by Amber Heart
“No! He’s so stubborn and arrogant. He didn’t even ask me to go with him, he just demanded that I go with him. I don’t know about you, but there’s no respect in that at all, and I just don’t feel like that was the right way to go about asking me, if he wanted me to go with him. I guess I do still have some romantic notions, even if I don’t think I’ll ever find love.” Vanessa stared at her for a second, then shrugged it off.
“Come on over to my room. I’ll get you ready.” Rosalie still hadn’t said that she wanted to go, but this was such a thrill to Vanessa to let her get her dressed up, so she finally relented.
“Alright. Let’s go.” Vanessa jumped up and down, clapping her hands in delight, and Rosalie looked at her, so out of place in the bad girl role. Maybe she was more like Vanessa than she’d originally thought. Rosalie went into Vanessa’s room, astonished at the mess, and found the one corner of the bed that wasn’t littered with outfits to sit down on. Vanessa disappeared into the closet, talking to herself, and Rosalie took the time to look around the room. There were pictures taped up to Vanessa’s mirror, of her and Rob, but they looked like they’d been torn in half, then put back together a few times. If love was a tumultuous ride like it was with these two, then she was happy not to feel it. A leather jacket hung from the back of her desk chair, and from one look, Rosalie could tell it was Rob’s. “Found it!” Vanessa emerged from the closet with a top that looked more like half a top. “Ok, you can wear your jeans, but I have this shirt and some boots to go with it, and I think you’re going to look drop dead sexy.” Rosalie couldn’t help but smile. This was what she’d wanted to have when she was in high school. A friendship where they could spend time together, laugh and joke, and go have a good time. Rosalie grinned at the enthusiasm on Vanessa’s face. Better late than never.
“Ok, I’ll go change and I’ll be back.” Rosalie reached out to grab the shirt but Vanessa jerked it back out of her reach.
“Why would you go back to your room to change? Just change here. That way, if I don’t like the way the shirt makes you look I can get you another one and we won’t waste any time.” Rosalie blushed. She’d never changed in front of anyone before, and it made her more than a little self-conscious.
“Ok, ok. Give it here.” Rosalie grabbed the shirt then turned her back to Vanessa while she took her shirt off. She happened to be facing the mirror, and when she pulled the hem down to where it belonged, she was stunned. The shirt was black, with the shoulders cut out, a lace edge across the neckline, and beading across the chest. The little beads caught the light, sending rainbows of color out from her shirt that dazzled whoever was looking. The boots that Vanessa handed her looked like Harley Davidson boots, but not necessarily like hooker boots. They had a chunk heel, and they had a couple little zippers on them, but they weren’t completely out of her range of what she would wear. She slipped them on, and Vanessa instantly attacked her hair with a brush before she could even stand up straight.
“Hold still, I don’t want to burn you.” Burn her? What the hell was she doing back there? She wasn’t facing the mirror anymore, so she really had no idea what was going on. “There. That’s perfect.” Rosalie turned back around, and her mouth fell open. With the shirt, she already thought that she looked spectacular, but now, she looked breathtaking. Vanessa had curled her hair quickly, and big curls snaked over her shoulders, just kissing the tops. Her eyes sparkled, and her face glowed. She really looked pretty. Rosalie threw her arms around Vanessa, almost knocking her over, because she was trying to put on some pencil heels with one hand.
“Thank you so much! I look beautiful!” Vanessa caught herself against the wall and laughed.
“Well, you are. Just need to spice up your wardrobe a little and learn how to do your hair and makeup. That’s what I’m here for. Now let’s go! Don’t want to get there too late.” Rosalie followed Vanessa out the door, quietly very pleased with how she looked, and vowing to make sure she took the time to do her hair and makeup from now on.
