𝑊𝐴𝑁𝑇 𝑇𝐻𝐼𝑆 (locke and key gabe)

10 rewritten

She fiddled with the front strands of her hair self-consciously as she patted more powder onto her nose. A house party... with alcohol and popular people and probably drugs. She was way out of her comfort zone, Avery knew that much. But her dad had taught her that her that facing her fears was something necessary for growth. And lots of people in one place, flashing lights and loud noise... well, that was like going up against her worst nightmare. Avery mulled over the lecture her dad would give her if he were here. No boys, no alcohol, no drugs, and I'll pick you up at nine, okay? Phone me if you need anything. And please, again, no boys. And she'd have probably replied with something like nine? You better be joking. Rendell would have given her that stern laugh that never gave away if he was truly messing with her or not, and then told her how pretty she looked and hugged her close whilst she swatted him away. 

"Are you ready yet?" Kinsey sighed from her sister's bed. 

Avery tapped her fingers together nervously with one hand, whilst she popped-down the powder compact with the other. "Yeah, yeah, we can go." She said, banishing all thoughts of her dad, for fear of the tears reminiscing brought to her eyes.

"Jesus do you need a cigarette? You look like you're about to have a meltdown." Kinsey asked half-heartedly.

Avery rolled her eyes. "Spoken like a true addict." She scoffed, slinging her bag over her shoulder and smoothing out her dress. It was blue. A cute pale blue, with a corset-like top and a short skirt, probably so short that Rendell wouldn't have let her out of the house in it. Part of her wished her mom would care enough to do the same. She knew Nina was struggling, but Avery couldn't help feeling as though she had lost both of her parents.

"It's okay to be nervous, Ave. We're both unsociable little shits, this is a tad out there for me too." Kinsey tried.

Her sister snorted. "You give worse pep-talks than mom," She said, "Now come on."

Avery knew from the moment Tyler pulled onto Javi's street that the party was going to be her worst nightmare. His house, for starters- a beautiful modern home overlooking the bay below jutting cliffs was the sort of place Avery immediately knew was typically spotless and impeccably organised. Flashing lights blared from the other side of floor-to ceiling glass, and the ground thumped with the hum of faraway music blaring on speakers. Beer bottles and plastic cups littered the garden and the porch, the odd drunken teens loitering outside in small clusters. The door was already open and Tyler squeezed inside first, Avery holding her breath as she followed after him. Even the entrance hall was jam-packed with people, bodies so close it made her skin crawl with anxiety. It smelt of sweat and sick and vodka, and despite the door being wide-open, the house its self was red-hot. Tyler snuck off upstairs, and Kinsey and Avery managed to push their way into the kitchen, which was thankfully a little more spacious. The white marble counters were littered with bottles of wkd, vodka, beer and those little red cups, crumpled and discarded by the overflowing bin.

Sat by the hob, legs dangling from the counter was none other than Eden Hawkins, her best friend Jackie, and a group of older boys. Avery would have happily took the overcrowded hall rather than this. She started to back away, not wanting Matheson's queen bee to make what would already probably be a pretty terrible night, even worse. But Eden's eyes were already on her. 

"Oh, Avery." She slurred, and it wasn't difficult to tell that Eden was already drunk.

Avery rolled her eyes, glancing back at her sister. "Yes, Eden?"