Alice's Umbrella

Chapter 11: Happy Halloween

Elliott pulled his car into the parking lot of the apartment complex Jade had directed him to. Alice sat in the passenger seat, while Jade and Maya took up the back. The two of them were dressed in costume, Jade as a pirate wench and Maya as a fairy, well, sexy fairy. Alice hadn't even bothered to dress up, and Elliott came in his school clothes, too, in a sign of solidarity. Annie and Noah had driven separately from the rest of them-probably so they could make out or something at some point. Once Elliott had parked, they all climbed out of the car, slamming the doors shut. Alice fell in step beside Elliott; they let Jade take he lead since she knew which apartment it was.

"Man, I feel like a pimp walking into a college apartment with three girls," he boasted arrogantly, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. She tipped her head back to look up at him with a small smile.

"Until everyone finds out you're still a junior in high school and laughs at you," she taunted. He just flashed her a cheeky grin, tightening his arm around her shoulders, and she let him, despite how intimate it suddenly felt, ever since her conversation with her friends. At the moment, however, she was uncomfortable at the prospect of being at a party with college students and drew confidence from his presence; she wondered how annoyed these college kids were going to be with a group of high schoolers showing up.

As if she read her fears, Jade spoke up as she stepped up to the door. "Don't worry; I assured Gale you were all cool. So don't make me a liar," she threatened humorously, throwing a glare over her shoulder before she swung the door open, not even bothering to knock. They were immediately assaulted with loud music and laughter as they slipped through the front door. Elliott unsnaked his arm from Alice's shoulders, but he stayed close, pressing a hand against her lower back as he allowed her to walk in front of him.

No one paid them much attention as they made their way into the living room, barely looking in their direction. Jade finally found Gale, and she waved to him. He nodded at her and made his way over, hugging her.

"Hey, good to see you," he greeted over the music. His voice was deep; Alice thought she could feel it rumbling in the it of her stomach with the bass of the music. "These your friends?"

Jade gestured behind her to them. "Yeah, there's two more coming. But this is Maya, Alice and Elliott," she introduced, pointing at each of them respectively. Gale shook their hands.

"Well, grab something to drink if you want. There's beer pong and card games going on," he said, then he smirked. "Just try to stay inside the apartment, okay? In case the police decide to patrol the area."

He led Jade and Maya to the kitchen to get some beer. Alice turned to look at Elliott, her eyebrows lifted in concern. He laughed lightly. "Well, that was confronting, wasn't it?" he joked, pushing on her hip slightly to guide her into the kitchen. "You heard the man; stay inside the apartment."

A couple of hours later, Alice was definitely a little buzzed. She had played a few games of beer pong with Jade as her partner. They'd only won so much because Jade was good; Alice definitely hadn't brought anything to the team. Noah and Annie had finally shown up at some point and were partaking in a game of Circle of Death with the others. Since Annie and Elliott were driving, they just stuck to water. Alice was definitely glad she wasn't the driver; she needed a little liquid courage to put her at ease in this type of social gathering.

She wandered into the kitchen after she and Jade finally lost at beer pong, looking for a refill; she found Gale at the keg, filling his own cup. He spotted her and smiled slightly. "Alice, right?"

She tried to return his smile and swayed closer. "Yeah. I just need another drink."

"Hold on a second," he said, topping off his beer. Then he put it down and took her empty cup from her to fill it up. She wrapped her arms around her waist as she waited, and he glanced at her. "Having fun?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Uh, thanks for being cool about is being here."

He smiled again; it seemed out of place with his severe features. "No problem. I'm not 21 yet either, so don't worry," he said, winking. Winking? She shook her head, wondering how much the alcohol was actually affecting her cognizance at the moment.

"Well...cool," she said lamely, taking the cup from him.

"So, Elliott....is he your boyfriend?" He asked casually, sipping his own beer. She blinked, completely unprepared for that inquiry.

"I-no, no," she insisted. She almost asked him why he thought that, but she wasn't sure she wanted to know. She suddenly felt flustered, so she took a deep gulp of her beer. "We're not dating," she added unnecessarily, licking the foam from her lips. Gale was smiling at her.

"Cool. I was just wondering," he said with a shrug. Then he squinted at her. "So, you're...16, right? Same as Jade?" She nodded. His smile widened still. He was very handsome. It was making her uncomfortable.

"She's a riot," he continued, leaning against the wall. "I'm friends with her brother, Jack. He's cool. We're in the same Forestry class."

Her eyes widened. "Forestry? That's interesting. Are you, like....into science then?" He nodded.

"Oh yeah. Love it. I spent a lot of time reading about the woods when I was little, so that's where I'm aiming my focus at."

She smiled slightly. "Yeah, me too. About reading about the woods. My mom used to all me her little monkey." She cringed inwardly at herself for revealing that information; she blamed her loose tongue on the alcohol. Gale chuckled.

"Monkey, huh?"

She rolled her eyes, fighting a blush. "It didn't help I had long, scrawny limbs."

He grinned at her, staring intently. "Well, you certainly don't look like a monkey now."

She was rendered speechless, dumbfounded by his come-on. No, he couldn't be flirting with her. She was misinterpreting him. He was just being friendly. She sipped more of her beer to alleviate her dry mouth and nerves, unsure how to respond, but she was saved the trouble by Elliott, who suddenly appeared in the kitchen.

"Hey, Gale-they're looking for you on the beer pong table."

Gale nodded his acquaintance and pushed off the wall. "Thanks, man. See you out there, monkey," he said to her, the corner of his mouth curling, and then he was walking out of the kitchen. Elliott was in front of her, a strange look on her face.

"Monkey?" He repeatedly, amusement in his voice, and her neck flushed with heat.

"I made the mistake of revealing my childhood shame-never mind," she deflected. Elliott shook his head but tugged on her cup to look into it. "What are you doing?"

"Making sure he didn't put anything in your drink," he said, releasing it after he'd given it an examination. Her moth dropped open.

"What? No, he didn't put anything in my drink-I watched him pour it!"

He shrugged, holding his hands up. "I was just playing. But, honestly, how well do we really know him? He might be kind of desperate if he's hitting on high schoolers."

She glared at him. "Desperate? He's desperate for being interested in me?" She realized how ludicrous that sounded-Gale wasn't into her. Elliott's eyes widened, though.

"No, I didn't-of course, he's not desperate for being interested in you specifically; I didn't mean that," he corrected, laughing it off. "You know what I meant. Come on. I'm not surprised he would be into you."

Alice rolled her eyes, petulantly sipping her beer. "He's not into me."

He tilted his head as he smiled at her, then he shook his head. "You have no idea."

"What?"

"The effect you have on people."

She stared at him uncomprehendingly, but he didn't elaborate, and before she could ask him to, he grabbed her elbow to turn her around, steering her out of the kitchen. "Come on, they're waiting for us to start the next card game."