by Zara Rivas
"I haven't figured out a good nickname for you yet," she shrugged. "You're my boyfriend's best friend and you have something strange going on with my best friend. I can't just call you by your name."
"Interesting."
"I guess so. Time for me to leave, though," she smiled. "Sorry for interrupting your night."
"Not a problem."
Avery walked out of the room and went down the hall. Xavier watched Sloane, who had her eyes on him. Neither of them said anything for a moment, and Xavier got the feeling she was casting her mind around for something to fill the empty air with.
"Interesting night," she said lamely, looking away.
"That's for sure," he said, stepping into her room finally. She tensed a little, and he smiled inwardly. She still hadn't regrouped from that moment in the den. He'd enjoyed watching her reaction when he brushed up her arm like that, and wasn't particularly keen on letting that pass.
oOoOo
This must be what whiplash feels like, I thought, watching Sinclair prowl around my room like a predator. First him, then Avery, now him again. I'm going to go crazy.
"Are you auditioning for Jurassic Park, Sinclair?" I bit out, and he halted.
"Nah, why? You think I look like Jeff Goldblum or something?" He ruffled his hair with an exaggerated motion, striking a movie-star pose.
"No, I meant auditioning for the part of the velociraptors. You're prowling around my room like you're going to attack me."
His smile widened and he said, "Oh no, if I went after you, you would enjoy it. Raptors have no charm. I, on the other hand..."
"I'm sure," I said dryly, inwardly agreeing with him. I could feel my face flushing. "So, what do you want to do?"
I mentally smacked myself after the sentence left my mouth. That sounded like an open invitation for…well, yeah. I could see it on his face, though: the temptation to make something of that remark. I hadn't meant to do that, but it was too late.
"Do you want to watch the movie?" I said quickly, and he chuckled.
"Sure, Lexington, let's watch the movie," he drawled, flicking off my bedroom light and standing there in the dark, waiting for me to walk out of the room first. I knew I was making a decision right there: stay in the room and see what happened, or go down to the den and watch the movie.
You're too screwed up right now, Sloane, my internal voice informed me. Go downstairs and watch the movie, you don't want to wake up and beat yourself up.
I listened, and brushed past him on my way out of the room.
I flopped down on my favorite couch in the den after I put the DVD in and fiddled with the remotes to get everything synchronized. Sinclair sat down next to me, stretching out and putting his feet up on the coffee table. The movie started.
I was entirely too aware of him the whole time, every movement he made, every gesture, and more than once I caught him looking at me out of the corner of his eye. I saw the entertainment dancing in his eyes at my glances, and tried to ignore them.
Needless to say, I failed spectacularly.
You're going to screw new kid, Avery's voice cavorted through my head. I told it to shut up. I hardly paid attention as Shaun and his friend chucked records at a zombie on the television screen, instead arguing with myself futilely.
Not happening tonight, I told myself. Not happening tonight not happening tonight not happening tonight no way. Avery's just emotionally compromised and the fact that Xavier almost kissed me doesn't help things and I don't want him as a one night stand anyway.
Wait, since when did I think about Sinclair as 'Xavier'? And why didn't I want him as a one night stand?
Xavier shifted on the couch, resting his arm on a pillow on his other side. He looked very relaxed, and I was sure that compared to him I looked like a deer caught in headlights.
I concentrated on relaxing my posture, then turned my thoughts back to my internal dialogue. Why didn't I want Sinclair as a one night stand?
Because you just want him. Period. the internal voice whispered reasonably, and I didn't have the heart or the resolve to tell it to shut the hell up.
It was probably right anyway.
oOoOo
Doodooloodooloop.
I cracked an eye open and glared halfheartedly at the phone making noise on the coffee table. I closed it again and ignored the rest of the ring, instead enjoying the warmth I was surrounded by. The phone eventually shut up.
It started ringing again.
Why do I always wake up like this? I groaned to myself, and opened my eyes fully. I reached for the phone and snatched it up, still half-asleep, and answered it.
"Hello?" I mumbled.
"Who is this?" Christian's voice asked, and I nearly rolled my eyes.
"Sloane, who else? You weren't expecting the Queen of England, were you?"
"Well considering this is Xavier's phone, I figured he might, you know, answer it," he said wryly, and I woke up instantly.
"Shit," I said, finally paying attention to my surroundings. No wonder I was warm—Sinclair was passed out against the back of the couch, stretched out along the full length of it, and I had been sleeping right next to him. A blanket was thrown over us and he had an arm over his eyes, still sound asleep.
"Yeah, shit, apparently," Christian said, voice still wry. "Have fun last night?"
"It's not like that," I hissed quietly, glancing at the phone screen to see what time it was. Christian must've been calling because Xavier was late to class.
