Fly Away

Chapter 31 - The Party

FLASHBACK: July 7th, 2018 - Six Months Ago, New York

Ellie came over to my house to get ready for the party. She had packed her dress, shoes, jewelry, and makeup with her and she was going to get dolled up with me.

"Help!" I wailed the moment she walked through my door. "I don't know what the fuck to wear, and there's sooo many people to impress!"

"Don't worry, we'll find something. Remember all the dresses we'd randomly buy at the mall just because we looked hot in them?" Ellie asked while dragging me to my bedroom.

That's Ellie for you. I'd say that she's the mom friend of the group - the chill, caring, sweet, can rely on her for anything type of girl. She's honestly been that way since we met and became best friends in first grade.

Yup, we've known each other for ten years.

"Yeah, but I don't know if they're good enough," I complained, throwing open my closet doors and sifting through random hangers.

"Oh, shut up Raven, you'd look good in anything."

She dug through my closet and found a red bodycon dress with strappy heels of a matching color.

"Here," she said, handing me the items before plopping onto my bed. "Wear this."

I frowned. "Isn't it too dressy?" I asked.

"No!" Ellie rolled her eyes. "It's Gabriela frickin' Martinez's epic rager! It's not like that outfit is a prom dress! Plus, she said 'semi-formal'."

I laughed. "Okay okay Ellie! I'll put it on."

Making sure the coast was clear, I slipped into my bathroom and put the outfit on. My long black hair fell into curls ironed in before Ellie came, framing my tanned face and tumbling down to my waist. My blue eyes popped against my bare, makeup-less skin and contrasted with the bright red of the dress. I looked into the mirror. Hey, it's not that bad. Mom would definitely kill me for wearing this though.

Oh well, she's not home, so she can't yell at me for that, I thought with a sly smile on my face.

I walked back into my room and smiled. "You were right, this outfit is pretty cute!" I started to do a funny catwalk and hilarious poses.

Ellie laughed at my ridiculousness.

"Damn girl, you look hot. Vincent better keep you close, or else all the other guys will be hitting on you," she warned while waggling her eyebrows.

Flipping my hair, I did a little twirl and giggled. "Thanks, best friend."

"I'm only telling the truth. But, you still need to do your makeup! We only have an hour left!"

"Only one hour?" I shrieked in mock disbelief. "That's so not enough time!" I rolled my eyes sarcastically and sat in front of my vanity. Ellie just clicked her tongue and got started with her makeup.

After an hour of pounding my face with beauty products, I was finally hyped and ready to go the the party of the year! Gabriella always hosted a rager the week before school started to kick off a year of prison- I mean, school. This was my first year going, because the previous two years my mom was home. All the books I've read about parties shot my expectations up, so I was extremely excited to finally experience what I've been dreaming of for so long.

Not moments after I finished putting away my makeup into their respective drawers, my phone rang. I read the caller ID and picked it up, grinning.

"Hey babe! How's it going?" I asked eagerly.

"Great! Can't wait to see you! By the way, Andrew and I are ready, so come pick us up when you are," replied Vincent.

"Okay! I'm on my way!" I said while grabbing my car keys. I had just gotten my license a couple months ago, and although driving multiple minors with a junior license is illegal, everyone does it anyways.