??A Howl In The Night??
?She’s Mine?
?Chapter 22?
***
I walked into a dirty yard, stained with beer cans and cigarettes, with disgust. A huge house looms before me, music pounding furiously from within. People bubble around the entrance, many lounging on the several chairs outside. There is much movement inside the house, several girls in bikinis and others in dresses like mine. There must be a pool around there, for so many people to be in swimsuits.
Suddenly I feel overdressed.
I stumble to the doorway, edging into the crowd slowly. People immediately rub up against me as I am swallowed by the crowd, many of the whispers starting. I stand out like a sore thumb, and I momentarily regret letting Lauren dress me up like a Barbie doll. I should have insisted on jeans and a top, instead of settling for this…
Suddenly I spy Xavier’s head of blue hair, talking to a random girl in the crowd. She is wearing a light swimsuit cover-up and has brown hair. He leads her away, spiking my interest and even jealousy. What is he doing with her?
I back into a corner, my gaze focusing on the two figures navigating through the crowd. I recognize the girl to be one of “Sidney’s”, and my breath catches in my throat.
Suddenly, Ian appears, and the girl is immediately whisked away by the enchanting man as Xavier quickly returns to the floor. He smiles at another one of Sidney’s girls, initiating the conversation once again. After a few more minutes, Xavier leads the girl to the exact same spot, where Ian appears again with a sly smile across his face. The first girl reappears in the crowd, grinning broadly.
What is going on?!
It is like Xavier is running an operation, snagging a girl that belongs to Sidney and taking them to Ian. He is moving rather quickly, being such a sweet talker that he can get a girl to follow him to the moon in seconds.
“Who are you?” a harsh, abrasive voice asks. I look up into the face of Sidney, her face in a grimace. She is wearing outrageously thick makeup, and a dress that defies all my expectations as far as provocativeness goes. Her heels are much larger than mine, her whole form intimidating. My expression morphs into morbid fear, and I race away from her like lightning.
I clatter outside, swinging off my heels. I grab them in my hands as Sidney appears before me, curiously surveying me. A crowd forms around us, many curious to see what she was asking about. Sidney probably regrets calling attention to us, for now people will compare us.
“Who are you?” she asks again, peering into my eyes. I should have gotten contacts.
Suddenly she reaches forward and rips the wig from my head. “Mona!” she screeches, “I didn’t expect to see YOU here.” She smiles laughingly, “I thought you would get that you aren’t welcome.”
I catch the wig as she lets it drop, holding it close to my chest. “I just wanted to… visit,” I squeak, barely above a whisper.
Sidney looks at me with a smirk, “well, you got here at just the perfect time! We can finish what we started from this morning…” She takes a step forward, “we can see if another cut will heal just as quickly as the first one.”
The pool behind me comes closer and closer as I back up, and soon my feet are on the edge. There is no place to run. No place to hide.
“Leave my girlfriend alone,” a smooth, commanding voice erupts, and a muscled arm links to mine. Sidney’s eyes grow wide, and she smiles weakly.
“Girlfriend? So it is official?” she says rather bitterly, “congratulations.”
I look up into Xavier’s face to find he is glaring at Sidney. His beautiful blue hair is sparkling along with his green eyes, and his arm feels so warm. However, what shocks me so much are his words. Girlfriend? I am his girlfriend?
Ian troops up on my other side. “Yeah, Sidney,” he says menacingly, “stop being mean. I don’t think we can be together anymore, especially with you acting so jealous like this.”
Sidney gasps along with her many followers, and we can see why. Ian is one of Sidney’s strengths. Some of her popularity points. Ian is the quarterback on the football team, and that guy is usually reserved for the best looking or most popular girl in the school.
It is at this time that Sidney must realize that her throne has been usurped.
We start walking towards the front of the house, when the snake spits out some last minute venom. “I wish you had died when I pushed you the other day,” she hisses as we pass her, each word like a lash against my skin. I haven’t ever had someone hate me this much before, and I have to admit, it hurts.
Xavier suddenly turns, fire alight in his eyes. He is like a bull, ready to run someone over while he stares at Sidney. With sudden force, he crosses over to her, and shoves her in the cold water. She squeals, splashing underneath the surface.
Without another word, both of the guys escort me out of the house and into the car. People stare at us on the way out as if we are aliens, as if they don’t know us.
Well, this is an interesting development.
Xavier unloads me into the backseat as if I am cattle, the other two grabbing the front. As the engine roars to life, we bathe in silence, and I feel, for some reason, as if I am about to get scolded.
“Mona,” he sighs finally, making me jump when he says my name, “why did you come?”
There is a pause as I dig for an answer that doesn’t sound like admitting I was jealous. “I just wanted to… meet you there?” I meagerly reply, my answer not even sounding true to myself.
Xavier laughs, a noise that makes my heart flutter. “That’s a lie,” he grins, “I saw you following me all the way to Ian’s house.”
“I was that easy to spot?” Terror strikes my heart. I thought I did pretty good, considering the nearly barren scenery.
“Well, I’ve had a lot of practice,” he looks to the mirror and our eyes meet. Right now, they are soft, full of laughter and sweetness. “You really shouldn’t have come,” he emits resignedly; “it isn’t like the party was much fun for you anyway.”
Ian twists in his seat to look at me. “Where did you get that hot dress?” he asks, “it looks like something my sister would wear.” His eyes rake over me appreciatively, a smirk gracing his lips. I begin to feel uncomfortable.
“Yeah,” Xavier threw in, “I don’t remember you having anything like that at home.” His eyes narrow. Something tells me he doesn’t like me wearing a dress like this.
“I, uh…” I tried to stop, but Xavier’s eyes urged me on, “borrowed it.” I stare at the dress, how it seems perfect even after I traveled through that crap. The stilettos are still in my hand, along with the furry mess called a wig. He stares at the wig as if it is a monster.
“Well, whatever the reason, you didn’t have to follow us. We were trying to wipe the evidence of your cut healing so quickly. That’s all,” Xavier quickly diverts the subject, and I breathe a sigh of relief.
“Really?” I reply. That does seem to make sense. I feel like a stupid idiot now. “So what about Ian?”
“I hypnotized them,” Ian says proudly, “into believing they had never seen it.”
“And we were about to get to Sidney,” Xavier snapped, “Until YOU just had to make a scene!”
“That was Sidney!” I huff, “leave me alone.”
“Anyways, the point is to trust me. When I leave you behind, it is usually for a reason,” Xavier finally scolds, and I shudder a little under his calm criticism.
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