Chapter 7
Rosalie was a little apprehensive as they pulled up to the house. The music was thumping so loud that she could hear it before she got out of the car…and that was over the thumping of Vanessa’s alternative rock CD. Her palms began to sweat. How did one act at these types of parties? She’d never been invited to one in high school, and she had no idea what exactly went on there. All she had to go off of was what she saw in movies, such as Never Been Kissed and Drive Me Crazy. It seemed that both Drew Barrymore and Melissa Joan Hart knew how to handle them, but they didn’t exactly include a manual when you were watching the movie. Vanessa was bouncing on the balls of her feet, waiting for Rosalie to get out.
“Come on! Let’s get in there before all the booze is gone!” As far as Rosalie was concerned, the booze could be gone, and she’d feel a little better about being here. The only plus side to this was, when people got drunk and threw parties like this, they hardly ever remembered anything, so if she said or did anything that was a party faux pax, then no one would know her and laugh about it later.
“I’m coming, I’m coming.” Her stomach was in knots, and she was nervous. She did her best to smooth out the expression on her face so no one would be able to pick up on it. Vanessa grabbed her hand and promptly started to pull her towards the front door. With every step she took, Rosalie felt like she was getting closer to the very gates of Hell itself. The door burst open and a girl in a short skirt and just a bra came out with a drink in her hand, calling after some guy named Todd. Rosalie sucked in a breath. She pulled on Vanessa’s hand and planted her feet, making it so Vanessa got pulled back and yanked around, facing Rosalie. She pointed at the shirtless girl. “Promise me that if I get like that, you will take me home.” Vanessa looked confused, then followed the finger until she was watching the girl, too. Her face relaxed.
“I promise. But I highly doubt that you would even let yourself get to that point.” Rosalie had to admit that Vanessa had a point. Smiling and shrugging it off, she followed the other girl into the house.
Music assaulted her ears as soon as she crossed the threshold. Guys in football jerseys were charging at each other with girls on their shoulders, playing a game of chicken. A group of people in solid black clothes were sitting on the couch and chairs, even the floor, in a sort of circle, smoking cigarettes. Rosalie held her breath as they passed, but the smoke still made her eyes water. There was a guy doing a handstand on a keg, with two other guys holding him by the feet so he wouldn’t fall over, a tube in his mouth, and chugging for all he was worth. Rosalie wasn’t too surprised that he had his own cheering section for his stunt. A guy had a table set up with a lot of equipment, and the headphones over his ears told her that he was the DJ. All in all, if this was the norm for a party, then she wasn’t quite sure that it lived up to the hype she was expecting. Vanessa suddenly squealed and bolted, and it took some shoving and weaving to get through the people around her so Rosalie could follow. When she did, she came face to face with Eric, Blaze draped over his shoulder like some sort of brightly colored scarf. When he caught sight of her, he made no effort to hide the fact that his eyes were roaming all over her, from her toes to the top of her head. Whatever that meant, Rosalie quickly averted her eyes and went to the other side of Vanessa and Rob, who were now in the middle of a make out session.
“I thought you didn’t want to come?” The tone he used was accusatory, but Rosalie felt like she had nothing to defend herself about.
“I didn’t want to come with you.” She corrected tartly. Usually, she had a high tolerance for annoying and stupid things, but when it came to Eric, he just always seemed to cut that tolerance down to zero. His arrogance, and the fact that he seemed to think he was entitled to whatever he wanted just really rubbed her the wrong way. Granted, she thought he was very good to look at, and he was sweet for bringing her the book back that she’d forgotten at the café. He’d seemed almost decent when she’d bumped into him at the grocery sto
re, too. Well, until he’d opened his mouth. Then he just shot himself in the foot with a machine gun, and she’d lost all interest. Rosalie walked away from Eric towards a table that had all kinds of questionable food on it. Something looked like barbecue chips, and she grabbed a little bowl before adding a handful to it. There were some pretzels and a sort of Chex Mix, and she made sure she got some of them, too. Hopefully, he would see that she didn’t want to talk to him and get the hint. Of course, he should have gotten the hint from the way that she acted in class. The thought of having to be his partner made her frown, and she hoped that she could devise a plan in order to make him pull his half of the weight. Eric went down the hallway, and Rosalie heaved a sigh of relief. She hoped that she wouldn’t have to be around him the whole time they were at the party.
