Chapter five! Read and review, and leave me some feedback !
The days drug on. Tyler made a habit of driving her home after school, much to her protest about the rising gas prices. On Wednesday he had Jessica's car brought in to the local auto shop for repair, and all went without fault.
Fast forward to Friday. She sat in the library during study block, tapping her pen against her notebook in pure boredom. Sarah sat across from her, buried in a huge chemistry textbook, and Caleb had been absent for the whole day. After nearly an hour of silence, Sarah shut her text book roughly.
"I hate chem," she sighed, resting her chin on her crossed arms. "I don't know why I'm taking it," Ella smiled at her.
"Because you're good at it. And no matter how much you say you hate it, it's your favourite class." she told her firmly.
Sarah smiled. "You're right. Hey, there's a party at the Dells tonight, you should come!" she told her, sitting up in excitement.
"Depends, what exactly is 'the Dells?" she asked curiously, setting her pen down. Sarah was beaming.
"It's this great beach spot along some cliffs, you can only get to it by walking a bit through the forest. Everyone gets together for a party every now and then. Food, drinks, DJ, bonfire. It's a good time," Sarah explained. "So, will you come?"
Ella bit her lip in thought. It did sound fun. "How far out is this place?" she asked curiously.
"About fifteen twenty minutes from here, ten if we leave from Pogue's house, which we usually do." Sarah said, fully knowing she had Ella hooked on the idea.
"I live on the same street as Pogue. You and Kate could come over to my house to get ready, and then we could meet up with the boys?" she suggested and Sarah nodded.
"Yes! Kate and I will get some stuff together before last period, and we'll catch a ride with you and Ty. This is going to be so much fun !" she exclaimed, earning a warning glare from the librarian.
"Yeah. Now I have something to look forward too for the rest of the day." she said, and was silenced by a fierce 'Shh!' from the librarian. They both dropped their gazes back to their work.
For the rest of the day, Ella was putting possible party outfits together in her mind. She didn't have a large wardrobe, but she had a few pieces that might work.
When the final bell rang, Ella made her way to the parking lot, where she told Kate and Sarah she would meet them. Tyler pulled up in front of her, smiling.
Just as she was about to climb in, Kate and Sarah were at her side, each clutching a large bag full of who knows what. "Hey Ty! We're catching a ride to Ella's house!" Kate said, pulling open the rear door and climbing in. Sarah followed. Ella shook her head in amusement and climbed in next to Tyler.
"May I ask what you ladies are up to tonight?" Tyler asked them, pulling out of the parking lot.
"I convinced Ella to come to the Dells. We're getting ready at her house. You can pick us up at nine," Sarah told her, flashing a perfect smile. Tyler shook his head.
"Your wish is my command. But I should probably check in with Caleb and Pogue before I cart their girls off to a party all by my lonesome," he answered, earning a giggle from all three of the girls.
"It's okay Tyler, Kate and Pogue will go with me and Caleb. Reid will probably want a ride from you though," Sarah told him with an eye roll. "But tonight should be fun. Everyone I've talked too is coming,"
"Well it should be a good time then," Tyler said, pulling into Ella's drive way. The girls got out, waved to him, and then entered the house. Ella had texted her sister earlier that day, to confirm that she was allowed to have friends over, and go to the party. Jessica had said yes without question.
Although she wasn't there to meet the girls, she had made sure there was a snack platter on the table to keep them going until dinner. They carried the tray, laden with crackers, sausage, cheese, and veggies into the living room and clicked onto a music channel on the television.
"You have such a cute house," Kate commented, fingering the robin's egg blue drapes behind the couch.
"Thanks. It's small, but for the two of us it's just right," she said with a shrug. Ella and Kate sat on the couch, Sarah pushing the coffee table away and sitting before them on the floor.
"So what were you thinking of wearing tonight, Ella?" Kate asked, nibbling on a piece of cheese. Ella rose, and headed to her bedroom, retrieving the outfit she had put together mentally. It consisted of a pair of blue skinny jeans, a silk crimson tank top, a white hoodie with silver and black designs on it, and black knee high boots.
"That shirt is hot." Sarah said, taking it and nodding her approval. Kate nodded in agreement.
"You're going to look hot," Kate smiled at her. "Now Sarah and I have to pick outfits," she said, heading back to the living room and returning with their bags. She over turned them on Ella's bed, while Ella hung her outfit over her chair.
Sarah pulled out a light pink strapless top, that hugged her chest and floated out into an empire waist. She paired it with black skinny jeans, silver wedge heels, and a white cardigan.
"That top is so cute, Sarah," Ella told her, knowing the blonde was going to look gorgeous in it. "Now it's your turn Kate!" she exclaimed.
Kate dug through the pile of clothes, and pulled out a pair of black leggings, a floral print mini dress that gave her dark skin a warm glow, a black cardigan and black ankle uggs.
"So it's official. We're all going to look hot." Sarah said with a smirk. "The boys will be drooling. Even if Kate freezes her butt off." she said, earning a laugh from both of the girls.
"Yeah Kate. It's November. Are you really up for wearing a dress?" Ella asked her, eyebrow raised. Kate rolled her eyes.
