Rose POV
"You look amazing, Rose." Lissa said.
Lissa was my best friend and as close to me as a sister. That's why she and Ambrose, another good friend of mine, were helping me get dressed for the party. Mark, a sort of uncle for all of us, was throwing a party in the park. Kinda of a neighborhood party, everyone was invited, and I knew Dimitri and his friends would be there.
I've liked him for a long time but he has always seen me as a kid. Well, tonight that's going to change.
I was wearing my favourite pair of ripped jeans and a white tank top that I'd bought with the money my mother gave me. I had my black combat boots on, as well as the silver bracelet Lissa'd given me. With my long, dark and curly hair falling down my back, I thought I looked good.
"I think there's something missing... Hum..." Ambrose tilted his head to the side and looked at me.
"She looks beautiful, Ambrose. Dimitri won't know what hit him!" Lissa smirked.
I felt myself flush at her comment.
"Got it!" Ambrose jumped off my bed and took off his black leather jacket. "Not only will you look beautiful, but also badass."
He handed me the jacket. I wasn't sure if I should take it, I didn't really liked people giving me stuff because I couldn't afford it on my own.
"Don't give me shit, Hathaway. I'm only borrowing it 'cause I love this jacket and, as much as I love you, there's no way I'm getting rid of it." Ambrose said, like he could read my mind.
I laughed and took it.
"Wow, Ambrose is right..." My best friend said, looking at me.
"Aren't I always?" Ambrose joked.
"Thank you, Ambrose." I said, turning back and pulling him for a hug. "Get over here, Liss! It's a group hug!"
We got ready and left my house. I didn't see my mom, but then, she's rarely home sometimes. We reached the park and I couldn't believe my eyes. It was completely different. By the trees there were tables full of snacks and in the middle of the park someone had tried to build a dancefloor with a wooden platform. There were speakers scattered around the park and in a table near the entrance, stood Mark with a huge radio. We waved as we walked pass him. It seemed like everyone in the neighborhood had showed up and sure enough... in the furthest corner of the park, sitting on sofas and chairs, was Dimitri and the other guys.
"Oh, I see Mia and Mer. Let's go talk to them!" Lissa squealed.
This was Lissa. She's the kindest person I know and she can't even see someone sad or hurt without trying to heal their pain somehow. A couple of days ago Lissa found an ugly, smelly and stray cat, took it home and begged her parents to let her keep the creature.
See what I mean?
Of course they let her, the Dragomirs love their daughter and would do anything to make Liss happy. At least one of us has a loving family...
I feel a pang in my chest with that thought. Okay, let's not think about this, Rose. I tell myself that, over and over, until the feeling goes away.
"So, how is Roadkill doing?" I ask.
That's what I call the cat. We both hate each other's guts so I think it's appropriate.
Lissa, however, does not.
"His name is Oscar and you know it, Rose," She narrows her eyes at me.
"Oh, I do! But that's a boring name. Roadkill sounds much cooler and the ugly thing even looks the part." She waves her hand, dismissing my Rose logic.
"He. He's a he, not a thing!"
"Okay chill, girly!"
She can't change my mind about the black cat though. I've never been fond of animals and they've never liked me either. Maybe it's my DNA, who knows?
We reach Mia and Mer, dodging a few over-excited people on the way.
"Hey, guys! So what do you think about the party?" Meredith asks.
I've known Meredith for a few years, she's been in my class since the 7th grade. She's very pretty, with long and auburn hair, green eyes and long legs. Mia, also in my class, looks like a doll. And I mean that literally. She's pretty and small, with short curly blond hair and sweet brown eyes. A living doll.
"It's good, I think." I reply.
We catch up for a few minutes and manage to talk about a million things. We talk about school, summer break, guys, a few girls we don't like and the party. To my left, Mia, Lissa and Ambrose seem to be talking about clothes, shopping and sales. I cringe and resume my conversation with Meredith about kicking some guys asses in self defense classes. Mark's actually the one teaching those.
He started giving them when a girl got assaulted in the neighborhood, saying that this isn't a very safe place. I agree, but nothing ever happened to me. Even so, me and a few other people started attending the classes.
I mean, it is a good excuse to beat people up and learn to do it the right way.
We finished talking and Ambrose dragged us to the table where the drinks were. There were a lot of drinks here, since simple orange juice to beer, cider and vodka.
Ambrose turned to us and opened his arms.
"Alright, ladies! Tonight I'll be your bartender. What do you wish to drink?"
I look at Lissa at the exact moment that she turns to me, we take one look at each other and start to laugh like crazy people. Liss trips in a stone and we laugh even harder. By this point, Ambrose has joined us too, except that he's holding the table for support, while me and Lissa hold each other, gasping for air.
"Oh my god, it's like we're already drunk!" Ambrose says, grabbing three red cups.
"Okay, bartender, I'd like some apple cider please." Lissa tries to keep a straight face , biting her lip to hide her smile.
"Your wish is my command, princess." Ambrose replies.
Princess was Lissa's nickname. We started calling her that because she's got an almost regal posture, like she was part of a royal family.
"Can you get me a cup of black vodka?" I ask. Black vodka was my favourite drink, not as strong as pure vodka and sweeter.
"Sure thing!" Ambrose handed us our drinks, taking a cup of beer for himself. Ugh, I hate beer.
I take a sip of my drink and feel that familiar burn in my throat and stomach. I first started drinking when I was 13, but I've never really got drunk. Just a few drinks here and there...
Ambrose tries (and fails) to convince Lissa to drink a cup of beer, but he soon gives up when she doesn't budge. I don't really blame her. We drink a bit more, not enough to get us drunk, but definitely enough to make us bold, loose and excited. Luckily, no one catches us and Mark is distracted with his wife, Oksana.
Our favourite song started to play and Ambrose instantly met my eyes with a question. He gave me his hand and flashed an amused grin.
"C'mon Rose, let's show these losers how we dance."
Another thing you should know about me: I love to dance. Ambrose and I had actually been taking classes since we were younger, so we're pretty good.
"Are you serious?"
When he asked I actually thought he was kidding but now, as he tugged my hand and tried to pull me in the directionof the makeshift dancefloor, I realised he was VERY serious.
"Of course! 'No Brainer' is playing, it's our favourite song and we learned the coreography last week! Besides..."
He leaned towards me, his mouth just above my ear.
"Your little russian is looking. You could think of this like the first fase of project ROMITRI."
I was dumbstruck and frozen at the spot. First of all, there's nothing little about Dimitri and I don't mean that in a dirty way, so get your minds out of the gutter. He's just the tallest person I've ever seen. Second, he was looking at us, at me. Perhaps he finally noticed me. That thought alone made me blush and caused a funny feeling in my stomach.
Oh no... Oh no, no...
Great! Now I have freakin' butterflies in my stomach. How cheesy is that? Jesus...
Ambrose leaned back, looking over my shoulder. Probably at Dimitri, if he was still looking. That brought me to third...
"Project ROMITRI? What the hell?" I asked him, a small smile playing on my lips.
Smirking, he said: "Earth to Rose! Our secret project to bring the two of you together. Rose plus Dimitri equals ROMITRI. It's actually your ship name."
"Oh. My. Fucking. God. I don't know if I should thank you for supporting me or smack you in the head for making me a ship name."
He laughed, throwing his head back. Then he looked at me, attempting to hide a smile. He totally failed by the way.
"Let's go with the first option, Hathaway."
He grabbed my arm, pulling me towards the dancefloor.
"Let's go!" He sang, cheerfully.
This time I went.