Reaching Tulip's house several silent minutes later, we bounded upstairs to prepare for tonight. She immediately walked to the closet and started throwing clothing items on the bed for us to pick through. I sat slouched in her computer chair swiveling side to side with my head throw back, staring at the ceiling.
"Sooo I was thinking we go with a 90's theme maybe? Like tank tops and sweat pants." She looked at me as she waited for my response. I couldn't see myself going to my first party like that; maybe if that was the theme sure.
"Uhh, I don't think so. Something more simple; party-ish but simple." She nodded her head and went back to work, scrimmaging through the pile of jeans, t-shirts, and dresses she had chosen.As she did so, my mind could not help but rewind to earlier today; just a few hours ago Lamon had driven off with Vi headed to the mall. He was taking Vi............ to the mall. Just the two of them. Together. Alone. Probably having a great time. Maybe sharing foo-
ENOUGH. I had to stop thinking of them. I mean, so he took her to the mall, what's the big deal? Friends take each other to the mall right? And why should I care? We were friends just the same.........
"Found it!" Tulip screamed breaking my train of thought. I looked over to her as she bounced excitedly off the floor looking as if she had just won the lottery.
"I found the PERFECT dress for you Ria!" she squealed.
"Wait, me? I thought you were looking for something for you; I was just gonna throw on some jeans and a tee."
"Pshhh, AS IF. As your bestfriend I will not let you leave this house in some old jeans and t-shirt."
"Hey! I just got these last week."
"I have designated what you will be wearing and my say is final." she continued ignoring my objection.
Knowing Tules, she wouldn't let me win this time so I just agreed to get it over with. Part of me was really grateful for her making sure I'm on my best game in every aspect. The other part of me hated when she had her mind made up already because she was so stubborn when she did so.
But, there was basically nothing I could do about it so I got up to see what she had picked out. She held the dress in front of me, beaming as if she just struck gold or something. My eyes widened as I took in its beautiful detail.
It was a sky blue lace dress that had one off the shoulder strap; the fabric was made out of something almost silky like and it was stretchy. It even glittered slightly as it swayed back and forth under the lamp light. It was such a beautiful dress, I didn't own anything compared to it.
"I can't wear this, its too amazing. What if I get it dirty or accidentally rip it or something?" I said trying to get out of wearing it because I knew I would most likely be the center of attention.
"That's the best part! I'm letting you keep it. It can't fit me anyway and I thought you would like it." she said reaching over to put it in my hands.
"I love it! It's just........... what if people stare at me in it or something?" I asked as the shy, timid girl I sometimes found myself as.
"They would have good reason to! That dress is amazing!"
"Thanks", I muttered sarcastically. She did nothing to ease my anxiety of people watching me.
"Now, we have to do our hair and makeup, sorry, I have to do our hair and makeup" she corrected herself. I rolled my eyes at her; she couldn't let anything be out of place tonight.
Seven thirty came and met us finishing our makeup. Tulip had done an amazing job on me, she did a natural look that brought out my brown eyes and full lips. She went for a more daring look as she added eyeshadow and highlighter to her face.
"There. All done. We've gotta get ready now though, its going for eight o' clock" she said getting up and heading into the bathroom which left me alone to get ready myself. Picking up the light fabric from off the bed, I rubbed it between my fingers and appreciated its cloud-like texture.
"Well, its now or never" I thought to myself.
I peeled off my tshirt and flung it across the bed along with my jeans, leaving on my sneakers. It was kind of difficult to get my head through the hole and I struggled with doing so for a few seconds before it actually went through and I pulled it down my body.
My arms were rigid from holding them up whilst trying to get inside the dress but I didn't pay too much mind to it. I pulled it all the way down to it's end and smoothened it out over my body.
It stopped 2 inches above my knee and was snug, hugging my body and accentuating every curve I had been blessed with. I chose to not wear a bra because of the off the shoulder one strap design of the dress, but that wasn't too noticeable. I walked over to the vanity mirror checking to see if I had smudged my makeup.
As I saw that I was fine, I walked over to the elongated mirror that hung behind her door to get a better view of my entire body. I was completely awe-struck as a beautiful version of myself looked back at me. Her hair was stretched out into a curly afro and her makeup was neat to the T. Her beautiful dress sculpted her body and made her look more mature even; she had on a lace black choker and diamond studs to bring out her look. The girl staring back at me was gorgeous.
