Cc: Shopping. Introducing more of the gang.
VALYRA.
"What do you think?" Claire asked, as she spun in the bikini she was trying on. It was a pastel yellow set that went really well with her porcelain skin tone, but it wasn't her style.
I gave her a once-over and shrugged. "It looks good on you, but it isn't something that screams you," I admitted.
"Oh," she said disappointedly. Her shoulders drooped as she went off to find another bathing suit, and I stifled a laugh. She wasn't disappointed it didn't suit her perfectly, she was disappointed she had to shop longer.
I was helping her pick a new swimsuit, while Maddie and Kelly were helping Froida. I can tell Froida talked her into this. While she was off looking for one that fit her well, I was here almost dozing off on the lounge chair in the dressing rooms' waiting area.
I looked around trying not to shut my eyes, and my eyes suddenly caught on something black and edgy on the mannequin. It was a black one piece with triangular cut-outs on the sides. The halter strap was thick and was tied into a ribbon with straps that fell down to the waist. It had subtle gold touches that seemed almost non-existent at certain angles, but glittered at others. The back area began at the waist with a golden sash.
It was definitely something Claire would wear.
"Claire!" I murmured drowsily when she answered my call. "Check out the black suit on the mannequin on the side of the sunglasses and scarves."
I heard a faint "oooh.. You okay though?" before I had to end the call and lean my head against the wall. I had low shopping tolerance.
After what felt like a second, Claire was shaking me awake holding one of those swimsuits that I described in her hand. She looked worried. Claire and "worried for someone else who isn't Froida" did not go together. "Girl! I thought it was just the bad reception or something... you okay?"
I squinted at her and managed a woozy smile. "You like the swimsuit?"
She scowled at me. "Answer my question, Valyra."
I chuckled and nodded, using my arm to prop myself up. My head was pounding, but she didn't need to know that. "I'm okay."
"Okay," she smiled, satisfied. "You stay here and lean against the wall. I'm just gonna try this on."
Oh... she checked on me before trying it on. I smiled at the thought and closed my eyes as I waited. By the time she paid, my headache was gone.
About an hour later, we found ourselves at the mall's food court, munching on some salads. Don't judge us, okay? Salads are cheap, filling, and healthy which balances out the shopping we just did, and we had a pool party to go to later on, so we had to be sure we wouldn't look so bloated.Besides, mine had lots of bacon bits so I absolutely enjoyed it. This is low-key a secret hunch of mine, but I think the reason why I get lots of bacon bits whenever I order from this shop is because the guy who serves has a huge crush on me, but whatever, just a narcissistic hunch.
"We're not using my car," Kelly randomly said, sipping on her iced fruit tea. Icy like her facade and sweet like her true personality..
"No one asked, Kels," Maddie giggled. Kelly scowled at her but didn't say more.It was funny how much of a softie Kelly was for Maddie, but at the same time, it totally melted my heart. Like, they seemed to be like those siblings who have a tighter bond than the rest.
"Soooo," Claire began, a serious sort of determination stealing her gaze. "We're going to that party late, showing everyone we still got it, and leaving them like the party wasn't lit enough, okay? Okay."
I raised my hand. Claire gave me a nod to speak.
"Can I leave already?" I asked."I mean, we're done shopping, right?"
As expected, Claire scowled at me and turned away.
Claire Queenie Dennings is the alpha-type who says what she wants and gets messed up when things don't go her way. Deep down, though, I knew that side of her would break when those closest to her are in trouble. She's the epitome of "My pride is nothing compared to those I care for." With her porcelain skin, raven hair, and dark brown eyes, she might've seemed delicate at first glance, but the way she carries herself makes her look like steel instead of a lily. Her height of 5'2" may have made her the shortest of the group, but that totally didn't affect her influence. Normally, she gives off a "whatever"kind of vibe, but when it comes to something like this where we go to events that may or may not speak volumes about our reputations, let's just say that she's like the equivalent of a talent manager.
France Olivia Deianara Alvares, or Froida, as we call her, is the shy-type who seems to bend towards whatever was asked of her. The only time she changes personality is when she has to do so in a dance. Her green-eyes, curly blond locks, and tanned skin with her slender 5'6" frame made her look every-inch a movie star, but she absolutely hated attention unless it was given by someone she knew well or unless it was for her dancing. She's like our little sister, and although was closest to Claire, seemed more open around Maddie. I could tell she was more of a "whatever makes you guys happy person" and it would do my heart wonders whenever I see her doing something she really loved, like for example, when she dances or when I see her reading in the school library with her headphones on, lost in another world.
I thought deeply about our group as I walked towards my Rover, and I smiled as I remembered just how people would look at us like we were crazy everytime we were together. We were a bunch of personalities that supposedly clashed, but somehow we clicked.
