Page 26 of The Prom Queen Project
“Yep.”
The football coach ushered the team back onto the field as the second half of the game began. My eyelids started to get heavyas I tried to seem interested in a bunch of overly padded dudes fighting over a lemon-shaped ball and occasionally piling on top of each other to form a group hug. At the end of the night, Honey Bees won eight to six.
The plan that I came up with to trick my parents in order to attend the party was something straight out of a teenage rom-com. Meredith told her parents she was hanging out at my house, and I gave my parents the exact same spiel. Luckily enough, it wasn’t hard to fool them. I mean, they still thought I was the same innocent, book-savvy, carbon copy of Jessie. I even drove my car around the corner to give the impression that I had driven to Meredith’s before calling an Uber to take me the rest of the way to solidify the whole lie.
After hearing about the beer bong, there was no way I was gonna drive myself home. Not to say that I would get wasted…but better safe than sorry. Eight minutes into the Uber ride, Kendra made up some lame excuse about how she couldn’t come.
Wow, so unpredictable…
When the taxi pulled up to Mason’s house, I nearly puked. It was huge. Like, yeah, my house was a pretty decent size, but the size of his house wasinsane. It looked like something straight out of an Architectural Digest magazine with a rustic wooden interior and windows plastered all around its walls.
I texted Meredith as soon as I arrived, asking if she was there yet.
I lifted the strap of my purse up and over my shoulder, shoving my hand inside and rummaging around for some cash. My fingers came into contact with the leather fabric of my journal as I sighed in relief, its presence offering me some kind of peace. I stared at my phone in anticipation, hoping it would light up any second, but it didn’t. My leg bounced nervously while I dialed Meredith’s number.
It went straight to voicemail.
Cracking my knuckles, I tried to ease my nerves as I closed my eyes and took a steadying breath, trying to keep my anxiety at bay. As much as I wanted to walk in with Meredith, it didn’t look like that was going to happen.
Just do it, Clarke.
I handed the money to the Uber driver and thanked him as I sucked in one more deep breath throwing open the car door. The wind caressed my skin, eliciting a shiver to quake my entire body as I walked up to the house. Instinctively, I reached out to press the doorbell before my movements stuttered.
“What am I doing? Who uses a doorbell at a party?”
I let out a sigh of frustration.Why isn’t my brain cooperating right now?I moved my hand to the doorknob, but I couldn’t bring myself to open it. Aside from tonight, I had only been to three parties and they were all the same—horny teens hooking up in every corner, empty beer bottles scattered across the floor, and music roaring so loudly it could rupture eardrums from two houses away. My dread was so intense it practically seeped from my pores. I reeked of trepidation.
“It’s not that deep, Clarke. It’s just a party so open the damn door,” I muttered to myself.
Just do it.
Ha.Wow, who knew the Nike slogan would be my mantra for tonight?
While I was attempting to muster up the courage to go inside, the door flung open, and none other than Ryan Connors was standing in front of me.
“Clarke! It’s about damn time you showed up!” he yelled over the deafening music in the background. Turning his back to me, he shouted to the masses. “Hey, everyone, Clarke’s here!”
Well, shit.
I waved awkwardly. “Hi.”
“Get the fuck in here! Come on!” Ryan ushered me inside, putting his arm around my waist.
I stiffened under his touch but tried to seem relaxed while under the gaze of maybe three dozen people, half of whom I didn’t even recognize. The thumping of the bass rattled the walls and shook the ground below me. I jumped slightly at the unfamiliar feeling.I hated parties.Looking around, I tried to make out the details of the room.The main lights were dim, faintly illuminated by some sort of colorful alternating flashes of blue, green, purple, and red that reflected off the weathered oak-stained panels lining the walls. The furniture was sparse, but the most eye-catching part of the living room was the blackleather sofa featuring several couples who really needed to think about making an OnlyFansor getting a fucking room. Two black speakers that loomed over my head were on either side of a flat-screen TV. I covered my ears as they blared the nauseating music that was causing my teeth to rattle. An outpouring of light shone from the left side of the house, where the kitchen opened up, resembling a white abyss. On the opposite side of the room was a curved staircase that led to God only knows what other questionable activities were being performed behind closed doors on the second floor.
One thing was for sure: no matter where my eyes searched, there wasn’t one inch of the house that was devoid of people. It was more crowded than any party I had ever been to. Suddenly, the house that looked so big on the outside felt so small.Wait, were those college students? Holy fu—
“Clarke!” Meredith ran over to me, smiling brightly. “There you are! I was looking for you!”
I clutched Meredith’s arm, pulling her to the side, desperate to get away from Ryan’s starving gaze.
“AndIwas looking foryou. Why didn’t you answer your phone?”
“Ohhhhh. I think it’s died…or dead. My bad.”
Meredith’s eyes looked everywhere except my own. Her face was slightly flushed, and her words were slurred.
“Are you drunk?” I asked in disbelief. “When did you even get here? Why didn’t you text me?”
