What Happens Now?

Chapter 20 : The Pebble and The Diamond

Andy POV

I grabbed a glass of champagne from the waiter, downing it in one go before grabbing myself another glass. I looked at the crowd milling around me, the room filled with a flutter of chatter, laughter, and classical music played by on the speakers.

It was a pretty fancy event for just a gallery showing, but I wouldn't know a thing about these stuff anyway. The formal dress code for this cocktail event required me to wear my best dress shirt, an emerald green tie, black pants and shiny black oxfords. I had slung my dress jacket over my shoulder, and resorted to folding my sleeves to my elbows.

I leaned against a wall indifferently, munching on some raw meat on toasted bread (beef carpaccio bruchetta apparently, according to that snooty waiter), and sipping champagne. My mind felt light from the alcohol, but I had high alcohol tolerance, so I was still good for the evening.

Wish I could say the same about the shirt I was wearing. I was itching all over. Wearing jumpers, hoodies and comfy jeans were my kind of thing. Formal suits? Not my forté.

"You're so anti-social, Andy. Go and mingle around," Megan said as she approached me. She held a small plate filled with little slices of cake, and some smoked salmon bruchetta.

"Man, you're wolfing down the catering table. Easy on the cakes there," I glanced at the plate.

"Oh shut up. It's free food. Might as well take advantage of it," she shrugged, scooping spoonfulls of chocolate cake into her mouth.

Megan suddenly squeaked and choked momentarily on her food. She stifled a cough and ran behind me. "What? What's wrong?" I asked, patting her back in concern. Megan immediately handed her empty plate to a nearby waiter.

"Gimme that!" she said as she swiped my glass of champagne, taking a swig from it. "Hey, I wasn't done with that!" Megan ignored my pleas.

She handed back my now empty-glass, then fixed her outfit and hair. She turned to me, abruptly asking "How do I look?"

I gave her a sick expression, pretending to gag, which earned me a light swat on the shoulder. "Come on, seriously, how do I look?" she asked again, smoothing the front of her dress.

I took a step back and gave her a once over. My heart skipped a beat at the sight in front of me. Her simple embroidered lilac dress was cinched at the waist, accentuating the curves that I didn't know existed, then flowed down like a waterfall. The boat-neck of the sleeveless dress showed the pale glistening ivory skin of her collarbones, making my brain cease to function and my breath hitch. I cleared my throat, shifting my gaze away from her, anything but her.

"You look beautiful," I muttered under my breath, unsure whether I was in a daze at the sight of her or the champagne. Megan's cheek flushed momentarily. I gave myself a mental slap.

I cleared my throat. "I meant, well, for once, you actually look decent," I shrugged nonchalant, trying hard to contain the odd butterflies in my stomach. Forget butterflies, it felt like a nest of wasps stinging my stomach. I resisted the urge to simultaneously double over and laugh the odd tickle away. I highly doubt the guests would appreciate the combination of vomit and laughter.

Megan swatted my shoulder. "Gee, I know most of the time I look like a hobo. I can't be bothered to look good all the time."

"Then why did you ask me how you look?"

Megan laughed. "Just needed to make sure I didn't have any bits of food in my teeth or on my dress. Anyway, go mingle, Andy! If not, go hang out with Mika."

"Why can't you hang out with me?" I looked at her puzzled.

Megan didn't answer. Instead, her focus shifted towards the entrance.

"Oh, for god's sake," I groaned under my breath as I recognized the figure lingering at the reception desk.

"Go find Mika, alright? I bet both of you are bored to death at this event," she said as she walked off with such sudden grace and poise, to the reception desk to greet her golden boy. Behind him, a tall, slender blonde girl trailed after him, her facial features similar to his. His sister I guessed. Then, a familiar face sauntered in the entrance.

I squinted my eyes at the blurry figure. Great, of all days, I forgot to bring my glasses today. That's what happens when you ignore your mother's advice to get contact lenses. You become a blind, fumbling, disoriented idiot in an important event.

"Andy?" the familiar figure said as he approached me. I rubbed my eyes again, waiting for it to readjust.

"Evan?" I looked at him bewildered. What was my cousin doing here?

"Hey, mate! Fancy meeting you here. Haven't seen you around since that dinner," he patted my shoulder, grinning widely at me.

"Yeah, been quite busy with school," I said, still perplexed as to his purpose of being here.

"So what brings you here?" Evan queried.

"My best friend invited me to this thing. Her mum owns the gallery," I shrugged. "You?"

"It's my best friend's first show. Wouldn't miss it for the world," he grinned.

"Damn right you shouldn't!" quipped a female voice behind us. I turned, finding myself staring at a brunette in a green dress. She pulled Evan for a hug, beaming at him.

"Where were you guys? Almost thought you'd never show up," she said.

"Sam had to make a detour back home. He left his house keys," Evan laughed. He looked at me, his eyes widened as if he momentarily forgotten I was there. "Oh, right. Vic, there's someone I'd like you to meet. Vic, this is my cousin, Andrew Lucarelli, or Andy as he likes to be called. Andy, this is my best friend, Victoria Sterling," Evan gestured as he introduced us.

I shook her hand. "Pleasure to meet you, Victoria. Congrats on the big show, your work's amazing."

"Please, call me Vic. And thank you, glad you enjoyed it," she beamed.

Evan's phone suddenly rang. He immediately answered it, mouthing "One moment" to both of us as he walked out.

Chatting with Vic was surprisingly easy. I wasn't particularly good with small talk, so this was a big surprise to me when I started opening up to her about my own collection of Zelda figurines, videos on Youtube, and digital work on Deviantart.

"Gosh! I remember Deviantart and Flickr. I used to be such an avid user last time. That's where I started putting up my work. In fact, I--" she paused suddenly, glancing over my shoulder.

Immediately, her smile faltered. Her eyes steeled and her expression hardened. "Vic?" I asked, confused as I didn't receive a response. I turned around to see what caught her eye.

I skimmed around the room, searching for any point of interests. There was Evan at the entrance, with a cute blonde girl in his hand, a group of men in sui-- wait. What?

I squinted my eyes at their direction, sure enough, it was a blonde girl. I shrugged, thinking nothing of it and decided to turn my attention back to Vic.

"Why the fuck is she here?" Vic seethed quietly, her lips pursed into thin lines, her eyes still set at the mysterious blonde. At that moment, her blue eyes seemed to glower with rage, but her face looked crestfallen.

"Pardon?" I purposely said. Vic blinked, then looked at me, as if she forgot I was still there. What's up with people forgetting I exist tonight? Was the 6"1 curly haired guy dressed in an emerald tie invisible? There were only a few tall guys in the room. I should probably test this invisibility theory and wreak havoc somewhere, and see if I could get away with it.