His Saving Grace

Chapter Two

I would never, ever be good at picking outfits. Take my sister's word for it.

"Katie!" she screamed. "That's terrible! Why would you wear red flats with a blue shirt? It doesn't match a single thing! Not even your nails! This is a party, Katie! You have to look good! Or at least maybe presentable!"

I gritted my teeth, throwing the blue GK shirt on top of the other blue shirts I wanted to wear. Looking good never mattered to me in any sort of way, but hey, a t-shirt, jeans and flats definitely looks presentable at any time. Alahna's definition of presentable obviously included cleavage-y tank tops, form-fitting jeans and a ton of mascara.

"You're never gonna make me wear something like this," I said as she shoved a very skimpy red dress into my arms. I threw it on top if the other "reject" clothes. "Besides! What's so awful about blue with red?" She made a face and started rummaging through my closet, throwing various articles of clothing in all directions.

"Good gracious," Alahna said in a resigned voice. "Don't you have any form of clothing for parties?"

"I don't go to parties, and even if I did go to parties I wouldn't have any clothing like what you're wearing now."

"Hey," she said, turning to face me. "I look pretty good."

"Good, but not decent," I murmured under my breath as she got back to rummaging through my closet. 

"Well, since you don't have anything in here close to what I'm wearing—" Alahna said. Thank goodness, I thought. "You're going to wear a dress."

"A dress?" I exclaimed. I was not a dress type of person.

"Seriously, Katie? Are you dumb?" Alahna said. "You can wear absolutely anything in a party. You can even go naked if you'd want to but that's not going to look so good, is it?"

Well, at least some part of me rubbed off on my sister. Her insults get more...insulting by the day.

"Then why can't I wear—"

"Because I said so, okay? Besides, I'm more exposed to these kinds of things. Or would you rather stick out like a sore thumb because that's fine with me you know—"

"Just let me get dressed," I said irritably, shoving my sister out of the door the moment she hung up a dress on the closet handle.

"Can I do your make-up?" Alahna shouted from outside the door.

"No way!" I shouted back. "You know I don't wear that stuff!"

"Aww come on," she whined. "Just this one time—"

"No, Alahna, or I'm telling Trey that you peed in your pants last Tuesday because of that movie."

Silence.

"Say one word to him and I'll kill you!" she shouted.

I giggled, hit the door twice (we made some kind of Morse code system when we were younger), and listened to Alahna's heels click away before I took the dress.

~~

Trey picked us up at around 6:50. Alahna, of course, took the front seat with Trey, and I had to sit at the back beside Garrett. He didn't look away from his window when my sister and I came in. Not that it bothered me, anyway. We didn't know each other.

Alahna already started chattering even before Trey was able to restart the engine. He didn't seem to mind, though. Just give it some time, Trey. You will be irritated.

I glanced at the almost unmoving boy beside me, trying to gauge his mood. It was impossible, though. "Hi," I said, trying to break the tension between Garrett and I. He glanced at me.

"Hi." He said, and then looked away again. I shifted in my seat.

"Sup?" I asked, hoping to start a conversation with him. The tension was still there, thicker than the humid atmosphere of a summer's day.

He grumbled something incomprehensible. Okay. If he didn't want to talk, then there will be no talking. So like him, I just resolved to staring out my window.

The car ride to their house was over in ten minutes—ten awkward minutes. Trey held the car door open for Alahna, whereas no one held the car door for me. Yup.

Not that it bothered me.

I straightened out the knee-length floral sundress Alahna insisted that I wore. It was a good thing she let me wear my usual flats instead of heels or I would've tripped on the first step.

Alahna bid me goodbye and disappeared into the house with Trey. Music was blaring and people were scattered all over the lot, hanging out with red plastic cups in their hands. Garrett walked ahead of me, head bent down and hands in pockets.

Everyone was dressed in—guess what.

Shirts and jeans. There were tank tops here and there, but most of them were in casual attire.

I groaned inwardly.

I made my way through the small crowd by the front porch, thankful that no one seemed to notice me and my odd attire. I followed Garrett into his house until he started making his way upstairs.

I looked around like a lost little puppy, and decided to just head into the kitchen to get a drink and maybe hang out there alone. There were people in the kitchen, though, which disappointed me.

After getting a cup of punch I ventured through the huge house and went out the back door, sitting on the cold grass of their back garden.

I managed to bring my earphones this time, and their house had WiFi, so entertaining myself was not much of a problem.

Two hours later the battery of my phone drained itself out. I grunted. It was only 9:30 p.m. and parties like this usually last until dawn. I couldn't go home because I had no idea where we were and how to get back, and I couldn't leave my sister either.

Fantastic.