"Y/N, I have decided that we're going to throw a party tonight." My best friend Andrea announces as she walks back into the living room with her phone in her hand and a smile on her face.
"What's the occasion?" I ask, sitting up a little bit straighter on the couch.
I just moved to California from Hastings, England, to be cliché and advance in my acting career. I've known Andrea for a while now and she had a spare bedroom in her house, which evidentially, is mine now. I've only been moved in for a few days now but it feels like I've been here for so much longer.
"Well, you just moved to Cali and you don't know that many people so it's kind of a welcome party for you so I can introduce you to all of my friends and help you make friends!" She grins, clapping her hands together in excitement.
"Aw, Andrea, that's really sweet of you, thank you!" I bounce up from the chair and wrap my arms around her neck, hugging her from side to side in excitement. "I could really use some friends."
"That's why I'm doing it!" We both sit back down and start discussing the party details and who she's actually inviting for me to meet.
She's inviting all of her old roommates (Jenn, Arden and Lauren), all of the YouTubers that she's friends with that live close to us (who are also bringing some friends of their own) and all of the boys that she met on the Digi Slaybells tour that are currently in LA, who are also bringing friends with them.
From what I suspect, according to the names that I just heard, there's going to be more boys here than girls. So maybe instead of getting new friends, I'll get myself a new, hot American boyfriend?
I doubt it.
"Come on, daydream, we need to start getting ready already."
"Already?"
"Already."
Andrea does my makeup for me and I curl her hair for her, we have a little sing along during our preparation and literally spam Andreas Snapchat story with embarrassing videos and silly selfies.
Currently, I'm sat on Andreas bed, waiting for her to finish hogging the mirror so I could make a start on my own hair. "Who are the guys that you met?"
"From Slaybells?" She questions, looking back at me in the mirror as she carefully applies her individual fake lashes.
"Yeah, those guys."
"Well, there's Kenny Holland, Sam Wilkinson, Nate Maloley, Aaron Carpenter, and I can't think of who else was on the tour but they're bringing people with them."
She's told me a little about these guys, but not a lot. Apparently they're really funny and easy to get along with, they're crazy at times but most of the time, they're really chill.
"Kenny's the one you had like, a fling with, right?" Andrea nods at me in the mirror. "Cool, cool. Who are they bringing?"
"Jack Johnson, Jack Gilinsky, Nash Grier, Cameron Dallas, Matt Espinosa, Hayes Grier, Carter Reynolds, Dillon Rupp, Wesley Stromberg, Mahogany LOX - oh! She was on the tour! Um, John Swift, Emily Wilkinson, she's Sams sister, Madison Beer, she's Jacks girlfriend, and Pierre."
"How do I tell the difference between the Jacks?"
"One has brown hair, he's Jack G and Madison is his girlfriend, the other has blonde hair, he's Jack J."
"Got it," I nod, repeating the recognition ideas in my head. "And you're going to introduce me to them all?"
"Each and every one of them." She grins, finally putting her mascara down and zipping up her makeup bag. I smile thankfully, yet sarcastically, at her and get started on straightening my hair.
We slip in some silence as I work on my hair and Andrea works on her social networking skills. Andrea knows all of these people who are singers, rappers and upcoming movie stars and it actually makes me pretty nervous.
They already have their fame, they've already made their debut and people know who they are whereas I can be considered as a nobody. People know me as 'Andreas new roommate' because I was in her new video about me moving in. I'm not going to fit in with her and all of her friends until I've made myself known.
It sucks, to be honest.
"Anyone I should be weary of?" I ask after 5 minutes of silence.
She looks up from her phone quickly and tilts her head in thought. "No, not really, they're all really friendly. I mean, some of them might be a bit up front at first, but they're awesome."
"Who's like that?"
"Nash, Matthew, Sam, Lindsay, Arden..." She raises her eyebrow and laughs, "Lindsay literally doesn't care if she insults someone accidentally, so be careful with what you say around her."
"Noted," I nod and spray some hairspray on the portion of hair that's been ironed. "What about the ruthless flirts?"
Andrea raises her hand to her mouth as she thinks up a name, "Samuel fucking Wilkinson, oh my God, he is the biggest flirt I have ever met!" She literally shouts, causing me to flinch and nearly burn myself with the flat iron, but I let it go with a laugh.
"So I should steer clear of Sam?"
"No, no, he's a laugh, he's just a huge ass play boy." She pauses for a second, looking up at the ceiling. "If you don't want to be verbally harassed, I suggest you avoid him."
-
30 minutes into the party and most people are here. I've met Andreas previous roommates and they're all really nice and welcoming, all three of them gave me their numbers so that we can hang out and they can introduce me to new places that they like in California.
I've also met the infamous Ricky Dillon, who is exactly what he's like I'm his videos, and he through his phone at me (for my number, of course) the minute he heard my accent. He's a really sweet guy, I can definitely see us being good friends.
I'm in mid conversation with Ricky and Trevor Moran when Andrea rushes over to me and pulls me away. "Y/N, all of the guys are here, come on." I excuse myself from the conversation and allow her to drag me to the front door.
There stands a huge group of people, consisting of mostly boys and three girls, all of who look excited yet nervous at the same time.
"Andy!" A male voice shouts when he sees Andrea, throwing his arms in the air and pushing everyone out of the way to come and hug her.
"Kenny!" She mocks, throwing her arms in the air also and wrapping her arms around his neck when she gets close enough. "It's so good to see you!"
"It's been too long," He grins, kissing her cheek quickly before turning to me. "And you're Y/N, right?"
"I am indeed, and I take it that you're Kenny." He grins and nods. Kenny wraps an arm around Andreas shoulder and turns to his group of friends.
I stand there awkwardly, just looking around the crowded room, not exactly sure of what to do or what to say because I've only had conversations with five other people out of like, 50.
The massive group start to spread out and form their own mini groups, still leaving me to stand alone. I don't even have my phone with me, Trevor was in the middle of putting his number in when I got snatched away, so he still has my phone.
I must look like such a loser right now.
"Hey, you're Y/N, right?"
I whip my head around to see who's talking to me, looking the boy up and down in attempt to guess his name, but I really can't. He's wearing a black and white baseball jersey and a matching black snapback.
I nod my head and smile at him. "That's me, hi."
"I'm Dillon," He smiles, placing a hand on his chest as he introduces himself. "You looked a little bit lost over here and I don't know many people so I thought I'd come and talk to you."
"I've only met 5 of these people, I feel so left out and awkward."
"At least I'm not the only one," Dillon grins, laughing quietly. "When did you move to America?"
I clasp my hands together in front of me, "Literally just last week."
"Why'd you move over here?"
"I'm an actress and I thought being out here would help to boost my career." It's quite embarrassing to think about, I'm a washed up, British actress who couldn't get a single role back home.
"That's interesting, I did the exact same thing, but I'm a DJ so it's kinda different."
"Oh, really?" Dillon nods his head with a proud smile. "That's pretty cool. That kind of stuff has always interested me."
It feels kinda awkward between us, simply because I barely know him, but I feel like I could really see myself getting to know him better and being really close with him. He seems like a pretty cool, laid back guy.
Dillon looks down at the floor quickly before answering me. "Maybe we could hang out sometime? I could show you how it all works?"
I pull my lips into a genuine smile and nod in agreement. "That sounds great, I'll definitely have to take you up on that."