The Best Thing for Me

  He laughed, ruffling my hair. I made a face, which he ignored. He entwined his fingers through mine and tugged me after him. We skipped down the stairs and Jason called out to Miranda. She didn't even look up. She answered with a wave of her hand. We left and sprawled out on the lawn. I stared up at the beautiful stars. I sighed in content. I was really glad I came to Jason's. He always made me feel better.

  "It's so beautiful," I said in awe.

  "You're beautiful." He murmured.

  "And you're cheesy."

  I turned on my side and pecked his cheek, before snuggling up to him. The cool wind swept over me and I shivered slightly. It wasn't overly a cold night, but again it wasn't quite warm either. We stayed out there for a long time, only talking occasionally.

  Eventually, I found myself slipping into sleep.

  I scrunched up my face when I saw how much of a slob Mel had turned into. I sighed and walked over to her. She was cocooned in her blankets, her blonde hair messy and food packets littered all around. I nudged her and she rolled over, staring at me with puffy eyes.

  "Hey," I greeted, sitting down beside her. "You alright?"

  "Not really," she replied, rubbing her already red nose. "Luke sucks."

  I tsked. "Come on. Let me explain everything and you might feel a bit better."

  "Okay," she said quietly. "Go on."

  I recapped everything that had happened yesterday, from the drive over, to the meeting and how Jason had responded.

  "Wait, what?" she said. "Repeat that. Your Mum is alive?"

  "Yeah," I replied. "She's going to tell Dad soon."

  "Oh my God!" She cried, sitting up. "Are you okay?"

  "I'm better." I admitted. "I had a little cry to Jason and now I'm all good."

  She rolled her eyes. "At least that boy's good for something. So how long did Luke know?"

  I shrugged. "I don't know."

  "Even though what Luke did was extremely wrong and horrible, it did make lives around here a lot easier."

  "Yeah," I agreed.

  She bit her lip. "I guess I should talk to him."

  "Yep. You do realise that requires you to move?"

  She gave me a flat stare. "Yes, Captain Obvious. You should get him to come over here. We can have make-up se-"

  "Don't!" I exclaimed, slapping my hands to my ears. "Please, I really, really don't want to hear it."

  She snickered at me. "Baby."

  I frowned. "Do you think I am a baby?"

  "It's called sarcasm." she deadpanned.

  "No, I mean I'm pretty innocent compared to everyone around here. I haven't done it and I haven’t smoked. I'd say I haven't gotten drunk but... well. I won't be getting drunk again for a while."

  She grinned. "Yeah, you're such a lightweight."

  "Thanks."

  "You love me. Anyway, there's a party tomorrow night. I think it'd be a good opportunity to get our minds off of everything. What do you say?"

  "I say no."

  "I don't care," she said dismissively. "I am ready to par-tay. I have a killer dress for you, too."

  "Great," I replied sarcastically.

  "I'm excited. Now go get Luke. We need to-"

  "Okay, okay." I said, leaping off the bed. "I'll go get him."

  She rolled her eyes. "You're over the top."

  "I think not."

  I reached down and gave her an awkward one arm hug.

  "See you tomorrow. Be here at around 5:30pm."

  "Fine," I sighed, sagging my shoulders in defeat. I knew I wouldn't win anyway. At least I could bring Jason along. It would be our first actual party as a couple. I walked, with a little more bounce in my step out of the house and back to mine.

  I ran into the Luke when I entered, and jerked my thumb over my shoulder. "Mel summons you."

  "She does?" he asked in surprise, placing down his mountain dew.

  "Uh huh."

  "Okay," he said eagerly, draining the can and throwing it in the bin. He grabbed his jacket and jogged out of the house. I shook my head at him. He was pretty love struck. I sighed, and went into my room, passing out on my bed.

  I think, things were actually working themselves out. Except the part where my Dad will find out his wife who died a few years ago never really did and is in fact alive and healthy. I ran my hands through my hair, massaging my scalp.

  Everything was about to change.

