Spotify mood playlist for Chapter 2!
Standing near the hot tub and a few feet away from some senior boys playing beer pong, Jade was only half-listening to Alora Menudos and Melodie Baxter talk about a guy from another school that had crashed Taron’s party.
“He’s so hot though… I wonder if he has a girlfriend. I doubt he would have crashed another school’s party if he did,” Melodie mused.
“I bet you’re gonna find out,” Alora said with a smirk.
Jade surveyed the scene with a detached sense of awe—Taron Canter’s family was wealthy all right. The back deck alone boasted an outdoor kitchen and patio lounge that stood adjacent to the enormous salt-water pool, recently renovated to include a cave and hot tub underneath a waterfall slide. Jade wondered briefly if this opulence was why she didn’t like Taron. He was used to having it all and getting whatever he wanted, and something inside of her refused to be added to that list.
If only she had thought of that before kissing him.
“So what’s up with you and Taron, Jade?” Alora teased. “How’s that going?”
Jade’s thoughts flashed to Ian—she hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him since he caught her eye earlier. Jade realized she’d never given him much thought before—she had always known he was hot, but she hadn’t noticed him like she had today.
“How’s what going?” Jade asked with a hint of exasperation in her voice. She wasn’t annoyed with Alora, but more so with the topic of conversation. So many people had asked her about Taron in the past week that she wished they hadn’t hooked up in the first place. But she had to try it out with him, to see if he would be the one to make her feel something. Jade could never quite find that thing that everyone raved about—that feeling that another person was the whole world and nothing else mattered. The answer to that question, she had realized quickly, was definitely not Taron Canter. It all made her feel a bit broken in a way, but she had always secretly suspected that this was the case.
“Oh, like the two of you aren’t a thing,” Melodie said, letting out a snort while examining her dirty blonde hair between manicured fingers. ”I heard it was more than just a kiss.”
“Well, you heard wrong,” Jade said, narrowing her piercing green eyes. “And we are not a thing, Melodie.”
“Oh my God, Jade! I didn’t mean it in a bad way! You two are cute together, just saying,” Melodie said, a fake-sweet smile plastered across her face.
Jade didn’t bother returning the smile. Melodie sipped her wine cooler and pulled out her phone, trying her hardest not to look offended by Jade’s dismissal.
Jade turned her attention back to Alora, noticing that her friend looked particularly luminous tonight. Alora’s mane of long, jet black hair was pulled into a high ponytail that spilled over her shoulders and her light brown face was free of makeup, highlighting her Hispanic features. Alora was a stark contrast to Melodie’s blonde locks and overabundance of eyeliner, and Jade found herself thinking it was truly in Melodie’s best interest not to stand next to Alora anymore. Although Melodie was considered beautiful by most, Jade didn’t see it. She’d thought Melodie was pretty when they first met, but her personality had quickly ruined it.
“Taron and I are just friends. We only kissed once for fun,” Jade said.
“I know, I know. K told me. I was messing with you. But maybe I should try that move out sometime… took him behind the shed, eh?” Alora joked.
Jade smirked. “Yeah, and maybe could you try it on Taron so that he’ll stop bugging me and focus on you instead?”
Alora let out a snort of laughter right as Taron materialized next to the girls and slung an arm around Jade as if he had somehow known they were talking about him. His ever-present cocky grin hung a little low on his face, and his eyes kept going in and out of focus.
“Ladies,” Taron slurred, the smell of beer thick on his breath. “Did you see that last shot I made? The victory cup…”
“I’m gonna go find Ari and K!” Jade said. She ducked out from under Taron’s arm and made a beeline for the house, hoping to lose him and refill her drink at the same time. Jade heard Alora let out a laugh and she whipped around, exchanging a swift smile with her as she slid in the kitchen door.
The inside of the house was close to deserted and unexpectedly peaceful. Jade checked her phone and discovered a DM from an unknown account on her TikTok. She had posted a video while at Kiara's house, a silly montage of them getting ready and dancing. Someone had responded to it with one word: "Slut."
Jade had gotten better at ignoring the comments, but they still got to her sometimes. Why couldn't she just share a post with her friends in peace?
