The Love Club

white teeth teens

"you'll get the picture of your dreams / I won't be smiling but the notes from my admirers fill my dashboard just the same"

Ophelia:

I feel like I'm in a scene from a movie. A boring one at that.

I'm in the back seat of my friend Tyler's convertible as he drives through our small town in the early morning. Even before the sun comes up, it's arid and hot, and I'm thankful I wore a tank top.

Sitting next to me are two boys I haven't had a lot of contact with, Sawyer and James. They're whooping and yelling and although I'm smiling, I can't help but be bothered, considering I'm still half asleep. In the front seat, my best friend Nia sits. Her thick, curly hair flows lightly in the dry breeze.

It takes 20 minutes to get to school from my house, and as of now some chill pop song is playing on the radio and I'm focused on the moving scenery outside the car. As my head rests on the palm of my hand, my mind floats back to Saturday.

It was our annual "end of summer slammer". Tyler is loaded and his family are a bunch of drunk alcoholics who don't care what their kids do. So while their parents are out of town at their beach house at the end of summer, popping out of date prescription pills, Tyler and his older brother will throw huge ragers and trash their large estate. Sounds like a dream, right? Might as well be. Tyler and I have been good friends for a while, since we dated for like a week in eighth grade because my friends told me to. From what I know about him, his life is fucked up, but he's nice enough. He always gives me rides when I need them.

Saturday was amazing. I went over to Nia's house to get slutted up and we left with her older step-sister, Heather. On the way we picked up Heather's girlfriend, Catrine. Those two cuddled while Nia and I sat in the front, whispering excitedly about the party that was soon to come.

I looked back in the rearview mirror and saw the two girls looking into each others' eyes and giggling. I frowned slightly, fixing my gaze upon Heather.

I loved the two of them together. Catrine and Heather were the hottest couple in school and I adored them both. It just bothered me because even though Heather is bisexual and in a relationship with a girl, all these guys still want her. She doesn't show interest but it's not like that matters to me. What matters is one guy in particular.

"Helloooo? Earth to Lia? We're here." Nia waved her hands in front of my face and I realized both girls were staring at me through the rearview. I looked away and apologized.

"Are you trying to steal my girl?" Catrine joked with a smile as Heather shook her head grinning. I laughed lightly, apologizing again, but proud I got to catch a glimpse of Catrine's humor. She's usually very reserved, quite the opposite of her lover, who would do just about anything to get attention. Not that that's a bad thing - I admired that feat a lot. But hearing Catrine joke with me made me feel accepted into their group. Something I hadn't felt in a long time.

We parked the car on the street among the lines of other vehicles and got out. As we approached the gates I exhaled sharply at the sight of the house in the moonlight. I'd been here many times before and I still never got used to the massive and stunning architecture. We walked up the long, paved-with-stone driveway that was lined with hundreds of plants and flowers. I loved this house because I always felt like I was in a tropical jungle which is something you don't experience much in Australia.

When we grew closer to the front porch, Nia stopped. She pulled out her phone camera, adjusted her boobs and hair and I smiled watching her. She turned to me, a look of confidence plastered across her face. Heather rolled her eyes coolly, displaying a look of "I've done this many times before". Holding Catrine's hand, she rang the doorbell and Nia and I grinned to one another.