Let's be honest, to others, I was just the airhead of a cheerleader who loves to gossip, Maddie was the sweet nerd who never gets in trouble and is, therefore, boring, Kelly was the ice queen snob who thought she was better than the others, Claire was the alpha-type witch who could wreck your love life like she did to Allison Brooke's, and Froida was the shy, pretty girl who loves to keep to herself and would barely pay you attention. There had been a lot of rumors that had gone around. One of the greatest topics of which was how did the five of us end up being friends with the three golden boys of the school. By golden boys, I mean golden boys.
Chaser Alexander Prince was the school's highest GPA holder, and graduated as our batch valedictorian. He was football captain and a member of the student council. People always assumed that he would either be a famous football player and have his name included in the hall of fame or become a CEO of his own company because he's that perfect. His caramel brown-blonde hair and forest green eyes, golden skin, and 6'5" athletic frame didn't hurt, but instead totally boosted his image. His brother was said to be a prodigy and his sister was a huge fashion icon. The youngest Prince, Raider Charlotte Prince, who was currently seven years old, was already making waves as an exceptional young violinist.
Ryan Lindt Malcolm was the school's soccer king. Scratch that, he was the state's soccer king. His dream was to play in FIFA, but in honor of his older brother who had passed away years ago in a bombing, he had decided to fill in his shoes and enlist in the military first. Ryan may be impulsive and temperamental, but he was fiercely loyal and brave.He was really street smart, too. He had dark brown hair and cool gray eyes, and, despite the general crowd's calling him a stupid jock, we knew he was extremely intelligent. Ryan's obsession with video games as a pre-teen allowed him to explore the world of coding and hacking and myths and legends and strategy.
Onyx Goodman was the good guy of the group. The dreamy boy-next-door with dark curly hair, kind brown eyes, deep chocolate skin, and had an amazing smile. I had a huge crush on him way back, but he turned out to be in love with Kelly, so I just shut my mouth and stomped on my feelings til I could hope they were irrelevant. Eventually, we became really good friends and my crush on him shrunk into the occasional inner giddiness instead. He was set to be a lawyer and was going to Harvard business school as a pre-law. He was always a peacemaker and hated it when any of us fought that he'd even go to the extent of talking to us individually just to clear the air and everything, and make us apologize to each other. Due to his ancestry, he's had his experience of being looked down upon, but he always puts on a smile and never fights back unless the person was involving others.
I got into my car and drove past the apartment and shops into a narrower road that led straight to my neighborhood.
"Hey, watch it!" some random guy shouted, surprised, as I nearly crashed into him, not noticing that the stop light came on. My heartbeat tripled in that second and I quickly stepped on the brakes, thankful that I hadn't been driving so fast, else he might still have gotten hit.
"I'm so sorry!" I shouted back, rubbing my nape sheepishly, about to get out of the car. Oh. My. Goodness. He noticed what I was doing and quickly raised his hand, shook his head, and stalked away. Good thing he was relatively nice, but was he really okay?
I couldn't tell whether or not I knew the guy, but his voice sounded really familiar, and familiar or not, I'd hate it if my lack of attention had given him some trauma or something.
"That was close," the driver to my right sympathized. He was young-ish, probably in his early twenties.
The lady beside him, probably his wife or girlfriend, smiled at me sweetly. "It's alright, sweetie, things like that happen all the time, and he's okay."
I gave them both a shaky smile and fixed my gaze back on the road. I was not risking another possible accident while I was driving.
When I got home, I changed into my house slippers and put the keys on the shoe rack. The sounds of bloodshed from the living room can be heard, but otherwise the house was completely silent. As usual, Mom and Dad weren't around. Mom was busy with whatever she had to do somewhere in the Atlantic. Dad was busy going back and forth between work and visiting Mom and Nat and visiting me and/or Nik. Today, he was probably somewhere in Europe for work. I didn't bother to keep track anymore.
To be honest? As blunt as this may sound, I was glad that at least I was receiving attention from our parents. Our littlest sister probably didn't even know her family was alive, but we'll get to know her another time.
"Hey, kid," Nik greeted, giving me a two-fingered salute as I entered the living room. He was in boxer shorts and a college hoodie and he still had his bed hair going. Lucky for him, he didn't really have to worry about how he looked anyway because in our town, he was the ultimate golden guy. The boy who practically raised his sister since she was four years old. Just about everyone here respected him, and people younger than him absolutely adored him.
I adored him.
I mean, sometimes I wished I could be like him-- respectful, smart, good-natured. But I'm glad I wasn't either because to be honest, that would've shoved me into his shadow. Mark my words, anyone who crosses him has an appointment with my trusty stiletto collection, and I'll make sure the offender meets every single point before I let him or her go.
I chuckled. "Nik, you're literally less than two years older than me."
"You're still younger," he argued, sticking his tongue out at me childishly. As I rounded the couch to get to the stairs, I noticed that on the screen was a paused video game.
Cute.
"I'm going to a party in like three hours," I informed him at the bottom of the staircase. "Wake me up in an hour, will you?"
He shrugged and smirked and went back to his video game. .
He'll call me.