Finding You

Chapter Two

Apparently, I was tired from all the excitement today because I woke up an hour later to someone knocking on the door.
I opened it to find a blonde bob with green eyes. She had on a green halter top and a jean skirt with tan wedges on her feet.
I was about to say "hello" when she barged into the room, followed by a couple of guys carrying boxes and suitcases.
That's when I realized that she was staying.

I waited until she was done telling the boys where to put her things to introduce myself.
I quickly learned that her name is Rebecca Owens, she's from Colorado, and she seems nice enough. But as I watched her unpack her clothes, I realized that she might be a bit high-maintenance. She's got everything from cutoffs and tank tops to clubwear and formal gowns, though I'm not sure why you would need to bring formal gowns to college.
She also has a sister named Abby. They're two years apart, but judging by the photo she sets on the dresser, they could be twins.
When I asked who the guys were that brought up her things, she said that she had caught them checking her out, so she decided to make them useful. I laugh at that.
She told me that a couple of girls had already invited her to a party that night and begged me to go with her. I don't know why she wanted me to go; I'm sure she would be fine on her own. A girl like her could fit in anywhere. I envied her confidence.

I let her take a shower first because I'm sure that it takes her a lot longer to get ready than it does for me.
It's a good thing my showers aren't long because by the time I got in, the water was cold.

Turning off the shower, I step out and wrap a towel around my body. I walk into the room and find two outfits laid out neatly on my bed.

I look toward Rebecca, who just shrugs as she says, "When I mentioned a party, you looked like a deer in headlights."
I nod once, "that's because I've never been to a party before. My brothers are pretty protective."

She purses her lips and says, "I kind of figured as much. So, I thought a new outfit might give you some confidence. At least it usually does for me." She turns away, looking through her closet once again.
I engross myself in the outfits.
"Well, at least everything will be covered up." I tell myself.
Rebecca still has her back to me as I hear, "We haven't been here a full twenty-four hours yet. I figured we would save the slutty outfits for at least a few weeks into the semester."

I whip my head towards her; I can't tell if she's joking or not since she just giggles. She grabs an outfit and turns to wink at me before she continues to get ready.
I turn back to my outfits and try them both on.

The first is a long-sleeve, royal blue shift dress. It's beautiful but a little short for my taste, so I grab the other outfit. It's a plain red tank and a white flowy skirt that hits just above my knees.
Simple.

I smile when I see my reflection. It's cute, and it covers everything.

I swipe on some mascara and lip balm for some finishing touches. My skin is tan from the summer sun, so I don't feel like I need much makeup. I let my hair air dry and combed it, trying to get the part just right. Once I'm satisfied, I walk out of the bathroom, and Rebecca grins at me, saying, "That outfit looks bomb on you."

"Oh, thanks." My eyes shift to the floor.

"Don't tell me that no one has ever given you a compliment before."
Only one person had ever truly said anything nice about me. But I held my tongue, not saying a word.

"Huh... Well, it does, and don't let anyone tell you differently." She smirks as she reaches for her keys. "Ready?"

I nod my head, "Yeah."

Slipping into my black flip flops, I grab my phone, and we're headed out the door.
We walk out to what I am assuming is her car, a cherry red Range Rover, and we get in. She puts the address in her GPS, and we're off.

The whole way is quiet, so she can hear "Betty," which she told me is the name she chose for her GPS.
I stared at the houses we were driving past when my thoughts drifted off to the only person who told me that I was pretty, and I actually believed him.

*Memory*

It was summer.
Sweat dripping down our faces from playing Capture the Flag in one of the neighbors' yards. Walker and Jake were headed toward the creek to cool off, and instead of going with them, Daniel and I sat on the porch swing eating popsicles. I watch from the corner of my eye as Daniel grabs the bottom of his shirt and wipes off his face, then turns toward me and attempts to wipe off mine. I swat him off me, "gross", as he just laughs. He smiles at me and says, "Even dirty and sweaty, you're still pretty." I could feel my body get warm with a little bit of happiness and a little bit of embarrassment. I didn't know what to say, so I just stared at him and finished my popsicle.

*End of Memory*

I snapped out of the memory as we were pulling up to the house. I can still feel all of the emotions that I felt that day. Even though I pretended that I didn't care, I did. The truth is, I've always cherished that moment, and I think he knew that. Daniel always seemed to be able to read me like no one else could.

As we walked to the house, Rebecca and I agreed that we would scope out the place, and if one wanted to leave, then we would, no questions asked.

As soon as we walked through the door, I could tell a bunch of college guys lived here. It looks like a bachelor pad; pictures of half-naked girls and sports memorabilia were everywhere.
Rebecca led me through the house, maneuvering through the crowd. All of the furniture was pushed back to make room for dancing, and a DJ was set up in a corner. I'm thankful that when we finally reached the kitchen a few minutes later, I didn't feel like being under any scrutiny anymore with everyone that had been staring at us since the moment we walked in.

"Over there."

I looked to where she was pointing. I spot the keg and nod. We grab cups and fill them. While I finish filling mine, some cute guy walks up to Rebecca and asks her to dance. She looks toward me, and I nod my head to let her know that I would be okay. Flashing me a smile, she grabs his hand and heads out to the dance floor. They were a bit awkward at first, but once they found their rhythm, it was a bit too intimate for me.

I look around and notice a sliding glass door that leads to the backyard. With my cup in hand, I step out of the house and onto the back deck. Sliding the door shut, I breathed deeply. There aren't too many people out here, but I feel eyes on the back of my head. I ignore everything as I spot a lone chair about halfway down the deck. It's away from everyone, so I walk down to it and sit down.

I sip from my cup, relieved to have something to occupy me for a second. When the cup leaves my mouth, my eyes glance up. I startle when I see the same guy that stopped Jake in the hallway earlier staring at me with a smirk on his face. He's sitting on the deck railing across from me with a small group of people surrounding him.
I give him a small smile, but it's quickly gone when a couple of girls he's talking to turn to see what grabbed his attention. I glance back and forth between him and the girls before busying myself with taking another drink, but not before I see the frown he's aiming the girls way.

I shrug it off and take in the rest of the backyard. Steps lead down from the deck; no houses are visible, so it looks like it's just miles of trees. I stand up to walk over to the steps, but before I can move, I feel something warm touch my arm, which makes my heart speed up.

I looked over to see the guy that was on the railing, but I didn't hear him walk over. He's pulling his hand away as if I had burned him.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," he says, giving me a sheepish smile.

I just nod, not saying anything. His eyes are so intense that I have to look away. But that's a bad idea because there are more people on the deck now, and it feels like they're all watching. I also notice that most of the girls are giving me dirty looks. He turns to see what I am looking at, and when he does, a few people poorly attempt to look away.

He sighs as he turns back to me and holds out his hand.
I hesitated to grab it.

"Do you trust me?" he asks.

I looked him in the eyes. I realize that even though I have no idea who he is, I do trust him, but I can't help but question him.

"What about your fan club? It looks like they don't want you to go anywhere." I nodded to the people behind him.

He laughs to himself, saying, "I think they will be okay for a while without me."

I nod my head and make myself look as if I'm trying to make a decision. He just holds out his hand and patiently waits.