Nixon

••• Two •••

"You've got to be kidding me," I laugh, holding up the costume to Emily as she twirls around her room. "Are you sure?"

"It's perfect for the night, plus, every year some of us get together at Brian and Zayne Adam's house for a party." Emily takes the costume from my hands and takes off her shirt as I go back to what we chose for me. It sounds cliché to me but I like it, the cape and everything that grows with it. Little Red Riding Hood, an idea that Emily snorted at as she laughed. As for her, she will be Marilyn Monroe, her blond hair pinned up and that iconic dress on for the night.

Usually my parents would be scolding me for living a little, saying how I'm ruining my life, but because I pulled the 'I'm a senior this year' card, they obliged.

By the time we're dressed and putting on our shoes, a pair of midnight blue eyes invade my mind. It's been four weeks since I saw the man Emily told me to avoid, and it's been killing me at night, not being able to sleep, or even concentrate on school as I think about him.

"Ready?"

I nod, taking in one last look of my outfit. The cape is my favorite, hitting my thigh as its cherry red and a small string around my neck, the hood pulled over as my hair falls into two long braid in front. The skirt is black and so it the top, a bit showy but not too revealing, and paired with some simple ballet flats, I'm enjoying the look as Emily pulls me from her bright pink room and out the front door of the house.
We hop in her car, turning on the radio as we go to Brian and Zayne Adam's house, the family I visited when I was first here.

The ride is filled with music as we make our way across town, the sun already gone beyond the horizon. Emily rants every so often about graduation and applications for scholarships as we pull into the street, the massive houses intimidating as we pass bye to the one I was at weeks ago.
It's still beautiful, but the second my eyes glance to the one next to it, my heart skips a beat and my breathing becomes heavy.

There's no light in the house nor a car parked outside, it's as if the house is a phantom next to the others, yet it sticks out the most in awe.

"Come on, Lil, let's go."

I snap back to reality, hopping out as I can already hear the pounding music. Somehow we got a good parking spot as others are parked further down, having to walk in the chilly October air.
Once we enter the house, I'm greeted by a sea of people dancing, their bodies swaying to the music as they forget their thoughts. As I slide past people who ignore the world around them, I find myself holding onto Emily's shoulder to where we are going.

The kitchen is filled with people getting drinks or just chatting as the dining room as about three games of beer pong going on at once. "Where are we going?" I ask, finding myself in a hallway.

"Oliver texted me to meet in the library, he said they were playing something," she informs as I nod, my eyes scanning the cream walls as we come to a wooden door. "Let's play the game."

The door opens to reveal a nice library about two stories high filled on two walls with books and a lounge covers the floor. Wow, I think to myself as I take in the beauty of the room.

"Lily, glad you made it," the familiar voice of Zayne calls as I spin around to face a group of ten sitting on the couches.

"Here I am," I reply, taking a seat next to Oliver as he offers me a warm smile. "What's the game?"

"Dare or Dare pretty much."

"So we only take dares from one another?" I ask, meeting the eyes of a girl with red hair, sitting next to Zayne as she runs her fingers through his blond hair.