Happy New Year! I spent my whole New Year's Eve home so I could write this for you guys. I ditched soooooooo many parties... Heck, who am I kidding? I don't get invites to parties. I don't even have friends...
After, what, twenty minutes? After a long time of sitting in my chair, I decided getting up would be a good idea. Checking my clock, I smiled faintly. It was only 6:35. I had decided to walk to Vincent's house. I had a jacket to match my dress and he was only a couple blocks away. So what if it was twenty degrees outside? I was a popular girl, I had a reputation to uphold. Saving the environment made me look good. Global warming or whatever.
I slid my four-inch heels on and walked in front of the mirror. Vincent was really tall, another thing I loved about him. I could wear my tallest pair of heels and not be towering over him. I sighed thinking about him. Even after that little argument, tonight would be amazing. I could dance with him all night, drink at the after party, go back to his place afterwards... It would be so romantic. I had been waiting for an excuse to go on a date with him for so long. He always made sure he knew where I was, but he usually didn't enjoy going out on dates. I preferred going to dinner instead of his house. It didn't matter, though. I was lucky enough he asked me out, I should be grateful and let him make the choices.
After final touches, I looked in the mirror and smiled. The beautiful girl looking back at me smiled as well. I studied my blonde curls that reached past my shoulders, my baby blue eyes sparkling. I turned to the side and gasped. I had gained some weight in my stomach. Rushing to my scale, I looked at the weight and nearly cried. 105 pounds. I had worked so hard stay at 100, I had to skip breakfast for a week! I checked my height as well and saw that I was still 5'6". I sighed and hoped my weight gain wouldn't show.
The reflection of the clock in the mirror made me focus again. It was 6:45, and it took ten minutes to walk to Vincent's. I would have heels on, so that would make me take longer. I could always change shoes... Who was I kidding? I grabbed my jacket and flew out the door, determined to be on time. Last time I was late... I shuddered at the thought. I could still feel the bruise on my arm even though it wasn't visible.
After a while I got bored and looked to text someone. I couldn't text Vanessa or Camille, they were mad at me. Whatever. They'd see the mistake they made soon enough. I had five texts from Vincent and three missed calls. I sighed, he must've been so worried as to where I was. I quickly sent him a message saying I was on my way and looked at my Twitter. I was scrolling through the messages when I felt a bump and someone fell.
"Watch where you're going, loser!" I screeched. Glancing down to check my dress, I nearly screamed. "You ruined my dress, moron!"
A boy, around 5'8" tall, stared back at me. He had piercing blue eyes, messy black hair, and was thin as a twig. He was like a ghost, considering how pale he was. What did he do, play video games all day? I rolled my eyes as he trembled, eventually focusing on the smushed chocolate bar in his hand.
"You see that? That candy bar ruined a designer dress! Do you even know how much this cost? I guarantee it's more than your parents make in a month combined!"
"You're Elle Meadows." He said in awe.
I ignored him. "Now I'm going to be late to Vincent's! You've ruined my night, so thanks a lot."
"S...S- Sorry, Elle." He said weakly.
"You'd better be." I shoved him into a bush and he cried out. "And get some sun! You're as pale as a ghost!" I called as I stormed back down the sidewalk.
I had seen that boy before, but where? I racked my brains, trying to even come up with a name. Finally, I remembered seeing him working on a lab... He must've been in my science class. But his name, what was his name... Mickey? Yes, that must've been it. Thanks, Mickey.
My anger slowly died down as I approached my house. "It'll all be okay, Elle." I coached myself. "Take a deep breath. You have other dresses."
Turns out, I was very limited. Nearly all of my dresses were semi-formal or casual, and this was a formal dance. I couldn't show up not dressed appropriately! I had around five formal dresses that I could wear to the dance, but none of them really matched my makeup. Thankfully, I found a white gown in the back of my closet. It wasn't the fanciest dress, but if I threw my expensive sapphire necklace on it looked acceptable. Sighing, I hoped no one noticed my less-than-impressive outfit. Why had I bought this plain dress anyways?
