"Do I get streamers or something?" Sam asks as he joins me and Foster in one of the isles of the dollar store.
"Sure, if you're throwing a birthday party. For a nine year old," Foster replies.
Sam is a little too anxious for this party. I understand that it's his first he's ever thrown, but he just won't shut up about it. He's nervous about people not showing up, or the food running out. No matter what I tell him to calm him down, he finds something else to complain about.
"What about napkins, do we need napkins?" Sam says looking up and down the isle.
"Sam, we're throwing a party, not a banquet," Foster shakes his head.
Sam frowns and looks back to the shelves in front of him. I'm a little nervous for him, actually. He was sort of just thrown into this whole situation.
"Why don't you go look for some plastic cups," I suggest.
He nods and walks out of the isle.
"You have to be nicer. He hasn't done this before," I tell Foster.
"I know, but come on. Streamers, really?" He raises an eyebrow.
"Just cut him some slack," I shrug, turning back to the shelves.
My phone buzzes in my back pocket, but I don't bother answering it. Josh has been trying to reach me for the past hour, but I'm not giving him the time to explain himself.
It buzzes again and this time Foster takes notice of it.
"Shouldn't you answer that?" He asks leaning on the shelf in front of me.
"No, it's nobody," I lie looking away from him.
"Well it's obviously somebody if they keep texting you." He smiles.
"It's just you brother," I reply and his smile disappears.
"Who? Will?" He asks standing up straighter.
"No, Josh," I respond quietly. He mentally contemplates my words. I'm not sure what he's going to say, but he hasn't looked up from the ground.
"So, um, why-why is he texting you exactly?" He squints to me. "Actually, when did he even get your number? And how come I don't have it?" He smirks, holding out his smart phone to me.
I take his phone and click in his contacts to add a new number.
"That was pretty slick, Foster," I nod to him.
"It's just when of my many great qualities," He grins as he rocks back and forth on his heels.
I type my number in and save it to his contacts. I hand his phone back to him and he looks down to the screen.
"Sweet. So why is Josh texting you?" He asks again. I was hoping he'd forgotten he even asked that question.
"Nothing really important, I guess," I try to brush off the topic. Not soon enough, Sam rounds the corner with red plastic cups. I sigh in relief and walk over to him.
"Okay, I found cups," He says holding the stack.
"Dude, you're gonna need more than just two packs," Foster snorts.
"Why? Thirty seems like enough," Sam tries to reason.
"Trust me, nobody is going to reuse their first cup. You're going to need like two more packs," Foster says walking out of the isle and bringing Sam with him.
Once they're gone, I take out my phone and look to the messages Josh has sent. There's only three messages left.
"You can't just ignore me forever."
"Please answer your phone."
"I'll talk to you tonight." After that message, there isn't any more. I consider replying to him, but Foster and Sam return.
"Now we have enough," Sam frowns down to plastic cups. "You get to pay for these," He says to Foster.
"Gladly," Foster smirks, taking the cups from Sam's hands. He walks to the front of the store to the cash registers to purchase the items.
"Why did I agree to this?" Sam groans.
"I'm actually glad you did. You get to do something fun before you go to college," I nudge his arm.
"I do plenty of fun things already," he tries to counter.
"Like what?" I ask, already knowing he's going to answer with something boring.
"I go to the beach. And we always get food together." He nods.
"That's more like everyday stuff though. You need to do something like this to get you out of your comfort zone."
"Maybe I like it in my comfort zone." He folds his arms.
"Well too late now, because this party is happening. I already texted everyone and even posted an event on Facebook." I remind him.
"Yeah I know," He frowns. "Let's go across the street to find some snacks," He says walking ahead of me out of the isle.
We walk to the front of the store to meet with Foster. He's just finished purchasing the cups and was just putting the receipt in his back pocket.
"Where are we going now?" Foster asks picking up the bags.
"Across the street to the food mart. We can get pretzels and chips," I say as Sam opens the door for both of us.
We walk out to the parking lot to Sam's car. "What time did you tell people to show up?" Foster asks.
"Like around 8." I reply.
"Okay. I can maybe get my friends from Kentucky to come," he says taking out his phone.
"They're gonna come to North Carolina for a high school party?" Sam asks in disbelief.
"If I'm hosting it, they'll show up." He smiles to both of us as we come to Sam's car.
"Isn't that like a seven hour drive?" Sam asks.
"What time is it now?" Foster asks me.
I look to my phone and read the time in my lock screen. "Twelve."
"If they leave now, they'll get here at seven. They'll have an hour to chill." Foster says typing on his phone.
"You can't just expect them to leave like that." Sam says and Foster groans.
