The Graduation List

6 - Go To A Party

Anna

The next evening i'm sitting on the edge of my bed freaking out about this party. Gwen walks into my room but stops when she sees me, my eyes wide in fear, "Anna are you okay?" I look at her and shake my head, "I can't do this Gwenny, so many bad things could happen" she sighs before walking over to sit next to me. Her hand comes to my shoulder, "what if I told you that Graham is coming with some teammates to make sure we're okay" I feel my breathing return to normal at her words, "are you sure he's going to stay with us?" she nods with a smile, I hug her, "thank him for me" Gwen laughs as she hugs me back. "Okay enough of this we need to get all pretty in our new outfits" I let her go before we both get off my bed, "who knows how long that's going to take with us" Gwen shoves me and we laugh before she walks out of my room. 

A few minutes later i'm wearing my sequin tank top with some jeans as I sit in front of my mirror to put on some makeup. As I go through my makeup bag I decide to do something bold figuring that this party calls for it. I pull out a bright red lipstick, metallic eyeshadow, dark eyeliner, mascara and bronzer. Once i'm done applying everything I zip up the makeup bag and stand up to grab my leather jacket, phone and keys. When I appear in the living room, I see my roommates sitting on the couch watching a movie, they all turn to me, Emily's eyes are wide, "wow you clean up well A" I blush, "thanks" I hear footsteps so I turn to see Gwen appear in her party outfit. "Holy Gwenny you look hot" she looks at us while smiling, "you're one to talk, you look smoking, and that bold makeup that we never get to see don't get me started" I shrug, "figured I needed to be a little bolder for this kind of thing" Sierra nods enthusiastically making us laugh. 

X--X--X--X

Me and Gwen step out of the cab after paying the fare, I feel the vibrations of the music on the sidewalk outside of the frat house. "Are we sure about this?" I ask feeling nervous, "yes we can do this! plus Graham is already inside" Gwen exclaims before linking our arms together. Before I can overthink the situation the blond next to me pulls me towards the front door of the frat house. When we step into the crowded house, I scrunch up my nose at the horrible smell that greats us, Gwen keeps a tight hold on me as we weave through the drunk people to try and find Graham. Suddenly I feel a hand on my ass, I pull Gwen to a stop as I turn around furiously, I see a guy smirking at me, he's clearly drunk by the looks of his glazed over eyes, "want to dance baby?" the stranger's use of the word baby fuels my anger as I step towards him. Before I can express my anger an arm winds around my waist from behind, "darling is this guy giving you a hard time" I relax a little at the sound of Eli's voice, I watch the expression on the guy's face change at the sight of the hockey player that's holding me back, he mumbles something before walking away. 

I release a breath that I didn't realize I was holding in before turning around to face Eli. "Thank you, even though I totally could've handled that" he laughs making me smile, "you're welcome, and I don't think slapping him would've helped" I place a hand to my chest innocently, "what no I would never", he rolls his eyes, "yeah okay I don't believe that for a second Anna" I grin up at him, "well that means you know me well". Eli's hand moves to my lower back gently pulling me flush against him, "I would hope so with all of the texting and calls" my hands rest on his chest, "there's more to me than how I text and sound on the phone" he smiles down at me, "you're right, you're gorgeous, especially in this outfit you have on" I blush at the compliment avoiding his gaze. "We should go find Graham and Gwen" I say while peering up at Eli, he nods before interlacing our fingers leading the way through the crowded room. 

Suddenly the blonde hockey player stops making me bump into his back, I look up to see Eli smiling at back at me sheepishly. I shrug and he pulls me in front of him, "do you see what I see?" he whispers in my ear, my eyes look around the room until they stop on what appears to be Gwen and Graham engaging in a very heated make out session. "Finally" I exclaim making Eli laugh as he wraps his arms around my waist resting his chin on my shoulder, "how about we let them have their moment" I nod and turn my head to smile at Eli. His hand comes to mine and we switch directions towards the doors that lead to the backyard. 

Once we're outside I take a deep breath not realizing how much I needed some fresh air. A gust of wind makes me shiver as I look up at the stars dotting the sky, "cold?" Eli asks, I look back at him, I shrug not wanting to admit how cold I really am. He must see right through my lie because he slides off his hoodie, handing it to me, "I can see you shivering" I smile at him, "thank you, but now you're going to be cold" he shrugs as he watches me put on the sweater. I bite my lip concerned as I look at him, "i'll be fine Anna, don't worry" I sigh and turn back to look up at the sky, I walk over to the railing at the edge of the deck placing my hands on the wood as I keep my head tilted towards the stars. I turn my head to look over my shoulder at Eli, who is standing in the same spot, "come here, it's so pretty" he smiles as he approaches me, "you sure are" I blush at his words. He places his hands on either side of me, my breath hitches at the close proximity, Eli's hands move onto mine that are still on the wood railing, "what are you doing E?" his intense gaze zeros in on me, "something that we both want" his hand moves up to my face, gently cradling it before lowering his head towards mine. When his lips brush over mine hesitantly, my free hand moves to his chest as I relax into him, he brings his hands to either side of my hips hoisting me up onto the ledge of deck, I clutch onto him at the sudden movement. I bring a hand to the back of his neck weaving my fingers into his hair before pulling his lips down to mine again, "FINALLY!" I jump at the voice, Eli keeps me steady as I look over his shoulder, Gwen is in the doorway smiling at us, Graham is standing behind her smiling as well. 

Eli helps me off of the ledge before we go to our friends who are grinning at us. "Don't even start you two, we saw you having a less than innocent make out session" Gwen blushes a deep red as her smile drops from her face, "oh shut up" I laugh before walking over to give her a hug. "I need all of the details later" I whisper in her ear, she nods into me and I pull away from my best friend with a smile. "Lets get back in there my song is playing" before I can object Gwen pulls me back into the crowded house to dance on the makeshift dance floor full of sweaty bodies. The rest of the night is a blur of excitement that wares off as the night ends and the two of us get back to our house.