*If I were to write a dystopian novel next...would any of you be willing to read it?????*
In Dallas and Vegas, we were temporarily relieved from the cold. We spent as much time as possible outside, tanning until the sun was no longer present. Even in Seattle, it wasn't too cold, much to my surprise. It wasn't hot enough to be running around in shorts and a tank top, but it was enough to go outside with only a light jacket.
However, in Bloomington, Minnesota, we were embraced with the cold weather once again. It was a solid twenty-three degrees, and due to the chilly temperature, our plans were limited to visiting the Mall of America, the largest mall in the United States.
Ashlynn, thoroughly impressed with the trip, proved my point: this lifestyle was contagious and addictive. She adored the jet, staying in a different hotel each night, playing dress up as if she was a living Barbie doll, exploring the different states, and attending the prestigious parties. More than once, she dropped a not-so-subtle hint indicating that she wanted to attend a cotillion.
Penelope and Thomas failed to attend any day of White Week aside from the event in Georgia, and I didn't blame them. The actual events were quite lackluster, and the day didn't get interesting until afterwards, when we were free to explore.
I hadn't gotten much sleep at all this week, even after Joey and Allison finished their calls at night. I actually spent most the nights thinking about what Joey said to me.
When you love someone, you make sacrifices for them.
I guess, in a way, I did that by failing to show up at Central Park on Black Friday. I sacrificed my happiness for his, and in the meantime, I tried to convince myself that I wasn't in love with him anymore.
Which couldn't have been farther from the truth.
I must say, now that I was admitting that my love for him had existed all along, things felt much easier.
"Did Joey tell you?" Lillia mumbled into my ear from behind.
"Tell me what?" I asked, spinning around to face her.
"I'll take that as a no," Lillia sighed, shaking her head.
"Tell me what?" I persisted. I took a gulp from my champagne, feeling comfort in the bubbly sensation numbing my stomach.
That was one thing Ashlynn hadn't gotten used to yet. On Tuesday, she refused to drink alcohol, opting for water. I couldn't blame her, though. I mean, after all, her parents would drop dead if they ever found out. However, each day after that, she had taken a single sip from one of our drinks.
At first, she would scrunch up her face as though we were forcing her to sniff the air of a garbage dump. However, today she managed to swallow down a single gulp without making a face. In fact, she even asked if she could have one glass for herself. "One and only one," she had emphasized.
"I really shouldn't be the one to tell you this, but--" she stopped dead sentence, averting her eyes to the door.
Really, another surprise visitor?
Lillia whispered, "I'm so sorry," before spinning me around to face the entrance of the room.
I locked my eyes on Joey, who made his way to the door with a grin. He welcomed our visitor with a sloppy kiss and a quick embrace. He said something to her, she replied, and then they both laughed.
"Ugh, Emily!" Lillia screeched, dragging me towards the side. Apparently I had been squeezing my glass of champagne and had crushed it into a million pieces. I looked below me at the scattered shards of glass and the nearly translucent liquid that had formed a puddle at my feet.
I allowed Lillia to lead me to the bathroom, hoping no one saw what I had done. She stopped along the way to scold a caterer, claiming there was an "incident" and demanding that the mess be cleaned instantly.
In the bathroom, she helped me wash my hand, which was blanketed in blood. After the stinging faded and the blood-flow halted, Lillia picked at the slivers of glass embedded in my flesh with a pair of tweezers from her purse. Eventually, after various yelps and additional streaks of blood, my hand was cured.
I observed the newly scarred flesh, running my fingers over the ragged skin, scarred by various scrapes.
"We're going to go out there, and we're not going to mention any of this," she stated, motioning towards my finger.
"Okay," I answered.
"You're not going to act bitter towards Aubrey," she continued. "You're going to be nice and sweet, even if it's just an act."
"Okay," I answered once again, nodding.
She sent me a tight smile, interlocking her fingers with my uninjured hand. Together, we walked into the hall and approached the table.
"Hi Aubrey," I greeted with a smile. "How are you?"
Aubrey, surprised by my sudden social graces, returned my smile, answering generically. "I've been great, quite busy! And you?"
"Never been better," I replied with a little too much glee. Her smile faltered for a mere second before she offered me a glass of wine. I don't know if she saw my mishap from earlier, but if she did, she certainly didn't mention it.
"Thank you," I sweetly stated, accepting the glass from across the table with my strong hand.
