No pictures this chapter. I thought y'all would get sick of it at some point. But the rest of the cast will be shown, I just thought I would give you a fresh chapter without any pictures included. <3
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Lia James
It was another quiet day at school. Eli had stopped talking to me after I confronted him the other day. I haven't seen him the past couple days so I was guessing he was avoiding me.
I guess that's okay. I mean my life is pretty dull without Eli at least walking up to my locker and slamming it in my face only to just get me angry. I have Cole, but his humor gets old.
Who am I kidding? Cole's doesn't even have humor, he's just plain old dumb. But I still love him to death.
Today I stood at my locker hoping for Eli to come over and slam it, but considering he hasn't done it in a few days, he's probably not going to today. I mean, who am I kidding? I basically told him to go crawl in a hole and never talk to me again.
"Okay, I have a very serious question." I heard Cole's voice behind me, as he tapped my shoulder. I shook my head to clear the thoughts that were clouding my mind.
"What is it?" I asked in a tired manner. I was just waiting for him to ask something stupid.
"Why do girls get their nails done and call it a manicure? Shouldn't it be called a 'womencure' or something?" He asked with all seriousness.
"I don't know, Cole." Lina walked up to him, butting into our conversation. "Why do asses smell bad?"
"I was wondering the same thing too!" He pointed out, raising his voice.
"Cole, 'mani' means hand in Latin. A manicure means you get your fingernails done." I explained before a lightbulb clicked in his head.
"Oooooooh!" He said, and then laughed. "I still don't get it."
Lina shoved him away from us, and I watched as he mindlessly asked people on the other side of the hallway. The people he was asking kept shoving him away, like we did. I couldn't help but smile at Cole. He has so much to learn.
"Why do you look so gloomy?" Lina asked, leaning against the lockers beside mine.
"I don't know." I replied quickly, and obviously Lina knew something was up judging by the look on her face.
"Is it a guy? It totally is a guy! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me!" She squealed and I shushed her as people turned their gazes toward us.
"It's not a guy, Lina. Calm yourself. I'm just nervous about Thursday and my tryout."
"Oh, so you want to talk about sports? Okay, I'll leave." She waved, and I grabbed her arm.
"I'm serious." I puffed.
"Yeah, well-"
"Hey guys." Some guy walked up to us. He was pretty good-looking, and looked to be in our grade.
"I'm having a party tonight and you both are invited. I'll see you there." He said before smiling and turning away. Lina's jaw was practically touching the floor.
"I'm sorry." I tapped his shoulder before he had a chance to slip away. "You're inviting...me? To your party?"
I had to clarify because I haven't exactly been to a huge party where the whole school had been invited. I went to sleepovers, for sure, and birthday parties where it was just a couple of friends but never a huge bash.
"Yeah. You're cool with that, right?"
"She's totally cool with that!" Lina shouted, laughing nervously.
"We'll be there." She winked, and his face turned red. He finally walked away, and turned left into another hallway.
"What were you doing?" Lina asked me, flicking my arm.
"Ow! What do you mean?" I rubbed the area she flicked me, wincing in pain.
"That's Dante Vega. He's a linebacker on the football team, and not to mention completely gorgeous."
"Is he popular?"
"Of course. So him inviting us to a party is completely awesome and good for your social status." Lina explained.
"If he's so popular, why did I not know him?" I crossed my arms, pursing my lips.
"Because you're lame." She scoffed, and turned around to see Jade walking our way.
"Hey guys. Did you get invited to Dante's party?" She asked, flicking her hair.
"Yeah." I answered blankly and she just stared at me.
"Do you know what this means?" Lina leaned in closer to the both of us.
"Shopping!" They both squealed and I covered my ears.
Honestly, shopping isn't so bad, but I hated being their for hours just mindlessly looking for something. I have to have a reason to be there, and Lina goes at least 7 times a week. She just buys random clothes.
