Lola rushed into the already crowded living room and had to push her way to the middle in an attempt to find her friends.
"Lola, there you are," Damien called out happily and then gestured for her to join the group of students huddled around in a circle.
"Tyler, nice of you to join us," Eva spoke in an authoritative voice and Lola noticed him tense up next to her. "Come on, we're playing truth or dare."
"Such a childish game," Tyrone complained even though he was sitting in the same circle, next to a red faced Hanna. She was staring blankly into space and Lola got a little worried that her friend was drunk.
"What do you expect. We're teenagers and this shit's fun especially when we have new victims," Eva smiled devilishly as she stared at Nalini.
Nalini was sitting with her knees tucked to her chest next to Damien and a few other cheerleaders flanked them on both sides. She caught Lola staring and then looked between Tyler and her in satisfaction. Especially when he held Lola's hand to guide her to a place to sit.
Lola followed Tyler into the circle but even though she should have been enthralled that he was holding her hand, she only felt discomfort. So she slipped out of his hold, much to Nalini and Damien's dismay and walked over to squeeze into the space next to Hanna.
Tyler walked over to another spot awkwardly and sat down, looking confused as he stared at Lola who immediately looked away.
Everything had been going right on track tonight, Damien and Julian would have been proud. Not only had Lola befriended Tyler, he had almost kissed her if it weren't for that damn car horn but that was just the thing.
It had all happened too fast and that made Lola uneasy. Aside from the time they were lab partners two years ago, Tyler giving her his ice cream cone and the occasional hello and goodbyes, they'd never really established much of a relationship.
Going from zero to hundred wasn't something Lola was used to and maybe it wasn't just that. Maybe it was the way Eva and her friends had stared at them when they walked in together.
Lola couldn't explain why but it just made her feel weird.
"You, okay?" She distracted herself by checking on Hanna.
"Awesome possum!" Hanna giggled and Lola's eyes widened when she took in her friends extremely red cheeks. She placed her hand on Hanna's cheek and was startled at how warm she was.
"It's normal, my family gets this way when we drink," Hanna brushed off her hand just as Tyrone smiled at her. He leaned closer to Hanna and Lola pulled her drunk friend away from him cautiously.
No way was he taking advantage of her friend. Not on Lola's watch.
"Okay, let's begin," Eva's eyes gleamed as she crouched forward and placed a glass bottle in the center of the circle. She looked flawless in her short, backless denim dress and her face was glowing today.
It was the type of glow Eva had whenever she was competing for something or with someone and it was usually present when Nalini was around - her ultimate competitor.
"Can you start already? Enough with the foreplay," Nalini challenged impatiently, surprising both Eva and Damien.
Looks like Hanna wasn't her only friend who'd had a little too much to drink.
Eva frowned, her cheeks flushed as she spun the bottle quickly and then leaned back to watch who the victim was. It landed on Natalie who chose dare and then ended up making out with her boyfriend in front of everyone after Eva said so.
This went on a few times, other people got dares and they mostly were asked to make out with each other. On the rare occasion people would pick truth, but the questions asked were much worse than the dares.
Lola knew she would never pick truth, that was just too dangerous.
Although it was a party, she felt the atmosphere grow tense, like there was an unspoken challenge in the air she was unaware about. She noticed Nalini lean her head on Damien's shoulder and Lola's heart pounded when she took in Eva's reaction.
Eva was Damien's ex girlfriend, everyone knew that and Lola wanted to kill her friend for being so reckless in front of the scariest girl in school.
As expected, Eva's eyes narrowed on the two of them and Lola was sure if looks could kill, her friend would be buried six feet under by now.
Lola coughed loudly, for no reason and everyone looked at her like she'd gone crazy but it got Nalini's attention and she lifted her head to scrutinize her best friend who sounded like she was choking. Once Nalini's head was off Damien's shoulder Lola stopped.
"Can I spin it?" Hanna asked excitedly and Eva's attention turned to her.
She nodded looking amused and Hanna spun the bottle violently, making Lola shift away. The bottle turned like it was possessed until it finally landed on Tyler, who chose dare, his eyes fixed on Lola's.
"Tyler, I dare you to pick a girl here and kiss her like there's no tomorrow," Eva instructed and she side eyed Lola, who had started to panic.
Tyler looked at her and she squirmed in place, not really wanting to kiss him in front of everyone. Her first kiss should be hers, not some dare at some party.
"I've been wanting to all night but I'm not sure if she wants to as well," He spoke with his eyes fixed on her and soon everyone around him knew who he was talking about.
