I forgot to mention in the previous chapter that the Rugrats gang in this story are in their mid to late teens, with Angelica and Susie being the late ones obviously.
Song: Can I Have This Dance (High School Musical Cast)
There are only a few hours left before the party and almost everyone in school has been expressing their excitement through different chat forums and mass emails. Kimi doesn't mind going to parties but she's definitely not super excited with this one as it will be filled with the same school peers again, just like last year.
Kimi just finished her bath and was about to blow dry her wet hair when she heard a notification sound from her phone. She walked over to her bed to see who it was.
"Hey Kimi, I already had my outfit selections with me, can we change in your place? I don't want my mom interfering with our choices ≧∇≦," Lil's text message said.
Kimi giggled, typing her response, "Good thing my mom is not the interfering type. I was about to choose my outfit too, so your text couldn't be more perfect."
A minute later, she received a reply, "I also texted Susie to be with us in your place, I hope you don't mind. She promised to give us a lift to Savannah's and our way back home later tonight."
"That's very kind of her, she will definitely give a second opinion to our choices, so she'll be helpful for sure," Kimi replied, genuinely owning what she said as Susie is one of their great friends.
"Awesome, we'll be on our way," Lil replied in the text. Kimi closed her phone and left it on the bed before starting to blow dry her hair.
She later finished drying her hair and heard a car horn coming from outside, already thinking it was them. She then heard her father shouting outside her room, calling her name.
"Kimi! Lil and Susie are here!" Chas shouted, followed by a continuous knock on her bedroom door.
"Come in!" Kimi shouted, watching two of her friends step into her room. Susie closed the door first before following Lil who was already standing beside the bed. They are still in their casual outfits, preparing to change with all the clothes they brought.
Lil laid down the clothes she brought to the bed. "So, where do we start?" she said, putting her hands on her hips as she looked at her selection of outfits. Kimi was brushing her hair when Lil started to try on some of her clothes.
Lil casually lifted her top, revealing her half-naked torso to her best friends. She didn't mind them seeing it as they already saw each other's naked bodies many times before. Susie and Kimi are also occupied with choosing their outfits, not noticing that she's already undressing in front of them.
"What do you think of this, girls?" Lil asked, standing in the middle of the room while wearing a light peasant top and cargo pants
"Eh, I think the nude color pants blend too much with your skin color," Kimi commented, looking narrowly at the outfit.
"I agree, plus the cargo pants look too big on you," Susie added, walking to the bed to see the other clothes herself. She saw pair of good jeans and lifted it, presenting it to Lil, "Why don't you try wearing this pair of jeans?"
"Oh yeah. Thanks for pointing that out," Lil responded, not minding the suggestion, and immediately took off her cargo pants. She grabbed the jeans from Susie's hand and wore them in front of them. She kept her top and dug through her clothes again, looking for a shirt that will match her jeans.
Kimi changed to her red one-shoulder top that stops at the end of her ribcage, exposing her midriff. She paired it with low boot cut jeans and a red fishnet stocking underneath that extends to her waist. She then stood in front of the mirror, examining her whole look.
"Damn, that outfit perfectly suits you girl," Lil complimented, mentally drooling. "If I don't have a rival, I might ask you to be my girlfriend," she added, getting a laugh from Susie.
Kimi raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean you have a rival?" she asked, genuinely clueless about what Lil meant.
"Duh, I mean rival by the way Tommy has been looking at you for the past few years. The guy is obviously drooling for you girl," Lil responded, not directly looking at Kimi as she's brushing her short hair in front of a mirror.
Kimi didn't notice anything unusual with the way Tommy has been treating her lately. They still banter the same way as before which further confuses her.
"Maybe his eyes are directed at something else, and it just happened that I was in the same direction. There's no way I'm his type," Kimi said, shaking her head. "You guys saw the type of girls he dated, and I'm definitely not in that league," she argued, fixing her hair into two buns. She thought that it was impossible, believing that she was not on par with the ladies he had dated in the past.
"You mean girls he dated years ago? He's barely seeing anyone nowadays," Lil responded, rolling her eyes. It had indeed been years since they saw Tommy seeing someone.
"Trust me, I have been seeing him stealing glances at you on several occasions. I'm sure it wasn't an accident because he was staring for too long," Susie said while changing into a spaghetti floral sheath dress that ends on her knees. She paired it with one-inch heels to finish the look.
