A/N:
Please don't hate me after this chapter; this story hasn't ended yet, there are plenty more chapters left after this.
...
I looked cautiously in the mirror, curving my lips when I saw my reflection. Similarly to yesterday, Katherine and I looked good, the difference was, this time, we were styled properly. Due to much protesting and a slap-fight, I wore my hair in loose waves. I had earlier made attempts to convince Katherine to let me wear a helmet to symbolize Athena, the Goddess of war and wisdom, but she insisted it would make my face look like a chipmunk. In the end, I was forced to agree. She had a wicked strong grip, and if I hadn't, my entire arm would have been covered with Indian rope burns.
"Look at us, we're so ready for this." My best friend gushed, flicking a stray lock of my brunette hair back in place.
"We're not ready until you promise me you won't force me into doing body shots again." I crossed my arms.
"Seriously, you're bringing this up five minutes before we're leaving." She rolled her eyes. Even though the body shots experience I had previously endeavered wasn't bad -- at all-- I was still reluctant to participate in any sort of activity. I wanted to be in charge of myself.
"I could have waited until we got there." I sassed, locking my jaw. She had better agree to this, otherwise, I would not step foot inside that party.
"You're so stubborn." She waved me off, chucking a pair of silver heels on.
"Say it. Say you promise." I leaned against my dresser, ignoring the grimace on Katherine's face. She was the one being stubborn.
"Fine, I solemnly swear on the life of my heels that I, Katherine Amaro, will not force Raelynn Littllefield to subject herself to the life that is body shots."
"How deep of you." I batted my eyelashes, snorting lightly to myself. My laugh was oh so attractive.
"You could have just said thank you, but since I'll assume you were thinking it, you're welcome." She blew me a kiss. "Anyway, we should get going. The party started over an hour ago, and I really need some cheap beer."
"Quality taste you got there." I chortled, grabbing my car keys from the edge of the beareau. "I think you're just excited to see Ashton. What's he going as by the way?"
"A My Little Pony." Katherine said dryly.
"Wait, really?' I squealed. "I should have gone as one too!"
"No, I actually don't know. He said something about going as some rocker dude." She laughed. "You got way too excited for a minute there."
"Doesn't he always dress as some rocker dude?"
"Yeah." Katherine mused. "Costumes usually aren't as important for the guys. They either go as nothing or go in their underwear."
"I can't wait." I deadpanned. Plenty of the guys at my school had ultimate manboobs, and I certainly was not looking forward to seeing that up close. If I just stuck to my friends, hopefully I wouldn't have to. Luke should go shirtless.
My mom stopped us on the way to my car, directing me to be home no later than eleven. I smiled and nodded at her, shooting a thumbs up, even though we all knew it wasn't going to happen, I was Katherine's ride, and it was going to take me at least an extra hour to get her to leave. A part of me hoped the party animal in my mom understood. My car honked in the driveway as I unlocked the door and climbed in. Immediately after the key was in the ignition, my Pierce the Veil album came on blasting. Katherine eyed me. I knew making her listen was just going to make her wreak havoc on me later, so I opted for a classic rock station. It was hard to hate the classics like the Rolling Stones.
The buzz of nervousness and excitement in my stomach increased as Katherine directed me to the street of the party. In all actuality, we could have just walked from my house, but I was way too lazy for that. I smiled as I saw some kids trick or treating, but the smile waved off of my face when I realized we were going to have to park at the end of the street. Even from eight houses away, I could see where the party house was. The dark sky outside did nothing to shield the Halloween lights and cars littering the lawn of the absolutely huge house. My insides bubbled up, my minds racing. What if I wasn't wearing something appropriate? What if I drank? What if something went wrong?
"Raelynn, we're parked, you can take the key out of the ignition now." Katherine laughed, snapping me out of my thoughts completely. She would not have had me illprepared for something as common as a Halloween party. I would have her and Ashton -- and Luke -- by my side.
"Oh. Right." I laughed nervously, turning off my car and stepping out onto the street.
I decided to hell with it. This was a party designed for the entertainment of the people who partook in it, and I was going to have a freaking amazing time. Tonight was my night to live out of my comfort zone, and I wasn't going to let my conscious ruin it for me. This was the moment. Tonight was the night.
