A.N.: Just an idea that's been floating around in my head drawn from mine and my friends experiences. Hope you all enjoy.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything that is obviously recognizable such as movies, actors, singers, or songs... but boy do I wish I had a claim to Bradley Cooper *sigh*
Arianna flopped down on the couch and squeezed herself between her two best friends Sam and Abby settling in for their end of summer movie night.
"So what's first Inception or The Hangover?" Sam asked as he held up the two movies for the girls to choose from.
"I guess it depends do we want to laugh until we have cramps in our sides or do we want to be left thinking until our brains cramp up?" Abby asked with a thoughtful expression on her face.
"The better question is do we want to see Leo and his soulful expressions as he invades other peoples dreams or Bradley Cooper's gorgeous blue eyes as he searches for his best friend and his memories of the night before."
Abby laughed at Arianna's movie summaries, "hmm, when you put it that way it makes the decision that much harder"
Sam groaned, "Why do I hang out with you guys? I seriously need to find myself a new set of friends. Maybe a group of guys that I can sit around and watch sports with as we yell at the TV and eat my parents out of house and home."
"As if, you know you love us to much to ever even think about replacing us with a bunch of guys"
"And really nerd who are you kidding, you don't watch sports" a deep voice interrupted from behind them.
Arianna swung around to see Sam's older brother Tyler walk into the room looking as gorgeous as ever with his messy black hair and piercing blue eyes.
Sam groaned again as he hit his forehead with the DVDs in his hand, "what are you doing here? I swear you're supposed to be moving back onto campus and essentially just making my life that much more easier."
"Well you thought wrong, unlike you dorks that start school on Monday, I still have a whole extra week of summer to enjoy before my classes start."
"I can't wait until we're all in university and have extra long summer vacations, two months just isn't enough" Abby pouted.
"Luckily we only have one more year of hell to go!" Arianna exclaimed as she clapped her hands together like an excited five year old, "can you believe we're starting our senior year in 3 more days."
"Don't remind me, I'm going to miss sleeping in until noon everyday."
"Stop your whining Sam, senior year is going to be epic and we're starting it off with a bang" Abby exclaimed gesturing wildly as her green eyes lit up with excitement.
Tyler who was still in the room listening to his brother and his two friends chatter incessantly raised an eyebrow at this last comment "you call sitting at home on a Friday night watching movies starting off your year with a bang? You guys really are dorks."
"We are not dorks, we are just following our yearly tradition, and what Abby was referring to is the epic party that Chloe Saunders and her older sister Miranda are throwing tomorrow night. It's gonna be the best party we've been to all summer. Chloe told me that her sister knows a lot of hot guys and they're all gonna be there" Arianna answered, turning to Abby to share that last bit of information.
"EEK, college boys!" Abby squealed at a pitch only dogs should be able to hear.
Tyler gave the girls an odd look as Sam scowled slightly.
"I don't know if you guys have forgotten but my brother is one of your so called college boys and let me tell you he's not all that great, the only difference between him and the idiots that go to our school is that this idiot can drink legally which means he does it a lot more often, which usually only makes him that much more idiotic."
Arianna had to silently disagree with Sam. To her Tyler Parker was absolutely perfect. He had messy black hair that was constantly getting in the way of his gorgeous piercing blue eyes. He was 6 ft 3 with the body of a god that was maintained by the multiple sports that Tyler played.
She had had a crush on Tyler ever since Sam's birthday party in grade six where they had gone bowling. Arianna who had only ever been bowling once before in her 12 year old life kept getting gutter balls and had gotten discouraged quickly. Tyler who was 14 at the time and the epitome of cool in Arianna's and almost every other girl in her grade eyes', instead of making fun of her had taken the time to try and teach her different techniques to keep her ball in the lane. And when she still managed to get at least every other ball in the gutter he started throwing gutter balls with her so she wouldn't feel so bad. It was at that point that Arianna swears she fell in love. However to this day, her crush (see minor obsession) on Tyler had been her best-kept secret to date. No one knew about her crush, not Abby, not Sam and most definitely not Tyler.
