The Heaven I Found In Hell

by Ashley Andrews

  "You're going to make me want to run away," I said, pouting.

  Before I could turn around, head back to my room, and leave him, he captured my waist with his arms, and spun me around, planting a kiss on the skin very near my lips. He pulled away, but without a second passing yet, he planted another one, on my lips now.

  "Does that answer your question?" he asked, taking hold of one of my hands, as my free one remained on the side of my waist.

  "I guess," I said, unable to stop the grin that was making its way to my face. "So, what now?"

  After that, all I could do was smile since I didn't know what was supposed to happen now that we had kissed each other. Should I leave him, and tell him I'd meet him later at the party, or should I stay and start a full on make-out session?

  I especially liked my latter idea.

  With my hands on his shoulder, I slowly pulled him down so that I could kiss him without having to go on my tiptoes. Even though it was a small peck, I felt a tug at my heart that made me all giddy inside. Before all the self-control I had could go down the drain, I said goodbye to him, and told him I'd talk to him later, but of course, I didn't allow myself to leave without him planting a small kiss on my lips, and so he did just that.

  I went back to my dorm, and when I unlocked the door with my card key, Riley greeted me with a small mischievous laugh, before she ran to me, and pulled me in for an embrace. She started ranting about how she had been waiting for so long for this to happen, before she told me about the plans she had come up with.

  "The both of us, let's go on a double date!" she squealed in excitement, and I couldn't help but chuckle.

  "Before we start thinking about that, I think we should bother ourselves with the party tonight," I suggested, as the both of us went over to my room.

  I opened my cabinet, and started browsing through my clothes. I felt like wearing a dress, but I wasn't in the mood to wear a short one. At the same time however, I didn't like long ones, because it would make me look too formal. After a few minutes, I was able to come up with a decision, pinstriped shorts, a silky purple mini dress and a pair of heels. I told Riley that I was going to take a quick shower, and told her that she should do the same.

  "We're supposed to meet the rest in about an hour," I said to her. "Glam yourself up, girl!"

  "Oh, I will! I know what I'm wearing already," she answered with a sheepish smile. "Anthony bought it for me."

  I opened my mouth, but no sound came out, before I made my way to her and pinched her sides.

  "You're so head over heels in love with him!" I screeched.

  "Well, you feel the same for my brother!"

  We spent a good ten minutes like that, just teasing each other endlessly until we heard a knock on the door. We immediately shut up, and looked at each other, before we left my bedroom to answer whoever wanted to talk to us. It was Kendra and Cindy, all fixed, and ready to go.

  "Please don't tell me you guys are wearing that?" Cindy said in a tone of disbelief.

  As cute as her outfits always were, Cindy had donned an animal print dress which she bought from Marciano, matching it with a pair of dark orange heels, while Kendra decided to go for a more casual look, pairing her strapless chiffon top with a pair of skinny jeans and Jimmy Choo's.

  "Of course not!" I said in a loud voice. "A party? Like this? Never."

  I faked them a look of shock, before I let out a small laugh.

  "Thought so," Cindy answered in a teasing voice, before Kendra spoke up.

  "Hurry or we'll be late."

  "Hun, you can never be late for a party," Cindy answered, giving her roommate a 'you're-so-innocent-smile.'

  Before we could start another random, but long conversation, Riley stopped us, and told me that the both of us should dress up soon, if we didn't want any of the guys insulting us even if it was just for a tease. She entered her room, while I made my way to mine, and after taking a short but relaxing shower, I dressed up. After doing so, I looked at the mirror, and smiled to myself. I liked my outfit, and so, it was make-up time.

  I bordered my eyes with white eyeliner, before I applied mascara on myself. After that, I worked on my lips, putting on the new Victoria's Secret lip-gloss I had just bought a few days ago, before I brushed my jet-black hair, and let it stay untied.

  I looked at the mirror one last time, before I left my room to join the others. When I saw Riley giving me a small childish smile, I immediately smirked. She was wearing a light dark blue cotton mini dress with sleeves, pairing it up with her silver ballet flats. She looked so girly that it just made me want to squeeze the hell out of her.

  "That's so cute," Cindy said with a giggle the moment Ri stepped out of her room.

  I knew she felt insecure since she was wearing something that barely covered her legs. My mistake. It didn't cover them at all. But I told her she had nothing to be ashamed about, and that her legs should be something she could be proud of since they were really nice, not in a lesbian way of course. Because of soccer, they were long and very well-toned, and since the dress was short, it made her look even taller than she really was.

  "Absolutely, it so not you," I said, giving her a teasing wink, and in return she stuck out her tongue at me.

  "The only reason I bought was because Anthony said it looked cute on me."

