Mr. Popular and I

Chapter Nine - No Bad Intention

Lea

       Walking through Nick's front door is like entering into another dimension. I can't think of a word that can properly describe my first ever party, but the vibe I get is so energetic. The vast entrance is packed with people jumping to the bone-rattling beat of the music with no care in the world. The shrieks of laughter as girls tipsily dance together ring in my ears. 

       "Follow me," Nick yells above the music behind Marissa and me, diverting my attention away from a pair who are sucking each other's faces off. 

       Nick's front is awfully close to my back as he leads my way with a light touch to my shoulder, while his other arm gently pushes people from our path, as to make way for me to walk. For a brief moment, his hand glides across the small of my back - which I'm not too comfortable with -  as he walks ahead of Marissa and me, looking over his shoulder to make sure we're following him. Every few seconds, he glances back over, throwing me another one of his smiles, which are dangerously contagious.

       Lea, remember, this guy is notorious for the way he treats girls, be careful.

       Pacing around a few curious faces, we enter a different room that still has the loudness of the music, but much fewer bodies – a little less claustrophobic.

       "Jacky boy!" Nick calls to a guy whose blood shot eyes easily tell you that he's as high as the sky, but if you need more evidence, it comes in the form of the lit spliff he holds between his middle and index fingers. "I'd like you to meet Lea and Marissa," he turns back to us, "Lea, Marissa, this is Jack."  

       Jack eyes us both up, making me feel extremely uncomfortable under his gaze. 

       "So this is the girl, eh?" He says when his eyes return to mine, then he takes another drag from the spliff and blows the smoke up into the air over us.        

       I peer at Marissa, confused as to what he means by that. Her face is as puzzled as mine. I turn back to Nick for the answer, my eyebrows knotting together.

"I'm sorry, I'm what?" My words come out a little harsher than intended.

"You're the girl who I invited tonight." Nick explains, a little worried at my aggravation.

"You invite loads of girls to your party." I state, pointing to all the other females in the room who are most likely drunk or high, but that doesn't stop them from staring jealously at me.

Jack chuckles. "You've got that wrong, sweetheart." He tells me patronizingly.

"I don't invite these girls," Nick explains again. "They just show up. But, you, I did invite you." The smile returns to his lips.

I swallow, my eyebrows scrunching over my eyelids. "What exactly does that mean?"

"Ha, it means that he likes you. Duh." Jack blurts, I think he's drunk too. Nick hits him playfully on his arm and pushes him to a crowd of girls who are nestled behind him before turning to me.

"It means that you're my guest, and yeah, I kind of like you." Nick admits, scratching his head nervously.

What an idiot, does he think I'm going to be his play toy tonight? Disgusting.

       "I'm not exactly sure what you mean by that, so just in case you have the wrong idea about me, I think I'm going to leave now," I tell him over the loud music. Turning to Marissa, I give her a subtle nod towards the door and we both walk out of the room and into the entrance again. 

"Wait! Wait. Can you hold on a second?" Nick shouts from behind me, reaching for my arm.

       I wasn't too comfortable with his hand on the small of my back, so I'm not too comfortable with this clasp either. Looking down at his curled fingers around my forearm with uneasiness, I guess he takes the hint because he let's go.