Hey everyone. So this is when it gets in the T zone, so fair warning. Warning: There is underage drinking.
There. Now please read and I'm sorry if you think this is bad. ):
"Surprise!" Everyone screams in unison. I stand there, frozen with shock, until a smile melts it all away. Amber is the first one to hug me first, nearly squeezing the life out of me, but I cannot really feel anything at the moment. My blood is running with excitement at this surprise . . . for me.
"Why- How did you- Where did- Amber!" I try to say, laughing. My heart is full of happiness, almost bursting at the seams.
"You know my birthday isn't for another week-and-a-half," I tell her, after hugging Patricia.
"That's what we've been trying to tell her!" Mara says, sounding exasperated. I turn to her and embrace her, chuckling to myself.
"Well we're not going to be here in a next week-and-a-half, so I thought, why not do it earlier? We can celebrate Joy's in England, no biggy."
"Amber!" I hear Joy protest from the back.
Amber waves her off. "Anyway, it would have been too frantic to do it any later, in my opinion, so we did your party today!"
"So this was the secret?" I ask.
"Yep," Mick says from the back of the crowd, close to where I heard Joy standing.
"I'm honestly surprised you didn't figure it out, Nina," Jerome says.
"Yeah, you usually know all of the secrets," Alfie laughs.
Everyone nods or sounds their agreements. I blush with embarrassment. Yeah, they are right, I'm usually so curious that I have to know what has been going on.
"I can't believe it. Thank you guys!" I exclaim.
"Now let's get this party started!" Joy screams, and suddenly the party is in full swing.
Music blares throughout the house, but is not so loud that I cannot hear myself think or listen to someone tell me something.
"Hey, where's Gran? And Eddie?" I ask Patricia.
She exchanges a glance with Amber. I look between them, saying, "Just tell me."
"Apparently something happened with one of your aunts, so Eddie offered to drive her to the airport. She says she'll be gone until the end of the weekend."
"What?" I gasp, shocked that Gran would not tell me. Then, the rational side of me comes out and reasons that she knew I would want to cancel the party and go with her, wasting all of my friends' hard work. Looking at everyone's happy faces, it seems like it was worth it, me not going. But I cannot help but feel a bit of regret that I did not go with her.
"Nina, come on. You're Gran told you to have fun while we're here, didn't she?" Fabian interrupts my thoughts. I nod. "Then let's have some fun then, shall we?"
He grabs my hands, pulling into the center of the dance floor, though we both know neither of us can dance, and start doing . . . shuffling? Something that I know for a fact is not "cool" dancing. I can even see Alfie laughing at us from the sidelines, while Amber shakes her head at our actions.
"You do realize we look like idiots," I tell him.
"Yes, but I'm with you, so I don't care," Fabian whispers in my ear.
I smile, thinking the same thing.
"Anyone want some strawberries?" Joy asks, coming through the crowd with a round of open strawberries containing something red and solid.
"Uh, what's in there?" I ask, eyeing the red gelatinous substance.
"Jelly shots," Joy states simply.
"Aren't those alcoholic?" Fabian wonders aloud, picking up one of the strawberries and examining it.
"Not these!" Amber interjects, snatching one from the tray. "They are so good! I absolutely adore strawberries, and I hear they are so good for you, too!"
Fabian and I exchange glances, both of us wondering if they were telling the truth. She shrugs, saying, "It's a party, and Gran did say to have fun. Pass me one of 'em!"
I bite into one of them, feeling the sweet Jello ooze onto my tongue. It's delicious. Pure strawberry floods my taste buds, along with a weird, burning tang at the back of my throat.
"Tastes like it has alcohol," Fabian mutters, frowning down at the half-eaten strawberry.
"Probably some weird aftertaste," Joy says quickly, though in a nonchalant tone. I'm too busy savoring the taste of these strawberries. "Those jelly packets always taste strange."
I finished off my strawberry, licking my lips, wanting to appreciate the deliciously sweet flavor. They are really tasty. I pick up another one, careful to keep my palm underneath it, just in case some juice spills onto the white dress.
"Fabian?" Joy offers the tray.
"No, I'm good. Not the biggest fan of jelly shots," Fabian says. I can now hear an edge to his voice, but it is hard to sort out why.
"Suit yourself," Joy shrugs. She continues on through the crowd.
"Any reason Joy's now the hostess of the party? I thought that was Amber," I say.
"Amber's probably discussing the details with Alfie about how well her party looks."
"Even though it was all you guys." I give him a quick hug. "Thank you, Fabian."
"Hey, I only did a little, Amber had me distracting you for most of the time. You should thank everyone else."
"I will." My ears pick up a quick beat from the music. I dust off my hands, away from my dress, and then pull Fabian back to the dance floor. "After we dance!"