"I can't." I said. "I have to focus on softball right now, I don't even think I want to go."
"No, that's not an option, butter cakes." Lina tapped my cheek lightly, and I made a face. "Plus, this party is tonight, Friday, and your tryout is next week. You have plenty of time."
"I'm sure the boys have plenty of time to help you out giving that they sit on their asses most of the day." Jade added, and Lina giggled at her insult towards them.
"I don't know, you guys. I haven't exactly been to a party where the whole school gets drunk and smokes weed."
"Their will be cute boys. And it's a great way to put yourself out their and make some new friends." Lina compromised. I had a feeling she wouldn't budge until I said yes.
"Okay, fine. But there is no way in hell you're making me wear a dress." I pointed at both of them, narrowing my eyes.
"Oh, please. No one wears dresses to parties anymore. More like crop tops, and ripped jeans. More skin, the better." Jade grinned and it made me worry.
"There's no way I'm wearing a crop top. I can wear the ripped jeans, I'm completely fine with that, but absolutely no crop tops. I'm not a hoe." I clarified and hoped that they would understand and not force me to wear one. I honestly was so insecure about my body it wasn't even funny. It was hard enough to go to the beach in a bathing suit and go swimming without thinking the whole world was judging how I looked.
"Fine, that's fine." Lina wrapped her arms around my arm. "Let's go shopping, after school." Jade soon followed by our side after I closed my locker to go to sixth period.
In the corner of my eye, I managed to notice Eli and his LJG (I made an abbreviation now, how fun is that.). Eli watched me as I walked farther and farther away from his gaze.
***
"Is my ass actually that flat?" Lina stared at her herself in the mirror, switching from side to side looking over her shoulder. We had just finished shopping, and it took us nearly three hours. Me? I was done and had what I needed after the first hour.
Shopping was nothing short of boring after that. Lina made up some lame excuse about going into Victoria's Secret for new underwear. How she 'hated underwear lines'. But I seriously think she wanted to buy everything single item of clothing in there.
Lina and Jade both dragged me in as they absentmindedly searched for underwear. Boy Shorts, Hipster, Seamless, whatever the hell the rest is. When I was eyeing one of their comfy sweatshirts, Lina had called my name out and the next thing I know a thong landed on top of my face. You already know, I was gonna karate chop her ass.
"For the tenth time, your ass isn't flat." I rolled my eyes as she continued to look at herself.
"Well, Cole said something along those lines, and it made me feel really insecure." She pouted, throwing herself onto her queen size bed. We both decided to try on our clothes in her room and also get ready for the party which was in a couple of hours. I honestly just wanted to sit home and read for the rest of the night.
"Cole says a lot of dumb things." I told her, laying my back on the bed, staring at the ceiling.
"So, what are you wearing?" She asked quietly. I heard her sigh a few seconds after.
"I'm wearing black Nike leggings with my Pink Floyd band tee."
"That's so boring." She moaned. "Why can't I find anything to wear?"
"What happened to the crop top and ripped jeans?" I cross my arms.
"But that makes my ass flat!" She yells, throwing her jeans across the room.
"It doesn't make your ass flat, you derp." I yelled back. She just started at me blank faced.
"Derp? Ha ha, what the hell does that mean?" She cackled and ended up on the floor, dying of laughter.
"Well, I don't really like to swear and drop the f bomb every second like Mason does. I'm finding other words to say instead." I shrugged, and she still laughed.
What. An. Idiot.
"Whatever you say, derp." She said, laughing at her own joke. I just glared at her.
"Okay, okay. I'm done." She took deep breaths trying to regain control of her breathing. She wiped her eyes.
"Wear the stupid jeans, Lina. Who cares if people think your ass is flat?" I concluded before going into her closet and changing into my own clothes.
When I finished, and decided it was good enough for a party, I opened the closet door and saw Jace and Mason sitting on Lina's bed while she was looking in the mirror, feeling accomplished about her outfit.
