Chapter 14 – The Party
Gabby woke up Saturday morning. The gentle snoring from Danni could be heard mixed with the sound of birds outside. She rolled over and took a glance at her sister before she noticed the slight buzz from her phone beside her.
“Hi, Gabby. It’s me,” Damien’s voice sounded.
Gabby rubbed her eyes, hiding the yawn before answering. “Hey.”
“Are you ready for tonight?”
It took a moment before her mind caught up. “Sure…”
“That’s great. Look, he slept here, and we’ve been practicing most of the night. I’m a bit hyped about this—to be honest—I think he’s ready.”
“That’s good. What’s the plan?” Gabby asked. The phone went silent for a moment.
“Don’t you have an idea?” he asked.
Gabby almost wanted to laugh at the irony. Here were two people, trying to match two others together, and they had no idea how to plan it.
“Well. I guess we’ll just get ready and meet up later?”
“Will we go together to the party?”
“I think that would be the best, yeah. I know Danni is going with her friends, so she’s disappearing until then.”
“Okay. We’ll come over in the afternoon.”
“Sounds great,” Gabby said and hung up. Glancing to her side, she could see Danni sprawled out beside her.
“Hey,” Danni whispered.
“Morning.” Gabby turned around, facing her sister.
“What time is it?”
“Around ten am…” Gabby rubbed her eyes. “Did you have any nice dreams?”
Danni shrugged. “I can’t remember them if I did.”
“Ah…” Gabby yawned and stretched her limbs. The party wasn’t until later, and she already had her dress. Shoes and make-up would take no time in comparison to satisfying Peter and Damien. She almost groaned at the memory.
“Do you think he’s going to be there tonight?” Danni asked, shaking Gabby out of her thoughts.
“Who?”
“Devon…”
Gabby sighed. “Probably… I mean. The party is for all the popular people—Alyssa and him dominate that list.”
“Do you think it would be better if I stayed away then?”
Gabby jerked up, taking her sister’s hand. “Look. You can hide away here at home. Make them feel like they’ve won whatever price they seem to be after. Or, you can go to the party, have a killer time and let them see that they aren’t getting to you.”
“But they are getting to me, Gabby.” Danni looked at their hands.
Gabby snorted. “They don’t need to know that.”
“That’s gross.”
“What is?”
“That sound you just made. It sounded like you were trying to hark a loogie.”
“Eh. It wasn’t nice things we were talking about anyway.”
Danni smiled. “All right, I’ll go. Besides… You’ll be there, right?”
“Yup. With Damien and Peter in tow.” Gabby raised her hands. “Partyyy. Yay.”
“You’re going with Damien?” Danni asked. Gabby noticed how she started to fiddle with her hands.
“And Peter. Yeah. Why do you ask?”
Danni swung her legs over the edge of the bed. “No reason. I better go get ready.”
Before Gabby had a chance to say anything else, Danni had already left the room. She sat back, alone, wondering what just happened.
With a sigh, she figured she might as well follow Danni’s suggestion and start to get ready. First, she had to get something to eat. Her stomach rumbled in response, making her laugh. Yep. Definitely food first.
--
When the boys finally pulled up outside, Gabby’s heart skipped a beat. She looked out the window, to see Damien honking his horn impatiently. With no time to spare, she skidded out the door, hoping her appearance was okay.
The answer came soon after, when she noticed both guys giving her a look-over. Feeling oddly self-conscious, she did her best to hide her nervousness. “Is it that bad?” she asked, looking down at her clothes.
“N-no…” Peter answered. He cleared his throat. “You look great.”
“I agree,” Damien added.
Gabby smiled at them before jumping into the backseat. “So… Peter, you ready?”
“Yeah. It’s now or never, right?”
“Sure it is.” Gabby checked her make-up in the rearview mirror, making sure her eyeliner didn’t splotch.
Other than a few phrases here and there, the ride was silent. Gabby considered the guys choice of clothing, and had to agree that neither looked bad. With their loose hanging, button-up, shirts, and regular jeans, they didn’t look too fancy, nor did they look trashy. It was perfect.
Peter really had outdone himself with the straightener, and both of them were in a good mood.
The music blasted through the open windows, as soon as Damien turned onto the street where Allison’s parents lived. It wasn’t considered a wealthy part of town, but the large houses didn’t show poverty either.
Damien found a parking spot, and like a true gentleman, he opened the door for Gabby. She stepped out, and turned to find pure chaos.
Already now, there were groups of people sprawled over the front lawn. Alcoholic beverages were given out inside, yet people still sucked on their own bottles out here. Gabby found it distasteful how many different people were making out—some looked to be going to second and even third base, as well.
The insides weren’t much better, and Gabby tried to avoid the onslaught of people who wanted to greet Damien. It didn’t take long before she was pushed away from both of her friends, with no way of getting back.
“Bitches…” she muttered. It wasn’t enough to take her out though. Turning on her heels—a feat more easily said than done—she walked to the bar, hoping to get a drink.
Out of the various cocktails and fancy wordings on the signs, she opted for something safe—a juice with vodka in it. She’d had it before at New Year’s Eve with her family, and she felt fairly sure she could handle it.
She thanked the bartender, and turned around to look for her friends. It pleased her to see Peter regard the drooling girls with polite interest, but with nothing else. He must have sensed her looking because he looked above the girls, meeting Gabby’s eyes over their heads.
