Hands Off

14*> WRONG DECISION

                     CLAIRE'S POV

SIX DAYS AGO

"Claire, please, it's my birthday. You don't really expect me to go alone." Katherine pleaded for the umpteenth time since she started to pester me all around the house.

"Katherine, I've already told you my father would never allow it. Have you forgotten about those hounds that follow me around? It's impossible to get by them, and even if we did, I cannot risk Noah or anyone else finding out that I went to a club. A CLUB KAT! For Christ's sake, you could have picked anywhere else: An amusement park, the zoo, the movies. Hell! I would swallow my shame and follow you to the beach. Why did it have to be a night club?" I exclaimed as I flipped through channels on the big flat screen.

"Claire, don't forget it's my twenty-first. It has to be special." she commented and turned to the Tv screen.

I immediately turned to look at her with astonishment. "Yeah and that's why I did nothing to make it feel special." I remarked, sarcasm dripping out.

I had actually organized a mini-party for her this morning. I got food, cake, and music. I even went as far as inviting some of her coursemates over in the hopes of making it even more memorable for her, but Kat was Kat. She didn't find anything I did worthy of praise or appreciation. As a matter of fact, she was making more demands.

"Okay, Claire, I already said I'm grateful for everything you did this morning, but you don't really think that was what I wanted, right? I mean think about it, I'm a young, beautiful, sexy woman, and what better way to celebrate my twenty-first than going to a club?" she asked with a quizzical face.

"You are my best friend, Claire. You should know that things like this mean more to me than a silly house party." she bluntly said making me inhale deeply to suture the wounds her words caused.

"Fine, I agree the party wasn't your thing, but-" I paused to think of what I wanted to say, but nothing came. "Okay, let's say I agree, aren't you forgetting that I'm technically still underaged. What if I'm caught? I could get into so much trouble." I reasoned.

"You don't have to worry about that. That has never been an issue. There's always an option of using a fake ID, but we don't even need to worry about that because Jeremiah's promised to take care of that. All you need to do is accept." she pressed.

"Kat, I really don't think-"

"Don't you forget you still owe me a present." she cut in.

I huffed loudly. "What about that overly expensive designer couture dress I gave you this morning? That thing cost me almost half my savings."

"Claire, that dress is great, but I didn't ask you to get it for me. That was your choice." she stated.

"What?!" I cried in disbelief. "But you were gushing about that dress only a few days back. You talked nonstop about it. I thought it was some kind of hint or something." I confessed.

"Well, it wasn't. Maybe if you had just asked, I would have told you that wasn't the present I wanted." she remarked.

"It's not a present if I ask you." I said matter-of-factly.

"Just say yes." she coerced.

After a few minutes of fighting with myself, I finally came to a wrong decision. I let out a sigh, "Fine-"

Kat immediately lurched forward, suffocating me with a tight hug. "I knew you would agree. I love you! I love you! I love you!" she shouted.

I quickly pulled back, "Wait! I have agreed to go, but don't think for one second that I will be outside this house any later than 10 pm. Also, I'm not gonna be drinking anything that has even an ounce of alcohol in it. And most of all, I'm not, I repeat, I'm not going to be wearing any of your skimpy dresses." I told her sternly.