Angel In Progress

4. Of Teenage Drama And Near Tragedies

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Ethan walked through the sliding glass doors into the backyard of the mansion, and I scurried after him quietly, making sure not to attract any attention. As he walked towards his friends, I ducked into a place to hide in, a spot where they couldn't see me but where I could see and hear everything going on with them, which happened to be behind a conveniently placed bar stand. The way I was behaving was absolutely ridiculous, but as Felix had warned me a billion times, this was the only way I could keep Ethan safe.

Cue the eye roll.

The more "exclusive" or elite squad of South Creek High was in the back garden of Ryan Hailing's mansion - the prestigious squad Ethan happened to be a proud member of. Basically all the rich and stuck up kids of South Creek, Florida, had decided to stick together as one in this ostentatious squad. Caleb and Maddie, unfortunately, were a part of this group and I despised them for it, but I couldn't do much about it especially since they claimed that I was the odd one out, or the 'black sheep' of the family. More like I was the sane one who avoided all the drama and was definitely the only one in the three who would go to college (don't get me started on Caleb and Maddie's grades).

My siblings never understood why I preferred hanging out with my best friend Priyanka in her room screaming along to throwback rap songs, than getting hammered in someone's backyard on expensive liquor. To be honest, I had nothing against people who enjoy that life, but I preferred to stay away from it. I got drunk once (a few months ago when Priyanka forced me to because I was a "senior in high school who needs to live more!!"), but never after that. Call me a loser but my parents trusted me way more than they'll ever trust Caleb or Maddie. So yes, perks do exist.

While the rest of the kids at this party were sipping on beer or vodka (go underage drinking! go alcohol abuse!), the 'popular kids' in this backyard were sipping on glasses of champagne. The backyard looked expensively decorated, with marble tiles, perfectly cut lawns and a sparkling blue pool, so I could see why Ryan had preferred to keep this area off limits to the general public.

I could recognise the few popular kids who were lounging on the leather patio chairs. Most of them were seniors in high school aka were in my grade, except the few who were juniors. Starting with the juniors, of course, I could see Ryan Hailing, the birthday boy. On his lap sat Stacie Donavan, my younger sister's best friend. And of course, Maddie was there too, laughing about something with Daxton Frow, probably one of the only juniors from Maddie's grade I didn't mind. The rest of the seniors were the people I avoided most- Ethan Walsh in all his dumb glory, Gina, Carter, Laila, etc. They were the definition of annoying and stuck up, and while my twin brother and sister loved their company, I knew better than them.

Ethan rushed his fingers through his dark hair as he approached his friends, and I could hear the annoying voice of Caleb's ex girlfriend Gina Monroe speak out as he did. I never liked Gina when Caleb was dating her a few months ago, and I still didn't like her now. She was five feet two inches of pure plastic, and I found it sad how someone so pretty could be so despicable. I was more than glad when Caleb finally dumped her (she had been cheating on him the entire time apparently), especially because she and I never got along.

"Sidney keeps tweeting out breakup lyrics," Gina waved her phone in the air, a malicious smirk on her face. "Did you finally dump her desperate ass?"

I raised my eyebrows at this loud and ruthless comment, since Sidney and Gina were supposedly 'best friends'. I mean, that was what they called each other on their Instagram accounts when they posted their pretentious selfies together.