"Woooowwww, you look so beautiful Laria" Tulip cooed as she walked over to stand beside me.
She had on a dress similar to mine, but where mine was blue, hers was red. Where I had studs, she wore hoops and instead of a choker, she had gone with a chest length butterfly necklace. Even the red suede flats she wore added to the beauty of her dress. Her lips were blood red and her hair was in the same afro as mine; we were twins for the night.
"Talk about beautiful, look at yourself! You look amazing and you don't even try hard."
"Your right. I woke up like this" she grinned as I laughed at her quoting Beyoncé. This was the type of friend she was, the one who had a meme or quote or comeback for everything. Satisfied with our reflections, we made way to head out the door, eager to get to the party. It was eight o' clock exactly.
As we exited her room Tulip stopped us, "Wait! You haven't put on the flats I left out for you. Hurry up Ria; you knew I wasn't going to let you leave the house with those on". she said pointing to my converse.
Groaning I quickly turned back to make the shoe swap and left the room once more.
"Happy?" I asked her with a fake smile.
"Ecstatic", she replied with her own genuine one.
As we headed down the stairs I wondered where her parents were, seeing as the house was quiet and her mom didn't come in and offer to help us get ready.
Then I remembered that she told me they were on a business trip for the weekend. We hurried out the door as she locked it behind us and slid into her jeep. Speaking of parents, I sent a quick text to mine telling them I would be staying with Tules for the weekend.
Popping my phone back in the arm rest of the jeep I focused on willing myself to relax. I had a hard time when it came to being around lots of people; I wasn't a people's person by no means. I liked being by myself most of the time or around people I care for. But tonight would be different, I would be at a party with maybe a hundred people or less and I would have to adjust; the thought made me nauseous but I coped.
"Stick close to me okay? I don't want to get separated and then get flocked by a bunch of guys" Tulip said to me as she turned the last corner that held the house of the party.
I looked at the clock, 8:30 it flashed. As we neared the house we could hear the music blasting as the bass vibrated the car. Loads of people seemed to occupy the fairly large house and some were still walking into it by the dozens. Cars upon cars lined the sides of the road causing us to park on the grass; We were finally here.
I tried not to hyperventilate as we climbed out of the seats and headed towards the front door, maneuvering awkwardly through teenagers that sat or stood on the lawn and veranda. We finally made it inside after trudging through the sea of people. The music was turned up at a deafening level as bodies bobbed up and down around the living room.
It was spacious inside but with all the bodies occupying it, it was a bit cramped. Tulip grabbed my hand and pulled us through gyrating bodies as we tried to make it to the snack table that was in front of a window that had an old fashioned window pane, with designs carved into its wooden frame.
She got two red plastic cups, the typical ones you see at a party, and poured out some punch in each. She did the taste test first, giving me the 'okay' when she decided that it wasn't spiked..................... yet.
As we stood enjoying our drinks, I took the time to observe everything. From the people scattered all around the house to the DJ blaring cool pop music through the speakers. From guys and girls being all over each other in the open to guys playing pool or huddling together telling some kind of explicit story.
The football team had just walked in the door as the crowd erupted in 'heys' and 'wassups' as they fist bumped people they passed or slapped them on the back if their hands were............ occupied, to say the least.
One particular guy, headed over to the table where we stood, to get some punch no doubt. As he was filling his cup his eyes drifted around and landed on Tulip and I standing not too far off, sipping from our cups and swaying slightly to the beat of the music. His eyes only seemed to skim over me as they raced towards Tulip; she was talking about how some guy fell face first into the pool with his cell phone still in his pocket when I saw him making his way over to us out of the corner of my eye.
I pretended not to see him as I forced a laugh to seem as if I was engaged in the story. He finally approached us and stopped a step away eyes fixed on Tules as she was oblivious to his presence. He had on the school's varsity jacket that was black with white writing on it.
His nickname "Jay" was sprawled on the back and the letter C was threaded on the left side of the front, standing for Crestview.
He wore black jeans and a plain black Nike t-shirt that had " I heart ball" on it. He was extremely tall, and his dark chocolate skin was glowing under the light of the room. His hair was cut in a high fade that was Will Smith like, and he had on the most decent pair of Kyries I've ever seen. Clearing his throat, Tulip spun around to face him, a little surprised to see him standing there.
"Hey, Tulip right?" he said cracking a smile. She blushed and smiled back before answering.
