I stared at mirror and grimaced as I tried to fix my bun. I don't know how my friends do this. When they do it, it looks laid back and messy. Cute. Mine looks like I rolled of bed and didn't give a shit about anything.
I shrugged and adjusted my leather jacket. It was the boldest piece of clothing I owned.
"Ready?" Tommy asked. "I don't want everyone to get there before me."
I sighed and followed him out of the bathroom and down stairs. It was Friday night and in a small town like Whitfield, there was bound to be a celebration. Especially since our team, the Whitfield Knights, have won our homecoming football game against our rival team. Tommy, my best and one true friend, was on the team. It was odd being his friend, considering how popular and outgoing he is. I was the opposite. I was quiet and awkward, lacking in the friend department.
"Leo," I said to my brother. "Tommy and I are going out to eat."
"Okay," he replied without a glance at me. He had way too much trust in me, but I accepted it.
"Where are we going," I asked Tommy.
He backed out of my driveway and headed towards the highway. "Piz's. You ever been there?" I shook my head. "It's a pizza place in Harrison. You'll love it."
Harrison was two towns over. It took thirty minutes to get to it, but I didn't mind. I was nervous about tonight. It was a simple gathering of Whitfield's football team. I was nervous because my social skills were no where near decent and there was going to be a lot of people around Tommy who I didn't know. It was inevitably awkward and I needed time to adjust.
Sometimes I wished that I went to public school. If I did, I would get to see Tommy in the halls. I wouldn't have to worry about conversing with strangers because if I went to Whitfield High, I would know them. I would have team spirit like the rest of them. This, however, was not the case. I attended Ravenwood. A private school filled with assholes who set impossible standards for people like me. I was smart enough to go there, but it was a constant struggle to stay afloat. My social status was of no help.
Despite my nerves, I was excited. I had the opportunity to hang out with the cool kids. This was my chance to let the tip of my foot cross the line and touch the ground that was outside my comfort zone. Maybe. I took a deep breath. I could do this. I could fake being a social butterfly. Just relax, Violet, I told myself.
I rolled my window down halfway to let the cool air brush my flaming face. I wished I had ice. When I was nervous, I tended to eat ice. It was oddly soothing.
We made it into Harrison, a town I rarely visited, and I held my breath as I saw the sign that advertised Piz's. The parking lot was empty, only one other car which I recognized immediately. The blue jeep.
Tommy and I headed inside and I was thankful when Tommy squeezed my hand in reassurance. He understood my dilemma.
"Vi!" Kate exclaimed. The restaurant was dim in a cozy way, and I saw Kate sitting with Morgan. Aside from Tommy, they were my two good friends. There was one other table occupied.
"I didn't know you were coming," Morgan said and Tommy and I took a seat at their table.
"You can thank me for that," Tommy said with a stupid smile on his face. Someone at another table called his name and he went to talk to them, leaving me with the girls.
They chatted about the the football game and how at one point they doubted that they would win, but they should have known their boys would come through. I made comments about the game although I know very little of the sport and it seemed to work. They smiled and nodded as if I had made a profound point. I felt good that I was having a normal conversation.
"Oh, no. It's Kate." I looked up to see an attractive guy standing behind Kate. I didn't know him, but Kate did.
"Alex! Oh my, God, sit down." He sat in Tommy's seat and I was surprised when he smiled at me and waved. I didn't know who he was, but it wasn't the type of smile that was just to be polite. He seemed genuinely glad to see me.
"Did you stay at the game the whole time?" Morgan asked him. God, I hated talking about football. I was running out of things to say without repeating what others had said.
"Yeah," he said dismissively. "Kate, I gotta talk to you."
"Awkward," Morgan said and I smiled back at her.
"Text it to me," she said and that was that. The secret was forgotten and the conversation moved to a girl named Chelsea who had cheated on a guy named Ryan. I was so lost, but I was able to comment about what a horrible thing she had done. They didn't seem to like her. I liked this Alex guy. Most people would just come and talk to Kate and Morgan because they knew them and they were popular girls, but Alex did something unusual. He included me. I was easy to ignore, but he didn't do that. He explained the back stories of the people who we talked about and I appreciated that. He was nice.
Throughout the night, the football team filed into Piz's and everyone was talking loudly. My head hurt, but I didn't mind it. I was being social. It wasn't awkward. I was giddy with the thought.
Tommy pulled up a seat between Alex and I and started to be his loud and hilarious self. By this point, I had loosened up. I was far more relaxed than I was when I arrived, so I was able to joke around with Tommy like I always did when were alone. I couldn't believe that the girl laughing her hideous laugh at Tommy, who was throwing salt on some guy while shouting that he was salty, was me, Violet Morrison. We were the same girl and I was proud of that.
I noticed Alex whispering to Kate and she was smiling widely at him, showing her perfectly straight, white teeth. I tried to not feel so disappointed. He was just being nice to the awkward girl. It wasn't like he was going to take an interest in me.
The night went on and around eleven, I was ready to go to bed. I had been up since five in the morning and I wanted sleep. I wished I wasn't tired because I didn't want social Violet to go away and I knew she would after tonight. I couldn't leave, however, because Tommy was my ride and it was his senior year. I wasn't about to ask him to leave early so that I could sleep.
Around 11:30 I got my wish, kind of.
