"Oh God, you know what they say – when there's no room left in hell the
dead walk to earth" Stef groaned, watching the floods of divas around them
running around finding their friends, or stylist, she was pretty sure some
of them were the same thing. But even when running impossibly in high heels
flailing their stick arms in panic – they all looked way prettier than her
Stef thought, self-consciously putting her arms around herself.
"The show starts in a few minutes, looks like we got here in time" Sandy said glancing at his watch.
"And mom always said I'd be late for my own funeral" Stef sighed and Ryan softly laughed.
"Look kids, I'm going to see if I can grab Kirsten before the chaos so have fun, I'll be around if either of you need me" Sandy smiled at them both and then left.
Ryan gave Stef a lopsided smile. "So uh, what do we do at these things?"
"Drool, small talk, buy stuff, mingle, eat, and drink, bitch" Stef informed him, "its basically like being any situation and any place in this town, only with more formal dress" she shrugged uncomfortably.
"Ah" Ryan nodded, "so do you want to go get a drink then?" he nodded towards a nearby table
"Sure" Stef grinned at him, and together they headed over and grabbed some drinks, chatting and laughing together for a little while, before the lights and music changed to focus attention on the fashion show that Kirsten had just begun to introduce.
"Hey there's your mom" Ryan nodded towards the crowd swarming around the stage and catwalk.
"Yeah" Stef gave a small smile as she knocked back the last of her drink, placing the empty glass onto the tray of a server who'd just passed without missing a beat.
Ryan squinted over the top of everyone's heads, as they clapped and the music got louder, and girls began to emerge out from behind a curtain and strut their stuff. He walked forward a bit and peered over someone, "Hey, there's Marissa"
Stef grabbed another drink; "Of course she'd be up there" she rolled her eyes slightly.
"She looks amazing, so confident up there...summer's there too" he smiled.
"Oh surprising" Stef commented as she glanced over to the stage, at the fake smiling flouncing girls tossing their hair and posing. She wished she had powers that would make them combust into flames by her just thinking it.
--------------------------------------------------
Stef was stood slightly behind Ryan, one arm slung around her waist as she glanced around bored; everyone applauded as the show finished and the crowd slowly dispersed away from the stage.
"Your mom did one hell of a good job organizing all this" Ryan said turning around and looking at Stef before blinking at the half full glass in her hand. "Didn't you finish that?"
"I did, but then I refilled my glass" Stef smiled at him, seeing his look she shrugged, "Just the once, I swear"
Ryan was looking at her suspiciously until he felt a tap on his shoulder making him spin around. "Marissa" his eyebrows raised in surprise, "uh hi, you were great up there"-
"Oh it was nothing" Marissa laughed off, "I'm so glad you came and watched! Look us teens are all going to an after show party soon, do you want to join, cause I can get you a lift"
"That'd be cool" Ryan grinned at her then turned to look at Stef, "uh do you want to go?"
"There won't be room in the car" Summer announced with a sniff, arriving by Marissa's side and glancing to Stef with obvious distaste.
"I don't want to suffocate in the car because all the air will be sucked into her head anyway, so you can go if you want Ryan...I'll stay here and wait for my parents" Stef snapped, ignoring Summer's murderous glare.
"But, you shouldn't be left on your own I'll feel bad if I go and you're stuck here"-
"I'm not on my own" Stef quickly said and noticed Summer's smirk, "I'll go uh, mingle"
"Of course, where there's a drink there's a gay" Summer muttered under her breath.
"Excuse me?" Stef glared as Marissa elbowed Summer and gave her a look of her own.
"We really should be going now; Ryan, are you coming or staying?" Marissa asked.
"I uh"-
"Ry, just go! I'll be fine on my own, just go enjoy yourself and many girls" Stef said giving him a fake smile.
Ryan looked really unsure. "If anything's wrong you'll see your parents right?"
"Of course, of course – now go have fun" Ryan opened his mouth to say something, but was dragged away by the happy chattering girls.
