Mike Wheeler had been invited to a party. It was a miracle. He figured the day he and his friends got invited to a party was the day the world was going to end. That day happened in October of his junior year. Jennifer Hayes, clutching a stack of papers up to her chin, marched up to every table at lunch and handed out party invitations. Not only had she handed out one to each of the boys but she'd even smiled at Will when she gave him his invitation. The world was surely about to end.

He knew that his family would make a big deal about him going to a party so he lied and said that he and his friends were hanging out at Dustin's house. A big deal not because they would be worried about them but because of the shock that he'd been invited to one in the first place. Mike considered telling Nancy after the fact. Her teasing was something he could handle.

Lucas, who was the only one in the group with a license and a car, picked them all up the night of the party. Jennifer's house could be spotted the second they pulled onto the street. Cups and drunken teenagers were scattered across her lawn and a few even made it out to the street. The noise was deafening when they walked inside and the crowd made Mike feel a bit like a sardine tightly packed in a can.

In the living room couples were dancing in a way that would be rated PG 13 if it were in a movie. In the kitchen people were taking shots and raiding the refrigerator. Each of the boys took a cup of punch from a large bowl on the kitchen table. From the first sip alone Mike could tell it was spiked. None of them seemed to mind too much to Mike took little sips until he started to get used to the way it burned his throat.

They wandered around the house looking for some place where they could fit comfortably. In the dining room Jennifer was dancing on the table with a guy on the football team. Just before they wandered out of the room someone started throwing money at her. After doing a once over of the whole first floor they decided to retreat down to the basement. Hopefully it would be a bit calmer down there.

With the basement door closed behind them most of the party crowd was muffled. They walked down into an interesting group of people. The few couches in the basement were occupied by couples sitting uncomfortably close to one another. There was a passed out boy on an arm chair, a few people sitting by themselves, and two girls sitting in the opposite corner talking to one another quietly. Mike recognized Max Mayfield from his algebra class and was pretty sure he'd seen her talking to the girl next to her before. Her brown curly hair that just reached her chin was vaguely familiar. The four boys claimed a spot by the bottom of the stairs and sipped on their drinks while they chatted quietly amongst themselves.

They'd only been downstairs for about ten minutes when the door opened again. A slightly drunk Margret Wilson stumbled down the steps with a bottle in her hand. She had unofficially been crowned coolest girl in school when she started dying streaks of color in her hair in the sixth grade. When they got back summer vacation on the first day of junior year she had a nose piercing and her hair was dyed a deep teal color, which was still fading the night of the party. Dustin had a bit of a crush on her, though he'd never verbally admitted it to them. The look on his face when she came downstairs was enough of a giveaway. There was never a need for him to admit it.

Once she reached the bottom of the stairs she downed the remaining beer in the bottle and looked across the room. "Guess the real party's down here." She said sarcastically as she walked over to a radio sitting on an end table. Margret flipped through stations until she landed on some pop song Mike didn't know, not nearly as loud as the music upstairs, and turned back to everyone else. "Anyone up for spin the bottle?" she asked.

Dustin practically choked on his drink. Margret didn't seem to notice.

She made her way over to an uneasy looking couple sitting on the couch. "Come on, it's just a little game guys. It doesn't mean anything." She grabbed their hands and pulled them to their feet. "I didn't chug this beer for nothing."

The only people who didn't budge were Mike and his friends and the two girls sitting across the room from them. And the boy who was passed out.

Margret noticed their hesitation and frowned at them. "You boys don't want to play with us?"

Mike just managed to make out Lucas whispering in Dustin's ear "If you don't I will." Before getting to his feet. Dustin followed shortly after. Mike and Will, a bit more reluctantly, got up and joined the circle.

Just as he sat down he saw Max pulling her friend over to the group. The look on the girls' face was a perfect depiction of his own reluctance. She sent a glare at her friend as she took the empty spot next to Margret, who was wearing a wide smile. "Oh, and by the way." She announced before grabbing the bottle and giving it a strong spin, "We're not just doing spin the bottle. We're going seven minutes in heaven."

Mike had to hold himself back from groaning.

The bottle slowed until it stopped. It was aimed somewhere between Dustin and Will. Mike leaned forward to catch a glimpse of Dustin staring wide eyed at the bottle with his mouth hanging open slightly. It didn't surprise him much when Will spoke up and said "I think it's more on you."