She opened the fridge as a distraction and searched for something to spice up her drink.
“That would taste a lot better if you let me make it,” a deep voice from behind her said.
Jade whirled around to find Ian standing in front of her. What a corny line, she thought, but her stomach dropped as she looked at him. Ian was more dressed up than usual in a white polo and jeans, showing off his ripped arms and chest. He somehow managed to be cute and hot at the same time, a combination that made Jade a little weak in the knees, although she’d never let herself show it.
“Hi…” Jade said. She grinned and then pursed her lips. “Hmm… but do I trust your drink-making skills enough to let you?”
“You never know until you try.” Ian smiled, and she noticed that his top lip lifted a fraction of an inch higher on the left side. God, it was sexy. Did it do that when he talked as well? She would have to pay closer attention.
“I don’t really drink, so juice only.”
Ian nodded and extended his hand toward her waist, causing Jade’s breath to catch in her chest. Her hopes rose as she imagined his hands on her, pulling her toward him. But then his hand veered to the left and he grabbed the cup instead. Jade smiled, hoping her momentary lapse in cool hadn’t shown on her face. She hoisted herself onto the kitchen counter to watch Ian in action, feeling oddly content for the first time all night.
He looked up and caught her eye, still smiling. “Were you hiding out in here?”
Jade looked away. “Maybe.”
“I do that too, sometimes. I get to the point where I have to get away from everyone or I feel like I’m going to lose it.”
Jade nodded, surprised by his spot-on understanding. She opened her mouth to add on, but then closed it. He wouldn’t understand.
“You were about to say something,” Ian said. “What was it?”
Jade shook her head and smiled in a way that usually distracted people enough to move their attention from whatever it was she didn’t want to talk about.
“No, I want to know,” Ian said, his tone breaking her resistance.
“Sometimes I feel like people are always expecting something from me, and I think most of the time they’re hoping I’ll fail in some way. Like they’d be happier with me if I did.” Jade hesitated, thinking of all the negative rumors that constantly flew around about her at school. “I don’t know if that makes sense.”
“No, it makes sense,” Ian said, his eyes melting into hers. “I know exactly what you mean.”
Something pulled pleasantly in Jade’s stomach, like her body was responding to finding understanding in another.
“There,” Ian said, handing Jade her cup. “See if you like it.”
Jade took a sip and raised her eyebrows—the cranberry, pineapple, and orange juice mixed together perfectly. Jade licked her lips and made a noise of approval. She looked up and saw Ian’s clear blue eyes trained on her mouth and her pulse sped up.
Ian opened his mouth to say something right as the back door swung open.
“Ian!” The yellow-blonde bob of Kristin Long, a notoriously bitchy junior, popped into the doorway. “We’ve been looking for you.” Her eyebrows furrowed as she noticed Ian’s proximity to Jade.
Jade looked Kristin up and down. She wasn’t pretty in an orthodox way, but her self-assurance gave her something that translated into a sort of beauty. The respect and space she carried for herself made others revere her.
Jade just thought she was an asshole.
During the girls’ freshman year, Kristin spread a rumor that Jade had gone down on a senior named Marx in his car outside of a fast-food restaurant. Kristin swore to everyone she saw the hook up with her own eyes, but when Marx came to Jade’s defense stating nothing had happened, Kristin’s story conveniently changed to include that she had been drunk at the time so it could have been someone else. Even though Kristin changed her story, the rumor had already done its damage. More than one senior had tried to hang out with Jade in the following weeks, asking her if she wanted to “take a ride” with them. Jade could never figure out the source of Kristin’s vendetta against her, other than the fact that Jade merely existed.
“Hi, Kristin,” Jade said, attempting a smile. Ariana was always telling her to kill Kristin with kindness.
“Hey cutie,” Kristin said only to Ian as if Jade were invisible. Jade remembered why she could never follow Ariana’s advice for more than a minute.
“What’s up?” Ian said, leaning back against the counter next to Jade.
“We need you for beer pong. It’s finally our turn to be partners!” Kristin said, bounding over to him. She smelled like beer and overly-fruity perfume, and Jade did her best not to make it obvious as she ever so slightly covered her nose with her hand. Kristin grabbed Ian’s arm and began to pull him outside.
