Always a Friend

Chapter 21

"No...I'm not mad." I managed a fake smile as I lowered my head, looking down at our hands. 

"I..." 

"Turn right here." I motioned to the parking lot; Noah was about to drive by. "Sorry, I didn't want you to miss the restaurant." Honestly, I didn't want to hear more about Olivia. Noah drove by Braedon's car and parked as far away from everyone as he could get. I exited the SUV and started walking toward Chloe, not even waiting for Noah. The closer I got to her, I could see her narrow eyes were screaming..."Gemma, What the hell are you doing?" She didn't have to put up with him parking five miles away from everyone.

Chloe raised her eyebrows and motioned her head a little bit, glancing over my shoulder. I shook my head slightly for her to stop because I knew Noah was a few steps behind me. 

"Is Sarah and Ty here yet?" I asked, scanning the parking lot for Ty's SUV. 

"Uh..." Our heads whipped to the right as someone honked, pulling into the parking lot. Sarah motioned for us to wait as Ty turned right to go park his SUV. They joined us five minutes later. We all started walking toward the front of George's. I figured I better walk with Noah this time and not leave him trailing behind. As we walked to the front, a few cars pulled into the parking lot, and Noah had to make sure they weren't pulling in next to his precious car. I wanted to tell him he could stay out here and babysit his mom's SUV while we went inside to eat. 

"You look great, Gem," Sarah whispered, nudging my hand. 

"Thanks. So do you." I smiled. 

                                                                                    

We got done eating close to nine, which meant we would be a few minutes late to  Claudia's party. The guys split the bill between the three of them, and then we headed to the party so Chloe and Sarah could babysit their drunk boyfriends. I felt bad for my friends because, within a few hours of being at a party, they would be chasing their boyfriends around, making sure they weren't doing anything stupid or drinking anymore. They used to text me the whole time, wishing I was there with them. Well, I'll be there with them tonight. 

"I'm going to drop you off at Claudia's..." 

"What...You aren't staying?" My eyes shot open as I turned to look at him. He's going to ditch me here at the party of the girl who loves making my life miserable. "Wait...How did you know where Claudia lived? You didn't follow Braedon and Ty?" I looked around for their vehicles. 

"I live around the corner, " he said, pointing at the corner ahead of us. Do you want to wait here for me, or do you want to go with me, and we can walk back?"

I looked out the window at Claudia's white two-story house; the driveway was full of vehicles, and kids started parking up and down the street. Through the windows, kids were drinking and dancing; some were outside, walking the open gate to the back of the house. "I'll go with you." I didn't want to put myself in an awkward situation without my friends or Noah around. Noah turned left at the end of the street and drove a couple of houses down. He pulled into the gated driveway behind his sports car. I sat there staring at his big two-story house. "Wow..." 

"Thanks," He said, opening his car door. "There's a pool in the back. Maybe you'd like to come over next weekend and go swimming?" 

"Sure." I started to grab my purse. 

"You can leave your purse here in the car if you want. It will be safe. A lot safer than in a car closer to the party." 

I grabbed my cell phone and put my purse behind the passenger seat on the floorboard. I texted Chloe and Sarah, telling them I was with Noah around the corner and headed to the party. Chloe texted me back and said they'd wait for us and to hurry. Noah took my hand as we started walking to the party. The closer we got to the corner, I could begin to hear the music from the party. Chloe, Sarah, Braedon, and Ty were in the front yard talking to kids as they walked past them going inside to the party. I had to question why I was here. No one talked to me except Chloe, Sarah, and Ava. Most of the girls at the party didn't even know I existed, so it's not like anyone would notice if I showed up or not. 

"Hey!" Chloe yelled over the music. "Let's party!" She motioned us to follow her and Braedon inside. The music was blaring; kids were dancing, raising their drinks so they wouldn't spill them. Noah tightened his grip on my hand as he walked behind Braedon and Chloe so he wouldn't lose me in the crowd. After fifteen minutes of pushing our way through, we finally found our way to the kitchen, where bottles of open alcohol were spread across the counter. Braedon and Ty poured themselves a red cup full of beer. They asked Noah if he wanted anything to drink. He shook his head no, turned to the right, and led me to the arch-shaped glass doors. 

There was an air hockey table outside by a patio table with a crowd of kids gathered around, laughing and cheering as each boy scored. I couldn't see who was at the end closest to us with the group of kids around him, but Ashton was at the other end. He was so busy concentrating on winning that he didn't even know I was out there watching. 

"Gemma!" I heard off in the distance. I turned around, trying to find who had yelled my name. "Gemma, I didn't know you would be here." Ava walked over from the air hockey. Her blonde curls bounced as she made her way over to us. "You look gorgeous. Are Chloe and Sarah here too?" She turned her head, looking around the patio. 

"Yeah, they're inside with Braedon and Ty. I motioned behind me." 

"You need a drink." Ava grabbed my hand, pulling me away from Noah. Chloe and Sarah were still in the kitchen while Braedon and Ty had disappeared from them already. Ava walked up to the counter, grabbed me a cup, got some ice, poured orange juice, then grabbed a tall bottle with a peach on the front of it and poured it into the cup. She handed me the cup and told me to drink up. I stood there staring into the cup of ice floating around in this orange juice concoction. I peeked up at her while she stood there, smiling, motioning for me to take a drink. That was easy for her to say; she wasn't about to be laid out on the floor by this drink.

"Hey! What's going on in here?" 

The sound of his voice pierced through my body like a knife. I raised my glass and took a big gulp of my drink. I coughed as the alcohol in the orange juice slightly burned my throat. 

Ashton walked over to the counter, grabbed a cup, and got some beer from the keg. He stood there staring at me with his judgy eyes while he drank his beer. 

"What?" I glared over at him. "I'm not supposed to have a good time like everyone else?" I motioned outside and down the hall toward the music. My glare stayed on Ashton as I raised my cup to my lips and downed the rest of my drink. "Ava, make me another one. Please." I handed her my cup. 

"Gem, no," Ashton said, throwing his cup away. 

"Don't tell me no. You haven't talked to me all week. So, leave me alone, dickface." I grabbed my cup from Ava's hand and walked onto the patio. 

Author's Notes:

I think Gemma's going to regret downing her drink later. 

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