As we neared the drtiveway of the decked out site of the party, the thumping bass began to grow louder. Honestly, I couldn't wait to see Luke again, even though I had just seen him at school twenty-four hours ago. We hadn't kissed for a few days and I was really missing the taste of his mouth against mine. Hopefully he would kiss me here, I didn't want to embarrass him. We weren't technically dating, or even seeing each other, but I still enjoyed his presence.
Instead of knocking on the door, which I thought was customary, Katherine turned the door knob and barged in. Now I knew why she hadn't bothered. The place was sardine packed with people, not to mention the music was loud. No one would have heard us, and no one would have cared if they did. I followed my friend into the kitchen, which was now just one big booze mart, eyeing people as we went. There were girls dressed like me, chatting up guys along the walls of a room, some dancing. Then there were girls dressed more like Katheine, already tipsy and dancing on the floor. I shuddered at the thought. If Luke wanted to dance with me tonight, there would be no way in hell I would. I had no idea how to grind.
As if on cue, I felt a hot breath on my ear.
"Raelynn." Luke smiled. He was leaning against a countertop; that was how he was able to whisper into my ear without leaning down a lot.
"Hi, Luke." I grinned, my breath nearly hitching in my throat when I saw what he was wearing: his usual black skinny jeans. No shirt. Nothing. Just jeans and a thorn crown on his head. The thorns were fake, naturally. "What are you supposed to be?"
"A modern day Julius Caesar." He smirked, cocking his head.
"I didn't know Caesar preferred to be shirtless." I raised a brow.
"Thus the 'modern day' idea. Katherine may or may not have tipped me off as to what you were, so of course, since you are a Greek Goddess, I decided to be a Roman."
"Of course you did that." I snorted, rolling my eyes at him. He straightened up, regaining the several inch height difference we naturally had. Curses. Even with heels on I couldn't be as tall as him.
"How could I not? Just because it's Halloween doesn't mean we can't argue about something stupid, like the Romans versus the Greeks." He ran his fingers through my hair, chuckling. "Although, if the Greeks were as beautiful as you, I might just have to take your side of the argument."
"Be quiet." I blushed furiously, not knowing how to react. I totally gave up on starting a statistical argument about a civilization that was completely irrelevant to this night, instead, letting the butterflies fill my stomach.
"Don't tell me you don't know I'm right." He tilted up my chin. "Because this is an argument you're not going to win."
Just as I was about to reply, none other than my giggling friend hugged me from behind, burying his face in my neck. I stiffened. Ashton hugs were great, but if I was correct, he wasn't wearing a shirt either. When I turned around, my thoughts were proven to be true. Ashton was wearing a bandana and skinny jeans, nothing else.
"Well hello to you too." I chuckled. He was even more revved up tonight than usual, smiling so wide I was positive his face was hurting. "What's got you excited?"
"Nothing, just the party, the atmosphere. How are you doing, Luke?" Ashton said, patting him on the arm.
"Great, as always. What about you man?" Luke asked, immediately entangling himself in conversation. I internally sighed, turning away to go get a drink. I did not want to be a part of a conversation that didn't really involve me. My face contorted at the thought of the two boys striking up a conversation about boobs. I didn't doubt that's what would happen.
I walked over to one of the beer kegs, contemplating on whether or not I actually wanted to consume any alcohol. One cup wouldn't hurt, but if I had one, would I want more? I hadn't even drank anything yet and guilt was already consuming me.
"You best get some from a bottle, these kegs are full of the nasty crap." Someone said from behind me.
"Oh, I'm not drinking any." I said softly, turning on my heel. "Wait, what are you doing here, Calum?"
"Partying." He shrugged.
"Where's your little buddy?" I asked, looking over his shoulder. I had only ever seen Calum when he was attached at the hip to Michael. It was practically a miracle to see them apart.
"Talking to some chick." He shrugged again. Shrugging just have been his mode of communication or something.
"Aww, are you jealous?" I teased. He probably was. His best friend had just ditched him.
"No. Seriously, though, try this beer." He tried handing me a bottle of Bud Light.
"I think she'll pass." Luke slipped in beside me, gingerly tugging my hair and planting a kiss firmly down on my lips. What was with him being so touchy feely in front of Calum?
