Star-Crossed

Part 33

Niko and I are still a hundred feet or so away from the party when we start to hear music blaring and people laughing and screaming and singing.

When we finally approach Rex's brother's house, my jaw drops. I've never seen such a huge mansion in my entire life. It looks more like a castle, actually. I can't believe all of this is for a single person.

There are rows of fancy cars parked outside, and a butler - dressed in a really nice tux - comes down the steps to greet us.

"Welcome," he says, smiling and extending his arm. I put my arm in his.

"Thank you," I say, immediately feeling underdressed in my black, sleeveless jumpsuit with a neon blazer and some really high heel pumps - all of which Rex let me borrow.

The butler leads Niko and me through the front door, across the foyer, through the living room and toward the back, where the party's taking place outside.

There are floor-to-ceiling windows in the living room that perfectly frame everything that's happening in the backyard, and for a moment, I feel like I'm watching a movie in real-time. We step outside onto the balcony, and I lose my breath.

Everyone looks like golden moths, flitting around among the chatter and the champagne and the stars. Everything shimmers with elegance and grace.

"This is magical," I whisper to Niko.

He smiles and squeezes my hand. Again - his hands are so weirdly cold!

Immediately, I spot Rex. She looks fantastic. She's wearing shredded leather pants, a thin, silky black top, some really sick black and golden sneakers and a beanie. Always a beanie.

Her jewelry is big and gold. She has fluorescent pink lipstick on. Somehow, she still looks so fancy, even though her outfit is technically casual. Only she can pull a look like that off.

"K-NIGMA!" Rex yells across the party. "You made it!"

I smile and head over to her, leaving Niko behind, hoping he won't follow me around the entire night.

When I approach Rex, I notice a very, thin - we're talking wafer thin - girl behind Rex who's chatting with someone. The same exact expression is glued onto her face throughout the entire conversation, and she's holding the hand of a guy who sort of looks like Rex. I wonder if that guy is Rex's brother, Ro.

"Girl, I'm so glad you came," Rex says, giving me a huge hug. "You look sick."

"No, YOU look sick," I respond. "Plus, I only look semi-good, because I'm wearing all of your clothes!"

She smiles and winks, "I know, that is why you look so awesome!"

We both laugh, and she takes my hand and drags me toward the boy and girl I was eyeing as I was approaching her.

"Ro," Rex says. "This is Karina."

Rex's brother turns around. He is basically Rex in boy form. It's crazy.

"Hey Karina," says Ro, extending his hand to shake mine. "My name is Rolex - Ro for short. It's great to finally meet you. Rex has told me a lot about you. Glad you could make it out tonight."

Ro is tall and handsome. Though he looks a lot like Rex, it's obvious that they are very different. While she's funky and bohemian, he's clean-cut and straight-edged. At least, that's what it seems like from the outside. They both do share one thing, though: a real sense of warmth and good naturedness when you first meet them - they're both so ingratiating and have magnetic personalities.

"Yeah, of course," I respond. "Thanks so much for inviting me. Your place is beautiful."

"Thanks," answers Ro.