Mosaicked Feelings

X: Truth or Dare?

"Tonight? When? Why? And where?" Voicing out every single question that was in my mind somewhat felt better, but it only grew Edward's carefulness and hesitance in his expression.

"We decided we're having a party at one of my friend's houses, just for some fun and you know... Get to know each other kind of thing," he answered, searching my face keenly for any refusals but I stayed blank. "Some of our classmates will be there, and don't worry about drinking, there wouldn't be much of that stuff,"

People and more people and socialising were the last things I would've wanted to do. And considering Edward's proposition, I didn't think it was going to last on a good note since our classmates would be there, and if they saw us together, they wouldn't assume anything nice about us. "I don't know if that's a good idea,"

"I know, but I want us to try. We can make more friends that way," he tried defending. "Trust me on this one, I wouldn't let anyone hurt you." After seeing my crossed expression, he added, "Or your dearest friend, Marilyn."

Just thinking about the mere thought boiled an unsettling feeling inside of me. I knew I'd rather just dive into fanfictions alone in my bedroom at night, but I also didn't know how to say no without coming off rude to a polite invitation. "O-okay." I accompanied my agreement with nodding.

The awkward, the most unmanageable circumference finally dissipated with him letting out a sigh. My incessant contemplation didn't die though, only increased with every passing minute as I headed home.

The next thing I knew, I sat on a rickety chair in a dimly lit lounge, with only neon lights to illuminate the room. I dusted my plaid skirt every once in a while, with fixing and readjusting my crew neck sweatshirt, to keep my fidgeting hands occupied. Marilyn had given me the pep talk beforehand that we needed to embrace the risk, and if it wasn't worth it, we could always go back. And that such risks shouldn't stop us from exploring new people and whatnot. From what I could tell, university was already boring her, and if she had a better hobby than just burying herself in study books, she probably wouldn't need to go through the trouble of all this. But perhaps that was just me.

It was because of everyone that I had decided to decline Edward's offer to ride me to this place because I didn't want to put a wrong impression of me, and especially of him in front of everyone else. Therefore, I just took a bus instead.

I had assumed I was a little early as my eyes scanned the massive room with only a handful of people. Marilyn lived quite far off from the place, so she still hadn't reached it, even though we both had left at the same time. Edward on the other hand was nowhere to be seen so both their absences left me in quite an edgy composure.

"Hey, I'm Amanda and she's Rosaline," Two very pretty girls introduced themselves, seating beside me as they held some kind of concoction in cocktail glasses. "We never talked but you know, we're in the same class as you," One of them added.

"Oh yeah, I'm so sorry," I stuttered nervously, unable to formulate coherent words. "I'm Michelle by the way,"

"Ooh, pretty name for such a pretty girl." The red-haired girl, whose name I assumed was Rosaline, smiled. My eyes beamed at them back, as they made some light chatter with me about random things, grades, friends, everything else.

They seemed quite nice and polite, but that didn't stop me from keeping my guard up. I only revealed a little bit about myself while they talked and talked animatedly about which singer, they thought was the cutest and didn't hesitate to ask my opinions on them.

It was only minutes when Edward arrived, with a group of his friends, his bright electric eyes searching the room before landing on me. I felt my heart stop, sort of reminding me of the moment he first saw me in the university auditorium. "Excuse me girls, but I'll need her for a moment," Before I even knew it, I heard him address the redhead and brunette, and they smiled, nodding together before seeing me off.