"Don't even pretend you aren't attracted to him. You literally carved both of your initials on your garage back in middle school," Lil brought up, reminding her about the incident that happened almost four years ago.
Kimi immediately felt nervous after Lil brought up the infamous Halloween incident. She always considered it one of the most horrible moments in her life. She just can't take the fact that she almost broke a strong and established friendship.
"I told you I only liked him for a short period, nothing more than that," Kimi defended while wearing her one-inch kitten heels. She really hopes that the conversation topic changes before she explodes.
Susie and Lil thought that the conversation will not be going anywhere and decided not to push it further. They went back to complete their outfit and put some light makeup on.
Lil kept the jeans Susie suggested earlier, partnering them with a round-neck green top that has the word 'Dream' printed on the front. She then turned to the girls, presenting her new outfit.
"What do you guys think?" Lil asked, curious to hear their response.
"It's perfect!" Susie and Kimi responded in unison, smiling at her.
"Now come on, let's get this party over with," Susie said as they all stepped out of the room to finally head outside.
They walked through the hallway all lined up, quickly getting to the house's main door. Susie was just about to open it when Kira showed up holding a tray, looking like she just came from the kitchen. Kira stopped and smiled to admire how beautiful the girls' looked.
"You girls look so beautiful," Kira complimented, beaming at the girls' gorgeous outfits.
"Thank you, Mrs. Finster," Lil politely replied.
Kira turned to her daughter. "Oh, and Kimi? Please don't drink any alcohol, okay?" she reminded in concern.
"Don't worry mom, this party is just a way to catch up with everyone," Kimi assured, looking back and forth at Lil and Susie whom both nodded in agreement.
Susie giggled and spoke, "Don't worry Mrs. Finster, I'll be the one to tell you when she drinks."
Kira nodded, confident that her daughter won't disobey. She then realized that the girls are probably going to be late to the party and decided to encourage them to go, "You should go ahead, girls. It's getting too late."
Susie was about to lead the girls to her car when she remembered something she's been intending to ask since earlier, "Where's Chuckie? Isn't he coming with us?"
"My brother is going, he just decided to tag along with the guys on the way there," Kimi answered.
"Oh, okay," Susie responded, hiding her disappointment. She would've loved to have him along with them on the way there.
Everyone got silent for a while as they waited to see if anyone had something more to say. It was Lil who figured that there was no point in staying any longer.
"We should probably get going. The guys are surely waiting for us there," Lil said. The rest of the girls' agreed to her and started bidding their goodbyes to Kira.
Most of them eagerly slipped into the car and finally headed to the party, already looking forward to the exciting things waiting for them.
As expected, Savannah's mansion was already filled with a lot of their school peers when the girls got there. There are some people around that they can't recognize, probably freshmen. They saw everyone laughing and chatting with their groups of friends while some guests are already drinking. They were just about to find the guys when Susie suddenly felt a fingernail poking her arm. She turned around and was lightened up by whom she saw.
"Hey girls, I didn't expect to see you here!" Angelica cheerfully greeted them. She's wearing a pink checkered square-cut top and hat, paired with short skirt and pink cut-out heels. She looks like one of those girls you could see in a Mean Girls film.
"Angelica!" Susie smiled, feeling happy to see her here. "How are you? Did you enjoy your England trip?" she asked, wanting to know about her experience from her recent overseas trip.
Angelica just came home from an England trip with her mother. She agreed to go because it was promised that it was going to be a leisure trip but eventually turned out to be mostly a business as her mother rarely allowed her to roam around the city.
Angelica groaned, "Ugh! It was so boring. We never really explored the city as my mom stayed at the office during the entirety of our stay there," she replied, rolling her eyes. "I'm so glad I'm finally home."
"Well, we're at a party, so there's nothing to do but enjoy right?" Susie said, lighting up the conversation.
"You're right," Angelica responded, deciding now isn't the time to be negative and gloomy. She then stared at the girls' outfits, "Wow! You guys are wearing some good outfits tonight. I like it!" she complimented, impressed by the girls' overall look.
The girls' smiled as Susie decided to return the compliment. "I love the pink overalls too, girlfriend!" she said, smiling at her.
"It's just my bare minimum, sweetheart," Angelica replied in her usual cocky tone. Her eyes then landed on all the people in the room, "Look Susie, there's a lot of new people here," she added, pointing her finger to some guests they have never seen before. They then smiled at each other, planning to interact with all of them.
