Chapter 1: the party
"Wow, it's huge," I breath out.
I look up at the large building in front of me. It looks like something right out of a prince charming fairytale.
I enter the lavish entrance with apprehension, stepping over the gold engraved footstep with feet encased in uncomfortable yet stunningly beautiful shoes that my best friend Kacey had shoved onto me right before we left.
Kacey impatiently grabs my arm and drags me further inside the lavish hall.
"Oh this is nothing babe, hurry up we're going to be late." She says, waving away my awe.I roll my eyes as I stumble after her, "Kacey, slow down, you know I can't walk in these shoes."
"Then learn how to walk in them." Kacey says jokingly.
She slows down anyways and I catch up. We continue walking through the neverending hallways. I'm beginning to feel more and more apprehensive. None of this is what I am used to, I'm just a regular college student who likes to stay holed up at home and go out with my friends.
I'm here today because Kacey insisted on bringing me to her get-together. I'm still not sure what it is, but it seems as if its a fancy party where all her rich family friend's children are going to be. It's supposed to be something that they do every year and Kacey says it bores her out of her mind, so she insisted on bringing me to make it more fun.
I really didn't want to come, but Kacey said she'd uninvite me to her wedding if I didn't. I know shes joking...I hope? But I came with her because she kept on asking me too.
Well, now I'm here, and I have no idea what I'm doing. Kacey drags me to the final closed door and flings it open, revealing a large room with a few sofas, tables, and a bar on the side. Lounging on the seats are some of the most gorgeously dressed women I've ever seen. Slender, beautiful, and wearing fitting dresses, they're elegantly sipping on their cocktails.
Sitting on the other side of the women are three men. They're just as good looking, if not more. In finely made tuxedos, they talk to each other and the women occasionally join in. One of the men is in a grey suit. He shoots me a quick glance as we enter and catches my eyes. I feel my heart jump a beat, he's so good looking.
He looks away quickly, but my cheeks are already heating up from the milisecond of eye contact that we just had.
Kacey tugs at my arm again and I'm jerked back to reality.
"Stop ogling Ryden." She hisses into my ear.
I turn even redder than before, if thats possible, and stumble into the seat that she pushes me into. She draws in close to me and whispers, "Don't be embarassed, everyone does it the first time they meet him."
"Who is he?" I whisper back, my curiosity burning.
"Oh hes not a big deal, just the son of the family that made every single thing you're wearing right now."
Sensing the sarcasm in her voice, I glance down dubiously at my sparkly dress, the jewelry around my neck, and the sleek heels I'm wearing.
"Yeah sure, no big deal. Aren't these all like ten grand each?" I gesture down at myself.
"Ten grand?!" Kacey looks at me with an offended look.
"Oh, do they cost less?"
Kacey lets out a patronizing sigh and jumps out of her seat, "It doesn't matter, lets go get some drinks."
I tail after her to the bar where she pulls up two glasses and fills them up with different liquors. She shoves one of them at me. It's a light pink, almost like pink lemonade. I take a sip and my nose burns from how much alcohol is in it.
"God Kacey ! How much vodka did you put in here?"
Kacey throws back her head and laughs, "As much as I could!"
I huff and continue to take small sips. I suruptisiosuly glance back at the man in the grey suit, Ryden, to see what he's doing. He's talking seriously with one of the other guys next to him. The women on the other side are listening in to the conversation. One in particular seems to be intensely staring at him. She's wearing a long dress the color of red wine. Her golden hair goes perfectly with the silky fabric.
As if sensing my gaze, she looks at me and stares, looking me up and down. She frowns at me and I look away, sheepishly drinking from my cocktail. I feel so out of place here. I don't belong and everyone here knows it. Why did Kacey want me to come here again?
I tug on Kacey's arm, "Someone just stared at me, I think they're all weirded out that you brought me."
Kacey looks around at the group, "Who?"
"The blonde one in the red dress."
"Oh her?" Kacey lets out a rather disgusted sound, "She's a bitch, names Sophia."
Kacey says this rather loudly and a few heads turn at the word 'bitch'.
Kacey waves at them smilingly, "Sorry guys, I was telling my friend Lacie here, about a bitch that I knew." She crinkles her eyes into a fake grin. "You can keep on talking."
One of the guys, not Ryden, laughs, and they turn away. Sophia gives Kacey a long look before turning back to the conversation. She tries to say something to Ryden but he doesn't hear her. Kacey turns back to me, "Anyways, I'll just tell you who everyone here is."
"That guy," she points at the one sitting to the right of Ryden, "is called Dylan."
Dylan is dressed in black and white. His black hair is slicked back and his dark blue eyes are staring at one of the girls wearing a green dress, her pale skin is accentuated against the vibrant green in a breathtaking manner. Kacey ponders him for a while before saying, "I don't have much to say about Dylan. He just kind of sits there and stares at people, his dad manufactures cars."
I nod my head and Kacey continues, "The other guy is called Jonathan, he's either a playboy or just terrible at choosing girlfriends. I'm leaning more towards playboy. You should hear about how his parents rage about his dating life. He's involved with the law."
I look at Jonathan. He has light brown hair and eyes, he's dressed more modestly than the other two. He seems to be pretty relaxed but also a bit reserved. I'm surprised that Kacey thinks he's a playboy, he doesn't give off the vibe of one.
"The girl in green is Venice, she's a model, her parents own her agency. She's pretty nice."She moves on to the last girl, "And thats Cat. Her parents own a few hotel chains but they don't really talk to her because of something she did. I think she only comes to these because her parents threaten to cut her off if she doesn't give them face."
"What did she do?" I ask.
Kacey winks at me, "That's a secret babe."
I stare at Cat, trying to imagine what she could've possibly done for her parents to ignore her, yet still want her to come and represent the family in gatherings like this. She has short black hair and black eyes. She's wearing a black dress today with black painted nails as well. I like her vibe. Cat looks over at me and smiles.
"Kacey, bring your friend over, you haven't introduced her to us yet. Don't just keep her to yourself!" Cat says.
I feel a jolt of anxiousness and glance nervously at Kacey. She puts her drink down and heads over to the sofas. She plops down on an empty one and gestures at me to follow her. I do and sink into the soft cushions of the sofa. I don't lean back, scared that it'll be rude to relax."This is Lacie everyone, she's my roommate from college."
I smile and squeeze out a small "Hi" to everyone, my hands clenching nervously around my knees.
Everyone looks at me. Cat smiles and introduces herself. Everyone else does too, Ryden going last with a curt nod, "I'm Ryden, nice to meet you."
We sit there awkwardly for a while, no one resuming their previous conversations. Kacey breaks the silent atmosphere by clapping her hands together, "You're all so boring. Isn't there anything else you guys do other than just sitting around and staring at each other all day?"
Jonathan laughs, his voice is deeper than I expected. "It seems like you still can't sit still Kacey."
"No I can't." Kacey shoots back, "I actually have a life."
"We do too, we just move slower than you do." Jonathan gestures at Kacey's hand where a glistening engagement ring sits. She glances down and proudly shows off the ring to everyone else. I notice Sophia glance at the ring and then at Ryden.
Oh? Is there something going on between the two? I look at Sophia and then at Ryden. They're both gorgeous people and would look like a cute couple. Sophia continues to look at Ryden but his eyes never stray towards her direction. I wonder if they're dating in secret or if its just a one-sided thing on Sophia's side. I decide to ask Kacey later.
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lucyzhang
lucyzhang I have moved from Wattpad from here. You might recognize this story as "The Engagement Game" by Lucinda Redding on Wattpad.
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