Gated Heart

Chapter 11

When Mia and Aren arrived at Emily's house on Saturday night, Emily greeted them excitedly.

"You made it!" Emily smiled.

Mia smiled back. "Of course," She said "How could I miss my best friend's welcome home party?"

"You can't, obviously," Emily joked.

Aren stood there silently.

"Hey, Aren," Emily said politely to acknowledge his presence.

He put up his hand in a brief, lazy wave.

"Everyone's already in the living room," Emily said happily to Mia. "Now that you're here, we can start the fun!" She gestured for them to follow her.

Everyone was sitting on the floor in a circle, chatting. There were about 6 or 7 people, not including Mia, Aren, or Emily.

"We're about to start spin-the-bottle," Emily explained.

"Oh," Mia said nervously. She looked up at Aren, who stood at her side, resting his arm on her shoulder. He looked just as unwilling to play as she was. "I think we'll sit out of this one, I'm fine with just watching."

"Nonsense," Emily whined. "We even waited for you to get here before starting!"

Mia sighed and looked at the circle hesitantly. "...I guess so," Mia said, and she sat down.

Aren watched her sit, paused for a moment, then gave in, sitting down next to her unhappily.

"Hey, Mia," A boy across the circle said with a friendly wave.

"Hey, Ethan," She smiled back.

Next to Ethan, another school friend, Amber, waved to her too. "Glad you could make it, she said."

Mia smiled nervously.

Amber glanced at Aren. "Emily told us you were bringing Aren, but I didn't believe her. How the heck did you get the antisocial kid to come to a party, or even to hang out with you for that matter?" She asked in bewilderment.

Mia chuckled awkwardly, but didn't answer.

Aren shot a glare at Amber, making her shrink back. She decided not to keep asking.

"Okay," Emily clapped with finality. "Let's get started!"

Ethan spun the bottle first. It landed on Emily. Emily blushed as everyone else hooted and hollered, cheering for them to kiss. Ethan slid over to her, put one hand on her face and leaned in. Emily tried not to giggle as he pressed his lips against hers. The group went wild, laughing and squealing at the drama. The encouragement from the crowd made Ethan smile against Emily's lips then kiss her deeper. While Aren seemed totally uninterested, the sight of it made Mia's face turn red and she looked away nervously. Finally, Ethan and Emily separated and Ethan went back to his spot in the circle, smiling, but looking slightly embarrassed. The next few people in the circle took their turns, but most of the following kisses were relatively short and simple, though that didn't make the group any less frantic and excited about each turn. Luckily for Mia and Aren, the bottle hadn't yet landed on either of them. Before they knew it, it was Mia's turn to spin. She looked up at everyone reluctantly.

"D-do I really have to?" She asked.

"Of course!," "Yes," "Come on!" hooted several people in the circle, excitedly.

Mia sighed and reached for the bottle. She spun it. She watched it turn round and round, her heart racing with anxiety. As the spinning started to slow down, she felt the dread building in her stomach. She prayed that the bottle would simply keep spinning. It didn't. Within a few seconds, it slowed down to a near stop, and Mia's eyes went wide with hope as it looked like the bottle was going to stop while pointing back at her, meaning that, maybe, she was off the hook. But rather than stopping completely, it turned very slowly for a moment longer, landing on Aren, who sat directly beside her.