2 8
blacklisted, pt. 2
TJ leaves. The tension between the six of us is palpable.
"Damn," Justine giggles, letting her tipsy state take over. "That was crazy, huh? Addie, Vic — you have to tell us everything."
I blink at her. I'm still so confused that I can't even speak.
"They don't have to share anything they don't want to share," Trey says slowly, looking at each of us but me in particular. I bug my eyes out as if to say what's going on?
He shakes his head as if to respond don't make it freakin' obvious.
"I think it's an interesting story, actually," Jude says roughly beside, almost angry as he leans back further.
Vic curses. "Forget it about, guys — "
"But I want to hear it — "
"Justine, let it go — "
"Let's dance!" I blurt out, silencing all of their arguments at once. It's the only way we can forget about this.
But I know, and everyone knows, deep down, that we won't. And it's going to be bite us back hard in the ass sooner than expected.
***
My body feels numb.
Electronic music drills my ears, transporting me into another dimension. The lights blurs my vision — I think that guy's green or maybe he's pink. I sway, putting my hands up and becoming one with the music. Different types of sweat and skin sticks all around me.
But there's only one that I'm aware of.
"I'm not getting drunk," Jude answers firmly for the hundredth time.
His chest is almost touching mine, and my cheeks are flushed to the brim and I'm always leaning on to him and it feels so good.
"Why?" I close my eyes.
I don't hear his reply.
More people descend on the dance floor and it's so packed. It pushes me towards Jude's body, my chest meeting his chest, my legs bumping into his legs. My hands find themselves around his neck. If we're this close, what do I have to lose? His arms hover around my waist, hesitant, before locking them and pulling me infinitely closer. My fingers find his hair, running them through, and it's soft and golden and vulnerable.
He lets me. He's looking at me as I do it.
My eyes drift away like there's a current, and I'm forced to follow the waves. It lands on one particular couple. His hand is around her thin waist; her arms tucked firmly on his chest. Their foreheads touch, then their lips. They look pretty good together. Long golden hair and curly dark hair — wait. Justine and Trey. That's them.
The List comes to my mind, out of all things when my lungs are filled with booze.
I don't think Trey even notices that he's doing it. I giggle.
Jude raises his brows at me.
"Show me off," I tell him, grinning.
His eyes take a long look at my body, in his clothes, then back to my face and lips and eyes. His hold tightens around me, and his breath tickles my ear as he leans in and whispers, "Not good at sharing."
Good. I don't want you to.
Wait, what?
Boooze, Addie 2.0 reasons.
Oh. Right.
"Boooze," I say.
Jude's mouth lifts up. "You're fucking adorable when you're wasted."
I move closer to him, or he moves closer to me. Honestly, it's hard to tell. There is no "close" anymore; we just are. His body pressed up against mine. His lashes faintly, oh so faintly, brushing my cheek. His lips mere inches from my jaw. The song fades away, and all I hear is the thump, thump, thump of his heartbeat, like a rhythm so mesmerising.
"Did you really do it?" he breathes in my ear.
My mind is in a daze. "Do what?"
"Kiss Vic."
Our breaths mingle and I look up, seeing the green constellations in his eyes. His taut jawline, the faint scruff underlining his chin. "No," I say softly. He searches my face, flickering over the features like he's putting them into memory. He inhales deeply.
"Fucking A."
Then I feel his lips on my neck.
For a moment, I'm flying. I'm dizzy with the feeling. The softness of his mouth, the warmness that spreads over my body, the electricity of our skins touching. The consciousness that tells me more.
My eyes flutter close.
He continues to pepper me with butterfly kisses, from the slope of my neck to the side of my jawline, then one on my cheek, lingering, addicting. When I open my eyes, heavy-lidded, his mouth only hovers above mine, and I sense his hesitation.
I silence it with my own mouth.
Our mouths clash, with teeth and tongue and so much tension. I can feel his passion, the utter desperation as his lips tug at mines harder, harder. In the way he crushes me in his embrace, bringing out a gasp from me and a groan from him. My heart palpitates; I'm overwhelmed.
The feel of Jude overwhelms me.
He finally pulls away to let me breathe. Not that it's helping me one bit. He stays close, gaze burning through mine, but he doesn't lean for another kiss — or whatever the hell that was. He lets me decide.
That's when I wake up.
Oh God. With as much will as I can manage — which ain't much — I push myself away. It doesn't take a lot of resistance, because once he notices, he puts me at arm's length. Letting me go. But not without that little crease on his forehead.
Please understand. His arms remain around my body, and he looks at me with those eyes, searching. The intimacy has me too dazed to think. My brain is on fire, my body aches and my chest bursts with emotion. I can't speak. I want to explode. To escape.
From him.
I run off to the other direction. Everyone smells like liquor, they're making out and inhaling — Jesus. I need to get out of this party. My body is loose like a thread on a puppet's string. I am numb as I feel hands around my body, like I'm a prize they've earned the right for.
Cool air hits me by force as I stumble on the double doors. I shut them behind me, and the laughter and music becomes background sound.
The outside view is calming. Being at the top of a hill in the end the neighbourhood means the lawn is completely ours, and it expands all around the house. Smokers by the cobblestones, people passed out on the grass — it's something I can handle.
As I walk along the stony path, I share a high-five with a heavy-lidded girl who's slumped against a tree trunk. "Nice party," she slurs. Was it a nice party? It was in the beginning. Except for that alcohol spill on my shirt. Shit. Never mind, it was a shit hole from the start. But you got to wear Jude's shirt. Hm. Maybe not. What the hell are you thinking?!
Great. Now I'm crazy.
