The next morning, I woke up feeling much better than I had the previous morning. It was a Saturday, so I didn't bother with my uniform; instead I just put on three quarter khaki's, a white tank top and thongs. Grabbing my phone, I left my room and made my way across campus to have breakfast with the others. When I got there, they were talking excitedly. Well, Jill and Angeline were; Eddie just sat there between the two girls, looking amused, as they sat their chatting away. Eddie straightened in his seat on my approach.
"Morning, Sydney." He said loud enough for the girls to hear. They did and stopped their chatter to look at me, hope flashed across their young faces.
"Morning Sydney!" Jill and Angeline sang in unison.
"Morning," I replied cautiously taking a seat. "You two sure are in a good mood this morning?" Jill and Angeline just grinned at me. Eddie just sat there, smirking. I cocked an eyebrow at him, but he only shook his head in amusement.
"Adrian's having a party at his apartment tonight." Jill said bouncing in her seat.
"There will be alcohol there, won't there?" I asked.
"Yes." Angeline answered. I shook my head.
"No. Absolutely not. We are not going to Adrian's party."
"Why not?" Jill argued.
"There will be alcohol there and you're underage." I argued back.
"Sydney does actually have a point, here girls," Eddie pointed out. Both girls shot him a look; he raised his hands in surrender. "I'm just agreeing with Sydney." Jill turned to me,
"Please, Sydney? Angeline and I promise that we won't touch a single drop of alcohol," Jill begged. Angeline began to protest, but Jill continued speaking before she could get a chance. "And besides, Adrian's having this party for a good reason, which I'm not sharing with you. Any of you." I let out a sigh. They weren't going to stop begging me, so I decided to get it over with, quickly. And besides, I thought it would be good to relax for a while.
"Alright. We can go," I knew I was going to regret what I was going to say next, but I said it anyway. "You can have one drink. One drink only. But anymore than one and I'll be dragging you back here. Is that understood?" They nodded vigorously and jumped up, squishing me with a hug.
"Can we go over and help Adrian set up?" Jill asked. That I would allow them to do.
"Sure. When do you want to head over?"
"Now!" Jill and Angeline said at the same time. Eddie and I shared a look. It was going to be one long day. It didn't take long for us to get permission to be out after curfew. All I had to do was tell Mrs. Weathers it was our 'brother's' birthday and he was having a party at his apartment. She gladly let us out after curfew, even suggesting we stay at his for the night. I didn't want to stay at Adrian's all night, but I gratefully accepted.
Not long after, we arrived at Adrian's apartment. Adrian answered the door and ushered us in.
As I looked around, I realised that none of his artwork could be seen.
"I've put them away for safe keeping." He said. Meaning; he didn't want any of them to get wrecked.
"Fair enough," said Eddie. "Where do you want us to start?" I made my way into the kitchen.
"First things, first," Adrian said smirking. "Sydney needs her coffee or she won't be able to function properly." I smiled sheepishly and poked my tongue out as I put the pot on.
"She seems to be in a good mood this morning. Despite not having coffee at all yet," I heard Eddie say to Adrian. "She knew there was going to be alcohol here, and said that the girls could have one drink."
"Huh. She is in a good mood. Maybe she got enough sleep last night?" Adrian said. I turned around; both boys were staring at me like I'd gone mad.
"Oh don't look at me like that you two. And for your information; I did get enough sleep last night." Adrian stepped forward and warmth shot through me as he cupped my face between his hands, looking down at me from his height. Those emerald-green eyes bore into mine and I tried pulling away but he held on. His hold on me was soft, almost a caress, yet firm. He turned my face one way, then the other.
"Who are you, and what have you done to Sydney?" He asked curiously. Behind him, Eddie stepped up next to him. They both had outrageous, yet hilarious looks on their faces.
"I agree. What have you done with smart, responsible Sydney? Are you an imposter? A demon possessing Sydney? Or an alien?" Eddie looked at Adrian. "What do you think? Open her up?" Adrian was nodding thoughtfully. I took this opportunity to break free of Adrian's hold and slowly backed away.
"I'm still the same old smart, responsible me. I'm not an imposter, or a demon, or an alien. And no one is going to be opening me up," I said as I pulled a mug out of a cupboard. "I just decided that it would be good for us all to relax and have some fun. Especially after recent events."
"What's going on in here?" Jill asked skipping over to us.
"Eddie and Adrian seem to think that I've been replaced with an imposter, possessed by a demon, or I'm an alien." I said pouring coffee into the mug and adding milk and sugar.
"Now, why would they think that?" Jill smiled.
"Because I said that it was alright for you and Angeline to have one drink tonight."
"Actually, I was thinking that when you said it," Jill looked at Adrian and Eddie. "I just didn't say it out loud." Adrian and Eddie just smirked at her. I shook my head and took a sip of my coffee. I could see Adrian watching me, all fun and laughter gone from his face, longing and pain replacing them. Jill was looking from Adrian to me and back to Adrian again, a small frown on her face. I needed to move away as Adrian's gaze was starting to make me a little uncomfortable.
"I'm going to see if Angeline wants any help." I suggested and taking my coffee with me, I went to go help Angeline.
As the day progressed and everything was ready for the party, Jill suggested we go back to Amberwood to change. I immediately snatched up my keys, and I drove us back to Amberwood to change and for a quick bite to eat, before heading back to Adrian's for the party. Jill had dressed me in a red and gold sequined dress; that ended just below mid-thigh and was cut just low enough to show a tiny bit of cleavage; she then paired the dress with a pair of black wedges, which I had to remove so I could drive.
