I pull into my driveway, turning the car off and pulling the key out of the ignition. Julia opens her door, and I do so too. I open the side door, grabbing my bag off the seat, before shutting the door behind me. I press the lock button on the keys, heading up my driveway and towards the front door. I unlock the door and step inside, Julia right behind me. We head upstairs and walk into my bedroom. Julia flops down onto my bed, immediately pulling out her phone. I shut the door behind me and walk over to my desk, sitting down on the chair there.
"Have you talked to Carson at all?" I ask, noticing her rapid typing on her phone. She sits up and nods, still looking at her phone as she types.
"Yeah, I'm talking to him right now" she replies. She types for a few more seconds, before putting her phone down and looking up at me.
"What did you guys say to each other?" I ask.
"Here, just read the messages yourself. It's quicker." Julia says, unlocking her phone before handing it to me. Her messages with Carson are open, and I scroll up to where they start.
C: I'm sorry
J: For what?
C: I acted like a complete ass to you at lunch
C: I didn't know you were stressed out about physics. Why didn't you just tell me instead of Helaina having to be the one to explain why you were so moody?
J: You don't seem sorry lol
C: I'm not doing this with you
J: Doing what?
C: Lol forget it Julia. You always do this when you're mad at me.
J: Yeah whatever.
C: See you tonight
J: K.
I wince, handing her her phone back.
"Yikes." I say, and she nods. "Sorry, I feel like I just made things worse."
"It's not your fault. We'll get over it." Julia assures me. "Anyway, let's talk about tonight. What are you going to wear?"
I shrug.
"I told you that I have no idea. I thought that's why you were coming over." I remind her.
"I am, I just didn't know if you had a basis to start with." Julia says, and I shake my head.
"Nope." I reply. Julia stands up from my bed and walks over to my closet, sliding open the door and begins to sift through. I watch as she pulls out different shirts and pants before closing the door. She folds the clothes and put them in a pile and walks over to me.
"Here, try these on." Julia says, handing me the pile of clothes in her hand. I look down at the clothes, and then back up at her.
"What goes with what?" I ask, and she shrugs.
"Whatever you want. Here, I'll turn around so you can get changed." She turns around and sits back down on my bed, facing the wall so that she can't see me. I put the clothes down and grab the first thing on top of the pile; a cropped long-sleeve gray shirt that clings to my figure, and high waisted black leggings. The leggings stop just above my belly button, leaving a few inches of my skin exposed. I yank the shirt down a little, but it goes right back up. I sigh and turn away from my mirror, facing Julia.
"Okay, you can look." I say. She turns around and looks at me, quietly studying my outfit. Her face remains neutral, making it impossible for me to guess what she's thinking. "So? What do you think?"
"It's cute." Julia says finally, and I let out a sigh of relief. "But I'm not sure if this is the right outfit for a you."
I frown.
"What do you mean?" I ask.
"I mean that it's cute and I'm stealing it." Julia says with a devious smirk.
"I thought you were wearing the flannel with the shorts." I say, and she shakes her head.
"I was, until I saw how good that outfit looks. It's perfect for tonight, but more importantly, it's perfect sending a message to Carson." Julia decides.
"Oh really? And what would that message be?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.
"How hot I am and how lucky Carson is to have me. Trust me, if I wear that tonight, I can guarantee that Carson and I won't be fighting after that. Hell, I don't think much will be said if you know what I mean." she says with a wink, causing me to groan.
"I didn't need to know that." I say, and she laughs. "Turn back around, I have to try on something else since you're stealing my clothes now."
Julia turns around, and I quickly take off the shirt and leggings, folding them and placing them on my desk to give to Julia before we leave. I grab the next two things; a pair of light blue jeans with rips in the knees and a flowy white crop top. Once again, the shirt is too high and the pants are too low, leaving a strip of skin on my stomach expose. I look in the mirror, instantly deciding that I don't like the outfit. Still, I call to Julia.
"I'm done." She turns around, but this time, her expression isn't neutral. She lips turn down into a scowl, and she shakes her head no.
"Oh my God, that's horrendous. I don't know why I picked out that shirt." she says.
"Hey, I own this horrendous shirt." I say, slightly offended.
"Sorry, but it's ugly." Julia says. "Keep the jeans on and try on whatever shirt is next." She turns back around, and I lift the shirt over my head. I grab the last shirt in the pile, a low-cut gray knit-sweater type tank top. Hesitantly, I put the shirt over my head and pull it down. I don't look in the mirror, too afraid to do so. I tell Julia to turn around, and when she does, she gasps. I feel my face turn red, nervous that she won't only criticize my shirt, but also the way I look in it.
"Helaina!" she yells.
"Yeah?"
"That looks so good on you. You have to wear it tonight!" Julia exclaims.
"Really? I didn't even look at myself in the mirror because I was afraid of how low it is." I say, and turn to look in my mirror. The second I look at my reflection, I feel my heart skip a beat. Julia is right; this shirt looks great on me. It hugs my curves perfectly, and just low-cut enough to be fun and flirtatious without overly revealing. I almost look... well, hot.
"See what I mean?" Julia asks, coming up behind me. I nod, and she opens my closet, handing me a pair of white sneakers. "Here, wear these with it. It'll really tie the whole outfit together."
"Thanks," I say, finally pulling my gaze away from myself in the mirror. I hand Julia the shirt and leggings she's borrowing and turn away as she changes, walking over to my dresser. I grab a small necklace off my dresser and put it around my neck, looking at myself in the mirror. For some reason, the outfit mixed with the excitement of tonight's party is really making me feel confident. For once, I'm not ashamed to say that I like the way I look.
