Taking It

2.7

2.7

"No." I tug on my sleeve to cover my wrist, teeth sinking into my bottom lip. This doesn't settle well with him and before I can protest he's grabbing me by the arm and yanking down my sleeve to reveal my wrist to him.

"What the fuck Charlotte?!" Calvin sneers, pulling me closer as his grip on my arm tightens.

"Let her go!" Brooke shoves her way between us, noticing my silent cries of pain. She manages to pry me from his grip faster than I would have. "I swear if she fucking gets a bruise because of this, tomorrow i'm opening a can of whoop on your ass." Her lips fall into a taut frown. "Lets go Char." Brooke is a lot more gentle with me as she grips me by my sleeve and guides me along.

I glance over my shoulder to see Calvin with a cigarette between his lips, brows furrowed,─sandy blonde hair falling limply into his face─and lighter cupped between his hands as he frustratingly tries to light it.

Since when did he smoke?

• — • — •

A bruise didn't form.

Two days have pass since Calvin's outburst and he's apologized three hundred and seventy five times. In Brooklyn's eyes no amount of apology can make up for him hurting me despite promising to never do it again. I believe him.

"So, I got this today." Brooke sets an assortment of brightly colored plastic jars of paint in front of me. I look up from my book to examine one of them. They have no label.

"What is it?" I set the jar down, closing the book.

"Body paint." She smiles mischievously. "That glows in the dark."

"For..?" I trail off, arching my brow.

"Your birthday party duh. Remember i'm throwing it for you. I'm still looking for a place to host it but I was thinking for the invitations we send these instructing people to be creative." Excitedly she bites down in her lip, hope shimmering in her eyes.

"Brooke, you're planning my eighteenth birthday party not a rave. My dad will not be down to show up to a party covered in glow in the dark body paint." I snort, shoving the jars towards her.

"Who said your dad is coming?" She stares at me with furrowed brows. "Sweetheart this isn't some party with clowns who do terrible balloon animals and pony rides. This is a full on rager if you will. Sweaty bodies, horrible dubstep, fucking so much booze it'll be coming out of our noses." She tries to hold back her squeal as she leans forward and lists what she has planned for my party. "If i don't get felt up by at least twenty guys then i've failed my job."

"I don't even know twenty people."

"Sweetheart, you don't need to know twenty people. Just let me handle the technicalities ok? It's going to be the best party you've ever experienced." Her lips stretch into a taut smile.

"If you're doing this Calvin can't come." I feel bad for disinviting my boyfriend from my own party but by Brooke's standards it wouldn't be something he'd enjoy.

"Of course not," she snorts as if i had offended her. "but Taylor is definitely going to be there. If you don't go home with him I'm kicking your ass." She gives me a not so gentle love tap under the table with her foot.

"Ow!" I hiss, reaching down to rub my shin.

"I can't believe you still aren't with him even after he gave you that present." She nods to my necklace. I place my hand over it to hide it from her view.

"We're just friends. God I wish people would understand that." I pull my textbooks towards me, ready to leave.

"Friends don't see friends naked." She wiggles her eyebrows and I frown.