Out of Bounds (On Hold)

party.

Eleanor

I've never been to a party before. What am I supposed to wear? What do people do at parties? Who am I supposed to hang out with?

All at once, a billion questions flooded into my brain, making me even more nervous.

I finally decided on wearing a white crop top with a printed skirt and white heels.

"El, hurry up! Are you ready yet?" Evan yelled through my door, making me realize how much time I've spent debating my outfit.

"Hold on. I'll be out in one second," I yell back to him, quickly running a straightener through my light brown hair, tidying it up from my practice earlier. I looked at myself in the mirror, analyzing my clothing and hair. Satisfied with my appearance, I walk out of my room and into the kitchen where Evan and Logan are waiting for me. Their conversation stopped suddenly when I walked through the door way. I watched as a frown started to form on Evan's face, which instantly made me uncomfortable and nervous.

"Should I have gone more casual?" I asked my twin with uncertainty, hoping he'd assure me I made the right decision and I looked great.

But that's not exactly what I got.

"You need to change," was not what I was expecting to come out of his mouth and all of the confidence I had built up earlier disappeared. It was my turn to frown. I slowly turned around and was about to go back into my room, not in the mood to go to the party anymore, when I felt a strong hand on my forearm.

Logan leaned down to my height and whispered into my ear, "Don't listen to him. He just doesn't want any guys hitting on you. You look amazing. Let's go, we're already really late."

Sighing, I silently walked out the front door and into the passenger seat of Logan's jeep. Evan didn't even try to make me move to the back.

"El, you know I di-"

"I know what you meant, Evan," I mumbled, not in as good of a mood as I usually was. He is well aware of how self conscious I am and how much his opinion matters to me. It doesn't seem like a big deal and I know that I may be overreacting, but he knows about the effects that words like that have on me.

I watched as Logan's right hand left the steering wheel and squeezed my thigh softly before going back over to the shifter, his eyes never leaving the road.

~

I have one word to describe parties.

Wow.

As soon as we walked in the front door, we were hit with so much noise and so any people. In all honesty, it just made me feel really claustrophobic.

My first priority is to find my best friend and teammate, Jenn, who is always present at wild parties.

It only takes me about five minutes of wandering on my own around the crowded house until I find her, leaning against the wall by the stairs with a drink in her hand.

"Not to sound like your mother or anything, but you really shouldn't be having that," I point out when I walk into her line of vision.

"Ellie! What are you doing here? I'm so happy you decided to come! You look awesome, wow," she squealed, pulling me into a one-armed hug.

I was so relieved to find my best friend in this house packed with strangers, that I completely forgot about the exchange with Evan before arriving.

"Evan convinced me to take a break, but I'm not really sure this is my idea of fun and relaxing," I tell her, finally taking in my surroundings.

"Oh shush. You'll be having fun in no time. Come to the kitchen and we'll get you a drink to loosen you up a bit."

"Oh no no no. I will not be drinking anything."

"C'mon, Ellie. It's just one little drink," she whines. I start to protest and tell her I need to focus on my training, when she begins dragging me in the direction of what I'm going to assume to be the kitchen.

"Jenn, I'm not drinking anything. I'm in training remember," I groan while being kidnapped and held hostage by my best friend. People were starting to look our way.

"Just hold one and pretend you're having a good time. For me," she whispers in my ear, handing me a red plastic cup with a clear liquid inside. "If anyone asks, it's a whole lot of vodka. Between you and me, it's flavored water."

This is why I love Jenn; she always covers for me, on and off the court.

I gave her a quick hug before we made our way back into the crowd. The flashing lights are starting to give me a headache, so I sip a little water from the cup Jenn gave me.

"Jenn, I'm honestly not in-" I start to say when I realize that she is no longer behind me, and Logan is in her place. "You aren't Jenn."

"Yeah. Last I checked I was a guy," he rolled his eyes at my obvious comment.

"Well have you seen her? I really just want to go home," I breathe, becoming stressed out about the whole situation, "She was here two seconds ago."

"Actually I was here two seconds ago, but your observation skills are lacking so I'm not surprised you didn't notice that she told you she was going home because she didn't feel too good."

Ouch. Now I feel like an awful friend.

"Oh. Then I guess I'm stuck here then."

"I'll take you home if you want to go home. I'm not having the time of my life either," he tells me, shrugging like it was no big deal.

But it was kind of a big deal. I mean, we don't usually get along, and now all of a sudden he's doing me favors and complimenting me. Something is definitely not right.

"Alright. If you're sure. I'll go find Evan," I reply, kind of weary about the whole situation.

"Oh no. You don't need to find him. I know exactly where he is, and your brother is a little busy at the moment. C'mon. He'll be fine," Logan replied while gently grabbing a hold of my hand and guiding me out of the crowded party and into his car. I wrinkled my nose at the thought of what my brother is doing right now.

"Absolutely disgusting," I mutter to myself.

"Not completely, everyone does it," Logan replies, sliding behind the steering wheel and turning on the ignition.

"Sure, but he's still my brother. My twin brother," I shudder at the idea.

Logan chuckles before backing out of the packed driveway and onto the main road.

I will admit, no matter how much I dislike him, that Logan Morris is one attractive human being, no one could deny it. With his sharp jaw line, charming smile, amazing athleticism, and perfect sense of humor, he could have anyone falling for him in seconds, with the exception of me of course. I can see right through his entire façade. Sure, Logan can be very sweet and caring, don't get me wrong, but all he genuinely cares about is lacrosse. And for good reason, too. The guy was immensely talented and deserved all of the awards and titles that he has received over the years. With an ego the size of the universe, he just isn't my type.

Besides, I have other things to focus on besides completely adorable boys.

~

(Jenn on the side)

So that's the end of chapter 2! YAY! This one is a little longer than the last chapter and it's kind of a filler so I could get something else out there for you guys. soooooooooo here it is. I also kinda needed to introduce Jenn and all that jazz. Just to clear some things up, Jenn is Ellie's best friend and they're on the tennis team together, that's how they met. They also play doubles together.

I haven't read over this yet, so feel free to point out any mistakes

Thanks for reading!

Emily :)