Sapphire
"Are you really gonna stay in your room on a Saturday night?" Ian asks as he sticks his head in through the door and I look up from my laptop, meeting his amused eyes. "I thought you wanted to rent a place because you were concerned about your social life? Laying around in bed isn't gonna help, you know?"
I roll my eyes and focus my attention back on the screen. "My friends are busy," I reply with a shrug. "Not much I can do."
"Come to Micah's party with me." He suggests, fully walking into my room. That's when I notice that he's dressed in black jeans and a plain white v-neck. "It'll be fun."
I meet his eyes again, letting out a sigh. "I'm not much of a party girl. But thanks for the invitation."
He doesn't take the message. Instead, he takes the liberty to go through my closet. "Hey!" I protest. "You can't just go through a girl's closet like that!"
He freezes, pulling out a tight, knee-length black dress with a slit on the thigh. He smirks at me, bouncing his eyebrows suggestively. "You don't have a dress like this to not go to a party. Come on."
"If I keep objecting, you're not gonna leave me alone, are you?" He shakes his head. "I'm not winning this, either way, am I?"
"Nope."
I heave out a sigh, shutting my laptop and standing on my feet. "Fine. Get out. Let me get dressed."
He mocks a salute and does as told, handing me the dress before shutting the door behind him. I stare at the dress in my hand and shake my head. He's right, why do I even have a dress like this? I've only worn it once, and it was to go on a date with Zach. There's no use in having it anymore.
Up until now, at least.
I pull off my shirt and step out of my pj shorts, fixing myself into the dress. I stand in front of the mirror and turn my back against it, attempting to pull up the zipper. When it slips from my grip several times, I give up and open the door.
"Ian," I call out.
"Yes?"
"I can't get the zipper."
"Oh, let me help you with that." He takes position behind me and I hold the dress against me as he tugs the zipper up. "There you go."
"Thanks." I mumble lamely, making my way back into my room to fix my hair. "What time does the party start?"
"It barely started," he goes to stand under the doorframe. "I was already leaving, but I can't let you fuck up your social life. Like you said, you barely even have one."
I shoot a glare in his direction. "Only I'm allowed to bully myself over my social life, thank you very much."
He throws his hands up in the air, nearing my vanity. "Sorry, I'm just trying to help."
"By bullying me?"
"Oh, come on. I wouldn't put it that way. I'd never bully you." He leans back against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest, a smirk playing at his lips. "Do I look like a bully to you?"
"Um," I pause as I playfully inspect his face. "Yeah, kinda."
He rolls his eyes in amusement, pushing himself off the wall to sit on the bed. My eyes meet his through the mirror and I smile awkwardly, before continuing to brush through my hair.
"Did you ever stop to think about the fact that Julissa will get mad when she sees me walking into the party with you?" I bring up and he falls back on the bed, focusing his attention on the ceiling. "Well?"
"To be honest, I know she is," he finally says. "But I don't care. She needs to stop being so possessive. I'm just about fed up with her constant nagging when I merely talk to a girl."
"I'm sure she does it because she loves you."
He scoffs, "don't think I haven't heard the rumors. I tried not to let them get to me, but they did." He sits up again and drags a hand down his face. "I can't break up with her without actual proof, but I can't help but feel a little resentment towards her already. If she is actually cheating, why the hell would she get mad at me for simply interacting with a girl?"
That must have been what yesterday was about.
"Don't you feel a little something in your gut that might hint that the rumors are true?" I find myself asking as I spin on the chair to face him. "You have to feel like something is wrong."
"I never believed in that," he shrugs. "What I do know is that I'll never forgive her or Ivan when I find out."
I furrow my eyebrows as I stand up to find my crossbody purse. "Well, now you seem sure that you'll catch them."
"Huh?"
"You said 'when' instead of 'if'," I begin to explain. "'If' is still a probability; 'when' is just a matter of time."
His lips turn down into a frown for just a few seconds, then he stands up abruptly and strolls out of the room. "Are you ready yet?" He changes the subject by asking and I nod my head, dropping my phone and chapstick into my purse.