"Whatever you say, Sloane, just pass the phone off to him would you?"
"Hang on." I reached out and touched Sinclair's shoulder, shaking him slightly. He moaned and pushed his face into the couch, resisting my attempt to wake him up. I sighed.
"Hey!" he yelped a moment later, when I threw a pillow at his head. He looked completely comical, hair mussed up ridiculously, glaring blearily at me. I handed over the phone wordlessly and headed out of the den, wanting to change into some decent clothes for school. I had vague stomach cramps and knew a hot shower would get rid of them, and looking good usually served to make me feel better anyway. Superficial, I know, but effective.
Hooray, casual Fridays.
"You did not get your social standing by being a pushover," I told my reflection in my bathroom mirror. "Now wear something kickass."
I wanted to wear something that told Sinclair he could play all the games he wanted, but I'd always come out on top. No double entendre intended, but if that was how it turned out…well, I wouldn't complain.
I flipped my phone open and dialed Avery, and she picked up the phone on the first ring.
"I can't find anything to wear," I jetted into the silence. "I don't want to be messed with today but I want to look good."
"I'm walking up to your front door right now," she said.
"Oh goody. If you see Sinclair, just…don't ask."
I hung up. Avery showed up in my room a minute later, panting and grinning. She had a duffel bag in one hand and her backpack in the other, and her stare drilled through me.
"You'll tell me why he's here eventually."
"Fell asleep watching the movie. Nothing happened. Help me find something to wear."
"Only if you help me." She emptied the duffel bag onto the bed, and I saw it contained lots and lots of clothing and shoes. "How do you tell your boyfriend you got into a fight with, 'hey I don't want to fight but you can't push me around either'?"
I shrugged and started picking through her clothing, while she dug through my closet. Xavier walked into my room, completely unsurprised to see Avery, and I pointed vaguely.
"You can use the shower down the hall if you want."
He nodded and left again.
"Man of few words this morning," Avery commented.
"Apparently. Here, wear this," I said, handing her a pair of skinny jeans and soft brown leather boots, complete with a brilliant turquoise wrap-around shirt. It set off her hair fantastically, and she changed quickly.
She tossed me a
short black pleated skirt, my favorite purple-and-black laced shirt, and pointed to a pair of black knee-high boots.
"Put your lip ring in. And all your earrings."
I grinned mischievously.
"Excellent," I said. "I'm going to grab a quick shower."
oOoOo
My mental state went from frazzled to harried to upset in about 2.5 seconds when I realized no, the crampy feeling I'd had when I woke up wasn't going to go away, because guess what? Period time, apparently.
I walked down the hallway towards Art, when someone blocked my way.
"You feel like moving, or you feel like leaving with four less fingers than you started with?" I said, sounding bored. They didn't budge and I looked up at them. Adrian stood in front of me, smiling a little.
"Oh, hey Adrian," I said, moving to stand with her.
"Sloane," she said by way of greeting. I quirked an eyebrow at this and her smile only got bigger.
"How's life been? You don't hang around much anymore."
"It's been so-so," she said lightly, breezing down the hallway with me. "I guess I can't complain. You?"
"It's been interesting, that's for sure."
"Well, this is my stop," she said, indicating a classroom to her right. "See you around."
"Yeah, see you."
I watched her enter the classroom with a weird feeling. That girl was so strange sometimes.
Tyler bounded over to me, not waiting for me to sit on the couch in Art, and started chattering straightaway.
"Somebody had a busy house this morning."
"Who told you?" I shook my head. Whoever said word of mouth was ineffective had clearly never seen Carroway.
"Christian. Direct source," he smiled. He snatched my bag and tossed it carelessly on the couch, steering me towards it and sitting down. He stared at me seriously, his hands still on my shoulders.
"Sloane," he said, still serious. "I need to impart a huge piece of wisdom, that I learned on the mountain of…wisdom."
I tried to keep from laughing. "So what is this wisdom from Mt. Wisdom?"
"Tonight, there shall be an uprising, the likes of which we have never seen before. Except at your house, maybe," he added, looking thoughtful. "Yeah, that time with the purple pool dye and the bounce house with the keg inside definitely—"
"Tyler," I interrupted. "I was there. Continue."
"Yes. Right. An uprising, the likes of which—"
"Tyler," I interrupted again. "Where's the party?"
"You ruin my fun," he pouted, "but it's at Wells' house."
Jason Wells, one of Henson's friends. His house was a gigantic one-story sprawl, with lots of connected rooms with no walls inside his house, making it the perfect dance floor. His parties were always upbeat and dance-centered, so it had the potential to be a lot of fun.