Stef sighed and glanced around at the crowds of people talking to one another. She blushed feeling a bit embarrassed at being alone as she grabbed another drink. Slowly she sipped at it and glanced around. She froze when she saw a nearby group of girls who had modelled looking at her – not her though, at her arms, with looks of disgust on their faces, one of them said something and they laughed. Stef felt her small red blush creep further across her face as she herself glanced down at her arms then knocked back the drink and slammed the glass down on the table, before hurrying away wanting to get out of that awful place where she stuck out as the freak she was.
Her mom said she looked a million dollars, but now she felt just the $95 she was really worth, only much much cheaper and fake. She ran smack into a server who held a bottle of champagne. "Sorry" she mumbled, stepping backwards and they both sidestepped unsuccessfully to pass each other, "I'll take that!" she snapped, snatching the bottle from his hands and hurrying past.
There was no point in looking for her parents anyway; they were too busy being admired and socialising. She didn't need to come along and ruin her Mom's night, not again.
--------------------------------------------------------
Ryan had been at the party for an hour, having the time of his life – it was one of the best night's he'd had in a long time. He smiled at Marissa as she looked his way smiling at him, as Summer went on about some guy and they weren't really listening.
Ryan jumped when his mobile began to ring. "Uh, excuse me" he mumbled in surprise at the interruption, as he walked into a quieter room, shielding one ear to listen as he answered the phone: "Hello?"
"Ryan, its Sandy" he managed to hear, "sounds like the after party's going well" he chuckled.
"Yeah, yeah it's great"
"I'm glad to see you're having fun. Look, me and Kirsten will be stuck up here at this thing for another hour or two, so you and Stef be home before then yeah?"
"Me and Stef?" Ryan asked confused.
"Yeah... Stef is with you isn't she?" Sandy's tone changed a little. Ryan frowned remembering how Sandy and Kirsten had asked him to keep an eye on Stef again, and how he'd left her to go to a party because she insisted she was fine.
Ryan glanced around, "of course, she's uh, gone to the bathroom" he winced at the lie.
"She's alright isn't she?"
"Yeah, she's having a wail of a time...Sandy my battery's going, I have to go"
"Alright. Don't get back home too late alright? And don't do anything I wouldn't do"
"Yeah, yeah of course, bye sandy" Ryan said shutting the phone off. "Crap!" he hissed. He turned and headed back out to where the girls were standing.
"Is everything alright Ryan?" Marissa asked with a smile.
"I'm sorry Marissa, I need to get back to the Cohen's now" Ryan said apologetically.
"Right now? Is anything wrong with Mr. or Mrs. Cohen?" Marissa looked concerned.
"They're fine, it's just uh, they need me there right away"
"Do you want a lift?" Marissa asked.
"I'd appreciate it. I'm sorry to be such a hassle"-
"It's alright Ryan" Marissa put a hand on his arm. "I'll just get my jacket and we can go"
"Thanks" Ryan nodded to her.
-----------------------------------------------------
Ryan walked up the driveway, fumbling to get the spare key out of his pocket that Sandy had given him. He forced it into the front door and twisted it around for a while, tugging on the handle before it opened up.
"Stef?" he called glancing through the doors as he walked down the hallway. He went into the lounge and saw that the rug was dishevelled like someone had tripped – and a nearby splattered wet patch indicated someone with a drink had fallen.
"Stef?" he called again, cursing as he entered and looked around the kitchen. If she wasn't here the Cohen's would surely kill him. He did a short double take as he noticed the kitchen doors leading to outside were open.
His eyes widened as images of a drunken Stef, drowned and floating in the pool came to mind and he hurried out the doors. His heart somersaulted when he saw she was sprawled across a chair near the pool, resting her face on her arm that lay across a table top with an empty bottle of champagne nearby.
"Stef!" Ryan ran over and moved the bottle out of the way before grabbing her shoulders and pulling her back so she was sat up.
"Ry" she drawled, "howsda partay?" she looked up at him with unfocused eyes and a lame attempt of a smile, which looked a bit deranged with her lipstick smeared halfway across her face like a suicidal drunk clown.