"Banger at Tommy's!" Someone shouted. Great. I could go home, but sleep might as well be a distant memory.
Everyone cheered and began filing out of the restaurant. I walked to the car and waited for Tommy. I was freezing, making me want to curl into bed and sleep even more. My social excitement wasn't worth this feeling.
We eventually made it to Tommy's house. He let me go inside to change into a t shirt, so the shirt I was wearing didn't get ruined, but he made me promise that I would come to his house immediately afterwards. I knew he would come over and drag me out himself if he had to.
Leo wasn't home. There was a note that said he was staying at Lauren's house for the night and if I needed anything, I should just call him. Part of me thinks he knew that Tommy would have a party and that's why he left. I didn't understand my brother. I quickly changed and fussed with my hair again. I wanted to sit on my bed for a minute and rest, but sleep was too tempting and Tommy wasn't sweet enough to leave me alone.
I climbed out of my bedroom window and carefully ran along the roof to the edge. I then lowered myself over the edge until my Vans were touching the top of the brick wall that surrounds my backyard. It separated my house from Tommy's, his house being behind mine. People were already littering the backyard, red plastic cups in their hands, and none of them noticed me running along the wall and jumping onto the trampoline.
I entered the kitchen, not surprised at how crowded it was, and made my way through rooms to find Tommy or someone that I felt comfortable with. I spotted Kate, but it looked like she was trying to flirt so I left her alone. I stood against the wall, out of the way of people who were going back and forth to the living room and kitchen, and pulled out my cell phone. I prayed Tommy would notice my text through the chaos.
"Hey, Violet, right?"
I turned to see Alex holding a red cup with that genuine smile of his. He moved to stand across from me, leaning his shoulder against the wall like I was. I sighed, but it was barely audible. It wasn't that I didn't want to talk to Alex; I did because he was so funny and nice. It was my desire to go home that had me sigh.
"Yeah. Alex?" I asked just because it would seem weird that I knew his name when he kind of knew mine. I was over thinking things.
"Yeah, what are you doing against the wall? The party's over there." He pointed to the living room and smiled at me.
"I...don't know." I shrugged, not knowing what a good answer would be.
"Do you want something to drink?" He asked. Before I could say no he was flowing through the crowd like a body floating in water. I sighed and put my back to the wall and looked at my shoes.
"Here." A red cup was held under my face and I looked at the contents. Coke, no doubt with a little something extra. I could smell the cherry vodka. I looked up and was surprised to see a guy with bright red hair. My eyes widened and I stared at him and the cup. "Well," he said shaking the cup in my face.
"I don't drink," I said taking the cup from him.
"Then why'd you take the cup?" He smirked and my cheeks flamed. I knew the awkwardness would catch up to me. I shrugged and his smirk became more cocky. I hated when guys were like that, but I guess it's different when the cocky smirk was directed towards me.
"I'm Michael Clifford," he said leaning his shoulder against the wall. He was here to stay for a while, I guess.
"Violet," I said. I was no longer able to fake being confident. I was shy and it was obvious. Michael seemed to be confident though. His bright red hair made that obvious. There was something else that was different about him, and I couldn't put my finger on it. I realized that it was his clothes. He didn't have a football jersey on or any article of clothing with the school's logo on it. He was wearing a blue flannel shirt and black skinny jeans. It was vastly different from the boys that I knew, and I was interested in it.
"So, Vi," he said as if we were long time friends, "do you attend the local high school?" His tone was mockingly formal and sarcastic. I wanted to laugh.
"Uh, no," I said shyly. "I go to Ravenwood. It's a private school that's a half hour away from here. But I live in Whitfield." I was uncomfortable with talking about myself. Was I rambling? I didn't know the social rules of talking. I just wanted to ask questions. I wanted to know more about him.
"Really?" He said and I waited for him to say something else. He just smirked at me. It wasn't cocky, but I don't know. He just kept looking at me, his eyes darting over my face, with that smirk that never left.
"Do you want this?" I asked holding the cup up. I had been drunk before, but that was a time I didn't want to think about. I feared that just thinking about it would spill the secret and everyone would know. That was dangerous in a small town.
"No, I gave it to you."
"But I don't drink," I said confused.
"You've never had alcohol before, have you?" His smirk was cocky again and I scoffed, but I was smiling.
"I have, and I didn't like it. I don't want this." I shoved the cup into his chest, thankful that the liquid didn't slosh onto his shirt, but he didn't take the cup.
"What did you drink? Beer? Vodka? Ooh, how about tequila?" His tone was taunting and I couldn't handle his intense gaze. I stiffened as he leaned into me, his chest touching the one arm that crossed my chest, and whispered in my ear, "Tequila makes you horny, doesn't it, Vi?"
I gasped and dropped the cup, liquid splashing on our shoes. Michael leaned back and laughed loudly, or it looked loud with his mouth wide open. I couldn't hear over the the other people yelling and the blood rushing in my ears.
I mumbled something about having a headache and turned to leave, not caring whose body I pushed aside to get away. Someone grabbed my arm and pulled me away from the wall and Michael's intense smirk. It was Tommy who was gripping my arm and pulling me through the crowd of people. I turned back and saw Michael's red hair and the word 'Idiot' written across the back of his flannel.
He made me feel like an idiot.
