The Deal

Chapter One - The Party

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———

"Mysterious violet, or dusty rose?" I doubted as I held up two dresses for display. Jay sighed, as he rolled over on his side to face me. "Do we really have to go to this party?" He whined.

"Come on, Jay," I frowned. "It'll be fine. Stop being a buzzkill and have some fun."

He raised an eyebrow, unamused. I picked at a cuticle on my thumb as I struggled to further convince my best friend. Although, I wouldn't blame him for the lack of enthusiasm. Jay and I, we're the stay-at-home-and-watch-horror-movies type of friends.

Sure, we've been to a few parties, but let's face it; nobody wants to risk walking in on people in the bedrooms. At least not us.

But tonight was different. Jonas invited me. That has to count for something, right? Or maybe I'm just delusional. It would be waste, after all this time trying to catch his attention.

Suddenly, I broke out of my trail of thoughts. Then it hit me.

"Annalise will be there. Jonas told me that she likes you." I added with a smile. If I can't persuade him to come, certainly a hot girl would, right? He laid on his back on my bed, instantly hiding his dark eyes with his arm out of embarrassment.

"A-Annalise is cute, but.." he stammered, his cheeks flushing. Suddenly, he sat up and shot his eyes at me. "Hold on, Jonas Thompson, as in the only guy you've ever laid eyes on for the past two years?"

I shrugged, as I hid my smile at the thought of him. Jonas Thompson, the typical funny, charming, smart, and outgoing guy who everyone loves. Perfect teeth, perfect jaw, broad shoulders, fawn wavy hair and the most hypnotizing hazel eyes. He certainly was your typical Prince Charming and every male protagonist in a romance story. Anyone would kill to have him. Especially me.

"So what? Are you guys dating now?" He teased. I smirked and threw a pillow at his face.

"No, we're not dating. He doesn't even like me like that." Although, I wondered if that last sentence was half-true. Or at least that's what Lana has been saying at school. I shook my head and brushed off the idea of mutual affection. It was too good to be true.

"You don't know that for sure, El." Jay justified.

I rolled my eyes. "But who cares? Back to what's important. Please go to the party with me. For Annalise?" I gave him puppy eyes and playfully poked out my bottom lip. He didn't move.

"For me?  Your best friend and neighbour in the whole world? Who you've known for over ten years." I pointed out with a grin.

"Fine, fine, enough with that." he sighed. "I'll go. But you owe me for this."

"Deal. Now help me choose a dress!" I exclaimed.

———

I would be lying if I said I hadn't put extra effort in my appearance, simply to impress Jonas. I guess I looked decent enough. I wore a fitted black strapless dress that hung above my knees. It did a decent job at showing off my mediocre curves. I plugged in my curling iron to style my dark auburn brown hair into loosely curled strands that fell over my shoulders.

An hour ago, Jay had left my house to get dressed as well. I made my way downstairs to notify my parents about the party. Halfway down, I heard muffled arguing from the kitchen. The voices became clearer with every step I took.

"How is this my fault, Michael?! I work double shifts every day, I'm exhausted!" Mom fumed.

Dad scoffed, "I'm doing the best I can, Kristine!"

"The best you can? By spending almost all our savings on alcohol? What were you even doing last night?! I'm trying to provide for this family. Elena will need money for her college tuition and right now we don't have that. Don't you want that for her?!"

"Of course I do! She's my daughter too, Kris. I wasn't thinking straight, but I want to be a good father to our girls." Dad explained.

"Well, you're clearly failing." Mom spat.

I stood there, in the hallway with furrowed brows, clutching my purse tightly. I struggled to find my voice. But I didn't need to. Mom turned her head in my direction, with wide eyes.

"Elena! I didn't know you were there." Mom stated. I swallowed.

"Y-Yeah. Um. Is everything okay?"

"Yes, of course." Dad nodded, with tension in his voice.

Obviously, a lie.

"Okay.. Well, I just wanted to let you know that I'm going out." I stumbled. I cleared my throat to reduce the shakiness of my voice.

Mom simply nodded, unable to find the words.

As I walked towards Jay's house, a wave of emotions hit me. My chest felt heavy. Mom and Dad haven't had any issues with each other before. What changed? I trembled. I've never seen them argue in such a cold manner. I took a deep breath.

It was only one argument, right? A party with my best friend and crush will cheer me up. I paused for a few minutes to contain myself until I was stable enough to ring the doorbell. The door cracked open, as a tall, muscular figure stood on the other side.

"Oh. Hi Brendon." I greeted.

Brendon was Jay's older brother, however, the three of us were inseparable. Considering he was only older by one year, we made a pretty good trio.

I examined him. His dark caramel brown hair was a neat mess. He wore a cream hoodie with ripped denim jeans. It was obvious that Jay and Brendon were Sullivan brothers, with their gorgeous dark hair and dark eyes.

Brendon was tall and athletic, while Jay was slim, but fit and slightly less defined. I would be lying if I said they weren't incredibly attractive. Compared to Jay, Brendon was wild and untamed, as he was known for completing any dares during a game of Truth or Dare. I, on the other hand, would chicken out after things began to spiral out of control.

"Hey Elena," he said, gesturing me to come in. He looked at me up and down. "Where are you going?"

"I'm here for Jay. We're going to a party." I revealed, playing with a strand of hair.

"Huh. Ditching me already?" He pouted, and I laughed.

"You know you hate parties."

That's what I don't understand about Brendon. He says he hates parties, but it always ends up with a girl losing her virginity to him. Then he runs off. Brendon's not like that. He doesn't commit— he's a player.

"Yes, that is true," he admitted. "Anyways, Jay will be down in a second," Brendon said, as he began walking away.

"Okay. Thanks." I called.

"No problemo. Oh, and Elena?" He ran a hand through his hair.

"Yeah?" I replied with curiosity.

"You look good. Don't forget to use protection with whoever you're trying to impress," Brendon teased.

"I-It's not like that!" I shouted. My face went red at his remark, and with that, he disappeared into the living room. I could hear the smirk in his voice.

Seconds later, Jay rushed down the steps to greet me. His eyes shot towards me, taking in my outfit.

"Wow. Jonas will love it. He will love you." Jay smirked.

"Shut up," I giggled. "You don't look so bad yourself."

"Why thank you, madam." He bowed, playfully. We began walking towards Jay's car. He wore a simple black shirt and ripped jeans. He had styled his short hair nicely, into a casual side sweep.

"Ready to go?" Jay asked.

"Ready as I'll ever be," I replied, slipping into the passenger seat.