I'm careful not to touch the neatly cut grass. I might be drunk, but I have manners. And the grass looks too pretty to walk in. I think that grass might be more prettier than me. The moon's high and the sky's almost void of stars. All I hear is the soft mumbling of voices and the near silence of the night. I close my eyes.
This is more like it.
Jude's arms around your waist. Jude's breath mingling with yours. Jude's mouth on your neck. Jude's tongue —
My eyes snap open. God, I fucked up. It was just the booze, right? Yeah. Maybe he was horny too. I outwardly cringe. But he wasn't drunk — did he use me? Was I just an open chance for him to grab? My face contorts. Am I just another girl to add on his list? List. Ha, ha. The List. I'm guilty. I'm so, so guilty. I liked it.
I like him.
Lights dance around my vision again. Did I go back inside? But it's not green or pink this time. And it's coming a car. Are they having a party there? I squint hard, and ahead, I see the douchebag bouncers from before. Bleached Blondie and Piercing Guy. I stand still like an awkward penguin in the middle of the cobblestone path. Bleached Blondie claps a hand on someone's shoulder — he's wearing a uniform.
Something clicks.
I race back to the mansion like my life depends on it.
***
I'm stumbling like I'm high on drugs. I trip, scraping my knee in the progress. Shit. It stings, but it just looks a little red, so I should be fine. No one knows what the hell is going on yet. I need to find my friends.
We need out. Now.
I push open the doors and shove against people, channelling my inner video game character. Like I'm Sonic the Hedgehog. Except my hair isn't blue. Focus! Shove, shove, shove. Someone spills their alcoholic drink on me — or I spill into them. Shit, again?
"Whoa!" a familiar low voice draws near me. What follows are strong, muscular hands who gently grab my arms, steadying my frenzied state. "Addie? Where did you — hey, are you okay?"
I look up to meet Jude's green eyes. Concerned. For me.
"We have to get outta here," I let out. "Now. The cops — "
"Everyone, please step outside!"
The voice blares through the room from a megaphone. The music abruptly dies; murmurs arise. We all stare at the cops, at us exposed in the limelight. Nowhere to go. The world pauses.
And the lights fade out in a blink.
It's pitch black. When I turn around, I catch a glimpse of the cops' silhouette illuminated by the moonlight... but I don't get a decent look when everything turns to chaos.
"Settle down!" Teenagers push against each other to get to the kitchen, the backdoor, the upstairs rooms, anywhere but the front door. I hear frantic voices and panicked shrieks as everyone stumbles around the dark. I panic, thinking my friends left me.
"I got you," Jude murmurs.
He skilfully guides us through the horde, and not for long, I hear the voices of my beloved friends. Damn. I'm beginning to truly believe that Jude was descended from wolves or something. Wolves can see in the dark, right?
Someone takes my other hand. I recognise Liv's charm bracelet as it brushes my own wrist, and I'm tugged by her to follow the tide. Everyone is distraught, but Trey tells us to be quiet with his calm, authoritative voice. We do. Liv comes to a halt in front of me, and I squeeze Jude's hand to signal the stop.
"Over here," Vic hisses, and the next thing I know, I'm met with the faint breeze of the cold night. The window allows a sliver of light, and I can see my friends' worried, nervous faces.
Each of us steps outside, carefully and soundlessly — aware of the growing voices inside and out. I grip the ledge to steady myself, but Jude gently grabs my waist and lifts me up before dropping me safely to the ground. We all race to a car. It must be Vic or Liv's car, because my car was parked at the front, and we're at the back of the house.
There's a total of six of us, so it's pretty cramped, but we manage: Jude in the back, Trey, Justine and I in the middle, Liv in the passenger seat and Vic in the driver's seat.
"Everyone here?" Vic starts.
"Your eyes are like coffee," I say absentmindedly as I stare at Trey, taking possession of his chin. He smiles his lazy smile.
Justine giggles. "You're literally the only girl I'd allow to flirt with my boyfriend."
Jude snorts in the back.
"Everyone's here," Trey confirms. "And jealousy is ugly on you, my friend," he adds to the back.
"Shut the fuck up."
"Everyone get strapped up," Liv calls out, her voice high-pitched. Oh, right. We're running from cops. "Let's — "
"Yo, losers!"
We all turn to the unrecognisable yet demanding voice coming from the mansion. Vic, who was reversing the car, stops abruptly, and turns down the window with a shocked face.
"What the hell are you doing?!"
"I'm coming with you," Laney Burke urges, opening the side door without a moment's hesitation. I don't think some of us have even met her, so being blessed with her presence catches us all off guard. She has straight, platinum blonde hair and smoky eyes. Her School of Rock outfit makes her look like a high school dropout, but it's her mischievous, I'm-going-to-fuck-shit-up smile that really sets her apart.
Justine squeals as Laney forces herself to the back seat, and Jude's grunts fill the awkward silence as she tackles him in the process.
Vic's head snaps back. "The fuck you are! Get out!"
"Just fucking drive!"
Trey clicks his tongue. "Time's ticking, Vic, we better — "
"I'm not driving with her in the car," Vic demands. "Go back home, Burke!"
"I can't!"
"Why?" I frown. "You're the host."
The sirens grow louder, and faint red and blue lights trail the neighbourhood streets below. Justine is wary, Vic is pissed, Trey is expressionless as always, Jude is annoyed, and Liv — she's scared shitless. Laney looks to me, at my glazed state. Time stops. The car is holding its breath.
We all are.
"That's true, I own the party." But then she grins. "Didn't say I owned the house."
My eyes widen in horror.
A/N: Laney, oh Laney.
Kind of inspired to write a spin-off of her, but she's already going to be a major character in the other spin-off I have yet to work on.