Friday finally came around and everyone was buzzing about the party. When I left school, I was really nervous and excited. My parents had agreed to drop me off and pick me up. Even though I wasn't drinking, I didn't want my Tesla near drunk people. It was an expensive car after all.
I had a shower the second I got home, prepping for the party. I brushed my long locks and let them air dry, creating natural waves, whilst I put on some very minor makeup.
A little bit of mascara, some green glitter eye shadow to match my dress, some brown eyeliner to make my eyes even wider than before, and some pale pink gloss.
I pulled my dress on, and found the black heels my mom had loaned me for the night. Grabbing my black fluffy jacket, I looked at my reflection.
My hair looked so… Plain. I started pinning the sides back, and rummaged in my drawers. I found some little green gemstone hair clips in my draw with a note.
Have a great time - J
He was so sneaky. My stomach felt like it had butterflies reading that note. The thought that had gone into that small gesture, made me so happy. I was glad we had made up.
I placed them in my hair, evenly spaced. Once I was ready, I started slowly descending the stairs. I wasn't exactly proficient in heels, but my parents heard me coming down and met me at the bottom. They both looked at me with pride and sadness.
"Our baby is so beautiful." My mom cried a little, her gold eyes glowing from the tears.
I laughed. She could be so silly.
"You look lovely honey. Shall we go." My father was obviously keen to get this over with.
I nodded and followed them to the car. I was so ready for this party. As we drove to Jessica's house I felt my stomach flip. My first party. I needed to savour this moment.
I nervously got out of the car, waving them goodbye, and walked up to the door. Jessica opened it, happy to see me.
"Girl you made it! Come in!" She had obviously had a few drinks, since her voice was very squeaky.
Alcohol did strange things to humans.
I followed her into the house. I saw Lucas on the dance floor, dominating. Kat was standing talking to some boys I didn't recognise. Rhonda had found a girl she liked and was kissing her in the corner. I suddenly wondered what it was like to kiss someone for real. To be attracted to someone enough to take that step. I saw Dylan drinking with Simon, and they both lit up when they saw me. I wandered over and said hi.
"Hey guys."
"Ness you look…" Dylan was at a loss for words.
I blushed. "You both look very handsome,'' I told them kindly.
"Wanna dance?" Dylan asked.
I nodded and followed him into the living room where Lucas was taking over the room. He saw me and drunkenly cheered, grabbing my hand and spinning me around. It was funny for me, but Dylan looked annoyed. I didn't see why he would be annoyed, since we were all friends having fun together.
I noticed Dylan chugging drinks, whilst angrily watching us dance. I worried about him. He looked troubled.
After a while, Dylan caught me coming off of the dance floor and asked me if we could talk in the other room, so I followed him. He was shuffling his feet.
"What is it, Dylan?" I asked him.
He looked into my eyes and then just started coming towards me.
Before I knew what was happening he was kissing me.
My whole body froze.
I was mortified.
He tasted like alcohol and it made me very nauseous.
How dare he take my first kiss from me? How dare he force himself on me?
I shoved him off, and he was startled. I smacked him across his face and stormed out. He was on my tail but I was ignoring him.
I finally lost him when I reached the tree line. I let a few tears slip from my eyes.
How could he do that?
I thought he was my friend.
Why did he think I was interested in him? I had never told him anything or acted differently towards him. Love didn't look like that.
I wasn't drawn to him.
I didn't want to be near him all the time.
And I didn't miss him when I left.
It didn't hurt when we were apart.
That was real love and I had never…
My brain suddenly froze.
"Oh my god." I muttered to myself.
I knew I should have called my parents, but I was already moving. I threw off my heels, grabbing them from the floor and found myself sprinting through the woods.
I was moving faster than I ever had my whole life. I needed to get there before I made a huge mistake. I found myself on the doorstep, staring at the panelling as I waited.
The door swung open to reveal Jacob, shirtless and sleepy. My heart was pounding in my chest.
"Nessie?" He was looking me up and down as if I were the most incredible thing he had ever seen.
"What… what are you doing here?" He asked me.
I didn't know what to say.
How do you tell someone you're in love with them?
That you were too stupid to see it and now you're terrified it's too late.
This was the scariest thing I had ever done, and now I was here I was frozen. So I did what I had to, and I threw my arms around his neck in order to pull him into a kiss.
Our lips met and he instantly stopped moving, completely caught off guard.
His shock lasted seconds before his arms were wrapping around my waist and he was kissing me back.
This was the first kiss I wanted.
He was so warm against me, as our lips moved in sync. It was like we were built to kiss each other. His lips were so soft and made my toes tingle.
Finally, he pulled away, unsure what to do.
"You kissed me." He stated plainly, clearly not sure if it was true.
"Yeah." I assured him, blushing.
"I thought you were still angry at me." That made me sad. But I decided to tease him a little bit.
"I thought you saw me as a child." I retorted, reminding him the events that had transpired before.
He sighed. "I was just hurt, seeing you with that guy." He finally admitted.
"You were jealous?"
I definitely had no idea.
"Well yeah. Look at you!" He stepped back and gestured towards me. "How could I not be? Seeing you smiling at him like that."
The pain in his voice stabbed me. I didn't understand.
"I kissed you, not him."
Even though he kissed me first.
"But, why?" he asked me, clearly confused by my change of heart.
I placed my hand to his face and showed him everything. Showed him the years of companionship that had grown into how I felt now. Showed him the recent pull towards him. Showed him the pain of our fighting. Showed him, begrudgingly, the events of the night that led me to his door.
When I was done, he looked angry.
"I'll kill him." He growled.
I knew he would be annoyed. "Jake." I spoke his name gently, holding his hand in both of mine.
His eyes met mine instantly.
"I ended up here because of it. I ended up at your door." My words were sincere, and they softened his face.
He held my cheeks and then pulled me in to kiss me again. It was like my whole body was circulating an electrical current that sparked every time he touched me. We were both smiling against the kiss. The pain was gone and replaced with sheer happiness.
When the kiss ended, Jacob and I walked home together through the forest. He held my hand possessively the whole way. But I didn't mind. Because he was mine too.
When we reached my front door my parents came running out in a panic, before stopping in their tracks. They saw me clutching onto Jacob and I saw my father smirk. My mother walked straight up to Jacob and smacked him on the side of the head.
"While you've been messing around I have been worried sick!" He looked so upset by the head smack.
"Come on, Bella. Give them a minute."
She stormed in at my father's words. He gave me a knowing look and followed her in. I turned to Jacob and kissed the spot she had hit.
He melted.
"Thank you for walking me home." I expressed my gratitude.
My whole demeanour turned shy. I had never been in this situation.
"I would gladly walk you home any time." He teased.
We shared a short, delicate kiss before I finally went inside. My parents didn't interrogate me or show anger towards me. They simply smiled at me knowingly as I went up to bed. I lay on my bed with the biggest smile on my face.
This was what it was like to be happy for real.
And I never wanted it to end.