They Came In Hoodies

Chapter 21: Please Stop This

Look out for the <>!

Stella POV

"Hey, you need to drink this," Alice said as I walked into the house of Timberlyn's for a party I got roped into going to.

I didn't remember the turn of events that got me here, but I did remember talking to Alice and Timberlyn during lunch. They brought up the idea of the party so easily; insisting I should come even though I told them no. But they wouldn't budge and so here I was, looking around at all the underage drinkers.

Alice shook the cup in her hand, forcing my attention back to her, which caused me to give her a fake smile. "I'll pass. Thanks," I said, as I remembered the last time I drank in LA. That was the first party I went to. I was told it would be fun, but it was nothing but fun. That football player almost took advantage of me when I took a few drinks and I wouldn't let that happen again. That was the last time I would drink at a party, I was sure of it.

"Oh bummer. It's the good stuff," she said and downed the cup that she offered me. "I'm so excited that you showed up."

At least someone was because I for sure wanted to leave and I just got here. She didn't understand that she really didn't give me a choice in the matter. I was here because I wanted to stay within the circle of her knowledge. I was not here for fun times and drinks. "It'll be fun," I said with less confidence than I wanted to have.

<>

She did not notice my tone and led me to the dance floor. "Let's dance."

"I don't really want to..." But it was already too late, I was on the floor, dancing with Alice. She swayed to the music as if it was the best song she ever heard, although I was pretty sure she had never listened to the song before. Songs passed, and slowly I became more comfortable with being here. Once again, I was surprised that I was having a better time than I thought I would.

"Gosh, Stella, you are such an excellent dancer." She said as she wrapped her arms around me, pulling me closer.

The song switched to a slower song and I let out a breath, knowing that she would not want to dance to a song with such a slow beat. Maybe, if I was lucky, we could take a break and sit down because I wasn't sure how much more dancing I could do.

"You know, you look stunning in that outfit."

"Thanks." Alice had given me compliments before, but this one was different from the rest. It made me wonder what she was really thinking about for a moment.

Breaking me from my thoughts was when she brushed some of my hair from my face intimately. The touch caused me to pull back slightly to look at her better. Alice had a boyfriend. I wasn't sure what she was doing here.

"Have you ever kissed a girl before?"

I shook my head silently, not sure what to say to her. I never had and honestly, I never thought about it in the past. But as we danced, I wouldn't help but wonder what her lips tasted like.

"Want to try?"

Her question was so gentle and soft, making me wonder if she had ever done it herself.

"Hey Alice! Redmon is here. I told him to find you. Have you seen him yet?"

And just like that, our moment was over as Alice dropped her hands and smiled at the boy that approached us. "We probably should find him. Oh Stella, you are going to love Red, he is fantastic," Alice gushed as if we never had that moment to begin with.

With her words slurring slightly, I wondered if she would even remember this moment tomorrow. I would, but something told me not to bring this up with her. She was drunk, probably didn't even mean it to begin with.