"Your parents will kill me if they find you in this state" Ryan groaned, "look, you got alcohol over your dress"
Stef rubbed at the wet patch lamely with arms that felt numb and detached from her body, "yohgod, itz ruined...ruined cause I'm wearinit, and I ruin everythinice" she was slurring as she put her hands to her face to let out a high whimper as if about to sob.
"Stef, you're completely out of it, how much have you drank?" Ryan said, slipping his hands under her arms getting her to stand up.
She stumbled on her clumsy feet and fell against Ryan, "enuffta, ta make it lesssss...ya know" she mumbled against his chest, trying to get a hold of him to steady herself.
Ryan frowned and shifted her in his arms, before manoeuvring so he could pick her up. She groaned and buried her face into his shoulder, letting her hair cover it – it was already beginning to go back to its natural curly state.
Ryan sighed and carried her as carefully as he could around the pool towards the pool house, as it was near by and there were fewer doors to difficultly be in his way. Stef was mumbling something against the material of his shirt as he managed with difficulty to pry the pool house door open and then carefully carried her through.
"I'm going to put you into my bed alright, it looks like you're going to have to crash there tonight" Ryan said, not sure if Stef was even listening let alone conscious as he walked over to the bed and lay her down on it.
Ryan glanced around then grabbed some Kleenex from the nearby box, carefully and hesitantly wiping it across Stef's face in an attempt to wipe away most of the lipstick. Stef's brows furrowed as she made an annoyed sound and rolled over onto her side.
"woah woah" Ryan shifted her back a bit as she almost fell off the bed. With a sigh he threw the dirtied tissue around, and then he then reached over her grabbing the quilt and pulled it over her, gently tucking her in.
Stef let out a sigh as he did and shifted a bit under the covers, "dontcha leave yet" she closed her eyes and seemed to go still suddenly, breathing deeply.
"I won't" Ryan said, moving down to the other end of the bed, lifting up the quilt to undo her shoes and slip them off her dainty feet. He put the shoes together neatly underneath the end of the bed before standing up. He coughed as he smoothed her skirt down over her legs covering them respectively, as it had hitched up to about her thighs. He put the quilt back down before edging backwards until he reached the sofa and sat down in it, resting his chin in the palm of his hand as he studied the sleeping Stef.
He really didn't get that girl, she was...weird. He wondered if he ever would understand her – or if she'd give him the chance.
"The show starts in a few minutes, looks like we got here in time" Sandy said glancing at his watch.
"And mom always said I'd be late for my own funeral" Stef sighed and Ryan softly laughed.
"Look kids, I'm going to see if I can grab Kirsten before the chaos so have fun, I'll be around if either of you need me" Sandy smiled at them both and then left.
Ryan gave Stef a lopsided smile. "So uh, what do we do at these things?"
"Drool, small talk, buy stuff, mingle, eat, and drink, bitch" Stef informed him, "its basically like being any situation and any place in this town, only with more formal dress" she shrugged uncomfortably.
"Ah" Ryan nodded, "so do you want to go get a drink then?" he nodded towards a nearby table
"Sure" Stef grinned at him, and together they headed over and grabbed some drinks, chatting and laughing together for a little while, before the lights and music changed to focus attention on the fashion show that Kirsten had just begun to introduce.
"Hey there's your mom" Ryan nodded towards the crowd swarming around the stage and catwalk.
"Yeah" Stef gave a small smile as she knocked back the last of her drink, placing the empty glass onto the tray of a server who'd just passed without missing a beat.
Ryan squinted over the top of everyone's heads, as they clapped and the music got louder, and girls began to emerge out from behind a curtain and strut their stuff. He walked forward a bit and peered over someone, "Hey, there's Marissa"
Stef grabbed another drink; "Of course she'd be up there" she rolled her eyes slightly.
"She looks amazing, so confident up there...summer's there too" he smiled.
"Oh surprising" Stef commented as she glanced over to the stage, at the fake smiling flouncing girls tossing their hair and posing. She wished she had powers that would make them combust into flames by her just thinking it.
--------------------------------------------------
Stef was stood slightly behind Ryan, one arm slung around her waist as she glanced around bored; everyone applauded as the show finished and the crowd slowly dispersed away from the stage.
