No!" she yelled, exploding with anger.

He was just one of the things that were overwhelming her in that moment, but he was the one she could yell at, so she yelled.

"What is it Edison? What do you think you deserve? Some explanation? An apology? For what?" 

"You kissed Drew," he shouted back at her.

Noise from the party drifted out of the open front door, but it was no competition for his raised voice and her pounding head. 

"And you've kissed lots of girls in Lighthouse Point!" 

"That's different," he argued. 

"Why? Because you're a guy?" she spat back.

This wasn't suppose to happen. He was screwing everything up.

"No! I kissed them long before you arrived, and I haven't kissed anyone else since you've been here."

"And? Was that because of me? I never told you not to kiss anyone else."

"Are you kidding me?" He roughly ran his hand down his face in frustration. "Kit, you showed up at MY house, you asked ME out that first night. You showed up at MY work, MY house again. You've occupied all my time since you got here."

She looked at him. Her chest rose and fell quickly.

"If you didn't want me around then you should have told me," she said, harshly.

"No, what I'm saying -" he said loudly.

"What are you saying?" she snapped. 

"Let me finish!" he shouted. "I'm not saying I didn't want you around, or that I wish you hadn't shown up. I'm not saying I haven't kissed another girl because I didn't have the time. I'm saying it's because I didn't want to. I thought I made that clear the night of the Fourth." 

"Seriously? Just because you didn't want to kiss other girls meant that I couldn't kiss other guys?" she questioned, matching his volume.

Her breathing was quick and she could barely see straight.

"What was I suppose to think when you're constantly flirting with Amanda and always surrounded by girls?"

"It's not like I can do anything about the girls," he said.

He stepped closer so he was in her face. She turned away and suddenly, there were bright stars before her eyes.

"And I haven't talked to Amanda since..." Edison's voice faded as a roar rose up in her ears and suddenly, she couldn't tell which way was up.

She reached for something to steady herself as her world tilted and she blacked out. 

*************

"Kit!" her name rang in her ears a moment later when she regained consciousness.

She blinked rapidly, clearing her vision, and when she could see straight, she found Edison and Jaxon looking down at her. Edison looked confused while Jaxon looked worried. She took a few reassuring deep breath, gathered her wits, and pushed herself up onto her elbows. 

"Well, that was silly," she said with an airy giggle. "Whoops!"

She pasted a big smile on her face as she began to push herself up further, but Jaxon's strong hand on her shoulder stopped her. 

"Not so fast," he warned.

She began to push against his hand but stopped under the stern look he gave her. She gave him a pointed warning look, but he stared right back, making it clear he wasn't going to let her stand up just yet. 

"Kit, are you okay? What happened?" Edison asked, breaking Kit and Jaxon from their silent communication.

His anger had been replaced by confusion and concern. She laughed again to ease his worry and pushed Jaxon's hand off her shoulder.

"I guess they don't call it beer pong for nothing," she giggled. The noise escaping her mouth made her want to cringe. "Maybe I should have made Drew drink the last cup for me."

Edison's concern slipped away and then his confusion, as he put together what she was saying.

"You're drunk?" he spat at her, standing up quickly. 

"When in Rome," she said carelessly.

She kept her tone light to match her words, but she looked at Jaxon with a serious look. She needed to get out of there, but she wasn't sure she could stand on her own. 

"Are you kidding?" Edison asked. "Is that why you kissed...?"

"Who cares?" Jaxon said loudly.

He pushed Edison aside as he scooped Kit off the ground and began to walk towards his car. In general, Kit would have fought being carried, but she welcomed Jaxon's strong arms around her. She forgot about keeping up appearances for Edison, and sank into Jaxon's hold.

"I care," Edison said, following Jaxon. "I think I deserve..."

"Let it go!" Jaxon barked, his words coming out as a command. He gave Edison a hard look. "It doesn't matter. This stupid fight is over, and I'm leaving with Kit."

Jaxon's sudden temper surprised Edison into silence, and he remained on the front lawn as Jaxon carried Kit to his car. 

"Are you okay? Should I call my parents?" Jaxon whispered to Kit once they were out of Edison's earshot.

She shook her head slightly. "No. I'll be fine."

"Are you sure? Should I take you -?"

"No, I'll be fine. Just take me home."

**********************************************************************

Woah woah woah!

Hold up! Before you try to murder Kit you need to remember one thing, she's fictional! Hey! 😳 That does not mean you can murder me!

Now why don't we all take a deep breath and put away the swords, though where you got them is baffling to me.

So that was a lot to digest, I want to hear your thoughts. What is going through your mind right?

It can be about the book or not, I'm just super curious.

Honestly, I'm super pissed at Kit! I mean seriously how could she do that to Edison! The man poured his heart out to her and she ignores him for two days! TWO DAYS!! Who would do that?! TO Edison! I mean it's EDISON!!! That's it! I'm so mad I feel like having very strong words with her! Words that involve stupid head and nincompoop!

*Takes a deep breathe and thinks of ice cream and Grant Gustin*

Okay, I'm calm again.

What makes you calm down when you're stressed or really angry?

शान्ति, माया, बरफ (Nepali)