Eventually, she found the line for the bathroom. It was as good a place as any to hide out until Vanessa was ready to leave, so she joined the back of the line. Someone bumped into her from behind, and she almost tripped and fell over the girl in front of her. Usually, Rosalie didn’t have a temper, but Eric had already used up the diminished capacity that was left.
“An ‘excuse me’ would be nice.” Her tone was icy as she whirled around to see who it was. Blaze was glaring at her. “Oh, it’s you.” She turned back around, fully prepared to ignore her. Blaze poked her in the back. Rosalie gritted her teeth and turned around again, slowly, almost like a scene in a cartoon when someone was really angry and turned in slow motion before all hell broke loose and they started wailing on the other person.
“You’re right, it would be. So how about you say ‘excuse me’ for moving in on my territory?” Her eyes were blazing, her arms were crossed over her chest, and anger radiated off of her in waves. Rosalie was completely unaware of what she was talking about.
“Territory? What territory? I’m in line for the bathroom, and the last time I checked, it didn’t belong to you.”
“Sure, act dumb. Or is this really how smart you are? If it is, then you should rethink your career choice.” Liquid poison dripped from Blaze, and Rosalie got a little nervous. If this girl was certifiably nuts, then she needed to get the hell away from her before she got into something she couldn’t finish.
“How do you even know what career path I’ve chosen?” Blaze growled at her like a cat who’d gotten wet.
“Does it matter? I’m telling you that you need to stay the hell away from Eric. He’s mine.” It took a second or two for the information to process.
“What? I don’t want Eric. You can have him.” If that was all, then this conversation was over. She wasn’t going to fight Blaze for something she didn’t even want. Eric couldn’t even stand her, so why was Blaze so worried?
“Just remember that. He’s mine, and we’re going to be together, so stay the hell away from him.” Blaze turned on her heel and strode away. Rosalie, on the other hand, rolled her eyes and moved up in the line. She didn’t even want Eric…did she? He seemed like such a pompous ass. But she still thought that it was sweet that he’d brought her book back. And that he’d steered her towards a drink that she now couldn’t believe she’d ever lived without. What was his deal? Did he have split personality disorder or something? She rolled her eyes again. There was no reason for her to try to analyze the creep because she didn’t want to be with him…right? She decided that she would push those thoughts to the back of her mind for when she had the time to figure it out. Right now, she just wanted to find Vanessa and go home. She’d had enough of the party already. After she’d taken her turn in the bathroom, she decided it would be best to find Vanessa and ask if they could go home. Vanessa was draped around Rob’s neck, looking for all the world like she’d been drinking for the whole day. Her eyes were glazed, and she was slurring her words.
“Vanessa? Are you going to be able to drive us back?” Rosalie had no idea where they were, or how they’d gotten to the party, so even if she drove, she had no idea of how to get back. She needed Vanessa to either drive or be able to give directions, and it seemed like she was incapable of both at the moment.
“Yeah. Sure. We’ll go soooooon.” She dragged out the last word, and it worried Rosalie.
“Don’t worry. I won’t let her drive. She’ll be too busy with me anyway.” Rob put an arm around Vanessa and started to guide her towards the stairs, where Rosalie was sure the rooms were being claimed by drunk couples with an itch that needed scratching. She rolled her eyes and headed for the front door. Maybe she could just hang out by the cars and hope that someone else was going back to the dorms and would be willing to give her a ride. Exasperated, she sat down on the curb and put her head in her hands.
“You need a ride back?” She froze. It was indeed what she needed, but she didn’t want to ask Eric for help. She bit her lip, but finally, she turned to face him.
