The bell rings and I get up from class. I'm disappointed that it's been four periods and I still don't have any classes with David. Thankfully, lunch is next. I stop at my locker to put away my books and grab my lunch. I turn to close my door and see a girl with blonde hair standing a few lockers over.
"Corrina? Is that you?" I exclaim excitedly. She turns to where the voice came from and smiles when she sees me.
"Liza! Yeah, my dad got transferred back here after a few years in Georgia. I missed Cali so much!" I walk over and give her a hug.
"Have you talked to anybody else yet?" I ask as we start walking down to lunch.
"No. The stupid guidance counselors insisted that I need a building tour and a schedule explanation that lasted all morning, even though I went to this school like two years ago," she rants, rolling her eyes. We walk into the cafeteria and I see our friend group sitting at a round table in corner. David, Gabbie, Zane, Carly, Erin, and Heath are all chatting when I walk up.
"Guys, look who I found!" I say jovially, putting my hand out to display Corrina. Everyone smiles and shouts, welcoming her back. She takes a seat on the other side of David and Carly. I plop down in between David and Gabbie.
"So, Zane, are you still throwing that party tonight?" Gabbie asks.
"You mean the party that you planned and tried to pawn off on me?" he asks back, raising his eyebrows.
"Yup, that's the one," she replies cheerily.
"Yeah, and it's gonna be a full house y'all! I invited pretty much the entire school." Heath whoops and Zane stands up from where he was sitting. "Attention everybody!" he says to the entire lunch room, "There will be a huge party tonight and everyone better be coming! Even you, Trisha, you can bring your band friends." David stifles a laugh and everyone cheers.
Zane sits back down and we just converse like everything is normal. The day continues and I find more and more people that I know in my classes. David is in my Spanish class and I think it embarasses him when I can speak much more fluently than him.
Gabbie is in my English class and so is Carly. Heath has History and I saw David in Calculus. When the final bell rang, I ran to go find David at his locker.
"Hey there!" he says and bends down to peck me on the cheek. "You're going to Zane's tonight right?"
"Yeah. Pick me up at seven?" I ask. He nods and I go off to grab my bag. I meet Gabbie outside and she drives me home.
"Hey do you need a ride to Zane's tonight?" she asks as I'm getting out.
"No, David's taking me," I tell her. She looks slightly upset for a second but it's gone as soon as it comes. "Is that okay...?" I ask tentatively.
"Oh, yeah! That's perfectly perfect! See you there," she says almost too cheerily. I close the door and slowly start to walk up my driveway. I'm still worried about how Gabbie was acting. I turn back to ask her something and see that she's already halfway down the street.
"Umm... see you there then," I say softly, walking through my front door.
*****
I look out my window and see David pull into my driveway. I run out to him and hop into the passenger seat. "Let's do this!" I say as I fasten my seat belt. He pulls out of the driveway and we make our way to Zane's. We pull onto the street and there's cars everywhere. We have to pull onto the next street over to park.
We get out and walk over to Zane's. The music can be heard from a block away. "The cops are definitely going to be making an appearance," David says to me, his fingers intertwined into mine as we saunter down the sidewalk.
I take a deep breath and push the door open. The mixed smell of alcohol and sweat hits me in the face. There are people everywhere. Red solo cups line the floor, and there is all kind of food circling around. Zane walks up to us, the smell of tequila on his breath. "You guys made it!" he yells over the music. Then he's whisked away into the crowd and goes off to party. I scan the crowd for any familiar faces and see a blue and purple head in the distance.
"Gabbie!" I scream from the other side of the room. The head turns, and her face brightens.
"Liza!" she yells back, making her way through the crowd holding a red cup. David goes off to find Alex and Heath. "Want me to get you a drink?" Gabbie asks, nodding her head in the direction of a table covered in bottles of liquor.
"No, I'll just get a water," I say as we make our way through the crowd to the kitchen. There's people everywhere and it took us like ten minutes to get a cup and fill it with tap water. We make our way over to a couch and watch the intense game of beer pong going on. Everyone starts cheering when Heath walks up holding a keg of Fireball.
About an hour into the night, everyone is off doing their own thing. I saw Kristen and Scotty go into a bedroom a few minutes ago. David, Heath, and Zane have now moved onto actual ping pong and David refuses to accept that he is losing. I head into the kitchen where there are a bunch of people just hanging out. Everyone has drinks and seems to be enjoying themselves. I only know about half of them. I lean against a wall and just take the scene in.
I'm not sure if anyone else notices the tall boy walking through towards a group of my friends. My eyes narrow as I see him lock his intentions onto them. Carly, Erin, Gabbie, Toddy, and Alex are laughing and hanging out. None of them notice the boy. He looks to be about our age. Walking up behind Gabbie, he comes in close to her, and grinds on her in time with the music. I stiffen a bit and stand up off the wall. She steps forward and whips her head around, clearly annoyed.
It could have been in my head but when they met eyes, it almost seemed like she recognized him.
YOU ARE READING
She's Gone
Fanfiction"'David, Gabbie can't be next,' I said, my voice breaking. He pulled me into his chest, and I broke down sobbing. 'She's not safe,' I wailed. He stroked my hair, knowing there was nothing he could say."
