The New Normal

Chapter Twenty Two

Three days later, Homecoming was here and I found myself extremely hesitant to go. I knew I would be attending regardless, I had already purchased my dress and everyone was all set to get ready at my place. After my incident with Brody, no one bothered to ask questions, but I knew they already knew what had happened. Tyler must've warned them not to say anything because no one breathed a word of it, even as we were getting ready.

The boys, already in their suits, were lounging in my living room, all drinking a bottle of beer, aside from Ryan, who was our designated drive for the night. Whereas, us girls were running around like chickens with our heads cut off in my room, trying to do some finishing touches on our hair and makeup. Kimberly was wearing a short turquoise dress and silver heels and Seth, bless his soul, got a tie to match her outfit. Stella wore a nice petal pink dress that was also short and I loved how it looked on her, it complemented her soft features and personality, not to mention, the colour really suited Ryan, who was more than happy to wear a tie to match his girl.

Then there was me. I had found my dress at an old boutique down by the cafe before one of my closing shifts. I saw it in the window and for whatever reason, I felt like I had to buy it. It was a short red dress, that was off the shoulder and made primarily of lace. When I tried it on in the store, I knew immediately that this was what I had to wear to Homecoming. No one else had seen it before tonight, aside from Tyler because he demanded to know what was in the shopping bag that made me late to work.

I inspected myself in my bathroom mirror. Despite tonight not going how I imagined it would, I had to admit I looked pretty good. I had my dark hair in nice soft curls and my eye makeup was dark with a hint of red to complement my outfit and my lips were the same shade of autumn red as my dress. A small part of me smiled, Brody would kicking himself for treating me the way he did once he lays his eyes on me. Not that looking good was for the purpose of Brody, but aside from feeling good due to all this extravagant makeup and planning, it would be a nice plus to see the shock on his stupid face.

Kimberly and Stella came into the bathroom with me to do one last inspection of their makeup and hair. When they saw my completed look, Stella gasped. "You look so pretty!"

"She looks hot," Kimberly corrected.

I laughed and shook my head, my curls swaying as I did so. Gently leading them out of the bathroom, I smiled. "We all look good. Now, before we get to this thing, I need a pre-game drink."

They both cooed in agreement and headed for the stairs.

As we approached the bottom of the stairs, Colson winked in my direction, using his beer bottle as a salute. "Looking finer than wine, J."

"Thanks," I laughed but was cut off by Ryan who looked at Stella in awe. "Man, my girl is so gorgeous."

They embraced one another and I fought the urge to roll my eyes, too much lovey dovey for my taste. But my attention shifted to Kimberly and Seth. Seth blush as he handed her a white rose. "I saw this and I thought of you."

Not waiting for Kimberly's response, I walked to the kitchen and grabbed the bottle of vodka that was in my freezer. Not caring for a glass, I popped open the lid and began to drink, ignoring the burning I felt as it went down my throat. I didn't take too much because I knew I'd be an utter mess for the night if I did, I stopped and placed the bottle on the counter and sighed. A knock on my backdoor that lead into the kitchen sounded and I jumped at the sound.

I almost didn't answer it because everyone was supposed to be here, was. Ryan, Stella, Kimberly, Seth, and even Colson was in the living room. Which only meant one person could be at the door.

They were about to knock again when I swung it open. Tyler stood in front of me, wearing a dark suit and a red tie, a tie that nearly matched my dress perfectly. His black hair was spike up with gel and smirked at me. "You look beautiful, Sweetness."

I didn't know what to say, but I opened my door wider so he can enter the kitchen. Stepping around me, he glanced at the bottle and then back at me. "How full was this bottle before you drank out of it?"

I tilted my head in thought and then flashed him a wicked grin. "Nearly full."

Tyler's eyes went wide and I waved him off. "I'm just kidding. I only took a few sips. Want some?"

"Fuck it." He looked at the bottle and then at me again before picking it up and taking a giant gulp that certainly put a dent in the bottle. He hand it to me and smirked. "Tonight is going to be great."

I took another long sip before I screwed the lid back on and put it back in the freezer. I turned around and gave him a sincere smile. "Thank you for coming tonight. I really appreciate it."

"It's my pleasure, Sweetness," He winked as he threw his arm over my shoulders and led me to the living room. "Now, it's time to go to Homecoming."