"Oh, so that's why I never see you walking to Ashton's house anymore." Calum smirked, drinking the Bud Light that he was about to give me, and that I was going to take. Thank God Luke showed up.
"Hmm, she's busy." Luke mumbled against my cheek. Was he jealous?
He certainly appeared to be possessive over me. We weren't even dating, nonetheless, I was flattered. Calum wasn't a threat, though, and Luke had to have known that.
"I never thought I'd see the day when Raelynn was involved in PDA." Calum shook his head, giggling silently to himself as he walked away. Creep.
"You and Calum, huh?" Luke asked nonchalantly, breaking me out of the five second trance I was engaged in.
"What about him?"
"Nothing, just making sure it was nothing. Somebody told me there's this douche who likes you, so I thought I'd help him out."
"And who might that 'douche' be?" I asked, using air quotes around the word douche. Luke just smirked down at me.
"Well it certainly isn't me, I'm quite pleasant."
"I don't know, you're pretty douche-y." I smirked back at him, folding my arms across my chest. His eyes flickered down to where my arms were briefly, then back up to my eyes. He held my gaze, speaking very seriously.
"Then I guess I'm the douche you're looking for."
"Really? What makes you think I was looking for a douche?" I drawled. Luke stepped closer to me.
"A little birdy told me." He said, his breath fanning over my face. He smelled like spearmint and cologne. It was lovely.
"What birdy would that be?" I stepped even closer to Luke, closing the gap between us.
"One you know very well. You're very close. So close, in fact, that you might be the same person."
"Really? Well in that case, I guess you are the douche I was looking for." I teased, dropping my arms from across my chest to my sides. Luke was about to open his mouth and say something back, but we were rudely interrupted by Ashton yet again. What a cockblock.
"Raelynn, can I borrow you for a second?" Ashton panted, placing an arm on my shoulder. I glared at him.
"What for?" I sighed. I couldn't have five minutes with Luke. Oh well, Ashton was my best friend, and friends were the most important thing. Ashton was more than that though, he was like my brother. A sibling I never wanted, but after I got him, wouldn't want a life without him.
"Well, I was just enlisted for a game of Beer Pong, and you know I suck at table tennis. Will you play for me? I swear I will drink all of the beer you get, if you want me to." He pleaded. Honestly, I was indifferent to this game, but I would help him out. He would have helped me.
"Sure. Luke, you wanna watch?" I asked, turning to him. He nodded and grabbed my hand, following Ashton out to the massive backyard.
I cleared my throat. "Why didn't you ask Katherine?"
"She's already pretty drunk, and she and I both agreed we suck at ping pong." He shrugged. "Plus, you don't exactly keep your table tennis skills a secret."
"Raelynn, you never told me you were good at ping pong." Luke said. His hand clasped with my own was sending tingles up my body. Books always said people felt fireworks when they touched. I guessed that was what I was feeling. I could feel the sparks. I could feel everything.
"I'm not good. I'm damn good." I giggled. I had never played beer pong before, and to be honest, I was a little scared. What if I had to drink any beer?
It didn't really matter.
I let go of Luke's hand when we reached the deck. A mass of people were clumped together at the ping pong table. My opponent was a guy who looked to be Ashton's age. If I could beat Ashton, I could beat him. It was a friendly game anyway, I didn't have to take it to a competition stance, but to be honest, I kind of wanted to. I was going to win, and I was going to rub it in the other guy's face. At least in my mind.
"What's your name?" My opponent asked, licking his lips. I really wanted to tell him it didn't matter what my name was, I was going to beat him, so we might as well have just gotten it over before trying to acquaint ourselves.
"Raelynn. You?" I asked politely.
"Nick. You Ashton's girl?" He smiled. It was a fake smile. He just wanted to play. The little sucker thought he could win. I felt Luke tense beside me. I wasn't exactly his girl, either, so I didn't know why the comment upset him. Just because he 'liked' me didn't mean I was his. I wasn't anyone's girl.
"Nope, just here to have a little fun. We gonna start here or not?" I decided I didn't want to waste any more time talking to "Nick". I honestly didn't care about his life, who he was with, what he did in his free time, or how big his penis was.
"Alright Raelynn, you're on. Offense or Defense?" He raised his brows, rolling a white ping pong ball in his fingertips. I wondered if he had washed his hands before touching it. Yeah, Ashton would definitely be drinking the beer.
