"Happy birthday, Ava!" I said, as she opened the door.
Upon seeing her outfit, I gasped audibly and she beamed. Clad in combat boots and a short black dress, she was totally pulling off the classy, but dangerous look. I adored it on her. Gazing down at my own black skirt and olive green turtleneck, I could feel the insecurity crawling up my spine.
I'd been planning all kinds of excuses in order to bail on this party, and now I was regretting not using any of them. The reasons I didn't want to come were fairly straightforward. Anything involving parties was first of all completely out of my comfort zone. On top of that, Ava invited all her old friends from school, AKA, the popular squad. That evidently meant a night full of trying to fit in. To make matters worse, Will was invited, and that meant that I had to interact with him, which was possibly the worst part about the party.
As if on cue, I spotted Ted sitting in a corner with his football buddies, undoubtedly talking about things only 'cool' people talked about. There was no place for me to fit in at this party. Or so I thought.
"Lor, my friend Shay came to visit so she could spend my birthday weekend with me. This is her boyfriend, Jace." After introducing us, Ava flew away to ease things out between other groups of people so that the party wouldn't be awkward. She was like an intermediary establishing interaction routes between people who were most unlikely to get along. Great going, Ava.
"Hi!" Jace gushed, and I could already sense that he was the friendly and over-enthusiastic type. Normally, this would annoy me, but the characteristic suited him.
"Ava's told me so much about you,"Shay supplied, subtly looking me over. I tried not to flinch when I saw her taking note of my clothing choice for the day. Ava told me she was into fashion and that she paid a great deal of attention to clothes, so I made an extra effort to look presentable at this party.
There, one more reason why I didn't want to come. I didn't have to have the fear of constant judgement trailing me.
Shay and I had briefly met a few times during theatre practice after school a few years ago. I didn't know much about her then, but now I had to make an effort to know her because of Ava. I wasn't complaining, though. Sometimes it was nice getting to know new people. Sometimes, being the keyword here.
"Weren't you part of the squad before you left?" I asked, motioning to the group of popular kids filling up the end of the room. Ava and Ted were the centres of attention and everyone was fawning over how cute they looked in their colour-coordinated clothing.
Shay rolled her eyes at me. "Clearly I'm not like them anymore. Else, I wouldn't be dating this dork,"Shay chuckled, then swooped in to kiss Jace on the cheek. Jace laughed. "You're a dork yourself, and you know that,"he shot back.
I smiled. Smiling was contagious around Shay and Jace. They tended to have that effect on people. They made you feel warm and fuzzy on the inside, not just by their love for each other, but by the acceptance and care they showed others too. In merely five minutes of their presence, my mood had lifted and I felt as if I were truly wanted at that party, even if it was just to entertain the two of them. That gave me enough reason to stay.
"So your grandmother lives here, right?" I asked Jace. He nodded. "Yeah, she's hitting it off with your grandpa,"he smirked.
"What?" I asked, confused. Shay punched Jace's shoulders and he burst into nervous laughter. "I mean, my grandmother is dating a grandfather." Shay facepalmed. I started to laugh.
I had no idea what was wrong with this guy, but he was definitely entertaining. I could see what Shay saw in him. Somewhat.
"Anyway," Jace began, in hopes of changing the topic. "Where are Ava's parents? Are they okay with all of this?"
Shay nodded. "Ava told her mom she wanted the house for this evening so her parents went to visit Ava's mom's sister who lives somewhere around here."
Jace looked surprised. "They were okay with her inviting half the school over?"
"Ava's mom is the coolest person on the planet. She knows how high school parties work and she doesn't want to be the cause of a lame party. Plus, she trusts Ava not to bring in drinks and things like that, so it's all good," Shay shrugged.
"Yeah, and along with Ava's mental health at this point, I don't think her parents can disagree to anything she asks for,"I said quietly, and Shay's head swiveled in my direction.
"Ava's mental health? What do you mean?" She asked, concerned. Jace started to look uncomfortable listening to our personal conversation, and made a move to escape. Shay held his hand to stop him.
"No, it's okay,"she whispered to him. "Is she getting better?" she asked me.
I shrugged. "She's holding on. She has Ted, though, and he's dependable. I'm sure she'll be alright soon."
Shay looked satisfied with that answer. "Oh, look who's here!" Jace exclaimed, and I groaned inwardly. There came Will, Ted's sister Thea, one of the really pretty former cheerleaders- Ashley, a guy named Ralph I'd talked to a few times before holding hands with a cute girl I didn't know the name of, bad boy supreme Austin's sister-Riley and..... Emma.
"I'm Shay,"Shay said, when the group approached us. "Oh my God, you're just as pretty as Ava described you!" Ashley gushed. "I apologize for her enthusiasm,"Thea chuckled.
"Can we go somewhere quiet?"Ralph asked the girl he was holding hands with. She nodded, and they left. "I don't want to know what they're doing,"Ashley laughed. Thea joined in, somewhat awkwardly, but no one else seemed to notice her sudden change in mood. I presumed something had happened between them, but didn't want to pry.
