Chapter 1: Lions and Tigers and Bears
Regarding today, the day of the party, Jen had been completely right: it was like Thursday and Friday had fallen off the calendar just to make room for Saturday. This afternoon, the gang came over Sydni's house to complete last-minute tasks for the party.
Jen rapidly clicked her pen before pointing it at Caitlin. "Caitlin, you invited everyone, right?"
"Um, define everyone."
"Caitlin! You were in charge of sending out invites!"
"Sorry! I sorta fell asleep in the middle of texting people. But I swear I'm going to finish that right now."
She, slapping her palm against her forehead, asked, "Wyatt, have you and Sydni finished getting the playlist together?"
He sat next to Sydni at her dining room table, saying, "Not quite. We're still making some changes."
"Great. Just great," Jen muttered before turning to Jonesy. "Where's Nikki?"
He shrugged. "I dunno."
Jude pushed a few cases of soda through the front door. "Bra"—he looked through the dining room—"where do you want me to put these?"
Sydni replied, "You can leave them right there, Jude. I need to get my dad's cooler from the basement."
Before walking through the living room and into the kitchen, Jude said, "Okay."
"Is that where the beer's gonna be tonight? Sweet," Jonesy said.
Sydni frowned. "Jonesy, I promised my parents there'd be no alcohol."
"C'mon, what's a party without a little bit of booze?"
"A sober one." She placed her hand on her chin. "But maybe since you're really focused on drinking, you can be on door duty tonight."
"Why?" he whined.
"To make sure people like you won't bring in any drinks. I refuse to be grounded over people getting drunk off their asses."
He sighed, reluctantly agreeing. "Fine."
"Great."
Jen huffed. "If any of you actually needs me, I'll be in the living room."
"These go here"—Jen laid a few stacks of plastic cups on the living room table—"these go here"—she placed some napkins next to them—"and these"—she referred to matching blue and green plates—"go here."
She stared at her meticulously laid items. Something wasn't right. She eyed the crooked napkins before straightening them. Again, she changed the order of the cups.
Jude, having watched her rearrange every item on the coffee table hundreds of times in one minute, walked behind her and placed his hands on her tense shoulders, startling her. He massaged them, tending to her with care.
"You seem really nervous. Got anything on your mind, bra?"
"Sydni and Wyatt haven't finished the playlist for tonight, Jonesy keeps complaining about the lack of liquor, Caitlin is still inviting people, and I need Nikki to help me hang some of the decorations we bought. And I don't even know why we need this stupid confetti cannon!"
"Whoa, Jen—the confetti has feelings too." As she frowned, he said, "Everything's going to be fine. Just relax."
"I can't relax."
Dropping his hands to his sides, he studied her. "You're not just talking about the party, are ya?"
She inhaled sharply, not only because she didn't want to hyperventilate, but also because he figured her out so easily. She shook her head. "I can't stop thinking about Nick."
"But what's the matter? You sound sad about him. I thought you really liked him."
"I don't know, Jude. He's been kind of distant these past few days, even after that blog stuff happened. The only time he talked to me was to tell me he's coming to the party, and now I don't know what to do. I can't figure him out right now." She groaned.
He smiled, looking her in the face. "You'll be okay, Jen."
"How do you know that?"
"Because you're only as okay as you allow yourself to be."
After Nikki showed up to "finally" help Jen, the gang had left a short time later. Luckily, preparing for a house party hadn't taken as much effort as Sydni thought. (Because hiding valuables, including her father's many DIY projects, only took instinct.) Now it was a matter of her parents leaving the house before everything started.
"You're telling me how to spend my night? I thought I was the parent here."
Sydni stood in the doorway of the upstairs bathroom, watching her mother apply lipstick. "I'm not telling you how to spend your night, mom. I'd never do that." She shrugged. "I just think that you need this—a night away from paperwork, a night where you can actually have fun instead of… instead of everything else taking up space in your head."
"Really? Because it sounds like that's what you need. That last part, at least."
She bit her lip. "But this is about you, mom. I want you to have a nice night out with dad. That's all."
Her mother finished applying her makeup. Sydni moved as her mother made her way out the bathroom. "And I want you to have a safe night with your friends." As she and her mother walked down the stairs to find her father on the living room couch, she said, "Speaking of, all the emergency numbers are on the fridge."
