What Are Friends For?

Chapter Four

"And then his dad came out from behind Savannah and was like, 'Party? What party?'" I buried my face in my free hand, letting out a groan. My fingers had finally lost the chill they held from walking all the way over here. Twenty minutes separated my street from Jeremy's, leaving me shivering, teeth chattering. The lengths I'd go to for crappy music. "It was so awkward."

Eloise leaned against the wall opposite of me, holding a plastic cup loosely. She'd twisted her long dark hair over her shoulder for tonight, securing it with a bow. Her almond eyes looked down into mine as she spoke. "It probably wasn't as bad as you think. I'm sure they have a lot of other stuff on their minds."

No kidding. I took a sip of my drink, feeling the warmth spread slowly through my stomach. "You're probably right."

"I mean, I doubt Mr. Greybeck thought anything of it. And as for Savannah, well...yeah, I've got nothing."

"It's not like I'm trying to steal her boyfriend," I said irritably, glancing around the room. Tucked between the house's walls, I counted fifteen people pooling into the space, talking, drinking, and dancing. I had to give it to Greenville High—there weren't as many people here as normal. Maybe everyone feared there'd be school tomorrow, or maybe they had to finish their art projects, too. Not thinking about it. "But if we're going to play that card, I knew Elijah first."

"I'm just going to play devil's advocate here, okay? Don't hit me. But, I mean, would you want your boyfriend shopping for lingerie with his girl best friend? You know, if you had one."

I nearly choked on my sip of alcohol. "Eloise, we weren't lingerie shopping!" Though Elijah did correct me on my cup size. Maybe that was a little weird. "We just wandered over to that side of the store. It couldn't have been more than five minutes tops."

Eloise lifted her shoulder, drawing her cup to her lips.

Up until freshman year, it had just been me and Elijah, the two of us against the world. Or, well, against the beginning of high school. Then I met Eloise Xiang, a transfer from Bayview. Quirky, funny, female. My first actual girl friend. Eloise had taught me just how great a tube of mascara could be, as well as the beauty in a bottle of nail polish. She also took me to get my first real bra, with a clasp and everything. A true gem, that Eloise.

Eloise and I weren't as close as Elijah and I were, but I valued our friendship so much. The three of us didn't hang out as much as I would've liked, but that was okay.

"You wore that new perfume I bought you," she said with a soft smile, drawing in a breath through her nose. "I like it. It smells sugary."

"What? It does not," I said, making a face. "I don't smell sugar. I smell spice. It smells spicy to me. Totally different."

"Let me smell," a deep voice said from over my shoulder, prompting me to turn—and falter as my heart did a little jump in my chest. Jeremy Rivera stood behind me, holding a plastic cup, confident smile on. He came close to my neck, inhaling deep. "Oh, I agree with Eloise; you smell incredible. It's a nice surprise to see you here, Remi."