perf*ct (b×b) ✔

nine: beer pressure

solar clarke's pov

"I heard Audrey Grace asked you to O'Sullivan's party." 

I don't like parties. When you don't drink, the company of drunk people isn't always all that pleasant. Yet for some enigmatic reason I really wanted to go to that party. There was just one tiny little problem: only the popular and semi-popular kids were invited, and thanks to my enmity with Nicholas I wasn't exactly either of those. So, if I wanted an invitation, I needed to get a little creative. 

"You really want to go to that party?" Kieran kept asking me the same thing, looking at me like he thought I had lost my mind.

"It's not what I want or don't want, I just know I have to be there." I shrugged.

"What are you gonna do to get in? Bribe them?" Johnny lifted an eyebrow.

"Why didn't I think of that?" I exclaimed, then stopped to ponder my options: "But first I'm going to try something else."

Kieran and Johnny changed do-I-even-want-to-know looks, but I wasn't going to let that discourage me. 

"Just wait and see." I told them and turned on my heels, ignoring Kieran's cry to make me reconsider whatever I was about to do. I walked across the yard and straight to the host of the pool party: Harper O'Sullivan. 

"Need any help with those?" I gave her an easy smile. Harper was talking to Audrey Grace, the lipstick girl, and they both were holding stacks of rather heavy looking books. 

"Sure." Harper smiled back at me and I took the stack she was holding. "We need to take these to the labs."

"You're the new guy, right?" Audrey Grace gave me another glance.

"Yes. I'm Solar." I introduced myself, taking some of her books as well. Then we walked to the labs in silence. When we were done with our task, I established: "I heard you're throwing a party tomorrow." 

"I am." Harper nodded slowly, squinting her light gray eyes, as if to take a better look at me before admitting anything. 

"Well, you know, as I'm new here and all, I thought.." I didn't finish my sentence. I didn't need to, because they already knew what I was going for. I wasn't planning to be discreet, I just wanted to get my invitation.

"I don't know, it's pretty full already.." Harper scrupled. I nodded and smiled at her understandingly, as if I wasn't really expecting to get in.

"I'm sure there's room for a few more." The lipstick girl intervened, a friendly smile on her deep red lips. 

"Really?" I gave her a beaming smile, a genuine one this time.

"Yeah, just give us your number and we'll send you the address." The lipstick girl promised. 

When I got back to my friends, I was grinning like an idiot. We were going to that party. Now all I could hope for was that Nathan would be there as well.

°°°°

I brought three friends. The first two were obviously Johnny and Kieran, and the third one was Kieran's boyfriend Choni. It was the first time I met him, but I already knew more about him than I cared to know. Or more precisely, I knew certain things I didn't care to know about him, thanks to my blabbermouth best friend. Aside from those things Choni Mor seemed like a nice guy.

He didn't talk much, but that wasn't a problem when the rest of our company — me included — could talk to no end. They had been together for, give or take, two years now and although Choni didn't go to Frostford High, everyone seemed to know about him and Kieran. What can I say, Frostford was a small town and apparently also The Town of Cossip.