Where the Skies are Blue

Chapter Nine:

As we make our way down the beach, my stomach becomes sick with nerves. Nausea swirling around. My mouth completely dry. I attempt to lick my lips as Hunter walks alongside me.

"Everyone's going to instantly know you after tonight." He tells me.

"Should I curtsey or settle on a princess wave?" I ask and do my best impression of a princess wave, lifting my hand slightly above me.

I forget the severity of popularity to him, as he doesn't crack a smile at my joke, his eyes fixated on the bonfire down by the water, and the large crowd of people that already surrounded it. My nerves are going to make my sarcasm and horrible jokes even more obnoxious than usual. I need to calm down. To get out of my head. Who cares what these people think about me? I won't be here long enough. I'll be gone by the time they form their opinions. Just some random girl that blew through town for a short while. They won't even remember me.

Once we reach the first group of people, they instantly acknowledge Hunter. They all exchanged handshakes with large smiles on their faces, before Hunter turns and introduces me to some guys on his team. From there, after some brief conversations, we venture closer to the fire. The warmth radiating off it makes my face feel hot.

"Yo, yo." An Asian guy says as he approaches us. Tall and dark black hair, with pale skin. Attractive, just like the rest. He pounds fists with Hunter just as another guy appears behind him, shorter and bulkier. "Dude, we've been here for a solid five minutes, and Faran is already shitfaced." The dark-haired guy shakes his head, a red solo cup in hand.

"Always the first one to get sloppy." Hunter snorts. "Guys, this is Auden." He then steps aside, revealing me standing behind him.

Both guys look me up and down, taking me in, making me shift feet uncomfortably. "Who?" Short guy asks, lifting an eyebrow.

"I'm Auden. I just moved here." I pipe up and fold my arms across my chest, then begin to think that might make me look unfriendly, so I drop them quickly, letting them fall to my side.

"Wow," dark-haired guy says, a smirk sprouting on his face. "Didn't take you long to call dibs on the new girl." He pushes Hunter playfully, and I frown. He then looks back at me. "I'm Jacob."

"Hi," I reply stiffly.

"And I'm Dawson." The other adds, shooting me a pervy grin.

My lip curls in disgust as I take a step closer to Hunter. "Right, well, time to get shitfaced." Hunter looks down at me, moving an arm across my shoulders. "Want a drink?"

I shake my head. "I'm okay, thanks though."

"Boring." Jacob coughs, and Hunter smacks him over the head.

"The girls are over there. Why don't you go introduce yourself?" He says, nodding behind me, before heading off with Jacob and Dawson, leaving me alone.

Great. Maybe I should have taken him up on that drink. I look behind my shoulder to see three girls standing in a huddle, one talking expressively as her arms flail around. I recognize Wednesday from the restaurant. She looks at this girl with a bored expression, her gorgeous hair sleeked back in a half-up, half-down style.

Taking a deep breath, I work up the courage to approach them. Sure, Wednesday is terrifying and looks like she will rip my head off, but this is my chance. Reinvent myself. A fresh start. I'm not Auden Rhodes from Arizona. I'm the new and improved Auden who makes friends and goes on dates.

When I reach them, I'm instantly met with three sets of eyes glaring back at me, shocked by my sudden presence.

Breathe. Breathe. Be cool. No lame jokes.