  40

  "Ouch!" I hissed, narrowing my eyes at Mel, which reflected back to her from the mirror. She gave me a sheepish grin and removed the curling wand from proximity of my face. This was the second time she had burnt me in the last ten minutes.

  "Sorry dude," she said dismissively.

  Currently, we were getting ready to attend a party. I was unsure of who was throwing it, but hey. No one really cares about that. All I knew was the place was located roughly twenty minutes away, slightly out of town. Mel knew the way. Apparently this person threw parties regularly. Of course I hadn't been aware of this.

  "Ta da!" She cheered in a sing-song voice, switching the curling iron off. She did a little booty shake. "You look hot."

  I stood up and nodded at her. "Why thank you."

  I walked over to her full length mirror and did a pivot. I was in one of Mel's sleek, tight, black dresses. It was a bit raunchier than any dresses that I owned. It stopped about mid-thigh and hugged my curves almost too well. It was backless, with a thick strap resting under the edge of my shoulder blades. Mel had experimented with my hair and we had decided on braiding it around to the side and curling it. I must say I did like the style. It suited the dress well.

  "Are you sure it doesn't look too fancy?" I asked, suddenly insecure. I didn't want to look like an idiot who was over-dressed. She rolled her eyes at me and planted her hands on her hips.

  "Enough of that. You look gorgeous. Quit whining."

  Mel herself had a light grey dress on, which was dangerously short and revealing. The way she wore it though, it actually didn't seem that bad. She pulled it off well. Well, of course she did. She could easily be a model.

  A soft knock could be heard and we both looked over our shoulders. My eyes widened as I took in my hunk of sexy. (Well, I'd most commonly call him Jason). A slow smile stretched across my face. I made my way over to him and pressed my lips against his.

  "Hello," I smiled.

  "Hey." he greeted back. "You look amazing."

  I felt a blush rise on my cheeks and I ducked my head. "Uhm... thanks. Y-you too."

  He came over and pinched my cheek, smirking down at me. "You're too cute."

  "Aw!" Mel cooed from behind us. "You guys are so adorable!"

  We both rolled our eyes at her. I chose not to respond to her comment. I slipped on my heels, (yes, I'm quite uncoordinated with heels, but they aren't that high, so I think I'll manage okay) and adjusted the straps, securing them to my feet.

  "You guys ready?" Jason asked.

  I swept my eyes over him. He had a light blue shirt on, which was rolled up to his elbows and hugged his body. He looked very drool-worthy. His tanned skin contrasted perfectly with his choice in shirt and his eyes. I felt proud he'd chosen such a good outfit.

  "Yep," I replied, popping the 'p'. Mel grabbed her carry purse, which contained our essentials inside. She smiled and bumped hips with me, her eyes bright with excitement.

  "Let's go, bro."

  The beat of the bass seemed to be synchronised with my heart beat. The pulsing music thudded in my ears as I waded through the sweaty, grinding bodies. I wrinkled my nose and I heard someone deposit their insides into a bathroom that they had conveniently left open for everybody to witness.

  "Gross," Mel muttered, but loud enough for me to hear. I nodded in agreement, making a disgusted face. We'd only just got here and there were people already passing out and completely blind drunk.

  Jason had been voted designated driver, since last time he'd been drinking it didn't end too well. I barely even remember it, but I know the gist of what
had happened. It was all in the past though. I'm sure it wouldn't happen again. Mel grabbed my arm in vice grip and dragged me through the crowd. I flailed until my fingers came in contact with Jason's shirt, which had him being dragged along as well. After tripping in my heels, I finally came to a stop and Mel began swaying her body with the beat. She greeted a few people and merged away from us. I turned to Jason and wrapped my arms around his neck. He smiled down at me and leant down, his mouth coming in close contact with my ear.

  "Guess what?" he whispered, which had shivers running down my spine. My mouth dried out but I forced myself to respond.

  "W-what?"

  "This is officially our first party together."

  "I know," I squeaked excitedly back. I pecked his lips and rested my head on his chest. Even though I was wearing heels, he was still taller than me. I had grumbled at the fact, but soon got over it. I began awkwardly dancing with Jason. He spun me around a few times and I threw my head back in laughter, loving every minute of it.

