That Boy Next Door

Chapter 16

"Well, we should get going," Kate announced latching onto Seth's arm.  Her body was wrapped tightly in a strapless black dress that emphasized her tiny waist along with her model like proportions.  

Quinn bounced to Dannie's side in a baby blue dress that sparkled from the glitter overlay while Lucas stood on her other side.  

"Let's just have fun tonight and not worry about anything okay?" Quinn said looking at her sister with affection, trying to seem reassuring.  Quinn had let her guard down and the real and kind person inside her shined through.  Her brown eyes looked at Dannie as if communicating with her, as if they were saying that everything would be alright.

"Let's go crash this party!" Oliver hollered as everybody walked down the corridor.  Except for Van of course who had chosen to stay in his room.  

"We're not crashing a party if we're invited," Kate said rolling her eyes.

"Just go along with it," Oliver said, still jumping around from foot to foot, looking excited as ever.

Pulling open a heavy wooden double door, the music blasting from the room nearly blew Dannie backwards.  She had forgotten how loud and cramped teen parties could be.  Inside the room, strobe lights flashed as bodies danced and moved against each other.  The room was full but it wasn't crowded; it looked like the scene one would find at homecoming.  

"Let's dance!" Kate cried dragging Seth to the dance floor.  Dannie looked away and rubbed her chest, trying to get rid of the dull ache she felt.

She looked at Lucas who had his hands stuck in his pockets and was leaning against the wall.  Several girls who had come to the party single eyed him curiously but he paid them no attention.  Dannie shook her head; no girl would ever claim Lucas' heart.  

Their eyes met and he smiled, pushing himself off the wall.

"Shall we dance?" Lucas asked holding his hand out.  Dannie took it as he led them to the middle of the dance floor.

They spun around together, moving in sync as only best friends could do.  Laughing, Dannie looked over Lucas' shoulder and caught Seth's eye.  They glinted in the light and before she could look away, he winked at her.

'I must have imagined that' Dannie thought to herself as Lucas twirled her in circles.

"Hey, I see you made it," a familiar voice spoke from behind her.  Lucas stopped dancing and pulled Dannie closer to him.  

"Back off bud," Lucas said glaring at Matt who looked fresh, as if he had just come off a photo shoot.

"Sorry man, I just came to see if I could have a dance," Matt said, shoving his hands in his pockets and looking at Dannie from underneath his eyelashes.

"Yeah sure," Dannie agreed.  It was just a dance and Quinn had said for her to have fun.  She needed to stop being so paranoid.  Lucas reluctantly let her go and watched as Matt led her away.

Matt put his hands gently on Dannie's waist while she wrapped hers around his neck.  They moved to the beat and looked like every other teenager in the room, letting loose and partying without a care in the world.

"You're friends are really protective of you," Matt said as they paused to catch their breath.

Dannie smiled fondly as she realized that she had people who cared about her.  People who would be there for her no matter what.  "Yeah, but I love them."

In a dark corner of the room, near the food table, Katy appeared holding a bottle of some type of liquid.  The label read 'alcohol' and the devious look in her eyes told anybody who was paying attention to her what she was about to do.