by Ruth Houston
"Can you get any gayer Harry?" joked Georgia.
"Shut up," grumbled Harry, sticking his tongue out at her.
"OK, so we need to figure out who's who…"
* * *
At eight-thirty on Saturday night, I could be found standing in Georgia's bedroom, tugging at different places on my costume.
"Relax, Amber, you look great," laughed Georgia.
I turned to the floor-length mirror and gave a half-smile. I was Sailor Jupiter, the green Scout. I'm not cocky or anything, but I did look good… we all did.
Georgia was Sailor Venus (the orange Scout), Penny was Sailor Mercury (the blue one), Jade was Sailor Mars (the red one), Harry was Tuxedo Mask (Sailor Moon's crush) and Haylee had gotten her wish as Sailor Moon – after many tears and screaming-matches with Jade, of course.
"OK, guys; are we ready to rumble?" cried Harry.
"Hell yeah!" we all exclaimed, laughing and punching our gloved fists into the air happily.
* * *
OK, so my excitement drained a little bit when we arrived at Kelly Guardstone's party at nine o'clock. Of course Haylee was greeted with as much respect as the queen, as she was the prettiest of the group but the rest of us were more-or-less shunned.
I stepped through Kelly's front door in between Georgia and Haylee. Haylee was immediately showered with comments on her choice of costume and some rude individual shoved me roughly into Georgia so as to reach Haylee. Assholes.
"Come on, let's go get a drink," Harry called over the pounding music.
We pushed through the packed house, passing the staircase that was cut off by a rope – no one was allowed to go upstairs and a rope was definitely going to keep all the couples from making their way to the second floor in search of a quiet bedroom… not. Harry, Georgia and I were separated from Jade and Penny on our way to the kitchen but we knew they'd be alright on their own.
As we made our way down the hallway to the kitchen, I spotted Tristan sitting in the living room surrounded by his friends. He was dressed as a pirate.
Oh, how original. He must have really used his brain to think that costume up, I thought.
Suddenly, his eyes locked with mine over the tops of other people's heads but I quickly broke the contact, hurrying after Georgia.
Damn, I hadn't expected to see him so quickly, I thought, trying to calm the butterflies that were bouncing around in my stomach. Why am I so nervous?!
"Amber, are you alright?" Georgia asked as she pushed a drink into my hand. "You look a little flushed."
"Yeah, I'm fine," I shouted over the music. "It's just a little hot in this costume, I guess."
"Well, let's go into the living room. I think I saw Jade and Penny in there as we passed," said Harry.
"Oh, no, let's just stay here," I said quickly but my friends didn't seem to hear; they were already pushing through the hallway to the living room.
With a sigh, I followed and, avoiding Tristan's eye, entered the living room behind them. I leant against the far wall next to Georgia and sipped my drink.
After a few minutes of talking, I noticed Tristan get to his feet – not that I was watching him out of the corner of my eye or anything – and lean over to whisper something in Veronica's ear. Veronica smiled, looking up at him and battering her eyelashes before nodding.
I watched as they made their way across the living room, Veronica pulling Tristan by the hand. They disappeared into the packed hallway and I vaguely wondered where they were going.
"Watch out, creepy Mr. Anderson from the Matrix is making his way over here and he's looking at you," whispered Georgia in my ear.
Looking up at her, I followed her eyes to a guy making his way over to us. His eyes were trained directly on me… no wait, scratch that last sentence. His eyes were trained directly on my cleavage. Wow, he already seems like a real charmer.
"Thanks for the heads up," I muttered back just before the guy (let's call him Mr. Anderson for now) reached us.
His eyes flicked to my face before glancing back at my breasts.
"Ahem, eyes… up here," I said, making a slight upwards motion.
Mr. Anderson looked me in the eye with what seemed like some difficulty, a smirk turning his lips as he winked. "You know what, babe?" he said in a deep, purring voice.
"What?" I asked slowly.
"If you were a hamburger at McDonald's, you'd be McGorgeous," Mr. Anderson purred.
