August
I always found the first week back to school to be the worst. Settling in to a new timetable, figuring out which rooms each class would be in and overall just trying to get back into the swing of things was exhausting. It was beyond me why anyone would want to hold a party on the first Friday night back to school. Well, not really. I guess it sort of made sense.
Celebrating a new year maybe?
The wish of good luck to all of us?
To mark the definitive end of summer?
Who knows.
Either way, I was going. I didn't mind parties that much. It was one of those rare days where I was feeling up to it and I wanted to go. So here I am getting ready. Parties tended to be easy for me so long as I didn't go to too many at once. I mingled, made fleeting friendships and drank heartily. Enough to give me a confidence boost but not too much that would put me in any danger. Just the perfect amount.
I slowly decide on dressing myself into a cute, lace black bralette with a black mesh top, leather look sweatpants and an oversized cream blazer. I pull the cuff of the joggers up my leg a little so that they look slightly slouchy and then move onto my makeup. I adorn my cheeks with a nice pink tint, eyeliner and of course concealer. Then, once my phone is in my pocket I head downstairs to grab my keys and put on a pair of white sneakers.
I loved driving. It was one of the best escapes after a long day at school, or a draining day at home. You could go wherever you wanted when you drive and I guess that's why I was in such a rush to get a car. My car was bought for me and I really do treat it like it's my baby. Sarah hates driving, which is precisely the reason she's sat waiting on our couch ready to leave.
We both enjoyed parties to an extent. Even if we did lose each other for a few hours, it was fun. And today of all days we were definitely ready to go.
"BYE!" I shout out to anyone who can hear me in the house and then make my way outside with a grinning Sarah beside me.
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm actually looking forward to seeing how this school year goes." She says.
"Honestly," I start the car and rev it a little, "same."
The party was being held by Dwaine. One of Noah's best friends, in case you didn't remember. I wasn't entirely sure of where to go, but that was okay because Jake had messaged Sarah with the directions.
After around fifteen minutes of driving, we reach a nice row of large houses, each looking identical with big windows and balcony's. The thumping beat of music easily indicated which house it was that we were going to, as did the lingering teenagers. I park the car a few houses away and Sarah and I make our way to the party, full of energy and excitement.
We barely make it into the house when I hear a loud shout from the left.
"LITTLE V!"
I drag my eyes away from the grand staircase in front of me and beam at Blake as he sprints towards me lifting me off the ground in a hug.
You see, for the entire week these boys had spent every lunch break with me and I guess I had slowly edged out of my shell enough that they felt comfortable around me. Blake and Dwaine were very easy to get along with and I liked how they didn't fit the description of typical jocks. They were goofy and loud but also focused it seemed. Josh was the fourth member of their group and he was the quietest. He was also the most studious. If I can recall correctly, I had seen him in the library countless times during our previous years of school together and I'd also worked with him before in group projects. Again, a very nice guy.
"Hey!" I greet.
"Come on, let me show you girls around." He smiles warmly at Sarah and then directs us both to where he had just come from.
"Dwaine's parents are both accountants and are away on vacay right now. As you can see, this house is HUGE." Blake tells us.
"Ah, yes, fancy a tour?" Dwaine hands me a cup of beer and wiggles his brows at me.
I take a sip, "Of course."
Sarah laughs and pats my shoulder, "well I'm going to pass on that, the ping pong table is calling out to me."
She winks at me and walks away to the crowded table and immediately melts into the group of people ready to show her competitive side.
"Shall we?" Blake asks and slings an arm comfortably over my shoulder.
"Let me say hi to a few people first." I tell him.
We walk over to the island kitchen where an abundance of drinks are laid out and a few girls are chatting away amongst themselves.
I recognise them from some of my classes and decide to wander over to say hi.
"Ems!" I shout.
Emily has been in every single one of my classes since the start of high school. We sit together as often as we can and when she doesn't have any other friends in class and holds no loyalties to anyone, we partner up. I adored her really, with her big blue eyes and frizzy brown hair, she was the cutest.