"Sam, I don't mean to brag here, but whenever I was in charge of a party, college students would show up. And I'm not talking about my brothers' friends. It's a pretty big deal." He says and that's enough to shut Sam up. "They'll be there." He says locking his phone and putting in his back pocket.
Sam unlocks his car and I open the passenger side. I sit inside and close the door, waiting for Foster and Sam to join. Foster places the bags on the seat next to him and climbs inside. Sam is the last one to walk around the car and get in. He starts up the engine and pulls out of the parking lot.
"Can you get drinks while I get some chips?" Sam asks me.
"Yeah, what kind?" I ask him as we enter the mart's parking lot.
"I don't know. Coca Cola, Sierra Mist, whatever you think people would like." He says searching the lot for a parking space.
"What should I get?" Foster asks as Sam pulls into one of the spaces.
"I don't know. Anything else you think would be okay for a party, I guess." Sam shrugs.
He parks the car and we all exit and walk to the entrance. As I walk, I see a familiar black car to my right. Is Will here?
"Hey Foster, isn't that Will's car?" I ask pointing to the Impala.
"Oh yeah. He and Dayne must be getting the beer." He shrugs.
"What? I didn't okay alcohol at my party. We could get in trouble for that." Sam says nervously.
"You can't expect to have a party without beer, Sam." Foster laughs.
"I've never had alcohol." Sam admits quietly.
"Have you done anything fun?" Foster raises his eyebrow.
"I've smoked before. I don't remember it well," Sam frowns at his poor choices.
"It was a small blunt, but it was enough to get him high," I explain for Sam.
"We don't have to do that at your party," Foster laughs.
Just as we enter the food mart, Dayne and Will come to the exit.
"Hey guys," Dayne smiles with two boxes of beer in his hands.
"We got the beer," Will says holding up two more boxes.
"How did you buy that? Don't you have to be twenty one?" Sam questions the two of them.
"You ask too many questions, Sam," Foster smiles. "We'll see you guys at the house."
We begin to walk past them, but Will nudges my arm as I pass.
"You hanging out with me tonight?" He smiles. I hadn't noticed the small dimple on his right cheek before. I blush at his offer.
"Sure. Save me one of those, okay?" I point to the package of beer.
"Of course," He nods.
"Will," Dayne calls for him.
"See you soon." He flashes me another smile before turning back around and walking to the parking lot with his brother.
I walk back ahead to Foster and Sam who stand waiting for me.
"What's up with you and Will? Are you guys like a thing now?" Foster asks.
"A thing?" I laugh at his choice of words.
"Do you like each other?" He rolls his eyes in exaggeration.
"I don't know. I guess we'll see after tonight," I shrug as we walk ahead.
As much as I'd like to say yes to Foster's question, I'm not positive if I do have those kind of feelings for Will. I did in the beginning, but that was before Josh kissed me. Everything would be in place if Josh hadn't happened. I wouldn't be questioning whether I liked Will or not and Josh wouldn't even be on my mind. Yet here I am, thinking about him when I'm supposed to be angry.
"Jen, you got the drinks right?" Sam asks before he walks into a different isle.
"Yeah, sorry, I'm going now." I shake my thoughts.
I part from the two to the back of the store where the soda is. I grab a basket in front of the shelves before I pick out the sodas.
As I scan the isle, my phone buzzes. Now I've grown annoyed with the constant messaging. I take out my phone to respond to Josh, only to see that it's not him who texted me. It's my mother.
"Did you make plans with Sam tonight? He said you two are having a get-together." I smile at her words.
"Yeah, I think I'll be staying over." I reply before placing my phone back I my pocket.
I pick out a few liters before my mind wanders back to Josh. I think I might actually be disappointed that it wasn't him who texted. Not that I should be happy about that, but I did get my hopes up. The picture of him and Vanessa coming out of the basement burns in the back of my mind. If only she knew what Josh and I had done.
I grab four more liters of different soda, and a liter of lemonade. My basket is heavy and full and I don't think I can carry anymore. I walk back towards where I last saw Sam and Foster in hopes of finding one of them. I see Sam holding a few bags of chips.
"Hey," I smile in relief as I walk to him.
"You need help with those?" He asks, already taking to basket from my hands.
"Thanks. I'll carry the chips." I say taking the bags from him. "What else were you planning on getting?"
"I don't know. I have more food at home." He says looking up and down the shelves.
"Let's go find Foster," I guide out of the isle.
Sam struggles with the soda as we walk, but he manages to handle it as we progress.
"So how about Will? You like him, right?" Sam asks curiously.
"I'm not sure." I say, but find myself unsatisfied with that answer.
"I think I do."
"You think?"
"I don't know. Something else says no, I guess." I respond looking around for Foster.
