Chapter 12: Making an entrance

Ren never even looked back at Louis as she rang the doorbell. She heaved a sigh of relief as soon as his footsteps sounded faint in the distance. She checked her reflection on the window as she waited.

"I got it!" someone from inside shouted. Moments later, loud footsteps were heard leading to the front door. The door opened and revealed Ruby on the other side. She still had her bathrobe on.

"Ren, come on in! I'm so sorry, I'll be ready in a minute," she said as she ushered her inside. She closed the door behind her. "By the way, my mom already agreed to lend me the car for the night." She turned to look at her friend.  "I hope that's not you're outfit for tonight." Ruby said as she eyed Ren's long coat. She wrinkled her nose. "It's not really a party-ish, don't you think?" she said with a grin. She signaled Ren to follow her and led her to her room.

She laughed out loud. "Well, same goes for you."

Ruby opened her door and let her in. "Have a seat," she said, gesturing to her bed. "I'll be ready in five minutes." She then disappeared through the bathroom.

"You know what, its okay. It's actually better to come fashionably late to these kind of parties." Ren assured her. "Well according to some people, anyway." She added with a chuckle. She checked herself in the mirror. It's a good thing her parents never had the chance to see her before she left. If they did, questions were surely going to be asked.

Ruby finally emerged from the bathroom after a couple of minutes. It was Ren's turned to look at her friend.

"Wow," she exclaimed. "I must say, that is pretty nice."

Ruby had a very pleased look on her face. "Thanks, I knew you were going to like it. What about you, am I going to see what's behind that coat of yours?"

Ren smiled at her slyly. "Sure you will," she answered. "When we get to that party." She grabbed Ruby's purse and handed it to her.

As soon as they were both ready, they dashed to the car parked outside. Ruby opened the car and signaled Ren to hop inside. She started the engine and turned on the radio.

They chatted for a while as they drove through the neighborhood. Within minutes, they were cruising down the highway. A few more minutes passed, and they were in another neighborhood. It was noticeably posh-looking.

Ruby slowed down the car in front of a two-story mansion. The house was classy and simple yet elegant, indicating the high-end lifestyles of the owners. Loud music emanated from inside, indicating the party that was currently taking place.

She parked beside a silver sports car and turned off the engine. She took a deep breath before glancing at Ren. "Ready?" she asked excitedly.

"Let's go," Ren replied with a smile. She took a final glance on the rearview mirror and checked her reflection. Perfect.

She reached inside the coat for her purse before opening the door and stepping out. She smiled to herself.  They better hold on to their seats, because Ren Stevens is here it party!

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Loud music was blaring throughout the house as Will checked out the crowd. He smiled to himself. As usual, his party has a great turnout, and everybody was having a great time. He craned his neck to survey the sea of people before him. Almost half of the school was here. Well, who wouldn't want to go to Will Coulson's party? It had everything: the crowd, the music, the booze and of course, the babes.

He squeezed himself into the crowd. The dj had just put on some cool music and everybody was on their feet, dancing. "Hey, Will!" someone called out.

He turned around towards the direction of the voice. "Over here, man," someone shouted. He scanned again for a few seconds, and then finally saw someone waving at him. He made his way towards the three guys near the bar.

"Hey, nice party!" A tall, muscular man greeted him. He could already smell the alcohol on his breath. They gave each other high fives.

"Kyle, glad you guys could make it!" he answered with a grin. They were practically shouting at each other. One of the other guys handed him a bottle of beer, which he gratefully took.

 "Are you kidding?" The man looked at him as if he was crazy. "Who would want to miss the party of the year?!"

Will couldn't help but laugh at his comment. "Well, that seems to be the consensus around here." He said, gesturing towards the partying crowd.  He glanced in the direction of the door before he took a swig at his beer bottle.

Kyle put down his bottle and grabbed one of the tequila shot glasses being passed around.

Will smiled and did the same. He set down the empty shot glass, and once again looked expectantly at the door. She should be here any minute now.

