"Your name is Jeffy, right? Jeffy Veras." I imagined for a moment that I had one of Aden's bracelets on my wrist and it flashed brightly.
"Yea." It was quiet except for the sound of people laughing and yelling at the party towers nearby, and the whispers of lovers there in the garden. It felt awkward to stand there and not say anything. But I never talk. I just party and let Edie treat me as her little Rustie Barbie. "And you're, ah, Tyler…? Troy?"
"Terence. It's Terence." He looked a bit hurt that I didn't remember his name. Looking back, I realize he didn't even mention his last name.
"Right. My bad." We stood there. He stared at me and I could feel him wondering. Everyone wonders, "How much of her is real?" I waited for the question, but, it never came. I don't know if it surprised me, but I think it did in some way. Part of me wanted him to ask me, to delve in deeper and try to open me up.
"JEFFFFFFY!" The shriek made us both jump and I stumbled drunkenly past him. "Bye. Uh. I'll see you around. Terence." I had to throw in his name, to remind myself. I made a mental note to try to be a little bit better at learning people's names. I left him behind in the Pleasure Garden and searched for Edie, listening for her voice. I didn't feel like dealing with the emotions of somebody I hardly knew. I deal with that enough on a daily basis.
I found her in a pretty sensible way. We smacked headfirst into each other and I saw lights as bright as waking up to a wallscreen with a pukemaking hangover. We both let out a groan, but the bubbly drinks in our systems curbed the edge. I'd be downing some bogus happy drink to get rid of my hangover and a headache in the morning.
Edie let out her signature cacklelaugh and pulled me up with the help of Aden and some other Party Pretties after we made sure our Pretty faces weren't ruined for the night.
"What took you so long, Jeffy-Effy? Did you find a boy to exchange face ranks with?" I shrugged and then shook my head. She wrapped her arms around my neck and planted a kiss on my cheek, letting me feel loved. Edie is good at that. She makes everyone feel loved and we love her, too.
Aden trailed over to me and his arm slipped around my waist, where it always seemed to be. He pulled me tight and we all walked away, everyone wordbabbling about how awesome that trick was, it was sure to be all over the newsfeeds within hours.
I was more quiet than usual, despite my attempts to act like I hadn't run into the golden-haired boy. I felt different. I wasn't sure how, but a part of me felt like I'd done something wrong, or I'd sneaked a kiss with someone I shouldn't have.
"Hey, Jeffy, you up for crashing an Extras party? I hear they've got some crazy new bubbly drinks; the tech-heads have these dream-making shots that make you go hyperwild." Aden said it quietly in my ear, and he looked at me eagerly, pleading with his eyes for me to go. Much like when the boy Terence had wanted me to stay. I only nodded and smiled. He smiled too, and so did the rest of the Party Pretties. I had a feeling we'd be out until dawn, maybe later.
Ahh, sorry for the delay in updating! However, I've got two new chapters with this update, 4 & 5! My chapters are only about 550+ words, which I apologize for, but that's why I'm trying to get a lot done. Thanks so much for reading, and I'm super psyched that people are actually reading this haha. Anywho, reviews are always more than welcome.