Stolen First Times

36. My First Time Being Fought Over

*Edited*

Since Mae had brought me here, I couldn't exactly leave the party, so I did the next best thing.

I dashed upstairs to the second floor of the house to find a room to lock myself in. My eyes were already watering and I knew it was only a matter of time before I started bawling.

Trust me, I wasn't one of those pretty criers by any means. My eyebrows and nose scrunched up, I drooled a bit out of the side of my mouth, and I whined kind of loud at the same time.

Like I said, not pretty.

When I reached the top of the stairs, I took my mask off so my tears wouldn't ruin the feathers. I threw open the first door on the right and couldn't realize what was happening right away.

I stood there, trying to figure out who the two people were making out on a huge king-sized bed, for quiet some time. I gave them enough time to notice me.

"Veronica!" One of them yelled when they both flew apart to separate sides of the bed.

I immediately recognized Mae and Quinn and threw a hand over my eyes, trying to find my way back out of the room. I stumbled into a stray box still on the floor from not being fully unpacked.

"Shit! I'm sorry, crap. I swear I didn't see...anything! Carry on!" I shouted, still trying to get out of the room. I slammed the door shut behind me and ran to the room at the end of the long hallway. I placed my hand around the doorknob and twisted it.

I froze.

What was I doing? Was I seriously about to go lock myself in a room to cry over a boy?

Oh, hell no. I angrily wiped my tears away and took my hand off of the doorknob. Elijah didn't deserve my tears. I took a shuddering breath and straightened up, sliding my mask back on.

As I walked by the room Mae had been in, the door opened and she stepped through it, almost bumping right into me. When she saw me, she smoothed down her hair and her face reddened. I held up my hands.

"Don't worry, Mae. I won't tell anyone and I really didn't see anything. You guys separated too fast for my eyes to register what was happening," I babbled.

She glanced behind her into to the room Quinn was still in and held up a finger before shutting the door.

"Don't worry about it, V," she said. I liked how she shortened my name, giving me a nickname. It made me feel like we were even closer friends now. "I'm worried about you. You looked like you were about to cry. Did something happen?"

I waved a hand in the air. "Pfft, I'm fine. Seriously," I said when she gave me a look like she knew better, "Go back to Quinn. He's waiting for you." I winked, giving her a nudge.

Her face broke out in a grin and she wrapped her arms around me. I hugged her back as she said, "You're a great friend. Go enjoy yourself and don't worry about anything, okay?"

I nodded, pulling away. "Okay, see you later," I said, heading back downstairs as I heard the bedroom door shut behind me.

I wasn't exactly in the mood to go back downstairs to dance again in front of all these people with masks on. Without the masks, I knew I hated every single one of them anyway.

So, with dancing and crying out of the option, I decided to head outside to the backyard where there was peace and quiet. It was kind of chilly to be wearing only a tank top outside and I shivered when I sat down on the edge of the porch. I'd received a few strange looks when I had shoved my way through the house to get outside, but I didn't care.