{110}✔️

Dahlia's outfit:

Cadence's outfit:

Dahlia's POV

************

"We look hot!" Cadence grinned as she twirled around, looking at her ass in the mirror. I snickered and shook my head at her as I grabbed my purse and put my phone inside it.

I didn't respond, too tired to. I'm hoping I perk up a little when we get to the party, cause right now I feel absolutely dead. It's been a long day and I'm honestly exhausted. I had to wake up early this morning to clean my room and mail a shit ton of packages, then adventure club was a whole mess because Mr. Tomlin did a shitty job of putting the scavenger hunt together, and then, of course, drama club was insane too.

I'm really hoping it won't be so chaotic in the future.

If those fucking jerks, Julian and bowl cut dude who I so desperately need to learn the name of, and that one guy who wouldn't stop yelling random shit during the first drama club meeting, Jasper, finally decide to hop off my fucking dick maybe it won't be. On top of complaining about the parts they're supposed to be playing, they made it a point to be loud and disruptive the whole five hours we were at the meeting. It was horrible.

Worst of all, Billie absolutely refused to apologize for treating me like a child and seemingly saw nothing wrong with the way she spoke to me over the phone. I'm still pissed about that.

To recap, this day has been shit.

I feel kind of guilty about going to this party, knowing that Billie told me not to, but at the same time I'm glad I'm going. I need to let loose and have fun after a long and miserable week.

Plus, she can't tell me what to do like that and expect me to do exactly what she says. I'm eighteen years old, and I'm fully competent. I can make my own decisions.

"You look like you're about to pass out," Cadence said as she looped her arm through mine. "Come on, Gigi is waiting in the car and we still have to pick up Ori and Jessica."

I nodded and we walked out of my room, down the stairs and then out of the house.

I didn't wanna go to this party all alone, so I invited Cadence and Gigi, and Ori mentioned needing some plans for tonight so then I invited him and he's bringing Jessica. Kai is hanging out with another one of her friends tonight so she couldn't come.

"Beautiful girls in beautiful clothes, yes?" Gigi complimented us as we got into his car. I smiled and Cadence leaned over to kiss him, making my heart clench.

I love them. I hope they get married and have ten kids!

"Okay, seatbelts on please." He grinned.

***

I let out a small breath, trying to let go of my nerves, as we all walked into the party. I looked around, trying to spot any signs of trouble, but it seemed pretty normal. People were just dancing, laughing and talking. The music was loud, but not that loud, and it honestly didn't seem like that many people were drinking. I could definitely smell weed, though.

It wasn't a humongous party like the other ones I'd been to. Sure, there were a lot of people, and it was super crowded, but I could still tell that there were fewer people here than what there'd been at the other parties. The house was a lot smaller too, and I don't know why, but that was kind of comforting.

It just seemed to be like a regular party. Nothing too fancy, nothing too wild. Just regular.

"You know the drill. Text me if you need me and I'll come running. Gigi and I aren't drinking tonight, so when you're ready to go just let us know. And if Caden texts and asks where we are—"

"We're touring the nonexistent clown museum forty-five minutes away." I rolled my eyes, laughing at her. Caden hates clowns so she told him we were going to a clown museum to keep him from trying to tag along.

Caden wouldn't let her come to a party without him, especially after what almost happened at the last one. He was already overprotective before that, but after? He would not have let her come if he knew we were planning to go to a party.

Cadence patted my shoulder before she and Gigi walked off and then it was just Jessica, Ori, and I.

"If only Denny was here, I'd have someone to twerk on." Ori pouted as we walked into the kitchen. I rolled my eyes and tried to get that image out of my head. "How are things going with you two?" I asked curiously.

He shrugged. "He knows I think he's hot and we made out for two minutes while we were at that golf course. That's about it."

I snorted as we began to pour ourselves some drinks. Orb nudged me in the side, smirking as he turned to Jessica. "So, what about you? How's your love life?" He questioned.

She immediately began to blush, pulling at her hair nervously as she fumbled over her words. "Wha—me? Who? Me? I don't—You know I don't, ugh...I'm...I don't—" She took a big gulp of her drink, cutting herself off.

Ori shrugged and pretended he didn't know why she was so nervous, walking off after taking a big gulp of his own drink. I watched as he immediately began talking to a pretty, seemingly already drunk girl. He grinned as she twirled around for him and then swung an arm over her shoulder, walking out of view with her.

