chapter NINE!
── kisses at parties
💋 real life. 🕯️
༻¨*:·. 💋 ༺♥༻ 🕯️ .·:*¨༺
🕯️real life.
"jesus christ, this place is insane."
the triplets stood frozen in place on the lawn of angel amaro's LA mansion, all of their jaws equally slack in complete shock as they took in the building before them. angel amaro's house was somehow the nicest yet most LA looking two storey matt had ever seen; a block white building with black trimmings, the windows large enough for the interior to be visible from the outside. and, if matt squinted hard enough, you could just about see the end of the pool sticking out round the side of the house, suddenly annoyed that he didn't bring his bathing suit.
from the large central window, the whole party was plain to see, blue and purple lighting casting the room in a dim shadow, really adding to the whole party atmosphere alongside the music, which was so loud matt could feel it beneath his feet despite the fact they were at least five strides from the door.
matt exhaled shakily, his fingers fiddling with the hem of his jacket as he fixated on the swarm of bodies encased in the shadow of the party. he was all of a sudden extremely nervous, finding his mind pleading to be back in his bed watching a movie. but he was here now, in the company of nick and chris, and actually was starting to get pretty fucking thirsty for a drink.
"you guys ready?" nick mumbled from matt's left, his expression an amusing mix between worry and excitement. chris, on the other side of nick, hummed as a wordless form of agreement, his features bright. it was obvious that chris was the party animal of the group.
matt knew nick was waiting on his answer, and for a reason; if matt didn't want to do it, neither did nick. they were kind of like a comfort blanket for one another, the perfect balance of extrovert and introvert, always looking out for one another in social situations such as this one. tilting his head as he returned nick's gaze, matt gave him a grateful smile and nodded.
as much as he didn't want to interact with anyone, there was that aching feeling at the bottom of his stomach that craved alcohol and spontaneous kisses, two things that worked in perfect harmony if you asked him. and as he'd stood and observed the house, these feelings had become so overbearingly strong that there was no way matt could say no to the party anymore.
this was why he was the first to break away from the trio, practically marching towards the front door, eyes ablaze with intention. when it came to the topic of spontaneous kisses, matt had one person in mind, and he was really fucking hoping she was already inside the house. he hadn't looked at the invite list in full detail an hour ago, too busy trying to comprehend that he was actually going to yet another party, still not fully recovered from the brand launch.
he needed to stick to his original plan though and not go out of his way to find thalia thompson, instead deciding that he would let fate bring her to him. running round an unfamiliar house like a headless chicken in search of a girl was pretty embarrassing after all.
chris and nick were hot on matt's tail, all three of them arriving at the front door at the same time. plastered in the centre of the oak was a handwritten sign reading 'use the door round the back!!' and the triplets simultaneously groaned. over to their right, as if by magic, a gate had appeared, propped open by a brick. matt frowned; that gate had most definitely not been there when him and his brothers had been stood on the front lawn gawking up at the house a mere two minutes ago.
so, with a huge amount of effort, the triplets were making their way over to the gate leading the side door of the mansion, joining the back of a group of giggling girls, who, the more matt frowned at them, were definitely not on the invite list. this party was going to be a lot busier than originally anticipated, made evident as they walked through the side door into what matt was positive was the most crowded kitchen he'd ever seen.
admist it all was angel amaro, looking rather flustered, her plastic tiara slightly wonky on the top of her dark hair as she shoved through the bodies in the direction of the new group of people who'd just emerged into the room. she was wearing a birthday sash across her white dress, a fake smile plastered across her face. matt's frown deepened; she didn't seem very happy for someone who was turning 21.
angel finally stopped by the triplets and the girls, shouting over the unnecessarily loud music. "okay, rules! quickies upstairs, puke in the downstairs bathroom, joints smoked outside. any drinks put them on the island."
so that's what she'd come over to tell them, not to kick the uninvited girls out. judging by the sheer number of people crammed into the kitchen, maybe so many had already gatecrashed that she'd given up sending them away. the girls beside the triplets nodded, giggling one final time before disbanding, leaving the three boys face to face with angel amaro.
"big party!" chris yelled to the girl over the music, and she nodded in response, a scowl residing on her glossy lips.
"yeah, the invite list kinda spiralled!"
the triplets hummed, silence resting over the four of them briefly before nick spoke up again. or, more accurately, shouted again. the music being so horrendously loud was really starting to piss matt off. "happy birthday, by the way!"