"Should I take my keys?"
He heads for the front door, "unless you're planning to leave with someone else for the night, you don't need them." He calls out, but I still stuff them into my purse. Just in case.
* * * *
"Why is the DJ playing opera?" I ask with a raised brow. "Is the party supposed to be a certain theme that you forgot to mention? Because that's a pretty big detail to leave out, if you ask me."
He looks lost as he locks the car, "trust me, if there's a theme, I wasn't aware of it." We walk towards the front of the house and that's when the sound of a record scratching cuts off the song, a new fast beat song replacing it.
"No theme," I appreciate, entering the house and watching everyone standing with drinks in their hand. "Thank god. Do you know how out of place we would've looked? How stupid?"
"Hey, at least we look good."
"To put it bluntly and egotistic, sure," I laugh, looking down at myself. "It's been so long since I've worn this dress, though. I quite like it, so thank you for taking me out of the house and giving me a reason to wear it again."
He turns to look at me from head to toe before nodding, "no problem. It looks great on you."
"Thank you," I playfully bow.
He guides me deeper into the house and greets everyone we pass by, while I awkwardly walk by his side. We end up in front of the kitchen counter, where a bartender is busy putting drinks together. He gives a half nod towards us, letting us know that he sees us as he finishes mixing a drink for a guy, before shifting his full attention on us.
"What can I get for you two?"
"I'll just have a coke, if you don't mind." Ian takes responsibility of being the driver, taking a seat on a stool. I do the same.
"Sure thing, here you go." He slides a can of coke towards him before focusing his gaze on me. "And you?"
"Tequila and Squirt, please."
Ian's finger pauses on the soda tab as he turns to look at me, "you actually drink?"
"Why are you looking at me as if I grew another head?" I feel around jokingly to feel if that somehow happened. "I drink occasionally with Amber, so what?"
He shrugs, "I guess I just didn't expect it from you. You seem ..." he trails off as he takes a sip of his soda. "I don't know, innocent."
"You barely even know me," I defend. The bartender sets down my drink in front of me and I immediately lift it up to my lips, enjoying the slight burn as it goes down my throat. "I will say, though, I'm not a fan of beer. Hard liquor mixes are usually my pick."
"Is there a reason for that?" He asks with a chuckle, the Adam's apple on his throat bobbing up and down as he takes another sip from the can. "Easy with that," he warns as he sees me chug the rest of my drink. "I brought you here to party, not to get blackout drunk."
I dismiss him with a wave of a hand, "I always chug my first drink, then I take it slow. It's my way of going into it, you feel?"
"Sure, I feel. As long as you don't chug all of your drinks."
I shake my head, "Nah, don't worry. But to answer your question, I just don't like the taste of beer. To me, it tastes like apple juice that has gone bad. Then again, isn't that exactly what beer is? Rotten fruit juices?"
"Okay, that's gross."
"It's true, though." I shrug. "Rotten fruit juices and yeast make alcohol. That's why it tastes like ass. Also why I prefer it mixed with something that actually tastes good." I order another drink, twisting in my seat to see if any familiar faces appear. "Do you actually know any of these people, or did you just greet them to not be rude? I don't recognize anyone from school."
He looks over his shoulder at the crowd, "I would say only like 6 people from our school came. I know everyone else because they usually attend every party I go to."
"Right," I acknowledge, going against what I said and chugging my second drink before ordering my third. "I changed my mind, I need the confidence and slow drinking doesn't do anything to me."
"I highly doubt that," he says. "Alcohol affects everyone whether you take it slow or not. You think it doesn't affect you, but if you keep chugging, they're all gonna hit you at once, once you step out of that door." He points a finger to the exit and I shrug.
"I just chugged the first two, it's fine."
He shrugs and drops the conversation, focusing his attention somewhere behind the bartender.
The beat to a new song takes over the speakers and I pause mid-sip. Adore You by Harry Styles. A bright smile illuminates my face and I hop off the stool, "oh, my god. I love this song!"
