Different

4.

"Oh my god. You're totally talking about Jace Evans. I met some girls while looking for my dorm and found out he's the shit on campus. Every girl wants him. I've already looked up his Instagram, and I totally approve" Bree rambles on, smiling big. 

I feel a rising disappointment at her words. I'm not really surprised to hear any of this judging on Jace's looks, but maybe I didn't want to realize it.

"So yeah, I've heard some stories about him, but people talk. You should paint your own picture. Just don't get hurt" she encourages me.

"I'll give my best, thank you Bree" I give her a half hug. "What are you doing tonight?"

"I'm probably going to the same party you are, the girls from earlier asked me. I was just about to invite you, but as you already have other plans" she raises her eyebrows at me in a seductive way, making me chuckle.

"I'm not like that, really. I could never hook up with someone I just met" I answer her, while feeling a little discouraged to even go in the first place. 

I still have to wonder about why Jace is making all of these plans with me. The feeling of being nothing more than a conquest is creeping up on me. 

"Alright then, whatever you say" Bree laughs at me. 

We spend the next few hours together, talking about anything and everything, getting to know one another and obsessing over shows that we both love. I enjoy the time with her a lot. hoping we will become great friends. A few hours later, Bree is just about ready to head out of the door to meet her new acquaintances from today.  

"You're sure you don't need fashion advice from me?" she asks me, twirling around in the cute dress she's wearing.

"You look amazing, but I'm fine. You go and have fun" I laugh at her.

"Alright, you too. Be safe and tell me everything tomorrow" she yells, walking out and closing the door behind her. 

I once again laugh at her, with a smile on my face. It's amazing how you just click with some people. It's almost like we were supposed to meet and become good friends.

I have an hour left before Jace is picking me up, and I decide to go for a shower before getting ready. I can feel my anxiety rising by the minute, it takes me thirty minutes alone to figure out what I'm going to wear. Bree looked amazing in her outfit, but when I dress up I'm always nervous I'll feel uncomfortable or people will stare at me.

In the end, I decide to go for black high waist, straight jeans, with an all white blouse that you wrap around your body once and tie in the front. I add white sneakers and feel content with my choices. This is cute, but not too overdressed. Most importantly, I feel comfortable. I make a little effort to put on some make up and curl my straight hair into somewhat natural waves. 

When I'm done and ready to go, it's 7:45 pm. This always happens to me, I stress about being ready on time and then I end up being early. I sit back onto my bed and start the dreaded waiting game.

Taking everything in that has happened so far, I establish that I only got here yesterday and everything has already been so crazy. I miss my mom a lot, I hope she's doing okay all by herself back home. I decide to send her a quick text, telling her I'm doing fine. We text back and forth a little when I check the time.

It's 8:01 pm, and my anxiety rises even further. I start to feel a little light headed, dizzy almost. Jace should be here any second. I stand up not knowing what to do with myself. I walk around the room a little and organize some of the things on my desk to pass the time. 

8:07 pm. That doesn't mean anything. He'll probably be here any second. 

8:15 pm. He probably made a fool out of me and isn't coming. The anxiety speaks from inside of me. Discouraged I take off my shoes and start to take out my small golden hoop earrings.

8:22 pm. Someone knocks on the door and my heart is back to picking up its quick pace. Waiting and being late are two of the many things on the long list of things I hate, because of the anxiety it causes inside of me. 

I open the door, and the first thing I notice is a gentle wave of perfume coming my way, and I enjoy every second of it. It's Jace. He's actually here. 

I take a quick look at him, so he won't notice me staring this time. He's wearing dark jeans, they're a straight fit like mine, and a simple black t-shirt. He looks amazing without even making an effort. 

"Hey, you ready?" he asks, quickly eying me up and down too. "Sorry, I'm late" he adds. 

Being twenty two minutes late certainly isn't a big deal to some people, and I wish I would have their calm.

"Don't worry, just give me a second" I answer, trying to play it off cool, even though I was worried he was making a fool out of me a few minutes ago.

Something is off about Jace's attitude, I can tell right away. His eyes look dull, his face shows no emotion what so ever. I hope that it's not because of me, and also hope, that his bad mood will fade. The last thing I want is to be left alone at the party for some reason. I put on my shoes, grab everything I need and follow Jace out of the door.

 "So, where is this party exactly?" I ask, trying to make conversation.

"It's a ten minute drive from here" he answers.

"Are your... friends going to be there?" I say further, a little nervous about meeting Derek and his other two little minions again.

Jace shakes his head. "No. I wouldn't take you if they were" he answers as we make our way over to his car, and I nod my head in response with relief in my heart. 

The first thing I notice, is that Jace owns a really nice Audi, and I'm starting to wonder how a CSU student got his hands on such an amazing, expensive car. I decide to leave that conversation for another time.

We stay silent while Jace drives us to the party. It doesn't seem to bother him, but for me the whole ride is torture. How can a person act so sweet in the morning and then be so cold when the night comes? There has to be something bothering him. I decide to let it go for now and see what happens at the party. There's not really anything else I can do right now.

After ten minutes, like Jace said, we arrive at a huge house so big I would almost call it a mansion. A lot of people are standing in the front yard, and I wonder how many more must be inside. The music is blaring so loud that it almost feels like I can't hear my own thoughts for a first.

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