"Iris stop walking away from me!", Fred demands as he follows me out the front door. I stop in my place, turning to him with anger, though he looks just as angry as I am. "You can't just check my location and follow me!" I exclaim. "Well obviously I need to, look at where you are!", He gestures the the party behind us. "I didn't do anything." I state. "It doesn't matter, if you're exposing yourself to it, then you're bound to do it sooner or later."
My god does he really think I'm that impressionable? "I'm not you, Fred." I point out. He's the one who has done these kinds of things because of pressure. Not me. I see Nick walk out of the house, waiting back obviously just making sure I'm okay. I just met him, and he's already a great friend. "I forbid you from hanging out with those guys. They're not good for you." He says. "You forbid me?!" I laugh loudly.
"Yes. You're my girlfriend, and I don't want you hanging out with other guys. Especially them." I can't believe what he's saying.. "Are you seriously so insecure that you are demanding I stay away from guys?" I say in disbelief. "Now you're even starting to sound like them." He groans. "We're done here, you're coming with me and I'm taking you home."
"I'm not going with you." I glare.
"I get it, you're mad, but I'm not letting you call a cab."
"Oh I'm not calling a cab." I shake my head. "I'll get a ride with my friends. When I'm done at the party." I can tell my words take him by surprise. I never stand up to him, ever. Something changed tonight though, he's crossing a line that I will never accept. The controlling attitude he's having is only getting worse and worse.. what's next? I can't have friends at all? "Iris. Get in my car. Now." He says firmly. "No. Stop telling me what to do Fred, I'm not a dog you can't just boss me around. I am my own person, I will be friends with whoever I want and I will go to parties and if I want to try alcohol? Then I'm going to try alcohol! If you want a relationship, then I'm here. But if you want ownership, you're gonna have to look somewhere else." Fred shakes his head at me, turning, and walking away with anger. I let out the breath I didn't realize I was holding, so proud of myself for standing up to him. I don't know what this will mean for us, but right now all I can think about is how powerful I felt telling him no. "That... was crazy." Nick laughs in amusement. "I can't believe I did that." I smile.
"I say we get out of here and go celebrate your newfound freedom with some shitty burgers and chips." Nick says, pulling out his keys and heads towards the car.
"Guess you're not as soft hearted as you act." Matt mutters. "Does that mean you're gonna stop calling me princess?", I lift my brow.
"Not a chance, princess." He shakes his head, and passes me to go to the car.
I like this friend group, I've never been around anyone like this before. It's pretty late, and we're all sitting in the parking lot of the fast food place, on the ground eating. The parking lot is fully empty, and the only light is from the street lights and the sign for the restaurant. "I'd like to make a toast." Nick says, holding up his soda. "You can't toast with soda." Matt says and I shush him, which makes everyone laugh. "To making a new friend who just happens to be our new designated driver!" I roll my eyes, while everyone else holds their soda cups up in celebration. Chris pulls out a camera, a nice one, and stands to his feet. "Act natural." He says to Nick, and I lift my brow. What's this about? He takes a few photos, as Nick moves into different poses. "He's an influencer", Matt says and Nick groans loudly.
"I thought we agreed not to call it that!" He exclaims. "I'm just popular on Instagram and get paid to post."
"Yeah. That's an influencer." I laugh. A little blue car pulls into the driveway, and Matt sighs, which makes all the guys look over. Matt doesn't look very happy, I wonder who it is.. "Dude what is she doing here?" Nick asks. "She's obsessed with me." Matt groans, standing to his feet. My confusion soon disappears when I see Scarlett get out of the car. No wonder everyone is unhappy, she's the worst. "Really?!" She yells, marching over to the group. "Stalking me now?" Matt smirks.
"You told me that you didn't want me to come because it was just the guys!" She says angrily. Oh. So it's about me.. wonderful. She doesn't even know me yet she hates me so much. It makes no sense. "And you're blaming me for Nick bringing a friend?" He asks. "A friend that's a girl!" She practically screams in his face. "You think I enjoy you hanging out with other girls?" She's really sounding a lot like Fred did tonight. "Aw, that's so cute.. you think we're in a relationship. Well we're not, so get over it." He states. I mean, she's awful and I really don't like her, but that was way too harsh. Matt is really mean sometimes.. "Seriously Matt?" She says with hurt. "Seriously." He nods. "Just leave me the fuck alone." Scarlett glares at him, and the rest of the group, before stomping off to her car in an angry rage. I feel bad for her, no one deserves to be treated like that. No matter how bad of a person they are.
"Well, that makes two break ups tonight", Justin comments.
"Fred and I didn't break up." I clarify, and every single one of them look at me like I'm crazy. "How did you not break up?", Nick questions. "We fought, that's all." I shrug. "I still love him."
"Well I hate to break it to you princess, but that was definitely a breakup." Matt laughs. "Why would you even want to stay with an ass like him?" Nick asks. "Why is everyone worried about how rude my boyfriend is and not how rude Matt just was?" I ask and Chris laughs loudly.
"I like her. Let's keep her around." He says. "I'm not rude, I'm straight forward. There's a difference." Matt states. "Mhmm." I hum. I look to my right, seeing the photos Chris is looking through that he just took of Nick. They actually look so good, I'm really impressed. I love photography, I'm just really bad at it. "Those are so good." I compliment. "Thanks." Chris smiles. "I'm a photography major."
He looks up from his camera, and over to me, his eyes scanning me up and down.
"You want some photos?" He asks. "Like.. right now?" I question.
"Yeah, you look pretty. Plus the middle of the street at night is a great aesthetic." He nods. "Well, okay!" I say happily. We stand up from our spots, and I follow him down the parking lot and out into the street. I've never had photos taken of me before, I'm not quite sure what to do or how to stand.
"Try sitting right in the middle of the road." He says. I do as told, and he starts snapping some photos, he's gives me a few different pose ideas, and moves me into a few different stances. This is actually a lot of fun. After he finishes taking some photos, I jog over to him and he turns his camera to me, showing me all the photos.
"Effortlessly beautiful." Chris mumbles, and I look up at him, my heart warming.