In Arianna's eyes Tyler was also completely unattainable. Not only was he 2 years older then her, but he was also the brother and the bane of existence of one of her best friends. Seeing as she was one of Sam's best friends that also meant that Tyler saw her as just another kid in his house that he could tease, and tease he did, mercilessly in fact. Seeing how Tyler treated Sam and at times herself and Abby by default, made her happy she was an only child.
"Ari, Aaariiiii… ARIANNNA!" Sam yelled in her face.
Arianna shook her head clear of thoughts of Tyler and tuned back into the conversation.
"What?" she asked looking between Sam and Abby.
"Where'd you go Ari, you looked like you were miles away" Abby said, "you completely missed Sam's lame and useless attempt at trying to convince us why boys our own age are in fact better then college boys"
Arianna laughed as Sam returned to scowling. She chanced a peak in the direction of where Tyler had been standing but noticed that he was no longer in the room. She frowned slightly, but returned back to the task at hand.
"Let's get back to business and pick a movie"
"I vote the Hangover, if anyone cares about my opinion"
"No one does Sam, but luckily I vote for the Hangover as well" Ari replied looking over at Abby to see if she agreed.
Abby nodded vigorously, her blonde curls bouncing with her.
"Ok so let's get the last end of summer movie night of our high school career on our way." Ari exclaimed as she bounced off the couch grabbing "The Hangover" DVD and walked over to the DVD player placing the disc gently on to the tray as she grabbed the remote and backed up onto the couch between her two best friends pressing play. She grabbed the blanket that was behind her, placing it over the three of them and settled in for a relaxing night. Sam grabbed the popcorn bowl off the table to the side of him and placed the bowl in her lap so that everyone could reach as the previews started to play.
Sam was in his room standing in front of the mirror trying to get his messy blonde hair to co-operate. It was Saturday night and he was just finishing getting ready for Chloe Saunders party as he waited for Ari and Abby to arrive so that they could leave together. He was pumped ready for the first official party of their senior year.
"This year is going to be the year" he mumbled to himself as he ran his fingers through his dirty blonde hair one last time. "This year I'm finally going to tell Arianna Raymonds how I feel about her."
"Talking to yourself nerd," Tyler said as he was passing by his room.
Sam grabbed a running shoe lying on the ground nearby and threw it at the door. It connected with a loud thump and the door slammed shut. The last thing Sam needed was to listen to his brother make fun of him or to have his brother find out about his crush on one of his best friends.
Sam had known Arianna since grade two when she first moved into town. They had managed to continuously be in each others classes all through grade school and so had always been pretty good friends. When they started high school they ended up becoming even closer friends, which was kind of ironic considering they barely ever shared any classes together.
As Sam had gotten closer to Ari and gotten to know her better then ever before he had started to develop a crush on her. Up until this year he had always been too afraid to say anything to her because she had become one of his closest friends and he didn't want to jeopardize that. However, with senior year starting Sam realized that this year might be his last chance at telling her how he felt before they all drifted off going to different colleges and meeting new people.
Now all Sam had to do was build up the courage and find the perfect moment to finally tell Ari how he felt about her. He hoped that she reciprocated his feelings because he wasn't sure what he would do if she didn't; they had known each other for so long that Sam couldn't really picture his life without his closest friend.
"Yo Sam, you little pimp, your girlfriends are here" he heard his brother yell up the stairs.
He went out into the hall to see Ari and Abby sitting at the bottom of the stairs waiting for him. As they heard him start to come down they got up and turned around to face him. Sam looked the girls up and down and had to admit to himself that he was going to look good walking into the party with these two girls by his side. Abby was wearing a jean mini skirt with a white cami and a pair of wedges, her blonde shoulder length curls were pinned back with a clip and her green eyes sparkled with excitement at the prospect of the party they were about to attend. Arianna had opted to wear an aqua blue summer dress that Sam knew was one of her favorites with a pair of silver pumps and jewelry to match. Her long brown wavy hair was up in a ponytail with a few loose tendrils framing her face and the blue of her dress just made her blue eyes pop even more.
"This isn't fair, you guys have got to stop wearing heels around me, it just makes me look shorter then I really am" Sam complained as he came down the rest of the stairs.
Stop your whining, we look hot and you're lucky to be seen with us" Ari laughed as she threw her arms around him for a hug.
