When Chemicals React [open!]

[CORY JOSEPH LANGLEY]

You make me feel outta my element.

{Like I'm walkin on broken glass}

The wind blew through the branches of the tree that Cory sat under, making a soft rattling sound. He watched as the long grass almost seemed like the ocean's waves rolling with the breeze. He began to understand why some of the greatest authors liked to sit under trees or in big open fields to get their inspiration. The view was breath-taking and the silence really helped you think about stuff. Not like Cory had any reason to seek out silence, but instead sought out sound of some sort.

He was always home alone and therefore was always greeted by the deafening silence. Sure Niki, his golden retriever, was company but he needed human companionship. That was the reason he was often found on the floor of people's houses, drunk out of his mind and had the label of a real party animal. It didn't matter if it was a party, bonfire, or gathering of any sort. you would always find Cory there. He took any excuse to not return to the empty house.

He had quite a reputation around school for a numerous amount of reasons. First of all, he was a flirt. It really didn't matter if they had a boyfriend or girlfriend and it didn't matter if he had a girlfriend, if a girl walked by he would begin to hit on her. Not like it meant much because if he truly liked the girl, they would be sure to know about it. He wasn't the kind of guy to give up easily and would constantly ask the girl out eve if she turned him down numerous times. He was also a bit of a clingy boyfriend, constantly wanting to be around his girlfriend which led to a lot of his break-ups.

Another reason for his reputation was his partying life style. He didn't like to get drunk every night, even if that what everyone assumed. He only did it because that was the only way they wouldn't send him home. Cory would even sometimes pretend to be drunk just to make sure he would stay the night. When there didn't seem to be any parties going on, Cory was known to throw some of the most awesome parties. He had a pretty large house and therefore had tons of space for people to come and have a good time. He was hooked up and could get booze easily, which made him the official boot for people wanting to buy booze.

Something else that was interesting about him were his eyes. He had a case of heterochromia which meant that his eyes were different colors, his left eye green and and his right eye blue. It was unique and no one else in the school had it that he knew of. Cory loved being unique and would often wear stuff that would make him stand out, like today for instance he was wearing bright green converse so people would notice him when he walked by. He looked like the king of the school when he walked down the hallway with aviators, perfectly messy brown hair and a killer smile. People could tell by the way that he walked around that he had quite a reputation around the school.

Sure he was a pretty popular boy, both with girls and the partyiers but he still felt a little unfulfilled. His parents bought him everything he wanted to make up for their absence but their expensive gifts meant nothing to him. He often donated them to charities for the less fortunate, they would make better use of it then he would. Sure, silence was appreciated once in a while but if some other kid was thrust into the silence as much as Cory was, they would constantly seek out human company too.

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[TREYTON REESE CAMPBELL]

<sup>Treyton was sure about one thing - sure, he blamed himself for his best friend's death. But he knew that it was Cory's fault for having the party that his friend wanted to crash that night. Trey and his friends had never been in with the royal boys in the school - Trey had never even really had a conversation with any of them. But that night Cory was throwing a huge party at his humble abode, and Trey's friend Chris wanted to attend - or 'crash' if you will. This was not something Trey had had in mind for their friday night out, but he didn't mind a good party.

Once they arrived, they started taking shots, some of Trey's female friends were around. They had jello shooters and other shots that were being sucked from a girl's cleavage. He got in on that, but it didn't take long for him to get wasted. He started to feel woozy, and found somewhere to sit for a while, and rest. The room was spinning. About an hour later, when things at the party started to die down and the room was no longer turning him in circles, Trey found Chris in the kitchen. Chris swore he was ok to drive, and Trey handed over the keys.

They got into Trey's truck, and Chris drove them towards Trey's house where they would both crash for the night. Need less to say, the truck was in the ditch wrapped up in some trees. Chris died on impact and Trey had to be pried out, he had a broken arm and some other minor injuries. He recovered quickly and was back to school in no time, but nothing was the same without Chris around. He got a new car, things were getting betted, but he still missed his friend every day.

It took a while, but eventually memories started coming back to him from that night, months after the accident. Cory's party, the girls, the shots, the booze Chris was drinking in the kitchen... He tried to et Cory sued for damages, but the accident was blamed on Chris. Chris's name was tattered and his parents moved from town after they cremated him.

