Spectrum (On hold)

Chapter Five

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   Five

   I stared down at the shiny credit card in my hand. Emergencies only! Emergencies only! The words seemed to echo in my head. I bit my lip, debating, before finally deciding this was indeed an emergency. And after scoping out my bland wardrobe for the third time, my decision making was only confirmed. There was nothing in my whole entire apartment that seemed suited for a party, and if I wanted to make any kind of impression on Alec or anyone else for that matter, I needed to step up my game.

   There was a large, upscale strip mall just about a mile down the street from my luxurious apartment complex, so I shoved the card in my coat pocket and headed down to the lobby. How did humans even dress at parties? Was it a casual party? Cleavage or no? How short of a skirt was too trashy? Did I even need to wear a skirt or would pants suffice? The possibilities were endless-- and I was clueless.

      I tried to shake my confusion and doubt away as I hung a left into a store with gaudy, sparkling clothes hanging on the mannequins in the window. It seemed like a good place to start. And I was apparently right. I had found a very good selection of party attire back toward the back wall and decided on a fitted black skirt (just short enough to tease a little but definitely not to the point of trashy quite yet) and a gray top with an open back and a plunging V neckline. Tucking the shirt into the skirt would give me just enough amount of class to suggest I wasn't there for a one night stand, but I was there to have a good time. Staring at the mirror in the dressing room, I admired the few curves that the outfit gave me and suddenly was hit with the wondering thought about what Alec would think of me in the outfit. I mentally slapped myself out of the thought before snatching some black heels checking out and heading home. God. Lepious was so going to kill me if he found out the amount of money I had spent on one outfit.

    I dressed quickly when I got back. It was already almost nine and I only wanted to be fashionably late, not embarrassingly late. I vigorously ripped the gnarls out of my hair, leaving it smooth and wavy and started swiping on some mascara. I eyed the rest of the makeup I had longingly. I never  wore makeup. I didn't even know where to begin.

    "What the hell," I muttered finally, picking up some eyeliner, blush and lipstick. I tried my hardest to apply the makeup, only poking myself in the eye twice, until I finally looked presentable for a party. Once I was beautified, I locked up and headed over to Alec's. It was a wonder how I didn't trip walking down the stairs to the lobby in the damn heels I had on. Oh, well. The night was only just beginning anyway. 

***

      Alec's house was overflowing-- nearly literally. There were people flooding the inside, outside, the pool, the balcony, downstairs, upstairs, the kitchen, living room, bathrooms--and probably the bedrooms as well, if I had to guess. Music blared through the speakers set up around his house, much louder than I would have preferred, and I was pretty sure that people didn't have just water in their red, plastic cups. The chaos and noise of the music mixed with people shouting and laughing was already giving me a headache and I wasn't exactly sure how I was going to survive the whole night in such a close proximity with what seemed like our entire high school.

   I shuffled claustrophobically through Alec's living room, distastefully glancing at a couple making out on his leather couch. I managed to squeeze past a grind line dancing enthusiastically to some vulgar rap song and into Alec's kitchen, only to find it just as crowded. I groaned inwardly, going to lean against the counter. The heat from all the bodies was already getting to me, making my headache worse.