I heard Georgia's sharp intake of breath to my right and could tell she was straining with all her might not to laugh. I raised an eyebrow at Mr. Anderson, wondering if he was being serious or not.
When it appeared that he was dead serious, I said, "Has that line ever really worked for you?"
Mr. Anderson's lip curled. "Sometimes. How about this one then?"
He's not serious… I thought. One failed pick-up line… he's got to stop there.
Apparently not.
"Do you believe in love at first sight or should I walk by you again?" Mr. Anderson said, his eye twitching in an almost-wink.
My eyes widened and my jaw dropped slightly at his bad lines. "I – I have to… er… pee," I said suddenly, turning and walking away from the sight.
As I hurried away, I heard Mr. Anderson say to Georgia, "How about you Good Looking? I may not be Fred Flinstone, but I bet I can make you Bed Rock."
I burst out in a silent fit of giggles as I made my way out into the hallway. No point going back there for the moment, I thought, walking through the crowds of people into the front room.
"Hey gorgeous," I heard someone's drunk voice say.
Turning slowly, I saw a guy whose name I'm pretty sure was Jerry Hammers from the football team standing in front of me, swaying slightly with a half-empty drink in his hand.
"Yeah, OK, I'm pretty sure you think she's gorgeous," I said, gesturing to an overweight red head that stood next to me.
Jerry grinned and practically fell on the red head, his lips scrabbling over her face in search for her lips. I decided to get out of there before anymore hopeless drunks decided to chat me up.
I darted underneath the rope cutting off the staircase and hurried up to the second floor. I leant against a wall, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath, welcoming the silence.
After a few moments, I heard footsteps on the staircase and, not wanting to be found by a couple, I grabbed the nearest door handle, opened the door, darted inside the bedroom and snapped the door shut behind me.
Suddenly, I became aware that I wasn't alone. Turning, I saw two figures intertwined on the bed before me, their features blurry in the dim light.
I heard a low moan and Veronica's clear voice purred, "Oh, Tristan."
"OH MY GOD!" I cried, disgusted.
I backed against the door, my hand grabbing blindly for the door handle as I closed my eyes, not wanting to see anything more.
"Amber!" I heard Veronica's furious shriek ring out from the bed.
Without replying, I desperately threw my full body weight against the door and felt it swing open, sending me sprawling onto the floor beyond. I scrambled to my feet and ran down the staircase, through the front room and outside.
I hurried around the side of the house and leant against the wall, breathing heavily. I couldn't believe I had just intruded on my own step-sister's make-out session with the guy I liked!
Wait… what did I just say?! I thought as my eyes widened. I mean: the guy I hate! Not like! As if I like Tristan! As if!
But as I stood there in the darkness, comprehension dawned on me as jealously nawed at my insides.
No… it can't be possible…
I. Like. Tristan!
CHAPTER SEVEN
I couldn't go back to the party. Not after that sudden – and horrifying – discovery of my own feelings. Especially when I knew Veronica and Tristan were making out in one of the upstairs bedroom.
So, I decided to go home instead. Because I came to the party in Harry's car I had to walk home but I didn't mind much. M
y house was only three blocks away and it would give me some time to clear my head.
I set off down the street, refusing the urge to glance back at a particular upstairs window, instead focusing my attention on trying to see through the darkness in the street, which was only lit by a few street lamps. A car passed and I suddenly became aware of how stupid I must look in a Sailor Jupiter costume and my cheeks burned with humiliation.
As I neared my house, my thoughts couldn't help but turn to what I had witnessed at the party. My heart throbbed painfully as a lump of emotion caught in my throat.
Veronica and Tristan, Veronica and Tristan, Veronica and Tristan. The words continued to whirl through my mind as I made my way down the street, hugging myself to guard against the cold night air.
God damn it! Why did I have to realise that I had feelings for him? I screamed silently. It's made everything so much worse.
Then the problem of what to do now arose in my thoughts like a bubble rising to the surface of a lake. I heaved a great sigh.
Nothing, that's what I'll do; absolutely nothing. I'll just pretend that nothing ever happened, I finally decided.
