Arcade | s.m (✔️)

Sixteen

"You've already gone through two wives? Really?"

"Yeah, it just didn't work out."

"Well, I hear third times a charm." Ellie purrs to the older man, and I laugh from a distance.

"Ellie?" My eyes widen when Ryan comes to view, clearly confused as to why Ellie was conversing with this strange man as he wraps his arm around her waist protectively.

"Ryan! Ellie! So insane to see you guys here!" Kate comes to the rescue, walking over as I follow her.

"Hey! What a wild party, am I right?" Ellie replies, and Ryan raises a brow as the older gentleman walks away, not sure as to what had just happened.

"Okay, tell me the truth. Were you shamelessly flirting with that man?" Ryan asks accusingly, and before Ellie opens her mouth I answer, knowing she was an awful liar.

"I told her I would pay her a twenty if she got his number." I tell him swiftly, and Ryan laughs.

"Really Ellie?"

"What? My stripper money just doesn't pay the bills anymore!" She protests.

"First off, what bills? Second, you don't seem stripper material." Ryan answers.

"You would know how?"

Ryan's look is all he needs to receive a swat from Ellie.

"I hate you."

"Please. You love me." He corrects her, and she smirks at him before connecting her lips to his, causing me to gag.

"Get a room you freaks." I hear from behind me, and watch as Harper reappears. Where had she gone?

Both of them roll their eyes at her, and we continue to have conversation as Kate wonders where her brother is, and I wonder where Shawn could be.

We hadn't spoken since the day I was in my backyard, when we had almost actually gotten out of each other's friend zones. Almost. I couldn't forget my mother interrupting us once again, even if I wasn't exactly sure what she was interrupting.

"Hey guys! This is Wendy, she lives in Michigan but came down for the month!"

I hold myself from groaning as Victoria approaches our group, with a girl in a white dress following.

"Wendy, huh?" Connor says, and I can already tell what he's going to be doing for the rest of the night. I pinch him softly and he rolls his eyes at me.

"I'm gonna go get some punch, you two coming?" Victoria asks, and I'm shocked when I see her directing the question to Wendy and I.

"Who's 'you two' exactly?" Kate questions, and Victoria smiles.

"Wendy and Rose, but you're welcome to come if you'd like."

Okay, what was happening?

She's going to take us to the back, kill us, and dump our bodies where we'll never be found. I think, before dismissing the thought. Not because it was irrational, but because our blood would stain her dress.

I turn to look distressfully at Harper, but instead look confused when I see that she was gone again. I've got to ask about where she went tomorrow.

"Yeah, sure." I answer, hoping I don't look terrified as I walk beside Victoria. What could she want?

"Okay, so there's punch right here, but I can totally slip you some champagne if you'd like. Seriously, I do a lot of stuff at these events and no one catches me. Well, either that or they're just a little too scared to snitch." Victoria tells me with a smirk, and I smile, hoping it didn't look as forced as it felt.

"I'll do punch, but thanks for the offer." I respond, and all three of us walk to the punch table. I didn't want champagne in the first place, but I had a feeling that if I did get a glass, Victoria would make sure someone caught me.

"Same here." Wendy says, and I notice how Victoria was no longer paying attention to her.

I go for the punch first, but before I can pour it for myself, a man in the same uniform as the ones who opened the door grabbed a cup for me and poured me punch, before handing it to me as I thank him.

"So, how long have you lived here?" Wendy asks, obviously trying to make friends before her vacation is over.

"Not as long as everyone else here has. I just moved into Victoria's town at the beginning of summer, so it hasn't been too far back." I answer, giving her a smile before taking a sip of my drink.

"Well, I've got to just say this now. That dress looks amazing on you. Like, model amazing. Where'd you- Oh?" Wendy's question is cut short as she stares behind me, and I turn to see what she was staring at.

I smile inside when I see that I was Shawn, shaking hands firmly with an older man I didn't recognize. He cleaned up well, I had to admit.

"What's his name? The hot one. Suddenly my month of vacation just got a whole lot more interesting." Wendy states, and I push any bad-rooted feeling of anger away instantly, knowing she barely knew anything. I also prayed that Victoria didn't hear her.

Before I answer, I see Victoria come and approach us, holding two cups of punch.

Well, that was strangely nice of her, getting a cup for Wendy. As I just begin to think about how maybe Victoria's almost murdering of me had changed her for the better, and how maybe she wasn't as bad as I originally thought, I stop. Victoria's foot hooks on the back of my heel, and she stumbles, one of the cups of vividly bright red punch flying out, and I almost have to shut my eyes as the liquid falls onto Wendy's white dress.

"Oh my God! I'm so so sorry Wendy! I tripped, it's totally my fault." Victoria apologizes, and Wendy accepts it, clearly in shock, her emotions mixed with disappointment and embarrassment as numerous heads turn to look at her and her stained dress.

But after knowing Victoria, I understood better. She had overheard Wendy speak about Shawn.

That was no accident. It was a warning.

I could only imagine what she would do to me if she found out what was stirring between Shawn and I.