"Hey Will," Kyle said as he nudged him. "You waiting for something?" he asked. His face lit up as realization struck him. "Oh, hey I remembered, tonight's th-"

"Shut up, man," he quickly hushed him. He looked around to see if anyone heard them.

Kyle held up his hands in front of him. "Hey, whatever works for you, man. I just don't think she will show up. This isn't exactly her kind of thing." He smiled as he examined the people. He winked at some girls looking their way.

Will turned his attention back to the door, ignoring his friend's comment.

He frowned at him. "I don't get it, anyway. There will always be more than enough hotties whenever you throw a party. That's a given. So why would you suddenly settle for Ren-"

He stopped in midsentence, his jaw dropping as the door suddenly opened. As if on cue, Ren appeared on the doorway. "Stevens," he continued as he stared at her.

All eyes seemed to turn to her as she entered the room – minus the coat. Ruby can barely even be noticed as she stood beside her friend. It was as if someone put a spotlight on her, and she was simply stunning. Not that she was complaining; she actually loved it.

Ren smiled inwardly as she saw their reaction. This was much better that she expected. She studied the crowd, hoping to see some familiar faces. So far, she could only count a handful of people she actually knew. Most of them she only recognized as other students from the school.

From across the room, Will gave a wave at their direction, smiling brightly at them. She smiled as she dragged Ruby towards him. People were still looking as they sauntered their way across the room.

Kyle, who was still standing behind Will, quickly grabbed his arms. "How come I never noticed it before?!" he asked furiously. "Since when did she become such a hot-"

He elbowed him, signaling to stay quiet as Ren and Ruby finally reached them. His smile got wider as he got a closer look at her. She was wearing a little red dress that would make any warm-blooded man go boiling hot inside, to say the least.

"Hey," Will greeted them with a smile. "You guys made it. I was afraid you weren't gonna come."

Ruby chuckled. "And actually miss this? I don't think so!" She smiled as she noticed someone standing behind him.

"Oh, by the way, I don't think you've met my friend, Kyle. He's on the football team," he said, remembering to introduce him. He turned to him. "This is Ruby Mendel and-"

"Ren Stevens," Kyle interrupted, extending out his hand. He gave her a sexy smile. "I must say, that was quite an entrance. I never expected the president of the student council to grace this party." He said candidly.

She took his hand and gave it a light shake. "Yeah, and it looks like you weren't the only one." She said, noticing the jealous stares she kept getting from the other girls. Not to mention the stares coming from the other guys, too.  

Will immediately stood close beside Ren and looked expectantly towards him.

"That's my cue," Kyle mumbled. Before anyone could ask, he quickly cleared his throat. "Uh, hey Ruby, how about a dance," he asked, offering his hand.

"Well, I'd love to," Ruby replied with a grin. "See yah," she gave Ren a small wave before taking Kyle's hand.

"See you later guys," Kyle said. "That is, if we could find you," he added with a laugh. He ignored the tight smile Will gave him. "Good luck," he whispered to his friend. He gave him a mischievous wink before disappearing into the crowd.

"Great party," Ren said as she examined the crowd. She turned in time to see Will grab a glass of beer and tequila from the bar.

"Here, take your pick," he said, offering both glasses to her.

Ren frowned a little. "I don't really drink alcohol."

He laughed out loud and smiled at her, amused. "Ren, come on! I thought you came here to have fun?" He held the glasses up in front of her. "These things are half of the fun." He smiled hopefully at her. "Come on, what's it gonna be?" He asked her, dangling the glasses playfully.

She looked hesitantly at him, then at the glasses, and back at him again. Well, she did come here to have fun… so, what the heck. She might as well do what she came for. She took the small glass of tequila from Will and raised it up. "Well, bottoms up," she said, and then swallowed the liquor swiftly in one gulp.

Will watched her with a pleased look on his face. He took a mouthful of beer and smiled silently to himself. This is definitely going to be a great night.

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Looks like our Ren's getting herself into a little trouble here! What do you think? Well, don't forget to write a review. Thanks! ^_^