MASTER SEBASTIAN

Chapter 4

The minute I showed at her doorstep, Char instantly pulled me into a hug. "Damn," she breathed against my hair. "Thought you wouldn't show up."

"And miss out on all the fun we're going to have at the club? Never."

She drew back to regard me, then began to smile but stopped suddenly and slowly leaned into my face, a crease forming on her forehead. "Hey, were you--"

I reeled back when she began reaching for my face. Then I made a show of cleaning a smudge in my eye. "I... um, wanted to try out a new makeup tutorial I'd seen on YouTube." A shaky laugh. "It backfired."

"Oh." She snorted a laugh. "I learnt my lesson the last time I attempted something called 'mermaid hair'." Her eyes grew distant as if relieving the memory. "Never again," she concluded with a shudder, looking at me. She stepped away from the door and waved me in.

When we'd finished dressing her up, she grabbed her purse and we headed outside. The air was unusually cold, the stars above bright and countless. They winked down at us as we drew level with Char's blue car.

With a wide smile, she threw the keys at me. I caught it mid air. To my questioning look she said, "I know you won't be drinking much tonight--I plan on getting stoned! So I think it's best you drive us both now, since you'd be doing it again by the end of the night!"

Boy was she already excited. I giggled at her pumped state. Looking my way, she giggled back, and soon we were laughing at nothing in particular. When we quieted down, I realized something. This was the most we'd ever bonded.

Like some unspoken rule, school and everything else related to it governed our relationship. Anything outside of going to school together in the mornings, comparing assignments, notes-borrowing and the likes; were unfamiliar grounds. But then came Matt and his cheating.

Opening the door to the driver's seat, I got in. Char did the same on her end, slamming the door shut and going on to peer into a small mirror.

Surprisingly, she'd insisted I dye her hair its original colour, blonde. Looking in her direction, I saw the blue sequin dress she'd put on. It was long-sleeved and effectively hid her arms, her tattoos.

I wondered if a part of her wanted to erase the version of herself she thought made Matt cheat on her. If he could, why wouldn't another? My heart clenched.

Putting my seatbelt, I turned the ignition. The engine revved up instantly, purring beneath me. I drove out of the garage and down the darkening driveway.

Char reached forward and turned on the radio. A song from a rock band began playing and she started to mumble along to the loud music. As we covered up more distance to the club, the tempo of her voice increased and soon she was singing at the top of her lungs. A smile stretched my lips.

Minutes later we slowed into a parking spot in the vast lawn. Across, a large building mounted the space, and from it the bass undertones of music seeped through.

The lights from the building illuminated the surrounding space and we stepped down to see numerous cars parked. Char grabbed my hand and we started to head down to the building.

My leg connected with an object. I looked down to see it was a bottle. More were strewn across the manicured grass, I noticed, together with a few squashed solo cups. Drunken giggles rang out in dark corners, followed by wet, kissing noises that had a blush warming my cheeks.