Filed to story: Brace Face Betty Drama Story
I’m consumed by the music. I’m covered in sweat and my heart’s racing, but this, right now, is officially the most amazing moment of my life. I’ve never had this much fun before.
Never. My body moves in time to the thumping track that’s playing through Leon’s father’s top of the line speaker system, and every time my skin brushes up against someone else’s body, I find myself laughing at the sheer delight of the contact. Everyone’s dancing, grinding, raging along to the bassline and the beat. Kacey and Leon are practically fucking on the makeshift dancefloor; she’s pressing herself up against him, his face locked in between her hands as she licks at his mouth. Zen’s nowhere to be found, but Halliday bounces on the balls of her feet, grinning from ear to ear as the music begins to rise into a heady, maddening crescendo. I love that about Halliday-that she dances without caring what she looks like. She just has fun. I grab hold of her, grinning from ear to ear.
“Oh my god, this party is amazing!” she gasps, just as the beat quickens, the bassline drops, and the crowd erupts into screaming cheers. Halliday didn’t partake in any of Kacey’s coke, but her pupils are so blown, her entire eye is almost black, and she’s chugging water like she can’t slake her thirst, so I know she’s on something. MDMA, probably, given the way she keeps hugging me and telling me how much she loves me.
“When we graduate next year, we need to move down to L.A. We can get a place together and become actresses. Make shitloads of money. Only sleep with fitness models. My cousin Sarah, you know, the one who got the boob job? She’s been down there for three years now. She says it’s basically one constant party. She sees famous people all the time. Doesn’t that sound like fun?”
I wrap my arms around her neck, squealing. “Yes! We have to. Let’s do it! I haven’t had a tan since second grade!”
When I pull back, Halliday’s blushing. She looks at me meaningfully, her eyes wide, brows rising. “Incoming, Betty.”
“What?”
“Incoming. Hi, Jake! Wow, I really like your shirt. The blue really brings out your eyes.”
I can feel the fine hair at the back of my neck sticking to my skin. I must look terrible, so flushed and red from dancing, but when I turn around to face Jake, his eyes roam over me like I’m the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen.
“Thanks. Hey, you mind if I steal Betty for a moment, Hal? I just created this cool cocktail, and I wanted to show it to her.”
Halliday nods a little too enthusiastically. “Take her! I’ve got to find Guy, anyway. Have you seen him?”
“Out by the pool,” he says. God, his voice is so amazing. If football doesn’t work out for him, he could always do voice over. My pulse is already racing, but it quickens even further as Jake offers me his hand. “Are you a gin girl or vodka girl, Ms. Branson?” He smiles, and it’s as if the world stops turning.
“Vodka.” I take his hand, allowing him to lead me off the dance floor, and I already know this is going to be great. I’ve been waiting for Jake to notice me for the past two years. He was dating Olivia Jenkins, Kacey’s mortal enemy and therefore my mortal enemy, for years. When she moved away at the end of last semester, he told everyone he was going to stay single and focus all of his attention on playing football, but now here he is, holding my hand, smiling confidently as he walks with me through the party…
It’s quieter in the kitchen. There are a group of guys playing some sort of drinking game with a pack of cards. Sam Hawthorne’s leaning against the counter by the sink, tapping something into his phone. His long hair’s tied back into a knot at the back of his head. He grins when he looks up and sees us. “Ahhh, a pretty flower. Such a dog, Weaving. You planning on plucking this one?”
“Shut the fuck up, Sam. Be polite. Betty’s not like that, are you, Betty?”
I’m not sure what I’m like, but I’m irritated by the smug, suggestive look on Sam’s face. I’ve never liked him. There’s something…
off about him. Like a bad smell, he’s a constant presence in the hallways of Ravenshire High. Wherever Jacob goes, Sam follows. I bare my teeth in an approximation of a smile. My head’s still so clouded from the coke, and it feels like there’s an electric current buzzing pleasantly beneath the surface of my skin, though, so I decide not to let Sam’s very obviously sexual comment bother me.
“I’m just looking forward to this cocktail,” I say.
“That’s my girl!” Jacob’s hand presses into the small of my back, and it takes everything I’ve got not to burst into fucking song. I’ve worshipped this guy for so long. He’s handsome. Charming. Funny. And it really doesn’t hurt that his parents are the two most influential people in Ravenshire. They’ve already secured Jake a place at Princeton, but surprisingly enough they’re allowing him to go traveling for a year before he starts college. From what Leon told me, they’re giving him free rein and access to their platinum American Express while he’s on the road.
Dreamily, I’m already imagining all of the amazing, beautiful places we’ll visit and see together when he realizes he’s madly in love with me and invites me to go along with him.
No more running around after Max. No more cleaning and cooking at home. No more rain. Sounds like heaven.
Jacob spins a silver Boston shaker in his hand, flaring as he sets up a line of ingredients on the kitchen island: a thick wedge of orange; vodka; Cointreau; Kahlua; cream; crushed ice. He smirks at me, eyes flickering to me every few seconds as he free-pours the liquor into the shaker, adds the ice, the cream, squeezes the orange, then shakes.
Sam leans over and whispers something into Jake’s ear, and Jake’s eyes narrow. He nods his head. “Tell Cillian,” he says. “Upstairs, though. The third floor.”
I don’t enjoy the way Sam’s eyes crawl over me as he hurries out of the kitchen. The guy’s such a smarmy prick. “What was that about?” I ask.
“Sam got some Bolivian coke from his brother. It’s the purest fucking high known to man. We’re keeping it quiet. He doesn’t have much left. You party, right?”
“Uh, yeah. I guess. I think I’ve had enough for one night, though.” I don’t wanna break my own rule. One line’s more than enough for me. The effects of the coke Kacey gave me in the bathroom are still going strong, the lights in the kitchen a little too bright, my skin burning, heartbeat a touch too quick. I’m not a heavy user like Kace. If I have any more, I’m going to be seriously messed up.
“Ahhh, come on, Betty. Don’t you wanna have fun with me?” He holds out the martini glass he’s just poured the cocktail into. I accept it, dipping my head.
“Sure. Of course. I’m just a lightweight. I don’t wanna get too fucked up. I have to drive home, and-“
“Okay. All right. Say no more.” Jake flashes me a grin that makes my stomach flip, the way it used to flip when I watched YouTube videos of One Direction when I was twelve. “I respect that. You’ll still come upstairs and hang while I do a rail, though? And then we can go outside and hang by the pool. I have a lot of questions about you, pretty girl. I can’t believe we’ve been at the same school for so long and we’ve barely even said two words to each other. I don’t know the first thing about you.”
Oh, I know plenty about you, Jacob.