"Your mom did one hell of a good job organizing all this" Ryan said turning around and looking at Stef before blinking at the half full glass in her hand. "Didn't you finish that?"
"I did, but then I refilled my glass" Stef smiled at him, seeing his look she shrugged, "Just the once, I swear"
Ryan was looking at her suspiciously until he felt a tap on his shoulder making him spin around. "Marissa" his eyebrows raised in surprise, "uh hi, you were great up there"-
"Oh it was nothing" Marissa laughed off, "I'm so glad you came and watched! Look us teens are all going to an after show party soon, do you want to join, cause I can get you a lift"
"That'd be cool" Ryan grinned at her then turned to look at Stef, "uh do you want to go?"
"There won't be room in the car" Summer announced with a sniff, arriving by Marissa's side and glancing to Stef with obvious distaste.
"I don't want to suffocate in the car because all the air will be sucked into her head anyway, so you can go if you want Ryan...I'll stay here and wait for my parents" Stef snapped, ignoring Summer's murderous glare.
"But, you shouldn't be left on your own I'll feel bad if I go and you're stuck here"-
"I'm not on my own" Stef quickly said and noticed Summer's smirk, "I'll go uh, mingle"
"Of course, where there's a drink there's a gay" Summer muttered under her breath.
"Excuse me?" Stef glared as Marissa elbowed Summer and gave her a look of her own.
"We really should be going now; Ryan, are you coming or staying?" Marissa asked.
"I uh"-
"Ry, just go! I'll be fine on my own, just go enjoy yourself and many girls" Stef said giving him a fake smile.
Ryan looked really unsure. "If anything's wrong you'll see your parents right?"
"Of course, of course – now go have fun" Ryan opened his mouth to say something, but was dragged away by the happy chattering girls.
Stef sighed and glanced around at the crowds of people talking to one another. She blushed feeling a bit embarrassed at being alone as she grabbed another drink. Slowly she sipped at it and glanced around. She froze when she saw a nearby group of girls who had modelled looking at her – not her though, at her arms, with looks of disgust on their faces, one of them said something and they laughed. Stef felt her small red blush creep further across her face as she herself glanced down at her arms then knocked back the drink and slammed the glass down on the table, before hurrying away wanting to get out of that awful place where she stuck out as the freak she was.
Her mom said she looked a million dollars, but now she felt just the $95 she was really worth, only much much cheaper and fake. She ran smack into a server who held a bottle of champagne. "Sorry" she mumbled, stepping backwards and they both sidestepped unsuccessfully to pass each other, "I'll take that!" she snapped, snatching the bottle from his hands and hurrying past.
There was no point in looking for her parents anyway; they were too busy being admired and socialising. She didn't need to come along and ruin her Mom's night, not again.
--------------------------------------------------------
Ryan had been at the party for an hour, having the time of his life – it was one of the best night's he'd had in a long time. He smiled at Marissa as she looked his way smiling at him, as Summer went on about some guy and they weren't really listening.
Ryan jumped when his mobile began to ring. "Uh, excuse me" he mumbled in surprise at the interruption, as he walked into a quieter room, shielding one ear to listen as he answered the phone: "Hello?"
"Ryan, its Sandy" he managed to hear, "sounds like the after party's going well" he chuckled.
"Yeah, yeah it's great"
"I'm glad to see you're having fun. Look, me and Kirsten will be stuck up here at this thing for another hour or two, so you and Stef be home before then yeah?"
"Me and Stef?" Ryan asked confused.
"Yeah... Stef is with you isn't she?" Sandy's tone changed a little. Ryan frowned remembering how Sandy and Kirsten had asked him to keep an eye on Stef again, and how he'd left her to go to a party because she insisted she was fine.
Ryan glanced around, "of course, she's uh, gone to the bathroom" he winced at the lie.
"She's alright isn't she?"
"Yeah, she's having a wail of a time...Sandy my battery's going, I have to go"
"Alright. Don't get back home too late alright? And don't do anything I wouldn't do"
"Yeah, yeah of course, bye sandy" Ryan said shutting the phone off. "Crap!" he hissed. He turned and headed back out to where the girls were standing.
