Perfectly Flawed.
Chapter 2
“S-Sean! Hey!” I open the door wider to let Sean in.
His electric blue eyes pierce through me and I quickly turn away.
“Um, the party’s outside, you’re a little early
but people should be arriving soon…” My hands feel
clammy. Stop it, I tell myself.
Sean nods and heads towards the deck. I’m about to follow
him when the doorbell rings again. I hear the grandfather clock
chime six times as I open the door again. A steady flow of people
enter, chattering and rushing to my backyard. Some of the people
I recognize and I quickly cross them off the guest list, but most
people are just blurry figures passing by me. I sigh and, giving
up with the list, open the garage door and toss it into the
recycling bin.
About fifteen minutes later, most of the partygoers have arrived.
Relieved I finally get to relax, I step into the muggy summer air
and flop onto the swinging chair near the crowded pool. I kick
off my shoes, close my eyes, and try to drown out the noise of
people shouting and music blasting. It’s a wonder why the
neighbor’s haven’t called the cops yet. Probably
because they’re all here, I think. I have an awful
headache and I’m about to go back inside and find some
aspirin when I feel someone sit next to me. I open one eye and
see Sean sitting next to me with two cups of punch in his hands.
He holds one out to me. I immediately straighten up and accept
his offer.
“Tough night?” he asks, the water reflecting his blue
eyes and casting an eerie shadow on his face.
I shrug, moistening my lips and chewing on the inside of my cheek
like I do whenever I get nervous. “It’s just, with
the party preparations and all… and I have a dance
competition in a few days, so my teacher’s really pushing
us,” I explain in what I hope is an even tone.
Sean looks out at the mass of people crowding the entire back of
my house. “Well you sure do know how to throw a good
party.” Do I detect sarcasm in his voice?
I just laugh, a little too loudly. “Seriously, it’s
like the whole state of Georgia is packed into your
backyard,” he announces.
“Yeah, I don’t even know half of these people!”
I take a sip of the punch and wince. I sniffed the liquid to
confirm my suspicions. Somebody managed to spike the drink stand.
I stand up. “I uh, have to go dump this punch. I really
don’t want to be cleaning up vomit tonight,” I
explain with a sigh.
Sean nods. “Okay. Hey, um, if you need any help cleaning up
afterwards, I can stay until like 2:30.”
“Oh, really? Thanks, I could really use the help,” I
reply with a grateful smile before rushing to sort out the drinks
puzzle.
It is almost one when the last stragglers finally leave my house.
Sean is busy picking up soda cans and the occasional beer cans
while I put away the pool accessories and try to fish all of the
garbage out of the pool. I step into my room to grab a hair tie
and almost miss the couple getting some third base action on my
bed.
“Excuse me,” I say, standing in the doorway and
wrinkling my nose in disgust. They don’t look up.
“The party’s over,” I almost shout. They break
apart. “Ashley! On my bed? Really?” her face
turns red and I can tell she’s drunk. “Wait, let me
make you coffee before you go home. Your parents are going to
kill you,” The guy with Ashley—a college kid, from
the looks of it—slips past me and down the stairs, grabbing
his shirt from the night table. I sigh. I glance at the alarm
clock by my bed. 1:49. My parents should be back from their
surgeon’s convention in Texas in half an hour. I hope their
flight gets in late. The entire house is still a disaster
area.
Ashley stumbles downstairs after me and chugs the steaming mug of
black coffee I place in front of her without question. I shake my
head as she rushes into the bathroom to vomit. Sean walks inside
with two full bags of garbage just as Ashley sits back down,
looking a little more alert.
“Thanks for helping, Sean,” I say, taking the bags
from his hands. “I have to walk Ash home though. Is
everything out there back in order?”
“Yeah. And I can take Ashley home, she lives a few doors
down from me.” Sean’s eyes linger on the visible
rings under my eyes.
“Are you sure?” I am reluctant at first, in case
Ashley’s parents catch her I want to have her back.
Sean shrugs. “No big deal. Come on, Ashley.” I walk
them to the door and wave as Sean and Ashley get into
Sean’s brother, Caleb’s car— I didn’t
realize he had come, how long was he sitting there?
The second I close the door, fatigue sets in and I slump against
the sturdy door. The party was a success, I suppose, but
I’m not sure if it’s worth all of this effort.
I slowly climb up the narrow staircase and exhaustedly step into
my old lacrosse shirt and favorite Victoria’s Secret pajama
shorts. I slip into bed, turn out the ceiling light, and close my
eyes, but darkness can’t conceal the electric blue eyes
that pierce my thoughts.
....................
Okay, a little boring, but i've got
major writer's block and i'm trying to do the work
anyway. i had this chapter already written, along with another
version of chapter 1 and those were like terrible so hopefully
these are at least slightly better. I SWEAR ill try harder on the
next few chapters. dont give upp on me(: haha
if you want to join the notification list, comment on this or my
profile, as always:)