As I pulled up to the curb by Adrian's apartment, the music was already loudly pumping and I noticed that a few cars were also parked on the curb. Judging by the Jaguar I'd parked behind; Dimitri, Sonya, Rose, Vasilisa and Mikhail were already here. As I strapped myself back into the wedges, I prepared myself for what I was hoping was going to be a good night. I felt two arms hook themselves through mine; Jill and Angeline had taken an arm each. Taking a deep breath, I smiled at them and together, with Eddie walking behind us, we made our way to the front door, my heart beating erratically the whole way. Jill reached out and pushed the door open.
"Why didn't you just knock?" I asked.
"No one would have been able to hear it." Jill said guiding us inside. We stopped in the entryway to the living room and looked around.
"Ladies. Looking lovely, as per usual." Adrian said leaning against the doorframe. He'd given Jill and Angeline affection brotherly smiles and shook Eddie's hand, but as he spoke those last words he looked directly at me. I could feel my face getting hot and looked away.
"Shall we get this party started?" I heard Rose yell. She was answered with screams from girls and whoops from guys. Adrian held his hand out to me,
"Shall we?" I hesitated a few seconds before placing my hand in his. Again a shot of warmth spread through me as we touched. He led me towards our group of friends, where I dropped his hand. Pretty Fly (For A White Guy) by The Offspring began playing on the stereo. Rose squealed, grabbed Vasilisa's and my hands and pulled us out onto the dance floor. We began dancing and singing along. I was lucky I knew the words and actually didn't mind listening to them. Vasilisa pressed a plastic cup into my hand.
"What is it?" I yelled at her over the loud music. She just smiled and continued dancing.
"It's vodka and coke." Adrian's voice whispered loud enough for me to hear into my ear. I turned to see him standing directly behind me. I looked down at the liquid-filled cup in my hand.
"I've never had vodka with coke before." I said having to raise my voice to be heard. Adrian placed two fingers under the cup and carefully pushed it up to my mouth.
"Try it. You might actually like it." Aware of him watching me, I raised the cup the rest of the way to my mouth and let the liquid slide into my mouth. I swallowed and nodded my head in appreciation.
"Like it?" Adrian leaned forward and placed a hand lightly on my waist. I slapped it away and he raised his hands.
"It actually tastes pretty nice." I said. Adrian started to say something else, but Rose jumped in and grabbed my hand.
"Sorry Adrian. I'm stealing her for more drinking and dancing." She said as she pulled me back into the crowd. I looked back at him and saw him watch me, then he shrugged and turned away.
After a few hours, quite few drinks and one fuzzy brain later, I had to excuse myself from the party and stepped out onto the balcony for a bit of fresh air. What I wasn't expecting was to see Adrian leaning against the balcony railing a drink in hand. I walked up to him and boosted myself up onto the railing.
"Hey." I said. It was then that he looked up. Adrian gave me a small smile.
"What's up?" I asked. The alcohol had left me feeling quite happy.
"Nothing you'd be interested in hearing." He said dryly and stood up straight. I laughed and stretched myself out across the railing.
"Try me."
"Why are you still avoiding me?" Not what I wanted to hear. I sat up too quickly and nearly fell off the railing. "Is it because I kissed you and told you how I really feel?" He said so quietly I almost didn't hear him over the music. I vaguely noted that ACDC were playing.
"Yes," I said softly. "I wasn't expecting it. Your words scared me, confused me. I didn't understand. I still don't." Adrian moved to stand in front of me. He pushed my kegs apart and moved to stand between them so he was directly in front of me. He cupped my face gently.
"What don't you understand?"
"How someone like you can like someone like me. I'm a human, you're a vampire. It's completely wrong."
"I don't care. I don't care about any of that. I don't care that we're two different species. I only know how much I care about you. I'm sorry if I scared and confused you. I scared and confused myself too that night. It still scares me. I don't want it to be tense and awkward between us anymore."
"I don't it to be like that between us anymore either." I pulled him in for a hug and I felt him wrap his arms tightly around me.
"I'm sorry." I heard him mutter into my neck as I ran my fingers through his hair. We stayed like that, locked in each other's embrace, until I heard Angeline yell out,
"Karaoke!" I squealed into Adrian's ear and pulled away, jumping off the railing and fixing my dress.
"Come on!" I said to Adrian, grabbing his hand. He jerked me back and leaned down to whisper in my ear;
"I like that dress on you." I smiled and laughed, giving him a small curtsy, then yanked on his hand, but again he pulled me back. Just then, My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion began playing. I felt myself smile.
"What is it?" Adrian asked looking into my eyes. I was still smiling.
"This is my favourite song!" Adrian moved closer to me, leaning his forehead against mine and resting his hands on my waist. I knew I should move away and leave the party. But the alcohol had numbed my sensibility.
"Dance with me?" He murmured. I nodded my head and let him guide me out further onto the balcony. Wrapping my arms around his neck, we pressed closer together and swayed along to the music. As the song came to an end, Adrian dipped his head and gently pressed his lips to mine. I melted into his embrace and the kiss grew more passionate.
"Sydney? You have to and sing with me and- Oh my god!" Adrian and I sprung apart. Rose was standing in the doorway, mouth gaping open in disbelief. "I am so sorry! I didn't mean to... I'm going to go now." Rose turned away but then turned back. "Think you can tear yourself away from Adrian and come sing with Lissa and I?"
"Uh, sure. I'll be there in a minute." Rose smiled mischievously and I turned back to Adrian, who kissed me again. I could feel myself sinking into the kiss again but pulled away and went after Rose leaving Adrian standing there a distant look on his face.