"Hey, guys. I didn't know you were here." I said, approaching the boys.
"I came here early." Jace replied, shrugging his jacket off. "The others are gonna meet us there at the party."
"Okay, it's 7:00. And the party starts at 7:30. We should probably get going." Lina stared at her phone.
"Who's car are we taking?" Jace asked.
"Yours. Mine is in the shop getting the A.C. fixed." Mason replied, before grabbing his gray sweatshirt.
"Alright. Let's go then."
***
When we arrived at Dante's house, I couldn't help but think about how much his party reminded me of many movies I've watched. Flashing lights coming from the back yard, music blasting in the background, people occasionally screaming but mostly talking loudly, and the smell of alcohol and sweat combined. It was disgusting to say the least, but I guess that's what people thought is a good time.
Dante's house was about 15 minutes from the house. But we were about 20 minutes late because Lina ended up face planting into the grass because she was wearing heels and tripped on her own feet. So, she made us wait for extra time because she smudged her makeup and she spotted several dirt spots on her face.
His house was a regular house. A colonial, with a porch that wrapped around the front of the house. It was a light brown, almost tan color, with dark brown shutters on the windows.
Instead of going through the front door, Jace opened up the fence from the side yard, that led to the fenced in backyard. I noticed the patio to my right, with hanging lights surrounding it. Next to the patio was an above ground pool, with a bunch of guys and maybe a topless girl? I wasn't entirely sure. Lastly, the trampoline in the back corner caught my eye, as I noticed a familiar scream come from it.
It was probably Cole. I thought with absolutely no hesitation.
"Hey guys, you made it." Dante saw us before running up to everyone.
"Thanks for the invite, man." I heard Mason say behind me.
"No problem. We're all friends. Plus, we're all on the football team together." He added. I've always known that Mason loved to play football but I never knew that he was so popular with his teammates.
"I don't really play sports." Jace shrugged, and I patted him on the back.
"That's okay." He said, before turning away and expressing a 'weirded out' face.
"He's so hot." I heard Lina gush.
"He's alright." I kind of agreed.
Mason and Jace told us they wanted to see if he had a keg or anything they could drink. So, they left Lina and I stranded. We stood there, kind of like outcasts. Well, at least I felt like one.
That was before Dante asked if he could steal Lina away from me. I nodded, because if I didn't, I would definitely see her wrath later. So, I decided not to have my hair get ripped out.
I just watched her from a distance. She was laughing as Dante was talking into her ear. Occasionally I would see her blush. I blew a raspberry with my lips and scanned around, looking for things to do. I didn't want to drink, or do anything stupid, so I stayed away from the wasted people by the keg.
It was only like this for a few more minutes. The rev of a loud engine, had me turning around, whipping my hair in my face. It sounded like an engine from a sports car.
I decided to ignore the loud and obnoxious sound, and sit on a bench right by the trampoline. Cole was playing popcorn with a couple of other guys and girls in their. I'm guessing they were also drinking.
It smelled like sweat and alcohol. Beer bottled and cans were scattered along the grass, along with bags of chips and other snacks that were inside the house. Lina was no where to be found, and I wanted the thought in my head of what she was doing was wrong. I really fricking wish.
The loud slam of the fence gate had me drawn out of my trance.
Shit.
Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit.
Frickle Frackle.
I already know this whole party was about to turn into a fight club.
Of course they had to show up.
The leather jackets were all the indication I needed to figure out who they were. They walked in a small group, like they usually did. Andrew, was of course, in front since he was the leader. His hair wasn't curly on top like it usually was, it was gelled back. I looked down the second I noticed Eli join the group. I wasn't in the mood for him to spot me and then talk to me. Today was supposed to be a drama free night.
"LeeLee." I heard the dumbass say. He said it in a creepy sing-song voice.
I didn't realize how long I was avoiding contact with them, but as soon as I looked up, Andrew was standing right in front of me along with Eli and Shelby. The other guys must've went to get a drink somewhere or smoke.
