Little Miss Popular

❥ Chapter 14

The night air was crisp, the streets were empty and all can be heard is crickets and the engine of my car. I look around to make sure no nosey neighbor was out and pull up into my garage. Checking the time I find I have exactly 5 minutes before I have to be back at Josh's party. I don't usually socialize but I made sure to make my presence known to the chess club before leaving.

I grab the heavy plastic bag and heap it into my garage freezer.

Luckily, Josh's house isn't far by car. I make it back just in time and slip in through the bathroom window. Someone was already pounding at the door.

"Man, hurry up! Are you fucking in there?" Someone yells.

"J-just a second!" I respond as I flush the toilet and turn on the tap. As soon as I unlock the door, it comes swinging.

Brad.

It takes everything for me not to glare at him, I manage to keep my face neutral.

"Oh it's just dumbo! Definitely not fucking in here." He laughs at his own crude joke.

Don't kill him. Don't kill him. Don't kill him.

Without a response I leave the bathroom and make my way back to my chess buddies.

I take a deep breath and turn around to the chess club vice president, Vincent. "W-we should take photos.. we never do.."

"Good thinking, we're gonna need to remember this. They say that these are the best moments of our lives. We have to fully take advantage of them— we could use them for the year book. Did I tell you? The year book committee approached me yesterday, Lucy Webster, remember her? The blonde chick. She's was in our chem class last year."

I just want to take the damn picture so I don't respond, hoping he will take the hint.

"The one with the big tits, you can't tell me you don't remember her."

"The one with the big breasts, yes." I respond dryly to shut him up. "So, photo?"

"Right." He finally gets the hint and turns to the rest of the club members who have no one else to socialize with but each other, "let's take a picture."

It was a group consisting of 5 guys, me excluded. So we take selfies and photos from Vincent's phone. Some serious, some silly though I maintain a generally neutral expression.

The chess club as my alibi and the photos should be enough.

My attention is soon on the blond and pink blur I caught from the corner of my eye. I don't want to leave my alibis but if Eliza really decided to come, I want to see her.

"Hey, Vince." I mentally prepare myself, luckily he would rather talk than listen so I don't really have to speak much. "Wanna walk around?"

"And look for some hot girls? Hell yea.." I feel as if he's about to start yapping again so I quickly turn to another club member.

"Saad, we're going for walk. Wanna join?"

Saad nods and we all make our way through the sweaty bodies. I guide them towards the backyard, the direction I saw Eliza go.

I immediately spot her leaning against the wall with a cigarette between her fingers, her eyes trained on two suspicious hooded figures across the yard.

Vincent whistles lowly as he looks arounds, "look at all these hot girls." He goes on and on but I can't and am unwilling to listen.

Saad looks down, seemingly to avoid looking at any of the girls in bikini tops hanging in and around the pool. I don't pay them much mind and look back at Eliza and the hooded figures. One seems to have slipped away and the other is walking towards Eliza. I square my shoulder and brace myself incase I have to intervene but neither seems hostile or uncomfortable.

"Yo, I'm gonna go talk to.. " Vincent grabs my bicep to get my attention, "— do you workout?"

I pull my arm away, and follow his finger to who he's pointing at. A shy looking girl in the corner covered in a towel.

"Yea, just go." I respond without much thought and look back to where Eliza was, she's not there anymore and neither is the hooded figure.

What if he did something to her?

"You wanna head back inside?" Saad asks.

Right, my alibi. I can't just leave.

"Sure, let's go back to the group."

Once we make it back to our corner, which luckily is quieter than the rest of the house, I decide to call Eliza.

This is a big step, and I can't believe I am casually calling her like this.

"Hello?" Her angelic soft voice makes me weak in the knees.

"H-hey, hi." I didn't think about what I'm going to say.

"Hi, Ivan." She pauses, "are you at josh's party?"

My heart quickens.

"Yea?" It came out more like a question.

"Really? I didn't see you, I just left. Hold on."

I can still hear her, though her voice sounds farther away with the faint beat of the music in the background.

"Ivan is there, let's go back inside."

"Oh your little boy—" all of a sudden I stop hearing anything, as if someone covered the mic.

"Hey, Ivan. We're coming back, where exactly are you?"

The music in the background was getting progressively louder.

"Uh, I'm by the laundry room I-I think." I look around almost as of to make sure. "It's a bunch of us from chess club."

"I see you!" She exclaims. I look around the large house and catch her in all her goddess glory waving at me. I wave back.

"Eliza." I sigh out, feeling like I have been subconsciously holding my breath.

"Ivan!" Her scent engulfs me as she wraps her arms around me and I almost want to melt in her arms.

"Yusra." I awkwardly wave in greeting once Eliza unfortunately lets go. Yusra smiles and nods in recognition. "This is Saad and the rest of the chess club."

I glance down to see Yusra holding a familiar black hoodie and it dawns upon me that she must've been the one in the yard. I feel immense relief yet curiosity on what they were doing back there.

Surprisingly, Yusra and Saad seem to be getting along quite well, especially since Saad is usually quiet and reserved. He is one of the few I actually respect.

My mind doesn't linger on them for too long, not when the most beautiful being is telling me about the book she just finished.