In the Dark

Chapter 2

Hey! This is Chapter 2! WARNING: There are a bit of curse words in this chapter. Please proceed with care. At first, I didn't really like this story, but now, as I'm writing it, I find more things to write about and the words just flow into my head naturally. It's very satisfying to finish a chapter of In the Dark. Hope you find it just as satisfying to read as I do.]

Chapter 2

“Umm… hello? Dude, you are 30 minutes late… TO YOUR OWN PARTY! Where the hell are you?” I had reluctantly picked up my phone, and I got blasted with Olivia’s screeching. I bit my lip. If Olivia saw me now, she would have screamed, ran across the road, and died.

            “I’m… in a terrible situation. Could you come and pick me up?” I pleaded, using my sweetest little-girl voice. I heard Olivia rustling and mumbling in the background.

            “Ok, where are you?”

            “I’m two blocks away from the party,” I said nonchalantly.

            “TWO FRICKIN’ BLOCKS AWAY!? THEN WHY DO I HAVE TO DRIVE YOU?!” Olivia hollered. I couldn’t really blame her; I would have said the exact same thing.

            “I’ll explain to you on the way.” I answered. I heard a really loud sigh and the line went dead. I smiled half-heartedly and put my phone in my pocket. I looked down at my dress. It was surprisingly all in one piece and no traces of a car------no, deer------ accident were on it. 

            I heard a loud honk. I looked up to see Olivia’s furious face glaring at me. Immediately, her expression softened.

            “What happened to you?”

            “It’s kind of complicated.” I answered sheepishly.

            “Girl, you have all the time you need,” she smiled. I couldn’t resist the urge to smile back too.

            Once I got in the car, I spilled out everything that happened, to her.

            “Ok, so I was going to Noah’s party, and there was this family of deer in the middle of the road. I honked a bunch of times but they wouldn’t even budge an inch. Finally, I got so frustrated and got out of the car to take care of the problem myself. I was about to move this little baby deer out of the way because they’re lighter, when this huge buck, or male deer,” I translated, “came in front of me and knocked me right off the ground. He threw me to the side with his antlers and I tumbled down this hill where I tried to climb up. There were no cars around, so no one came to help me, and then I called you.” I glanced at her after I finished my, oh, so exciting tale. After a few seconds, she burst out laughing. One look at her, and I started to laugh too. After 3 more minutes, we stopped to catch our breath.

            “So, we better get to that party! But first, you go in your car and I will clean you up,” Olivia stated.

            “Wait, what do you mean ‘clean you up’?” I questioned, puzzled. Olivia smirked and shoved a mirror in my face. I gasped. I looked like a pond monster that just arose from 15 years of hibernating in a swamp. There was a stick stuck in my dirt-covered hair, a bug crawling on my face and my arms were speckled with splotches of mud and dirt. My face had bruises and cuts on it and my mascara had dripped down my face.

            “Ok, swamp girl,”

            I winced.

             “Ok, Maggie, let’s go to my house. I’ll call everyone at the party that the birthday girl will make her grand entrance in 30 minutes.” Olivia giggled. I nodded and we headed towards her house.

            “So, the party was pretty cool. Noah did a great job. It had purple everywhere, and I mean EVERYWHERE. He had this huge purple orb thing that could like tell your fortune! If you shook it, a symbol would appear. Then, you would compare the symbol with a piece of paper and it would tell you the fortune. He also had a bunch of really cool things like he got a video game van for the guys and really good food. Wait, it was your favorite; homemade chips and homemade salsa!” Olivia described as she used a cloth to wipe the mud and debris off my face. I felt really shocked and grateful. I never thought Noah would prepare anything that sounded so… awesome.

            “Ok, well now, I have to go to this party!” I announced. Olivia smiled. She motioned me to her mirror.

            “Well now you can! You look amazing, as always! I’m such a miracle worker!” Olivia beamed. I looked just like I did before the accident. My hair was in a perfect ponytail with a couple strands that curled around my face. My dress was as silky as it was minutes ago and my skin was spotless.

            “Thank you! Let’s go to the party now!” I babbled hastily. I was in an urge to get to Noah’s house, or particularly, Noah.

            Olivia smirked but she went to start her car. I quickly got in and drove to the party.

            When I got there, everyone cheered. The party was amazing. There were purple lights that shined across every room and purple streamers, tablecloths, chairs, piñatas, and balloons were everywhere. There was also that huge purple orb that Olivia was talking about. The hallway into the living room was filled with students holding cups of beer and punch. They all greeted me with ‘happy birthdays’ and ‘hope you have an awesome time’. Only one person greeted me differently. Well, actually, two. One person was Lola Hampton.

            “Hey, birthday bitch.” (A/N: Sorry for the language, it just made sense because they both start with a b. >.<)

            “Hi, Lola. Always great to see you!” I said sarcastically.

            She was my arch nemesis since kindergarten, where I accidentally used her crayons which I thought was mine. She had a huge tantrum in class and she was sent to the principal’s office. She gave me the evil eye the rest of the year. Noah was there too. He stood up for me and yelled in her face. He got sent to the office as well. Also, Lola had a huge crush on Noah. She used to follow him around all recess when we were in the playground. She tried to kiss him on the slide. Yah… how do I know, right? Well, I had a crush on him too, and I was a good stalker then.

            They were dating a few weeks ago when Noah ended it for some reason. She probably saw me talking with Noah and got jealous.

            Noah was the other person that gave me a different greeting from everyone else.

            “You look amazing! Happy birthday! Can I talk to you for a second?” I stared. I glanced at Olivia and she motioned for me to follow him. I nodded at Noah and he led me into a closet. My heart pounded in my chest. What was he going to do? Kill me? I positioned myself in a fighting pose and braced myself for an attack. It was dark in there so he couldn’t see my attack position. I could feel him lean into me and I swiftly kneed him in the balls.

            “OW! What the hell was that?” Noah screamed.

            “Are you trying to hurt me?” I asked hesitantly. He turned on the light and shook his head.

            “I was going to give you the first part of your birthday present.” he answered. My cheeks started to turn red. He looked into my eyes and slowly leaned closer. Then, he kissed me. I was so shocked I couldn’t move. It was short and sweet so he quickly backed away. I backed into the door, opened it and speed-walked out of the closet. I must have looked like a lunatic with way too much blush.

            I scanned the room for Olivia and spotted her red ruffling dress. I grabbed her arm and led her toward the kitchen where there were less people.

            “Noah Goldstein just kissed me, as in me Maggie Johnson.” I breathed. Olivia’s mouth fell open. But there was no time for her to comment. A huge table rolled into the living room. The thing that was on it was really tall but I couldn’t make out any details because a huge black sheet draped over it.

            “Ok, everyone! It’s time for the party to begin!” Noah announced and tore off the black sheet. I gasped.

            It was my cake.