Music boomed through the Manor as Zip DJ'd Anaya's party. Unlike last time, Lara hadn't taken much part in preparing the party. Mostly Zip and Alistair had taken care of the arrangements; that for which Lara was grateful for.
Lara had counted at least 76 people already from where she was sitting in the corner. She was dressed in an elegant navy blue dress that was split up the side of her left leg and cut down the middle to her waist. To finish off the outfit, she had strapless black heels on and her hair tied up in a bun. This party wasn't as "jazzed up" as the last one. Anaya had chosen to go for a more sophisticated style to suit the change in atmosphere between everyone.
'Once again Lara thanks for much for this party. It's amazing and more than I could have asked for.' Anaya smiled softly as she approached Lara; who smiled back in reply.
'It's a pleasure Anaya. But, really, you should be thanking Zip and Alistair for all of this. They put this party together. I just…let's say…stepped back and supervised.' The two laughed together and carried on talking whilst Zip attempted to remix songs; and was failing miserably but it was great entertainment for the other guests.
'So what's going on with you and Kurtis?' Anaya asked as she spotted him sitting him in the far corner just watching the two of them. Lara avoided looking over as she answered.
'Awkward situation.' She sighed before biting her lower lip.
'Ah, after what happened with Alex?'
'Yes. I tried explaining but…the words just never came.'
'Lara, it'll be okay. You two always work things out.' Anaya smiled at her friend before placing her hand on top of hers.
'I hope you're right.' Lara smiled softly back at her before quickly glancing over at Kurtis; who was literally staring daggers at her. 'Oh if looks could kill.' Lara thought to her before averting her eyes to the dancing guests. Deciding it was best to enjoy Anaya's party then having to spend the rest of the night feeling Kurtis's stare upon her, she quickly took hold of Anaya's hand and swiftly pulled her over to the crowd.
'Wait here!' Lara yelled over the music before making her way through the crowd of dancers and over to Zip.
'And what can I do for ya?'
'You can get down there and dance with your girlfriend. That's what you can do.' Lara smirked as she watched Zip's eyes light up even more at the idea of Anaya being called his girlfriend.
'Sure would love to do that Lara but I gotta DJ this party! Whoo!' Zip beamed as he punched the air and laughed.
'Oh don't worry. I got you covered.' Lara put simply before literally yanking him off the stand and pushing him amongst the crowd of people. Seeing Zip reach Anaya and taking her into his arms, Lara switched the music from Hardcore techno to a more Romantic slow song. Couples quickly arranged themselves and began to sway to the melody of the music. Looking through the crowd, Lara's eyes met Anaya's who quickly mouthed an 'I owe you one.' Lara shot her a smile before sighing happily and getting down off the stand. Tucking a lose strand of hair behind her ear, she made her way over to the buffet table. 'Winston's really outdone himself this time.' Lara thought as she eyed up the food displayed in front of her. 'Nicely done.'
Kurtis carefully watched Lara's every move. He wanted nothing more than to walk straight up to her and take him into his arms and whisper in her ear his love for her. But this incident with Alex was holding him back. 'Where is that fucking rat anyways?' Kurtis eyed the crowd of people around the room. Alex was nowhere to be seen. Huffing, he averted his eyes back to the spot her had last seen Lara. He was a little taken back to see her staring straight back at him. She was first to break the stare and quickly looked at the floor. He saw her shoulders drop a little before she spun on her heel and made her way out of the front doors and into the front gardens. 'Don't kid yourself Croft…he's still pissed at you because of what happened.' Lara thought grimly to herself as she walked through the gardens. The sky was already dark and the starts twinkled brightly. The warm summer breeze enveloped Lara's small frame as she hugged her arms tightly around herself as if to keep herself together. Taking a deep breath, she brushed down her dress smoothly before sitting down on the grass. Pulling her long hair out of the bun, she lay down and looked at the stars above. She somewhat regretted not being with Anaya and the other's enjoying the party…but being in the busy atmosphere was a bit to much for her now. She needed to clear her mind and get things straight about what happened with Alex and Kurtis. Lara prompted herself up onto her elbows and began recalling the past few days.
She was too caught up in her own thoughts that she didn't hear someone come up behind her.
'What you thinking about?' Lara quickly snapped outta her trance and looked over her shoulder to see Kurtis looking down at her.
'What are you doing out here?' Lara almost whispered; expecting him to yell at any second. 'You're supposed to hate me…'
'Well, it's a beautiful night after all…and…I wanted to speak to you.' Kurtis shrugged before sitting down beside his beloved.
Crossing her legs, Lara once again wrapped her arms around herself. 'This is gonna be a loooong night.'