Deadly Beautiful | ✓

Chapter Eight

Hailey Thomas.

We pull up in front of Olivia's house, the music blaring, cars parked all the way up each side of the street, and more teenagers than I think I've ever seen in my whole life.

"Holy shit," Aiden whistles, unbuckling his seatbelt.

"I know," I mumble, "That's a lot of people."

Aiden looks at me, raising his eyebrow. "I was talking about the size of her house. Are you sure this isn't Kim Kardashian's house we're at?" He asks, his lips curling up into an amused smile, obviously finding himself funny.

I roll my eyes, unbuckling my own seatbelt. "Let's just go before I change my mind," I sigh, opening my door and climbing out of the car, Aiden following after me as I begin walking across the road to Olivia's house.

"Stay close," Aiden mumbles into my ear as he places his hand on my lower back, leading me through the crowded house to the kitchen where Olivia is standing with Max and Iona.

For a second, I feel incredibly out of place, and then I remember that I'm not actually here to party. I'm here to talk to Elle's group of friends. But then I realise that I only see Olivia and Iona. I wonder where the rest of their group has gone to.

"How do you want to go about this?" Aiden asks, turning to look down at me as he speaks. "I think we've gotten all we're going to get from Iona. She doesn't seem to know much else other than the fact that Elle was cosying up to Mr Jensen."

I fold my arms across my chest, looking around. "You talk to Max. Find out if he really did like Elle. I'll find someone other than Olivia or Iona. They weren't Elle's only friends. Her other friends have to be around here somewhere. They're like a pack of wolves. If one is close by, there's another one not too far behind."

Aiden nods. "Be careful, Thomas. I'll get you back here in about an hour, okay?" He says, not bothering to wait for my reply and he turns away from me, strolling over to Max.

My lips part in a sigh as I look around the kitchen. Nobody is in here except a few football players, Max, Olivia and Iona. I leave the kitchen, making my way into the living room where everyone is dancing. Most of the noise seems to be coming from here.

"Hailey?" A female's voice questions and I spin around to face Kate, another one of Elle's friends. See what I mean? A pack of wolves. They stick together.

"Hi, Kate," I smile, trying to come off as friendly as possible.

I used to notice Elle and Kate arguing all the time. I didn't think much of it until now. Maybe Kate finally snapped.

Kate raises her eyebrow, lifting a red plastic cup to her lips. "I didn't think you'd come," She says after she's taken a large sip of whatever the hell is in her cup. "Olivia mentioned that she had invited you. I just didn't think this was your scene."

"Well, it's not," I say, shaking my head a little. "I came with a friend. And I came because Elle would have wanted me to."

As soon as I mention Elle, Kate stiffens and her hand visibly tightens around her red plastic cup. I tilt my head to the side a little and smile at her. She returns the smile, but it's clearly forced.

"Speaking of Elle..." I begin, taking a step closer to Kate. "Someone mentioned that they saw her hooking up with Mr Jensen," I say, twisting what Aiden had told me just a little, trying to make it sound as if I'm just trying to gossip normally. "Is that true?" I ask, almost whispering as if it's some sort of massive secret that needs to stay between the two of us.