Fauna tips her head back, howling with laughter and my cheeks begin to burn.
‘Leave her alone.’ Luna slings her arm across my shoulder, guiding me back to where the others are sitting. Not before looking over her shoulder and saying, ‘Took you long enough.’
‘You know how hard it is to say no to her,’ Eloise glares at where Elsa is dancing around.
‘She’s six.’
‘She’s an evil genius, that’s what.’
‘She’s fucking brilliant.’ Luna laughs.
We reach the others and their conversation dies the second we arrive.
Well, this is awkward.
The other members of the Skulls — the ones not out scouting or on watch — halt everything they were doing to… are they looking at their fucking feet?
‘What the fuck is going on?’ Luna gapes at them.
A few look up, their expressions sheepish as they nervously scan the girls behind me.
Are they… shy?
‘Aw na. You can’t turn into them.’ Luna points at the silent group of women we practically dragged out here. ‘They are the shy ones. You,’ she points at the group of tatted men. ‘Can’t be fucking silent too. We can’t have two socially awkward groups mingling!’
Liam snorts and I stifle a matching giggle.
Luna throws her head back, groaning like this situation physically pains her. Then she stomps away from us.
I feel the colour drain from my face as panic begins to set in. The familiar feel of an icy chill sets in as my mind begins to race.
She can’t fucking leave me here with these lot. I’ve only just started speaking to people myself.
‘Where are you going?’ I shout after her.
‘To get a shit load of booze!’
Chapter thirty-four
Liam
‘Never have I ever fucked a guy in a mask!’
Somehow I have ended up sat amongst the strangest bunch of people who are trying to mingle and have a party. Isla had cornered me, and of course, I had no choice but to do whatever my girl demanded.
So here I am sitting in a circle playing never have I ever with a bunch of drunk fools. Not to mention how fucking awkward they still are at socialising.
I can’t decide which is worse — them refusing to make eye contact at the start or whatever this is now.
‘Fauna, Isla,’ the one with pink hair points, ‘drunk!’ Her eyebrows furrow as she tries to figure out what was wrong withwhat she just said. Then, as if a lightbulb moment, she raises her glass, clearing her throat. ‘Drink!’
And because they are both in good spirits they do. Isla, of course, is drinking whatever non-alcoholic concoction Pam made up whilst Fauna polishes off her bottle of Buckfast.
The group have made their way through a few bottles of booze in a worryingly short space of time. Their inability to socialise like normal human beings is probably one of the reasons.
A bright, toothy smile shines from the one I’ve come to know as being called Clover, who waves her half-empty bottle of MD 20/20 in the air, grabbing everyone's attention.
‘Never have I ever…wantedto fuck a guy in a mask.’ The long emphasis on the wanted part is not subtle at all.