"oh, thank you!" angel flashed nick a genuine smile, their conversation suddenly interrupted by a loud crash from over angel's shoulder, someone having just fallen to the floor with a bang after a failed crow surfing attempt. angel turned back, sighing. "guess i'll have to go deal with that... i'll see you round!"
nick, matt and chris all gave her single fingered waves, their smiles tight as they watched her become engulfed by the crowd, the dim lighting morphing her into a shadow almost instantly. once the birthday girl was gone, chris turned to nick and matt, his voice still loud over the music. "i'm going to get a drink."
nick nodded in agreement, smoothing out his jumper before following chris over to the drinks table without hesitation, leaving matt alone with his thoughts. matt kissed his teeth, suddenly very aware that he was lingering by the entrance to the party and was slightly concerned that he would be trampled by another group of girls with high pitched laughs. so, matt made the smart decision to check out the rest of the house, leaving the jam packed kitchen behind him as he pushed his way through to the open plan living room.
a quick scan of this space informed matt why everyone had decided to congregate in the kitchen; the couch in the middle had clearly been labelled the makeout spot, couples strewn across the plush seating, practically eating each other's faces off. he grimaced, fingers stroking the bottom of his jacket soothingly as he backed out of the room, turning to his left.
through a cramped hallway was the main foyer of the house, similar to the brand launch penthouse thanks to the staple light fixture dangling from the ceiling above. an obnoxiously large set of stairs ran along the far side of the wall, up to the second floor, designated for the quickies as angel had delicately put it. it was a lot quieter out here in terms of people, and matt finally felt as if he could breathe in peace, doing his best to ignore the beat of the music beneath the soles of his new balance's.
naturally, this peace didn't last long, a big surge of people spilling through from the hall, having finally gained some common sense and taken the initiative to find out where the corridor led. now the foyer was just as busy as the kitchen, and matt groaned, weaving his way through the bodies towards the sliding doors at the back. they were open slightly, matt's hand slipping through the small crack and pushing a gap big enough for him to squeeze through out into the warm LA night.
out here was, as matt had seen from the front, a large pool, golden lights scattered along the bottom illuminating the water. past the pool was an L shaped couch, pillows placed on the seats. it was empty back there, and matt made a mental note to return to the silent coven. he would've gone and sat down right then and there but someone had followed him outside and was lighting a joint beside him. the smell of weed clouding the air had then made his throat awfully dry, curable only by the bittersweet taste of alcohol.
blindly stumbling backwards, matt found the sliding door, pulling it back and re-entering the absolute chaos of the birthday party. he set his determined gaze on the drinks table in the distance, highlighted by a ring of gold light from the light hanging above, eyes widening at the sight of a fresh bottle of vodka, a bottle of lemonade propped up against it.
matt was seriously hoping that this alcoholic beverage that he was cooking up in his head was as good as imagined, and that, on another commendable note, thalia thompson was also somewhere in the throng of people before him. heavy emphasis on the latter.
so, with a sigh, matt started forward. god, he needed this drink so badly.
༺♥༻
💋 real life.
this was arguably the worst party thalia had ever been to, and that was saying something as a girl who throughout the entirety of high school was at a house party every other weekend. she'd been lingering round the drinks table for about 10 minutes, blankly staring at the array of alcohol in front of her, the music blaring from a speaker somewhere else in the house beating through her entire body.
despite having arrived over an hour ago, thalia had been yet to have a drink, dragged into various conversations with theo's friends and then having to hold liz's hair back as she vomited 10 jello shots right back up. yet now, presented with the glorious opportunity to have a drink, thalia didn't want anything. she sighed, one of her hands coming up to fiddle with the strap of her top mindlessly, her bottom lip clamped between the restraints of her teeth.
what thalia actually wanted to do was smoke the joint hidden in her shoulder bag, gifted to her by one of theo's more dodgy friends for the price of a dance. a minute of questionable dancing had earned her the right to the roll of weed, her entire body itching for the familiar feeling of relaxation that came with the first puff. so, thalia snatched up the closest white claw, and turned back to the crowd behind her, preparing to push her way through them to get to the back doors.
angel had laid out the rules the minute thalia's group of four had stepped foot in the house, with one of them being to smoke joints outside. thalia didn't particularly want to be that person, ruining the fun by clouding the interior with the stench of weed, which is why she was fighting through the excessive number of people to get out the house. it took her a while, but thalia eventually stumbled out onto the back patio, sighing in relief and patting the blunt still stuffed into her bag, now resting beneath the spontaneous white claw she'd grabbed.
finally free from the absolute horror of angel amaro's party, thalia found herself able to actually find the time to scan the backyard; it was big, half of it taken up by the large outdoor pool, occupied by a few people who'd had the initiative to bring a bathing suit with them. on either side of her was makeshift seating, chairs from the dining table dragged out and lined up, not a single one vacant, all the other smokers having already congregated out here for a quick joint.