Margret got to her feet, straightened her skirt, and flashed him a grin. "Come on, Henderson." She said. The look on Dustin's face was absolutely priceless as he followed her across the room and into the closet.

The door closed behind them and the room fell silent, aside from the music. Lucas made a joke about Dustin needed to be rerestarted after his seven minutes that they all chuckled at. At about minute five the girl next to Max got to her knees and started to stand up. Max grabbed her hand and tugged her back down to the floor, whispering "You'd rather be up there?" the girl didn't try to get up again.

Pairs took turns spinning and going in and out of the closet. Margret was good at holding up a conversation to keep things from getting awkward. While Lucas and a senior girl named Jessie were in the closet she looked over at the three of them that remained.

"You guys are in the AV club, right?" she asked as she reached over and grabbed the drink Lucas had left behind. When they nodded in agreement she pointed a finger at Mike. "You're the president?"

He couldn't help but be a little shocked that Margret Wilson knew something about him. She was elite-level cool. "Yeah."

"That's cool." The three of them exchanged a glance as she took a sip. Cool? "You have to be, like, super smart to do that kind of stuff. I could never figure it out."

For the first time since they'd been in the closet together Dustin seemed to regain the ability to speak. "It just takes a bit of practice. It's not really that hard."

She nodded her head a few times. "Maybe I'll stop by sometime. You guys can teach me something."

Dustin's face looked red enough to catch on fire.

When Lucas and Jessie returned back to the circle Margret was once again sporting a large smile. "I think Mr. President should go next."

Mike wanted to protest. He wanted to be a spectator only. In his life he'd kissed one girl on vacation before the eighth grade. It had been alright. Not an experience he was dying to relive. Especially not in Jennifer Hayes' basement while admittedly a bit tipsy. But everyone was watching him expectantly and he didn't have the backbone to say no. Mike was a people pleaser. Plus he figured he would talk his way out of doing anything with whoever it landed on.

The bottle spun.

Then it slowed. And slowed. And slowed. Until it stopped.

His eyes met with a wide and slightly frightened pair of brown ones sitting opposite from him. The girl who had previously gotten up to leave looked back and forth between him and the bottle that was pointing directly at her. A small chorus of 'oh's made it impossible to hear what Max whispered in her ear. The girl didn't wait for him as she stood up and headed for the closet. Mike purposely didn't look at his friends as he followed her across the room. He didn't even know her name, how was he supposed to kiss her? For seven whole minutes? He managed to catch a glimpse at her pink cheeks before he closed the closet door behind him. Darkness and silence fell over them and it was instantly awkward.

Through the darkness he managed to sense her movement before light flooded the small closet. She let go of the chain hanging from the light bulb and let her hand drop back down to her side. The girl wore a pair of converse, jeans, and jean jacket over a black t-shirt. He couldn't help but notice that she was cute, which only made him a little bit more nervous.

Mike cleared the lump that had settled in his throat. "We, uh, don't have to do anything."

She offered him a small smile. "Thanks." She said quietly. "I'm Jane, by the way."

Once she said her name he knew where he recognized her from. She was the Chiefs daughter that he'd adopted a few years back. Her first day of school was back in ninth grade. Though he'd never spoken to her before Mike had heard the rumors that followed her around school. That Hopper had arrested her drug addict mother and took her in. That she was from Indianapolis and had a criminal record of her own. That she had gotten caught smoking in the girls' bathroom her first week at school. Generally, all the rumors were about her outrageous reputation. But seeing her so shy and embarrassed made him question them even more.

"I'm Mike." He said, "Wheeler."

Her smile twitched wider. "Mr. President Mike Wheeler?" He rolled his eyes and pretended to be annoyed but his cheeks had flushed bright red. "I bet any boy would kill to have Margret Wilson smile at them like that."

Mike simply shrugged. "My friend is really into her. Besides, she's not really my type."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "The one that went into the closet with her?" when he nodded she smiled even more. "I can tell."

He laughed. "I'm pretty sure the whole universe can tell."

Jane shifted her weight from one foot to the other. In the minute and a half that they'd been alone she was starting to relax. "I'm not usually a party person." She admitted. "But Max made me come because she heard the guy she likes got invited and she didn't want to come alone." She laughed and leaned her head back against the wall. "Next thing I know I'm half drunk and playing spin the bottle with the whole AV club."

