The Variations by Jones M (iphone ebook reader TXT) 📕

Once they had parked the car, they were met with the same, usual scene that they witnessed in college parties. In fact, it told them that the party had really progressed.

Just like the other one she had been to, the party was being hosted in a mansion. A couple of frat brothers yelled something in a chant as they passed by Marie, frightening her from the loudness of their voices.

Chris rolled his eyes at them, gently grabbing Kate's hand and leading her toward the front entrance of the mansion. The contact had goosebumps rising on her skin, and she decided not to think too much of it.

Fortunately, the styrofoam cups lying on the ground and the passed out college students provided a distraction for her.

"Is it too late to turn back?" Kate questioned Chris when they were at the door, making him chuckle.

"You have nothing to worry about. I'm sure it will be just like many parties we have gone to," he told her.

They entered the house, and the smell of alcohol met their senses. Drunk young adults were dancing to the loud music that pounded from some corners in the large room, causing a slight headache to start in Kate's mind.

'Seriously. Why did I even come to this party?' she wondered.

"Chris!" a male voice yelled, causing Marie and her project partner to turn to the person.

They spotted Alex making his way through the crowd. He was shirtless, having worn a pair of dark blue jeans. His state of undress revealed a toned and muscled chest that would have made girls drool. Surprisingly, Kate was unaffected.

'Strange,' she thought.

"Dude!" Chris greeted Alex with a bro hug. "What did you do? Where's your shirt?"

"Oh, you know... I was with a girl in one of the bedrooms, but then her boyfriend interrupted us."

"Oh," Chris commented.

"I know, right?" Alex stated. "Dude has the worst timing!"

Kate shared a look with Chris.

"But enough about that. I met with a couple of people I know from class. You should come! We're having a game."

Chris looked excited for a second, but then Kate noticed his expression change.

"Oh. I'm sorry, but I'm here with Kate."

"Oh, hi Kate!" Alex greeted with a smirk. "Didn't see you there."

"Hey, Alex," she sighed, not bothered by spotting him checking her out. Kate turned to Chris, and that was when she noticed him giving his friend a look she couldn't decipher.

"You should come with," Alex added.

"Sure," Kate replied without hesitating. He grinned, and then he proceeded to lead her and Chris farther through the room. They passed by couples grinding on the dance floor, others kissing, and other people laughing loudly at something they were talking about.

Nothing unusual.

A couple of seconds later, they found themselves entering a room that was on the first floor. The furniture that was present had it resembling a dining room with a homey feel to it. 

A couple of people they knew from college were already there, and they had situated themselves on couches that surrounded a mahogany table.

"Hey, Kate!" Marie noticed Helen, a girl she knew who was learning the same course as Gwen.

"Helen!" she greeted back, running towards the girl and hugging her. She observed her, noticing that she had the same ginger hair she had ever since she was a freshman.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" Kate turned towards the voice, spotting a blonde guy checking her out.

"Dude, she's taken," Alex announced, much to Marie's shock. She went to deny it, but Chris was quick to approach her.

"Just let it be like this. If they discover the lie, they will flock all over you," he told her, and that had her shut up. Kate wouldn't mind the attention at times, but at that night, she didn't want it. She wanted to have fun without having to deflect the attention of guys looking to get it on.

"So, what are we playing?" she asked.

"We were thinking truth or dare," the blonde said with a smirk.

"Seriously, Mark?" a girl beside him stated, voicing out Kate's thoughts. "We can do better than that."

"How about 'never have I ever?'" another brunette girl beside him suggested.

"What are we? High school kids?" Alex said. "We can do better than that."

"I thought you said you had a drinking game," Chris told him.

"Yes, but we haven't figured out what it is."

"Guys, it's almost ten, and I'm barely even drunk," Helen stated. "Let's just pick a game and start playing."

"Fine. I guess we'll go with 'never have I ever'," Mark said. "So, are we all playing?"

Everyone in the room nodded.

"Great!"

"It sounds like a high school game..." Kate heard the blonde guy grumble, and she chuckled.

Someone brought a couple of styrofoam cups, placing each one in front of each person that was participating in the game. Some strong alcoholic content was quickly poured into the cups.

"Okay! Never have I ever undressed in public," another girl started, but no one drank from their cups.

"Okay," she said, looking anywhere but at the people around her.

"Never have I ever skipped classes," someone who was next to the girl said, and everyone drank from their cups.

Chris eyed Kate.

"What?" she said. "Taking advantage of a sick sheet also counts for skipping class."

"No, it doesn't," Alex and Helen stated.

"Guys, this is lame," Mark commented. "Let's make things interesting. How about: never have I ever had sex in a dorm."

Kate's eyes widened in shock. She blushed as she looked at everyone around her, even Chris, drink from their cups.

She was mentally thankful that nobody asked her about it.

The game continued, getting more and more interesting as the questions became more daring.

"Never have I ever peed in a teacher's coffee!"

"Never have I ever slept with my lecturer!"