"Something or someone?" Sam asks this time nudging me with his elbow.
"Who would that someone be, exactly?" I laugh at him.
"I don't know. Foster maybe," He shrugs his shoulders.
"You think I like Foster?" I laugh at his answer, but soon realize he's serious about it.
"Yeah, actually I think you do," He nods.
"Why?"
"Because you always laugh at his jokes, and when you look to him, you smile." He teases.
"Usually because he's about to do something stupid," I add after him.
"Still. I think you like him, but you just don't know it yet."
"Whatever you say, Sam," I shake my head to him.
I never really thought of Foster as anything but a friend. He's been really kind and funny and I appreciate that from him. For a moment I thought Sam was going to say Josh. I mean, that makes a lot more sense than me liking Foster. Doesn't it?
"Oh my gosh, I've been looking for you guys all over," Foster says from behind us.
We turn around to see Foster holding a bag of ping-pong balls.
"What are those for?" Sam asks in confusion.
"Beer pong." Foster smiles, holding up the bag.
"Great," Sam rolls his eyes.
I'm way too eager for this party to start. Will is expecting me to hangout with him, but I have a feeling I might be distracted by Josh. He'll definitely try to talk to me about Vanessa. And Vanessa will probably be trailing around him the whole night. Maybe I will let him explain himself to me if we manage to get away from the crowd.
•••••
Josh walks into the house just as I begin to pour the pretzels into a bowl. His eyes connect with mine as he slowly closes the sliding door behind him.
"Hi." Is all he speaks.
"Hi," I respond back.
"Jen, you're missing the bowl," Will says from behind me.
"Oh shit," I say picking up the bag. I guess I held Josh's gaze too long.
"I'll help," Will laughs. He helps gather the spilled pretzels from the counter and places them in the bowl.
"Thanks," I smile.
"No problem." He stands behind me, but rests his hands on either side of me on the counter, making me enclosed in his chest.
"What's up Josh?" Will asks him. I look up to Josh. His jaw is clenched. I'm guessing that's from him taking notice of Will's position behind me.
I smile to myself as I open a bag of Doritos and pour them into a new bowl.
"Good. Just excited for the party." He nods before walking to the couch to join Connor and Dayne.
People should be arriving soon. It's 7:42. I hope everything goes well and the party really turns out. Sam deserves something like this.
"That's a cute outfit," Will says from behind me.
I had changed out of my clothes before coming over to Sam's. I put on my favorite high-waisted denim shorts. My red sleeveless shirt sports an American flag across the front of it.
"Thanks. I'm sort of matching with you," I smile and tug a small bit on his red t-shirt.
Foster comes up the steps of the deck with a few guys behind him. They're all smiling and rough housing as they come to the sliding door.
"I brought the guys," Foster announces as he steps into the house. Will immediately moves from me to the door. All of them stand and greet Foster's friends except Sam, who comes around the counter and joins me in the kitchen.
One of Foster's friends is dressed in dark jeans with a black t-shirt. He smiles as he greets his old friends. His honey hazel eyes don't match his appearance.
"There are strangers in my house." Sam whispers to me nervously.
"Don't be shy." I tell him as I crumple up the last bag of chips.
Foster stands across the bar and the five of his friends stand behind him.
"Guys, this is Sam and Jennifer. They're my neighbors," Foster speaks.
"You have a beach house and a pretty neighbor? You're living the life, Fost," One of the taller boys joke.
"Shut up. Jennifer, Sam, meet my friends. This is Noah, that's Logan and Landon, Wes, and Heath."
I smile to the five boys. Noah is tall with a slight tan. His brown hair sticks up near the front, almost like Josh's. Logan and Landon look very similar. I'm guessing they're brothers. They both have lighter skin with dark brown hair. Their blue eyes are too deep not to miss. Wes' shaggy blonde hair resembles the same color as Will's. He looks like he was raised to be a surfer. He's taller than Foster, and Foster is pretty tall for his age. Heath is the one that caught my eye when he first walked in. He hasn't looked to me once since his entrance into the house. He looks about the same height as Dayne or maybe Josh. His dark, messy hair is pushed up to the side and his hazel eyes wander aimlessly around the house.
"Hi," I say looking to each of them.
"Hi," Noah says first. "Can I just say, you're a lot prettier than Foster's description of you."
"I'm guessing it wasn't a very nice description," I raise my eyebrows at Foster.
"It's not that it was bad. I just used lame adjectives?" He says, unsure of how to explain himself.
"So who's place is this? Yours?" Wes asks pointing to Sam.
"Um yeah, yes this is my house." He stutters.
"Pretty sweet that you guys get to live right on the beach." He nods.