“I’ll teach you my drink making secrets another time,” Ian said, turning back at the last moment. He winked at Jade and she grinned.
“By the way, Taron was looking for you, Jade!” Kristin pointedly interjected before pushing Ian out the door and slamming it behind her.
“Fan-fucking-tastic,” Jade muttered. She hopped off the counter, attempting to quell the rising disappointment in her stomach. She took a swig of her drink and set off to find Ariana and Kiara, knowing they would be able to cheer her up.
Kiara felt high whenever she was with Teague, even without the help of the joint she had just smoked. They stood hidden from view behind the rock waterfall, with Teague holding her and kissing her slowly in a way that she loved.
“You look beautiful tonight,” Teague said, turning her light blonde braid around his dark fingers.
Kiara smiled up at him but shook her head in disbelief. He tried to argue, but she pulled his face toward hers to kiss him again instead.
Even though they had been together for half a year, Kiara still got butterflies nearly every time she was around Teague. She could vividly remember the first time she’d ever seen him freshman year—her heart had almost stopped. Teague was skating shirtless with his friends in the parking lot after school, V-muscles on full display for all to see. They were surrounded by a gaggle of girls all vying for his attention. The longing Kiara had felt for Teague had been almost painful, but she decided then and there not to be another one of the girls that fawned all over him. So instead, she bided her time.
A few months later, Kiara was at an upperclassmen party with Jade and Ariana, smoking in the backyard with some juniors. She was having one of her giggling fits when Teague wandered over to their group. Kiara flashed a huge smile at him, and to her surprise, Teague took a seat right by her. They were nearly touching. He said “hey” and gave her a smile that melted her inhibitions. For two hours they stayed next to one another, smoking and making idiotic jokes, cracking each other up. At the end of the night when Kiara made a move to leave, Teague followed her.
“Hey,” he said, his warm brown eyes shining. “You’re hilarious. We’ve gotta hang out again.”
“Okay,” Kiara said, and Teague smiled at her for the hundredth time that night, only this time it was celebratory. Kiara’s knees went a little weak.
“When can I see you again?” Teague asked.
Kiara looked at him and imagined herself running her hands over his muscular black chest, wondering how it would feel and what he would taste like when she kissed him. Her stomach flipped in excitement at the thought. But then she remembered that Teague rarely had to work for girls, and so why should it be this easy for him?
“Oh, I don’t really believe in the construct of time,” she said, a light breeze in her voice.
Teague looked at Kiara for a second and then doubled over with laughter. “Who are you?”
Kiara laughed. “I’ll see you around.” She left him standing there, dumbfounded and staring after her.
It had only taken a few weeks after that for Teague to ask her to be his girlfriend.
“Hey,” Teague whispered, pulling Kiara back into the present. “I’m so lucky you chose me.”
Kiara loved when he seemed to read her mind. He was smiling down at her, the dimples in his cheeks pronounced. She kissed his full lips again, savoring the warmth that spread through her body from their contact.
A loud rustling came from the bushes on the right, and Kiara spotted one of the girls’ best friends, Haiden Lee, meandering over, pretending to use his nose to sniff out the source of the weed.
“Whoa, guys, whoa,” Haiden joked in protest to their intimate embrace, covering his eyes with a hand.
“Shut up, man,” Teague said as he passed Haiden a fresh joint. “Here, light up.”
Kiara looked over at her cup of beer sitting forgotten on the waterfall. She’d never been much of a drinker—why waste calories on drinking when it only led to bad decisions and a hangover the next day? Most of her friends just made fools of themselves after the first few drinks anyway.
Haiden took a big hit and passed it to Teague, then started to pull his shoulder-length dark hair into a ponytail when he stopped and looked confused.
“Yo, earth to Haiden,” Teague said, shaking his shoulder.
“There was something I was doing before I found you two love birds…” Haiden mumbled. “… but now I have no idea what it was.”
“Yeah, well smoking this will do that to you,” Kiara said, laughing at him.
“Oh! Right. K—I was supposed to tell you that J and Ari are looking for you,” Haiden said.