there was, however, seating just beyond the pool, only one person sat upon the pillows of the L shaped couch. she smiled in victory, making her way round the pool, careful not to slip on any water, shoulders no longer shrugged up by her ears as she approached the secret coven. angel had strung fairy lights up around the wooden structure surrounding the seating, which, against the night sky had created the most cozy atmosphere. the perfect atmosphere for some weed.
thalia sat down on the edge of the couch, not paying much attention to the other person, pulling both the white claw out and then the joint out, delicately, her fingertips tracing the paper. she cracked the white claw open first, taking a sip and exhaling, leaning over to her left to place it on the outdoor table, before returning to her original position with her joint.
it was then that thalia realised she actually didn't own a lighter, and therefore had nothing to light the joint with. she'd danced with the dodgiest guy known to man for nothing, the weed clutched in her hand gone to sweet waste. wow, the party couldn't get any better, could it?
"i have a lighter you can borrow."
a husky voice, only able to belong to the person sat on the other side of her, rang through thalia's ears, her eyebrows instantly furrowing in confusion; she recognised that voice from somewhere, but couldn't quite place an exact location. slowly swivelling in her seat to look at the mystery boy, thalia's jaw immediately fell slack as the voice matched up with the face.
there, smirking, left arm draped nonchalantly across the back of the couch, was none other than matt sturniolo, the boy from the brand launch, the one person who hadn't left thalia's mind in all the days that had followed. he was dressed from head to toe in black, from the jacket to the air forces, his silver chain glinting in the fairy lights. his hair was just as fluffy as she remembered, cascading down his forehead in perfect brunette waves, the perfect length for his angel and skull earrings to be visible.
"you." was all thalia could muster, her voice croaky. she was in an understandable state of shock, suddenly presented with a very, very hot guy.
matt laughed lowly, pushing himself into an upright position, resting his elbows on his knees. his eyes were still on her as he responded to thalia's single word. "yeah, nice to see you too thompson. been quite sickening to stare at the opened symbol instead of your face, i can't lie."
this snapped thalia out of her trance. opened symbol? she had no recollection of leaving matt on opened, but the boy was already a step ahead, producing his phone from his back pocket, showing her a screenshot of their chat on snap, the dreaded opened sitting by her name. thalia's face twisted into a grimace, gaze apologetic as she met matt's blue eyes.
"shit, sorry. i must've replied in my head."
"nah, it's fine." matt waved away her apology, leaning back again. he produced a white lighter from his pocket, extending it towards thalia. "for you."
"oh, thanks." thalia gave him a tight lipped smile, palm upwards as she stretched her hand out for the lighter. but, of course, matt pulled the lighter back into his chest at the last minute, grinning devilishly.
thalia's expression was nonplussed, her hand still outstretched expectantly, waiting for matt to give her the lighter, which was still pressed to his chest, clad in a loose black shirt. "matt, give me the lighter."
"where are your manners, thompson?" matt's eyes glinted as his grin doubled at the girl's furrowed brow. "i'm only going to give you this once i hear the magic word."
"what am i, five? give me the fucking lighter." thalia was inching along the couch now, suddenly finding herself sat right beside matt and yet to receive the bastard lighter.
matt's grin subsided, gaze travelling over the length of thalia's body, his mouth sliding into a subtle one sided smirk as he finally placed the lighter into her hand. his words were hushed, eyes still darting over her mini skirt and black top. "good enough."
they sat in silence then, the music from the party now a perfect volume, quiet but still loud enough for each word of the song to be distinguished. thalia lit the joint and inhaled deeply, a small groan leaving her lips along with a cloud of smoke. as expected, a wave of calm washed over her, numbing her limbs, mind and body separate as she shuffled in closer to matt on her left.
the pair stayed like this for a few minutes, knees brushing, the wordless agreement to pass the joint back and forth shared in the thick night air hanging between them. matt's fingertips caressed thalia's with each exchange, blush rising on both their cheeks, disguised as a flush from the high.
matt took the joint from thalia for the third time, french inhaling, his jawline sharp as he threw his head back to blow the smoke up and away. he then turned to thalia with curious eyes as he watched her finish off the joint, snubbing the end out on the top of the table. "so, how was your week?"
"ugh, long." thalia said with a slight groan, her head turning so that she could meet matt's questioning gaze. "yours?"
"eh. same old." matt chuckled lightly, the weed from the joint starting to kick in for both of them. the two rarely smoked, so when they did, they got high quicker, spaced out and relaxed as soon as one joint was killed.
thalia smiled and pushed herself off the couch momentarily to grab the white claw, promptly leaning back as she took a second sip of the drink. with matt's eyes still burning into her, thalia felt the full effects of the weed take course, the words spilling out of her mouth no longer connected to her brain.