"Ashley!" Matt Anderson, one of the football guys, called from the other side of the room. Ashley smiled. "I better go,"she said, making her way towards them. I rolled my eyes. What was it with only the pretty girls being popular? Thea seemed to join in with my frustration. "Being a former cheerleader, she's usually in the limelight at these sort of parties. By the end of it she's going to have at least ten phone numbers scrawled across her arm."
Emma laughed. "Remember that time Ash gave her number to a stranger because he told her he just wanted to be friends?"
Thea and Riley chuckled at their inside joke. "That was the most hilarious day ever."
"Why did Ashley quit cheerleading?"I asked, then realized it was a sensitive topic with the way everyone was awkwardly glancing at each other.
"It's a long story, and let's just say my brother wasn't the nicest guy a while ago," Riley said. Riley's brother Austin was the captain of the football team when he'd been in high school and let's just say there wasn't one straight girl who hadn't fallen for him at some point. Wherever the school's number one bad boy was involved, things did not end well. I was just surprised that someone as wild as Austin could have a sweet and simple sister like Riley. I let the topic slide.
Riley and Thea started talking about something else, when Will turned towards me. "You look beautiful tonight,"he said. I threw him a small smile. "Thanks," I muttered.
Perhaps my discomfort was radiating off me, because right at that moment, Ava came to my rescue. "Will, I need your help in the kitchen,"she told him, and immediately the two of them left.
Right when we thought there'd be an awkward silence, Jace jumped in. "What would you name your future children?" he asked suddenly.
Everyone burst into laughter. Jace was the most random person I knew, and I was starting to love him for it. He could make any conversation awkward and any conversation not awkward. He could entertain people instantly, but also bore them to death. He was interesting that way.
"I'm not going to have kids. I've babysat enough and I don't think I can handle one of my own,"Thea chuckled.
"Ash's going to have so many that I'm going to need to help her out with them,"Riley laughed.
Emma looked deep in thought. "I'm going to adopt a girl someday and I'm going to call her Adrenaline,"she said softly, her eyes alight.
Adrenaline. Every time I looked at Emma, I felt a surge of energy through my body. I felt like I could conquer the world. Adrenaline seemed quite fitting.
"That's beautiful,"I whispered. I didn't think anyone had heard me, but Emma took my hand in hers. I took that as a sign of her thanking me.
"I'm going to change my name to Jace Ode and then name my daughters Cath and An,"Jace said brightly. It took a few minutes for us to get the joke, but when we did, we couldn't stop laughing. You could always count on Jace to make Chemistry puns.
"No way am I letting you do that,"Shay said in between laughs. "You can name our other children,"Jace compromised. "But we all know my names are better,"he muttered, and Shay playfully punched his arm.
The others continued talking about something or the other, but I could barely concentrate with Emma's hand holding mine. Suddenly, she subtly pointed towards the garden. Following her gaze, I smiled. We both excused ourselves and went outside into Ava's magical little garden that always made me feel like a kid again.
Her mom had strung fairylights over the bushes and the trees to make the place seem like it had come straight out of a fairytale. It was slightly chilly outside, but not so much that you had to wear a jacket. Everything felt just right.
"The olive green really brings out your eyes,"Emma said, looking at my turtleneck. "Have I told you your eyes are the kinds one can get lose in?"I asked softly. I didn't know where this side of me was coming from. This Alora had only ever been around the night when I'd been with Will. But after kissing him, I realized he wasn't the one for me. I didn't like him like that. All my suspicions had been proved right.
"I know this is going to sound weird considering that we've known each other for so less time, but there's something about you that reminds me a lot of myself, Alora ,"Emma said, and I inwardly swooned at the way she said my name. It sounded so perfect coming off her lips. She was so perfect.
"Emma?" I whispered softly, getting lost in her eyes all over again. "Yes?"she whispered back, looking into mine. I don't know how or when we'd gotten so close, but now we were only a few inches apart.
"I think I may, kind of, possibly, sort of like you?" I said quickly, and Emma smiled. "I think I may, kind of, possibly like you too,"she whispered back.
"You forgot the 'sort of',"I giggled. And then we were kissing. Small pecks at first, but then slow passionate kisses that spoke volumes about how we felt about each other. I'd never been more at bliss.
When I'd kissed Will, nothing had ever felt so wrong and unfit for me before. But Emma? She was the one I'd been searching for all along. I finally knew why I'd never been attracted to guys before and why I'd always felt so nervous and excited around Emma.
"It doesn't matter where she's from,"I whispered suddenly. I didn't think she'd understood who I was referring to, but then she pulled me in again.
"Her race doesn't matter,"she whispered, in between kisses.
"She can love whoever she wants,"I said passionately.
"She doesn't have to be smart or pretty to be loved,"Emma said.
"Because she's always going to be perfect to us,"I smiled.
"One day, she'll be ours. But until then, we're each other's,"Emma said, and I kissed her again.
"Adrenaline,"I whispered.
. . . . .
A/N What did you think??? Ahhh I'm so anxious about this chapter for some reason. I hope you guys liked it. I know, my romance scenes need a lot more work. Pleaseee give me tips on how to make them better!
Don't be a silent reader! Please vote, comment and share if you like my story. Thanks!
~Via