Now, at school, things are still different, but he's back to his old self. He has friends, and he's still searching for a girl friend. Walking through the field that afternoon, thinking about Chris and nights spent out there, it was surprising to him to see Cory himself out there, alone - he was sitting under a tree. He didn't know what to say, or whether he should talk. But he sure as hell wouldn't be nice if Cory talked to him.

As he got closer, he decided to say something to him, not meaning to start a fight, but figured it could probably turn out that way. It's all our fault he's gone, you know.</sup>

[CORY JOSEPH LANGLEY]

Suddenly the serentity was disrupted by a male oice telling him that it was his fault. He turned around to view the guy whose best friend had died in a drunk driving accident. Sure, the accident had occured after one of Cory's numerous blowouts and he felt sorry for the kid but this kid had actually tried to sue Cory. It wasn't Cory's fault in his opinion. He hadn't even invited the kid, he just showed up and began to drink. It was the kid's own fault for driving home when he was under the influence. All the memories from that night began to flood back.

The music was blaring and he was sure the doorbell was going to break from the numerous times it was rang, numerous people at the door everytime. Cory had decided to throw one of his famous blowouts, filled with alcohol and hot teens looking for fun and tonight was no exception. His parents had hired a man named Jackson to supervise Cory, too bad he was wrapped around Cory's finger and was actually persuaded to go but a large quantity of alcohol for his weekly event. He threw parties almost every week, sometimes two or three times aweek and as per usual, this party was beginning to go out of control.

The door bell rang for the five millionth time and Cory had to reluctantly pull himself from a coversation with a smokin' girl to answer it. When he got to the door, he realized that he didn't recognize the two guys at the door but hey, more the merrier right and let them in the door. He saw that they went right to the jello shooters and other shots being taken from his friend Jessie's cleavage. Again, his parties were famous for those kind of things. After that, he hadn't seen them, not that he was looking that long for them for he was too busy sucking face with numerous girls. The party took a while to calm down but finally it died down, but when he awoke there were almost thirty teens passed out on the floor.

Later that day as he was watching the news, he saw the story about the fatal accident where a drunk teen had been driving and had lost control of the vehicle. When he saw the picture of the boy flash onto the screen, he realized immediatly who it was. It was one of the unknown guys that he had let into his house to enjoy the festivites. He grabbed his forehead for two reasons. One, h had a spitting hangover and two, he realized that that kid had been at his party last night. He knew that his parents would be all over his ass in a few days. At least his dad was a lawyer.

Now, here this kid was basically saying that Cory was partially responsible for his friend's death. Sure, Cory felt guilty but it wasn't his fault. " Hey buddy. Listen, I'm sorry for your loss and everything but really, it ain't my fault.One, I didn't even invite you guys but you guys just showed up and started drinking. Two, you shouldn't have let him drive. I mean, you should have realized that he was wasted. You two should have gotten a taxi. Sorry about your loss dude. I'm sure he was a great guy, but maybe you should get your story straight. I didn't really appraiciate the summons."

[TREYTON REESE CAMPBELL]

<sup>Trey kept thinking about that fateful night, about the party and his friend Chris who lost his life for no reason. But instead of allowing himself to blame his own self or Chris - he placed the blame on who ever else he could, and he placed it on Cory because it was his party. He knew that was wrong, but he didn't care at the time, and he didn't really care now.

He had started this conversation knowing he should have left it well enough alone. He was sure that Cory hated him for the lawsuit, but things were settled out of court and Trey had a new jeep - he wasn't sure what else was getting him so pissed off about everything. Maybe it was the party and the idea that it's all good to drink when you are underage. He knew he shouldn't have drunk and Chris said he was ok to drive. How was Trey supposed to know for sure he was or wasn't. He himself was wasted - tossing his own cookies in Cory's Mom's flower beds in front of the house.

He listened to what Cory had to say about that night... about them just showing up uninvited and how Trey should have know that Chris was trashed. Trey was not one to really stand up for himself, nor was he willing to take the blame for something he really had not much control over. He should not have gotten himself trashed, but that was a first for him, and Chris had done it before. His biggest mistake had been to trust Chris. He realized that now.

He looked at Cory, Sorry for jumping your case - the whole thing was not my fault but I'm glad neither of us had to make it to court. I apologize for all that, all though I'm sure it doesn't make up for anything. But seriously, what's the point of having parties when underage and inexperienced kids can come and get trashed at your house. I'm actually surprised no one else has filed suit against you.</sup>