She gave him thumbs up and averted her eyes. It wouldn’t be good to ogle at him now. Her eyes went to the entry where Danni stepped through, and she left her drink on a table before waving to her sister.
Danni came over, and they hugged each other.
“Is everything alright so far?” Gabby asked.
Danni nodded. “Yeah, I did see Devon outside, but I simply walked past him.”
“There’s a good girl.” Gabby grinned, making Danni smile in return.
“Thank you, Gabby.”
“What for?” She frowned.
“Well. You know… For making me go to this party anyway.”
Gabby started to laugh. “Please. As if you’d been allowed to stay at home. Patricia and Allison would have dragged you out if they had to.”
“True… They almost did.” Danni shrugged.
Over her shoulder, Gabby could see Peter and Damien in a heated discussion. “Two seconds,” she said to Danni before walking over to the guys. “What’s happening?”
Both of them looked like deer caught in the headlights of a car. Peter opened his mouth to say something, but stopped himself.
“What?” Gabby asked.
“Nothing…” Peter answered. “I’ll go talk to Danni now.”
Gabby stared after him as he pushed his way through the masses, and she didn’t miss the glare he sent to Damien either. She turned around to face him, raising an eyebrow. “What was that about?”
“Nothing,” Damien answered. He started walking from the spot. “Did you get a drink?”
“Yeah, it’s over here.” Gabby led him back to the table, where her cup was still standing alone. Taking it into her hands, she sipped it. It was stronger than she remembered, and the alcohol burned sown her throat. She forced her stomach to keep it down—it would be too gross to spit it out.
“So…” she started and gestured to Danni and Peter. “You think it’s working?”
Damien glanced at them and nodded. “Mhmm.”
Gabby wasn’t sure what had gotten into him, so she let him be. She watched Danni and Peter talk, leaving nothing out. The way he made her laugh in an almost joyful glee, along with the way her hand was on his arm. A pang of something twisted in her stomach and her mouth felt sudden dry. Taking another mouthful of her horrid drink, she swallowed with a wince. Her eyes went to the bar, but she quickly dismissed the idea—the line was growing bigger every second. She had to make do with her drink.
She stared at her drink, and she wondered if it had been spiked by someone. The idea was impossible; she’d only been away for a small amount of time. She took another sip, shaking her paranoia away.
Gabby closed her eyes while she swallowed, then opened them to find Damien staring at her.
She raised her eyebrows. “Sorry. Did you say anything?”
“I asked if you were okay? You’re looking pale,” he said and placed a hand on her forehead.
“I’m fine… Just thirsty,” she said and raised her drink for another mouthful. Her eyes once more went to Peter and Danni. This time he’d successfully asked her to dance. His arms were placed on her waist, and he was looking into her eyes with a big smile on his face. The pang came back, and Gabby jerked around to look at Damien.
“What?” she asked, her tone coming off as angry.
Damien widened his eyes and held up his hands in surrender. “Easy there, tiger.”
“I’m sorry.” She rubbed her forehead, drinking some more. “You were saying?”
“I asked if you would like to dance?” he said and offered his hand to her.
She drank the last of her drink and took his hand. “Sure.”
Damien’s fingers wrapped around hers, and he led her out on the floor. They took a spot in the middle, and started swaying to the music. It wasn’t the most fast-paced music, but it was nice.
Damien started to hum the lyrics, and soon after, she followed suit. When the music changed to something with a beat, they started their routine with all the groovy moves. Gabby’s thoughts of the pang in her stomach disappeared and were replaced by laughter.
She noticed Damien saying something, but she could hear it. “What?” she yelled over the music.
“Do you want some shots?” he replied.
She nodded—there wasn’t much she wouldn’t do right now. Her mood was high, and she’d like it to stay that way.
They forced their way through the line of people and took up a spot at the bar. Asking the hired bartender for shots, they started taking one round after the other.
Gabby was laughing at Damien’s jokes, and she enjoyed the burning in her throat. All her worries were away, and she never wanted to leave this place.
It didn’t take long before the room started to spin, and she felt slightly dizzy. Stumbling away, she told Damien she wanted some air. It wouldn’t have been a problem if she’d been able to decipher which door led outside. She thought of asking for help from Damien, but she shrugged it off. He didn’t have to babysit her all night long.
When she finally found a door that led outside, she found herself in a backyard with a pool. Treading carefully, she tried to avoid falling into the crystal blue water.
The wind cooled down her heated face, and she was sure that the wind had never felt this incredible before. Feeling as if she’d just discovered something new and profound; she took a seat on the lawn chairs and stared out over the water.
A nausea was forming, and Gabby massaged her temples in hopes of making it go away. Leaning back, she stared up at the many different constellations.
Part of her wondered if it were actually just flaming balls of gas up there—it seemed almost too remarkable to be something that simple. Thousands of light-years away and she could still see them. It was a miracle.
She closed her eyes. It was only supposed to be for a few minutes, but when she opened them again the outside lanterns had been dimmed down—it was after eleven pm.
A gust of wind made her shiver. Where were Peter and Damien? Deciding that she had to find them—and perhaps get a glass of water—she rose from the chair. She was about to go inside when she heard someone yelling. Curious, she walked around the house to see Devon pushing Damien into the circle of people forming around them.
What happened?
A/N: First part of the party is here. I made it a bit longer for you guys. I hope you like it. Comments, votes, thoughts? MWAH! Remember to share it with a friend if you really like it :)