Heath moves from behind the group to the couch. He sits on the coffee table across from Josh and they begin in conversation. Every now and then I'll see them laugh. I wish I was over there with them.
"Jen? Can I call you that?" Logan asks leaning across the counter.
"What? Oh yeah, sure you can call me that," I nod with a smile.
"Could you point me to the bathroom? A seven hour car ride with four other dudes really isn't as comfortable as it sounds." He jokes with a small smile.
Charming. He's only spoken two sentences and I'm already entranced. His soft, closed-mouthed smile could light up a city.
"It's down this hall and it's the first door on the left." I respond.
"Thank you," He nods before walking away into the hall.
Sam and I stand in the kitchen, watching as everyone converses. I look back to Josh and Heath. For a moment, I think they're talking about me. Josh keeps moving his to take looks behind him. I look to Heath to see that his gaze is already on me. My mouth parts slightly when our eyes meet. He doesn't break the gaze, but he doesn't acknowledge me either. Instead he tightens his jaw and returns to his conversation.
"What do you think Heath's problem is?" I whisper to Sam.
"I don't know. He looks too cool to be hanging out with Foster." Sam guesses.
"I think he's friends with Josh."
"That explains it. They're both douche bags," Sam laughs. I hit him in the chest with the back of my hands.
"You don't even know them." Why am I defending Josh? Sam is right, he is a douche bag.
"I know enough," He glowers to the two.
Heath looks up again before whispering something to Josh. I immediately divert my eyes away from him when he catches me. Great, now he probably thinks I'm creepy. He wasn't exactly the warmest person either from his entrance into the home. I grab the bowl of pretzels and make my way over to the middle of the living room to make some sort of peace offering. Josh looks to me and straightens his back as I come near.
"I have pretzels," I offer them the bowl.
"Thanks." Josh says taking the bowl from my hands.
I look to Heath and he stares across the room away from me. What's his problem?
"So how was your drive from Kentucky?" I ask him in hopes of starting a conversation.
He looks up to me and I swear I lose my breath. His eyes up close are almost too much to handle, yet I find myself staring at them intently for what seems like a lifetime.
"Long." He says blankly. He diverts his eyes away from me and takes a pretzel from the bowl Josh is holding.
I'm going to be the only one to put effort into this conversation. Even if he is memorizing to look at, his personality isn't worth the time. I take one last glance to both him and Josh before I turn to walk back to the kitchen.
"Jen," I hear Josh say from behind me. He hands Heath the bowl and stands from the couch. No, not now. He can't expect me to talk to him right here with everyone listening.
I ignore him and continue to walk, but I can feel him coming closer.
"Can I talk to you?" He whispers in a low tone.
"No, not now." I say continuing toward the kitchen.
"So you will talk to me later?" He insists.
"Josh, I don't know." I say trying to shut him up, but he only ends up following me into the kitchen.
"There are people in the front yard." Will says walking in from the foyer. "It's about time people started showing up," he smiles as he walks into the kitchen.
I step away from Josh just as Will comes to stand next to me by the sink. "What are you guys up to?" He asks looking to both of us.
"Nothing important," I frown to Josh. As much as I'd like to talk to him, I have a feeling his explanation about Vanessa today won't be a good one.
People from school begin to pile into Sam's home. Foster puts on music as they enter and things begin to get going. There's already about twenty five people, including me and the Hutcherson's. Claire walks in and the first one to greet her is Foster.
"Hey Claire, good to see you," Foster smiles to her.
"Thanks. I like your shirt." She nods to his Beatles shirt.
"Thanks me too. I mean, I like your shirt. Too. Not mine. Well, I like my shirt, but I like yours better." He laughs, trying to save himself.
Before she can reply, Foster quickly turns from her and joins me, Will, and Sam in the kitchen.
"Oh my god," He storms in and sinks to the floor in front of us.
"It wasn't that bad, Foster," I try to comfort him.
"It was pretty bad," Will laughs.
He peaks over the counter to her, but quickly ducks back down. Sorta reminds me of how I acted in junior high. I guess it really shows what age Foster's mind is at.
"I can redeem myself," He gives himself a pep talk. He quickly jumps to his feet, but moves behind Will and I once Claire looks over.
"She's not that scary, Foster." Sam tried to encourage him.
"I know. But let's face it, she's a graduate and I'm still in high school," He frowns, looking past the counter to the crowd.
"That hasn't stopped you from hitting on Jen." Will raises his eyebrow.
"Yeah, but Jennifer likes me," He smirks and raises his eyebrows up and down in my direction.
"And when did we decide that?" I ask as I shake my head.
"Come on, you know you gotta soft spot for this." Foster says backing out of the kitchen.
"Oh you think you're so funny, don't you, Fost." Will glares.