My phone buzzed with another text from Vincent, and I nearly had a heart attack. It was 7:02. As I flew down the stairs, I considered how much I had checked the time. Most people probably found it strange that a girl wanted to be on time for a date, but when you were dating Vincent... Well, he got upset easily. It wasn't his fault or anything, it was just how he acted. I usually managed to smile and accept whatever he said; he is the one who asked me out and I should be flattered. Sometimes, though, it was frustrating. When he got really mad he hit me, but that hadn't happened in a while. He was getting better, he told me. And the constant texts were just because he wanted to keep me safe. He loved me.
I got out of my car (I didn't dare walk again) and rang his doorbell nervously. I was seven minutes late, what would he say? I hoped he would understand after I told him about the geek who hit me. Fear welled up inside me as I heard footsteps approach. The door squeaked open and a young girl greeted me.
"Elle, you look pretty!"
Vincent's younger sister ushered me in as the fear slowly went away. "Thank you, sweetie."
"My big brother is upstairs. Do you want to see my missing teeth?"
"As much as I'd love to, I can't keep him waiting. Maybe next time?"
"Okay!" She bounced off happily to eat a cookie.
"I hate kids." I muttered under my breath as I climbed the stairs. Slowly, I creeped through the hallway towards Vincent's room and opened the door. Maybe he'd be in a good mood. Maybe he wouldn't care since I told him where I was.
"You're nine minutes late." Crap.
"Vincent, sweetie!" I gushed, running over and kissing his cheek. "I had the most awful night! I was ready, and then this geek spilled chocolate on my dress-"
"Who was this geek?" He demanded.
"Oh, some boy from science-"
He pinned me against the wall and I winced. "You were with another guy?"
I shook my head. "No, no, he ran into me on the side- Ow!" I felt a sting as he smacked me.
I rubbed my cheek as he glared. "Listen, Elle, I am not in a good mood. I just lost a bet with my brother, so I need you to pay attention." I nodded as tears welled up in my eyes. "Come on." He grabbed my wrist and jerked me forward.
We walked next door to his brother's room. The door opened and he pushed me inside. "Five minutes, that's it!" Vincent called as I lifted my head off the floor. I was greeted by a dark room full of computers and video game posters, from what I could see. A scrawny boy that so recognized to be Jack, Vincent's brother, turned around in a desk chair and grinned.
"Elle, I see my brother has followed through with the terms of our bet."
"What do you want?" I asked cautiously.
He laughed. "Don't worry, I won't hurt you. I just want you to play this game." He motioned towards his computer screen.
"You mean... A video game? What are you, a geek?" I asked.
"You know, if you don't follow through with the conditions Vincent will be mad..."
I gulped and walked toward the bright screen. "What do I need to do?"
He guided my hands to the mouse and keyboard and I flinched. "This game is called Minecraft. Your main objective is to build anything imaginable."
"That's it?" I looked at the screen warily. Maybe if I stalled... "You know, this looks like it could chip my manicure. And the mouse doesn't work."
Jack inspected the mouse and sighed. "Fine, I'll get you a new one." He stormed into the hallway.
"Why did he even want me to play this?" I muttered, staring at the screen. "The graphics are awful, there's no objective, how do nerds like this stuff? This game is stupid."
Silence is a rare thing. Even when it occurs, it's usually a prelude to a loud noise. That's what happened to me. It was perfectly silent for a moment. Suddenly, I heard a buzzing noise and I felt like I was being electrocuted. My eyes started blurring. "Is this part of the game?" I called out. My stomach felt like it flipped. "Jack?"
I saw a flash of white and the world turned completely black.
Yeah, I know it's kind of short, but I didn't have the tolerance to write about girly first-world problems any more. Good news, though: For those of you who wanted to see her fail, next chapter you'll be satisfied. I'll be writing that at three o'clock this morning, you've been warned...