"Well, look what the cat dragged in." I spat, crossing my arms.
"Why did you even come to the party if you're just going to sit around and not talk to anyone? You do realize this is a place to be with your friends?" Shelby butted in. "If you had any."
"I should be asking you the same question." I replied instantly, and I saw her eyes widen.
"You weren't invited." I spoke to all of them, standing up and standing my ground. I wasn't about to let these stupid people push me around.
"Yeah, you weren't invited." I heard someone on the outside of us repeat. It was Mason, and he was standing right by Dante and Lina, who had her hands in his.
"Why wouldn't you invite people who actually bring the fun?" Andrew faced them. "This party was a snooze fest until we came here."
"Yeah, without me and my good looks, the guys would be bored with the other ugly girls." Shelby added, brushing her hair off her shoulders in confidence.
She couldn't be more of a bitch. I thought, even though I knew it wasn't true. She could do so much more damage.
"Why did you come here if you were going to cause trouble?" I asked them.
"Because that's what we do. We make trouble, we are trouble." Andrew replied boldly, his knuckles turning a tint of white.
"Leave. Now." Dante raised his voice, not moving a single muscle. "Before I come over there and beat your scrawny ass."
Oh no.
"Scrawny? You think I'm scrawny?" Andrew raised an eyebrow. He then proceeded to take his leather jacket off and revealed a white T-shirt. I knew things were going to escalate when he took off his T-shirt as well.
Andrew was right. He wasn't scrawny in any way. His abs were so defined, and his biceps were practically bulging out of his body. He body was insane and I found myself drooling.
He went to smooth his hair over, and flexed his arm muscles. I could swear some girl fainted in the distance. Everyone just stood still. Time was frozen.
He looked my way and I saw him smirk at the way I was looking at him. And boy, I think I went to heaven and back.
His pants hung low on his waist, and I spotted the V on his lower waist that traveled further down and hidden by his black jeans.
He traveled my way, and closed my mouth, which apparently was open.
"You might want to try and wipe the drool coming from your mouth." He whispered in my ear, swiftly. His lips brushed against my ear and I couldn't help but shutter at his actions.
After all the hurt and tension he caused with my friends and practically everyone in this town, he had a way to make people like him. He had a way to make girls love him. He used it as his weapon. But I couldn't fall for his antics.
I was strong and I wasn't going to let him and his god body to distract me and let him hurt my friends.
"Why don't you leave?" I pushed him back, and he stumbled.
"By the look on your face, it seems you want me to stay." He but his lip, trying to find his way into my soul.
Not gonna happen, buddy.
"Leave." I said again, and this time it wasn't a question.
He made a quiet laugh, and proceeded his way to Dante and Mason. I knew that someone wasn't right, and I didn't want anyone to get hurt.
"Why don't I beat your scrawny ass?" Andrew spat, coldly. I could see the fire coming from his brown eyes.
Eli grabbed his arm and I heard his whisper, "Andrew don't do this. You can't get in trouble with the cops again. It's too risky."
I couldn't help but wonder, but that thought quickly exited my brain as Andrew continued to walk closer to him.
"Who said I was looking for trouble?" He said, and I got suspicious.
"You always look for trouble." I said, and he whipped his head my way.
"Fine. But we'll be seeing each other again. It's a promise." He warned and grabbed his clothes as his group of friends left the party.
No one really knew what to do from here. Everyone was in shock.
"Why is everyone acting so weird?" I asked Mason.
"Because...because they never show up at parties we go to." And then I knew something fishy was up.
~*~
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To be completely honest, I had a plan for this chapter and I had to scratch it because when I began to write it, it sounded so stupid and childish, that I had no choice but to delete it and never look back. But I came up with a different plan, to make it seem more mature and not stupid.
Don't forget to comment what you thought, and some predictions about what will happen next. I can't wait to see who will be the closest as the story progresses!
XOXO