Sluts and Bad Boys

05: The Signature Wink

To all the friendships made virtually, proving that love can come from anywhere.

JailanHelmy

••••••

Another party but same old routine.

I watched Lottie from the sofa as she flirted around with a guy older than her. Apparently, he was into it and when they both turned to make their way up the stairs, Lottie glanced back at me and fist bumped the air in triumph. I raised my cup, congratulating her on her victory and soon, they disappeared amongst the crowd upstairs.

I kept sitting, staring at the contents of my cup. I was so not in the mood for a party. I should've just stayed home this time.

But I had another argument with my mom. She didn't think that I was wearing appropriate clothes anymore. Like she had any right to tell me what's appropriate and what's not, after what she had done.

I made a face and closed my eyes. I had been so annoyed at her so when there was an opportunity for me to leave the house and not deal with the drama, I latched onto it. And hence, I was here.

It wasn't just in my home where things were starting to either bug me or worry me. I hadn't seen Jesse at school for three days. I wondered if everything was alright. Her friends didn't seem to find anything odd about that because Jesse had skipped school, even multiple days at a time.

But I doubted that she was skipping classes for fun.

The other day I had seen Ace between classes and when he caught my eye, his eyes darkened and he looked away.

Was it true, then?

That Ace really did have feelings for Jesse. I thought yes, for sure.

But then again, despite this cold behavior towards me, Ace didn't exactly look like he missed her or was concerned for her. It was on the same day in lunch, that I came across him making out with a sophomore.

It was puzzling to know what was really going on.

I sighed out loud and opened my eyes. The party had moved out to the backyard where the pool was and I could see dozens of people splashing around in the water through the glass doors. There were still a few people inside the room but most of them were just making out and chatting. The music had been toned down a bit too until it was just a soft hum in the background.

A few minutes later, someone sat down next to me and the weight of the person made me tilt towards them. I turned around to find none other than Ace Trainer, drinking from a red cup.

He didn't look at me as he continued to stare ahead. It was hard to tell whether he was aware of my presence and choose to ignore me or if he really didn't realize who was next to him.

For some reason, I didn't want to get up and walk so I debated on whether I should say something or not. I was quiet for a few minutes, giving him the chance to break the silence but he really didn't seem to be aware of my presence. Was he that drunk?

If he was, I could use this to my advantage and find out whether Jesse and him really were a thing.

I cleared my throat and staring at the floor, asked in a casual tone, "So, you and Jesse, huh?"

From the corner of my eye, I saw him shrug, still not looking at me. "There's also a me and Adrienne, apparently. And me and Denise. And me and Clara and Monica in a love triangle."