  And with that revelation, Kendra, Cindy, and I started squealing like a trio of ten-year old girls who were just having their first real crushes. Riley tried to wave us of, but of course, she couldn't make the three of us stop. After we had done our job of making my roomie blush crimson red, we decided to stop, and finally meet the guys.

  We left the room, and entered the elevator, before we exited the building, and made our way to the parking lot. When we finally got there, the three of us in heels, were tired and we felt like taking our shoes off, but at the same time we couldn't wait to party, with our boyfriends. Nathan who only really caught my attention looked both casual and sleek in a pair of jeans, a white polo shirt with tribal designs in black, and its first three buttons left unopened, and a blazer to finish his look off. The moment he saw me, he took me in for one tight embrace which obviously made the rest of the people in the group comment on how 'cute' we supposedly were.

  "Am I supposed to tell you that you look beautiful?" he asked, whispering softly into my ear.

  I had my hands on his shoulders, and when I did this movement to pull away from him, he hugged me tighter, and only let go when I hit him hard, and told him that everyone was already looking.

  "You act like you've never had a girlfriend before which I know is a lie," I said, using my pointer to touch the skin where his heart was. "Player."

  "Well, no one was as stubborn as you," he said, making me want to hit him for the thousandth time.

  "And I'm supposed to fall deeper with that?" I asked as a tease, as I cocked an eyebrow up at him.

  Before our conversation or should I say argument could go on any further, Blake stopped us, and told the both of us to enter our respective cars since everyone was already in theirs. Immediately, my cheeks turned a certain shade of pink when I looked at my surroundings and noticed it was only Nathan and I who hadn't gotten in ours.

  "Hurry up, Nate," I said, about to get in my BMW when he stopped me.

  "I'm driving you!"

  "But you don't have to, dear," I answered back leaving my car door open.

  He unlocked his car, before he made his way over to me and forced me to ride with him. I tried objecting, and kept telling him that it would be no problem if I drove on my own, but Nathan being, well, Nathan, he didn't give up.

  * * *

  "I am so ready to party," I said to Nathan in excitement the moment we left Ridgeway.

  I put on my seatbelt, and soon after, turned on the radio. Lip Gloss by Lil Mama was playing, and as it did, I sang along. I looked at Nathan, and asked him if he wanted to join me in my quote-and-quote 'rapping,' but obviously he declined. His reason, he sucked at singing. I must
admit, he was terrible at it, but he could at least rap most of the parts. He averted his eyes from the road, and turned to me, before he asked me if I was being serious.

  "You want me to be all yo-yo-yo?" he asked, ghetto style, which made me laugh like crazy.

  I slapped his arm, and was about to keep my hands to myself, when he caught it, and placed it on his right knee. I let my hand stay there. We were together anyway, so there was nothing wrong with affectionate gestures anymore. When the song ended, a slower one started to play, and once again, I found myself singing, with Nathan simply listening beside me.

  "I really wish I could sing," he said, in an innocent tone that literally made my heart melt. "You know those romantic movies where the guy plays his guitar and sings to his love one while she stands outside her room on the balcony?"

  I nodded.

  "I'd never be able to do that to you," he said, and instinctively, I started blushing like crazy.

  I didn't let him see it though, that my cheeks were red like apples. I simply told him to shut up when I couldn't think of a comeback, but he didn't stop.

  "I can't even play an instrument," he said, blaming his own self for his 'imperfections.'

  I removed my hand from his lap, as I started to rub his arm as a way to soothe him.

  "You're good at sports," I said, just as a way to make him feel better, but it was the truth anyway.

  He was the star player of the school, and probably with no exaggeration put to my statement, one of the best players in California. Even though he couldn't really sing, or play the guitar or any kind of instrument for that matter, I’d always still appreciate him. He had done a lot of things for me already, and he wasn't stopping yet.

  "It's alright, dear," I said with my hand on his lap now. "No one's perfect."

  He turned to me with a serious look on his face, before he erupted into laughter. I asked him if there was a problem, but he didn't answer, and just kept on laughing.

  "Are we going to start acting all serious now?" he asked with a look of amusement plastered on his face.

  "It would be a really, really boring relationship," I answered. "And I am not boring, and neither are you."

  "Good," he said, smiling in an immature sort of way. "Because you freaked me out back there with your Philosophical insights and all. Never do that to me."

  I smiled mischievously at him.

  "Freaking you out is fun."

  * * *

  Chapter 17: Messed Up

  * * *

  Arriving a couple of hours after the party started, Riley and Anthony found themselves being greeted by a bunch of wasted soccer players from their school. Anthony, who hung out with these guys often, decided to stay with them, and drink a couple of cruisers, while Riley who also knew these people, felt awkward by the way they were eyeing her up and down. Jon, a close friend of Blake's, was looking at her cleavage, and she just had to tell her boyfriend how she felt.

  "I feel like they're about to pounce on me any minute now," she whispered into Anthony's ear.

