“Oh, my feet are as cold as they can get!” I joked.
“You two look bewitchingly good, if I may say!” Harry said, whistling at the both of us. Tiff made a funny curtsey and I blushed intensely.
“You look smoking hot too, honey bun!” Tiff said, winking at him and admiring his salmon T-shirt and baggy shorts combo. “Come on, Joey, let me introduce you to everybody!” Tiff said, pushing me forward. “We’ll catch up with you later, Harry-Berry!” Harry laughed and waved us goodbye, getting back to his friends.
I was really insecure and uncomfortable when Tiff introduced me to her friends. They were all polite to me, but I still could see the “What’s up with this girl?” look in of their eyes. At some point I lost track of Tiff’s whereabouts and just wandered aimlessly through the crowd. Then all of a sudden I felt a pair of hands grabbing my waist from behind, making me jump. I twisted around and saw an amused Tristan holding me in his arms.
“Hey, Buttons! I told Seth I was pretty sure it was you, but he said I was seeing things. So I came to see for myself,” he said, giving me one of his bright sparkling smiles.
Lately Tristan had gotten into the habit of calling me Buttons, because once he’d said I looked “cute as a button” and I’d burst out laughing. It was such an old people’s phrase, like something Miss Violet would say. Since then he’d stopped using it but had shortened it to Buttons whenever we were alone, as a private nickname. I loved it when he did. “You look so different!” he said in quiet surprise.
“Yeah, this is me after being subjected to Tiff’s extreme make-over,” I muttered apologetically, and smiled awkwardly at him. “I feel weird.”
“No, no. You look …” he began, and paused as his eyes wandered from my eyes down to my cleavage “… lovely. Different, but lovely.” His eyes suddenly darkened and his voice turned a little huskier than usual.
I didn’t have time to blush, or even to enjoy his compliment, because I caught sight of Seth coming our way. So I pushed Tris away fast, making him lose his grip on my waist. He looked surprised but then realized what I was doing when I greeted Seth in a slightly freaked-out voice. “Heeeyy, Seeeeth! You’re here! You came!” I said, stepping away from Tristan and giving Seth a hug.
“Hey, Joey! Yeah, I’m here. Tristan wouldn’t shut up until I agreed to come, so I gave up. And, wow, you look great!” he said, looking me up and down with an appreciative grin.
Tristan was right by his side, doing the exact same thing, but then he caught Seth’s expression and punched him in the arm. “Hey! Watch it! Stop looking at my sister like that!” he warned Seth.
“Sorry, man, I was just admiring, but in a respectful kind of way!” Seth said, holding his hands up, but then he glanced over my shoulder and his jaw dropped. I heard Tiffany’s voice coming from behind me. So he had seen Tiff coming. She could make any boy’s jaw drop, all right.
“Hey, guys! You all came!” she said excitedly.
“Yes, I might lose my geek-card over this, but I thought, what the hell, let’s go to this party and risk losing my reputation, then!” Seth teased her.
She blushed a little, but did not lose her composure. “Oh, you can always replace your geek-card for this ‘awesome-party-goer’ one that I have right here in my purse! It’s for exclusive members only, and you totally earned it tonight! Looking good, Seth, my boy,” she said, teasing him back.
He laughed and looked shyly at her. It was his way of saying he had forgiven her for earlier.
Seth was wearing a pair of dark-gray jeans with a black long-sleeved shirt that hugged his lower torso nicely. His shirt was slightly open, exposing his neck and a little of his chest. He looked really hot. Tiffany seemed to agree, because her eyes burned as she watched Seth.
Then my gaze swept back to Tristan. If I thought Seth looked hot, I’d have to come up with an entire new word to describe Tristan! He was wearing a white buttoned-up shirt over light-blue jeans that fit him to perfection, but my eyes couldn’t leave his face. His mouth quirked in a crooked, sexy smile. I was utterly surprised to realise that Tristan had been staring at me all along. Why anyone would look at me when Tiffany Worthington stood beside me in the most stunning, tight little black dress of the century? Was he freaking blind or something?