  Soon enough, Jason was summoned by his friends and I told him I needed a drink anyway. We parted ways and I found myself rummaging through the esky in order to quench my thirst. Of course, there was no water. Although, I did find some soda water, but it was spiked with vodka. With a shrug, I filled up a glass and weaved through the mass of bodies. I leant back on the door frame and just observed what was going around me. I laughed in amusement at some people. They were so entertaining.

  Well, that was until I was interrupted.

  "Hey!" an American accented voice said loudly, causing me to jump in alarm and bang the back of my head. I winced and frowned, turning to see who the source of the pain was. Chase stood there, grinning from ear to ear.

  "Hi," I replied.

  He wrapped an arm around my neck and squished me into his, unfortunately toned chest, and reeled back. "Long time no see!"

  "Y-yeah..." I trailed off, trying to get air back in my throat.

  "How's life?" he asked.

  "Yeah, alright," I shrugged. No way was I going to tell him about everything that had been happening. "And yours?"

  "Yeah sweet as mate," he replied. He punched me lightly in the shoulder. "Want to dance?"

  I gestured at my drink and tentatively took a sip. "Maybe later."

  "Okay, come find me, yeah?"

  "Sure," I sighed.

  He grinned and bumped knuckles with me. "Awesome."

  I shook my head as he sauntered away to another group. Mel had been right, this was a good distraction. I roamed the area with my eyes and found her in amongst a large group of gaggling girls. She laughed at a joke and playfully slapped someone's shoulder. I rolled my eyes. At least it looked like she was better. She and Luke had obviously made-up. And I really, really don't want to know how. I already had a pretty good idea.

  After draining my drink, I had another. I just finished my third when I stumbled onto the dance floor and Chase grabbed my hand. He pulled me to him and grinned. "Sup."

  I didn't reply. I wasn't drunk or anything, but well, I was a little tipsy. I didn't want to go overboard again like last time. That hadn't worked out so well. I allowed him to guide me around the floor. He spun me around and dipped me. I let out a startled gasp as he flung me back up like a ragdoll. He chuckled at my reaction.

  "You look really pretty."

  My cheeks turned bright red. I wasn't used to getting many compliments. I didn't know how to respond to them.

  "Ah... thank you."

  "You're most welcome, Emma." he replied formally with a nod. After a few more minutes of dancing, I finally broke away and escaped. I went out the back and took in a few gulps of air. Mel came over and brushed her shoulder against mine.

  "Having fun?" she asked, shooting back a vodka shot. I shuddered at the thought of my first and only experience with those. Never again.

  "Yeah, it's great." I answered her with a smile. "Are you?"

  "Definitely. Okay, well I'm off. Catch ya."

  I watched her go back to her other friends. She needn't have asked if I wanted to join. Those girls were really stuck-up and not my type of people at all. I preferred to hang with myself than be in their presence. Mel was obviously aware of this.

  My night had been going really good until I was lounging around, collapsed on an arm chair. I noticed her. By 'her' I'm meaning Britney. I made a face as she adjusted her top and pulled up her dress. Could she be any more desperate?

  She made her way over to the right side of the room, striding gracefully. She seemed to glide across the floor. I scowled. I wish I was like that. It wasn't until she'd reached her destination, that I realised it was the group Jason was in. I narrowed my eyes at her as she wrapped an arm around his waist. He shrugged her off and I smiled smugly.

  That was until she whispered in his ear and her hand slid around down below his back. I jumped up in outrage and began to make my way over. Suddenly, I was being reeled back and my arms were pinned half behind me.

  "What the...?" I asked, trying to twist around to see who had me. At first I thought it was Chase, but then the grip tightened and I winced in pain. I tried to see who had me in capture, but the angle I was held, I couldn't.

  Suddenly the person's mouth was against my ear. "I have a sudden feeling of... Déjà Vu. Not long ago I was doing this to your little blonde friend. Britney belongs with Jason. Not you."

  The voice was familiar. Without even a moment of hesitation, I stamped on his foot with my sharp heel. His grip loosened and I spun around.

