Chapter Nine:
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Two days later I spent playing hookie so I can catch up on homework. I sit on my bed finishing up, and my phone chimes on my bedside table. It's a text... from Austin. I smile as I click on his name.

Austin: Party tonight at my place. Here's the address ;) 142 St. S

I smile and type back with zero hesitation.

See you there.

I proceed to call Rebekah and fill her in.

"Hey, Bek. Come over. We have plans."

"What are we doing?" Bekah chuckles.

"We're planning, that's what." I say to her with a devious smirk, knowing full well that she can't see.

"Well, alright then!" Rebekah exclaims, "I'll see you in five!"

"Good to hear. See ya." I hum back to her.

"Byeeeee," she hangs up. My phone buzzes just as I'm about to put it down. I look to see who it is.

Austin: Sweet. :) What's your favorite snack?

I stare at my screen and the first snack that comes to my mind is chocolate-covered peanuts. Love, love, love them. I text him that.

Austin: Nice. I'll be sure to have some. Lol.

I chuckle at my phone. How random.

Rebekah's car enters my driveway moments later and I rush to unlock the front door as I am home alone. I glance at her from the window of my living room and first notice the huge duffel bag hanging off her shoulder. Geez, Bekah. You always come prepared.

"HEYY!" she shouts when she notices me.

I smile and invite her inside. She walks straight to my kitchen and opens the fridge, "where is everyone?"

"They went out tonight," I shrug.

"Without you?" Rebekah turns up a juice container.

"I needed to catch up on homework," I sigh, "plus, my brother is the antichrist. I needed a break."

She chuckles and nods in understanding, "well, what are you wanting to do, then?"

"Well," I hesitate, "we were invited to a party... At Austin's house."

"I'M IN!" she exclaims, "and I brought the perfect outfit!"

"How come you brought an outfit with you?"

"I brought one outfit for every possible occasion," she grins, holding up her bag.

"I see," my eyes widen. On the inside I'm laughing at her antics, she's so freaking crazy it's lovable.

"Well!! Quit standing there, let's get dressed!" Rebekah demands with a grin. She slams her juice on the counter.

"Oh, no, no, no. You're not helping me get dressed." I shake my head. I know how that ends. Always the same. I look like a crazy stupid clown in tight clothing.

"Oh, come on. I'll go easy on you," she laughs.

I scowl at her, "sure you will." I say rolling my eyes, "you wear far too much makeup it's not me."

"I promise," she bats her eyes, "would I lie to you?"

"Probably," I sarcastically chuckle.

"Don't sound so unsure sweetheart."

I hum back in response, not bothered anymore with this conversation. It's going nowhere at all. Rebekah seems to notice when she asks,

"So what time is the party?"

"I don't know, you're the party expert. You tell me." I chuckle, "what time do parties normally start?"

"Just text him," she rolls her eyes, marching to the bathroom.

I smile and type Austin a text: What time does the party start?

I follow Rebekah into the bathroom where she starts pulling clothes out of her bag. My phone buzzes.

Austin: 8:00

"Great, so we will show up at 10," Rebekah says casually.

"What? Why ten?" I squint at her.

"Everyone knows you are supposed to show up two hours after the official party time. That's when everyone will get there. I swear," Rebekah educates me.

"Oh... Okay, then," I hesitantly agree.

Austin: You doing much?

I smile slightly as I get ready to respond.

Me: Just killing time.
Me: So not really. I'm a potato. Lol

A minute and a half later I get a response. It's a photo message. I open it. It shows a tv with some football game on and lime green sock covered feet on a coffee table in front of it which the obvious thought would be Austin's.

Austin: Same here honestly.

Austin: Hey what's your favourite thing to watch?

I think for a minute confused before typing.

Me: Like what? TV or movies?

Austin: Yeah. Unless you're not crazy for that stuff then ignore that question lol

Me: haha I'm into TV. Bekah and I binge watch all the time. I love Teen Wolf and Friends. But I'll watch movies too. Either with Bekah or my siblings.

Me: Those two are my favourites.

Me: But I can watch anything really. Obviously as long as it's good. And not cringy.

Austin: I love Friends too!!

"Are you still talking to him?" Rebekah asks. I nod my head in response.

"He's asking me stuff."

Austin: You have siblings?? You didn't say.

Me: You didn't ask lol

Austin: So how many do you have?

Me:A brother and a sister. 2

Austin: Nice

Me: Not always. :/

Austin: Why?

Me: My brother can be unbearable sometimes.

Austin: So can mine. And I have two.

Me: Glad to know that you can relate. So you just have only the two brothers? No sister?

Austin: No I have a little sister too. One of my brothers is her twin.

Me: Cool

Austin: So yeah I'm a middle kid.

Me: nice :) what order? Twins oldest or?

Austin: nah. My big bro then me then the twins but they wish lol.

Two hours later, here we are sitting on my bed. I caved and eventually let Bekah do my hair and makeup for the party. I looked less clown-ish than expected from her, and my hair was curled prettily. I had black eyeliner on my eyelids and natural eyeshadow colours. I'd even let her put a smudge of red lipstick on my lips. I'd chosen my own outfit, though. Black leggings, with worn out denim shorts and a red vest-top. Oh, and my go-to converse sneakers, of course.