But they knew you were there… Veronica saw you… a voice buried deep in my head reminded me.
I groaned, trudging up my front path. Maybe the answer to my problems will come to me after a good night's sleep…
* * *
The next morning I woke fairly early… seven-thirty I think it was. Rolling onto my side, I felt my breath catch as my gaze fell on Tristan's sleeping form. I hadn't heard him come in last night.
I lay for a moment or two, just watching him sleep, before realizing how stalker-ish that was and jumping out of bed. I grabbed an outfit for the day – jeans, a blue tank-top and a black hoodie – and went to the bathroom to get changed.
I crept silently back into my bedroom after changing, not wanting to wake Tristan. I knew I had to get out of the house for the day to avoid speaking with him or my step-sister. After all, can you imagine how awkward it would be for you if you had walked in on your step-sister's hot-and-heavy make-out session? Ugh, am I right?
I dumped my pajamas on my bed and turned to walk out.
"Amber…"
The murmur made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up and caused me to stop in my tracks. I slowly turned to face Tristan and breathed out a slow, silent sigh of relief as I realised he was just dreaming.
Wait, he was dreaming? About… me?
Tristan stirred slightly and rolled onto his back, his eyes wandering sightlessly underneath his closed eyelids. His lips moved and I caught, once again, the whispered name, "Amber…"
Tearing my eyes away from Tristan, I turned and hurried from the room without a backwards glance.
After successfully slipping from my house undetected, I made my way to Kingstone Park, the park that was located just at the end of my street.
I strolled through said park, enjoying the silence and stillness of the day as almost no one was out-and-about yet, except for me and the crazy old man from next door who was standing out in his front garden, leering creepily at me as he watered his dying garden.
Slightly freaked out, I hurried out of his sight and made my way over to the gurgling creek that ran through the park. I settled underneath my favourite oak tree which hid me from the sight of anyone who passed whilst giving me a clear view of everything in the park.
I picked up a small rock from the ground and weighed it in my hand for a moment before hurling it at the creek. The once unbroken-surface of the water rippled and sucked the rock into its depths.
Sighing with contentment, I leant against the tree trunk, ready to give myself up to a full day of listening to music and sketching – my two favourite things.
* * *
It was around six o'clock and I was considering going home to finally face Tristan and Veronica when he came.
No, 'he' wasn't Tristan. In fact, I didn't know 'he' existed until he came up to me and introduced himself.
I was still sitting against the tree trunk with my sketchpad out and my pencil flying across the paper, drawing out the scene in front of me, when I heard footsteps approaching. Startled by the sudden, unexpected intrusion, I twisted around to see who was coming, only to send my pencil-tip darting across the page, drawing a swift line through my sketch.
Groaning, I raised my eyes to meet the face of a truly hot guy. His blonde hair swept across his tanned face lazily, his deep brown eyes glinting at me in good nature and one corner of his smile lifted in an extremely sexy yet friendly smile.
"Hey," the guy said, his voice melting my heart like a tub of hot wax.
"H – Hi," I stammered, totally breath-taken by his appearance – which has only happened once before… with you-know-who.
"Sorry… Did I scare you?"
I shook my head slightly before shrugging. "I guess," I muttered, still too awed to get my brain working properly.
The guy chuckled. "So, can I sit?" He gestured to the grass beside me.
I nodded and he settled down, his arm brushing mine as he did so. I tried to calm my fluttering heart.
"I'm Lucas Thorn by the way."
Lucas, I thought dreamily, lost in his deep, mesmerizing brown eyes. Generally I didn't go for brown eyes… I thought they were boring. But his… his were definitely not boring.
Lucas cleared his throat slightly, amusement reflecting in those gorgeous brown eyes of his. "This is around the time when you tell me your name in return," he grinned.
"Oh, right," I said quickly, shaking my head slightly. "I'm Amber Jones."
Lucas smiled. "Nice name."
I blushed. What the hell? I never blush! What was this guy turning me into?