"I think I'm adorable." And after that, he's back out to the living room. He walks towards Claire and greets her again. He has the confidence I wish I had.
"I don't know what we're gonna do with him." Will says looking to his brother.
"I think he'll be fine." I fold my arms looking to Foster. So far, Foster is the only Hutcherson that I can actually call a friend. Aside from Will and Connor, he's the only one I feel I can confide in. Even if he is the silly one, he's loyal.
"Can I get you something to drink?" Will disturbs my train of thought.
"I'll just take a lemonade," I answer.
As soon as Will exits to the deck, Vanessa walks in the front door with a few more people behind her. Her teal crop top compliments her tanned skin. Her washout shorts match a few other girls' here.
She finds me in the kitchen and smiles as she enters.
"Wow Sam, your party was a real turn out." She smiles up to Sam.
"Thanks Nessa," He says with a small smile.
She turns to me and I think she'll try to bring up our conversation from earlier today. Instead, she gives me a soft smile that isn't expected.
"I'm sorry about earlier. I was getting really worked up about nothing," She admits.
I almost laugh after her apology. She is rarely ever the one to apologize first.
"It's fine. Sorry I didn't let you back in the house," I apologize and Sam's facial expression changes from normal to confused.
"You locked her out of the house?" He asks appalled by my words.
"It was just a joke," I shrug.
"It wasn't that big of a deal." She adds. "Who's that? And who are they?" She says pointing to Noah and then Logan and Landon.
"A few of Foster's friends from Kentucky." Sam answers.
"Is he one of them?" She asks. I follow her gaze to none other than Heath. He's talking to Josh and a short, blonde girl.
"Heath." I answer. He smiles down to the blonde as she tugs at the bottom of his t-shirt. She can make conversation with him in two seconds and I can't even get him to speak two words to me. Not that I should care anyways.
I'm shaken from the thought once again by Will handing me a plastic cup. "Thanks." I say taking the cup in my hands.
"Hi Ness. It's cool if I call you that right?" Will smiles down to Vanessa.
"Of course." She lights up. "Or Nessa. If you like that better."
"Alright Nessa," He nods taking a sip from his beer bottle. She blushes at his words. These boys can make a girl come undone within a matter of seconds.
"Wow, there are a lot of people still coming in." I say trying to change the direction of this conversation.
"Hey Sam, everything looks good," Josh says as he walks into the kitchen. I tense up and take a small step closer to Will.
"Hey Nessa," He smirks to her.
"It's about time you said hi," She nudges his arm and I think I might throw up from the sight.
Just before I can say another word, the music turns off. For a moment, everyone groans and yells for the music to be turned back on. Foster begins to climb on the coffee table in the middle of the living room and now I think is when the party really gets started.
"Hello everyone. I am Foster Hutcherson, I live next door to our wonderful host, Sam Claflin." Foster says pointing to Sam over the bar counter into the kitchen.
"Me and my four devilishly handsome brothers are here to make sure this is the best party you will ever attend. Aside from my 6th birthday, you all missed out." He jokes and receives a few laughs from the female majority of the group. He's so enchanting, it hurts.
"Beer pong will be outside, the pool is open, and we got pretzels," He smiles down to the people around him.
"Connor, turn up the music until we go deaf please," Foster tells his brother who stands in the corner next to the music system.
He presses play and the music blasts all through the house. People begin to mingle amongst themselves as Foster hops down from the coffee table.
"Ready?" Will asks before taking one last sip of his beer.
"Yeah, we going now?" Josh asks his brother.
"Where you guys going?" I ask as Will leaves my side.
"We brought some paints for a little body painting tonight. I'll find you later." He winks before walking out to the deck. So much for hanging out with Will tonight
"C'mon Sam," Josh motions to him.
"I don't want any body paint." Sam shakes his head.
"Well it's not for us. We're gonna paint the girls," Josh says and I practically spit my lemonade back in my cup.
"You're doing what?" I question him.
"I'm getting this party started," He raises his eyebrows to me before walking out of the kitchen.
It's not out of the ordinary, but it's not exactly comforting to know that both Will and Josh will be giving their full attention to half naked girls running around in bikinis. Asking them to paint something on their lower back or somewhere around the hip area. Do they plan something like that? I'm guessing it's not their first time using some girl's body as a canvas.
"Let's go get something painted, Jen," Vanessa smiles.
"No thanks," I say in disgust.
"Suit yourself," She shrugs, walking out to the deck and joining what already seems to be a crowd of girls.
"Was this a good idea?" Sam says looking to the strangers in his home.
"I'm not sure," I take a sip of my lemonade. "But it's a good party. There's a lot of people here." I say looking to the full house. People are scattered all over the place. I hadn't realized until now that there are three other people here in the large kitchen with me and Sam.
