The cold wind whips my hair around in a flurry across my forehead. I pull my jacket tighter across my body. The click of our heels hit the icy pavement with intent. I look up at the towering edifice that is crowned with bright lights only a few blocks away. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" I huff. Scarlett looks over her shoulder. "Trust us, it's the biggest party of the year" she says with enthusiasm in her voice. "It's the only party you've BEEN to all year" I blurt and she rolls her eyes and giggles. "We weren't even invited, how do you plan on getting us in?" I ask. Dakota looks over with a sympathetic expression. He ruffles my hair like a little boy "Aw little Beau you're so naive...it's been 3 hours since the party started there's at least 50 party crashers in the building by now. Our job is to simply walk in like we belong, not to mention that fact that it's only an hour til midnight everyone's too drunk to notice us". I roll my eyes and scoff. What a way to spend new years.
I never should have agreed to go out tonight. I've been to plenty of parties in my lifetime and I'm fairly social for the most part but I prefer to simply be in company of myself. We approach the entrance of the (now that I see it myself) huge hotel. The doorman opens the large glass door to lead us into a grand lobby. My breathe hitches as I take in my surroundings. Gold trimmed walls, white marble floors , a grand piano and a large stunning crystal chandelier. I'm too mesmerized by the utter beauty of the room to notice that my friends are already making their way to the elevator. I catch up with them and step in before the door shuts. Ezria pushes the glowing red button at the top of the panel and a buzz indicates we must enter in a code before the elevator can take us to the top floor. "Did Ashton send you the code?" Ezria looks over to Scarlett. She quickly punches in the code and the elevator begins to rise. The faint sound of music and voices gradually increases as we make our way closer to the penthouse. The elevator begins to slow. Ezria turns to face me while Dakota droops his arm over Scarlett. The elevator doors slide open and we are faced by the backs of two large security guards. Ezria let's out a large fake laugh that booms through the elevator "Oh my god I can't believe Brooke would do that! We have to tell them inside that's hilarious!" She says nonchalantly paying no mind to the security as we brush past them at ease. "Piece of cake." Scarlett huffs.
The room is filled with loud music and intoxicated teenagers. I can rarely hear my own thoughts as the music coming from the DJ booth pounds through the large apartment. We're greeted by some familiar faces and Scarlett and Ezria quickly make their way to some girls they recognize from school. Dakota and I socialize for a few moments, having conversations with people.
"I have to go to the bathroom" I shout to Dakota and he nods as I stray away, crossing the crowded room. I walk into multiple rooms attempting to find the bathroom. "Why does this apartment have so many damn doors.." I mutter to myself. I walk upstairs in hopes of finding the correct room. As if God answered my prayers I open the door to find a bathroom.
I lock the door and take a deep breathe. I splash some cold water across my face to feel some relief from the muggy atmosphere created by sweaty bodies dancing in one room. I look up at myself in the mirror. I push my light brown hair back and adjust my shirt. I sigh and prop myself on the countertop and pull out my phone to keep myself busy. We shouldn't be here. Underclassmen at a senior party might not seem like a big deal but when you go to school with stuck up social elitists that have an established hierarchy among the entire student body, it's almost equivalent to jumping off a bridge. Granted my friends and I aren't exactly social outcasts, we've been to a good amount of parties, galas, and events as far as the upper east side goes, but we did still lack the detail of an invitation. After a few minutes have passed I jump down from the countertop and quickly open the bathroom door.
I immediately run into an intoxicated teenage boy and flinch just before he spills the liquid content in his plastic cup all over my jacket. He's too inebriated to realize what's going on around him and stumbles into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him.
"Ugh fuck" I curse under my breath, peeling off my jacket. "Dad is gonna kill me." I say while looking at the now tarnished garment that my dad designed specially for me. It looks savable if I get the stain quickly.
I scramble around the second floor in search of the laundry room. Luckily it is much easier to find than the bathroom. I quickly toss my jacket in the machine and set it to wash for 15 minutes, enough time to finish washing just before midnight. I groan and make my way downstairs with the intent of finding my friends and persuading them to leave a little sooner than planned.
My eyes search through the crowded room. The party had become much busier as the clock draws closer to midnight. All of a sudden I find myself caught in the harsh gaze of an intimidating figure with immense dark eyes. I swallow the lump in my throat and feel my mouth dry as the tall brown eyed boy intensifies his stare into me. I see him inch forward when i'm interrupted by a hand on my shoulder turning me the other way. "There you are we've been looking all over for you!" Scarlett laughs. Her hair is a little distraught but she still looks captivating even so. She furrows her brows. "What's wrong? Did you see a ghost or something?" she says. She looks behind me as if investigating what I was focused on moments before. I turn around to find that the figure is not there anymore. "Nothing, it's just been a rough night can we leave soon?" I admit. She nods her head understandingly. "I'm going to look for Ezria and Dakota right now, I'll let you know when I find them." She says before walking away. I turn around again to look at the empty doorway where the towering figure once stood. Who was that? Many stories float to my head about a egotistical and troublemaking teenage boy with a obstreperous clique. I can't seem to put a name to my thoughts, but I know well of this boy and his friends and I have to get out of here. I start pushing my way through the crowd of people. A notification on my phone steals my attention. It's a text from Ezria. I begin to unlock my phone when i feel myself collide with a body and the smell of alcohol immerses my senses. Not again. I look up to catch myself in the aggravated glare of the boy that stole my thoughts no more than 3 seconds ago. He curses under his breath while looking at his white shirt now clinging to his long and defined torso . He shoots me a death glare. "Watch where you're going, look at what you did" he snaps. Thoughts are flurrying across my head and I can't seem to make out my words . "I- uh i'm- " I stutter. He raises an eyebrow. "Hello??? can you speak, because it seems like you have something to say." he says harshly. The crowd starts counting down but i'm too concentrated on the rude remarks being slurred at me by this arrogant and attractive person. "I'm sorry" I mutter
"12..11.." the crowd chants in the background. "Well you should be, you made a mess." He says as his jaw clenches. My eyebrows furrow in anger. The crowd continues to count in the background. "Look I said I was sorry okay? You don't need to be such a dick about it. Maybe you should watch where you're walking with a full cup of liquor and you wouldn't have it spilled all over yourself." His eyes widen in shock at my retort and I instantly regret every word out of my mouth. "7..6.." the crowd continues to chant. "This is my party, so I don't need you or anyone else to tell me what I should or shouldn't do, if you don't like that then you should leave. Who are you anyway?" He spits back. "4..3.." the crowd says gaining volume every second. "None of your concern because i'm leaving anyways." I say as I shove past him and make my way towards the elevator. I feel his gaze burn into my back as I walk away from him. "HAPPY NEW YEAR" The crowd cheers as I step into the elevator and make my way down to meet the rest of my friends. I lean back on the wall of the elevator and slide down to the floor while letting my forehead rest in my palms. I let out a breath I didn't even know I was holding.
"Holy shit."
