Secrets

Chapter One

There are multiple time skips in this chapter. They are represented by :::

Hope you enjoy!

---

---

My phone buzzes, automatically alerting me that my best friend Hanna is waiting in her car outside my house. I had agreed to accompany her to a party at school earlier in the day, and I'm actually quite excited about it. I'm not the biggest fan of parties, but I do enjoy them. It is strange that we're going to a party on a Thursday night, but the thought doesn't seem to bother me.

Taking a look in my bedroom mirror, a sudden burst of self-confidence lights up, making me smile at my reflection. My tanned legs are showing, but my outfit is still classy enough for a seventeen year old to be wearing. There's no doubt that Hanna's outfit will have less fabric.

After making sure I have everything I need and reapplying my mascara, I wander downstairs. My parents are watching a movie in the living room, so I move towards the front door quietly but quickly. Sure enough, Hanna's car is parked outside, the headlights turned off.

My heels click against the pavement as I approach the car and climb inside. My blonde sidekick looks at me excitedly, biting her lip and raising her eyebrows. "Are you ready to have some fun tonight, Tori?"

:::

Extremely loud music sounds throughout the house party. Groups of girls are flirting and gossiping with each other. Packs of guys are scanning the room, looking for some fun while intoxicated. By now, nobody even knows what they're drinking, but at this point they don't care.

I weave my way through the crowd, avoiding familiar faces with my ninja skills. I bring my solo cup up to my lips, and cringe at the burning sensation of alcohol sliding down my throat. This isn't the first house party I've attended, and it's certainly not the last, but I've never found a liking for alcohol. In fact, the only alcoholic drink I don't mind drinking is a tequila sunrise, and that's only because the orange flavor mixes incredibly well with the tangy tequila.

I spot a flash of blonde hair and green eyes from in the crowd. I crane my neck like an ostrich, only to see that my friend is making her way towards me. As soon as I know she can hear me, I speak loudly over the music to her. "I like your approach, now let me see your departure, bitch."

She smiles falsely at me before using her sweetest voice. "You used to be so arrogant and obnoxious, Tori. Now you're just the opposite. You're obnoxious and arrogant."

Hanna Howards is the bad girl of our high school, and she treasures that label as if she won an Olympic medal. She knows that every guy wants to get with her, and she loves torturing them by biting her lip and swaying her hips, just the way they like it. As far as I can tell, however, she has no interest in any of the douchebags from school. She's bisexual, but she doesn't seem to want a relationship with any girls at the moment either.

I'm proud to say that I am her badass sidekick, who is actually not exceptionally bad. I do cause trouble everywhere I go, but not many people find a 5'3 brunette frightening, so I just stick by Hanna's side and we intimidate people together quite successfully.

We both laugh at our usually insulting greeting, before I find myself studying her. "You're not totally wasted?" I ask her, surprised at her unusual behavior.

She laughs once again. "I am capable of staying sober, Tori. I had a beer when we first got here, but I'm just not feeling it tonight."

I take a look around the party, examining the guests. Most of the kids who are still here are completely wasted. I turn back towards Hanna. "Yeah, maybe we should leave. We have class tomorrow and we weren't even invited anyway."