Party Crashers

So someone messaged me and asked me if I wanted them to make a cover for my story - this story btw. So I was like, go ahead. The result of that...

I mean, LOOK AT THEM!! THEY ARE SO FUCKING BEAUTIFUL!!

When I saw them I was legit tearing up. NormExcludedx I really can't stop thanking you for these AMAZING covers.

And I'm going to suggest that anyone who wants a cover or a new cover for their book should turn to you because you're amazing. 😘😘😘

**~**

Okay, this chapter wasn't so bad to edit. Same time next week?

**~**

At almost one in the morning, Arthur and I are still outside. After the park, we decided to go for a walk and we've been doing that since.

We had a lot to talk about seeing as we haven't in a year, and it's gotten much easier to bring up anything since we got the hard conversation out of the way. I forgot just how much Arthur likes bashing and his sassy little attitude which is quite amusing when he tells funny stories.

"How'd you do it, then?" He asks suddenly. I'd finished telling him about the past year, but mostly the summer.

I look over at him, puzzled. "Do what?"

"Y'know... How did my shy socially awkward Grace turn into a people-loving, extroverted butterfly?" He clarifies, his voice humorous.

"I was not socially awkward," I say in disbelief. "And extroverted might be a bit of a stretch."

"Yeah, right." He scoffs. "When I'm at school, everywhere I turn there's someone talking about you. And from what I've heard, it's all good things."

"It can't be that much..." I trail off doubtfully. It wasn't that much, he was being dramatic. I knew a lot of people in our grade class but I refuse to believe they stand around talking about me in their free time.

"Believe me, it is. In class, the hallways, at lunch. Even the freshmen are asking about you." He adds the last part as if he's informing me of this information.

"I don't know. I'm just... nice to people I guess." A blush coats my cheeks as I stare down at my shoes moving along the sidewalk.

"Oh, yeah, why didn't I think of that?" he retorts.

Smiling, I shove him gently in the arm, but he makes a scene of stumbling as if I threw myself into him or something. He grins when I giggle, hopping back onto the sidewalk next to me and falling into step easily.

I glance down when I feel his cool fingers on the inside of my wrist. He slides his hand down, slipping his fingers in the spaces between mine. I don't stop him. Not that I can when I'm focusing on the way he warms our tangled hands and brushes the pad of his thumb over the back of my knuckles softly.

He's smiling at me when I finally meet his eyes.

"Wanna crash a party?" He jerks his head in the direction we're walking. It's easy to spot where the party is at the end of the block.

The house isn't a mansion but it's big enough. People are laying on the front lawn with plastic cups and plates all over. The music isn't too loud for the cops to be called, but the closer we get, the clearer the sounds become. Arthur and I unashamedly try to peer in through the open front door and windows as we slow down outside the house. I'm still not sure what the age bracket for this little get-together is but it can't be older than college with the number of bodies and booze I'm seeing. With that thought, I make up my mind.

"Why not?"I say with an excited grin.

With a lopsided smirk, his hand tightens around mine and we rush up the walkway toward the front door. I let out a squeal followed by a delirious laugh. He looks back at me, laughing with a large grin on his face before leading me again.

"Where are we going?" I whisper-shout when we cut across the grass, heading to the side of the house instead.

"Back door."

We're logged between the side of the house and the bushes now, completely winging it. I can't find myself to be anything more than happy. There's something hilarious about the whole scenario and I can hardly hold back my giggles.

"Why couldn't we just go through the front door? Do you even know where the back door is?" I ask, electricity running through my veins, my heart beating fast.

"Obviously it's around the back. Keep up, babe." Have I mentioned how sassy he gets?

I roll my eyes and decide to follow this genius since he knows exactly where he's going.

"Down." He squats down so quickly, I almost fall over trying to follow him.

"What?" I hardly get the word out since his dramatics made me hold my breath.

"Window." He points above our heads and then starts crawling to the other side. Snickering, I follow, but while standing up with my head lowered enough that no one inside can see me. He's doing entirely too much, but I can't deny it's fun.

As soon as we're past the window, we're back on our feet and running. Our hands are clasped tight and anyone would think we were drunk with how much we're laughing. The backyard is crowded with dancing and lounging bodies when we creep out from the corner. The good thing is, a few people spot us but don't seem to care.

Arthur loosens his hand around mine but doesn't let go, looking back at me with a triumphant smile. We find the backdoor at the top of a patio with people standing in the doorway. Arthur maneuvers his way through and I try to make myself as small as possible. That doesn't happen but I make it through when a few of them either step in the house or out to get out of my way.