"Dahlia, I can't keep this a secret from everybody anymore!" She whisper yelled as we watched them walk off. "Kai and I are dating!"

"What? No way!" I tried to hide my laughter and I was grateful that she was too busy panicking to notice.

"Yes, way! Please don't tell anyone, but me and her have been together for a while! We just didn't wanna tell anyone because we were afraid they might judge us for dating since we live together and everything, and plus, the more people that know about your relationship, the more problems!"

"I won't tell anyone, I promise." I smiled.

"Thanks." She sighed.

We both walked out of the kitchen and I smiled largely as I caught sight of Kit. She was sitting on the arm of a couch, talking to a few girls. I walked over to her after Jessica mentioned something about finding some weed.

"Hey!" She smiled, standing up after she saw me. She pulled me in for a quick hug and I grinned as I saw her outfit. It was simple but really cute.

"Hi. I'd like to raid your closet immediately."

She laughed and shook her head as she looked me over. "Well, I don't think your dress is really my style, but it's really cute too."

I shrugged. "Thanks. I don't think it's really my style either, though." I giggled. "I usually like to wear darker colors or neon or something. And definitely nothing so tight."

"Why'd you wear it then?" She asked.

"My friend, Cadence, wanted us to match tonight and she insisted on wearing this color," I smirked. "So, ugh...This is a nice party."

"Yeah, it's pretty chill so far." She grinned before taking a sip from her bottle. "Where's Billie, by the way? I thought for sure you'd bring her!"

"She doesn't actually know I'm here," I mumbled. "I asked if she wanted to come but she's busy tonight and the last parties we went to didn't go so good so she didn't want me to come to this one. I'm pretty sure she expected me to just stay home because she told me not to come."

"Dude!" She gasped, her eyes widening. "If I'd known she didn't want you to come to a party I would not have invited you to one!"

I scoffed. "She's my girlfriend, not my fucking owner! I do what I want."

"Are you sure you wanna stay here, Dahlia? If this is gonna cause problems I don't—"

"It'll be fine," I grumbled. "We've gotta get to know each other, don't we? Tell me all about New York."

***

"That shits crazy, Doe. I can't believe all that happened." Kit mumbled before taking another sip of her beer. She handed me the bottle and I took a large gulp of it myself. "I don't think I could be friends with somebody if they did that to me." She sighed.

I shrugged. "Yeah, I definitely didn't expect to be friends with Kai after all that either, but I don't know, we both pulled some bullshit. I just wanted everything to be behind us, no bad blood."

"You're a small girl, but that's pretty big of you." She snickered.

"What about you? You haven't told me about your school and all the shit that happened there yet. You got expelled for fighting. You must've done it a lot." I handed her the bottle back and pulled my knees up to my chest, watching her closely.

We've been sitting on the same couch I'd found her on for about two hours now, talking. This party really is pretty chill, and I've been having a good time. People are mostly just sitting around, talking. Everything's calm and I like the vibe here.

"Yeah, I was always getting suspended for fighting. Every time I came back from one suspension, I'd end up getting suspended once again the same day," She sighed. "I really don't have a good excuse. It's just that, in the town I was living in, there wasn't nothing to do but fight."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I did that shit for fun most of the time. I didn't like school anyway. I wanted to drop out, but my auntie wouldn't let me do that. So, I figured I might as well just be out as much as I could, and if I'm not allowed in the school, that means I ain't gotta be there, you know?"

"Well, at least you've got a fresh start, I guess?" I tilted my head. "I mean, you're not gonna start any fights here, are you?"

"Nah, I don't plan on it. I only got one more year left after this one anyway. I'm just gonna keep it low key and hope the time flies."

"I bet it will." I smiled. "Why'd you wanna drop out? Just cause?"

"I'm not real smart. Never been good at this school shit. Only reason I haven't failed any grades is because one of my friends always made it her job to help me do all my work..." She drifted off.

"Did something happen with her? Is she the girl you broke up with?" I asked curiously.

"Nah...We never dated. Probably should've, I think she was the only girl I ever really liked for real."

"Maybe there's still a chance." I smiled.

"I don't think so. She, ugh...Passed away a few months ago." She sighed, looking down as she began playing with her sleeve.