"I need some water," He breathes. He turns to the fridge and pulls out a water bottle.
I think I might need a new drink myself. A beer. I need to relax my mind because right now, there are too many things happening. It's already bad enough that Josh played me with Vanessa, but now Will is out there giving body paintings. I take a beer from the cooler behind the counter and uncap it quickly.
"Jeez, calm down there muscles," Sam laughs.
"Very funny," I glare at him before taking a few gulps. Now we're loosening up.
"So how do you feel about Foster liking Claire," I poke at Sam.
"For the last time, I don't like her anymore," He shakes his head.
"Oh yeah, I'm sure," I say sarcastically, drinking again from the bottle. The bitter taste leaves my mouth numb, but it's beginning to really wake me up.
"Sam!" Foster yells from the couch. "Get over here, right now. I got some girls over here that want to be your friends," He smirks.
"Great, more girls that want to put me in the friend zone." Sam groans and I laugh at his answer.
"Just get over here." Foster shakes his head. He climbs over the back of the couch and runs to the entrance of the kitchen to grab Sam. He grabs his arm and drags him into the crowd of people.
I'm left alone at the kitchen counter with just my beer. I'd join them in the middle of the mass of people, but I think Sam should try to make friends on his own. I grab another beer from the cooler and hop up on the counter. I try to uncap the bottle, but the cap is screwed on tighter than the last. I try twisting harder, but that only makes my hand ache.
A familiar someone with black jeans hops up on the counter next to me. Heath extends his hand to me, waiting for me to hand over the bottle. I place it in his hand and he twists the cap off with ease using his left hand.
"You were twisting right instead of left." He speaks softly, his voice making small cracks between some of his words. His voice sounds collected, even if he is speaking over the loud music.
"Silly me." I roll my eyes, drinking down some of the bottle. Ironic he shows up when the beer bottles come out.
"I'm Heath." He says re-introducing himself to me.
"I know." I slightly laugh. I return the favor and re-introduce myself as well. "I'm Jennifer."
"I know," He repeats my words.
"Are you mocking me?"
"No, are you mocking me?"
"No." I respond quickly. I don't know what he thinks he's getting our of this conversation, but it sure as hell won't be anything involving me.
"So you're friends with the Hutcherson's?" I yell over the music that seems to increase louder.
"Really only Foster and Josh." He responds. "You're friends with them too now, huh."
"Yeah, I guess. I only really talk to Foster or Will."
"Not Josh?" He squints to me.
"Well, I mean, not lately," I say unsure of how I should answer his question. I could say yes, we talk, but it usually ends up with us kissing each other. Or no, we're not talking because we're having problems in our non-existent relationship. There is no in between.
"He's told me quite a lot about you," He says with a small smirk playing on his lips.
"Yeah, I'm sure," I sigh, taking another drink from my bottle.
"You don't like him very much, do you?" He leans on his hands on the counter.
"I don't think Josh and I are ever really going to be at level-ground with each other." I take another drink from the bottle. The air is growing thicker the more people keep walking by.
"And why is that?"
"He kissed me, lead me and my best friend on, and he's probably painting her right now." I spill. My impulsive answer even takes me by surprise.
"That sucks." He slowly nods.
I look to him to see what kind of angle he's trying to play at, but I only end up laughing at his answer.
"Yeah, it most definitely does suck."
"Have you tried talking to him about it?" He asks. I'm beginning to grow annoyed with his sudden interest in my personal life.
"Why do you ask so many questions?" I asks, this time looking to directly at him.
"Just curious." He says as he takes a small bit of his bottom lip between his teeth. "I think you should talk to him."
"What makes you think I'd listen to you?"
"I know him best. And you're already listening to me anyway, aren't you?" He raises an eyebrow to me.
I divert my eyes away from him. I actually was planning on talking to Josh later tonight, but that all depends on whether or not he decides to talk to me too.
"Do you want another beer?" He asks tapping on my empty bottle.
"You trying to get me drunk?"
"I think you can do that all on your own." He says with the left corner of his mouth turning into a smile. He gets off the counter and opens the cooler beneath our feet. He grabs out two more beers and a water bottle.
"You get that water for someone else?" I ask him.
"It's actually for you." He says sitting back on the counter next to me.
"Why?"
"For when you decide you've had enough beer and you need a refresher." He says putting the bottle on the other side of him.
"Oh. That's sweet of you." I look down to my beer bottle. It's comforting to now at least one person is thinking about me in advance.
"Do you need me to uncap that one too?" He asks pointing to my bottle.
"Might as well save me from embarrassment." I hand it to him. He quickly uncaps it and hands the bottle back over to me. I stare down at the bottle, but I don't drink from it just yet.