"Oh my god! Vela! You look amazing!" She crushes me in a hug and we gush over each other for a while before I speak with the other girls and introduce them to Blake.
They weren't exactly loud, popular girls. I would say they were very much my type of people and they all seemed to be a little shocked at the fact that I had Blake, a good looking jock, beside me.
He smiles at them in a friendly manner and immediately sparks up a conversation with them.
From the corner of my eye I spot Noah sat on the counter top, a glass bottle of drink in his hand and his back rested against the pillar beside him. He's alone and simply observing everyone around him, his mouth set in a relaxed line. I quietly walk away from the group of people who were talking about...oh hell i wasn't really listening, and make my way over to him.
"Hey." I smile up at him and lean against the counter a few inches away from him.
"Vela Kaira." He looks stunned for a moment and his eyes sweep over me from head to toe, twice.
"I have to say I didn't really expect to see you here. Didn't take you for a party kind of girl."
I laugh a little, "I'm at most of these parties. We just never speak."
"Oh," he frowns, "well, hey, how are you finding it?"
"It's great." I beam and look around at the amazing decor.
Everything seems to be open plan. There's a pool table and a ping pong table at that end of the house and every side appears to have large floor to ceiling windows. The living room space encompasses large cream sofas and armchairs, a big glass coffee table and a wide screen TV against the wall. All in all, it was gorgeous.
Noah and I are talking and laughing over everything as we watch everyone around us, either clumsily making out, picking small fights over drinks or just having a good time.
"And just what do you think you're doing?" I hear a loud, disbelieving scoff.
Bethany.
"Oh, hey babe."
Noah jumps off the counter and moves to plant a kiss on her lips but she tilts her head away, angling her cheek at him instead. She folds her arms across her chest and impatiently taps her foot on the floor, glaring between the two of us.
"Well? Why are you with her?"
I roll my eyes and before I can say anything, or hear what Noah has to say, two people are swooping me away from the scene and towards to large staircase.
"How about that house tour?" They say loudly so that Noah and Bethany can hear.
I nod along and turn away from the couple who look just about ready to argue.
"Ignore her," Blake says with a roll of his eyes, "she hates it when Noah spends any time with anyone."
"Yeah," Dwaine adds, "even with us. Or even at practice, she flips out on him for not checking in with her like every other hour or something stupid like that."
"Hey man, I gotta say, I don't really want to know the logistics of their relationship." I say, putting my hands up for effect.
"Don't worry. We were just letting you know that it's not just you." Dwaine says.
"Oh, Bethany definitely hates me anyway. Even before I had to start working with Noah." I tell them matter of factly.
"So how many rooms does this place have?" I ask, eager to move away from the subject of my No.1 fan.
"6. 8 if you you include both of the studies, and then 4 bathrooms." Dwaine responds.
"Wow. It must be so therapeutic cleaning up around here." I say.
He shows me each room, doing a perfect impression of a realtor and I marvel at the beauty of the simplicity and minimalism of this place. I honestly love it.
"Can we show her the garden now?" Blake asks excitedly.
We move downstairs quickly manoeuvring through the crowds of people and into the backyard where my jaw practically drops at the sight before me. In front of me, there's a large pool where the lights have now come on since it's dark outside. Further away, there's a lowered pit where the seating is covered with cosy cushions and in the centre is a firepit, and beside all of that there is the barbecue area. Then, at the far end of the garden is a large tree with a tyre swing and small rows of herbs, fruits and vegetables growing.
"This is amazing, Dwaine."
"I would love to take credit, sweetheart, but this is the works of my mom." He grins.
I give him a sideway glance, "you could never have done justice to this place." I tease.
Dwaine gasps, "excuse me? I'll have you know that I actually helped to plant the basil over there."
"Oh," I stretch the word a little, "that explains why it's looking kind of dead."
"You're mean."
"You love it."
"I'm not even joking I'll throw you into this pool right now."
"I'll drag you in with me."
"Kids, kids please. No." Blake says sharply. "We can settle this with a game of pool."