"Okay."
"Remember: don't let anyone carrying alcohol into the party."
"Okay."
"Sydni, I'm serious. Remember what happened at your friend Michaela's party?"
"You know she and I hadn't been drinking, right?" She twirled a lock of her hair around and around. Or at least I hadn't.
"The entire football team had been acting like drunken idiots and got themselves arrested. That's what concerns me. Some of them are lucky they didn't get expelled for that. I can't believe she threw such a party behind her father's back. She's always been a wild one."
She couldn't argue with that last fact—Michaela had never been innocent—but she felt the need to defend one of her best friends. "You know Michaela's not a bad person."
"I never said she is. I just said she's wild and her father needs to control her."
"Okay." It was obvious she wasn't going to win with her mom regarding this subject. After they made their way downstairs, she asked, "I don't mean to be pushy, but are you and dad about to go? It's almost nine."
Her father, having been seated on the couch, stood up and spoke for her mother. "We are," he said. "Have fun tonight."
Her mother, opening the front door, said, "But don't go completely wild. Please call us if there's an emergency; my cellphone will be on vibrate. Oh, and another thing—"
"Honey, can you let that girl breathe? She'll be just fine. Won't you, Syd?"
She nodded. "I will, dad."
"See?" he asked his wife, who sighed reluctantly.
"We'll be home around midnight," her mother said before leaving.
Sydni closed the front door, leaning against it. She sighed, knowing it was time to move on. This wouldn't be the first party she threw, but it was certainly the first she'd throw without the help of her two best friends. Gaining six new ones, however, was overwhelming and unexpected, though it was something she could accept. But memories of her and Michaela and Danielle at the parties they went to lingered…
The doorbell loudly sounded. Her eyes widened as she leaped away from the front door. She opened it and the gang appeared.
"Hey," she said. "You guys can come in and make yourselves at home until the party starts."
They did so until a couple people arrived. Jonesy began manning his post at the front door, expressionless as he made sure the two who arrived didn't have liquor with them. Ten minutes hadn't even passed before he grew bored. A grin only graced his face when he saw Jude encouraging others to crazily dance with him and when Nikki glanced at him while talking to Jen. She got off the living room couch, telling Jen that she'd be back, and walked in his direction.
As soon as another few people walked through the front door and were "cleared for entry"—Jonesy chuckled at the thought—Nikki stood in front of him.
"I came to see how your 'door duty' is going."
"Ugh, I am so bored. This isn't even close to being a bouncer. This bites."
"You'll get over it," she said, causing him to scowl.
"Why do I have to be here while the rest of you guys get to have fun?"
"Hey, it's your fault you chose to be a party snob."
"If wanting a little bit of booze makes me a party snob, then, yes, I am one."
She rolled her eyes. "Listen, since you're this bored, I promise to stop by and keep you company later."
"Thanks, Nikki." He hunched over, kissing her on the cheek.
A smile tugged at her lips. "The things I do for you. Later."
"Later," he said, watching her walk away. He placed a hand on his chin and smiled, admiring the switch in her hips.
Jen and Nikki had stopped conversing once Nick arrived. He'd perched himself on the arm of the couch, making it clear to Nikki that he wanted to be with Jen. Nikki had gotten the hint and left in search of different company, preferably Gwen.
Jen and Nick ended up in the backyard shortly afterwards, sitting beside each other in wicker patio chairs. He tried making conversation, acting as if all was fine, but she didn't feel comfortable. Her heart was weighed down with confusion and desperation.
"Nick, do you think you can get us some drinks?" she asked. She needed to buy herself some time. She needed to speak with the one person who would understand her and (hopefully) give her some advice.
"Sure, what do you want?"
"Um, it doesn't really matter."
"Okay. I'll be right back."
As soon as he left, she ran across the yard to find Caitlin batting her eyelashes at Benj.
"Hey, Benj, can I borrow Caitlin for just a moment?" Before he could respond, Jen grabbed her by the wrist and yanked her away. "Thank you."
The two girls stood near the privacy fence.
Caitlin looked at Jen with bewildered and concerned eyes. "Jen, are you okay?"
"No." She bit her lip. "I need help—guy help."
"What's wrong with you and Nick?"