"Oh come on, it's just a kiss. We're not asking you guys to have sex in front of us," Eva complained impatiently but Lola was frozen. She didn't want to move, let alone pucker her lips and kiss Tyler here and now.
"Seven minutes in heaven?" Tyler suggested and Eva groaned.
"Now that is childish," She said but Lola was more than grateful. She didn't plan to do anything, but nobody had to know what went on behind closed doors.
"You can use the storeroom over there," Natalie pointed at a small white door under the stairs.
Tyler nodded and Lola got up to follow him, her eyes met Nalini's for a brief moment before he took her hand and walked into the dark room.
It was stuffy in there and she could hear Tyler breathing in front of her. He leaned in and she placed a palm on his chest to stop him from coming closer.
"Tyler, you might not know this but I actually really like you and I don't want to rush things like this," She said earnestly and he was so eerily silent, it frightened her. "I kind of want my first kiss to be special."
The room was so dark, so silent, Lola could hear her heart thumping loudly in her chest. He paused after hearing those words and she saw him bite his lip in the shadows.
"I didn't know. I guess that makes sense now," He said. "A peck on the cheek then?" He whispered cheekily.
Lola chuckled and nodded, giving him permission to do so.
He leaned in and she felt his lips on her cheek, which made her blush happily. He was such a gentleman.
Once their seven minutes were over, Lola and Tyler walked out to join the group and she sat down just in time to see the bottle land on Nalini.
"I dare you to kiss a girl," Eva challenged immediately before Nalini had a chance to say a word and Lola stared at her friend in panic.
Nalini has never even kissed a boy, let alone a girl.
"I pick truth," Nalini muttered.
"Such a coward," Eva said as she rolled her eyes. "Fine, are you and Damien a couple?"
"No, we aren't," Nalini replied and then she took a sip of her drink. Lola noticed her hands were shaking slightly.
Her friend always put on a brave front but she could be just as self conscious as Lola and Hanna. Lola knew she was probably trembling under all the new found attention.
Eva nodded at her answer, looking satisfied and it made Lola wonder if she still had feelings for her ex boyfriend, but wasn't she the one who broke up with him in the first place?
"Well not yet anyway," Damien smirked, making Eva scowl. "You know I love a challenge."
He winked at Nalini who blushed and looked away.
"Okay, I'm done with this lame game," Eva stood up abruptly and marched to the drinks table. Her group of friends immediately jumped up to follow her, one of them pouring a drink for her before she could do it herself.
"This party is getting a bit boring. What do you say we take it somewhere else?" Tyrone asked.
"I'm in!" Hanna exclaimed excitedly. He helped her up and Lola followed the couple outside worriedly. Was it just her or was Tyrone's hand moving further down Hanna's back.
They stopped outside Damien's car and the girls got inside. Lola pulled Hanna inside before Tyrone could lead her to his car and Nalini sat in front.
"Where are we going?" Nalini asked as Damien drove away from Natalie's house.
"It's a surprise, doll," Damien teased and then he laughed when Nalini slapped his shoulder in irritation.
"You'd better not be kidnapping us," She joked.
"Nah, not worth it. Definitely not worth the trouble," He replied, making Nalini laugh.
"Spot on," She said.
Lola noticed they had reached the edge of the woods by the park next to West Point. Damien got down and the girls followed him across the freshly trimmed grass. He walked past the trees and Lola watched him disappear into the darkness.
"Come on!" He urged and Nalini turned back to face her friends.
"What if he's the murderer?" Her dark brown eyes were wide, the largest Lola had seen them look all night.
Just then a hand grabbed Lola's wrist and pulled her into the woods. She almost screamed but then she saw Julian leaning by a tree casually. She shrugged out of his hold and glared at him.
"You seriously need to stop giving me heart attacks."
"You seriously need to stop reading scary stories if you're such a coward," He teased.
"Come on, there's a nice secluded clearing just ahead," Damien said and Lola's friends joined her. They followed the boys to a small patch of grass surrounded by tall looming trees.
"Tyrone's coming," Damien told Julian as he handed him a bottle of beer.
"I'll be gone by then," He replied.
They sat down in a circle and Julian's eyes were trained on Lola as she shifted around to make herself comfortable.
"So how was tonight?" He asked, his voice guarded.
"It went beyond our expectations. Lola has Tyler wrapped around her finger," Damien whispered excitedly.
"Are you sure its safe to speak here?" Nalini asked in a paranoid voice.
"Don't worry, no one knows about this place in our school," Damien reassured her.
"So how was did your kiss go, Lola?" Julian's eyes narrowed and Lola frowned in confusion.
How could he have known?