sign {h.s.}

capítol vint-i-set

"IS HARRY COMING?" Bea asks, our bodies sway together as we drunkenly dance along to the music.

Lana had invited me to another party. As per his request of me the other morning, I extended an invitation to Harry. Let me know if you find any parties tonight, chérie. I do believe you would find parties are more fun when you stop trying to ditch me. To honor my side of the deal, I did send him an invitation to the party. Of course, the shock had come when he hadn't even bothered to respond.

Instead of waiting around for him, I picked myself up and changed into the costume that I tried on the other day and toted myself to the party. The three of us—Lana, Bea, and I—arrived at the party together. None of their other friends joined us for the occasion. Neither Isla, Freya, nor any of Bea's friends had come along for the occasion. When I asked Bea about it, she very quickly changed the subject.

Privately, I asked Lana if something had happened that I should be aware of. Lana was quick to inform me that Bea and Em had called things off. Though Em was not a permanent fixture in their group, they had all made plans to hang out with Em's group of friends tonight. Finding it awkward, Bea figured she'd be the person to go her own way. Neither of them was overly upset about ending things—at least, according to Lana—but, they didn't really want to have to navigate seeing each other in public so soon.

Not wanting to leave Bea's initial question hanging, I shrug my shoulders. "Don't know," I answer truthfully. I've learned that it is not worth my time to try to figure out the way that Harry's brain works. There is just as much chance that he shows up as the chance that he doesn't. The shocking part is that I've found that this doesn't bother me. Maybe I would even say that I am envious of this side of him. There is something so free about him; he is entirely unpredictable. Spontaneity is something that I appreciate in a person. Exclusive as we made ourselves this morning, I still don't pretend that I feel any need to put some sort of tracker on him and follow his movements religiously. Still, he is his own person. "I invited him, but whether or not he will show up is beyond me."

While he had been the one who pushed for an invitation, it'd be naïve of me to assume that would equate an immediate acceptance. He's a busy man—someone in high demand. I don't quite think that he is the type to like to be nailed down to one plan. Not when he has the option of many.

My new friend nods her head, seeming to accept this as an answer. We are at yet another frat party. Lana knows one of the brothers and was able to score us an invitation to a Halloweekend bash. Still early in the night, it is definitely not as crowded as it will get, but we figured it best to arrive early to this sort of event. Halloweekend is definitely not the time to show up fashionably late. Most frat houses will begin to turn people away as a result of having too many people inside. Though it is not an ideal—and certainly uncommon for frat houses—they have to be vigilant on such big weekends. They are typically under close watch by the university.

Currently, Lana is no where in sight. For the entirety of the ride over, she had been talking about her plan on how to seduce someone tonight. Her past several nights out have been punctuated by poor attempts at securing someone to warm her bed. Tonight, she planned on laying it all on the table. Having her out of my eye line was to be expected. Perhaps, even encouraged. A woman on a mission tonight, she claimed that tonight will be qualified as a success depending on whether or not she is able to find someone to "properly fuck" her.

Besides: it's not like Lana has completed abandoned us. Every couple of minutes, Lana appears back in our line of vision. It's enough to comfort the both of us. We'd made her promise that she find us before leaving someone, and we promised that we would not leave before her. Such are the motions that you go through in order to protect the security of your female friends. Each of us has learned the importance of safety in numbers, unfortunate as that is.