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Chapter Five

I squinted against the flashing neon lights which had greeted me beyond the heavy oak doors, leading into the Gallagher family home. Loud music assaulted my ears, echoing through the large, empty rooms of the spacious mansion. Voices buzzed around me all, I noted, belonging to Blondes. All around me I could see boys and girls dancing, drinking and wrapping themselves up close in each other's arms; some a little too close for a public encounter. I couldn't see why mother had been so desperately excited when I had told her about my intentions to attend this party.

Nonetheless, I had let her style my hair into gentle, loose curls and do my makeup for me, though I was competent enough to do it myself. I would have picked something more understated personally, but mother couldn't resist giving me a dark, dramatic smoky eye. I suppose she wanted my eyes to be noticed now that they were the same. The way they should be. A subtle pink gloss was slathered across my lips as a finishing touch, as not to draw too much attention away from my eyes.

I had let mother pick out my outfit too. I had never attended a party before and held no knowledge on what attire would be appropriate. Standing here in a tight, black mini dress paired with impossibly high heels, I had come to regret that decision. I wobbled a bit and stumbled forward, trying desperately not to twist my ankle as I made my way further into the sea of guests. I scanned the crowd for a familiar face and, after several moments, spotted Lacey who was calling me over to her. By her side was Whitney, waving a small glass cup in my direction, clear liquid spilling over the rim.

She offered the foreign liquid to me and I hesitated.

"What is it?" I asked cautiously, attempting to sound as casual as possible.

"It's Vodka," Whitney laughed, shoving it in my direction.

I reluctantly accepted it, taking a small sip. My face pulled into a grimace as the foul tasting liquid burned a path down my throat. The girls laughed even harder at this, bursting into fits of uncontrollable giggles.

"No silly!" Whitney shouted over the thumping music, "You drink it all at once, like this!"

She snatched the drink from my hand, downing it in one shot and letting out a loud yell. Lacey promptly offered another up to me so I could attempt it again, but I declined politely. That foul tasting liquid was making everyone act crazy and I wasn't game to let the burning sensation return to my throat.

I wandered away, leaving Whitney and Lacey to their giggling mess and ventured into the crowd. I recognised most of these people from my various classes, though I had never spoken to any of them and I did not intend to break that streak. I walked around lost in a sea of people, for what seemed like hours, until I found Logan exhibiting perfectly toned forearms to a group of giggling girls. I caught his eye as I approached and his smile grew, revealing a row of straight white teeth.

"Hey Verity! You made it!" He called out, his words slurring together slightly. I smiled in response and we struck up a conversation about how awesome the party was, or how awesome Logan thought it was anyway. The girls he had been showing off to rolled their eyes at me and stormed off, I don't know what I did to upset them though.

Logan took a step closer to me.

"You look really hot tonight, Verity," He said in that honeyed tone of his.

"Yeah well the ventilation in here isn't great," I admitted, "I can barely breathe."

He let out a loud chuckle, throwing his head back dramatically. I didn't know what was so funny.

"You have a wicked sense of humour, but maybe you're right. There's a bedroom full of fresh air upstairs," He winked at me and I began to panic. I didn't have a lot of experience around guys but I had learned a few things from my father's films. This was a situation I understood.

"No thankyou," I said steadily, trying to hide my nerves, and Logan's face contorted in confusion.

"I don't think I was clear enough," He said slowly, trying to laugh off my rejection, "I think we should get out of here and find somewhere a little more private."

This time his offer was a little more forceful and I narrowed my eyes, a new found confidence overtaking me.

"No, you were perfectly clear, Logan, but perhaps I wasn't. I'm not interested."

I was mildly satisfied with how strong I had sounded, until I saw the look on Logan's face. Rage overtook him and he moved even closer to me, his face almost pressed up against mine.

"You do realise I could have any girl at this party, right?" He said through gritted teeth. I was barely through telling him to go bother one of them when I found myself pinned against the wall, Logan's tongue shoved down my throat. Repulsion spread through my body and my vision seemed to glow in red. My arms flailed around me as I attempted to free myself from Logan's firm grasp. I closed my eyes, feeling dizzy from a lack of oxygen, and threw my hand, with as much force as possible, in the direction of Logan's head.

Shattering pain shot trough my fist as it made contact with his jaw. He stumbled backwards, stunned, and I took this opportunity to strike once again. My hand shot out directly in front of me and Logan let out a cry. Anger flashed behind his eyes and, after regaining his composure, he lunged forward. My head crashed into the wall with a dull thud and I crumpled to the ground in pain. The music had cut out by this point and I could hear the shuffle of a crowd forming around us. I looked up to Logan, who was furiously wiping the blood away from his nose, and the crowd let out a unanimous gasp.

At first I assumed that this was the reaction to Logan's injury, if his nose was broken his career would be over before it had started, but no one was looking at him. All eyes in the room were on me and, as I slowly rose from the floor, I caught a glimpse of my reflection in a mirror down the hall. The reflection of my loose hair in a tangled mess, of my pink lip gloss smeared across my cheek and of my two mismatching eyes. Understanding dawned on me and I searched the floor frantically. The blow to my head had knocked the contact loose and it was now lost to the world.

Silence hung in the air and I ignored the bewildered stares as I pushed my way through the stunned crowd. I forced my way through the house until I reached the entrance. Throwing the grand front doors open, I took off in a fast-paced sprint down the street. I needed to get as far away from here as possible. Who knows what would happen if I had stayed.