I gasped and scooted closer to her, resting my hands on top of hers. "I am so sorry to hear that! I'm sorry for mentioning it too! I'm sorry, I just talk a lot and I ask a lot of questions and I—"

"It's fine, Doe. Seriously," She chuckled. "You're fine. You like asking questions and I like answering questions. It works."

"I guess it does." I grinned.

"It makes me sad, but I like talking about her." She sighed after a few moments. "She was one of the only good things in my life. She was my best friend since we were about fourteen. I guess it wasn't that long of a friendship, but there wasn't nobody closer to me than her."

"What was she like?"

"She was real pretty. Short as shit, real thick, and always had a crazy colored weave." She snickered. "I always used to make fun of her because she insisted on getting the ugliest hairstyles and colors. But she always made it look amazing. She was real giggly, always smiling and always cracking jokes. Dirty-minded as shit. Adorable when she was mad...She was perfect if you ask me."

"How'd you guys meet?"

"She tried to fight me," She laughed. "I fought one of her friends and she was mad when she found out, so she came up to me one day, got all in my face. She was screaming at me to hit her the way I did her friend. I just wanted to kiss her instead. I laughed in her face and she was mad as fuck about that. I couldn't help it, though. I was bigger than her and clearly stronger. She was all pure and innocent and shit, I could just tell. The whole thing was ridiculous. I told her I'd fight her after she let me buy her a milkshake. She let me buy the milkshake but we never got around to fighting."

"That's so cute!" I giggled. "Did she know you liked her as more than friends? Did she like you?"

"Yeah, I always made it clear that I liked her and she liked me too, but I couldn't date her."

"Why not?" I furrowed my brows.

"I fuck around a lot. I've had a few girlfriends in the past and I always cheated on them. It was never my intention to hurt them or anything, it just always seemed to happen. I could be the perfect girl, you know? I could always treat my girls right up until we made shit official and then, I don't know. I just always ended up fucking it up." She smiled sadly.

"I couldn't do that shit to her. I really, really liked her. I always say I've never really loved anybody, but I think I did love her. I just didn't wanna ruin what we had. I really wanted her to be mine, but I didn't wanna risk messing up. I didn't wanna lose her."

"Um...How'd she pass away?"

"Rough part of town," She sighed. "I told her she needed to toughen up or either stop talking so much shit. She never listened to me. She started beefing with this group of girls and they jumped her one day...Didn't end well."

"I am so sorry." I shook my head.

"That's okay," She smiled. "I know she's probably happier up there in heaven. She's probably judging me for something or another right the fuck now. I'm real sad she's gone, but I don't know...I still feel like she's with me. I feel like she's still right here next to me, still by my side. I don't know how to explain it. It just doesn't feel like she's gone, you know?"

I nodded silently as I traced the rim of the bottle she'd given back to me. It was silent for a few moments before I asked my next question. "Maybe I'm pushing it, but I was just wondering...Why don't you live with your parents?"

"Long story short, my mom didn't want me, she wanted drugs. My dad got shot when I was nine."

"Fucking shit." I muttered, causing her to laugh.

"Before you apologize, it's alright!" She told me quickly. "My dad was a bad man anyway. Real abusive and shit. This is gone sound real harsh and real crazy, but him getting shot was probably the best thing that could've happened to me. If he hadn't, he would've killed me eventually."

"That bad?" I asked softly.

"Yeah. Bad man." She repeated. "What about your fam? Your dad seems nice."

"He is!" I grinned. "He's my best friend. I love him. My mom was abusive too. That's a long story...Wait," I mumbled. "Is your eye like that because of your dad?"

"Yeah. Pushed me into the corner of a table when I was seven. This happened." She gestured toward her eye.

"Shit."

"Yeah, but it's okay though. At least I look cool now, I guess." She smirked.

***

"Yo, you really gotta chill, shorty." Kit chuckled as she opened the door and led me into the room. "I told ya ass not to drink so much."

Hours later, and those few, tiny sips from bottles upon bottles of beer had started to add up. Now I'm...Drunk as fuck, for lack of better words.

"Oh shut u-up!" I giggled as she put me on the bed. She took my shoes off for me before pushing my legs on the bed as well.

"You can stay here until your friends are ready to go, okay? My friend won't mind." She smiled as she lifted the covers and helped me get under them.