Even with both of them leaning against the wall they were so close their legs touched. Neither of them tried to move, but there wouldn't have been much room if they wanted to. "Yeah, I bet it's every girls dream to be in the closet with the AV club president."

She shrugged. "Margret seemed to think AV club is pretty cool." Jane said. "And I do too. My dad's not super up to date on technology. Pretty much all we have is the TV and radios. I haven't had too much exposure."

"Well what Dustin said is true. It's not that hard." He told her. "Maybe you and Margret could stop by together."

Jane laughed again. He tried to ignore how cute her laugh was. "I think I'll just come with Max. If I can convince her."

They fell silent once again and listened to the chatter coming from outside. Mike was pretty sure he could hear Margret singing along to a Cyndi Lauper song. Another minute or two passed before Mike spoke up again. "Aren't you scared your dad's going to bust this party and you'll get in trouble?"

"That's exactly while I made sure I was still at least a little coherent." She told him. Jane then reached into her pocket and pulled out a pack of mint gum. "As long as he doesn't smell it on my breath I'm good."

"That's pretty genius."

She smiled again and pulled out a strip of gum and handed it to him. "Just in case." She added as he took it.

"Thanks."

From outside the door they both heard Margret calling to them "Two minutes, lovebirds! Start putting your clothes back on!"

Jane's face turned just as red as his felt. She cleared her throat quietly before speaking again. "Well thanks for, you know, not being pushy or anything. I'm not hammered but I've had enough that I'm probably not the best decision maker right now."

Mike grinned. As an inexperienced drinker he had a feeling he was one more cup of punch away from being at the same level of drunkenness. "It's okay. I could tell you weren't thrilled about the idea about playing."

"Well, that was back when I thought I was going to get stuck with the senior guy who's on the football team." She said. "You're okay."

His reply got caught in his throat when she pushed herself off the wall and took the single step that separated them. The top of her head just reached his chin and there was only a few inches in between them. Mike wondered if it was quiet enough for her to hear his pounding heart. He wished he could read her mind to make sure she was thinking was he thought she was thinking.

"Can I tell you a secret?" she said, her voice quieter than before. Mike wasn't confident his voice would work so he simply nodded. "I've never kissed a boy before."

"Wow." Was all Mike could manage to choke out. She was probably thinking what he thought she was thinking.

"I know." She agreed. Jane put her hands on his shoulders. Her hands felt warm even over his sweatshirt. "Is this okay?"

"Yeah."

She was definitely thinking what he thought she was thinking.

Jane stared at her for just a moment longer before shutting her eyes, standing on her toes, and pressing her lips to his. Mike's body felt like the grand finale of a firework show on the 4th of July. The one kiss he'd had down in Florida on vacation was absolutely nothing compared to kissing Jane. Whether it was the party setting, the alcohol in his system, or her that made it so different he wasn't sure. Either way it made him wonder why he hadn't tried giving kissing another chance sooner.

He pushed himself off the wall and wrapped his arms around her waist, both in an attempt to get closer to her. Their lips moved like ballet dancers, gentle and passionate all at the same time. Every hair on his body stood on its end when her hands slowly moved up and into his hair. How, for years and years, had this girl passed him by totally unnoticed? Either she was good at hiding or Mike was completely oblivious.

He wished they could stay there forever.

But the sound of someone's fist pounding on the door practically made both of them jump out of their skin. They stared wide eyed at each other while adrenaline made his heart pound. Margret's voice quickly followed her aggressive knock. "Time's up, you two!" she called.

Jane was the first to move. She pushed her hair away from her face and flashed him a small smile. "See you out there."

She reached up and shut off the light. Only seconds later the door opened and he watched her walk out. His limbs felt like led but he forced himself to follow her out. As soon as he returned to the spot he'd been sitting in before he took his turn he picked up his red plastic cup and drank the remaining spiked punch.

Will, who sat next to him, leaned over and whispered in his ear "Your face is as red as that cup."

Mike sent him a halfhearted glare in response. As the next person reached forward to spin the bottle in the middle of the group his gaze met with Jane's once again. She was whispering to Max too low for him to hear. Jane smiled at him once more before she continued what he was sure was a recap of their time in the closet.