Ugly Secrets, Pretty Lies

Nine

   ~ Harper's POV ~

I had already moved into the party, leaving Lily and Quinn behind. They probably thought I was off dancing with some guy and getting drunk. A cup sloshing with a clear liquid mixed with something the color of dark red was shoved into my hands by a brunette girl with a fancy butterfly mask. 

"Here you go!" she screamed before floundering off. 

I smiled, amused, before taking a sip. Vodka mixed with cranberry juice. I prefer vodka with orange juice but I suppose this will do. I pushed through the crowd, the stifling heat getting to me and moved toward an empty space against the walls and leaned there, occasionally taking a sip of my drink. 

"Want to dance?" a voice said next to me. 

I jumped a little, startled and turned to see a tall guy with hair the color of a mix between blonde and brown, but slightly more blonde.

"Oh! Uh, sure!" 

I took his offered hand, smiling awkwardly. He pulled me to the dance floor and placed his left hand on my waist, taking my left hand in his right. 

"Don't worry, I'm not drunk and I won't try to get in your dress," he assured me with a crooked grin.

I laughed. "I wasn't thinking that. You just startled me."

He arched an eyebrow. "So what's your name, pretty girl?"

I blushed at being called that. "Harper Poséy."

"A beautiful name for a beautiful girl," he said.

My lips tugged up in a forming smirk. "You think I'm beautiful? If you're not trying to get me in bed with you, then what are you doing?"

His smile widened. "Want to find out?" he flirted back.

"I don't even know your name."

He burst out laughing. "You sure you want to know?"

I was confused at why he was acting like this. "Yes," I said hesitantly, but confidently. 

He ducked his head slightly, so we were eye-to-eye. "Justin Ashford."

I blinked, shocked. I stopped moving with him to the beat of the music and simply froze. I probably heard wrong. He's Justin Ashford? Justin? My partner in History? And my crush? 

Okay, calm down, Harper. It's alright. You're just dancing with him. He doesn't know you like him, right? So everything's alright. Not.

"Well? Did my name freeze you into oblivion?" His voice snapped me back to life and I shook my head a little, clearing my head and started moving again.

"Sorry, but aren't you my History partner?" I asked. Then I cringed inwardly. Of all the things I could've said, I chose that? Stupid Harper.

"I suppose so. Your name sounds quite familiar though I didn't recognize you at first because of the mask you're wearing." 

"Same here," I muttered. 

"So do you still want to dance with me?" Justin questioned.

I nodded slightly. "Of course."

I started moving again. He held our intertwined hands up and twirled me. I laughed as I spun  away from him and he moved a step forward. Justin pulled our hands back and I spun back to him. We moved in sync, doing a complicated step that I could barely keep up with him.

"You're a good dancer!" I yelled above the music.

"Why, thank you, Harper!" Justin grinned and twirled me again.

"Okay, stop, stop! I'm getting too dizzy!"

"You can't ever get dizzy from dancing!" But he stopped and let me go. I stumbled a little, holding my head. 

"You okay?" he asks.

I nodded a little. "I'm going to get a drink. I dropped my first one. You want to come with?" 

Justin shrugged. "Sure." 

He followed me to the table payed out in the back. I snagged two cups of beer and handed one to him. He took it gratefully. "Thanks." 

"No problem."

 "Want to go play Never Have I Ever?" Justin said, nodding his head to a loud group of people a few feet away, all wearing masks. 

I looked over to where he was directing. "Okay." 

Justin walked over to the group and I followed him.

"We're joining," he announced, taking a seat on a chair.

 I saw Lily sitting next to some girls and walked over. She beamed when she saw me and tugged me down to sit next to her.

"Shoo!" she said to the girl next to her, who quickly moved away after shooting Lily a glare.

 I giggled as I sat down. "Where's Quinn?"

 "I don't know. Probably off somewhere having fun."

 Right then, both our phones pinged. We both took them out and saw a text from Quinn. I giggled, reading the part where Quinn told us she hoped to see us alive tomorrow. That was our typical Quinn. Sarcastic with a sense of humor. 

"You got Quinn's text too?" I asked Lily. 

She nodded. 

"Are you drunk?" 

"A little," Lily admitted. 

I rolled my eyes and payed attention to the game. The same brunette girl who had handed me a drink earlier was speaking.

"Never have I ever had sex in public," she said, smirking. She downed half of her drink, as did a few other people. Surprisingly, Justin wasn't one of them and I knew him to be one of Blake's best friends. 

The brunette girl spinner the bottle and it landed facing Justin.

Everyone looked at him, waiting. His eyes scanned the group, flicking quickly toward me before saying, "Never have I ever liked someone who is totally not part of my league." He raised his cup and took a sip. 

Everyone was astonished, since the group were mostly popular people and none of them had ever liked or hooked up with someone who wasn't in their league. I took a sip of my drink too. I liked Justin and he isn't part of my league. Did he meant me when he said he liked someone who wasn't in his league? I mean, his eyes did flick toward me. I shook my head as the game went on. 

No, I thought. He doesn't like me. My imagination is just getting ahead of me.