"Is everything alright Ryan?" Marissa asked with a smile.
"I'm sorry Marissa, I need to get back to the Cohen's now" Ryan said apologetically.
"Right now? Is anything wrong with Mr. or Mrs. Cohen?" Marissa looked concerned.
"They're fine, it's just uh, they need me there right away"
"Do you want a lift?" Marissa asked.
"I'd appreciate it. I'm sorry to be such a hassle"-
"It's alright Ryan" Marissa put a hand on his arm. "I'll just get my jacket and we can go"
"Thanks" Ryan nodded to her.
-----------------------------------------------------
Ryan walked up the driveway, fumbling to get the spare key out of his pocket that Sandy had given him. He forced it into the front door and twisted it around for a while, tugging on the handle before it opened up.
"Stef?" he called glancing through the doors as he walked down the hallway. He went into the lounge and saw that the rug was dishevelled like someone had tripped – and a nearby splattered wet patch indicated someone with a drink had fallen.
"Stef?" he called again, cursing as he entered and looked around the kitchen. If she wasn't here the Cohen's would surely kill him. He did a short double take as he noticed the kitchen doors leading to outside were open.
His eyes widened as images of a drunken Stef, drowned and floating in the pool came to mind and he hurried out the doors. His heart somersaulted when he saw she was sprawled across a chair near the pool, resting her face on her arm that lay across a table top with an empty bottle of champagne nearby.
"Stef!" Ryan ran over and moved the bottle out of the way before grabbing her shoulders and pulling her back so she was sat up.
"Ry" she drawled, "howsda partay?" she looked up at him with unfocused eyes and a lame attempt of a smile, which looked a bit deranged with her lipstick smeared halfway across her face like a suicidal drunk clown.
"Your parents will kill me if they find you in this state" Ryan groaned, "look, you got alcohol over your dress"
Stef rubbed at the wet patch lamely with arms that felt numb and detached from her body, "yohgod, itz ruined...ruined cause I'm wearinit, and I ruin everythinice" she was slurring as she put her hands to her face to let out a high whimper as if about to sob.
"Stef, you're completely out of it, how much have you drank?" Ryan said, slipping his hands under her arms getting her to stand up.
She stumbled on her clumsy feet and fell against Ryan, "enuffta, ta make it lesssss...ya know" she mumbled against his chest, trying to get a hold of him to steady herself.
Ryan frowned and shifted her in his arms, before manoeuvring so he could pick her up. She groaned and buried her face into his shoulder, letting her hair cover it – it was already beginning to go back to its natural curly state.
Ryan sighed and carried her as carefully as he could around the pool towards the pool house, as it was near by and there were fewer doors to difficultly be in his way. Stef was mumbling something against the material of his shirt as he managed with difficulty to pry the pool house door open and then carefully carried her through.
"I'm going to put you into my bed alright, it looks like you're going to have to crash there tonight" Ryan said, not sure if Stef was even listening let alone conscious as he walked over to the bed and lay her down on it.
Ryan glanced around then grabbed some Kleenex from the nearby box, carefully and hesitantly wiping it across Stef's face in an attempt to wipe away most of the lipstick. Stef's brows furrowed as she made an annoyed sound and rolled over onto her side.
"woah woah" Ryan shifted her back a bit as she almost fell off the bed. With a sigh he threw the dirtied tissue around, and then he then reached over her grabbing the quilt and pulled it over her, gently tucking her in.
Stef let out a sigh as he did and shifted a bit under the covers, "dontcha leave yet" she closed her eyes and seemed to go still suddenly, breathing deeply.
"I won't" Ryan said, moving down to the other end of the bed, lifting up the quilt to undo her shoes and slip them off her dainty feet. He put the shoes together neatly underneath the end of the bed before standing up. He coughed as he smoothed her skirt down over her legs covering them respectively, as it had hitched up to about her thighs. He put the quilt back down before edging backwards until he reached the sofa and sat down in it, resting his chin in the palm of his hand as he studied the sleeping Stef.
He really didn't get that girl, she was...weird. He wondered if he ever would understand her – or if she'd give him the chance.