I wasn't quite sure how much Ashlynn knew about Joey and I, but based on the piteous look on her face, I think it was safe to assume she knew enough.
I wasn't sure why, but I clutched the crown dangling from my neck. For some reason, it made me feel better knowing that Joey told me I was his princess, rather than Andrea.
She must have noticed my grasp on it because her eyes began to drown in awe, and then hurt. Suddenly, I felt dizzy and my hands got clammy. Did Alexis know that Joey bought this for me? She must've. And, if she didn't already, then it was safe to assume that she guessed it.
"That's beautiful," she complimented, the hurt diminishing from her sparkly jade eyes.
"Thank you. I thought I'd treat myself to a Christmas present," I lied.
"Well, you have excellent taste," she retorted with a dazzling smile. For a second, a wounded expression crossed her face, but just as quickly, it disappeared. It vanished so suddenly that it made me wonder if my exhaust has caused me to hallucinate it.
Joey stood abruptly, his chair screeching against the tile. "Emily, can I talk to you?"
"Um, sure," I answered, ignoring the confused looks on our friends faces. Aubrey gulped and looked away, forcing me to feel guilty.
However, I didn't feel guilty enough to back down, so I followed Joey down the many twists and turns of the maze that is the hallway.
"What is it?" I questioned, slightly confused.
"I'm sorry; I should have warned you that she was coming," he rambled, fiddling with his fingers. "I didn't even know until yesterday, and I was going to tell you--I swear--but then I didn't. I'm sorry."
"Hey," I softly said, laughing lightly at his wordy apology. "It's okay, really. She's your girlfriend; you don't have to tell me every time you're bringing her around."
"I know, but I feel obligated to," he admitted. We stood in silence for a couple of moments, and right as I was about to suggest we go back to the table, he spoke. "Do you want to dance?"
"W-what?" I asked, the confusion clear on my face. "You don't usually dance at these kinds of events."
"Let's dance right here," he clarified, "in the hallway."
"But there isn't any music," I retorted.
"If you don't want to, we don't have to," he replied, rubbing the back of his neck uncomfortably. "Forget it, let's go back to--"
"No!" I shouted, startling him. I awkwardly cleared my throat in an attempt to adjust my voice before continuing. "I mean, yes. Let's dance."
I clasped my hands together and wrapped them around his neck as he rested his palms on hips. We swayed to an imaginary melody that only existed between us, following the nonexistent beat as we rested our foreheads against each other.
I wasn't sure how much time had passed: seconds, minutes, hours. I was too busy relishing in the moment; the odd, relaxing moment.
"I love you," I whispered, shocking even myself. The last time I had voiced those words to him was over a month ago.
"I know," he replied in a hushed tone.
Our eyes remained closed and we danced until our stomach growls were singing in synchronization and my toes were aching from my heels. We stood still and I opened my eyes, causing them to burn from the sudden brightness.
"What time is it?" he asked, still squinting.
"I was wondering the same thing."
Joey mindlessly slipped his hand in mine and began to wind through the knotty hallway. He stopped brusquely and turned to face me, causing me to run square into his chest.
"Sorry," he apologized, not looking at my face. Rather, he brought my damaged palm to his face, inspecting the injury. "What happened?"
I guess they really didn't notice me earlier. "I cut it on glass."
"How? There's like a million scratches on here," he frowned, searching my eyes.
"From a glass cup," I answered. "It broke in my hand." He brought my palm to his lips, his eyes never straying from mine once.
"Does it hurt?" he questioned with anguish laced in his words.
Once again, I couldn't shake the feeling that his words held a double meaning. "Not anymore," I spoke, still unsure as to what he was referring to: my hands or my heart.
"Good," he whispered, his face suddenly only inches from mine. "I hate seeing you hurt."
"I know," I exhaled out, fanning his face with my breath because of our close proximity. In that moment, I wanted nothing more than to attack his lips with mine, but I knew Aubrey was waiting out there. So, using every inch of strength in my body, I broke the silence. "We sh-should get back to the table; they're probably waiting."
"Let's go," he declared. He didn't look hurt like I had expected, instead he radiated understanding. He wanted it too, I realized, but knew he couldn't.
This time, I looped my arm through his and we walked to the table without stopping. When we entered the room, the only people remaining were our friends and a few adults.
"Where'd everyone go?" I asked.