"Thanks for finally getting to the point." I pulled out my notebook and idly tapped my pencil against the couch.
"I'm glad I got to you first."
"Why's that?"
"Because, you know Wells' house means dancing, and I can't go to the party without grabbing onto my favorite dance partner!"
"You're being dramatic."
Other people in the room were watching us with interest, the two crazy ones of the class, but I ignored them and repositioned myself on the couch.
"Of course, would you love me if I wasn't?"
"Yes," I said plainly.
"I know, I know." He waved it away. "But anyways, dance partners? I'll dance you into the ground."
"Of course," I smiled. "For most of them. Who knows who might want to dance with me."
"Everyone wants to dance with you. I just get first dibs."
"Fair enough."
oOoOo
"Trying to scare small children, Lexington?" was the first thing I heard when I walked out of my class, headed towards the cafeteria.
"I have to add some adventure to their lives," I shrugged, turning around. Sinclair leaned against the lockers with his hands in his pockets, looking like a clothing advertisement. He indicated my outfit and I tossed my hair nonchalantly. "Why not be their nightmare?"
"Had no idea you wanted to be a horror-film villain, though." He caught up to me and we started walking together.
"Everyone has their dark ambitions." I shifted my bag on my shoulder and looked at him out of the corner of my eye. "What are yours?"
"To somehow make someone singing the national anthem change it at the last minute to the Barney song," he said, not missing a beat.
"That is positively nefarious."
He made a small noise of agreement. We reached the cafeteria doors and I reached for the handle, but Sinclair showed no signs of wanting to enter. I quirked an eyebrow and he jerked his head to the side.
"I've got something to take care of, I'll catch you later." He stepped back. "Maybe I'll see you at the party tonight that's supposed to be amazing."
"I'll be there." I started to pull the door open but he pushed it closed with one hand and looked down at me.
He reached out his other hand and ran his thumb lightly over my bottom lip, and I stared at him, half perplexed, half hoping he wouldn't stop. His finger reached the small purple lip ring I had in, and it ghosted over it. He was staring at my lips, and I was staring at his face. We stood in a deadlock for a second, my lips tingling, until he dropped his hand and looked up again.
"The lip ring's hot," he said abruptly, and turned around and left.
oOoOo
Tyler fulfilled his promise to dance me into the ground that night. Cramps always seemed to disappear after I exercised, so it was good therapy to lose myself in the music and hop around like a moron. Avery, Torrance and I showed up together again, this time calling a cab instead of having one person drive. There must've been two hundred people crammed into Wells' living room, but it was a good sort of energy so I enjoyed it.
Avery and Christian seemed to have cooled down from their argument, but they were still acting awkward around each other, and it made everyone around them uncomfortable. They disappeared sometime in the first hour of the party to go talk or hang out or do whatever they did, and Torrance went to find some boy she'd met the week before.
Tyler and I danced for a long time, any song, any beat, and we had a great time. My phone must've vibrated somewhere in the middle of dancing, because I didn't feel it. When Tyler went to grab some water for us, though, I pulled my phone out and saw a text from Finn, telling me he was there somewhere. I pushed through the crowd, signaling to Tyler I'd be right back, and went in search of him.
I found him talking to some guy whose back was to me, and waved. He grinned and ended his conversation with the random guy. He picked me up and spun me around, pressing a kiss to my cheek when he finally put me down.
"How's my baby sister?"
"Baby my ass," I scoffed. "I can't believe you're here! Why didn't you tell me, you fiend?"
He quirked a brow. "Fiend? I'll take it. I just made the decision right before I got here. Got home, you were gone, called a few people, they told me where the party was at."
A song with a heavy beat came on and the walls pulsed slightly, but the bass felt good.
"So," he continued, "where's the guy that slept over last night?"
I grinned mischievously. "It wasn't like that, and I'm sure he's around here somewhere. Who told you?"
"Avery. Saw her prancing around here with Christian in tow, looking like he'd been thumped over the head. That girl's too good at manipulation."
"Of course she is."
"He the same one you wrote the penis piece about?" Finn asked, snatching a couple of red cups off a nearby table and passing one to me.
"One and the same." I took a sip and grimaced: fruit punch, heavily spiked. Not my favorite, but it would do. "Are you staying at the house for the weekend?"
"I can't. I have too much work to do. Imagine that, me in a library."
I stared at him, and he knew I was mocking him. "I'm surprised yo
u even know how to open a book."
"You wound me, Sloane." He clutched his chest with one hand and pouted, then took a swig of the punch.
"You need thicker skin." I smiled. "I have to go find Tyler, I told him I would dance with him some more."
"I'll find you before I leave," he called at my back. I held up a hand to show him I'd heard.