Then we heard Sam shouting, calling out for Tristan somewhere in the middle of the crowd. Apparently, he needed Tristan’s contribution to the tale he was telling at the moment. “Okay, I need to go or he won’t stop shouting. I’ll be right back!” Tristan said, chuckling and a little embarrassed, sliding into the crowd of people around us.
I took the opportunity to say I was going to look for Harry, and excused myself. Seth and Tiffany looked like they needed some time alone.
I continued wandering around the party, still feeling awkward and out of place, when two Barbie girls from Tiffany’s cheer squad tackled me, blocking my way.
“Hey, Gray! How are ya?” one of them asked. I had no idea what her name was.
“Hey … you. I’m fine,” I said suspiciously.
“So, you look different tonight! Tiff’s been giving you a little help, hasn’t she?” the other mocked, condescendingly.
“Yes, she is the best,” I said sincerely. I didn’t mind telling them Tiff helped me get ready for tonight. It was quite obvious anyway. “We got dressed in her room and she helped me out with all the pampering stuff.”
“You were in her room?” they both squealed at the same time, clearly astonished.
“She actually asked you to go to her room? Like inside her room?” they asked again. “She never let’s anyone in her room! Like, never, ever! What’s it like in there?”
“It’s, you know, roomy,” I said vaguely. If Tiff never asked anyone to go in there, it’s because she liked her privacy. I wasn’t about to expose it to anyone, then.
They rolled their eyes at my vagueness, understanding I wasn’t going to give anything up.
“So, Gray. What’s the deal with your hunky brother?” one of them asked, changing the subject. I guess that was the real reason they’d stopped me in the first place, to ask me about Tristan. Urgh.
“What about him?” I said through pursed lips.
“What’s his type? Is he into blondes? Or brunettes?” they asked eagerly.
I really didn’t want to have this conversation. In fact, I was tempted to tell them he was gay or something like that. But that would be right. I couldn’t do that to him. Or could I? No! No. I couldn’t. They stared back expectantly.
What was I going to say? That I was really hoping his type of girl would be short, dark-haired, with black eyes, who liked martial arts and music, and who had a cute nicknames like, oh, let’s say, Buttons?
“Um … I don’t know, I don’t think he has a type,” I mumbled.
They jumped in excitement. “Oh, so we have a shot with him! I will totally win this bet, Caroline!” one of them said with a happy squeal.
“Na-ha! I will! He’s going to be mine, you’ll see!” Caroline retorted.
“Bet? What bet?” I asked, frowning.
They looked at me with matching sneers.
“I guess there’s no problem you knowing … As long as you promise you won’t tell him anything?” Caroline asked. She was the prettier of the two, all wavy blonde hair and big round blue eyes. I hated her already.
“Sure,” I lied. Like I was going to keep a promise to the pompom squad! I mentally snorted at that.
“There’s a bet going on, about who’s gonna snap up Tristan tonight!” Caroline said.
“We know he’s not with anyone, so it’s open season on Tristan!” her friend squeaked.
“He’s so dreamy! And such a gentleman, he treats us girls like princesses,” Caroline confessed. “He opens doors so we can pass, pushes chairs for us to sit, kisses our hands. He’s not like any of those lame guys I ever dated.”
“Plus, he’s smoking hot! Did you see how rock hard his ass looked in those jeans, Caroline? And those soft lips? I wonder ho
w they taste …”
“Okay! That’s enough!” I said, raising my hands in disgust. “Look, I’ve got to go. Best of luck trying to snap up your Prince Charming there,” I growled, really upset.
Good God. Tristan open season! Yuck!
I hoped those girls tripped over their high heels and broke their necks! The party went downhill for me after that. Wherever I looked, I saw Tristan surrounded by beautiful, slutty girls, forever touching his arms, fighting for his attention, giggling and flirting shamelessly like they were all in heat over him. A few were coming on very strong, batting eyelashes, draping themselves over him and whispering in his ear. It made my blood boil! So I walked as far away from him as I could. This was turning out to be the worst party ever! I was set on going back to my room when Tiffany found me again and grabbed me by the arm, getting back to introducing me to her friends. It was torture, I tell you! I swear to God I was going to flip any minute now.
