New York City, the city that never sleeps. City where dreams live, the city to be for holidays, the city of parties. Where the crime rate is higher than Los Angeles, but not as high as Orlando, five teens unexpectedly go to a party, that will change their lives forever.

“Alex, c’mon, it’s the last party before our senior year.” Alexis whined, flopping herself over onto her older-by-two-minutes twin brother.

The twins might’ve looked identical, with their signature blonde hair, and blue eyes, but their personalities screamed different. While Alexis was the party-goer, her brother was more of a stay-at-home video game guy. If persuaded enough, Alexis could get her brother to go to parties with her. Much to his own disapproval, Alexis always won, and Alex always tagged along.

“Al, you drag me to every party out there, why can’t I sit this one at home?” Alex sighed, turning towards his twin, laying on his bed, scrolling through her phone.

“Because, I don’t like to be alone.” Alexis peered up at him, pouting.

“You have Scott, Derek, who is your boyfriend might I add, and Paige.” Alex muttered, picking up what he thinks is a clean shirt off the floor, before sniffing it and throwing it into his overflowing hamper.

“But you are my brother, Alex.” she smirked at him, before returning to her phone.

“Not by choice,” he stated confidently, sitting down on his desk chair. “I was hoping you’d be a puppy.”

“You came out of the womb two minutes before me, you couldn’t have possibly wished for a puppy that fast.” Typing her perfectly manicured fingers away on the cracked screen of her iPhone.

“Or could I?” Alex smirked at her, watching her facial expression controut into some sort of i-can’t-believe-you-just-said-that.

“Alex, it’s one party, live a little.”

And no, oh no. Alex knows where this is going. This is how Alexis always get her way. This is how Alexis sucks her brother into doing anything that she wants him to, and it never works out in his favor in the end. Alexis always promises her brother she’d score him a date with Hunter, the schools, smart, most humble jock, that always appears to be the captain on every sports team their high school allows.

Alex has had the hots for Hunter for as long as he could remember, and of course being the only gay friend in their little group of friends, he was always the one left out. Despite what his sister says, however Alex knows he doesn’t have a chance. Not when Hunter is openly bi-sexual to the whole school, and can have anyone he wants, -except Alex of course.

“You say that every time, and I do. I go to the stupid party with you, and it never works out for me, Alexis. How many dates with Hunter have you promised me, that you said you’d talk to him, and you never did.”

“I promise, this time I will, please Alex?” He watched as his sister locked her phone, just to pout and beg at him. He doesn’t even know why she wants him to go anyways, everyone just ditches him to go drink, so why should he go this time knowing it won’t be any different? Of course, that’s not what he tells his sister though. She may have blue eyes, but he swears they resemble a puppy dogs eyes when he wants a treat.

“Fine,” Alex sighed, finding himself peering over to his window where the sun was starting to go down. “When is it?”

Alexis squealed, before lifting herself from her brothers bed, racing towards his bedroom door. “Party is at 9:30, Hunter’s house.” She called over her shoulder, running to her room.

Alex could just hear the groan that was threatening to escape his mouth. He so did not want to go to this party. Especially Hunter’s party, despite liking him, Hunter and his friends knew how to throw a party, and wherever the party was, Hunter was there with alcohol.

It wasn’t that he didn’t like alcohol, he enjoyed a drink here or there. But he enjoyed them with his friends, in the safety of his home, and not out in the open where he’s most vulnerable. Alex has always had a bad history with drinking. His mouth was like a secret record. No one knew what secrets he had, but boy did his mouth spill them.

Last time he was at a party drinking, it was the last day of school, and Hunter had been there, drinking, but because his sister threw the party, he was drinking long before it had started. He was drunk by the time everyone had started to show up. Alex’s biggest regret is opening the door drunk. Hunter had been on the other side of that door that night, and Alex just couldn’t keep his mouth shut.

Sighing, and flinging his head back, he looked over at the clock on his night-stand by his bed, the time flashing 6:09. At this point Alex knew if he didn’t discover something to eat, he wasn’t going to eat anything, and he was not looking forward to the hangover that would follow tomorrow morning.

“Alexis!” He called out, perhaps, if he paid for dinner, she’ll eat instead of the usual nothing, and eating a handful of chips at the party regretting it later. Alex wasn’t stupid, he knew his sister better than her own boyfriend.

“You’re not backing out are you?” Alexis spoke, peeking her head out from behind her bedroom door.

“No, do you want chinese or pizza? I am not going to this party on an empty stomach.” He spoke, glancing up at his sister, before looking back down at his phone, and typing away.

“Pizza, the usual. I had chinese last night with Derek before we went out on our date.” She stated, before closing the door to her room, leaving Alex to stand alone in the dimly lit hallway.

Retreating back to his own room, after calling in his pizza of course, he decided that a shower would do him justice considering how hot it was outside, he was all sorts of a sweat-smelling mess. Besides his shower takes him five minutes, while his sister usually takes an hour. For why, he’ll never know. Admittedly he didn’t want to find out why either. Planning his shower out, he’d have just enough time to scrub his body clean, and have at least some kind of pants on his body before the doorbell rang.

“Alex, the door.” he could practically hear his twin scream when he exited the shower. Apparently it was an issue for her to get the door since she can hear it. He doesn’t even know how because her music was so loud. It’s like a little party of her own.

Shaking his head and drying enough of his body, he slipped some basketball shorts up his legs. He walked down the stairs and to the front door of the penthouse apartment his family shared, with the right amount of cash in his hand, as well as the ten dollars in tips he usually gives them.

Another round of knocks came to the door as one of Alex’s hands touched the knob, as the other touched the locks. Upon unlocking and opening the front door, he was met with the pizza delivery guy, holding his two pies in the warm carrying case.

“Hey, how are you?” He smiled, helping the man out with the pizza.

“Good, and you?”

“Great, thanks for asking. How much?” Alex spoke, getting his money ready.

“Thirty-one dollars, fifty-two cents.”

“Keep the change.” He smiled politely after paying him the right amount, and giving his usual tip.

“Lex! Foods here.” He called out to his sister as he shut the front door of the apartment. He doubts his sister even heard him,  but if she can hear the front door, he’s positive she can hear him.

Pounding feet came down the stairs, as he met his towel-covered sister. She smiled sweetly at him before taking a whole pizza box upstairs to her room to finish getting ready. Alex wasn’t sure why, but he had a feeling that it wasn’t just his sister alone in her room. If anything he’s positive Derek was here. Derek is always here. In fact, in the past three years, Alex is positive there is never a time that Derek isn’t here.

Although he has to give them credit, they are still together, despite the girls at school that try and hang themselves on Derek. Scott and Paige were happy together, so that meant Alex was the one left out, felt like a fifth-wheel most of the time.

Walking past his sisters room, he heard giggling. God only knows what she was laughing about. Continuing down the hall to his own room, he tossed his pie onto his bed before closing the door, and turning the television on. It was fifteen minutes shy of seven, which meant he could watch at-least one and a half episodes of Stranger Things before his sister barged into his room demanding to know if he was ready or not.

He didn’t know why she would get so angry sometimes when he wasn’t ready the second she walked into his room. Considering they lived in the heart of the city, the most they had to walk for a party was twenty minutes. Most of the time, if it’s out of the city, they take a cab. But because Hunter and his friends usually held the party at Hunter’s house, that meant it was five minutes down the street, so he really doesn’t know why she complains as much as she does.