  Daniel. Of course.

  Why was it him who always tried to mess with me?

  I shoved him hard on the chest, causing him to topple over backwards. He landed with a thud and a few people glanced over. Since the music was so loud, people hardly noticed except who had been around the area. I spun on my heel and took off towards where Britney who was squeezing my boyfriend's butt. I could tell he was trying to push her away.

  I tapped on her bony shoulder and she turned around. Without even thinking, my fist was raised and shooting towards her pretty, little, annoying, rat of a face. My knuckles connected with her nose and blood spurted out of it. She stumbled backwards and tripped over a loose cord, falling to the ground. The music came to a stop and everything seemed to go quiet. I stood there, in a daze. I glanced down at my fist, which was aching and back to her, where blood was running down her face and onto her very white and probably very expensive dress.

  Oh. My. Goodness.

  I just punched Britney Chevalier in the face. One of the 'It' girls. I was so screwed.

  Jason grabbed my other hand and yanked on me hard. "We need to go."

  Since I was still dazed, when he began rushing out, I could only trip after him. Soon Mel was jogging with us, heels in one hand, her purse in her other. Her cheeks were red and her eyes wide and bright.

  "That was awesome!"

  The car door was wrenched open and I was shoved in the car. Soon we were flying across the road. I blinked a few times, everything seemingly have become a big blur.

  "That was so sick, Emma. Never thought you had it in you!" Mel gushed, smiling broadly at me. "Luke would be so proud!"

  "It was pretty sick," Jason agreed with a laugh, smacking the steering wheel. "Except now you'll definitely have her as an enemy."

  I sunk down into my seat and buried my head into my hands. I couldn't believe me, me, of all people had gotten into a fight. With an 'It' person of course.

  My life would officially be over now.

  41

  Warmth washed over me as I hesitantly placed my foot inside Jason's mansion. I peered around, my ears straining for any sounds. Miranda strolled casually from the kitchen and smiled warmly at me in greeting.

  "Hello, Emma. Jason's not awake yet."

  "Oh okay. I'll go change that," I replied with a smile of my own. I mounted the winding staircase and quietly opened his bedroom door. My stomach did a little jolt when I saw him cocooned in his blankets, his face smooth and relaxed. He ju
st looked so adorable. I grinned wickedly and pounced. My body slammed on his and he jumped in alarm, a string of curses tumbling out of his mouth. Once he had somewhat recovered, he looked up at me with a frown evident on his face.

  "Was that necessary?" he asked flatly.

  I nodded, a slow grin stretching across my face. "Yep."

  He rolled his eyes. I found myself straddling him and rested back onto his thighs. I took a moment to drink in his features. His tanned skin and blond, floppy hair contrasted extremely well with each other. His liquid, blue eyes stared brightly back at me. His strong jaw and straight, white teeth stood out when he smiled. I just wanted to melt into a little puddle.

  "Get up. You're coming to school." I declared.

  "I don't wanna," he complained moodily, jutting his chin stubbornly, reminding me of a child.

  He hadn't attended school since Mark had passed away. Even though he was completely normal now, he couldn't be bothered to go. But since I had stupidly hit one of the most popular girls in school, I needed a body guard.

  "Come on. I need someone to protect me."

  "Can't we just stay here?" he asked, pouting. "I'd rather just watch movies or something."

  "Dad won't let me."

  "Your Dad won't know," he challenged, wiggling his eyebrows. I rolled my eyes and slapped his bare chest gently. I then pulled back the sheets and nodded, impressed, getting a full view of his defined abs as he didn't sleep with a shirt on.

  "Quit being a pervert," he joked.

  "S-sorry," I muttered, heat rising to my cheeks. He chuckled, pulling me down beside him and covering me with his blankets. He pressed his lips to mine, before folding his elbow and resting his head on it.

  "Please come with me."

  He was making this way too hard. Of course I just wanted to stay here and be with him. That's all I ever wanted to do. I was so over school. Being with Jason was probably better for me anyway, the chance of me being mobbed was less likely.