***
Three games of pool, two beers, and a hotdog later, I could've have practically passed out from the amount of pain I was in. My stomach was in stitches from the way I had been laughing all night. These boys sure did provide some good entertainment. Blake had introduced me to his lovely girlfriend, Anna, who then introduced Sarah and I to her other cheerleader friends. They were all very sweet and friendly and made it clear to us that they had a particularly nasty rivalry with the head cheerleader, Bethany and her squad.
It was creeping up on midnight when I decided I needed a nice gulp of fresh air. So, with a quick nudge to Sarah, I slipped away from the living room area and outside to the garden. Most of the party goers had moved inside now, since that's where all the drinks are and the music was much louder.
It's safe to say that when I see Noah sat near the fire pit, I'm a little surprised. His head is tilted back on the wall of the seating and I frown a little. I climb down the four steps into the pit and waltz over to sit beside him.
"You look troubled." I comment.
His head snaps towards me and a smile ghosts over his lips.
"You look relaxed." He replies.
I shrug my shoulders and lift my feet to sit with my knees tucked into my chest.
"I feel it too."
"I had a fight with my girl." He admits.
This happens to me a lot. I don't really ask people what it is that's bothering them, yet they always seem to end up divulging whatever it is that's on their minds and in their hearts. It's happened with close friends and even complete strangers. Despite that, i would never have expected to be listening to Noah Moretti's problems. In fact, I didn't even think he had problems.
Well, everyone has problems in some way, shape or form. I know that. What I mean is that I didn't expect his troubles to be about a girl. He could have been considered a player up until he got with Bethany. Even then, I recall there being rumours that they were both cheating on one another within a month of them putting a label on their situation. So, a year later, for him to be talking about them to me of all people, was definitely odd.
"Was it because of me?" I ask quietly.
I honestly didn't want to be the reason behind anyone's issues.
He breathes a laugh, "no. It's just Bethany being Bethany, I guess."
"We fight like this all the time. I can't even count the number of times that we've broken up and then made up again. It's ridiculous. Relationships are ridiculous."
A silence stretches between us for a moment and I debate on whether or not I should say something.
"Right?" He asks.
"Uh-..." I stutter and look over at him, "well I wouldn't know. I've never been in one."
His mouth forms a perfect circle.
"Why not?"
I giggle, "I don't know. I'm only 16, do I need to be tied down with commitments?"
"That's a fair point." Noah smiles.
"Plus, I don't think anyone has ever interested me in that way before. You know? Like I don't think anyone has ever stood out to me."
"But you hardly speak to anyone." Noah says.
"True," I hum, "has anyone ever made the effort with me, though?"
I turn away to look back at the firepit as Noah ponders over by words. Or maybe he just doesn't want to talk anymore, I'm not entirely sure. But the silence is welcomed and comfortable. There's only the faint beat of the music now and a warm, night breeze brushing over us.
Noah clears his throat a little,
"Any idea who the sexy gray Land Rover belongs to? It's parked in my usual spot out front."
Ah, my baby.
I smother a smile and dip my fingers into my blazer pocket to take out my keys. I wave it around in front of him and watch as his eyebrows practically raise right off his head altogether.
"I don't believe it." He says.
"Better believe it. That baby out there is mine." I smile proudly.
"I just can't picture a tiny girl like you driving a big car like that." He says teasingly.
"It's not that big, and I'm not that small." I defend.
"What model is it?" He asks.
"Land Rover evoque."
He whistles a little then smirks at me.
"Can I give it a test drive?"
"Over my dead body." I smile back sweetly.
No way was he getting his hands on my baby. It was a very special gift from my grandma, grandpa and dad. They did that for each of us on our 16th birthdays. Obviously, Caelum's was yet to come, but for the rest of us, a car was the perfect gift.
"Please! You can tell me off and everything." He begs.
I stand up swiftly and smile down at him,
"Tyre swing?"
And that's what we do.
Sarah, Anna, Dwaine and Blake eventually join us outside. We each take turns on the swing, laughing and joking around as though we were the best of friends.
If someone had told me a year ago that I would be spending time with the popular high school jocks and enjoying myself, I simply would have walked away and carried on sipping my mango smoothie.