Chapter 58 ~A night out~
(Fiona's POV)
I was lost.
Dad had banned me from speaking to Xander. It was like I was in a nightmare. I was slowly turning to a shadow of myself.
Was this how it felt to lose a mate? Empty, like grief, like death.
I woke up sad, went about my day bored, and went to bed upset.
Xander hadn't checked up on me, and it was almost a week already. I wondered how he was doing. Were they still at Nightfang or had they rebuilt Silvereign.
Would I get to heal my mother? Was I even still a Luna? What of my strange new powers?
I was so confused and had a lot of questions. But then I remembered what the moon goddess told me the first night. ‘Time will tell.’
Right now, I was rotting in my bed with a bag of Cheetos, watching a rom-com movie.
I felt once again like a teenager. A human teenager who was undergoing puberty and had her first heartbreak.
Maybe I should get a dog? The type that would cheer me up, like a golden retriever… or a husky.
Not a Chihuahua… I'd run even madder than I was.
I sighed as I watched the part of the RomCom where the male lead held a radio playing a romantic music by the window of the female lead.
Sigh.
This was exactly the type of stuff Xander would do.
I heard a knock at the door. I was honestly too tired to even stand up from this couch.
“Come in. The door is not locked.” I yelled.
Hopefully, it wasn't a serial killer or something.
I sniffed in… Cheetos and yup.. Yara.
She walked in with an unsure stride.
Then her eyes widened when they met mine. "Oh, Fiona. Poor thing.”
This was the first time she’d seen me since Xander and I broke up.
“Honey, you look like death.” She creased her brows.
I didn't know whether to feel offended or touched.
I managed to sit up, and my eyes blurred for a second before I could finally see clearly. “Are you insulting me, Yara?”
She finally broke into a grin. “If it helps, Xander looks worse. Wait… is that marshmallow in your hair?”
I finger-combed my hair and sure enough, there was a pink marshmallow. I dug it into my mouth. Yara cringed.
“No, it doesn't help. And you're lucky it's not a scorpion you're seeing in my hair.” I said in response to her earlier question.
She looked genuinely worried. “When was the last time you had a shower?”
“Um… what's today?”
“Oh no. Before I leave, I'd have to clean you up.”
I looked at her. She looked good, pretty healed from what we faced at Ashridge. “Your hand is all good now.”
She looked down like she was just realising this. “Yes, it is. Everyone has been asking about you.”
Now, I was curious. “Who?”
“Well, Calvin, Xander obviously, Mirabelle, Edgar… heck, even Nova.”
“Nova?” Now that was hard to believe.
“I swear. I was so surprised.” Yara laughed. “And at school, too. Why haven't you been in school?”
I shrugged.
Because I felt like shit.
“The plastics have been asking about you, you know?” She smirked.
“I can't believe my label of ‘The Plastics’ stuck.” It was so weird.
“Well, they do have plastic smiles.” Yara laughed. “Speaking of which, they invited me to a party, and they said I should extend the invitation to you. You should come.”
“Argh… seriously, no. I'm not going, Yara.” I rolled my eyes, irritated.
“Come on, Fiona. You should cheer yourself up. Please allow me to be a bad influence on you today.”
“What if Xander is there?” I shivered at the thought of running into him. I should be healing, not re-traumatizing… if that's a word.
“I seriously doubt it. Xander doesn't go to stuff like that.” She sounded pretty convincing. “Pleeease.”
Not the puppy dog eyes.
“Fine! But I'm not staying till the end of the party. My dad is coming home early today. And I've got to watch my mom, too.”
“I'll make sure you come back on time.” She squealed happily. “Great! Now let's play dress up.”
I almost rolled my eyes. “No, I'll go in jeans and a plain tee.”
Yara looked utterly disgusted. “Absolutely not. You're looking like someone who just got out of the dating pool. Someone say ‘All my single ladies’.”
I rolled my eyes at the Beyoncé reference. But Yara gets what Yara wants. If she says dress up, then dress up.
She looked at the wall clock. “We have exactly two hours to the party. That's more than enough time to prepare.”
She dragged me into my room and began to raid my closet.
“Yara, please, don't turn me into a Barbie doll.” I grinned.
“Okay. Bratz doll it is.”
–-------
I stared at the unfamiliar reflection in the mirror. Was this… me?
Yara had curled my hair into ringlets and added volumizer. My face was all blushed, glossed, and bronzed.
I wore a short, strapless white leather outfit with high boots.
I looked like an absolute goddess.
“Yara?” I was speechless.
“I know.” She looked proud of herself, as she should be. “We're late. Let's go.”
We entered her car, and the drive to Brianna's was filled with us screaming lyrics from Yara's car stereo.
We sang off-key. But we were happy. We were free.
“We're here, girl!” Yara pulled up to the drive-through. “This party is going to be lit. Brianna invited some college boys from her brother's school. Please don't embarrass me, Fiona.”
When have I ever embarrassed her?
I pouted. “Okay.”
We walked into the party. The first thing that threw me aback was the loud music, the choking smell of liquor and weed.
The lighting was wild blues, reds and purples that flashed dangerously into my eyes.
Maybe it was the blinding lights that made me not see that everyone was staring at me. I felt naked all of a sudden.
Yara whispered into my ear. “Fiona, they're staring at you.”
I froze. “I know. I don't like it.”
Yara rolled her eyes, and we turned to see the plastics approaching.
Brianna looked at me and grinned. “Girl, give me a spin. You look gorgeous! Breath-taking! Oh la la.”
I blushed. “Thanks. It was all Yara.”
Jasmin looked at me, a small frown on her face. “Why haven't you been in school?”
I opened my mouth, but no words could come out.
Yara cut in, saving me from the awkward moment. “We need something strong! Bri promised us that this party would be lit. Give me som’”
Brianna gave her characteristic plastic smile. “Girl, trust me. Tonight is going to be a night you'll never forget.”
“Where're all the cool kids?” Yara smirked.
“Oh, they are upstairs in the VIP room. There are cute boys and hotties there. Even college boys!” Brianna laughed.
I was uncomfortable with the crowd, but I wore a false smile to mask it.
Brianna continued. “This party is the best thing ever. Shit, even Xander is here.”
Yara’s and my eyes met.
My stomach sank.
Shit!
Fuck!