"You're pretty!" a girl shouts as I squeeze past her.

My smile feels like it's splitting my face at this point. "You're prettier!" I shout back, waving as go. I hear Arthur laughing and figure he heard.

We end up in a kitchen. The music is much louder inside, which is pretty much science but I still didn't expect it. But Cake By The Ocean is playing and I feel my body swaying to the music as Arthur continues to lead me through the kitchen full of strangers.

I peek around his body to see where he's taking us, but all I see through the open doorway is a crowded dancefloor. I also notice from the few eyes that I catch that we're getting confused glances and suggestive all at once. We only have a few minutes before people start asking questions.

As I'm passing a guy with a red plastic cup in his hand, I pluck it out of his hold and chug it down in one go. The burn that follows is worth it. I don't usually drink but I'm in the mood to be a bit reckless tonight.

I shove the empty cup into the next vacant hand I see, which is really not me. I keep taking random drinks from people I'm passing, sending sincere apologies at their yelled protests.

When we get to the edge of the dancefloor I'm ready for everything.

Arthur and I are immediately dancing and singing to each other like we're on top of the world. He's a great dancer too. Who knew? I sure as heck didn't.

"...waste time with a masterpiece, don't waste time with a masterpiece,

You should be rolling with me, you should be rolling with me, ah,

You're a real life fantasy, you're a real life fantasy,

But you're moving so carefully, let's start living dangerously..."

We go absolutely crazy; laughing, dancing, screaming the lyrics like no one else exists even though we're all pressed against each other. I'm just happy to be here with him. It feels so good to be like this. I've never enjoyed a party this much. It's always been way too easy to be myself and have fun with him but I'm not complaining about it. I don't have to anymore.

When the song is over we're all over each other, holding ourselves up to stop from falling over with laughter. He grabs my hand again and we're rushing out of the room. It's hard to do that though with the probing looks and thick curtain of people in the way. I didn't realize how much space Arthur and I were taking up until this moment; and not space with our bodies, but our energy. We'd seemed to be enjoying ourselves too much, enough for some people to pull their phones out and record us. I try to hide my face by ducking against his arm, happy that he's dragging us toward the front door. One song is really all we need.

"That was awesome!" I exclaim once we're outside, throwing my fist in the air. My head is swimming and I'm floating- I feel great!

I stagger after bumping my toe on a rock. Arthur catches me before I can take a tumble. That would not be pretty.

"Woah. You good?" he asks, pulling me into him and tilting my head up to see my face. His eyes are so pretty. I wanna kiss him. His eyebrows furrow and he leans forward. I stop breathing. "What and when did you drink?" he says.

"Just..." I bring my hand up to show him a small space between my index finger and thumb.

"When?" His voice is laced with disbelief this time.

"I think..." When was it again?

"You know what, never mind. Let's go home, yeah?" He smiles and I sigh into him.

"Okay," I throw my arms around his neck. "Let's go home! My dad's gonna read me a bedtime story! Ohh, I want the princess and the frog! I'm gonna be the princess, of course." I grin at him.

"Yeah?"

I nod vigorously because isn't it obvious? "Mhmm."

"I think you'll fit that part perfectly." He says with a smile and we walk away from the dancing house.

**~**

"Curtains like waves closing in all around us-" I sing sweetly, smiling up at an amused Arthur.

I'd turn some music on as we stroll down the sidewalk with me wrapped in his arms. All In My Head my Fifth Harmony is playing and we're swaying unsteadily, with mostly him putting in effort to keep us both upright.

"Dimming the lights just so that they don't blind us-" I wag a finger in his face, watching him suppress a laugh, "Nah, nah. So tongue and cheek when we're laying on roses-" I pause, leaning close to him. I let my tongue snake out of my mouth, licking the side of his face. He freezes as we stop in the middle of the sidewalk. I keep going, leaning in to his ear, whispering the next line, "But you're touching my skin and you're leaving me hopeless." I run my hands up and down his muscled arms, tracing his tattoos absentmindedly with my fingertips.

He lets out a low hoarse chuckle against my cheek. "You're so drunk."

I lean into him even more, grinning. "Fleeex, time to impress, come and climb in my bed-" I grin suggestively, running my index finger along his jawline, "Don't be shy, do your thing. It's all in my head-"

"A lot of things are in your head right now," he mutters.

I stop singing and beam at him. "Like what? Can you tell so easily?" I turn in his arms, pressing my chest flush against his, and wrapping my arms around his shoulders. I caress his shoulder with the tips of my nails through his t-shirt. The streets are deserted and the music from my phone is echoing. We can do anything in this dark little corner away from the next lampost-

Until someone peeps through a window in the house across the street, making me tense. "Stop," I whisper frantically.

