Jess called right after school, asking if I was going to Aaron's party tonight. I had at first declined, but my mom had convinced me it'd be good to me, so I told her I was going. We talked for awhile about what we were going to wear and all that, and then she paused and said carefully, "You know, Q is gonna be there, maybe this could be a good time for-" I cut her off. "No, Jess, I told you I'm not talking to him, never again." She sighed and I basically just hung up after that. The news about Q being at the party made me not want to go, but I wasn't about to let him get me down. I picked out a pretty dress and put on my usual makeup. I struggled with my hair for awhile but after a long war of brush versus hair, I finally looked party-ready. I walked down the stairs at 4:30 and grabbed my keys and ran out to my car, an old Chevy my dad drove and headed to the party.
When I got there not many people were there, just people setting up. Wait, was the party at 4:30 or 6:30? The door swung open to Aaron's girlfriend in a very revealing shirt with a cup of whatever-the-hell-that-smell-was and invited me in. Apparently, it started at 6:30, not 4:30. I could've sworn Jess said four. That's when I saw him, standing in the corner with a beer and a few other guys. He saw me, smiled, and lifted his beer to me. I turned and stormed the other way. Jess said 4:30 cause she knew he'd be there early to help set up. God, she is stupid.
I ended up helping with the party a lot, however, I tried my best to stay away from Q. Thankfully, that was pretty easy considering the girls were in charge of decoration, set up, stuff like that while Q and the rest of the guys were doing all of the heavy liftings. Another good thing was I wasn't really able to think about Q much since Kelly, Aaron's girlfriend, had us girls working pretty hard. Snacks alone took like thirty minutes. Sadly, at six o'clock, the party goers started to arrive. That's when Q walked up to me with his usual easy smile and handed me a beer. "Looks like you guys did a pretty good job," he said. I held the cold bottle in my hand, feeling the cold ice water from the cooler still dripping down the sides. I thought about smashing it across his head, but instead I just calmly set it down and left.
I flopped onto the couch, not realizing who I was next to. Aaron. He gave me a cocky smile that most any girl would just melt at. He turned to sit facing me and said, "Huh, I didn't know you were coming, Alannah. Good to finally see you back to how you are."
I grimaced and said, "I'm never gonna be 'back to how I was' if he's always gonna be around." He looked behind him to see Q standing over with some guys. "Who, Quinn? Come on, Alannah, how are you still mad?" I only sighed and stood up to go find the snack table. Where was Jess? Right then I feel hands grab my shoulders and a high pitched "BOO" as, of all people, Jess comes up behind me.
I'm relieved at first, but then I realized-"You sent me here early on purpose!" She laughed and asked, "Did it work? Are you guys ok?" She picked up a mini-sausage on a stick mid sentence so I didn't exactly hear what she said, but I assumed she asked if we were ok. I, of course, said no, since I don't think a cold beer can dig Q out of the whole he dug himself into.
Now you have to understand, I wanted to go to that party, I thought it'd be good, but boy was I wrong. All night he just would glance back and forth between drunk Jess and I. It was like he was our little stalker. Of course, if I didn't know him I would say he was a stalker, sadly I know best that stalking is not his intention. Thankfully he didn't approach us but the way he just starred was sooooooooo weird! The part that really made me mad was at ten o'clock when Aaron called everyone into the huge living room.
The thing I'd forgotten was that it was Q's birthday. This gathering just so happened to be an address to him. "Alright alright, everyone settle down," Aaron yelled. "I would like you all to join me in addressing a good friend of mine, Quinten Ailbe Scott Whelan. Today, is his birthday, May 16. Now, this party was originally for him, but he so kindly requested that I not trough the party for him. I told him I wouldn't. Q, buddy, I lied straight to your face. You may have wondered why there is no desert out, that would be because there is a birthday cake ready to be served that says 'Happy Birthday Q' in big purple letters. So, Quinten, will you please make yourself present?"
The crowd began to part as the tall boy with sandy blond hair, dark blue eyes, and a silver chain necklace walked towards Aaron with a small smile that some may call cute. I find it diabolical. Once he was up there, Aaron handed him a small wrapped box with a bow on it and whispered something to him as he handed it to him. You could feel the crowd lean forward to try and hear what they're saying, but no one caught it. Aaron dismissed all of us and everyone cheered for Q before we filed in for cake.
I could tell that Q was having a good time, I could tell by his smile. It was genuine, which it usually never is. Everyone sees him as a happy, go lucky guy but it's not true. He's been through a lot. What makes me mad is the fact that he only has a genuine smile when he's genuinely happy. You might ask why that makes me mad. I'll tell you. The only times he's genuinely happy are either in times like this, when he can forget about everything, and when he's around me. Ding ding! I hate that I make him happy. I hate him, so why can't he just hate me?! I'll slap Jessica later for making me come here. Coming to this party was a mistake, it brings back too many bad memories of Q and Justin.
I quickly find Jess and tug on her shirt. "Hey, Jess, can we leave? Please?"
"Why? This is so much fun!" She was obviously drunk, I don't know why I expected different from her. She'll probably be off with some guy in less than an hour for all I know. I grabbed my keys and jacket from the tray and hanger by the door and quickly left. About half way to my car I heard a drunk Hunter Hanes from the porch yell, "Alannah, why are you leaving so early?" You could hear the slur of his words and if you got close enough you'd smell the alcohol on his breath. I turned to see his group of jackass guys, but that's not what startled me. In the corner of the porch, Q and his friend Isabelle were talking, except he wasn't listening, Q was staring directly at me. He looked disappointed I was leaving, but then he nodded his goodbye. I didn't even look back.
