Chapter 2

Oh god what am I going to wear? Collin hadn't said anything about clothes. To make matters worse, my closet wasn't exactly filled with ' Abercrombie and Bitch ' I wasn't some girl to skip around in slutty outfits, yet I managed to keep my school profile neutral. Finally I went with casual and put on a summer tank top with ripped skinny jeans. Asking my parents if going to this party was OK wasn't a problem because they were already out of town. And no, I also wasn't someone to have parties when they were gone. I cast one last glance in the mirror as I heard Collin's car beep.

" Come on, Jess, " He complained.

I giggled, " Don't you like being fashionably late? "

" You're such a little girl, Jessie Wessie," He called me Jessie Wessie whenever he wanted to tease me.

" And you are too," I joked, remembering when we were little how I would dress him up with makeup. He sighed and started to drive away.

" So do you know their names?"

" Well there's 3 of them. Alex, Bella, and Star." Huh.

" What kind of name is 'Star'?"

"Jessie said she jokes that her mom was drunk when she named her. But her real name's Taysheona but hates it, so goes by her middle name. Same for Bella. Her name's Jill. But goes by her middle name."

" Oh," I said, a little taken off guard. Maybe coming wasn't such a good idea. Collin must've saw my face because he took my hand.

" Don't worry, I hear they're great." Sometimes I wondered if Collin also liked me too, we would get so close, almost as if we were one. But soon the moment was gone because we had arrived at Jessie's house.

" Can never get over her house," I murmured. Jessie had a huge house. Her steps were shaped as a half a circle. She had a fountain in her front yard and yet still had lots of space left over. I took my time getting out of the house and to the door, but right away had Collin rang the door bell.

" You should've waited a few minutes," I argued, " She might not me done setting up."

" Jessie? Not on time. You are kidding." I sighed. Jessie was not the person to have something done not on time. The door open to reveal a beautiful strawberry blonde hair girl with fair skin and soft emerald eyes.

" Jessie!"

" Collin, Jess. I didn't know if you could come, Collin actually did convince you," A smile played across her face. Her dark emerald dress with gold threaded necklace made y outfit look like nothing. My shiny brunette hair was nice, but Jessie's hair beat mine by a landslide. Her beautiful carved cheek bones were lined with blush and her lips were a soft pink.

" I can't wait for you to meet my new friends," She gushed. I gave Collin a nervous glance but he hardly even noticed it.

" Look Jessie I'll meet them later, I see Jason and James over there."

" Bye Collin," I mumbled sheepishly.

" Just forget about him," Jessie said eyeing me nervously. She was the only person who knew my true feelings for Collin and knew how safe I felt around him and how nervous I felt without him.

" Wow, Jessie, it looks great," I commented. Her tall ceiling was covered with streamers and there was music coming from stereos all around the house and her marble floor sparkled even more than ever.

" Oh thanks." She lead me into a room with chairs set around a mini table with chips and dip on it. Around it surrounded 3 people. I was guessing when I saw them that they were Bella, Alex, and Star. My eyes darted anywhere but at those 3 people and bit my nails furiously as I always did when I got nervous.

" Oh my god," exclaimed the one closest to the chips. " You must be Jess, I'm Star." Star had jet black hair that must have been straightened. Her side bangs covered half her face and she had on heavy eyeliner. She wore black skinnies with a pink shirt and converse. She had a stud in her nose. Usually I would immediately think, criminal, but on Star she looked great. She got up quickly to hug me. My eyes widened as I was practically squeezed to death. I wasn't one to hug much or be quite the emotional type.

"Oh um, nice to meet you," I gasped out.

She giggled and said, "Don't be so formal, Jeez." Then to everyone else said, " I have a feeling I'm going to like her." She smiled and sat back down. I didn't quite know who she was talking to considering Jessie had already left, and it was just the four of us. No one else had stopped to watch our little hug. Wait, Jessie had left. I swear one day I would have to kill her.The one boy whispered something in Star's ear and turned back to look at me. I was guessing he was Alex. Star's brows furrowed together and she frowned, slapping Alex on the knee. " Alex! That's insensitive. God you're such an ass hole."

"What can I say?" He leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs.

" Well I guess I'm next," Bella said. Her smile was warm and kind. I immediately liked her. "I'm Bella, Bells, Jill. Whatever." I nodded awkwardly standing there until I finally realized I looked like a dork and sat down.

"So Jess tell us about yourself," Alex pushed. Flirt, I thought to myself. I didn't trust him. It would take a while until he earned my trust.

"I Uh- Well- Umm…" I looked down blushing and yet all I could see still was Alex' black hair hanging in his eyes. His eyes had a sexy yet innocent look in them and his sweatshirt was black with red and blue paint splatter. He wore jeans with skater shoes.

"Don't mind Alex," Bella reassured me. Her cool blonde hair with highlights glinted in the light's gleam and black t-shirt with bleached jeans looked normal enough for me to relax a little. All 3 of them had the look of confidence and reassurance, I knew they would be easy to get along with. Together they were an odd group but each had their sense of fashion. Me; I looked like the garbage someone had forgotten to taken out next to them.

" Oh it's ok."

Alex must've whispered something else in Star's ear because she had slapped him again and said, " Why do you always have to be so obnoxious?"

"I am not," Alex argued. Bella got up and took me by the arm to another room. I could still hear the two's arguing voices though.

"Don't worry about them, they're always fighting," Bella said.

"Ha I can tell," I said. I was getting calmer alone with Bella. "So where do you live?"

"Oh not far. On Togin Street." I've heard of that street, but never exactly been there. Me and Bella talked about our families and our schools and friends. It turns out Bella's family is out of town too. Soon Alex and Star had recovered although Alex had a red hand mark on his left cheek. I suppressed a laugh.

Star jumped up to me bouncing on her heels and squeaked, " Alex thinks you're hot!" I choked on the soda I was drinking. I wasn't exactly prepared for that.

"Good to know," I laughed nervously. Alex faced me and laughed.

Before I could stop myself, I blurted out, " You guys make an odd group." All three of them stopped and stared at each other and then burst out laughing.

"Thanks, Jess." Alex swung his arm over me and took a sip of my drink. I felt awkward but it felt like we had been friends since forever. I really did like these people. And then it struck me, I was actually having so much fun. And I didn't want to leave.