She goes to the party, dragged along by Hannah

Jenna tried to weasel out of going, but Hannah was not having it. "You never come out to these things. You've got to at least try, Jenna," she says as she holds Jenna's wrist and physically starts to drag her out of the band room.

Jenna only relented because the clarinetist's grip was surprisingly strong. That's what she told herself, at least, as the two of them made sure the band room was locked up and Hannah brought her over to her car. She opened the door so she could nudge her into the passenger seat - which again, Jenna gave into, but only because her friend was so insistent that she do it that she was a little surprised and curious about what was happening.

Again, that's what she told herself, at least.

"It'll be fun," Hannah reassured her as the clarinetist drove them to Ethan's house, "his parents are gone for the weekend and I know how your parents are. You need to unwind a little, okay? Just have fun for once, get out of your head and into the party." She smiled at Jenna, and Jenna smiled shyly back at her.

They pulled up to the house. Jenna knew Ethan's family had money, but the sheer size of the house overwhelmed her for a moment: they had a circular driveway around a little fountain that already had a lot of cars from other classmates around it, she could see an actual hedge like out of a movie as they'd driven up, and it felt like she was intruding someplace she didn't belong.

"Come on," Hannah said insistently as she parked, noticing Jenna's hesitation. "No more awkward geek tonight. Here, drink this," she pressed a little bottle of clear liquor into Jenna's hand. "Go on. Pregame a little."

Jenna unscrewed the top, the smell of peppermint practically burning her nostrils. But she obediently took a long drink, managing to mostly swallow it before coughing from the liquid fire going down her throat. "Good, right?" She heard a little distantly as the bottle was pushed to her lips again.