"It's over," Lillia replied, scrunching up her face. "Everyone left."
"Wh-"
"I had champagne," Ashlynn interrupted, falling into a fit of giggles.
"One glass?" I questioned, breaking out in a smile.
"Maybe more," she whispered, grinning from ear to ear.
"She's going to regret that tomorrow," Joey muttered, smiling as well. "Where's Aubrey?"
"Bathroom," Marietta answered.
"Where have you been? That's the real question," Jake stated, raising his eyebrows in a suggestive manner.
"The rental car is here," my mother informed us, walking away before we could muster up a response.
While Aubrey finished urinating, Joey and I made a plate out of the cold leftovers. I didn't care though. I wouldn't have switched that moment shared between us for warm food in a million years.
Once we had finished eating, the eight of us made our way outside to the car. Alexa stayed silent the entire ride to the Mall of America, not even cracking a smile at Lillia's jokes. Meanwhile, I told Joey about how the Daddy-Daughter dance was a mere month away. He knew how important those were to me as a child, and seemed generally excited with me.
When we arrived at the Mall of America, I nearly fainted. This mall was grander than any other I had ever been to. Inside, there were roller coasters, food courts, and hundreds of stores.
In order to hit all of our favorite places, we agreed to split up. Lillia, Joey, Alexandra, and I broke off from Marietta, Jake, Brandon, and Ashlynn.
Honestly, I felt a little guilty about leaving Ashlynn, who was clearly exceptionally inebriated, with Brandon. However, he was the one who allowed her to drink glass after glass of champagne.
In the car, we had to spray her with perfume and force her to eat breath mints in an attempt to hide the fact that she reeked of alcohol. It didn't work too well, though, and from a mile away, you'd be able to tell she was intoxicated. But, as long as she didn't do anything too stupid, nothing major should happen.
"Aubrey, are you coming to our Birthday Bash? It's in two weeks," Lillia questioned, trying to break Ashley's silence.
"Yes, ma'am," she answered, revealing the smallest excuse for a smile.
Jake's birthday was in two days (January twentieth), Lillia's was the thirty-first of January, mine was on Valentine's Day, and Joey's was February twenty-sixth. Although Jake and Joey were a year older than Lillia and I, the fact that we were all both within the same two months was very convenient when it came to party-planning.
This year, our party was going to be at Joey's beach house in Tampa, Florida. This way, the guests could swim, and then dry off by the bonfire.
"It's going to be so much fun!" Lillia proclaimed. "I'm super excited."
A little while later, Lillia and I insisted we needed new bathing suits for the party and broke away into a bathing suit store. In the meantime, Lillia hoped that Joey would talk to Aubrey and return her to her normally chatty and annoying self.
"So, tell me, where did you and Joey escape to?" Lillia asked, fingering through a rack of coral colored bikini tops.
"We were just in the hallway," I replied, checking out a separate shelf.
"Well, what were you guys doing for hours? And don't say talking, because I won't believe you. Unless, of course, you weren't talking" she teased, her eyebrows dancing up and down.
"Shut up," I laughed, throwing a beach bag at her. "At first, he was only apologizing for bringing Alice without telling me."
"And then..." she drifted off, allowing me to finish my story. By that point, she wasn't even looking through the swimsuits. Rather, she was staring at me, waiting for the good part of the story.
"And then," I continued, moving onto another rack, "we danced."
"You danced? For that long?" Lillia asked, the disbelief clear in her voice.
"We lost track of time," I shrugged, holding up an aquamarine bathing suit. "This is cute, isn't it?"
"Adorable," she answered. "I can't believe you guys disappeared for that long and the only thing you did was dance. You knew Aubrey would be mad, you might as well have gone all out."
"Well, we almost kissed," I disclosed, before quickly emphasizing the almost part. "But we didn't. It would have been wrong."
"Since when do you care about what's right and wrong?" she questioned, incredulous.
"True," I laughed, raising my shoulders.
She was about to reply when we were interrupted by my ringtone. A found a text from Brandon that read:
"Meet us in the children's jungle-gym thing. Ashlynn's yelling at mannequins, running around screaming, and tripping every other step. Help. PLEASE."
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WHAT DID WE THINK OF THAT JOMILY MOMENT??? THEY DANCED. (':
ouch..those scrapes on her hand!???
hahahah, how about Ashlynn at the mall? (the last text message)