I shook myself mentally, snapping out of my giddy state and turning back to my sketchpad. Frustration lapped at my insides as I took in the ruined drawing.
"Did I make you do that?" Lucas winced from beside me.
"Yeah… sort of… it doesn't matter. I can always draw it again." I shrugged, making to close the book.
"Wait, can I have a look?" Lucas asked suddenly, holding out his hand for the book.
I hesitated, chewing my bottom lip for a moment before handing him my sketchpad. I looked away as he opened it, watching a bird fly low across the water's surface. I didn't like when people looked at my drawings in front of me… it was so embarrassing.
"These are…"
I waited silently for him to finish the sentence, still not looking at him.
"These are… really good," Lucas finally said.
I turned to him, surprised. "You think so?" I asked.
Lucas nodded, gesturing to a sketch of a bird I had done earlier today. "The detail that you draw with is… fascinating. It looks like a real bird." He looked at me. "Have you ever thought about selling your drawings?"
"No…"
"You should consider it," Lucas prompted, handing me the sketchbook back. "They're fantastic."
I grinned. "Thanks."
We sat in silence for a moment or two.
"So what school do you go to?" Lucas asked finally.
"Black Ridge High," I replied. "What about you?"
"Wilson's Private," Lucas replied.
I stifled a slight gasp. Wilson's Private? That place was huge! All the smartest – and hottest – guys went to Wilson's Private, which was an all boy's school. Sometimes the boys from that school were allowed to our school dances, but most of the time that caused fights between Black Ridge boys and them because Black Ridge guys had to 'fight for their pride', them being poorer than Wilson's Private boys.
"Wow, Wilson's Private, huh? You must be one smart cookie," I commented lamely.
Lucas laughed. "Yeah… something like that," he said. "Truthfully, I don't want to go to Wilson's Private… there are too many pride-ridden guys there that just want to pick fights for the hell of it. But dear Mother and Father insist on making me go." His expression darkened slightly at the mention of his parents and he kicked at t
he dirt at his feet.
"Why don't you tell them to stuff it?" I asked suddenly.
Lucas shook his head, a grim smile crossing his lips. "They'd kick me out of home and I'd have nowhere to go. Besides, I guess its for the best… I get a pretty good education."
I thought for moment. "Wait… isn't Wilson's Private a boarding school?"
Lucas nodded. "So?"
"Well, shouldn't you be in your dormitory right now? I heard you guys have a really strict curfew."
"Yeah… I am supposed to be there but that doesn't stop me from sneaking out, does it?" Lucas grinned cheekily.
Oooh, hot and daring, huh? I thought, biting my lip slightly. What can I say? I have a thing for bad boys.
"Well, I guess you could describe me as that," Lucas chuckled.
My eyes widened and my cheeks burned bright red. "I just said that aloud, didn't I?"
Lucas nodded, obviously attempting to bite back a grin but his eyes showed what he was feeling. I opened and closed my mouth nervously like a fish out of water but Lucas simply laughed.
"Don't worry; I get it all the time." He winked.
I ran my fingers through my hair and glanced up at the darkening sky. "Well, I better be going," I muttered as I rose to my feet, desperately seizing the excuse to get the hell outta there.
Lucas jumped to his feet also and looked as though he was about to say something but I simply waved slightly and began to walk off toward my house, my sketchbook under my arm.
"Wait," I heard Lucas say softly before his warm hand closed around mine.
I stiffened slightly by his touch as a tingling feeling shot up my arm. I turned slowly to face him, butterflies dancing around in my stomach as I realised he was standing much closer than I had anticipated.
"Can… Can we meet up again some time?" Lucas asked, gazing down at me through hope-filled eyes.
How could I resist?
I bit my lip as slid my hand out of his grasp and began to back up across the grass. Then a playful smile lit my lips and my old self seeped back into the moment as I said, "Maybe… Let's leave that to Fate."
I turned away from him with a grin on my face, happy with the flirtatious teasing I had just delivered. However, my grin quickly slid from my face as my true self popped up. That's right, my klutzy side decided to come out to play just as I was making a graceful getaway.