Heath opens his mouth to speak, but Foster enters the kitchen without his shirt on. We both look to him in confusion before turning around to the chaos behind us. There are people coated in silly string and drenched with the aroma of alcohol. I can't see past the dim lights to everyone in the crowd, but I can make out one figure dancing around on the coffee table without his shirt on. Sam?
"What's been happening?" I practically yell to Foster.
"We're about to go swimming, c'mon." Foster says tugging me off the counter top. I stumble to my feet and I end up dropping my bottle on the floor.
"Foster!" I yell trying to get out of his grasp.
I look back to Heath who is now standing as I get dragged away to the deck. There seems to be double the people from inside on the deck. Foster continues to drag me towards the pool.
"Foster, let go!" I say hitting him away from me.
"Lighten up!" He yells before jumping into the pool. A few more people join him including Connor, who I never took as the party type.
"Jen?" I think I hear Heath from over the crowd.
I look up, trying to find an exit away from the giant sea of people. I push through warm bodies as I try to come to the door.
I accidentally step on some girl's foot as I continue. "Watch where you're going." She shoves me and I practically fall to the ground. My knee scrapes against the hard wood and it's enough to make me cry out.
"Fuck." My knee is scratched and bleeding down my leg.
I've never had an encounter with someone like that before. It makes me sick just thinking about her shoving me down.
I spot Heath on the outer ring of the crowd. I quickly make my way to him and I grab his arm as I step away from the crowd.
"You okay?" He asks looking me in the eye as if I've just suffered some kind of trauma.
"Some girl pushed me and fucked up my knee." I say looking down to my bloody kneecap.
"Can you walk on it?"
"I'm bleeding, not paralyzed." I shake my head.
"Well let's go wash it off." He says offering me his arm. I take it and he helps me limp back to the kitchen. We have to push past a few drunk high school girls before finally making it into the kitchen.
"Watch the glass." He points to my shattered beer bottle. We both step over it and walk to the other side of the kitchen.
"Sit." He says pointing to the counter space next to the sink.
I oblige and hop up on the counter. I look down to my knee. Some of the blood has already dried on my shin.
"Where does Sam keep his band aids?" Heath asks searching the cabinets.
"In that top drawer in the island." I point. He opens the drawer and reveals a full box of band aids.
He rips off a piece of paper towel and runs it under warm water. He folds it into fours before pressing it against my knee. A bright sting shoots up and down my leg.
"Ow," I wince at the pain.
"You'll live," He says without looking up from my knee.
He kneels in front of me as he cleans up my leg. His right hand holds my thigh just above my knee. I squirm and he tightens his grip on my leg, making me squirm even more.
"Stop moving." He demands.
"Stop tickling me."
He looks up to me before looking back down with a small smile on his face. "Sorry." He smiles to himself, loosening his grip.
He stands back up and removes his hand from my leg. He throws away the used paper towel and rips off a new one.
"You got a lot of blood on your leg," He says as he folds the paper towel.
"Sorry, I'll try not to bleed too much next time." I joke as he runs the paper towel under the warm water.
Just as he kneels back down, Josh walks into the kitchen.
"What happened?" He asks rushing over to us. He avoids the broken bottle as he walks in.
"Jen got her ass kicked." Heath jokes. I kick his arm as he presses the paper towel back on my knee.
"I fell." I glare down to Heath. He runs the warm paper towel up and down my shin, cleaning off the dried blood.
Josh watches as he cleans off the blood. I can tell he's following the traces of Heath's hand as it rubs down my lower leg.
"Alright, you're clean." He says throwing the paper towel on the counter.
"So you're okay?" Josh asks me.
"I'm fine." I tell him without looking up.
Heath gets out one of the large patch band aids for larger wounds. He rips off the paper and carefully places the large bandage on my left knee cap.
"Thanks." I say rubbing over the top of the smooth band aid.
He hands me my water bottle and I happily uncap it.
"Heath, can I talk to Jen for a second?" Here we go.
"Sure." He looks to me as he answers. He grabs his beer bottle and walks out to the deck, crunching the broken glass under his feet.
"What do you think you're doing?" He stands in front of me as I sit on the counter.
"Drinking my water, what's it look like?" I glare.
"You just decided to start flirting with my best friend?" He speaks and I'm absolutely appalled he would even try to pull that card.
"Kinda like what you did this morning with Vanessa, right?" I raise my eyebrows to him.
"You told me to be friends with her, and that's what I'm trying to do. Sorry if swimming with her is off limits."
"Josh, I know for a fact that you're not just being friendly with her."
"I haven't kissed her. I haven't kissed anybody but you." He says stepping closer to the counter.
