Sweet Revenge

Chapter 14

It is Friday evening and Ashley, Kelsey, and Samara are coming to pick me up for Noah's party in an hour. Poppy's infamous black dress is perched on the edge of my bed, waiting to be worn. I pick it up and slowly slip it on, attempting to forget about the crypticness of what I saw yesterday. I don't want the words I discovered to spoil the exciting night that is ahead of me.

    I admire my body in my full-length mirror, twirling around and letting the ruffled bottom flow like the wind. The bodice is tight and hugs curves I didn't even know I had. The dress makes me feel very exposed in many different places and it is more revealing than anything I had ever worn before. Though, to be completely honest, it does look good on me. I must break out of my shell and just wear the damn thing.

    I quickly do my makeup the same way I did on the first day of school. I'm sure Ashley will fix it before the party anyway.

As soon as I hear the screech of a car pulling into the driveway, I rush out of the house before my mom can see what I am wearing and admonish me for it. I climb into the backseat of Ashley's mid-sized vehicle, Samara sitting beside me. Kelsey is chilling in the passenger seat.

    "Girl, you look gorgeous!" Samara exclaims immediately. She is wearing a royal blue micro skirt and a white cropped tee that flatters her body perfectly.

    "You all look amazing too!" I respond, taking in the three of their outfits. I can catch a glimpse of Kelsey's emerald green dress from where I am sitting and I just know that it looks phenomenal with her unique eye color. Ashley is looking breathtaking as always in a bodycon style dress.

    "Who's ready to have a great time tonight?" Ashley announces, her voice blaringly loud.

    "Me!" Everyone in the car exclaims, matching her excitement.

    "I know you've never been to a party, Ivy, but Noah's parties are not the typical High School parties you see in movies. They're much fancier."
Ashley explains to me and my excitement increases.

Even as the words written on the inside of the dress come back to me, I push them as far away as possible out of my brain. I barely even care if practically everyone attending this party is aware of the Poppy drama. Tonight, I will take a deep breath and let all of that unnecessary weight be lifted off my shoulders.

Once we arrive at Noah's party, the first thing I notice is hundreds of teenagers filing into his gigantic mansion. Seeing the sheer number of people that are going to be here speeds up my heart rate and makes my palms sweat a slight bit.

Ashley opens the car door for me and, sensing my stress, places a comforting hand on my shoulder.

"Don't worry, Ivy. Everything will be fine." She assures me and I smile, knowing I must believe her. I suck in a deep breath and step out of the car.

When I approach Noah's mansion, I am greeted by a large metal gate and a long cobblestone walkway leading up to the three-story building. No wonder why he is known as the go-to party host in our grade. Based on his stately cobblestone home, complete with a large garden in the front, his parents must be very wealthy.

Kelsey, Samara, and I walk up the many steps leading to his polished wooden front door. As soon as we enter, we find Noah standing beside the door, dressed casually in a pair of dark wash jeans and black collared tee. He runs a heavily tanned hand through his dark, messy hair, which gives the impression that it hasn't been washed in numerous days.

"Welcome, guys," He greets us, the greeting sounding incredibly rehearsed. "Drinks are on that table and food is in here. You can stay in here or go outside, just don't go upstairs please." He explains, pointing in all different directions of the huge first floor of the house.