"What is it?" he demands, his hands tightening around me as his eyes search the torch-lit road frantically.

"Someone's staring at us from over there," I whisper, nodding my head to the other side of the road.

When he sees what I'm talking about he relaxes. "That's just some kid from school."

I perk up. "Really?"

Arthur nods. "How did you even notice that-"

I look across the street at the girl still peeping at us but with a phone in front of her face this time. "She's taking my picture!" I say frantically, pushing myself away from him to fluff my hair and adjust my boobs in my top. I turn back to the girl that's still there, throwing my head back and giving her a large smile while throwing up a peace sign.

Arthur snickers under his breath and walks away.

"No, no, no, where are you going?! You messed up my angle!" I panic, rushing after him. I catch his arm but he doesn't stop for another few steps. I force myself in front of him and place my hands on his forearms to hold him in place. I reach up to pat his face repeatedly because he's not listening to me. "She didn't get a good picture of us- Staaahhppp!"

"If you keep hitting me, I'm hitting you back," he warns. I stop abruptly, folding my hands against my chest, while eyeing his in case I need to duck. I can defend myself, it's remembering that's the problem right now. "I can't believe you actually think I'd do that." He shakes his head, nudging my chin soothingly. It's enough for me to drop my guard. "You have your key?" He asks.

My eyebrows knit in confusion. "For what?" I tilt my head to the side. My head is so heavy. You have a big head, Grace.

He gestured next to us and I turn to see a door. I glance back to my left, down the walkway. When did we get here?

Then back to the door. "A door. Why do you think I'd have a key for a random door?" I ask him, confused. Does he think I collect keys or something? "Oh!" I exclaim. "You want me to pick the lock?" I whisper in case someone nearby is listening to us. "I don't think that's legal," I shake my head with a grimace. "I can't even pick locks. Why don't you just take me home, you bad, bad boy." I tap his nose. Maybe if we play it off, he won't break into these people's houses himself?

"Grace? Baby?" He places his hands on my shoulders gently, turning me fully toward the door. His chest presses against my back and that's all I can focus on. "This is your house."

It takes a moment for the words to register. "Oohhh." My lips part in recognition. "Okay!" I hold up my hands, giving myself a second to think. Jumping forward, I press the doorbell. "Let's go hide!" I whisper in excitement and start running toward the side of the house. He pulls me back like a yoyo.

"Yeah, nooo. We won't do that, actually." His hand settles on my waist. "Your dad's already going to hurt me for two reasons, let's not make it three and turn this into murder, cool? And that goes for both of us."

Sighing, I mutter, "Fine." I snuggle my back into him, pushing my butt back more than necessary.

Arthur groans. "Grace, please."

I press my lips together.

A second later, the door is yanked open and we're greeted by my dad's scowling face. He's in nothing but pajama bottoms, a tank top, and his durag. It means we woke him up. He didn't even put on a robe. This is not good.

I try to fix my face but I can't feel it.

He takes in my wide grin and googly eyes with a blank expression, then turns on Arthur. "This what's gon happen," he starts, his voice firm as he glares at the boy behind me, "you're gonna get in this house and look after her before I break both y'all necks cuz I don't have time for this drunk nat."

He turns away from the door, leaving it wide open. Did he just call me a nat?

I hear him mutter under his breath, "I'm going back to my bed, to my woman. Crazy ass kids."

"B-But what if she tried to seduce me?" Arthur calls after him anxiously.

Dad turns back to us with a weird flabbergasted look on his face. "Then unseduce boy." It's very much a threat.

"That's not even a word Andrew," I snicker.

His eyes narrow on me. "What did you just call me?" he demands lowly, it almost sounds like a growl.

My face falls, and it's like a bucket of ice water down my back. "I said Dad. Y-Yeah, Dad," I fix my mistake quickly.

He eyes me with a nod. "Damn right, you did. You better recognize that." He turns, to leave again, but looks back at us over his shoulder. We're still standing outside. "And leave that bedroom door open," he orders. "Do any sorta mess in my house and I'll make sure you both regret it." Those are his last words before he disappears into thin air.

Nah, I'm just kidding. He went into the living room. He and Mom must've been having a movie night. They have them every now and then. This is the first time I've missed one. I frown at the thought.

Behind me, Arthur lets out a shaky breath, snapping me out of my thoughts. His forehead drops to my shoulder in relief. It's then I notice the death grip he has on my hip. Smiling, I reach down and cover his hand gently with my own.

You'll be fine.