loved by you // j.b

three

☆ three: way out of my comfort zone ☆
word count: 1208

My only response was my eyes growing so wide, they must've been bulging out of my head. I sat in silence for a split second, "What?" I couldn't believe Grace was asking me, her nobody, childhood friend, to go with her to a party in New York City. She only looked at me with her lip bitten.

"Grace... No!" I said, shaking my head and laughing it off like it must've been some sort of joke. She began to pout like a child, "Why the hell not? I told Amy that I was spending time with you and I wasn't aware of any events for at least another two days. She felt bad for not telling me sooner and said I could bring you as my plus one!"

  I only looked at her, shaking my head slowly. She stomped her feet like a whining child before running over and collapsing onto the couch beside me.

"Grace... I have nothing I could wear to a party like that. You said you have to be seen by photographers, which I'm assuming is paparazzi included. That means there's gonna be some pretty big names there," I said, "Unfortunately, that is not my crowd. I would stick out like a sore thumb at a party like that."

  For some reason, I was overrun with nerves just imagining attending. "That's the best part," she smirked, leaning in and taking my hands, "Amy's gonna hook you up with my wardrobe, hair, and makeup team! It's perfect!" I had no words seeming I was running out of excuses not to go with her... This would be the experience of a lifetime.

I was in a state of shock. I had to be dreaming, right? There's no way this offer is real. "There's literally no reason why you can't come with me. I'll be there with you and you know you'll have the best time," she persuaded, wiggling her eyebrows giddily. Still, I continued only shooting her a glare with squinted eyes.

  Irritated, she let go of my hands and leaned back sassily on the arm of the couch. "Be so for real right now... You have nothing better to do and we never get to do anything together anymore. Besides, this is an offer you actually can not turn down," she said, hitting me with a bit of tough love. I kissed my teeth, looking away from her and focusing on the corner. "Come on... Please, Rylee?" she pouted, twisting her head and looking up at me with puppy dog eyes.

  "Okay! Fine, I'll come with you," I huffed, turning her way with a defeated smile. "Hell yes!" she squealed excitedly, grabbing me abruptly and rocking me in a violently-excited hug. She pulled me up from the couch in a hurry, "I'm so glad begging didn't take too long because we have to pack a few things and head to the airport."

  "Right now?" I asked, surprised. "Right now!" she exclaimed, dancing back and forth of her feet. I couldn't help but copy her, both of us now dancing excitedly and practically jumping like little kids. "I can't believe I'm going to a party in NYC!" I squealed, finally showing some excitement as we celebrated. I have never been to New York City, let alone to a big party like this.

Grace and I ran to my bedroom, her gathering her things back into her bag as I began packing one. Hurriedly dressing myself, I packed some extra clothes. I gathered all my hygiene essentials and some of my makeup. I grabbed the rest of my travel essentials, which always felt like more than I really needed.

In what felt like the blink of an eye, Grace and I were getting into an Uber and headed towards the airport. The entire ride, we were gossiping and talking excitedly about the night ahead of us. Once at the airport, we were led to a private jet that had been sent for Grace on behalf of her management team.

This in itself felt like an out-of-body experience. I had never even been on a plane and now I was flying on a private jet. It amazed me that this was everyday, normal life for Grace. My small town best friend had made it out of the small town and made a name for herself. I mean, she was practically an A-List model hanging out with Gigi Hadid and Barbara Palvin.

It wasn't but a couple of hours later that we had landed at a private landing strip in New York City. "Grace, baby!" A woman, who I assume was Amy, cooed as we stepped down from the jet. Grace only smiled, greeting her with a small hug and kiss on the cheek. "And you must be the best friend," she smiled warmly as she looked me up and down.

I nodded nervously, extending my hand out to her, "Rylee." She grabbed my hand, pulling me into her for the same quick hug and cheek kiss that Grace received. "You're gorgeous, that's helpful," she laughed, gesturing up and down as she looked me over once more. I laughed, kind of embarrassed, looking down at myself and back up to her as I thanked her for the compliment.

"Alright girls, let's get this show on the road!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands and walking fast towards the black suv behind her. Grace turned to me with a quick smile, grabbing my hand to help calm the nerves and lead the way.

We got into the back seat of the suv with Amy as she instructed the driver where to take us. "You're nervous, I can tell," Grace giggled, looking at me as she handed me a chilled bottle of water. I unscrewed the lid, taking a swig and swallowing loudly, "That easy to tell?"

"Darling, there's nothing to be nervous about! Just keep in mind that nobody at this party is better than you. I'm gonna put you in a gorgeous dress. Your hair and makeup will be done. The only difference between you and them is that more people know their names, and that isn't always a good thing," Amy smiled sweetly, patting my knee in a motherly way.

"I will need you to sign some consent forms, though," she stated, pulling out a folder from her bag and handing it to me accompanied with an ink pen. "Don't worry," Grace whispered as I began to unsurely flip through some of the pages with complicated lettering, "It's just saying you're okay with being in a couple of photos and things like that."

I nodded, fully trusting Grace and signing my name away on these papers. I never had to do anything like this before so this was... different to say the least. Passing the time with conversation as we waited through traffic, I heard Amy exclaim, "We're here!"

☆ author's note ☆
— hey everybody! ahhh! she's gonna go to the party! i hope you're as excited for these next few chapters as i am! i'm going to add a picture of what she'll be wearing at the start of next chapter. anyways, more to come <3