4 January 2013
"I am not letting you drive ever again," I pressed my forehead with my hand as Alex led me through the hallways of an expensive looking hotel. Jennifer and Leo went ahead of us to the ballroom. He laughed as he took my hand and squeezed it.
"But you enjoyed it!" he said. Well, I have to admit it was quite enjoyable.
"Well yeah, but now my head hurts like hell!" I complained. He suddenly stopped walking and turned toward me. He pulled me toward him suddenly and kissed my forehead.
"Does it feel better now?" he teased. I stood there frozen.
"W-What t-the hell was that f-for?" I said nervously. He laughed at my reaction and continued walking. When we finally arrived infront of the ballroom, he squeezed my hand again. I can sense the worry this time.
"Liz, as soon as we walk in, I want you to stay by my side at all times. There will be jerks in there that would try to corner you and criticize you. If they say anything offensive, just ignore them, okay?" he whispered gently. I nodded and squeezed his arm. Weird, I used to feel so annoyed just by looking at Alex, but now I feel like we've been friends for ages.
As soon as we stepped in the ballroom, I looked down frantically as I felt eyes from all angles stab through me. When I looked around I saw unfriendly glares directed to me from girls about my age. I leaned softly on Alex's arm.
"Calm down, I'm here," Alex whispered reassuringly.
"Hey, Lexie!" I heard someone say as I felt Alex stagger forward.
"Hey Trev," Alex laughed. I stood there awkwardly looking at the guy. He had messy blonde hair and a childish grin on his face. He was wearing a tucked in green shirt with a blazer on top. Even that looked messy. The top three buttons on his shirt were unbuttoned and the collar of his blazer was messily patted down. But somehow, it's still obvious that he was an attractive dude. The childish type.
"What a babe! Where'd you pick up the bombshell?" he said looking at me. I held Alex's arm and hid behind him. This guy smelled so much of women's perfume, I'm already feeling dizzy although I'm about two meters away. My sense of smell didn't help either.
"It's okay Liz, he's my friend. Trevor, this is Lizzette. Liz, Trevor," Alex introduced us quickly. Alex started to open his mouth to say something when a horde of girls came rushing towards us.
"Here comes the crowd," Trevor muttered, annoyed. As soon as the girls reached us, a wave of 'hi's and 'hello's in high pitched voices filled my ears like nails on a chalkboard. I felt sick to the stomach and my head started to hurt.
"Alex," I managed, squeezing his arm tightly, "Those girls aren't helping." Alex looked at me with a worried expression and stood in front of me protectively.
"Ladies, please," I heard Alex's voice through the girls'. "My friend's not feeling well. Can you please give us some space?" The noise dissapeared, followed by the sounds of pissed girls.
"Are you okay Liz?" Alex said, turning around to look at me.
"I'm fine. I think," I said, "I just need to take a seat."
"Okay," Alex replied worriedly while escorting me to an arm chair in the corner of the room. I sat down and tried to do it as ladylike as I can. Considering that I felt like a kid who rode a rollercoaster after eating bubblegum flavoured ice cream, I think I did pretty well. Alex gave me another worried look before leaving to get me a drink.
"Hello there, princess," I heard a girl mock. Oh come on, it hasn't even been 10 seconds before Alex left. I focused my gaze to the girl standing in front of me. She had curly blonde hair and a load of make up, wearing a strapless glittery pink dress that covers just about one fifth of her thigh. I couldn't help but gag at the overwhelming smell of rose perfume emitted from her dress. I looked up at her face to find her looking down smugly at me.
"Let me introduce myself. No wait, I don't think I need to. You've probably seen me in front covers of magazines," she boasted in one of those high pitched voices. I gave her a blank look.
"I'm sorry, but I don't think I've ever seen you or know your name," I replied as politely as I could. The last thing I want is for a celebrity to become another one of my enemies. The girl looked at me with disbelief.
"I can't believe you. Which rock do you live under? Only peasants wouldn't know my name. fine, since you're that hopeless I'll tell you my name. I am the most famous 17 year old model in town. My name's Hillary Bryans," she said proudly in a voice that strangely pisses me off. She looked at me expectantly, waiting for an applause or a compliment. When I showed no interest in who or what she is, a bitter look appeared in her face.
"So who are you? Why are you with Alex? You're not a model or a celebrity. What are you good at?" Hillary interrogated sceptically.
"I'm his friend from school," I answered blatantly. Why should I feel ashamed of what I am? Hillary gave me a smirk.
"So you're just his friend. What are your parents' jobs? They must have a lot of money to get you closer to Alex," she said, provoking me.
"I-I don't have any," I said quietly. Hot tears started to fill my eyes and I looked down to hide them. I am NOT crying here.
"Bryans, you better leave her alone," I heard a familiar voice. I looked up to find Jennifer standing behind Hillary, crossing her arms and tapping her foot. She approached me and took my arm.
"We're going," she said as she pulled me away from my seat.
"Where?"
"The toilet to fix your appearance. Then to Alex so that I can give him a kick on the crotch for leaving you alone there."
Jennifer pulled me to the toilet without looking back. As soon as we got inside, she opened her purse and pulled out some a tiny bottle and some cotton. She dabbed the cotton in the bottle and started wiping my eyes.
"Thanks to Hillary, your make up's ruined. That drama queen has had a long time crush on Alex since as long as I could remember. Don't think much about what she said. She went too far though," Jennifer said quietly. I saw her grit her teeth but then regain her smile.
"I still think that you suit Alex more than Hillary though. Plus you're way cuter," she teased while reapplying my make up. I felt my cheeks burn with embarrasment.
"S-stop it! That's not true!" I flustered. I heard Jennifer laugh.
"There. You're done. As good as new!" Jennifer said proudly. She then pulled me outside, back into the party.
My Own Seat : Part 10 • Opuss № I