. . .
Fabian left me by the punch bowl to go find something. A present or something, maybe? I don't know. Luckily, the tray of strawberries was sitting on the table next to me, and there was one with my name on it!
After I finish munching the jello shot, my face starts to feel warm. Oh no! Am I allergic to gelatin or something? Then, I rationalize that that is stupid: if I was, the first jello shot would have triggered the allergy, not after three.
I brush aside my worries, for once, and see three of my housemates strolling onto the porch with a strange-looking bottle in their hands.
My curiosity gets the best of me, as usual, and I start to follow them. Fabian'll find me eventually, right?
"Hey guys!" I call to them.
They all turn, and I see Joy sneaking the bottle of whatever behind her back as she turns to me with a smile. Joy, smiling at me? What is this, Crazyland?
"Hey Nines," Patricia says calmly.
"Where are you going?" I ask.
"Outside. Bit stuffy in here, y'know?"
"Yeah," I agree. "Can I come?"
They all exchange glances, each one of them sly and conniving. Finally, Mick answers for the group,
"Sure. Ever had vodka before?"
"V-Vodka?" I repeat.
"Yep. We're gonna play a game. Up for it?" Joy asks.
"Uh, I, uh . . ." I stammer, not exactly sure. My brain does not seem to be working right at the moment, which is a problem because I need to figure out if I want to drink illegally and have fun at a party, or be the spoil sport who says no and walks away.
Joy's eyes flash. "Oh, c'mon. You're not chicken, are you?"
"Joy!" Patricia elbows her best friend in the ribs. "Peer pressure much?"
"It's ultimately her choice," Joy replies. "And we're not really 'peers,' so I'd say this is more of 'strong suggestion.' Nina, it's fun. Live a little. This is your party, after all."
"Yeah, but . . ."
"Great," Joy says, grabbing my wrist and pulling me along.
"Will we be caught?"
"If we do, I'll take the blame." Joy passes me a quick smile, assuring me that everything'll be taken care of.
We end up in my room, not the most reassuring place to not be caught, in my opinion, but everyone else has apparently done this before, so I was not one to be talking.
"Okay then, Nina. Ever played Never Have I Ever?" Joy questions me.
"Of course she has, ya dingbat. Everyone has," Patricia insists.
"Actually no," I say.
"Good then, you'll learn from the best!" Joy says happily. "Mick, could you explain the rules, please?"
As Mick tells me how to play, my eyes keep darting back to Joy, who opens the bottle of vodka, places it in the center of our little circle-square-thing. She closes the door of my room, then comes back to our group and sits down.
"All done?" she questions.
"Yep. Nina knows pretty much everything there is to know about Never Have I Ever."
"Perfect. Now, let's start." We all hold up ten fingers. "Remember guys," Joy adds. "Make it as dirty as you want." I gulp, knowing that I'm going to the virgin dove here in a sea of dirty pigeons.
Patricia grins, holding up ten fingers. "Alright guys, I'll start. Never have I ever . . ."
~Eddie's POV~
I sit in the front seat, my hands at ten and two on the wheel. Mrs. Martin is sitting in the back, a large purse clasped in her hands, the knuckles almost white with the tension.
I swiftly glance at her, asking, "Are you okay, Mrs. M?"
She lifts her head to look at me, blue eyes shining strong and bright. "Yes, I'm fine, Osirian." I freeze at her last word.
She says it so relaxed and nonchalant and that only makes it worse. I pull to a stop at the red light, my eyes lowering to my hands on the wheel. A huge weight appears on my shoulders, and suddenly, I feel like a hundred years old, not seventeen.
I barely utter the words that come out of my lips, but they seem to fall without my conscious thought. Weird. "How do you know?"
"It was obvious, the day you saved Nina and my china plates. I can tell an Osirian if there ever is one."
I stay silent, my eyes raising to meet the road and see that the light just turns green. I accelerate and barrel down the road.
"Eddison, is it?" she starts.
"Yeah. But I prefer Eddie," I reply through clenched teeth.
"Eddie. You'll protect my Nina, won't you-"
"Yes," I reply, almost immediately. Again, I replied without really realizes it until it happened. What is going on with me?
"-Even from herself? From her friends, her family, her boyfriend?"
I feel something twitch at the back of my mind when she says "her boyfriend," but I wave it off. This time, I know that I'll do anything to keep this promise. We pull onto the curb of the main terminal, our car halting to a shuddering stop. I meet her hazel eyes - the ones that look almost exactly like Nina's - in the rearview mirror. The weight of the words seems to shock through me, like sealing an ancient deal.
"I promise."
Yes, Mrs. Martin KNOWS. She's like an all-seeing eye. Creepy.
Please reviewwww!
~Ary