"Defense." I said. I wanted to watch him before I shot. If he played nice, I would play nice. If he would play dirty, I would play dirty.
I watched as Nick lined the paddle up with the ball, ignoring the chants coming from behind his side of the table. He feigned concentration, but I knew he was just eating the attention up. It was people like him that I really had no toleration for. I wished he would just get on with it, and take a swing out in the dark. He tossed the ball up, ready for a swerve. His paddle hit the ball at a hard pace, making a loud popping noise, before the ball bounced on my side of the table, landing crisply in the cup nearest to me. I blocked the on coming drops of beer with my arm. Ashton winced, taking the ball out of the cup, and dunked his head back. He looked like he was enjoying himself, honestly.
"Powerball it, Raelynn." He said under his breath, directing me to my paddle.
"Not yet." I said. "Wait until he thinks he can handle me. He'll let his guard drop, and then I'll strike.
I tossed the ball up, going in for a light backhanded swerve. Instead of the loud popping noise I heard when Nick struck the ball, there was a gentle tap. He rolled his eyes as the ball skimmed the net, but the joke was on him. The ball landed smoothly into the first cup, the one nearest to the net. I had the hardest shot done.
"Lucky strike." He muttered to me, chugging down the cup of beer. After wiping the ping pong ball on a wet paper towel, he prepared for his turn. The shot he took was sloppy, and ended up missing the table completely.
"Trouble?" I asked innocently.
"Save it." Nick snapped. I didn't even flinch. If I provoked him enough, Ashton wouldn't have to drink more than one cup of nasty ping pong beer.
Luke handed me the ball. I guessed he had shagged it while I was busy trying to infuritate that Nick guy. I wasted no time in serving, this time, hitting the ball a little harder. It landed in one of the corner cups. Nick muttered a few curse words under his breath. By this time, people were cheering for me. It was nice to know I had more than two supporters now. I heard a few people yell to Nick, something along the lines of 'pound that ball' or 'swerve that mofo upside the head'. Such inspirational words. I was feeling very inspired. Nick swerved the ball over the net, this time, two hard, and it knocked one of the cups over instead of landing in it. I snickered softly to myself.
After a few more turns, Ashton had drank one more beer, and Nick had downed three. There were two cups left on his side, and it was my turn. Sweat beads gathered at the nape of my neck. I was grinning to myself at the sounds of people chanting for me. This was truly my game. It was different to hear people actually want me to win something. I was often ignored by my peers at school. This was different, but a good different. Nick was red faced and angry, and I was amped up. I felt on top of the world.
"Let me go grab you some fruit punch, you need some hydration." Luke whispered in my ear, his lips grazing my lobe. It was a tender touch, sweet and caring.
"That would be great." I smiled lazily, the competitive smile I was once wearing gone. Luke returned my smile, and walked away to go get me a drink. He was a really thoughtful guy.
"Alright, time for the powerball." Ashton said excitedly, jumping around like an excited schoolgirl. What a dork.
"Okay, okay, okay." I laughed. I tossed the ball up, my paddle coming down with a hard thwap to really go in for the kill. I hit the ball so hard, the momentum from the force it was going at landed in one cup, then slid into the next.
"Hah, that doesn't count!" Nick sneered. "It only landed in one."
"Hold up, man, that so counted. Just admit she whooped your sorry ass." A guy I didn't know by name slapped Nick on the back.
"Happy drinking." I shot him a thumbs up.
'Raelynn, that was amazing!" Ashton yelled, giving me a tight side hug.
"You're welcome." I said cockily. I was allowed to have one moment of arrogance. "Let's go find Luke. I could seriously use a nice, cold glass of punch."
I nearly skipped into the kitchen, Ashton following behind me. I was elated. That game had definitely eased my party nerves. I didn't fit in, but I didn't stand out in a bad way anymore. I couldn't wait to tell Luke that I won. Katherine would be happy for me, especially if she was wasted. She was such a bubbly drunk.
This was the best Halloween I'd had since I began high school. Nothing could bring me down. Nothing.
"Hey, guess what?" I began to say as I turned the corner into the kitchen.
I deflated instantly. A girl's lips were on Luke's. They weren't mine.
But once I saw her tainted angel wings, I knew exactly who it was.