What They've Done To Us

30 ➹ wish you were sober

His eyes snap up to mine as if sensing I'm watching and I see him bask in the attention. I break my gaze from him, heading in the other direction that leads to the kitchen. The others are still waiting on me and I don't want them to get rowdy. Especially since it wasn't Valé or Nayelie's idea to come here but Ambers.

"What we're not going to go anywhere because of what we've done? Yeah, we fucked up. But we don't deserve to hate on ourselves the way everyone else has started to." Amber starts one of her many rants, she's seated at her vanity looking at herself in the mirror. I would think she was admiring herself if I hadn't stared at myself the same way - criticisingly.

"It's his birthday," Valé reasons.

"Who fucking cares? It's Valentines day too."

"I care," she counters. "I wouldn't talk that way about Sage Amber."

Amber turns to face us, "fine, sorry. I take back the who fucking cares, but I don't take back that it's Valentines day. We're hot, we're deserving and we might not always make the smartest decisions but we've got some brains too."

"Is that supposed to be a pep talk?" Nai asks from where she's seated at the end of Amber's bed. We've all collectively assigned Amber's room as the meetup spot. Valé's too close to Caleb and I'm in the same quarter so that rules us out. We would go to Nai's but the spades quarter is too scary at night, ruling her out as well.

Amber shares a room with Mila and Mila's laid back. She doesn't care if we're in here or that her room is occupied most of the time. She's in the art studio drawing up sketches for the most part, that or with one of her cousins.

"Okay genius, then you give me one." Nai raises her arms in surrender at Amber's order. "Yeah, that's what I thought." Amber toys and Nai and rolls her eyes but doesn't object.

"I think we should." I pipe in.

Three sets of eyes turn to me instantly and I swear Amber is eyeing me as if I've grown another head. "You think we should?" There's an emphasis on 'you'.

"Why not?" I shrug, "I mean only if you guys want to. But I think I'm getting sick of seeing all of Mila's candles." Collectively, all heads turn to Mila Astralis' bedside table where she's got some of her never-ending amount of candles on display.

"You really want to you?" Valé asks turning to me, a weary look paints across her face. "Because I'll go it if you go."

"So all I needed to do was be named Nadia Baelene to have you agree?" Amber feigns hurt.

"Don't worry Ambs, I'd come for you," Nai grins promiscuously.

"You'd come for anyone." Amber dismisses, a pillow is thrown at her for that one.

The club quarters kitchen differs from hearts because there are no double doors that separate the lounge from the kitchen. I walk into the open space and notice the visible difference in not only the floor plan but the crowd as well. There are only a few people in the kitchen, dancing between the quietness of it and the rest of the party.

I pass the bowls of drinks not trusting the punch bowl filled with what I'm assuming is some concoction of lemonade and alcohol. I like my odds sober.

"There's no water in there." I turn to face the familiar voice letting my hands fall away from the hold I'd had on the fridge door, I hear it shut behind me.

"Oh." Luca's leaning agaisnt the entrance of the kitchen, he's been watching. For how long? I swallow at the sight of him nonetheless, I haven't seen much of Luca here.