After over an hour spent on hair, makeup, and outfits (that I protested fifty four times), the four of us were finally ready for our first college party. This week was only freshman allowed on campus, which made Liz more comfortable, and excited the rest of us as we'd been given the best of chances to acclimate ourselves to our surroundings, study our peers and track any targets.
Now, what kind of girl would I be if I didn't document our outfits? Macey says a terrible girl, indeed. So, and please bear with me, because the last time I even cared about an outfit was back pre-Gallagher Uniform.
Bex was ready to go, her curls each perfectly coiffed and conditioned hanging down to her shoulders. They bounced with each step she took. It was an unfamiliar sight, as she normally just wore it up in a bun. She was wearing a ruby red bardot-style top with a line of ruffles at the top, accentuating her cleavage and her even tanner skin popped with the choice of red. She also wore a pair of black denim cut off shorts, and a pair of black canvas vans. Girls like us, we knew to always be ready to run.
Liz had chosen one of her favorite lily pulitzer halter neck dresses, a mixture of bright turquoise, navy and white that radiated off of her southern tan. Somehow, her hair always appeared to be whiter after her summers spent down south in the sunshine. Her big blue eyes were bright and bubbly, lined with brown kohl, and she wore a pair of white gladiator sandals to match the dress. Her neck was covered in another chunky turquoise necklace, and she had switched her thick glasses for a pair of contacts (She had engineered them with Dr. Fibs and was currently testing the real-life practicality of contact lenses that had a built-in zoom technique to narrow down any snipers that may be lurking).
Macey, the girl who got all the attention, decided to wear a simple shrunken black cropped tee shirt and a pair of medium wash ripped denim shorts. It was a simple outfit, but I guarantee all the guys would be going crazy over her if she was in a paper bag. Her belly button piercing displayed a pretty diamond in the middle of her navel, and her hair was tied into a sleek black ponytail that the light bounced off of. She was wearing a pair of black wedges she swore she could run in, and I chose to believe that statement. Her makeup was flawless as always, and she even added the little diamond back into her nose that she first came to Gallagher sporting.
I, despite my multiple protests, was dressed in a navy blue satin top spaghetti strap romper with a white pleated skort for the bottom piece. I wore a pair of white canvas vans, and Macey took extra time doing my hair and makeup. My blue eyes were lined in thick black liquid liner, and my hair was curled down my back in bent waves that skimmed my golden shoulders. She also added this highlighter to my collarbones, and I couldn't believe who I was looking at in the mirror.
Once we all agreed we were ready and there were no more final touches to be made, we packed our purses with the essentials (yes, including the mini tasers and fashion tape) and made our way in our group of four down the quad to where the boys dorm was waiting for us. After swiping our student ID cards and gaining access (even though Liz brought her best wiring material), we followed the sound of Grant's voice down the main hallway until hitting the door with four blank name tags on it.
The four of us shared a confused look, none of us knew that Zach, Grant and Jonas were getting a roommate. Before I could open my mouth, Bex was opening the unlocked (bad spy move guys, come on!) front door and ushering us inside. Looking around, their room was ridiculously big. Room? Sorry, SUITE. It had two bedrooms, two bathrooms, one kitchenette and a living area apparently. We stared around in shock before Jonas came over to greet us.
"Hey ladies," Jonas piped up, lifting his right hand to his mouth and taking a sip out of the red solo cup in his hand.
"Hi Jonas!" We all echoed.
"Hey Lizzie." A blush crept up his neck to his cheeks as my blonde roommate leaned over and gave him a quick hug. Peeking behind my bangs, I could see her growing a blush as well.
Macey, Bex and I exchanged an amused look before proceeding further into the suite. Our eyes immediately landed on the boys in front of us who were currently arguing over two wooden tables put together to look like a beer pong table. Grant and Zach were standing on one side of the table, two boys opposite the other end who I vaguely recognized from the lecture hall earlier today.
"I'm just saying, I really think that they had much more potential with Ant Man!"
"That's fine dude, no one's arguing with you."
"But Kent was!"
"I'll admit it, Grant. I didn't realize what a movie buff you are. I'll admit defeat, just this once, though."
"What in the world are you boys going off about?" Bex interjected, moving us into the group round the table.
"Just boy stuff, y'know." Grant shrugged his shoulders, puffing out his chest and reaching his hand out to Bex, offering her his beer bottle.
"Thanks," her face brightened up before taking a swig of the bubbly brown liquid. I raised an eyebrow, but said nothing before making my way to where Zach was standing.
