With a little less than an hour to spare, both girls were just about ready to leave. Alyssa was caught sharing self-conscious glances with her full-length mirror as she inspected her outfit for the evening.
While doing so, Kassi continued to go off about the potential antics that might happen tonight at the 5sos house.
"They're going to hate us," Kassi cried out, fluffing up her naturally wavy locks.
Alyssa frowned. "You're a lot more cynical when you're nervous."
Kassi stood beside her in the mirror and checked herself out.
"And I have every reason to be!" Kassi exclaimed. "We aren't like these people. Why are we going again? We shouldn't go, we should probably cancel--"
"Kassi!" Alyssa shouted, interrupting her. "I usually depend on you to keep me sane. If you're not there to help me, then we're both screwed!"
Kassi sighed before plopping onto Alyssa's bed. "You're right. I'm sorry for freaking out on you. I'm not usually like this."
"The hell you aren't," Alyssa agreed as she reapplied another coat of mascara.
"We will be fine," Kassi stated, finally regaining her composure. "What's not to like?"
"If Luke is crazy about you, I'm sure he's said enough about you that'll get you in his crews good books. Don't fret," Alyssa assured her.
Kassi laughed right as Alyssa turned to face her. "Now, how do I look?"
"My best friend is hot," Kassi mused with a smirk.
Smiling, Alyssa also gave Kassi a once over.
"I think I'm in love with you," Alyssa joked endearingly before grabbing a leather jacket that was hanging at the back of her bedroom door.
"Oh, babe," Kassi giggled, shooting up from the bed. "We are one true pair."
With that, Kassi exited the room, leaving Alyssa to stare at herself in the mirror again. This time, a lot less excitedly. She wasn't in any mood to mingle with the boys tonight and had a difficult time understanding why. Oh, who was she kidding, she wasn't sure if she wanted to face Calum.
Truth be told, they haven't spoken in a week and Alyssa couldn't help but feel like she had done something wrong. Whenever she would try to call or text him, his curt responses gave her the impression that he just didn't want to talk to her.
He pulled a complete 360 on her. Of course, Alyssa wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, but if Luke was able to find time for Kassi, Calum's excuse was less than convincing. She was completely in denial over the fact that there wasn't a legitimate reason as to why he's been so MIA.
But as she thought it over, everything he's ever said to her felt like lies and that killed her. Alyssa didn't want to say anything to Kassi because she didn't want to burden her. She and Luke were doing so well, Alyssa didn't want to be the one to get in between that. So, Alyssa decided to toughen up and hopefully not break down at the dinner.
"Lys!" She heard Kassi call from the living room. "We should get going! Traffic will be brutal."
"Alright!" Alyssa called back with a sigh before running her fingers through her curled strands. "Let's do this."
. . .
"Why do you look so out of it, Lys?" Kassi asked as they both walk up to the front door of the boys' house. "Aren't you excited to see Calum?"
Alyssa looked over at Kassi, ridding the thoughts from her head. "Uh, yeah, sorry," she managed to sputter out. "Got a big exam coming up, don't wanna fail."