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"Julia, can you not drive so slowly? We're going to be late." I say, pressing the home button on my phone for the fifteenth time in the past five minutes. It's 7:43 P.M., and Carson's party officially started at 7 P.M.
"Calm down. If you wanted to get there so quickly, you shouldn't have asked me to drive." Julia reminds me.
"I only asked you to drive because I couldn't find my license and we were in a rush." I remind her. I sigh stressfully and check my phone again. "I can't believe that we're almost an hour late."
"Helaina, stop stressing out. Parties don't really get into full-swing until an hour in. I promise we haven't missed anything important yet." she says. We turn into a neighborhood, and I see with relief that it's Carson's.
"I'm not stressed out!" I snap, and she raises and eyebrow at me. "I'm not stressed out. I just don't like being late to things." I repeat.
"Don't worry, I can help you relax in one of two ways, maybe both if you're feeling adventurous." Julia says with a smirk on her lips.
"I'm not getting high." I say, and she laughs.
"So does that mean you'll get drunk with me at least?" she asks hopefully.
"I never said yes."
"You never said no."
Julia pulls onto Carson's street, and I immediately see how packed it is. She pulls into his driveway, knowing he keeps his driveway open for her to park in.
"We'll see how the night progresses." I reply, and she cheers.
"I'll take that as a yes."
I roll my eyes, but I can't help but smile to myself as we climb out of the car and walk up the pathway leading to Carson's house. Julia reaches for the door handle, twisting it and pushing the door open. Immediately, the smell of alcohol and weed fills my lungs and I wince. I've never been a fan of the smell of weed.
We step inside, and despite what Julia said earlier about the party not getting interesting until an hour in, it's already packed. There's barely any room to stand, let alone walk, but when people see Julia and I coming through, they step aside. As I walk beside Julia, I feel lingering eyes on me and begin to regret my outfit choice, although, as I look around, I see other girls wearing similar body-hugging outfits. I thought our semi-revealing outfits would make us stand out, but they have the opposite effect, instead making us blend in.
"Julia! Helaina! Hey! Over here!" I hear a female voice shout, and I recognize it as Charlotte. Julia and I make our way into the living room, where it's less crowded because of all the places to sit. I spot Kennedy, Ethan, Mason, Charlotte, Ben, and Carson sitting on a couch. Kennedy and Charlotte are right next to each other, with Ben's arm around Kennedy's waist. Charlotte is sitting on Ethan's lap, and Mason's girlfriend Evelyn is sitting on the armchair of the couch. Carson is sitting on the opposite end, drinking out of a red solo cup. When he spots Julia next to me, his expression changes. He puts his drink down and stands up, walking over to us. Julia meets him half way and wraps her arms around his neck. Carson puts one arm her waist, while the other snakes down further and his hand grabs her ass. I look away in discomfort and walk over to the couch, plopping myself down in Carson's spot.
"Hey guys." I say, and they all respond with a chorus of "Hi"'s. "What time did you get here?" I ask them as a group.
"I got here early with Ben to help Carson set up." Kennedy says.
"Ethan and I got here maybe ten minutes ago. Evelyn and Mason got here before me." Charlotte says, and I nod. Julia and Carson walk over, closer than they were before.
"Hey Carson, where are your parents this weekend?" Ethan asks.
"They took a weekend trip out of town. They told me I could have some friends over, so I did." Carson replies, smirking. Julia leans in and kisses his neck, and he turns his head and kisses her on the lips. I look down momentarily, hoping that when I look back up they'll stop, but I have no such luck. Carson's face is now in Julia's neck, sucking on it and biting at the skin. I shift uncomfortably on the chair.
"Carson, where's the alcohol?" I ask, wanting desperately to get away from their affection.
"In the kitchen." He replies, his breathing heavier. I nod and go to stand up. As I do so, she pulls away from Julia for a second and says, "Hey guys, Julia and I will be back soon. You know where everything is if you need it." Carson grabs her hand and pulls her in the direction of the stairs. Julia looks back at me and smirks, biting her lip, before turning back to face Carson.
"I'm going to get some beer." I announce, walking away from the couch and heading in the direction of the kitchen. I push my way through friends and couples until I reach the kitchen. It's still loud in there, but not as bad as it is in the living room. The music is muffled, and the conversation going on in here is minimal. I walk over and grab a beer out of the cooler, taking it and pouring it into a red solo cup. I take a sip and begin to walk over. Just as I step back into the hallway, I hear a familiar voice call something out.
"Hey Helena."
I freeze and turn around to see none other than Shawn Mendes standing there, smirking at me with a red solo cup in his hand.
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AN: New chapter! This is where things are starting to get boring, sorry the beginning of the chapter was kind of boring. Also, the picture I uploaded in the beginning of the chapter is what Helaina's outfit is. I'm not the best at describing clothes, so I figured that this would help you guys visualize things better. Another two things that I wanted to mention are what I imagine everyone looks like so far.
Helaina: Blonde hair, slim-thick. Blue or green eyes. 5'2. Pretty but not gorgeous. Basically she looks like this girl I know from school haha
Julia: Brown hair, a little more on the dark side. I imagine her to look like a cross between Madison Beer and Maggie Lindemann. Basically, Julia's gorgeous and she knows it. I imagine her more on the taller side, maybe about 5'6 or 5'7. Long legs, skinny.
Carson: Brown hair, very strong jawline. A stoic face and is intimidating looking. About 6'2 or 6'3.
Shawn: How he is irl lmao
Anyways!! This was a long author's note, but I felt like it was important to mention this so you can see what I see (or at least know what I see since we probably don't imagine the characters the same way). Don't forget to vote and comment! Thanks! Hope you enjoyed this chapter!