Ian grabs my wrist as I try to walk away, lifting a brow, "Where are you going? There's literally no one dancing yet."
"Yet," I enunciate. "Someone has to start the dance floor, don't you think?" I smirk, pulling my arm away as I run to the middle of the living room. "I get so lost inside your eyes," I sing along. "Would you believe it?"
"...You don't have to say you're mine." My eyes meet Ian's as a few people join me. "Honey," I sway my hips to the music as I continue to sing along. "Walk through fire for you! Just let me adore you!" Ian laughs from his spot at the bar and I spin, letting the music control my body as I dance to the beat. "...Like it's the only thing I'll ever do."
A pair of hands find my hips and I look over my shoulder to see a fairly good-looking guy smiling down at me. I shrug, letting him try to copy my rhythm as he pulls my hips to meet his. I chug the rest of my drink and discard the empty cup before spinning in his arms, wrapping mine around his neck.
"Hey," I drawl, wiping my lips with the back of my hand. "You're not exactly a dancer, are you?"
"Why do you ask?"
I laugh in his face, patting his shoulder. "No offense, but you kinda really suck."
Just as he parts his lips to reply, I'm pulled away from him and I stumble back a few feet, before I'm steadied by strong hands. Ian sits me down on a nearby chair and I frown. "But the song hasn't even finished," I whine.
He chooses to ignore me and goes over to the guy who was dancing with me. Or more like, him awkwardly stepping side-to-side as I danced.
"Move along, she's not gonna be going home with you." Ian deadpans and the guy stands up straight, trying to be intimidating. Ian doesn't even budge, though. And as if sensing the drama, the music cuts off, forcing everyone to focus on the pair.
"Is she with you, or something?"
"No." He quickly replies, then pauses to think about it. "Well, yes actually, but not like that."
"Then, I don't see the problem." The guy crosses his arms over his chest.
Ian rolls his eyes as he points a thumb over his shoulder, back at me. "She's drunk, she can't consent to whatever you want with her. Just leave her alone."
I pout my lips in protest, "I'm not –"
"She's tipsy, not drunk," the guy cuts me off. "Learn about your liquor, before you attend parties like these. You can get yourself into trouble if you keep accusing guys of taking home drunken girls."
"Just beat it, man. I don't want any trouble."
Julissa meets my eyes from the crowd and I can't miss the deep scowl she sends my way. She pushes through the crowd to get to her boyfriend, but before she can make it, the guy punches Ian without warning. He falls to the ground with a loud thud and my hands fly to cover my mouth.
"Ian!" Julissa exclaims as she lowers herself to her knees in front of him. He groans, wiping the small amount of blood from his lip with his thumb. He looks at the crimson liquid now on the pad of his digit and scoffs.
He pushes himself off the ground, clenching and unclenching his hands by his side. "Is this how it's gonna go?"
"I don't know. You tell me."
Julissa attempts to pull him away, but he shrugs her hand away. She frowns, clearly not used to her loving boyfriend pushing her away. Once again, she looks my way and scowls. I simply throw my hands up in a mocking manner, unbothered.
The crowd gasps and we both turn back towards the pair, watching as the guy cups his nose. Ian offers him the finger, before he calmly walks out of the party.
"Way to ruin the party, you moron." Julissa spits at the guy and he looks her over.
"Hey, aren't you that one girl from the frat party?" He asks in a chuckle and she freezes, looking around frantically as everyone keeps their attention on them. "Can I get my turn now?" He wraps his arm around her waist and pulls her in.
She shoves him, looking disgusted. "What the fuck are you talking about? As if."
"Don't act dumb," he mutters. "I remember every single face I see, and I know you were the one who was sucking my buddies' di –"
She slaps him, shutting him up before he can finish his statement. She shakes in fury and he smirks at her, clearly satisfied by how much he got to her. "You're a fucking asshole!" She exclaims before storming out of the house.
I stay stunned in my seat.
What the fuck just happened?