Grant was wearing a pair of dark green cropped, cuffed trousers and a tight dark grey t-shirt. He's taken to the caesar hairstyle since the last time I saw him, clearly, his brown hair styled and a fresh pair of black sneakers on his feet.
Zach immediately reached his arms out to me, and I found my way inside them as Macey started to chat with the two boys who were still strangers to us. Zach leaned down and kissed my lips softly, pulling away from me and holding me at arms length for a minute like he was really looking at me. My eyes were knit together in amusement as his green eyes scanned me up and down.
"You look different, Gallagher Girl."
"I do?"
"You do. You look…"
"Good?"
"Relaxed." His easy smile brought those damn butterflies out again. I blushed, taking a minute to look him up and down as well.
He wore a pair of straight washed cuffed denim jeans with a rip in both knees, a tight black t shirt and a black and burgundy plaid open flannel on top. Like me, he wore a pair of white slip-on sneakers, his hair was perfectly brushed into a side part he perfected over the summer, and it looked like his chin and jaw was stubbly to perfection. I met his gaze with a bright smile.
"You look good too, Blackthorne Boy."
"Oh, do I?" He grinned, before taking a drink of the cup Grant passed to him and I. I took the cup and thanked him, smelling it and raising a brow at Zach.
"It's good, Cam. You can relax tonight, we all are."
"Bu-"
"Plus, you know that it's basically impossible for any of us to get too drunk to the point that we lose our senses."
"Yeah, bu-"
"Cam, I promise. It'll be fine. It's just one night off, you can do that, can't you?"
I nodded my head, taking a sip of the bubbling concoction and feeling the liquor burn my throat on its way down. Definitely Titos, grapefruit juice and a splash of club soda.
Before I could speak, I heard a smack and a "what are YOU doing here?!" Tearing my attention away from Zach, I watched as Preston Winters stood in the middle of the living area with Macey McHenry, currently holding his bright red right cheek. My eyes might've bugged out of my head a little bit at the sight of Preston Winters, with no security or police detail.
"Wait, what are you doing here?!" I heard myself echo Macey but I couldn't help it.
"Well, I do live here…"
"You...you go here?" Macey asked softly, her voice full of shock but with an undertone of hurt.
"I do." Preston replied, his voice just as soft. "I came here to study Political Science, and minor in Human Intervention."
"Seriously?"
"Well, the minor was Zach's idea."
"You knew?" Macey's nostrils flared, turning her fiery gaze to Zach who actually took a step behind me at that point. Macey McHenry's temper was the only thing that scared him, actually.
"I thought he could use some training, Macey. He's still going to have some certain amount of time when there's no one with him, despite all the secret service and other agents trying to eliminate that possibility. He needs to learn. He's involved with us, the Circle, all of it. He's got to be able to protect himself." He reasoned, and Macey's eyes finally started to dwindle back to normalcy before turning back to Preston who was still holding his cheek.
"We are not done with this conversation. You could've told me, you idiot."
"I'm sorry, Mace."
"No, you will be, though." She snorted, taking the beer bottle out of Bex's hands and chugging the rest of it.
"How did you think we got such a good setup?" Jonas asked innocently, blinking and pushing up the rim of his glasses.
"I guess that's actually a really fair point." Liz giggled, nodding her head.
Jonas had on a denim button down and a dark wash straight legged pair of pants. His dirty blonde hair was styled similarly to Zach's, but since it's thicker the side part was much more dramatic on him. He was currently towering over Liz, his elbow leaning against her shoulder and her side melted into his. I swear I saw actual swoonage.
"Well, thanks for the intro and all, guys." One of the boys, I think Kent, said.
"Oi, sorry dude. We're good, this is Bex, Cammie, Macey, and Liz. Don't touch Bex though, she's my James Bond girl." Smack.
"It's nice to meet you all," Kent said. "I'm Kent, and this is my roommate Brett. We're also graduates of Blackthorne, we graduated a year ahead of these boys here so we missed the exchange with Gallagher."
"So you were really taught by Joe?"
"Only the best."
Kent reminded me of a typical G.I Joe. His dark buzzcut and dark brown eyes contrasted against his slightly tanned skin. Despite his long sleeve navy blue t-shirt, you could see the definition in his arms when he flexed, and the burgundy pair of slacks he wore perfectly fit his toned calves.
Brett, on the other hand, looked like he just rolled out of bed. He had a dark mop of curly brown hair that his hazel eyes were barely visible through due to the curls falling constantly in his eyes. He wore a green plaid padded overshirt, with a light grey hoodie underneath. For pants he went with a matching pair of grey jeans.
"So, now that introductions are out of the way...who's ready to hit the party?"