“Good job, Haide,” Kiara said. “I’ll go find them now. And just so you don’t forget, you were about to put your hair up into a man-bun before you told me that.”
“Ha-ha. It gets me all the ladies though, so the joke is on you.”
“Does it though?” Kiara said. Haiden grunted and she poked him in the stomach.
Teague was still laughing when he pulled Kiara close and whispered in her ear, “Don’t be gone for too long, baby.”
Kiara took a deep breath of Teague and kissed his cheek before wandering off in search of Ariana and Jade. The wind blew an aroma of cooking meat in her direction—someone had grilled and it smelled delicious. She walked toward the scent and saw a plate of hot dogs and hamburgers cooked to perfection, ready to be devoured. Kiara stopped in her tracks, not wanting to get any closer. Her mouth salivated as she peeked back at the hot dogs. With strained effort she turned away—those were way over her daily calorie limit.
Cheerleading tryouts were coming up and Kiara was worried about making the team again with her friends. She wasn’t an insane tumbler like Ariana or an incredible dancer like Jade, so she wanted to look the part as much as possible. Not to mention she hadn’t been feeling beautiful lately, and even when Teague said it, it was hard for her to believe it. As messed up as it sounded in her head, she wanted to feel beautiful enough for him. Kiara didn’t know how anyone could ever feel beautiful enough these days though when opening any social media meant seeing a slew of girls and models who were too perfect to compete with.
But she would feel better soon, because she had a goal to get herself down to the weight of 110, and she had already dropped a few pounds from her starting weight of 130. About a month ago, she had been talking with another cheerleader, Reigh Maddox, about dieting and had disclosed her weight loss aspirations on a whim. Reigh encouraged Kiara, telling her about a sure-fire way to lose weight: Kiara only had to monitor her calorie intake so she didn’t go over a certain amount a day and keep up her workouts, both of which she had been doing for a full month now. Sure, it was difficult, and the food cravings came often, but seeing her weight drop on the scale was exciting.
Kiara gritted her teeth. She had worked hard to eat less today to save some calories for alcohol just in case, and she wasn’t about to mess up now. She pulled out her phone, giving up on organically searching for her friends.
9:12 p.m. Kiara: Where are you guys?
Ariana replied within a few moments and Kiara headed toward a secluded bench on the side of the house. She spotted her two best friends sitting close to each other with their heads bowed in conversation. Ariana’s gold-streaked hair hung prettily around her face; her cheeks flushed from drinking. Jade looked cool and collected like usual, her dark hair and features wickedly beautiful in the night.
“Kiara!” Ariana shouted. She grabbed Kiara, pulled her down on the bench, and squeezed her in a hug. “There you are, our little pot-head.”
“I would’ve been here sooner, but I couldn’t find you guys. Why are we off where no one can see us?” Kiara asked.
“Apparently Ariana has some big news for us, so we had to go where no one could eavesdrop,” Jade said matter-of-factly. “Oh, and I’m simultaneously hiding from Taron, or should I say, the ‘beer pong champion of the world’ as he’s taken to calling himself tonight.”
Kiara laughed and turned her attention toward Ariana, who began a story about Lukas Jansen, a senior Kiara knew because he occasionally smoked with Teague. Kiara had never particularly liked Lukas—he’d never done anything rude to her, but he had an arrogant vibe like he was hot shit and he knew it.
“And I haven’t heard from him, but I heard most of the swimmers are coming tonight,” Ariana said. Kiara couldn‘t fully focus. Her empty stomach twisted and growled. She began to think about the food that was only a few feet away, waiting for consumption. No pain, no gain, Kiara reminded herself. She giggled as she realized that that particular saying wasn’t exactly right for the situation.
“Kiara, were you spacing out again?” Jade asked.
“Oh! What?” Kiara said, not quite catching what Jade said.
Jade and Ariana laughed. By now, they were used to her tendency to zone out mid-conversation.
“That could be the title of your memoir, K. ‘Spacing Out Again: A tale of only half-listening to my friends, by Kiara Lancor,’” Jade said.
Kiara smirked at her.
“You laughed right after I said I can’t tell if Lukas is interested in me or not,” Ariana explained.