She let go of him all to quickly and Abby reached to give him a hug as well.
"Why don't you just try growing, short stuff?" Tyler said as he came back to the front foyer from the kitchen. At 6 feet Sam was three inches shorter then his older brother, which was a fact that Tyler never forgot to throw in his face.
Sam grumbled under his breath, not really having a comeback for his brother.
"Anyways" Abby said with a bright smile, "who's gonna be designated driver tonight?"
"Not it" Ari replied quickly with a shake of her head.
"Don't worry I think it's my turn to be DD tonight" Sam replied "but please don't drink as much as you did last time Abby, it took us forever to find your shoes and you were absolutely no help." Abby had a bad habit of losing her shoes every time she had a little too much to drink and then sitting in a corner whining until Sam and Ari found them.
"I don't know why that always happens to me, I don't ever remember taking them off, all I know is that at some point I look down at my feet and my shoes are missing."
"I think we should invest in superglue, it would solve a lot of problems, oh and by the way Sammy is it alright if Abby and I sleep over at your house tonight? I told my mom I was sleeping at Abby's and Abby said she was sleeping over at my place and frankly I don't want to go home if I end up drinking. My mom never seems to be too thrilled with me when I wake her up in the middle of the night cause I'm apparently not as sneaky as I think I am."
"Yea no problem, my mom is gone all weekend on her girls weekend with my aunt and my dad sleeps like a rock so he won't wake up with your incessant drunken giggling."
"Thanks hun, you're the greatest, now lets get going, by now Chloe's house will be packed."
It was getting close to 2 am and the party was still going strong. Chloe and her sister Miranda knew how to throw awesome parties and this one was no exception. The music was thumping, people were drinking and dancing and just generally having a good time and Abby had already lost her shoes. Luckily they had found them quickly and Sam had tucked them away in a closet until it was time to leave so he wouldn't have to find them again. He was sitting on a couch with Abby curled up next to him slowly starting to fall asleep and he figured it was time to leave. Now all he had to do was find Ari. He was debating whether to leave Abby on the couch by herself or waking her up and bringing her along for the search. Luckily his friend Matt came and flopped on the couch next to him and he no longer had to make that decision.
"Hey Matt, how drunk are you?"
"Not at all, why?"
"Do you mind staying here with Abby for a few minutes, I need to find Ari so we can go home but I don't feel right leaving Abby here by herself while she's sleeping."
"Yea no problem bro, by the way the last time I saw Ari she was in the backyard by the pool with Chloe and a group of guys doing shots of tequila, man for such a tiny girl she can sure drink."
"Oh god, the ride home is going to be so much fun then"
Sam quickly left headed in the direction of the patio doors leading to the backyard in search of Ari. All he had to do was follow the sound of Ari's loud laughter once he opened the doors. Ari may be able to handle her alcohol better then most of the guys he knew but she sure got loud. It was hilarious to see her try to sneak in after a night of drinking because in her inebriated state what Ari thought was her being like a ninja in stealth mode sounded more like a rhino thundering through the house. It was no wonder Ari's mom got so angry when she arrived home drunk.
"Sammy!" Ari squealed as Sam came into her line of sight. "My bestest friend in the whole wide world, come here I have a secret for you" she stumbled as she tried to get up from the patch of grass that she was sitting on with a group of guys Sam didn't recognize, Chloe, and Talia and Sarah, who were 2 other girls that went to their high school.
"Where are your shoes?" was the first thing he asked when he saw she was bare foot
"Don't worry silly they're right here, I'm not Abby," Ari giggled as she looked around for her shoes and finally got them handed to her by Talia.
"Ok then I think it's time to go" Sam said as he put an arm around her waist to help hold her steady.
"Wait Sammy I need to tell you something" Ari said as she flung her slim arms around his neck and leaned her head on his shoulder.
"What is it?"
"I'm drunk" she stage whispered into his ear before bursting into a fit of giggles.
"I never would have guessed" sarcasm laced his voice.
"Sammy don't be mad, I swear I'm ok. I won't puke or anything, and see I didn't lose my shoes"
"I know Ari, you're great like that. I'm not mad. Its just time to go cause Abby is already asleep inside. And I can't carry the both of you."