"He's been kind of distant these past few days. The only time we really talked was today, and now he's acting like things are okay and I don't think he really knows how I'm feeling. I don't even think he knows I realized it's been different lately, but—"
"Take a deep breath. Maybe you're overthinking it. I'm sure Nick has a reason why he's been distant, and it's probably not because of you. But you should be honest with him about your feelings. I bet he'll be willing to talk it out and you guys will be fine."
Nodding, Jen said, "Okay." Even though her mouth suddenly went dry, she gulped down her emotions, letting them settle at the pit of her stomach.
Jonesy didn't see people coming into the party anymore—he only saw dollar signs. Living, breathing, walking dollar signs.
When a girl had paid him five dollars as she'd entered, unaware that she didn't have to pay to be allowed inside, he'd almost given her money back. Almost. Instead, he'd held onto her cash and told her to have a good time.
Charging five dollars per person, in "honor" of the girl who "so graciously" gave him the idea, Jonesy managed to make plenty of money already. It surprised him that the party only started forty-five minutes ago.
"What's up, dude?"
Jonesy turned around to find Levi running a hand through his ash-blonde hair. He was the one person Jonesy (probably) wouldn't collect an entrance fee from. Smiling, he said, "Nothing much. Glad you're able to make it."
"Hey, I'm always here for a friend." In a singsong way, he said, "Look what I brought." He held a six-pack of Coronas in the air, prompting Jonesy to push his arm down.
"Dude, as lame as it sounds, my friend doesn't want any booze in here—something she promised her parents. Lame, right?"
"Nah, I totally get it. But if you want a drink, I'll keep 'em in my car. Just say the word, and I got it."
Wyatt had never been much of a partygoer. He only felt comfortable going to them when he was with the gang. Right now, none of them were in sight. The last time he'd seen Jude, he'd been devouring chips and other snacks with Starr. Both of them had fun pretending that no one else was around, living in a make-believe, junk-food land. From the looks of it, Jude had been lighting up before the party started.
He had also seen Jen and Caitlin talking near the fence, but other people had crowded his vision and he could no longer see them. Jonesy still manned his post at the door, albeit looking less bored.
Nikki had been laughing with Gwen about something. He didn't know what they'd been going on about, but whatever it was belonged to them and deserved to stay between them. He didn't feel right getting into other people's business. He had his own to tend to anyway—business like where to find another can of soda.
He turned away from the patio, where people had been dancing to that song "Gas Pedal" by Sage the Gemini. It was because of Jonesy that he knew about that song in the first place; he'd played it endlessly when Jude and Wyatt once hung out at the Masterson-Garcia's house. It wasn't in Wyatt's tastes, neither was it in Sydni's tastes, which he found out when they had been discussing the party's playlist together. Her collection of music was amusing (in a positive way).
Making his way through the screen door leading to the kitchen, he blindly bumped into somebody.
"Sorry about that. I just—"
"Hi, Wyatt."
"H-hey, Marlowe." Even if he'd been hurrying through the door, he suddenly wondered why he didn't notice a storm of ginger hair on the way in. Wondered why he didn't stop.
"How are you?"
"I'm… I'm okay. I've been better."
"Well, that's great." Her eyes darted away. "I guess I'll see you later then."
"Yeah, later."
Deliberately not grabbing a soda from the cooler, Wyatt walked through the first floor until he was at the front door. He watched Jonesy grab money from a girl making her way in and shove it into his pocket.
"Jonesy, what are you doing?"
His face froze, knowing he had been caught, but the worry soon melted away—Wyatt would be easy to manipulate.
"I'm making a profit, if you must know."
"But what if you get caught?"
"I'm not gonna, and you're not gonna tell anybody, right?" He eyeballed Wyatt hard.
Wyatt sighed after a long moment. "Fine, but I won't be held responsible if something happens." He rubbed the back of his neck, shifting his focus to his feet.
"What's got your G-string in a knot?"
His eyes quickly met Jonesy's again. "What?"
"It's obvious something happened, Wyatt."
"Alright… So I ran into Marlowe and, I don't know, things haven't been the same between us since the other day."
"I've got a suggestion: what you need to do is stop being a wuss and go dance with her." He gave Wyatt a push in (what he believed to be) the right direction, shouting, "Go get 'em, tiger!"