Chapter title is from You by Keaton Henson

It was two weeks after the S F Talk™, and El and Domino were getting ready to go out to a party hosted by a kid called Tony Stark at his house. Out of everyone at the damn school, he was the richest. (He wasn't bad looking either, but Domino would never admit that). The party was for Peter Parker, Tony's best friend. Half of the school had been invited, but it was almost certain that there were going to be more people than that. Oh well, Tony's house was supposedly a mansion; he could accommodate a few strays.

El was nervous about the party. She didn't like large social gatherings. The girl was once again pacing the floor of Domino's room anxiously, muttering to herself.

Domino, who had been examining earrings to let El have for the party, turned to her with a small smile and holding two different pairs of earrings, one long and dangly, the other pair studs.

"Look, you'll be fine. It's just a party. If you wanna leave early, just tell me and I'll take us home." She reassured her friend, lifting up the pairs of earrings. "Which ones?"

El was wearing a leather jacket and a nice white shirt, denim jeans, and had some pretty, pink tinted lip gloss on. Domino decided the black was too edgy for the party. Her hair was also different. Domino had dragged her out to get another hair cut, as it was in that 'awkward phase' that people reach after shaving their heads. Now it was styled so the sides of her head were much shorter, with a crop of longer, curly hair going down the middle of her head. Frowning between El's disgruntled face and the earrings, she decided one of each was best. That'd look cool. El, meanwhile, didn't look all that happy with her new look.

"Here you go! Trust me, you look gorgeous!" Domino gushed, giving her a playful smirk. "But in all seriousness, you look great."

The corners of El's mouth lifted into a small smile of her own, and she turned to gaze at herself in Domino's full length mirror.

"When's Yukio gonna be over?" El asked over her shoulder, still examining herself critically.

"Soon." Domino replied, checking her phone for the time.

El tugged the jacket down a bit and frowned at herself in the mirror.

"She'll think you're pretty." Domino assured her friend softly, knowing that El was nervous about seeing Yukio again. No matter how much time they spent at school being huge, nerdy losers, El always got anxious before they went out together.

El gave her a terse nod, and Domino could tell she didn't believe her. The doorbell rang downstairs, signalling Yukio's arrival. El jumped a bit in surprise, and Domino walked past her to get the door.

"Meet us downstairs as soon as you stop staring at yourself in the mirror." She called over her shoulder teasingly. Domino heard a huff of annoyed amusement, and heard her friend's footsteps following her down the stairs. The house was silent, as usual. Domino's parents were hardly ever home; they were always out on business. Not that Domino minded that much, she was happy for the solitude and privacy. So was El.

Her parents were always home, but they weren't very nice to her at all. They were very controlling. El wasn't allowed to text anyone without her parents reading her messages every night. She wasn't allowed out all that often. She wasn't allowed to drive. And she wasn't allowed to have a boyfriend. Good thing she's gay, then. But, if her parents found out, Domino doubted they would let her stay around any longer. They might even pull her out of school and make her home-schooled.

Domino's thoughts were shoved to the back of her mind when she opened the door to let Yukio in. The girl looked stunning. She was wearing a pretty dress, boots and a denim jacket. Her hair was out and flowed loosely over her shoulders. Yukio gave her a warm smile.

"You look great." She complimented. Domino snorted. She was just wearing her usual clothes, but with nicer earrings and makeup. She accepted the compliment though.

"You do too." She replied.

Yukio's eyes slid past Domino to inspect El. From the way her eyes lit up, Domino could tell she thought El was stunning, too. She opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out as she looked at El with a somewhat dazed expression. Domino recognised it to be the same expression El had worn on the first day at school upon seeing Yukio. Domino bit back a snigger of amusement.

"Hi." El waved, a small blush creeping across her face at the look Yukio was giving her.

The girl snapped out of her stupor at El's greeting, and Yukio gave her a small smile and a wave in return, a similar blush spreading across her own face. Domino, almost choking on the sexual tension in the room, clapped her hands and hurriedly stepped outside.

"Let's go!" She excaimed, walking towards her car. She was designated driver of the night, and so she wasn't allowed to drink. She didn't mind that much though. She could drink when she got home, if she wanted to.

The drive to Tony's house was short but quite loud; the two girls in the back seat chatting between them as Domino played music in the car. More nerd stuff, maybe? Listening in, she caught the words "-no, not Batman, SUPERMAN-"and yeah it was definitely more nerd stuff. Domino was surprised they still had nerdy topics to talk about. She was sure they'd have run out by now.

Pulling up further up the road from Tony's house, she parked in the already packed street, and turned off the ignition.

"Alright, losers. Out." She ordered, opening her door and stepping out into the cool, night air. The other two girls quickly followed suit, exiting the vehicle and closing the doors. Domino locked her car and pocketed the keys, before leading the way down the road to Tony's house.

Music and laughter was pouring out of the windows, and Domino glanced back at her slightly more introverted friends to see what they thought. While they had shifted closer together slightly, excitement was glinting in their eyes as they gazed up at the house in awe.

