Timeless

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven

            Sophia’s house was like a mansion; huge and glorious. She had one of those fancy-shaped swimming pools. Off in the backyard there was a mass of shrubs and nature, but right smack in the middle of all the wilderness, was a fountain; one of those huge fountains where you could seat ten people on the edge or even take a shower in the fountain. Elliot was in awe, London was just peppy to be there, and Auburn seemed unimpressed. I tried scouting for Pixie, but I wasn’t sure she got invited. I know Emily and Brendon didn’t, London told me they were hanging out tonight. That thought made me feel less guilty about being here, but a little bad for Auburn.

            We made our way towards the swimming pool where everyone was. Lights flashed around the patio and music blared. Auburn immediately ditched us, going off to some group of girls to flirt or something. Or scare them. We still had yet to find Sophia, but there were so many people here, more than I thought there would be, that it was pointless.      

            “So what now?” Elliot shouted over the sound of voices and music.

            “Dance!” London roared, and started jumping around completely out of tune with the music. It took all our strength to not laugh at London’s poor dancing abilities. My eyes fell away from London and onto everyone else, taking in the scene and studying everyone’s behavior. For the most part, the people here seemed to be from our school, there were a few I didn’t recognize, and I figured that they must be Sophia’s family or neighbors or friends from other schools or something. Or I just didn’t know them. I don’t know a lot of people at our school.

            I was feeling pretty good about being here, with the music, the familiar faces, London, but all of that was ruined when I caught sight of a group of older-looking guests standing close together by the back door near the pool. They looked like freshmen, but maybe they were eighth graders. There were three guys and three girls. The guys were eyeing London (who was completely oblivious to the greedy stare) in a way that made me cringe. It was the same way Ethan would look at my sister before he asked her out. Like a victim, someone they could throw around, they eyed the wrong parts of her body. I clenched my fists in an attempt to keep control. Elliot noticed this.

            “What’s got you riled up man?” He asked. I jerked my head in the direction of the group, and once he saw what I saw, clenched his fists too. “Come on London, that’s enough dancing for you.” He said, trying to even out his shaking voice. Elliot walked over to London, angling himself so he blocked her from the group, and dragged her away towards a more crowded area. The group’s gaze followed, and I realized it was the same people I talked to about the rumors when I first met London. They were seventh graders.

            The guys sorta got the hint and backed off. The girls, however, weren’t so docile. They sent glares that could kill Ted Bundy. They sent glares that could make Hitler fall to his knees. They sent jealous glares. Jealous. And damn right they should be jealous of London, but not the way they were jealous now. See, when girls get jealous, I’ve noticed, it’s not cute, it’s not funny, it’s not gentle, it’s not normal. It’s fucking World War V, with grenades that dismember your body on contact and leave you bleeding to death, medieval axes, and machine guns. They were going to do something.

            For the rest of the night, Elliot and I watched London like overprotective parents that embarrass their kids at their soccer games. The three guys had completely disappeared, leaving only the girls a threat. I’ve seen my fair share of “girl fights” in my time, cat fights, whatever you wanna call them. Girls get vicious, but not the way guys do. There’s a lot of hair-pulling and scratching involved. With guys, it’s punch, punch, punch, kick, stab with a knife, punch. I sorta love you, bro. Fight over.