"Yeah, that's me." He extended his hand towards her as she took it and they shook hands.
"Javon, or Jay for short. Cool party right?"
"It is! I haven't been to one since the year started. I'm really having a great time."
"Me too. So what year are you in?" I didn't wait around to listen as I veered off after awkwardly standing there while they both conversed. They seemed to be hitting it off, I thought.
Making my way past the snack table, I went out back where the pool was and saw that it was a little less crowded than it was inside. I took off to find an empty chair far away as possible from the loud noise of everyone. When I did, I dumped down in it, eager to get off my feet that was slightly aching from standing on them since we arrived.
I laid back in the pool chair and closed my eyes for a bit, breathing in the cool air and taking small sips from my cup. Several seconds later, I felt someone sit at the end of my chair, as their hand brushed against my leg.
Opening one eye, I looked to see who had disrupted my peacefulness and was surprised to see Tyler sitting there with a drink in his hand, his eyes looking slightly unfocused.
"Heyyyyyy Lariaaaaaa", he slurred, swaying back and forth with his hand as he waved it.
He had on a purple plaid shirt that was untucked outside of grey suede long jeans. His grey loafers were scuffed and had a stain on them, no doubt from the liquid inside the cup he was holding. His mousey brown hair was unruly as it flew in every direction and his freckled pale face was a shade of pink.
"Tyler? Are you okay?" I asked him. Laughing loudly as possible, he fell backwards off the chair as he gained a few looks. He was still laughing wildly as he picked himself off the ground and I moved to help him.
"Tyler, have you been drinking?"
"Nuuuppeee", he said into my face which only proved my point right as I smelled hints of alcohol on his breathe. I never deemed Tyler as the drinking type; I wondered if someone made him or something.
"You need some water in your system. C'mon." I got his arm in mine and headed towards the door of the house.
Opening it was a bit of a task with Tyler clinging onto me and everyone locked into their own worlds.
Finally succeeding, we slid inside and went to the sink. I propped him onto a nearby stool and he slumped his head onto the counter, half asleep half mumbling something about aliens. Taking his cup out of his hands, I emptied the contents and filled it with water from the tap; then I gave it to him, shaking him slightly.
"Huhhh?" he mumbled sitting up, rubbing his eyes.
"Here Tyler, here's your water" I told him handing it over. He took it gratefully and gulped it down, spilling some on his shirt in the process. A smile sneaked its way over my face as I watched him, looking like its the first time he had water for a week.
"I'm going to find Tulip" I shouted in his ear as I walked off.
Making my way through the crowd was more strenuous this time because more people had filed in; I decided to strategize my search. I climbed the stairs to get a better view of the crowd, looking over every inch of the sea of people.
Looking back towards the punch table I found her still engaged in conversation with Jay; they were laughing and talking with each other. She looked happy, smiling profusely at him.
Their cups were gone now and one of his arms were draped across her shoulder and she beamed up at him. Satisfied that she was safe and had company, I started to head back down the stairs but froze as my eyes landed on a scene that made my stomach churn.
There all wrapped up in his arms was Violet. She had on black ripped jeans with an Esmerelda white blouse; she wore chain earrings and a chest length twisted necklace that was absolutely stunning.
Lamon had on a white Polo shirt with black shorts and black suede Nike tennis. (was the material for the night suede or something?) They both were engaged in the conversation going on around them, laughing and talking and being normal teenagers. She sat on his lap and he had his arm around her waist; I noted that they were matching subtly.
My entire body heated as I watched the display, too shocked to move. A big boned girl bumped into me and pushed me a step down, causing me to jump out of my state and back to the party.
"Sorry", she mumbled incoherently.
I barely heard her as I moved down the stairs, taking them carefully, holding onto the banister as I went, trying my best to get away from their scene. I hadn't realized I was crying till the tears blinded my vision and I became unsure of which direction I was headed.
Another bone chilling cold ran through me as I found myself in another jam; instead of running away from them, I found myself standing in front of the two people I was trying to avoid. His eyes locked on mine as every member of my body became immobile. As Violet shifted in his lap to look at me, Lamon's gaze hardened on me and held me into place.
"Laria! You came!" was the only words that broke through to my brain as she hopped off of his lap and pulled me in a bear hug. I hadn't spoken a word as my eyes never left him while he got up and spoke only one word to me.
"Hey".