BOND

34.

I was stumbling, looking in the dark 

With an empty heart

But you say you feel the same

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

Elena refused Rachel's offer for another piece of makeup which she was more than eager and comfortable to lend.

When she had called her, asking her to come over, she had told her to bring clothes for herself and just a pair of shorts for her, which she had already changed into. She had left Joey's sweatshirt on.

She looked alternatively from Rachel, getting ready in the bathroom, and down to her phone, where Chase was going on about how she was ignoring him.

"I feel like I'm overdressed when you're literally wearing pajamas," Rachel said, slipping out of her flats and into boots.

Elena looked up from her phone, lying on her stomach on the bed. "Socially acceptable pajamas," she corrected her. "And besides you're the girlfriend of the birthday boy so technically that makes you the co-host, so you need to look pretty. I, however, just need to show my face down there."

Rachel's cheeks colored up, "We're not official yet."

Elena sat up, glaring hard enough at the mirror so Rachel could she how deeply that sentence offended her. "That boy just reciprocated his ever present love for you in front of the people he cares the most about," she counted down on her fingers. "After you shoved yours in his face in a very classy way. And you're telling me that you two are not official?"

It was a rhetoric question but Rachel looked like she was about to answer so she said, "No! I am not letting you throw away a very successful matchmaking mission."

Rachel exited the bathroom, giving her a twirl so Elena could see the entire outfit. After the unanticipated make out session between her and Mark, Elena had quickly ditched every other idea in favor of a dress.

"And after that," she pointed out the door, signaling their public display of affection, "And this," she pointed at Rachel. "He can't make it official, then you do it."

The floor vibrated as the speakers downstairs were fired up, a clear sign that the party was in full swing.

"Alright," Elena swung herself off the bed, matting down her hair in an attempt to not look like she had just crawled out of sleep. "Let's get you to your boyfriend." She wrote down a quick text to her melodramatic brother, heading out.

As they navigated their way through a rapidly filling staircase, Rachel said delicately, "It's really strange you know, walking next to you when a few months ago I was screaming at the news that Elena Moscovitz was shifting here," not sure if Elena would take it in the way she meant.

Elena gave her a smile, "Trust me, its stranger for me. Moving away from London, high school," she sidestepped a burly guy at the bottom of the stairs, walking right into Joey who had somehow appeared right behind her. "This," she said to Rachel, who was already melting away into the growing crowd.

"Well, hello," Joey gave her a very slow and appraising once over, not even bothering to hide his satisfaction at the fact that she was wearing his sweatshirt.

Elena reached up, shaking confetti out of his hair, "Where have you been?"

He glared at the bits of paper falling in between them, unsure when they had ended up on his head, before answering her, "I could ask you the same thing. I've been looking all over for you."