In His Shadow [On Hold]

13: The First Party (Part 1)

Bailey's POV

Levi pulls back from my armpit and looks at me, bewildered, "You think I'm cute?"

Shit, did I say that out loud? My body suddenly ignites and the room seems like it's shrinking around us. I didn't mean I find him attractive, I just meant he was being funny. Being cute, that's a saying! "Oh, don't over analyze it, I just mean you're funny when you're scared," I try to shrug it off, but I don't dare make eye contact with him. However, I can feel his eyes lingering on me.

I try to focus on the movie in front of us, but I feel myself slowly diminishing from embarrassment. In the future, I need to watch what I say around him.

The villain kills another victim, sending Levi back into my armpit, releasing the tension building up between us. This time, I keep my comments to myself and ignore his actions but inside I'm both laughing and still feeling the embarrassment from earlier. I'll never be able to watch this movie the same way again.

++++++++

Instead of spending the night at the Weber's already over-packed house, I let Dakota, Denver and Georgia crash at my place. I'm making it one of the birthday gifts for Georgia. As they brush their teeth, I create a make-shift bed using blankets for Dakota. Even if he wasn't gay, which I'm still not one hundred percent sure about, I'd still let him sleep here. He's like a brother to me, and now he's helping me make the squad which I fucked up on, again. How am I supposed to befriend AnnaMae when she and Hayley continue to put me down?

Dakota and Denver come out of the bathroom first, both wearing matching black silk pajamas. Why am I not surprised by this? Dakota lies on the floor, and stares up at the ceiling.

Denver crawls into the queen bed with me. Georgia shuts off the bathroom light and enters the bedroom. She wears plaid pajama pants with her new My Chemical Romance shirt. Also, not surprising.

"Are we going to address the elephant in the room?" Denver asks.

"What are you talking about?" I ask.

"She means us bullying AnnaMae and Hayley when we're supposed to kiss up to them." Dakota flat out says.

"They started it!" I tell them.

"Yeah, I hate those skinny blonde bitches." Georgia mumbles.

"Maybe they're jealous of you," Denver suggests.

"Why would AnnaMae be jealous of me? I mean, Hayley, I get." I say.

Dakota sits up in his tiny make-shift bed, "I totally forgot about this, but a long time ago, I heard a rumor that AnnaMae only dates quarterbacks. Maybe Denver is right, maybe she's jealous."

"Well, shit. That would have been nice to know before I entered a pretend relationship with Levi, who is now our quarterback!" I throw my arms up in the air, admitting defeat. There's no way I'm getting on the squad now. "I don't even know why I want to be on the squad. Cheerleaders are so mean."

"Then why is she with Hunter?" Denver ponders.

"I bet, Levi turned her down. Damn, I love good drama!" Dakota says.

"Fuck. Yeah, Bailey, you're screwed," Denver says.

"You two aren't helping!" I say.

"Um, hello, it's only my birthday for twenty more minutes. Is it too much to ask for some attention here?" Georgia says.

"I'm sorry. You're right. Happy birthday, Welcome to the fifteen club!" I tell her.

"Wait, you're already fifteen? I thought your birthday was in August?" Denver asks.

"Yeah, my parents made me start kindergarten late. They didn't want me to be the youngest in my grade," I admit.

"Excuse me!" Georgia interrupts.

"Sorry!" I say.

The rest of the night we talk about the movie we saw and how lame it was. I'm trying to focus all of my attention on Georgia, but I can't help but think how I will befriend AnnaMae.

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Bailey's POV

I sit in the passenger seat of Levi's truck. My leather pants are uncomfortable, and I'm constantly readjusting myself. However, my hair is on point thanks to Dakota. We went with a high bun with two strands of hair hanging down my cheeks. Denver did my makeup with a winged eyed look and coppery red lipstick.

Georgia isn't wearing any makeup but allowed Denver to throw half of her hair into a bun. She's wearing black skinny jeans with a Led Zeppelin band tee. Dakota and Denver are dressed up more. Denver rocks the black dress she bought from Windsor and Dakota wears a black sweater with a white collared shirt underneath. He also wears black skinny jeans rolled up.

Levi wears his new shirt from H&M, the one Denver and Dakota forced him to buy. It's nothing special. Just a maroon button-up shirt. For bottoms, he wears his normal denim bootleg jeans and brown cowboy boots. His hair is styled normal, which is gelled back.

"Can we change the music, this isn't exactly putting me in the mood," I tell Levi.

"What, you don't like Keith Urban?" He asks.

"No, I do, but Blue Ain't Your Color, is not exactly party music. Can we connect to my phone?" I ask.

"Yeah, sure," Levi says.

The closer we get to Bridget's house, the more nervous I get. This is my first high school party, and I have no clue what to expect. I put on some Dierks Bentley, hoping he can calm my nerves. It's not long before Levi parks his truck on the side of the curb.

"Is this the place?" Georgia asks. We all look out the window and see a family inside of a house watching television.

"No. Everyone knows you never park in front of the house that's throwing the party." Dakota says as he climbs out of the truck.

We walk down the sidewalk in single-digit temperatures wearing nothing but loose clothing and boots. Denver told us to leave our coats in the car because of how hot it will get at the party. Right now, I hate her for telling me to do that.

Dakota leads the way, turning right and walking up a driveway that I can only assume is Bridget's house. The house looks like a typical suburban home. Two stories, brick, with a long driveway that goes behind the house.

"Are we at the right place?" I ask.

It's quiet for a party. By looking at the house, no one seems to be home. The lights are off and the curtains are drawn shut. Is this a setup? Is someone playing a prank on us?

"Yeah, we're almost there," Dakota says.

How many times has he been here? We follow the driveway to the back of the house and see a giant four-car garage. Do they have two garages? One next to the house and one behind the house? This is strange. We walk through the side door into the garage.

Once we're inside, my jaw hits the floor. This isn't a garage, but a second house made to look like a garage. We walk into the living room that is now a dance floor. To the right of me is a staircase that leads to a loft and a few bedrooms. Men stand up there, leaning over the railing, watching people dance. Next to the staircase is a hallway leading to a few more rooms at the back of the house.

"Have you been here before?" I ask Levi.

"Only once, last year." He admits.

This place is amazing. I'm not sure what I want to do first, drink, dance, explore. I turn around and notice Dakota has already disappeared.

"What do you want to do?" I ask Georgia and Denver.

Denver replies, "Drink, of course."

~~~~~4/16/20 • 1249 words~~~~~

Have you ever been to a house party? I've been to a few. I drank too much in high school and now I don't like the taste of alcohol. 😅

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