After school on Friday, mom walked into my room and said, "I'm going out. You're gonna be okay?"
I looked up from the Instagram post I was viewing and nodded. I knew that she would meet her new boyfriend to hang out tonight.
"There's food in the fridge, or you can order something through my card. Let me know if you're trying to hang out." Again, I nodded. She backed out of my room and disappeared into the hall. A few minutes later, her car pulled out of our driveway and peeled down the street.
A text message from Mindy popped up on my phone. You coming to the party tonight?
Oh no. I forgot all about the party!
Are we really welcome? I responded. What if it's a trap or something?
I could sense her rolling her eyes. You're such a fool ofc we are! The most hated clique in the school is invited and bringing booze. 😉😌
Of course, she'd be serious about going—why wouldn't she be serious?!
Ehh... not really my scene...
Come on!!! 😡🤬😤 The whole crew is going. It'll be fun. I'll pick you up in 20! No discussion! 😁
I sighed. Mindy was so stubborn, and I wasn't persistent enough. I got out of bed, and Timmy followed me around my room with a toy in his mouth. I sifted through my closet and put on an oversized beige sweatshirt with black jeans and ankle boots in my attempt to dress fashionably. As I sat down on my bed and scrolled some more, a car horn sounded outside, signaling it was time to go.
"You ready?!" Mindy asked as I hopped into the car. "'Cause I'm so excited!" She pressed play on her music and turned the volume dial up, making me cringe in fear for my eardrums. The night stretched out around us, and although Mindy dragged off into the unknown of the party scene, I was glad to have her there next to me. I'd probably have fun, even though she was trying to make me go deaf as Mi Gente blasted through her speakers. She loved the bass in her new car.
We knew we were at Grey's house when we saw it was surrounded by cars and could hear music blasting from the inside, which by this time, Mindy had lowered the volume in her car. The place looked oddly familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on where I'd seen it before; I didn't venture into the ritzy part of our suburb, so it was beyond me.
"Whoa," Mindy said. "Look at that crowd." There was a sea of people inside the house, more than outside. I pulled out my phone and typed out, All of our friends are here already?
"Well, yes and no," she said thoughtlessly, "Blake and Anastasia are out on a date..." Her eyes widened, realizing the oopsie she had made. Blake and Anastasia, my closest friends, didn't even tell me they liked each other, let alone that they were going on a date! I felt such a deep betrayal sink into my chest. Why wouldn't they tell me?
I think she saw the hurt on my face because she said, "Who needs 'em? Let's have fun tonight! Everybody else is here."
This revelation soured my mood, but I still nodded. Mindy started the car again and wrapped around the street, parking a little further away from the house. We walked towards the mansion and past the rows of already drunk teens making out, laying on the grass, or both. I'm surprised there was no police activity by now. But, then again, the rich look after the rich, don't they?
The house was ginormous. A grand gate was left open, along with a cobblestone road that diverged into a circle around a mini gated garden. We walked up the hill and into the house, whose doors were wide open for the guests to enter and exit as they pleased.
I realized I slightly recognized the interior while walking in, which struck me uneasily. Why did I know this place when I had never met Grey in my entire life? All too often, my being familiar with my surroundings meant I visited the dream world counterpart. I was almost putting it together, but a few things were off enough not to set off any alarm bells. So we proceeded, me uneasily, into the house.
Music pumped throughout the halls, and we followed the source until we found the most active room in the house. Two brown double doors with those intricate patterns I knew I'd seen before lead into a pretty spacious room with a mini make-shift stage. We heard, "All right! Let's have some fun! You, you, and you get on stage and dance for us!" As we got closer, Arnold bumped into us as he hurried out with a panicked look.
"What's wrong?" Mindy asked.
"Grey's choosing random people to start dancing on stage," he said. "I wasn't gonna make a fool outta myself—no way José."
I stepped back with Arnold. Oh dear god, I'd rather die than set—
"Oh, come on, you're a bunch of babies," Mindy teased, pulling us both towards the room. "Just let me get a look at Grey, and then we can hang out in the halls or something like the losers we are."
We meshed into the crowd of drunk, rowdy teenagers to see a guy on the platform with his toned back facing us. He looked like he was speaking to the "DJ" on stage as several girls and guys danced on the platform rather lewdly. The crowd liked it, judging from the sound of their cheers.
"All right, who's next?" presumably Grey said, microphone in hand, turning around. My eyes widened, and I immediately recognized him. It was the guy I kissed in the dream! I kissed Grey?! Well, technically, I didn't... but I kissed Grey?!
The crowd pushed in closer towards him, leaving a gap between us in the back. Too many people were desperate to get on that stage for whatever reason.
"You, in the green sweater... you with the Minecraft shirt and you..." His eyes scanned in our direction, and I immediately ducked. "You with the short straight hair." Mindy immediately whooped and pushed her way through the crowd and stairs. I sighed in relief, and Arnold stepped next to me, laughing.
"I see you're just as much of a punk as me," he said. "But at least Mindy is getting what she wants." We watched as she danced, trying hard to make her moves enticing to Grey. Finally, he bought into it because he pulled her close to him and followed her movements, keeping pace with her hips and running his hands along her body.
I felt a tap on my shoulder. "Hey, guys!" My eyes met Andy's smiling face. I waved at him as Arnold said, "Look at Mindy!" Andy's head snapped in her direction.
"Oh god!" he exclaimed with a mortified expression. "We can't take her anywhere."
After a few minutes of dancing, Grey pulled away from Mindy and went to the mic again. I pushed Andy in front of me to hide behind him.
"Stick around after this, and you guys will get your participation reward," Grey said. "And that goes to everyone who participates. Remember, this alcohol is good. You're going to want to try it. So, who are my next victims?" he asked as Mindy and others made their way back into the crowd. I pulled Arnold next to Andy to make a double barrier.
"No, you should be hiding me!" Arnold said with a terrified look as he peered at me from over his shoulder.
"You, in the bright yellow crop top, you in the gray hoodie and..."
"Stop, let me go," Arnold whispered, trying to move away.
"Calm down and block her, dude," Andy hissed.
"You, in the black and you in the blue! Who's hiding behind you?"
YOU ARE READING
Little Sweet Dreamer - Wattys Edition
Teen Fiction"Oh," he said, as my back hit the wooden wall. Damn it, of course. With nowhere to go, his arms locked me in between him and the wall. He stared down at me as he said, "So you're trying to piss me off?" His lips were surprisingly close to mine. No g...