"You guys go look for the rest of the gang. I'll be with Angelica to catch up since we haven't met in months due to my camp activities and her recent trip," Susie explained, hoping not to get them sad.
Lil and Kimi didn't mind the request, considering that Angelica and Susie are too close not to be allowed to catch up.
"Sure, no problem. I hope you enjoy the party," Kimi said and smiled before separating from them to find the rest of the gang with Lil.
Lil pulled out her phone from her pocket and texted Phil, asking to know where they can find them.
It took several minutes before the guys finally arrived. Phil drove all of them to the party, except Dil who refused to go. His car is the Toyota Corolla his parents gifted to him last March for his birthday. Legally, he's still not fully allowed to drive, but he's been doing it since turning fifteen without getting caught.
Phil pulled his car in front of the mansion and felt his phone's vibration from his pocket. He opened his phone and read the message.
"Welp! Lil just texted me. She said she's been looking for all of us for thirty minutes now," Phil said, immediately putting his phone back in his pocket after reading the text. "Let's get going," he added, stepping out of his car. Tommy and Chuckie followed him as they started walking to the entrance of the mansion.
While walking through the crowd, Tommy was getting greeted left and right by most of the other party guests. He gets along with a lot of their school peers, resulting in him being semi-popular. He didn't mind the attention and was more than happy to have a lot of casual school friends.
Phil parted from the guys to chat and drink with a bunch of different girls they were passing by. He kind of became the ladies' man of the gang as they entered their teenage years. Tommy was actually surprised he didn't become one, considering his behavior during middle school. His loyalty to a certain lady in the last couple of years definitely prevented him from being one.
Chuckie kept quiet and stayed behind Tommy as he watched him talk with some of their school peers. He's obviously not a social person and was only getting involved in the conversation when needed.
Tommy and Chuckie eventually got to the punch table and found Kimi and Lil having a conversation with some girls from school. Tommy kept his eyes on Kimi, watching her mouth move from talking and smiling to those people. It also doesn't help that her red top is making her stand out from the group. She looks breathtaking, and he can't stop himself from staring at her.
An irritated voice suddenly pulled Tommy out of his thoughts. "Finally, you guys came!" Lil groaned, looking at the guys and noticing that someone was missing. "Where's Phil?" she wondered, putting her hands on her hips. The group of girls whom they were having a conversation with is now starting to leave the punch table.
"He's already drinking with some ladies as usual," Chuckie answered, fixing his glasses.
"No! Ugh!" Lil groaned, grabbing Chuckie's wrist. He was caught off guard by her sudden grip but allowed her to drag him regardless.
"Chuckie and I are going to get Phil, I can't let him drink too much after what happened at our last party," Lil added before leaving with Chuckie to find her twin brother in the crowd of dancing and half-drunk teenagers.
It got silent for a while as Tommy and Kimi were left alone at the punch table. He poured some punch into his glass while stealing glances at her. She then crossed her arms, already getting bored before deciding to finally speak.
"Hey, are you having fun?" Kimi asked as she leaned at the table.
"It's alright. The atmosphere is just a little boring for me but it's fine," Tommy replied before drinking from his punch glass.
"I'm sure you'll find your way. This is going to be a long night for sure," she smiled, staring at him while drinking from her punch glass. They kept talking about random things for a while until a group of girls suddenly approached them.
One of the girls in that group is Rachel who looks gorgeous in the butterfly-shaped top that exposed her back. Kimi was surprised to see her here since it's been years since they last saw each other. She just stared at her in awe and was caught off guard when she saw her surprising Tommy with a hug.
"Tommy! I'm so glad to see you're here," Rachel beamed, pulling away from him. The two girls beside her gasped from their interaction.
"You know each other?" Brianna asked and raised an eyebrow, curious about the possible connections between the two.
Rachel started tagging along with the popular teens when she met them last Monday. She honestly wasn't the type to hang out with these kinds of people, but they were the first ones who were nice enough to approach her, so she went with them.
"He's my ex-boyfriend," Rachel replied confidently. "I used to live in this city back in middle school. Tommy and I met at the time we were studying at Hebrew School, such fun times in my opinion," she added.
Brianna and Paris looked at each other, surprised by that information. Paris then walked to the middle of the two and stared flirtatiously at Tommy.
"I cannot say I'm surprised that you had such a hottie for an ex-boyfriend," Paris playfully smiled, putting her hands on Tommy's chest.