"I don't care who you've kissed. All you're doing is leading both me and Nessa on. I don't want to be apart of it anymore."
"I'm not trying to lead you on. What am I supposed to do if Vanessa thinks I like her? You're the one who told me not to hurt her. I don't want to hurt her, but the only way I can be with you is if I do." He says staring at me intently.
"Be with me? Josh we're not a couple! In fact, I wasn't even thinking of us being a couple." I lie. Of course I've thought of that. He's all I can picture when I think of what's yet to come.
"Really?" He asks.
I pause for a moment, rethinking my answer. I don't know which is right or wrong.
"Yes." I answer with small confidence.
"I don't believe it for a second." He says stepping in between my legs.
"Josh, no." I put a hand on his chest. I feel his heart beating through his thin shirt.
"I don't want to do this, right now." I say trying to get off the counter, but he stands between my legs, making me incapable of leaving.
"You're just going to keep putting it off if we don't settle it now." He tries to convince.
"We can't settle anything until you find out where you stand with Vanessa." I practically yell.
"Why would you even invite her over after what happened with us yesterday?" I feel my emotions pour out. I put my face in my hands.
"Do you know how much that hurt seeing you come out of your basement with her?" I wipe down my face to look at him.
He has a frown on his face and he won't look anywhere but directly in my eye.
"I didn't mean to make you feel like that," Is all he can conjure up.
"If you didn't you wouldn't have done it in the first place." I fold my arms and sink away from him.
He steps back from me, but only long enough until he pulls me off the counter. He grips my hand tightly as he guides me through the crowd.
"Where are we going?" I yell over the music.
"Somewhere quiet," He says as we reach the stairs.
He holds my hand tightly as I catch up to him. We walk across the middle floor and I think he might take me into one of the bedrooms. We walk past the other rooms and then I realize we'll be talking in Sam's room. I look down to the crowd of people over the railing. The only person that I recognize is Will. And he's looking right back to me. Before I can do anything, Josh pulls me up the small staircase to Sam's room.
He pulls me inside and let's go of my hand to close the door. I stand with my arms folded across my chest.
"Your brother saw us." I say as he walks back towards me.
"Which one?" He asks.
"Will," I speak and his eyes fall.
"Fuck. Okay, come on." He puts a hand on my back and guides me to Sam's balcony. We step out into the warm air. The cool wind is refreshing and I feel like I can really breathe again.
"Jen," Josh speaks. I look up to him and he's climbed up on the roof. I jump on the side and join him. He sits down and motions for me to join him.
"I want you to tell me all the things you don't like about me." He demands, looking at me straight in the eye.
"What? Why?"
"Just do it." He says positioning himself so he's facing me.
"I don't-"
"Please. If you care, you'll do it." He gives me an ultimatum. Of course I care. But I'm just not sure he'll like what I say.
"You're insensitive." I begin and he nods for me to continue.
"Obnoxious. Rude. Sometimes provocative. You're a cocky, egotistical douche bag sixty percent of the time." I say, trying to think of what else I can conjure up.
"You're inconsiderate of my feelings for you." I frown.
He stays quiet for a moment before laughing to himself.
"What?" I hit his arm.
"Nothing, it's just, that was a really good description." He nods.
"Okay, now what don't you like about me." I ask.
He contemplates for a moment, but stays quiet for most of the time.
"You're stubborn. Unreadable. Unreliable. Aaaand you scare me." He finishes.
"That's it? I was expecting more."
"I guess I like you more than you think." He laughs.
"And what do you mean by I scare you?" I laugh at him.
"I don't know. You're different. You're the first girl who hasn't actually thrown herself at me." He says with a small laugh.
"But you make me laugh at stupid things. I admit and do things that I haven't said or done with any other girl. I have deep feelings for you. And that scares me because you're the only one that I've ever felt that way about." He finishes, looking to me.
His words crush me. I wasn't expecting him to say anything within range of that speech. My heart flutters at his sight. I follow his eyes that continue to look to my eyes and back to my mouth.
"If you're gonna kiss me, just do it." I tell him as I stare back to his eyes.
His face softens. He dips his head to mine until our lips meet. Energy shocks through my body from his touch once again. He pulls away too quick and I find myself waiting for more.
We sit with our heads residing close to one another. I think he's going to kiss me again, but instead he studies my eyes. His mouth stays soft, but it curves into a small smile.
Someone from the balcony clears their throat.
"Oh my god," I say pushing Josh away and standing from my spot.
I expect Will to be standing there, but instead I see a panting Foster with blood-shot eyes.
•
•I hope you guys like this chapter. Sorry it took a bit longer to upload, I wanted to make it a longer chapter. Thank you guys for all the reads! Don't forget to comment and vote!