Touched by the Fear

[6]

Lydia's house came into view, and the sound of music reached their ears as they pulled up into the first available space. It looked like more than half the school was there with more arriving each second. When the engine turned off, Hollis sat there, almost frozen. Again, the nerves seemed to pulsate inside her. Her eyes looked out the window, watching as teenagers poured out of cars and made their way towards the house.

One in, one out, she repeated in her head just as her door was pulled open. A sudden rush of cool air hit her.

She stepped out and Carter pulled her to him. His arms wrapped around her and she felt herself smiling.

"I'm glad you decided to come," he said.

Hollis nodded. "Me, too." She sounded confident although there was a trace of uncertainty inside of her.

Before she could dwell on that, he pressed his lips against hers. The kiss was so familiar and comforting that she forgot all about her nerves and about how he acted after the scrimmage. After a few seconds, she smiled against the kiss and reluctantly pulled back. "We should probably go in," she said, looking up at him.

"Yeah." He put his arm around her shoulders and led the rest of the way to Lydia's house.

The music pulsated inside. Most of the teens were drunk or halfway there and everyone seemed to be having the time of their lives. People stumbled past them, drinks sloshing out of cups as they went to get another refill.

"I'm going to find Lydia and Allison," Hollis yelled above the music.

She stepped through the house and out to the back where even more people were gathered. Her eyes scanned the faces of people dancing and drinking but she was unable to find them. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Scott who stood off to the side alone. Allison couldn't be too far behind.

"Hey," she said as she stood beside him. "Where's Allison?"

Scott turned his gaze away from the pool, focusing his attention on her. "Oh, hey." He looked surprised to see her but smiled. "I think she stepped inside for a minute."

Hollis nodded slowly and let her eyes trail over the ongoing party. A realization dawned on her, and she turned her attention back to him. "Oh, congrats on making first line!" She exclaimed happily.

He grinned at her words. "Thanks. Yeah, it's - it's great." Scott looked past her and, his smile faltered. He stayed quiet for a few seconds, allowing the music to envelope them. When he spoke, Hollis could barely make out what he said. "He thinks I'm taking steroids or something."

"What?" She followed his gaze to where Jackson and Lydia stood. Hollis knew that Scott had meant Jackson. Annoyance and anger flooded her. "Did he actually say that?" She asked in disbelief, turning her head to look at him.

Scott nodded.

"Scott..." she trailed off, shaking her head. The anger swelled up inside her, threatening to spill over. But rather than act on her anger, she took a few seconds to compose herself. "Ignore him," she said. "You deserve this. Don't let him ruin it for you."

"Don't let who ruin what?" Allison stepped up beside them. She looked from one to the other, trying to get insight into what was going on.

"Jackson." Hollis rolled her eyes. As much as she wanted to complain about him, she knew that now wasn't the time or place. She didn't want to ruin the mood of the night. "Never mind," she said, giving Allison a smile. "Are you having fun?"

"Yeah. I wasn't expecting this party to be so big, though," Allison answered truthfully. "Have you talked with Lydia at all?"

"I was going to say 'hi' but I don't want to interrupt...that," she said, motioning over to the couple where another round of PDA took place.