“So, you guys are like married now?” she asked.
I almost choked. Stealing a glance at him, I shook my head and took my drink from her. “No. Why would you say that?”
“Okay, but you’ve...you know, slept toge—”
“Fucked,” Laura cut Jade off. “You’ve given in and fucked him.”
“No.” I almost screamed the word. Or maybe I did, because his eyes found me, instantly scanning the people around me. Did he come because I was here? He wasn’t one to be interested in this kind of party.
“Oh, shit. He’s staring at you. He’s still fucking in love with you.” Laura blocked my view of him to say in my face. “You should totally fuck this man, I mean, why do you keep playing hard to get?”
My stomach flipped, and I shoved her playfully. “Get the heck out of my face.”
When she moved, he wasn’t near the door again. I looked around, searching the small crowd for him, but he was nowhere to be found. Did he go back outside? Or up the stairs? Why would he just come in and leave like that?
“Have you guys been seeing each other? Doesn’t look like you just met. Hold on, you’ve been keeping in touch with him and not us!”
Oh God.
“No, no, you’re wrong—”
“She hated him in school. I bet she didn’t,” Katy said, looking at me.
Did I?Right, they didn’t know about the butterflies that used to assault my stomach whenever I caught him staring at me.
Laura laughed like she just remembered something. “You’re right. That guy is cracked. Remember how he got chemistry teacher admitted to the hospital for three weeks because he kept eye-fucking Ainsley in class?”
My face heated with the memory “I thought that was a rumour.”
Jade nodded. “Me too. Until all the guys in our year started avoiding you, and the chemistry teacher stopped coming to our class. It was him.”
“I don’t think he’s normal,” I said, hoping they’d back me up on it. I’d had a lot of time to think about it, google it, and compare him to every other man I’d met, and realised for a fact that he was different.
“He just loves you harder than any man on this planet. Obvious from the way he hasn’t stopped looking at you like you’re the only one in the room. He’s not even shy about it. Never have.”
Laura said, “I stand on my point. You should definitely fuck him. I bet he’s good,” then sauntered off to the beer pong game table.
After several minutes of discussing at the bar, the three of us decided to go watch the people playing ‘truth or dare’ next to the beer pong. Jade joined the game after the round ended and kissed two different guys within ten minutes. Laura hopped in, finding this more entertaining. Katy and I sat on opposite arm chairs, fine with just watching. It was better than kissing a guy and having him ask what we were the next morning.
“If you were to have sex with anyone back in school, who would it have been?” Laura was asked.
“Uhm...” Her eyes swept to the left slowly. “It would be Lancaster.”
Everyone roared, the guys hailing Lan. I had a hunch she was going to say that. If there was anyone she’d become a whore for, it would be the student rep.
They took turns confessing their old feelings for each other, and then it happened.
A guy, Mark, was dared to kiss a girl in the circle. I had no clue what kind of pill he swallowed to make him look at me, but my smile dropped.
“In the circle,” I clarified quickly. “I’m not one of you.”
Mark stood up, crossing over with a smirk that made my stomach twist with irritation. “You’re in the circle. You’re sitting among us.”
I glanced over at Jason, the one in charge, and he nodded, like he was giving his blessing to this madness. “He’s right. It’s one of the rules we set.”
“That’s ridiculous. You can’t—” The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them, sharp and defensive. But the rest died the second I felt it—the unmistakable feeling of someone boring holes into my skin. A sudden chill ran downmy spine, and I didn’t need to look, but I did anyway. My gaze drifted towards the stairs, and there he was.
Theon.