Tommy just smiled at her comment. Paris has always been flirtatious with a lot of popular guys at school, so he really didn't think of her gestures as something serious.
Rachel shook her head and giggled, playfully pushing Paris to the side. Her eyes then landed on Kimi who has been quietly watching their conversation since it started, "You're Kimi, right? one of Tommy's friends who attempted to get us back together back then?" she asked, staring at her in wonder.
Kimi smiled uneasily, trying to recover a memory she's been trying to forget. "Yes, I am. What's up?" she replied, trying to sound calm and confident.
Rachel looked at her from head to toe and produced a forced smile. "Nice outfit. It suits you well," she randomly complimented, immediately attempting to end their conversation as she isn't interested in catching up with her.
"You too, love the look," Kimi responded and genuinely smiled at her, not feeling the tension from her smile.
Rachel gave her a weak smile before excitedly looking at Tommy again. She grabbed his hands, intending to pull him to their group. "Come on Tommy, hang out with us!"
Tommy didn't know how to respond and just allowed her to bring him wherever she wants. He worriedly looked back at Kimi who was still at the punch table, mentally not wanting to leave her there. Kimi caught his eyes and smiled at him, wanting to let him know that she was perfectly okay with it.
Deep inside, Kimi wasn't okay by the abrupt end of their conversation. She would've loved to spend the entire party with him, but she understood that he was popular enough to get the attention of the other popular kids.
Tommy was quite disappointed by the sudden end of their conversation too. It would've been one of the rarest times they can spend time alone with each other. It is usually difficult for them to do that since they're with the whole gang every time they get to see each other.
The DJ started to play some romantic songs to set another mood. Kimi walked through the dancing and drunken crowd and saw Tommy and Rachel dancing in the middle of the room, surrounded by a lot of popular teens who are cheering for them. She saw him laughing and having a blast in the company of those people, making her smile. She's happy that he's finally enjoying the party.
She pulled out her phone and started walking mindlessly as she searched for Lil's number, hoping to contact her. She was just about to type her message when she suddenly bumped into someone's body.
"Hey! Watch where you're going!" Angelica exclaimed in irritation.
Susie looked at her in concern and spoke, "Kimi? Where's Lil? Have you already found the rest of the gang?"
"Chuckie and Lil are keeping an eye on Phil somewhere in this mansion while Tommy is out there on the dance floor," Kimi responded, pointing at the group of teenagers happily dancing in the middle of the room.
"Is that Tommy's ex-girlfriend," Susie commented, staring at the girl dancing with Tommy.
"Yeah, she is. I've seen her several times at their house before. I'm not aware that she's living in this town again," Angelica responded. She knows Rachel by her face but doesn't remember any interaction with her.
Susie nodded and turned to Kimi again, who was obviously not looking like she was in the mood tonight. "You seem to walk around here bored, are you okay?" Susie asked worriedly, placing a hand on her shoulder.
Kimi smiled. "I'm fine, just looking for someone to talk to, I guess?" she replied on the spot, trying her best to look happy.
"We're here, girl. If you want someone to talk to, you can talk to us," Susie suggested.
Angelica hasn't been listening to their conversation and was busy talking to some random guests nearby. One of those guests whispered something in her ear, making her face lit up in excitement. She then turned to Susie to tell her what that person just told her.
"Susie, that guy just said there's a drink off going on in there," Angelica said, pointing at the side of the room where the said event is currently happening. She grabbed Susie's wrist to try pulling her, "Let's go there!"
"But what about Kimi? She doesn't have someone to hang out with here?" Susie responded in concern.
Angelica groaned and turned to Kimi. "Are you perhaps interested in joining us there?" she offered with an obviously forced tone in her voice.
"It's okay, you guys go there. I'll be fine here. I'm not allowed to drink anyway," Kimi replied, encouraging the two to proceed with their plan.
"Are you sure?" Susie asked, not wanting to leave her alone.
"I'll be fine, I promise!" Kimi answered firmly.
"Okay, if that's what you really want," Susie responded, releasing a sigh. "Just text me if you need anything, okay?" she added.
Kimi nodded and smiled at her. Susie looked at her one last time before getting pulled by Angelica to go to that group, ignoring the fact that she was still worried about her friend. Susie figured that Kimi is strong enough to handle herself, thus letting it go.