"Never have I ever slept with my boyfriend's best friend!"

"Never have I ever taken a shit on a roommate's bed!"

Kate was surprised by the number of times people drank as the minutes passed. It didn't take long for everyone to get disoriented from all the alcohol they had consumed. Some were already laughing at nothing, and others looked like they wanted to make out.

Marie had only drunk two cups of the tequila, and that was little when compared to what everyone had taken. 

She looked around, seeing that everyone was lost in their drunken haze, and it made her feel uncomfortable to be in their presence. She thought she had been a party animal since she was in high school, but she was wrong.

'Crap. Have I been doing college the right way?'

"I have to pee," Marie said as she slowly got up from the couch. She momentarily lost her balance, but Chris was there to help her regain her balance.

"Oh. Did I say that out loud?" she asked, and the people around her laughed. It proved that she, too, was drunk, even if it was a little bit.

"Where's the bathroom?"

"Downstairs," Mark answered. Kate frowned at the reply. She wanted more details.

"Do you want me to go with you?" Chris asked. His voice seemed a little off. He was as drunk as Kate was, but she worried about him. She didn't want him to fall on their way downstairs or even pass out on her. That would be a lot of weight to carry.

"No, I'm good," she smiled at him as she stood to head out. "I'll be back in a sec."

Kate made her way down the stairs. To her surprise, she noticed that the dining area was more full than it had been when she had arrived.

Or maybe it was the alcohol in her system making her see things.

She walked, slightly stumbling on her steps as she passed by the drunk students around her. It took her a while, but she managed to find the bathroom. She closed the door behind her before she tended to her duties. 

Once she was done, she went towards the large mirror on the wall in front of her. She studied her features, spotting the mess on her face. Her eyeliner seemed to be going off course, her hair looked in disarray, and her lips felt dry.

"Eh," she commented with a shrug, knowing that people wouldn't care how she looked like at the moment. In fact, some could even be worse than her.

Kate went to exit the bathroom, but she was momentarily surprised when someone made their way in. It was a guy.

"Oh," she said as she relaxed. She didn't say anything else, heading towards the door. However, an arm was pinned on the door.

"Hello, sexy," he spoke, unabashedly checking her out.

'I look sexy right now?' she thought.

"Hello to you too," Kate said with a nervous smile. "Will you let me pass?" she added, moving to pull the arm off the door. However, the arm did not budge.

Marie took her time to observe the guy. He was a blonde. He had muscles on his form. His physical looks and the cocky smirk he was giving her clued her in on the fact that he could be one of those sports students in the university.

It was then that she noticed the look in his eyes. They were bloodshot, probably from all the alcohol he had been drinking.

Kate moved to push his arm off again, but the guy still did not budge. She felt a sudden shiver run down her spine.

"Dude, this is not funny. My friends are waiting for me," she proceeded to speak. But the guy did not heed her words. Instead, he pushed her towards the mirror behind her. Kate gasped at the action, lucky that the mirror had not cracked behind her. She started getting really freaked out when the guy started touching her.

"You look so hot," he said, grabbing her lush breasts. The force applied to her chest made her feel pain.

"Stop it!" Kate yelled, moving to push the attacker away from her. He didn't move, and at that moment, he used his legs to part her thighs.

'No. No!' Kate started thrashing in his hold, using all her strength to push him away from her. It was all for nothing as the man started grabbing her hands and pulling them up to the wall. He pushed himself into her thighs, grinding his hips into hers.

Marie was in a moment of frozen panic. She did nothing as the guy trailed his lips onto her neck before he found her lips.

The moment his tongue wanted action, Kate maneuvered herself in his hold and bit his tongue. The guy released a muffled cuss, and she took that moment of weakness to knee him hard in the balls.

"Fuck! You bitch!" the guy yelled as he cupped his groin. Without wasting another minute, Marie moved around him and headed towards the door. The guy groaned as he moved to follow her.

Fortunately, Kate closed the door behind him and locked it.

"Open the door, you bitch!" he yelled from the bathroom. The door shook behind her from the force of him pounding on it, slightly shocking Kate. She observed her surroundings, noticing that a couple of people were watching her.

Some were drunk, and some were looking at her in shock. Kate did not know whether to feel pleased or angry about it. A part of her did not want to be the talk of the campus, while another part of her didn't care and wanted the attacker to be dealt with.

She ran from the area, turning to head upstairs to her new friends. What had just happened had sobered her up pretty good. She felt rattled, and she wanted to leave the house because the loud music and the people around her made her feel crowded. She was about to enter the room, but the sight that met her made her stomach churn.

Chris was on the couch, and he was furiously making out with Helen.

She looked away from the sight, noticing that the others in the room were not even paying attention. They were too busy laughing at something someone had said, and they looked drunk off their asses.

Kate turned her attention back to Chris, noticing how he was still kissing Helen. By then, their hands had tangled into each other's hairs, and they were pressing themselves close to each other so that