"That's why I paired it with the leggings! Plus, there's going to be a fire. And I have Pogue to warm me up." she said, sharing a knowing smirk with Sarah, that Ella almost missed.
"So Ella," Kate said, sitting on her bed. "You definitely cannot deny that there isn't anything going on between you and Tyler now. It's more than obvious that there's something there," Ella blushed furiously.
"Honestly, I have no idea what's going on. I'm just going with it." she explained.
"Do you like him?" Sarah asked seriously, blue eyes prying.
"I haven't known him that long. I could do a lot worse, I know, but I'm not ready for anything serious."
"The thing about Tyler, though, is that he is ready for something serious. He is serious." Sarah said with a sigh. " Out of all of the boys in Ipswich, he is the most mature, he follows his instincts, and he's generally the safest one of the Sons."
"When he isn't with Reid, you mean." Kate added with a shrug.
"The point is, if you aren't ready, Tyler's going to move on. He's not one to have a fling with a girl and drop her. If he's still into you, he's ready to go exclusive." Ella's head suddenly felt heavy with thought.
"Is this supposed to be a pep talk, or are you trying to turn me off of Tyler?" she demanded, confusion and anger ruining her ability to have coherent thoughts. Sarah's eyes widened.
"No no no. We want you to be with Tyler. You're perfect for him, from what we can tell. We're just making sure you understand how... complex he is." Sarah said, her voice softer.
"I understand." Ella said, forcing a smile. "How about we start getting ready now? Our hair isn't going to do itself." she exclaimed. Kate and Sarah nodded at her obvious attempt at changing the conversation.
They took turns showering and doing hair. Ella settled for curling her hair in soft layers, and opted for no make up. Slowly the hours ticked by. At 8:30 Jessica got home from work. She was visibly exhausted, but excited to meet Ella's 'girl' friends.
At nine o'clock on the dot, Tyler's hummer pulled up in front of the house, closely followed by Caleb's mustang. Ella grabbed her purse, and followed Kate and Sarah out the door.
"See you there!" Sarah called to her, as they walked over to Caleb's car. Ella waved and pulled the passenger side door of the hummer open.
"No fucking way." she met Reid's icy blue gaze, as he attempted to pull the door shut. "Backseat cupcake." he told her. She glanced at him, and then past him at Tyler.
"Reid, be a gentleman." Tyler said, his voice dangerously low. Reid muttered to himself, and climbed out of the hummer. He was wearing a black hoodie with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, his black beanie and fingerless gloves, blue jeans and skate shoes. Typical Reid attire. He gave her a once over as he passed.
"Looking good," he said, sounding impressed and no longer pissed off. He climbed in the backseat, and shut the door. Ella climbed in next to Tyler and smiled at him.
"You do look nice, Ella," he said with a pleasant smile. Tyler was wearing a green and black striped hoodie, black jeans, and green converse.
They pulled out of the drive way, and followed Caleb's mustang down the road. The only sound was Reid's fingers as they tapped a beat against the arm rest in the back seat. Finally, Ella leaned forward and turned on the radio. A harsh rap blared through the speakers.
"Yeah!" Reid exclaimed, leaning forward and cranking it up. Ella cringed at the atrocious lyrics. Something about shaking appendages, and something about a brothers mother. She pressed the tuning button and the station changed to a soft country. The House That Built Me, By Miranda Lambert was playing. "Fuck that!" Reid shouted, leaning forward to change it back. Ella gazed up at Tyler, who sighed.
"Reid, you listen to that crap all the time. Let Ella choose the station," he said, swatting Reid's hand out of the way.
"Fuck man. You are so whipped. I don't wanna listen to this country shit." He complained glaring as Ella smiled back at him triumphantly.
"It's not shit. It's real music, unlike your stupid fucking rap music.," she said. Tyler reached across and grabbed her hand. He rubbed the top of it with his thumb,
"Both of you need to get along, please. Reid likes rap, Ella likes Country. There's no reason we can't listen to both." Tyler said, dropping her hand and returning his to the wheel. "Anyway, we're almost there, so if both of you drop the attitudes we can all have a good time."
"I'm sorry." Ella said quietly. She never would of changed the station if she knew it would have caused an argument. And she surely did not want to come between Tyler and his best friend.
"Hey, not a big deal." he said, smiling reassuringly at her.
"Yeah, no biggie!" Reid said, playfully punching her shoulder from behind her. She flinched away from the punch, and forced a smile. Still slightly queasy from the confrontation, she stared straight ahead as they pulled into a tree lined dirt road.
"Is this the part where you take me deep into the forest and brutally murder me?" she asked, earning a chuckled from both boys.
"If we wanted to kill you, you'd be dead by now." Reid whispered in her ear, jumping from the hummer as Tyler parked. They were deep in the forest, and there were many vehicles parked haphazardly throughout the trees.
"We just have to walk a little bit and then we'll be at the Dells." Tyler explained, standing close by her.
"And then the fun begins." Reid added, eyes flashing in excitement.
Sorry guys, it's been a while! I'll try and post chapter six sometime tomorrow! Review please, feedback is always welcome!