Kimi decided to get some air and searched for an open space area. She walked through the stairs and was passing by couples who are making out at the side of the staircase. She mentally cringed at the sight and walked faster so she can avoid seeing them. She then stopped after seeing the huge glass sliding door to the terrace in front of her.
She stepped onto the terrace before immediately sliding the door closed behind her. She saw different pots of plants on every corner and a great view of the city. She slowly walked to the balustrade to look at the view, allowing herself to be consumed by the silence of the place.
Her mind suddenly awakened when she heard a sound from a cat nearby. It was an adult Persian cat walking towards her. She watched it walk closer to her and smiled before started petting its head.
"Are you alone here like me?" she whispered, still petting its furry head. She lifted her head and saw the moon and stars floating in a clear sky. Oh, how she wishes life has always been as peaceful as this.
Her desired silence was suddenly interrupted she felt someone lean on the balustrade beside her. She looked beside her and was surprised to see who it was, "Hey, sorry for leaving you suddenly earlier," Tommy apologized while searching for breath. He looked like he was in a hurry when he got to that terrace.
"It's fine. I'm aware of how crazy those people are about you," Kimi responded and giggled before looking at the sky again.
"Why are you here alone? Don't you like to socialize with those people? I thought you like doing that," he wondered, staring at her.
"I'm just not in a mood tonight and I can't explain why. I-it's just- there's a lot of things going through my mind," she stuttered and took a deep breath. She's truly not in the mood which surprises her because this is the kind of event she usually likes.
"Maybe a little dance might ease your stress?" Tommy suggested, offering a hand to her.
The breeze suddenly became warm as Kimi stared at his hand. She hesitated at first, but then eventually gave in and took his hand. He put his other hand on her waist as she placed her arm on his shoulders, positioning themselves for a little dance in the middle of the huge terrace. They heard a faint sound of romantic music coming from inside and danced along with it.
Their bodies gently swayed in sync accompanied by the weak sound of the music they can hear. She felt butterflies in her stomach as their eye slowly met. He suddenly felt nervous and looked away from her to turn his attention to the clear stars above. He doesn't understand why he's feeling this way, he's usually chill and confident around her. Something has definitely changed.
She leaned her forehead on his shoulder, shocking him. He froze for a second and smiled before eventually leaning his head on her shoulder in return.
They later sat on some chairs and talked about some lighthearted stuff as the night passes by. They laughed together as they brought up jokes and embarrassing moments that had happened in the past few years. He honestly didn't feel this comfortable with a girl before. It feels good to finally have a first-hand experience of how talkative and jolly of a person she is.
Kimi eventually suggested that they leave and find the gang after noticing that people inside are starting to leave based on the shadow they can see through the curtains. Tommy was a bit hesitant to go as he wanted to stay all night talking to her. She responded by insisting that the gang might be worried about them now, getting him to agree eventually.
They walked together through a room now filled with messy and drunk teenagers. Almost everyone inside the mansion was either laying on the floor or still drinking in groups. It seems like everyone really enjoyed the party, including them.
Susie's wandering eyes spotted them together and immediately went to them, looking exhausted.
"Where have you guys been?" Susie tiredly asked the two. "I want to inform you guys that Lil drove the boys home. Phil got drunk, and she wanted to make sure to look out for him and safely bring him home," she explained.
"Where's Angelica?" Kimi wondered as she was the last person she saw with Susie.
"She's already in my car, sleeping. We'll get her car tomorrow, she can't drive in her current state," Susie explained and shook her head.
Kimi nodded, "Alright. So, should we get going?"
"Yes, let's go."
Susie was about to lead Kimi to her car when she realized Tommy is also there. She turned to him and started to explain the planned arrangement, "Lil suggests that you ride home with us since she already took Chuckie and her brother home. Is it okay with you?" she offered, urgently waiting for his response.
"Sure, if it doesn't bother you," Tommy agreed, genuinely liking the idea.
"Great. Now let's get home before these drunk zombies get anywhere near us," Susie jokingly commented and pulled out her phone, sending an update to Lil. She then slid her phone into her bag and instructed the two to follow her to her car.
They saw Angelica from outside through the window, peacefully sleeping in the front seat. They quietly slipped into the car and Susie started the engine, ready to get them all home.
Susie decided to play some music at a soft volume to ease the ear-piercing silence inside the car. She snuck a look at her rear mirror and saw Tommy and Kimi already sleeping with their heads leaning on each other. She smiled at the sight and immediately turned her attention back to the road.