“That must have sounded bad! Sorry, I was laughing at the joke I made,” Kiara attempted to explain. Jade raised her eyebrows, but Kiara continued. “I don’t know about Lukas though, he seems full of himself…” she trailed off. “You’re sure you like him, Ari?”
“I know I don’t know him well, or at all, to be honest. I seriously don’t know what’s wrong with me,” Ariana said, pressing her hands to her temples. “Ugh, and I can’t stop thinking about him—it’s like I’m possessed!”
“All right, calm down, Twilight,” Jade joked, patting Ariana softly on the head.
“I’m serious, Jade. This is bad. I don’t ever want to get so obsessed with a guy that nothing else matters,” Ariana said, her hazel eyes darkening.
“You’re not, Ari,” Kiara said. “And don’t worry, we’ll kick your ass if you ever start to get that way.”
An hour later, Ariana sat between Kiara and a random cute guy from a rival school at the large glass table on the back porch. Ariana was grinning uncontrollably because 1. All the vodka and sugar from the mixers had gone to her head 2. The guy next to her, Sean or Sam or whatever he had said his name was, was hot and clearly interested in her, making him a great distraction from the fact that Lukas hadn’t shown up yet, and 3. Kiara’s high giggling fits were extremely contagious.
Kiara poked her and made a ridiculous face. They started cracking up as the rest of the table looked on in confusion. Ariana knew it was silly, but they couldn’t stop laughing. She wiped a tear from her eye and leaned back to look up at the stars.
The anxiety attack from earlier today was a distant memory now. It was strange how Ariana felt as though she were two people sometimes: one with crippling anxiety that was all-consuming, and the other one upbeat and cheerful—someone who could do things like laugh to the point of tears with her friend over nothing or carelessly flirt with a hot guy from a rival school.
Ariana glanced back down to see Jade gliding over to their table, looking like a goddess cloaked in the moonlight. Jade had slipped off sometime earlier after narrowly escaping Taron for the fiftieth time that night.
“J!” Ariana called out. “Get over here!”
Jade kissed Kiara on the cheek and squeezed into a chair. She nudged Ariana in the ribs.
“Who is that?” Jade whispered, looking pointedly at the attractive stranger sitting to Ariana’s left.
“Oh!” Ariana exclaimed. “Jade, this is Sam! He goes to Birchmond.”
“Jacob… My name is Jacob,” the guy replied while laughing, but Ariana could tell he was miffed. He looked like the type of guy who wasn’t used to girls forgetting his name and barely paying him any attention like Ariana had been doing for the last hour.
“Right.” Ariana cocked her head to the side as she smiled at him, thinking he might be fun for a no-strings-attached hookup. He smiled back, looking as though he had won the jackpot being seated next to them.
Out of the corner of her eye, Ariana spotted a new group of guys arriving at the party. Her stomach tightened when she saw Lukas in her peripheral, looking even hotter than usual. Ariana noticed other girls at the party checking him out too, but his eyes scanned the backyard until they found hers and settled there. He stared at her like no one else mattered and a pulsing heat crept up Ariana’s neck and thighs. Desire traced his eyes as he held her gaze.
“So, um, what sports do you play?” Sam/Jacob asked Ariana, attempting to drag her attention back to him.
“…Cheerleading,” Ariana barely answered, forcing herself to look away from Lukas’ intense stare. Now that Lukas was there, the Birchmond boy didn’t interest her in the slightest. Sam/Jacob continued to talk at her as she looked back over to where Lukas and his friends had been, but he was nowhere in sight. Was he not going to say hi to her?
“I’ll be back, I have to pee,” Ariana said to the table.
She wandered inside, instantly relaxing. She loved Taron’s house—it was bright, open, and decorated in almost all white furniture. She wound her way through the house until she reached the master bathroom. She jiggled the door handle only to find it locked.
Damn, Ariana thought. That was her favorite bathroom in the house because it contained a giant white-tiled jacuzzi tub. A faint giggle echoed from behind the door. Ariana thought it sounded vaguely like Kristin Long’s annoying tone but she wasn’t entirely sure. Ariana sighed. She hadn’t needed to go to the bathroom in the first place though—if she was being truly honest with herself, her real intention was to see if she couldn’t find Lukas to say hi, or at least to say something. She decided to search upstairs instead.