It was massive. Three stories high, at least, with 2 garages. They were closed and locked because of the party, but Domino guessed there were very expensive cars inside them. Ferraris, maybe? Or maybe Lamborghinis? Porsches? It doesn't really matter, she supposed.

Faint splashing sounds echoed from the backyard. Of course they had a swimming pool, too. Oh, if only she'd brought her swimsuit…

"Hey! Domino! Guys! Over here!" A voice yelled from across the massive expanse of lawn. Wade bounded over holding Vanessa's hand, with Piotr and Cable in tow.

"Some party, huh?" He exclaimed, eyes shining.

"We haven't even gone inside yet." Piotr pointed out.

"Well, yeah, because we were waiting for these slowpokes to get here." He said pointedly, prodding Domino with his free hand.

"You waited? Why? I told you not to." Domino had to yell over the music and jeers as they approached the house.

"We wanted to make sure you came." Piotr explained. "El doesn't usually like parties."

El swatted him on the arm and he chuckled in response, dodging out of the way to evade any further attacks. The house was beautiful on the inside, too. People were absolutely everywhere. Dancing, playing games, singing karaoke, drinking, kissing… How many people can actually fit in this house? It was really hot in here too; Domino pulled off her jacket once inside to try to cool herself down. Cable strode past them in the direction of what Domino assumed to be the kitchen.

"C'mon guys. Drinks this way." He called over his shoulder. "I came to Tony's last party. I assume it's all in the same place it was last year."

Everyone began following him to get an alcoholic beverage of some kind, probably punch or beer for the boys. Domino stood idly to the side and turned around in a slow circle, admiring the ornate furnishings of the house.

"Hey Domino! You coming?" Cable's voice sounded beside her, and she turned to see him looking at her expectantly. Domino shook her head.

"Can't drink. I'm the designated driver tonight." Domino paused and tipped her head. "Do they have any soda or anything?"

At Cable's nod she shrugged and followed him and the others to the kitchen. El, Yukio, Vanessa and Wade already had their drinks and were chatting between them while Piotr was grabbing himself and Cable a beer.

"Hey Piotr! Soda for Domino." Cable shouted; the music was deafening in this part of the house. Piotr reached into a bucket of ice and pulled a can of lemonade out, before tossing it to Domino. She smiled and popped it open, taking a sip of the sugary drink. Domino watched Yukio take a sip of her drink, before she immediately pulled an ugly face of disgust, grimacing as she swallowed. El had apparently seen too, because she shook her head and took Yukio's drink from her, before going off to get her some punch. She must've been drinking beer of some kind, then. Domino could hardly blame her for being disgusted; the stuff was gross. She didn't understand how El drank it.

Yukio accepted her new drink with a soft smile, and El blushed lightly, taking another sip of her beer. Yukio's eyes suddenly lit up, and she grabbed El's hand before dragging her to a different part of the house. As they duo left, El turned and caught Domino's eye. She looked slightly nervous, but happy, and Domino lifted her lemonade in a 'cheers' gesture to her friend before they disappeared around a corner and out of her sight.

Domino turned back to her other friends, and Vanessa gave her a knowing look, also wearing a small smile. Domino shrugged and grinned back. They wouldn't get themselves into too much trouble on their own. Maybe. Hopefully.

As the night wore on and people got drunker, Domino realised that she had no idea where the other two girls had gone. Pushing down a wave of worry and reminding herself that El could take care of herself, Domino sat on a couch situated in front of the karaoke stand, where Wade was currently making a fool of himself. He was, at the moment, badly singing 'The Middle' by Zedd, and Domino could barely stop herself from covering her ears to block out the dreadful noise.

Vanessa was watching him fondly, while Piotr and Cable guffawed with laughter at his performance, earning them both a sharp prod from Vanessa. Wade nearly fell off the stand in his drunkness, and swaggered back to Vanessa to sit next to her on the couch, squeezing in between her and Domino.

Domino snorted and scooted over a bit to allow him to sit down. A buzz in her pocket alerted her to an incoming text from El.

3 new messages from: BEST FRANDDD 3
1:29: I need to leave
1:29: Can we go back to your place now?
1:30: I really need to go now

Domino sat up straighter, her previous worries flashing through her, before shooting her a reply.

YOU:
1:31: What happened?

BEST FRANDDD 3:
1:31: Can we just go? I'll walk if I need to.

Sensing the urgency in El's messages, Domino sighed and rubbed her eyes, turning off her phone. Grabbing her jacket and checking she had her keys, she quickly stood to leave. She then turned to Vanessa, who had lifted her head to gaze at her curiously.

"If you find Yukio, could you tell her I'm taking El back to my place? I'll come back to drop her home soon." Domino asked in a rush.

Vanessa looked confused, but nodded. Before Domino walked away, however, Vanessa tapped her on the back and said as quietly as possible "I'll take her home myself. You can stay with El." Concern shone in her eyes.

Domino nodded at her gratefully, waved goodbye to the others, and went off in search of her friend. Worry rose like bile in her throat. Oh god El, what happened this time to make you so panicked?