And people kept looking at me weirdly. I don’t know why! Was it my make-over? Did I look that different? The boys who came to talk to me looked at me in the most odd way, and then glanced around and took off fast. What’s up with that? The fifth time it happened Tiffany noticed it too, and looked at me with a frown, trying to understand what the problem was. We were clueless.
So she said she was going to mingle and try to find out what was going on, then report back to me. I really didn’t care any more. I just wanted to go back to my room! I was about to try to leave again when Harry appeared out of nowhere, and pulled me away from the mass of people. “Come here, Joey! I’ve got something to show you!” he said, with a mischievous glint in his emerald eyes.
Chapter Twenty
The Secret Terrace
I let myself be pulled towards the school building, with Harry tugging at my arm.
He kept glancing around to see if anyone was watching us. I wondered what he was up to as we passed through a little hidden door by the corner of the stone wall and climbed up some uneven stone steps. He opened a heavy iron door and we walked through on to a large, square balcony, almost like a terrace, except we were one storey up.
He motioned for me to follow him to the edge of the terrace. I followed right behind him, slowly and a little uncertain because there was only the moonlight illuminating the small space.
He stopped by the ledge and leaned his arms on it, observing the view. I did the same and we watched in silence as people chatted at the party below us.
“I like coming in here when they throw parties on this side of the building,” Harry said. “See? We can watch everything and they can’t see us up here.” Harry pointed out some people at the party.
The balcony was positioned in a way that it was easy for us, up above, to see everything, but difficult for the people below to see us. The lack of light helped too. We were fairly close to the party; we could even hear what some people were talking about. It was the perfect place to observe: a voyeur’s paradise.
“It’s so peaceful in here,” I mumbled to myself. We could just relax and watch everything without the bother of actually being at the party.
“You looked like you weren’t enjoying yourself much,” Harry said, chuckling. “I get tired of those party people sometimes too. They try too hard to fit in, to be the prettiest, the coolest … I thought you might like it better up here.”
“This is great, Harry!” I said. “Thanks for showing me this place. I promise I won’t tell anybody.”
“Good. Once word is out, it’d be hard to keep it a secret,” he said. “It’s just you and the band who knows about it. They always know that when I disappear from a party, I’m chilling out up here.” I turned around and slumped slowly to the floor, leaning my back against the stone wall and glancing up at the sky. It was such a clear night, full of stars with a bright moon over our heads. It felt so much better looking up at the sky than down below. That party was tiresome. I sighed, relieved to be in a quiet place with no one around to judge me, or look at me in a weird way.
“You really don’t care much for parties, huh?” Harry asked, slumping down into the other corner wall near to me.
“Well, everybody was kind of avoiding me there … I guess I don’t know how to act much in these things … I feel a bit phony. People can tell I’m being fake, I guess,” I mumbled, suddenly upset.
“You don’t need to be fake. You were doing just fine!” Harry said, laughing a little. His green eyes sparkled when he smiled. He looked so calm and peaceful now, so different from how he’d been at the party a few minutes ago.
“Yes, well. I just … I don’t know, Harry. It looks so easy when you guys do it. Tiffany is Miss Popularity. Sam is so easygoing and fun to be around, people just crowd around him. Tristan has his magic charisma and Seth knows everybody, even the janitors! And girls swarm round Josh like bees to honey!”
Still looking up at the dark sky, I said, “I’m never going to be good at this party game.”
“I’m not good at it too. But I don’t care,” Harry said with a shrug. “I’m just here to enjoy the company of my friends, have some laughs and some fun.”
I scoffed at him, laughing. “Come on! You’re not good at it?”
Harry just looked at me, frowning. “Yeah, why do you think I have my hide-out place up here? To hide. From people!” he explained with a mocking glare.
“Harry, you have your hiding place because you want some time alone; it’s not because you don’t fit in! You’re amazing! I can’t believe you don’t know how much people follow your every move, listen to everything you say! All the guys want to be like you! You’re so happy and carefree,” I said, looking at him.
