Chapter 12 The party
Cecilia
The music was so loud that I could feel the bass vibrating inside my chest before we even stepped out of the car.
Students crowded around the entrance laughing and yelling over each other. Expensive cars lined the driveway, and somewhere near the backyard, someone screamed after apparently falling into the pool.
Typical Blackwood party.
Amber practically bounced in excitement beside me as she fixed the straps of her silver dress.
“Oh my God,” she squealed. “This is already so much better than last year.”
Luke locked his car with a frown. “That’s because nobody got arrested yet.”
Amber rolled her eyes dramatically. “You always ruin everything with your logics. Let’s just have some fun and let go of our worries.”
I adjusted my dress and glanced at my reflection again.
The red dress hugged my body perfectly, stopping mid-thigh with a slit near my leg. It wasn’t over-the-top dramatic, but it didn’t need to be.
I looked good. Really good.
My blonde hair, which usually curled around my shoulders messily, had been straightened into a sleek bob that brushed against my jawline. Amber spent almost two hours helping me with it while threatening violence if I ruined the look.
“You’re turning heads already,” Amber whispered excitedly.
I looked towards the entrance. People were staring and they weren’t subtle about it.
A few boys outrightly paused mid-conversation.
One girl whispered something to her friend while looking at me.
And for once, None of the looks felt pitiful.
Nobody looked at me like fragile little Cecilia Evans. They just looked at me like a girl in a red dress at a party.
A normal girl..
Luke stepped beside us and sighed heavily.
“I still think this is a bad idea.”
Amber groaned loudly. “Can you stop saying that before you manifest something terrible?”
“I’m just being realistic.”
“You’re being annoying.” She rolled her eyes.
“I’m being observant.” He looked at me carefully. “CeCe, are you sure you’re okay with this?”
I let out a deep sigh, knowing what he was talking about.
Are you strong enough for this?
Will this overwhelm you?
I forced a smile onto my face. “Luke, if you ask me if I’m okay one more time, I’ll throw you into the pool.”
Amber burst into laughter.
Luke held his hands up defensively. “Fine. Message received.”
“Good.”
He still looked skeptical though.
Honestly, Luke had been weirdly protective ever since I got sick. Out of everyone, he handled it the worst emotionally even though he pretended otherwise.
“I’m going to get drinks,” he muttered finally.
Amber nodded approvingly. “Bring me something strong.”
“We’re underage.”
“And?” she raised an eyebrow.
Luke rolled his eyes before disappearing into the crowd.
Amber immediately hooked her arm through mine once he was gone. “He worries too much.”
“He means well.”
“I know.” She smiled softly before looking me over again. “But enough about him because LOOK AT YOU.”
I laughed. “You already said I look hot.”
“And I’m saying it again.” She grabbed my hand dramatically and spun me slightly.
The dress moved perfectly with my body. It had taken me a whole lot of encouragement from Amber for me to attend the party and also the fact that I was looking forward to seeing him.
I wondered if he would attend anyways, seeing as he had his cafe job.
I had been looking around but hadn’t even caught a sight of him. Perhaps, he really didn’t come.
A group of boys walked past us then and one of them glanced at me, then did a double take so obvious it almost made me laugh. His friend elbowed him immediately. I caught their whisper.
“Dude, that’s Cecilia Evans.”
Not cancer girl or poor sick Cecilia.
Amber squeezed my arm gently. “You deserve this, you know.”
I looked at her in silent question.
“To have fun,” she clarified. “To feel normal again.”
My chest tightened unexpectedly.
Before I could respond, Amber suddenly froze.
Then her eyes widened dramatically. “Oh my God.”
“What?” I asked.
She grabbed my arm painfully hard.
“Ow!” I winced.
“The blond guy near the stairs.” She whispered aggressively. “Blue shirt. Tell me he’s not gorgeous.”
I looked over almost immediately to see a tall guy leaning against the railing talking to some football players.
Amber sighed dreamily. “I need him biblically.”
I burst out laughing so suddenly that a nearby girl turned towards us.
“You’re insane.” I chuckled.
“I’m also in love.” she countered.
“You saw him two seconds ago.” I said flatly. Leave it to my best friend to fall for someone she hasn't even talked to yet.
“And yet here we are.”