"Thanks so much Kitty Kat." I snickered as I slapped her face a few times. "You're great! Honestly, truly..."

"Shit, I know." She joked. "So, what you want, huh? Want me to go find your friends for you? Want me to text somebody for you? What's up?"

"No," I drew the word out until I ran out of breath. "Don't bother them! I'll um..." I drifted off as I heard my phone start to ring. I fumbled around with my purse, trying to get it open.

Kit smirked as she opened it for me, pulled out my phone and answered the call before handing it to me. She gestured toward the door and I frowned. "Calm down, shorty, I'll be right outside. I gotta make a phone call too." She told me. I nodded.

"Hey, baby." I heard Billie say. She didn't sound like she usually sounded. I could tell she was mad already. "I just got home from dinner...You went to the party, huh?"

"I did!" I giggled.

"After I told you not to?"

"I'm not your dog, Bilboa!" I drew out her name. "I don't just...jump to do whatever you say to do, no questions asked. I've got a mind of my...own!"

I grunted as I tried to sit up as I started sinking down in the bed, but I gave up after a few moments and decided to just lay down.

"I know I was an asshole the other night, but I still can't believe you went when I told you not to, Dahlia." She huffed. "I just...You know how the other parties turned out—"

"Yes, I do know. I was there...and shit! Billie!" I laughed as I turned to lay on my side and then sighed.

Side and sighed.

Oh my god, those rhyme!

I snickered to myself as Billie continued talking. "Okay, so then why the fuck did you go to this one then?! Was it really that fucking important?!"

"No." I answered shortly.

"Dahlia, if something happened to you I wouldn't know what the fuck to do with myself. Do you know that? I'm literally terrified right now. You're there all alone and I'm not there to protect you—"

"I'm not alone! Cadence and Gigi and Ori and Jessica and Kit are here!"

"Okay, but I'm not," She mumbled. "I know I'm not the best at protecting you, clearly. But I really do try so hard to."

"I know that, Billie, and you are good at protecting me. I'm okay. Nobody's taken any nude pictures of me, nobody's fighting, nobody's doing cocaine, I'm not fucking anybody else," I giggled loudly. "Everything's fine. This party was really fun. I wish you were here."

"I wish you were here too." She sighed. "Look, I'm supposed to be sleeping right now, but I'm gonna come get you."

"You don't have to."

"I know, but I want to. I wanna see you."

I could tell by the tone in her voice that she didn't just wanna see me. I smirked as I slowly rolled out of the bed, grunting as I hit the floor before trying to stand up.

"I wanna see you too, Billie," I mumbled. "I'll text you the address."

We said our goodbyes before I slowly walked toward the door and opened it, poking my head out. I looked both ways and smiled as I saw Kit leaning against the wall, making out with some girl.

I tried to quietly tiptoe past them, but I almost tripped which grabbed Kit's attention. She quickly pulled away from the girl and came to help me stand up straight. "Yo, Doe, you're supposed to be in bed."

"Billie's coming to get me and I think we're gonna fuck!" I tried to whisper but it was definitely a lot louder than a whisper.

She smirked. "Well, good for you two. I was real close to getting some pussy too, but I think you just ruined that."

I turned to look at the girl she'd been making out with and she was already storming off. "Yikes. Sorry." I frowned.

"That's okay, I'll find someone else." She shrugged. "Come on, we've gotta go back in there and get your shoes on. Plus, you're leaving your purse."

***

Kit helped me find my friends to let them know I was gonna be leaving with Billie, then we went and waited outside for her to show up.

When she did, I practically ran to the car, although it really wasn't much of a run. Everything was blurry and spinning and even if I'd been sober, my heels wouldn't have allowed me to run.

Billie got out of the car and I was clinging to her as soon as she did. "Thanks for helping her out here and looking out for her tonight." Billie smiled.

"No problem, shorty. I gotta get back inside. You two have fun." Kit winked before turning and jogging back inside the house.

"Mr. Gray will see me now?" I mocked before letting out a small snicker.

She shook her head and smiled at me. "You're drunk as hell."

"I know right!" I cackled. "Perfect time to take advantage of me, huh?"

"You're a horny drunk, you know?"

"Yeah, Yeah, Yeah. Let's mess up those nice backseats, huh?" I grinned.

***********

A/N: LMFAOOOO and y'all asses was worried about this party all for nothing. Nooo drama!