How Green Becomes Wood

The upstairs was much more quiet than the downstairs. Most people who snuck up here were either trying to get away from the noise downstairs, or trying to find some privacy, but nobody was trying to continue the party upstairs.

"It's busy!" A voice yelled. It was Sloan.
 
Sloan unlocked the door and stepped out, "Xander?" She blinked, and raised a hand to rub her eye, but then remembered how much eyeliner she was wearing and dropped her hand. Miraculously, despite everything she had been through that evening, her eye makeup wasn't smudged to hell. All things together, she still looked pretty nice, and with her heels on, she was eye level with him, "I can't believe you came to get me."
 
"Why wouldn't I?" Xander asked grumpily, the question genuine but the situation rubbing him raw. "Come on. Are you good for a short walk? The car's parked a bit away." He turned, giving her a small indication to follow him. "It's so ridiculously loud in here!"
 
"Yeah, I'm okay," She said, not answering his question, "I'm not, like... trashed, I'm not sloppy." She laughed, patting the side of her miniskirt, "I've seen people get sloppy, and, look," she laughed lightly, "My skirt has pockets, see? So I've got my phone and my lipstick and my keys and that's all I brought." She grinned, "because my skirt's got pockets."
 
Xander paused at the top of the stairs to glance back at her. She was so not okay. "That's pretty awesome. Let's go outside where you can show me the pockets better, okay? We can talk about it in the car." He really, really hoped this wouldn't end up with him carrying her over his shoulder or, worse, her fighting him and him having to explain things to anyone trying to intervene on her behalf.
 
"Sure, okay," she hummed, following after him, "I know you believe me about the pockets, I just, I don't think you understand how cool it is, 'cause this is a tiny skirt, and they don't put pockets on women's clothes, you know?" Despite her shoes, she wasn't struggling with the stairs at all, "But this skirt has deep enough ones to hold my phone."
 
"That's impressive pockets. I don't think even my pockets are that deep," Xander said patiently. He waited for her at the bottom stairs and reached out to try to guide her around the room without touching her. He remembered at the last second to guide her in the opposite direction from where the girl from his math class was still theoretically still waiting for him. "This way. The door's that way. You've got... you've got great shoes for walking."
 
"No they're not, they're ridiculous," She replied, "but they look cool and I like them and also I have strong ankles because I'm a gymnast. So I can wear absurd shoes because I have the strength to support them. Or support me. In them. But if we have to walk in uneven grass, I'm taking them off because I'm not stupid, you know? I'm not stupid." She looked around at the party and dipped suddenly to the other side of Xander and hunched down, "Shit, there's the guy I kicked."
 
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Xander turned in a complete circle when he suddenly lost sight of Sloan, and it took him a second to find her again. He followed her look and glanced back at Sloan. "Hope it was a good kick, but if you stay here, he'll find you. We have to get out the door, okay? And if he comes over here, I'll take care of it. Okay? Please, Sloan, we need to keep moving." He was starting to feel seriously overloaded from everything happening around him right now.
 
Xander kept an eye on her nervously as he guided them both toward the door. "What are you talking about, eh? I don't regret it. You're not annoying, I just want to get out of here. The noise is hurting my ears." It was a little, but more than that, he hoped it would give her something else to focus on. Maybe she'd focus on needing to get him out and feel better about it.
 
"We're of one mind, then." He breathed a sigh of relief when they finally reached the open front door. There were still some people outside, but now there was space! Gingerly, he reached out and touched Sloan's elbow. "There we go. This is way better. The car's just this way. You did a good job, really, and we'll be out in no time flat."
 
"I'm not a baby," Sloan mumbled once they were outside, and she walked for a few moments with Xander touching her elbow before hurrying down the sidewalk for a few paces. Then she realized she didn't know if the car was parked to the right or the left, so she stopped and waited for him to catch up, "But you probably are really good at talking to your sister, huh. Like, for real. That's a really gentle way to speak to babies."
 
That surprised Xander, and it took him a moment to respond. "I don't know. I guess so. At least, she doesn't get mad or scared when I talk to her, but I don't really look after her much." He pointed down the line of cars. "There it is. Just three more. And I know you're not a baby, just... freaked out. I didn't want to make it harder on you." Although he was tempted to take a swing at the guy who'd hurt her. But his priority was getting her out, and she'd already kicked him. That was probably enough.
 
"I don't look after Benny much," Sloan replied, swaying for a few moments before walking to the car once she saw it, "I'm okay, I'm just glad to be leaving. It wasn't the worst thing ever, it was just that guy. A few guys. A lotta guys think they're entitled, I just wanted to wear my cute clothes and dance and then dumb high school guys with no thoughts in their stupid heads think I'm dancing for them! And I'm like? What? But I'm not gonna let that slide, but it ruins everything."
 
"I get it," Xander said, keeping all other thoughts to himself. Right now, agreement was what Sloan needed, and that was what she was going to get. He wasn't lying when he said, "Guys like that suck." He opened the door for Sloan and let her get in first. Once he was sure she was settled, he walked around.

As he walked, he pulled out his cellphone and called the cops. "There's a party with a bunch of minors, a lot of alcohol, and possible drugs," he stated and gave the address. Then he hung up with no further information and got in the car. They could do with that what they wanted. He might be a snitch, but that girl from math, she didn't look so good, and better a snitch than letting people get taken advantage of.

"Are you sure you're not hurt or anything?" he asked, getting in the car.
 
"I just wanted to have a fun night," She told him, slumping down in her seat, although she did buckle herself in, "I just wanted to feel like a normal and free teenager, and I wanted nothing to go wrong and just have stupid pointless fun, like how we're supposed to have." She rested her head against the window, "and it was loud and crowded but it was fun, but then I saw Emily with her boyfriend, who I caught her with, at the end of last year, and then that ****ing guy touched me! And now I bet you and Alec and Peter and all of you are going to be like, 'Yeah, that's exactly what we thought would happen."
 
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"No, I'm going to say that sh** ****ing sucks and that you should have been able to have a good time," Xander said, keeping his eyes on the road. "It shouldn't happen like that. Sucks that it did, but it shouldn't."
 
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