Before I could reply, Luke returned balancing three plastic cups carefully. “Here…”
Amber immediately interrupted him. “I have to go.”
Luke blinked. “What?”
“I just saw my future husband.”
Luke looked exhausted instantly. “You say that every week.”
“This time I mean it.”
She shoved her drink back into his hand before fixing her hair quickly. “How do I look?”
“You were literally complimenting yourself twenty minutes ago.” I said.
“I need external validation.”
Luke deadpanned, “You look unstable.”
Amber gasped dramatically while I snorted into my drink.
Then Amber pointed a threatening finger at both of us.
“Don’t move, don’t leave. And absolutely do not become antisocial while I’m gone.”
“No promises,” Luke muttered.
She ignored him completely and rushed towards the staircase without another word. Luke watched her leave with a tired sigh.
“She’s going to get her heart broken one day.” he said.
“She’ll survive.” I muttered.
“Unfortunately.”
I laughed softly and took a sip from my drink.
Then slowly, I looked around the crowded party again.
Luke stood beside me awkwardly after Amber disappeared into the crowd.
I took another sip from my drink while he kept glancing at me like he wanted to say something but couldn’t figure out how.
Someone somewhere was screaming the lyrics to a Taylor Swift song completely off-key while a group near the stairs cheered over a drinking game.
“You okay?” I asked finally.
Luke blinked. “Hm?”
“You keep looking at me like you’re about to deliver a terrible news.”
He frowned slightly. “I’m not.”
“You are.”
“I’m literally just standing here.”
“Very nervously.” I pointed out.
He scoffed lightly and looked away.
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Luke.”
“What?”
“What’s wrong?” I asked in a soft tone.
“Nothing.”
I frowned. “You’re lying.”
“I’m not.”
“You twitch when you lie.”
His eyes widened slightly. “I do not twitch.”
“You just twitched again.”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, the thing is….”
I tilted my head.
“Wait.” I squinted at him suspiciously. “Are you about to confess something weird to me?”
His head snapped toward me so fast I almost laughed.
“What? No!”
“Oh my God.” I gasped dramatically. “You are.”
“I’m literally not!”
“I know!”
“Celia.” The familiar voice called out and I turned around immediately.
Alex stood a few feet away holding a red plastic cup lazily in one hand. He looked really hot and different in a black fitted shirt and dark jeans.
His sleeves were rolled up to his forearms.
His dark hair looked slightly messy like he kept running his fingers through it, and there was this annoyingly amused expression on his face that made him look even better.
Which was deeply irritating.
Luke immediately straightened beside me.
Alex barely acknowledged him. His eyes stayed on me, slowly trailing down my dress before returning to my face.
“Are you stalking me now?” I asked before he could speak.
One corner of his mouth lifted.“Don’t flatter yourself.”
I rolled my eyes. “Then what are you doing here?”
“What does it look like?”
“I don’t know. Don’t you have work?”
The second the words left my mouth, I was instantly consumed with regret.
Alex furrowed his brows. “What work?”
Shit. My brain scrambled instantly.
“I mean…” I laughed awkwardly. “Your full-time job of making my life miserable.”
Smooth, Cecilia. Very smooth.
Alex stared at me for a second longer than necessary. Like he was trying to figure something out. Then thankfully, the suspicion faded into amusement.
“Relax.” He drawled. “I decided to give you a break tonight.”
“How charitable of you.” I scoffed.
“I know. I’m basically a saint.”
Luke snorted quietly beside me.
Alex’s eyes flicked toward him again before returning to me.
“You clean up nice, by the way,” he had a smug smile on his face.
I clenched my fist. “You should try it sometime.”
Luke coughed to hide a laugh.
Alex placed a hand dramatically over his chest. “That’s cruel.”
“You deserve it.”
“I disagree.”
“Obviously.”
He stared at me a few seconds too long, then said suddenly, “You play ping pong?”
I blinked, the question taking me by surprise.
“What?”
“There’s a table in the game room.” He nodded toward the hallway behind him. “Unless you’re scared.”
I scoffed immediately. “Scared of you? Please.”
“Then prove it.”
Luke sighed beside me like he already hated where this was going.
“Absolutely not, Cece,” he muttered.
I ignored him.
Alex tilted his head slightly, challenging. “So?”
I stepped forward. “Lead the way to your humiliation.”