"No worries, I can walk, just no heels they made me fall earlier," Ari pouted looking down at her knees.
Sam looked down to see grass stains on her knees and smiled. "Ok Ari, just hold on to them, so you don't lose them"
"Sammy, you're the bestest friend a girl can have, I don't think I tell you that enough, I love you hun" Ari giggled as they slowly made their way to the couch where Abby was still lying with Matt watching over her. Ari still had her arms wrapped around his neck and Sam still had an arm wrapped around her waist. Her breath tickled his neck as she said these words, and Sam's heart soared for a moment at hearing those words, even though he knew she was drunk and probably only meant it as a friend.
Even when Ari wasn't drunk she was always hugging him or snuggling up next to him and was always telling him how much she loved him. That's just the type of person Ari was. She told all her friends she loved them and hugged everyone. It was because of this that Sam didn't know how Ari really felt about him, and he was afraid to find out. She might be madly in love with him for all he knew, or she might not feel anything at all.
With Matt's help, Sam managed to get both girls into his car without too much trouble and then they were on their way to his house. The whole ride home, Ari sat in the front seat flipping through his play list looking for a song she liked so that she could sing along with. Drunk Ari was just as indecisive as sober Ari though and so every 30 seconds or so she would change the song to something new. Lucky Abby managed to sleep through it all in the backseat, curled up with her shoes next to her.
A few minutes before they got home Ari finally settled on a song. When Sam realized what song it was he wasn't sure whether he should burst out laughing or groan. Ari, drunk and oblivious was singing along quite loudly to The Lonely Island song "I Just had Sex". They pulled into his driveway and Sam tried to shush her before they got out of the car, but it was to no avail. Ari had clearly really gotten into the song and now was getting out of the car stumbling up to his front door continuing to sing the chorus of the song. Sam rushed to the door to unlock it before Ari could start pounding on the door. Ari decided that while Sam was fumbling around with his keys in the dark that it would be a good time to grab on to him and attempt to dance. "Ari, can you please just stand still for 2 minutes so I can get the door open and you can go sleep."
Something must have finally clicked in her inebriated brain because she stopped dancing and leaned against the door still singing softly to herself.
Just as Sam finally got the key in the lock, he heard fumbling on the other side and the door swung open abruptly, causing Ari to fall backwards. Luckily his brother had quick reflexes and caught her before she hit the ground.
"Looks like someone had fun tonight, and it doesn't look like it was my little brother" Tyler said glancing down at Ari's glazed over eyes before looking up to see his brother looking slightly exasperated.
"Look, I hate to ask but can you please help Ari up the stairs and into the spare room while I go get Abby. She's fast asleep in the backseat."
Tyler looked between Sam and Ari who was still leaning against his chest before sighing and agreeing.
"You definitely have your hands full with these two huh?" he said dryly while he tried to put Ari standing upright again.
"Ty- ty!" Ari squealed before flinging her arms around his neck much like she had with Sam earlier that night.
"Hey Ari" he replied with a wary smile, "can you stand or do I need to carry you upstairs"
"I can stand, I can go up all by myself, I'm fine"
"Don't believe her, she always says that and then ends up almost falling backwards every time" Sam replied before Tyler could test Ari's balance on the stairs by herself.
"TYE! Guess what, I have a secret"
"What's that?"
Sam groaned and shook his head as he started to turn back towards the car to get Abby.
Luckily he was still within hearing range to hear Ari exclaim loudly "I just had SEX and it felt soo good"
Sam burst out into loud laughter as he reached the car and got Abby out.
By the time he got back into the house Tyler was already up the stairs with an arm around Ari's waist as he lead her to the spare room.
"She was joking right?" Tyler asked him as he came into the room and laid Abby on to the bed. Ari was searching through her bag looking for her pajamas completely oblivious to their presence still humming to herself.
Sam bit his lip trying not to burst out into a fit of laughter again. "She was singing that Lonely Island song in the car."
Tyler nodded his head looking skeptical. "You sure know how to pick 'em bro"
Sam just nodded as the two brothers closed the door on a still singing Ari, who had finally found her pajamas and was now shooing them out so that she could get changed.