“Yeah, I kinda do. Vanessa is too drunk to drive, and I’d take her back with me if she could give me directions, but she seems to be too caught up in Rob that I don’t think she’ll be wanting to go with me. So I’ll just ask someone else who’s going back to the dorms for a ride.” She almost hissed the words out through her teeth, but she managed to keep it somewhat civil.
“Come on. I’ll take you.” He started to walk towards the parking lot of cars in the front lawn, but she stayed firmly where she was. To be honest, she was looking for Blaze. If that crazy girl was anywhere nearby, she wanted to be as far from Eric as possible. The mop of blue hair was nowhere to be seen, and she did have an early class in the morning…
“Thanks. I appreciate that very much. I would have waited for Vanessa, but I do have a pretty early class.” There. That was enough of a reason. It wasn’t like she was going on a date with the guy. It was a fifteen minute car ride. Twenty, tops. She followed him. He didn’t hold the door open and he didn’t do anything polite. He simply went to the driver’s side and got in, expecting her to do the same. As Rosalie got in, she failed to notice that Blaze had been watching the whole time.
Chapter 8
“Um, thanks for giving me a ride home.” Rosalie had her arms around herself, because she didn’t know what to do with her hands. She didn’t really trust them with her being this close to Eric. He was still as attractive as he had been when he caught her eye, but the personality that went with it was giving her whiplash. Nice one minute, then a self-satisfied ass the next.
“You’re welcome. I’m sorry that Vanessa didn’t bother to monitor herself so you could get home safe. I wouldn’t have let that happen if you were with me.” His voice was soft, and it made her look at him under the cover of her lashes. Was he trying to be sweet? This was a complete change from trying to force her to go to the party with him because he’d never been turned down before, but she was still a little wary of him. The playboy attitude that he had wasn’t going to fly with her, and if he tried any funny business, then she would get out of the car and try to find her way back to campus on her own. It didn’t matter how late she got there, as long as she made it back safely. She didn’t trust herself to say anything else, because she was naturally too inquisitive not to ask what was on her mind. Right now, what was on her mind, was why he had such personality shocks every now and then when she saw him. She gritted her teeth and looked out the window to keep herself from asking. They lapsed into silence.
“So why didn’t you come to the party with me?” Apparently, he had an inquisitive mind, too, and he just had to have answers to whatever questions popped up into his head. She let herself have a little half smile, because it was something that they had in common.
“It wasn’t so much the company, as it was the way you asked…well, told me to go.” The bitterness that she always tried to keep out of her voice came out, and she winced. She really could be a bitch at times, and this time she’d acted like a scorned high school girl instead of a mature college woman. He chuckled, but there was no humor in it.
“You’re right. I wasn’t exactly Prince Charming when I tried to g
et you to come with me. I want to apologize.”
“It’s ok.” She was in shock. He was being a decent guy, and he’d even apologized for being so rude. What was going on here? A personality transplant? Her curiosity raised its ugly head, and she could tell that a barrage of questions were going to come spilling out. She needed to keep the words behind her teeth before she said something that ruined this car ride home.
“Would you have gone if I’d been more of a gentleman?” The question caught Rosalie by surprise. She thought about it for a minute, then blushed as she answered.
“Um, yeah. Actually. I would have probably tried to talk myself out of it, but if you’d been nice about it, I would have.” Now she needed to shut her mouth. There was nothing else that needed to be said between them, and it was still at least a ten minute drive to the campus. If she wanted to get home quickly, she had to muzzle herself. Rosalie bit her lip. She could feel the word vomit coming up that she wanted to keep deep inside. “Why are you so nice to me one minute, then a complete ass the next? That makes no sense to me.” She winced as the words left her mouth, but there was nothing she could do now.
“It’s complicated. I’m not sure that you would understand.” There was a little sting to his words, and she immediately got up in arms because he was insinuating that she wasn’t smart enough to follow along if he explained it.
“Try me.” He looked over at her and studied her face, his eyes resting longer than they needed to on her lips. A blush crept up her cheeks again and she was glad that it was dark. Maybe he wouldn’t see it. He gave her an impish grin.