Lie To Me

06. The Party (part one)

AVA STONE

"Hey guys! You made it here," Hayden's voice greeted us, making me break eye contact with Noah even though I could still feel his gaze on us.

"Hayden, hi!" I flashed him a smile.

He walked up to us, his face portraying his usual charming yet extra cheerful smile while he held one of the red vases everyone had. "How are you all doing? Ready for some partying?"

I forced a chuckle out of my lips seeing the state he was in, lightly nodding. "Sure."

"Well, in that case, welcome. Please, do treat yourselves as if this was your home. Have fun and drink lots, but not too much. I still don't know where you live and I believe we'd have a problem if you forgot," he gave us a sheepish smile before tightly hugging us three and leaving to another corner of the room, chatting with a small group that was there.

"I think he should apply the 'not drinking much' rule for himself," Leah said as she scrunched her nose up, observing him from afar, while I understood in that moment that she too had smelled alcohol on his breath. If he kept it up, then he would be more than drunk by the end of the night.

"That's sounds like a he problem. Anyways, you two know where I live, right? 'Cause I wasn't planning on applying that rule tonight," Cole said before excusing himself and going for a drink.

"He won't get too drunk, right? I don't think I'm in the mood of dealing with a drunk Cole," Leah questioned.

"I hope not," I sighed.

"Let's just get something for us, girl."

Leah then grabbed my wrist and started pulling me further into the house and through the crowd. My eyes scanned my surroundings, recognizing a few familiar faces from school, some of them who gave me a smile or wave which I awkwardly returned. We reached the house's kitchen and approached the fridge, dodging a few more people, before opening the door and grabbing a couple of sodas, one for each of us.

"Did you see the way Noah and Sophie looked at us when we walked in?" she said into my ear, the loud music making it more difficult to communicate.

"Yeah, I noticed," I sighed before taking a small sip of my soda. "If looks could kill, we'll both be dead by now."

"Well, if it makes you feel better, whatever Noah has with you is not personal."

My ears perked up at her comment and I turned to her with furrowed eyebrows.

"What do you mean?"

"People talk, Ava. It's no secret in that high school that Noah, in spite of being so popular, is not the friendliest dude. He's never opened up to any other person of that school other than his current group of friends, so seeing him and his friends welcome the three new students just sparks the interest of those who love to gossip."

"Hey, girls!" someone chirped.

We both turned to look at Kenzie, who approached us with a kind smile on her face. I immediately closed my mouth, deciding to leave this conversation for later when we could have more privacy, and curved my lips into a similar smile to hers.

"Hi, Kenzie," I greeted her with Leah giving her a nod.

"It's so nice seeing you here. And oh gosh, look at those dresses! They look incredible on you, girls," she said sincerely.