En Route to Fame

Chapter Ten- Peer pressure

Was I ready for this party? Probably not. Was I going for the pure reason of supporting my best friend? Definitely. Was this peer pressure? I'm not too sure.

"Are we ready to go?" I asked Reya, praying that she had decided it wasn't a good idea.

"As ready as I'll ever be!" she exclaimed with a grin that would light up the room. I was excited for her but knowing it would come at my own expense was daunting. I hated the idea of going to a party with people I had never met before, it scared me even more than the idea of moving to America permanently.

We finally arrived, after a long Uber ride, filled with awkwardness. "Let me call Ana quickly," I rolled my eyes showing little interest with meeting up with her but Reya just ignored me.

"Hey guys!" Anastasia called as she found us, appearing already drunk. Following her was the guy I had met on my walk earlier in the day.

"Colin!" I yelled with glee, "it's not even been a day yet but it's so great to see you."

"You too," He said, trying to keep his eye on Anastasia.

"Reya! This is my gay best friend Colin! He's so funny," Anastasia said, clearly too drunk to function.

"Shall we go to the house?" I said to Colin and Reya to avoid any awkwardness. "Are you okay with her saying that Colin?" I asked him quietly whilst Reya took care of Anastasia.

"I can hardly hold it against her," he said chuckling, "She's maybe a little too open when she's drunk."

"But, you should be the one to open up to people you've just met."

"Honestly, it's okay. Ana is a sweetheart but uncontrollable when she's at parties." He said showing sympathy for her.

"Well, moving on," I said pausing, "You have no idea how glad I am that you're here."

"How come? Are you and your friend not on good terms?" He asked, showing concern.

"It's not that, she's just a lot better at meeting new people and being in new situations than I am. I've never been to a party before and honestly, the thought of going to one scares me."

"Well, stick with me," he said holding out his hand, "You need someone to stay with, especially in this house."

"Thank you," I said taking his hand.

Once we had caught up with Reya and Anastasia, we walked further along the pavement, until we found ourselves in awe at the end of the pavement. "Is that the house?" I asked, with amazement.

"It's stunning, isn't it?" Colin replies with. "Well, shall we go inside?" He asked looking at me with a smirk on his face.

We began to walk up the stairs to the house but before we entered, I could see a group of boys from one of the first floor windows and it immediately reminded me of my experience earlier that day. I began to feel self-conscious, remembering what I had come across earlier that day and I couldn't help but let go of Colin's hand and turn around to go back down the stairs. "What are you doing?" He asked, startled.

"I don't think I can do this." I said.

"What's wrong?" Reya asked in passively aggressive manner.

Turning away from Reya, I whispered to Colin, "It's the boys, from earlier. I think I saw them in the window."

He grabbed my arm and directed me up to the door of the house, "I've got you. We will rock this party, just you wait." I had no chance to leave now, he had my arm and I couldn't run away anymore. So, we walked up to the door and knocked on it. Whilst we waited for a response, Colin gave me promising looks trying to make me feel better about going. "I will be by your side the whole time," he said trying to reassure me. A second later, the door opened to the guy I had seen with his group of friends who rated me early that morning. I looked at Colin and nudged him, letting him know that this was the guy I had talked to him about when we met earlier. When I had turned back to face the guy at the door, Anastasia's arms hung around his neck as she lost her footing and her coordination.

"Come on Ana let's get you to bed, we can't let you ruin the party," he said draping his arms around her waist. Reya looked disappointed, the friend she had made was too drunk to hang out with her. I knew this was a first for her, so I leant over and put my arm around her shoulders.

"Shall we go in?" I asked her trying to get her to focus on the party.

"Uh y-yeah," she replied, stuttering. We then entered the house looking back and forth at each other, I had a feeling this was going to be a mistake. I'm Morgan Wilson and this is my life.