“Come on, now, happy and carefree? You’re just throwing out random words,” he said, amused. He thought I was making fun of him, by the look on his face.
“I’m not joking, Harry. You have this inherent happiness in you. Anyone can see that, no matter where you are, you’re happy because you’re comfortable with who you are! And you really don’t care what anyone thinks or says about you. And you enjoy the little things in life and make them look so beautiful and important,” I said seriously so he could see I wasn’t joking. “People want to be near you just to get a glimpse of that feeling. It’s genuine and honest and amazing! I wish I had the same free spirit you have. It’s liberating.”
I finished my ramblings and stared at my feet, fumbling with a small pebble on the floor. Harry was silent for some time, absorbing what I had just said. Or maybe he was just thinking I was crazy with my ramblings …
“That was … thanks, Joey. No one ever said anything like that to me before. It’s usually, ‘Harry you’re crazy!’ or ‘Harry, you’re weird!’” he said, adopting a funny squeaky voice, sounding like one of the pompom squad girls. He had probably heard things like that from them before.
I glanced up and saw him watching me with a shy smile, locks of soft red hair falling over his handsome thin face.
“Can I ask you a question, Joey?”
“Yeah, Harry. Sure.”
“The first time we met, back in your room, remember? Why were you looking at me all funny like that? I thought you were thinking I was a freak or something,” he mumbled, and looked startled when I started laughing out loud.
“No, Harry. I was just … surprised! You were the first person, well, the only person, actually, who hasn’t made fun of my name. I was surprised, that’s all. I meant to ask you about that, by the way. Why didn’t you?” I poked his shoes lightly with my foot.
“There’s nothing wrong with your name,” he said honestly. He really meant it. I saw it in his eyes.
I couldn’t help but smile. “See? That’s why you’re so amazing, Harry,” I muttered to myself, but he heard me and smiled too.
“Come on, Joe Gray, we’ve chilled enough up here! Let’s get you back to that party and let people know how awesome you really are too!” Harry stood up and held out his hand to me. “And do what you want to do! Have some fun! Laugh with your friends! D
on’t worry about what any of those people think!”
I smiled and took Harry’s hand, pushing myself off the ground at the same time that he pulled me up, which made me stand a little too fast. I stumbled, falling against his chest. His hands automatically went to my waist, trying to stop me from losing my balance. When I realized I hadn’t fallen, I looked up. My face was only inches from his, and I could see his green eyes up close. Really up close. He had this amazing blue hue in the middle of the green, which gave his irises this incredible green color, like water in a rock pool, or a crystal emerald stone. It was so uncanny and his gaze was so intense!
His thin lips curled into a small smile, and my eyes drifted from his eyes to his lips. His lip ring glinted in the moonlight and I immediately thought about Tristan and his heartwarming smile. Slowly, I stepped away from Harry, feeling really guilty about allowing this little moment to have happened between us.
God! I hope Harry wasn’t thinking I was making a move on him! We were all alone up on this terrace, in the complete dark, on a romantic moonlit night, and I was just going on and on about how amazing I thought he was! I felt like I was cheating on Tristan, even though we didn’t have anything going on … I felt so awkward and guilty that Harry must have seen the embarrassment glowing brightly on my face.
“Couldn’t wait to fall into my arms, huh?” he joked with a teasing smile.
“Harry … I- I’m sorry, I’m not … I don’t …” I stuttered, pulling away from him fast.
“That’s cool, Joey, I was just kidding!” he said, chuckling “I know you’re taken.”
“I-I- huh?”
“You have a boyfriend. He’s probably from your old town, right? Long-distance relationships are hard,” he said, looking up at the sky, contemplating the moon.
“I-I … “I couldn’t manage to say anything. I was too stunned to come up with any lie right now.
“That’s okay. You have this ‘I’m-committed-to-a-relationship’ vibe going on. I usually pick up on these things sooner. Relax, I just brought you up here to chill, nothing more,” he said, motioning to the door, smiling. “We better get back to the party now, or people will start thinking something was going on here and Tristan would kick my ass! He looks like the jealous-brother type. He’s been checking on you all night!”
The Lost Boys Page 18