  He looked at her, before he told her not to worry. Seeing as how he couldn't be pulled away since he was with his friends now, she decided to just leave the group without giving them a proper 'goodbye.' She stood up from her seat, and made her way to the place where the food was, but was stopped when a hand was placed on her shoulder. She turned around, and came face to face with her boyfriend.

  "Why are you leaving?" he asked, pouting.

  "I didn't like the way they were looking at me," she answered, wearing a slightly scared expression.

  Anthony let out a small sigh before he placed his hand on Riley's mop of hair.

  "They just thought you looked different."

  "Anthony, stay with them if you want to," Riley said, knowing all too well how much guys wanted to let loose from time to time with their friends. "Alex is probably here already, so I'm going to go look for her."

  Anthony started to worry with the thought of leaving his girlfriend alone in this kind of party. He'd been to wilder gigs, but this could already be considered hardcore. Numerous teenagers were pissed drunk, while others didn't care if they were reaching third base in front of everyone. People were dancing on tabletops, while others were taking a drag outside on the balcony. He was starting to get paranoid with the ideas that were starting to cloud his brain. What if a guy just came up to her and started…shit.

  "No, no," he said to himself, before he turned his head, and met Riley's eyes. "I'm going where you're going."

  Riley had to smile with what Anthony said. She hadn’t known that he cared for her this much. But as much as she wanted to spend the whole night with him, she didn't want to be clingy in the eyes of everyone. She knew a lot of people, and she was a social butterfly. She didn't need to be with Anthony all the time, and so she told him to just go and have fun.

  "It's okay. Go to your friends, and enjoy! I'll meet you later," she said, remembering the suite Cindy booked them in.

  Anthony seemed hesitant to leave her, but when he saw her eyes, and the way they told him that saying no wasn't an option, he had no choice but to kiss her goodbye and leave. He bent his head down, until he caught her lips with his own, before he hugged her tightly, and told her,

  "I'll see you later. I love you."

  Anthony turned his back against her, as he started to make his way back to his soccer buddies.

  "I love you too."

  She placed her finger over her lips, and suddenly felt a sensation she could only experience whenever Anthony did something to her. She smiled to herself, turned her heels, and started to walk. It was only when she reached the drinks table did she find a familiar face. The person apparently saw her too, and immediately, they engaged in a conversation.

  * * *

  For Dylan, it was a relief for one of Alex's friends to spot him and actually start small talk with him. Ever since he had arrived at the party, all the people he crossed paths with just wanted to ask him for autographs and pictures. He knew this would happen, but it wasn't like he could escape from it.

  The moment Riley gave him a small smile, he immediately went to her, and greeted her with a small hug. The embrace was returned, and when they pulled away, they started talking.

  "It's a good thing you found me," Dylan started, the smile not leaving his face. "I was starting to want to go home."

  Riley gave him a pout, before she spoke up.

  "I've been going around, and still I haven't found Alex and the rest, how about you?"

  "Neither have I," he answered, and after that, they didn't know what to say to each other.

  Riley was happy she had found Dylan alone, since she was expecting him to be in the middle of some big crowd considering the fact that he was an A-list actor at such a young age. Add to that the reality that he was so friendly and sociable that she just couldn't help it but enjoy his company. She surveyed her surroundings, until her eyes landed on the dance floor, with that, Dylan followed her gaze, and immediately, he knew what to say or ask next.

  "Do you want to dance?"

  Riley definitely enjoyed dancing, but she wanted to do it with Anthony, who was probably getting drunk off his ass at the moment. With the high possibility of her boyfriend finding her dancing hips-to-hips with a guy she just recently met, she didn't know what to do since she had no idea how Anthony was going to react if ever he saw Dylan and her grooving to some beat.

  "I don't know."

  Dylan saw the worry on Riley's face with the way her lips curved down, and in that instance, he wanted to remove the pout on her face. He knew she was taken, and hated being in the company of sad people. And seeing as how Anthony wasn't really like Blake, who'd probably beat him up if he saw him dancing with his girlfriend; Dylan tried to force Riley to dance.

  "Oh come on, you see that empty space in the middle?" Dylan asked, pointing to the very center of the floor. "No one's there because that's our space."

  Riley let out a small amused laugh. She was pleased wit
h Dylan's tactics in trying to get her to dance. She knew rejecting his invitation was the better of the two choices, but her insides were just forcing her to let go and let loose. Soon enough, the two made their way to 'their space' and started moving to the beat.

  The song ended, and a new one came on, and this time, it was of a much slower pace. Instinctively and not thinking at the moment, Riley put her hands on Dylan's shoulders as the Hollywood actor placed his own on the girl's hips. They started swaying in sync, and throughout the whole duration of the dance, neither cared if a certain pair of jealous eyes saw them.