As she climbed the staircase, her phone vibrated in her hand.
10:36 p.m. Unknown: You look pretty tonight.
10:36 p.m. Ariana: Who is this?
10:37 p.m. Unknown: Lukas
Her heart soared. Ariana gripped the banister, stopping in her tracks as she reread the first message while grinning like an idiot. Play it cool, she thought.
10:37 p.m. Ariana: How’d you get my number?
She made her way up the stairs and found an empty bedroom to sit in while she waited to see what he would say.
10:39 p.m. Lukas: Where did you go?
Why hadn’t he just come up and talked to her?
10:39 p.m. Ariana: I took a break from the party. I’m upstairs.
10:42 p.m. Lukas: I’ll come find you.
A wave of excitement rushed over her. Had he been looking for her? Did he ask one of his friends for her number? Did he have feelings for her? She hoped he did because she knew she couldn’t just be friends with him.
She had always dreamed of finding someone who could take away her pain. Maybe Lukas was the one. Like in the romance novels she read, he would sweep her off her feet and she would be so filled with love she wouldn’t have space for the anxiety anymore. She wouldn’t have the capacity to feel the loss or emptiness her father’s death had left behind.
Ariana fidgeted with her shorts and took a few breaths, trying to calm her nerves. She couldn’t decide if she should sit on the bed or the chair by the computer… or just stand up. But no, that might be awkward. She finally decided to stay on the bed, hoping it wouldn’t look like she was being too forward.
The doorknob turned and Lukas entered the room. God, why did he have to be so attractive? His shirt hugged his body in all the right places. He raised his eyebrows as he looked at the bed, as if asking about her choice of seat. Ariana blushed.
“Um…” Ariana mumbled, her cheeks burning.
Lukas remained by the door for another moment, observing her, then made his way to the bed. Ariana realized she wouldn’t want to be anywhere else in the world at this moment rather than sitting next to Lukas, breathing the same air as he was. The right side of her body tingled from where he was almost touching her. She wanted to say something but was uncharacteristically shy now that he was so close.
“So, no one at the party interested you?” Lukas asked.
“What do you mean?”
He hesitated for a moment. “You just seem to have a lot of admirers. I was curious if you were interested in any of them in return.”
Ariana cocked her head. Who was he referring to? Sam/Jacob from Birchmond? Had Lukas noticed him flirting with her? She couldn’t very well tell Lukas that no one else interested her in the slightest anymore… not since she had met him.
“No, not really,” Ariana said instead. She locked eyes with him. “Honestly, I’ve been a little preoccupied.”
There. That wasn’t too obvious and it still hinted at how she felt. Lukas grinned and her stomach tightened. He got even more attractive when he smiled like that, and he was smiling because of her. Ariana mirrored his grin and laughed a little.
“What are you doing on Thursday?” Lukas asked. His eyes trailed up and down her face as if he were memorizing her. Ariana’s breath caught in her throat.
“Thursday? I don’t know; we have cheer practice until 4:30,” Ariana said, watching him closely still.
“After practice, I want to show you something.”
“Okay.” She wondered what it could be. Although she didn’t care what they did, as long as she was with him again.
“Good. I was actually only stopping by tonight,” Lukas said. “But I’ll see you on Thursday.”
Lukas stood up to go, and Ariana scrunched up her forehead. He had to go this soon?
“Where are you going?” she asked, trying and failing to hide the disappointed note in her voice.
“I’ve got other plans tonight; I really only came to see you,” Lukas said, catching her off guard. “You do look very pretty, by the way. It’s no wonder that guy couldn’t keep his eyes off of you.”
And with that, he left and disappeared down the stairs. Ariana’s mouth dropped. What was that about? Was he jealous?
She stood up, overjoyed with everything that had transpired. She waited a few more moments, basking in the notion of Lukas possibly wanting her back before rushing back to the party to tell Jade and Kiara everything.
Chapter 2: J, K, A
fave parts:
1/ "something inside of her refused to be added to that list" - girl got sass and her own mind
2/ "Jade found herself thinking it was truly in Melodie’s best interest not to stand next to Alora anymore." - LOL