We order pizza and eat a few slices before it's time to go. I use my cell phone's GPS Tracker to find Austin's house. He lives in a nice and well-lit neighborhood, so I am not nervous about anything bad happening to us. I even know a few people from the area. I just hope they won't see me and rat me out to my parents.
God knows what would happen if they knew I went out without consulting them before. I'd probably be grounded. I would have been grounded for sneaking out to the movies, but no one had even noticed I was gone.

Rebekah parks in the grass because there is no room for us to park anywhere else. I can see a lot of my acquaintances and childhood friends entering the house with red solo cups in hand. I'm feeling nervous, but I breathe and calm myself down a bit. I follow the sidewalk to the front door with Rebekah skipping along behind me. The front door is wide open, so I make myself at home. The house is packed full of underaged drinking, beer pong players, and half-naked girls. I wince at the sight, definitely not my scene at all, but Rebekah screeches, "LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED!!" over the music as soon as she enters.

To that, everyone cheers and holds up their cups. My cheeks burn with embarrassment, but I smile over my shoulder at my bubbly bestie who is already dancing and striking up a conversation with a black-haired, tall, smiley guy. I scan the crowd for Austin, and eventually, I spotted him standing in the opening to his kitchen with a couple of his jock friends. I smile and make a beeline toward him, when suddenly, someone stepped in my path. Bitchany.

"Can I help you?" I fold my arms.

"Yes, by telling me who the hell invited the scum to the party," she looks at me with disgust.

"Austin invited the scum," I smile, examining the anger in her eyes as I say this.

"Huh, interesting, because he invited me, too."

"Hey, Roxanne!" A voice shouts from over Brittany's shoulder. It's Austin. He's smiling and waving me over, he has a friend standing with him. Brittany notices him and gets red-faced angry.

"If you'll excuse me, I've got some scum business to attend to," I chuckle, shoving by her. My bag hits her as I pass by. But I fail to get away from her as she shoves me back by shoving my shoulder rather roughly.

"I don't know what you're trying to do, you little tramp," she snarls, getting close to me. Creep. "but Austin will never go for you. You're nothing to him." She looks at me with an evil look while playing with a strand of her pitch black hair. Shifting the strand from hand to hand. To anyone else across the room it would look like two normal teenage girls catching up. It's nothing but.

"Roxy! Over here!" Suddenly I hear Austin's voice. I look back over Brittany's shoulder and see him. He's alone now. He waves me over to him. His nickname for me makes me smile. I try to hide it and not think too much of it.

I throw Bitchany a sarcastic grin before going over to Austin. But not before hearing her whisper subtly in my ear, "He'll find out what a waste of time and space you are in no time," before shoving by me going in the direction of the kitchen. Probably to flirt with the football team.

"Hey." Austin greets as I approach him.

"Hey," I greet back with a playful and irresistible smile toying at my lips.

"I'm glad you could make it," he says over the loud music. He turns his back to me for a second, and then faces me with a bag of chocolate peanuts. "For you," he chuckles.

I laugh, my cheeks burning a bit, "thank you." I smile and take the bag from him.

"No problem," he grins, "sorry, it was kind of a last-minute invite."

"It's cool," I wave. I glance over my shoulder and don't see Bekah anywhere. There's no telling where that party-animal ran off to. Or who she ran off with. She's an unexpected character, she is!

"So," he awkwardly shifts his stance.

"So," I push my hair behind my ears.

"It's loud. Hard to talk here. Would you want to go somewhere quieter?" Austin suddenly asks, surprising me.

"S-sure," I stutter. "You're gonna leave your house unattended with these people?"

"Great," he says with a smile. "Don't worry. I have some friends here that won't let anything happen." He starts to walk away, so I follow. I try to find Bekah on our way outside, and eventually, I spot her. She is standing on the sidewalk outside, and her face is pale.

"Rebekah," I say, getting her attention, "you okay?"

She nods once, "yeah, just feeling a little sick. I think it might've been the pizza," she admits.

"Have you drank anything?" I question her.

"Not yet," she grins slyly.

"Maybe you shouldn't. Maybe you should go home and get some rest. Alcohol definitely won't help you right now," Austin says, surprising us both. I look up at him then back at Rebekah.

"He's right," I agree, frowning at my best friend.

"It's okay," Rebekah insists, "we just got here. I don't want to force you to leave when the fun is just starting."

I start to tell her it's fine, that her well-being is more important, but Austin stops me short.

"I'll bring her home," Austin tells her, startling me once more.

Rebekah smiles, impressed. "Oh, alright," she says, "just make sure she's back by curfew." She winks. "If you're gonna be late, then text me. I'll tell your mom you're with me. Staying over."

"Thank you," I scowl at her, and she chortles.

Rebekah strides toward her car after waving goodbye, and I turn to Austin. He's already looking at me. I blink and awkwardly drop my gaze.

"So, tell me... The most beautiful scenery you have in this small town," Austin turns his head to the side. "Besides you."

My cheeks flush, and I break my eye contact. Did he really just say that? One place in particular comes to mind. I smile, "why don't I show you?"

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6 MONTHS! 6 FREAKIN MONTHS AND NO UPDATE. WHAT THE ACTUAL HELL. I AM SO SO SO SORRY 😭😭😭

I am truly applaud. Lots been going on the past 6 months both writing and personally but don't worry this book hasn't been forgotten! I just have another book I'm writing. I'm kinda prioritising that a bit more😂😂😂 if you're interested the first 4 chapters are up on my profile. The book is called The Mute Girl :)