"have you ever had a weird ex, matt?"
matt hummed in confirmation, trying his best to keep his eyes focused on thalia's face and nowhere else on her body. he internally willed her to go on, so that when she stopped talking he could kiss her, long and hard. jesus, the weed in that joint must've been strong.
thalia continued, shuffling up a slight bit more so that their hipbones were touching, fire igniting off each of their bodies. "well, i have an ex. he's a creep, been texting me, whatever. what i want is to kiss someone spontaneously to forget about his weird ass."
matt hummed again, leaning forward ever so slightly, their noses practically brushing from their close proximity. she was done getting her point across now, giving matt time to speak as her eyes flickered between his lust filled gaze and his red lips, practically screaming to be kissed. thalia's whole body was warm, the marijuana reaching places never reached before, heat between her legs, crawling up her neck, a bright flush uncontrollably spreading along the apples of her cheeks.
"you know, i met this girl last week." matt's voice was deep, crackly, making thalia's breath hitch. his hand was on her exposed thigh now, the soft pad of his thumb rubbing slow, sensual circles into the burning flesh.
"at this brand launch. she was me, but girl form: hilarious and insanely hot. pretty hard to find." thalia couldn't help but laugh at that, matt's serious expression dissolving into one of mischief, his mouth morphing into a grin. "i didn't believe all the fans shipping us, but shit, when we sat and talked on that couch, all i could think about was my lips against hers."
"is that so?" thalia's grin was conserved, matt tilting his head to the side as his eyes roamed around her face.
"i could be your spontaneous kiss, thompson." matt whispered, squeezing her thigh softly. "if you'll let me."
thalia inhaled heavily, bringing her hands up to rest either side of his face, his stubble tickling her palms as she pulled him in. "say less."
the kiss was soft at first, sweet, lips barely grazing one another, matt's hand moving to cup thalia's face, his rings cold against her cheek. the sensual nature of the kiss didn't last long however, matt's evident need to take control of every situation shining through as his grip tightened on her face, applying more pressure against her lips, even going to the extent of nibbling her bottom lip lightly, keen to see thalia's reaction.
he did not expect her to emit a low whine into his mouth however, pulling away with a smile, thumb immediately running across the now swollen area, soothing and caressing. his words were laced with pure lust as he looked her dead in the eye, not moving his thumb from her lip. "you're a noisy one, hm?"
thalia grinned, moving one of her legs to overlap matt's, her arms wrapping round his waist, their bodies flush against one another. "just shut the fuck up and carry on kissing me, sturniolo."
her words were his command, lips connected together once more, two magnets reeling one another in. the tension could be cut with a knife, matt's hands finally leaving thalia's face, tracing the outline of her body from chest to hips. a few more minutes of this and both of them were pulling away, breathless and exhausted, thalia's hair plastered to her forehead, matt's lips plump, swollen from the excessive kissing.
they sat in silence then, the beat of the music enveloping them, before both simultaneously bursting into laughter, thalia falling into matt's chest. that had definitely satisfied something deep within her, her mind taking a picture of the sight in front of her, traces of her lipstick round the edges of his lips. once their giggles had died down, thalia reached out to touch the smeared lipstick, unable to reduce the smile spreading across her face.
"don't want to boost your ego, but you are a great kisser." thalia murmured, rubbing the lipstick off matt's face and then leaning to her right to pick her white claw back up.
"thanks thompson." matt followed the girl's actions, his smirk one sided, naturally. "could say the same about you."
"awh, you cutie." thalia pinched matt's cheek, sipping her white claw.
more silence rested above their heads, comfortable with the lack of exchanged words, finally interrupted by thalia's sudden lack of presence on the couch. she'd seen theo emerging out the back door in the distance, clearly on the lookout for the location of his sister. worried something had happened, thalia had instinctively rose from her seat, smoothing down her skirt and placing her still open white claw in her shoulder bag.
"i've got to go." thalia started to explain to matt, her heart shattering at the sight of his face falling. "thanks for volunteering to be my spontaneous kiss of the evening."
"yeah, that's fine." matt nodded, trying to hide his crestfallen reaction as he gazed up at thalia. "just, uh... actually text me back this time? i don't want you to forget about me."
thalia didn't recognise the bold side of her shining through as she stepped away from matt, shadows shrouding her body. "how could i ever? all i'm going to be able to think about is your lips all over me for the rest of the week."
and with that, she was gone, disappearing back inside to be eaten alive by the crowd, matt sturniolo left speechless on the outdoor couch, hand running through his hair as he tried to process what the flying fuck had just happened.
༻¨*:·. 💋 ༺♥༻ 🕯️ .·:*¨༺
✧˖*°࿐ polly's section!
smiles and waves 😊