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He winked and patted my ass as I walked away.

I couldn’t help but notice Cal was now alone, as Krystal leaned forward talking to her little posse. There’s no doubt now that his eyes were on me, and he didn’t seem pleased. I avoided his gaze and moved back towards school, refusing to allow him to make me feel guilty.

It’s not like I’m his girlfriend.

Chapter Eight

GRETCHEN

Later that evening, I made my way downstairs, trying not to trip in my heels. I lifted the green dress up as I walked, as Luke studied me with a low whistle.

My Dad sent him a sharp glare, causing Luke to straighten up and smile politely. My Mom then insists on taking a million photos, and I posed, a fake smile plastered across my face.

"Guys please, I just want to go..." I groaned, sending Luke a desperate look as he held his hands up by a way of apology.

"Sorry, Mr. & Mrs. Red, ladies orders."

They both smiled and wished us a great evening, whilst I promise to be back at a reasonable time. The drive to the dance was silent, neither of us saying much to the other; which wasn’t like us.

We pulled up outside as Luke turned to me, his eyes searching mine as he took my hands in his.

"Babe, just have a good night tonight. I’ll be there whenever you want me, okay"

I smiled gratefully, and we made our way into the dance. They’d decorated the hall beautifully, and as we stepped in, my heels sank into the plush carpet that welcomed us.

I spotted Rosie standing with Hal, a boy from our history class. We made our way over to them as I embraced her tightly.

"Babe you look sensational!" I breathed. She really did: her hair was worn poker straight, her curvaceous body hugged by a full-length black dress with red slits, exposing her gorgeous legs. Her chocolate brown eyes were surrounded by smoky black glitter, whilst her lips painted a deep red.

"Wow," I said, as she beamed at me.

"You think so? You look amazing as usual."

Hal excuses himself to get us drinks when Ethan & Sienna turn up beside us. Poor guy—I could only guess he didn’t feel too comfortable around people he didn’t know too well.

Sienna looked gorgeous in a glitzy gold dress showing off her shiny red hair and tanned skin. Ethan couldn’t take his eyes away from her, and she returned his heated gaze.

It was typical for them to be this loved up, but I was relieved when Luke and Finn joined us, the latter appearing to be without a date.

"Girls, who wants to dance with me?" Finn held his arms open, his eyes on Rosie. "Rosie, you look incredible." His face changed as he stared at her, and he held his hand out to her. "May I have this dance?"

He didn’t wait for a response, his hand lacing with Rosie’s, walking to the dance floor as she obediently followed him.

Sienna pressed a glass into my hand, whispering, "Down that, I popped some vodka in to make it work quicker," she winked at me and I struggled to drink it. It tasted like rocket fuel.

As the night went on, I searched the dance floor for Cal. I knew he wouldn’t come— dances didn’t seem his thing.

I remember Krystal’s words about her relationship with him, and I knocked back the entire drink, signalling to Sienna for another. Hal was stood on the side, watching Rosie and Finn with annoyance, who seemed to be close on the dance floor some ten songs later.

Sienna nudged me, nodding at Krystal across the room. "Look at her."

I followed her eyes to see Krystal standing on the side of the dance floor looking pissed off. "I wonder where her date is?" I mused, fishing for information from Sienna.

"Well," Sienna slurred, "rumour has it she hasn’t got one."

I looked back with surprise at Krystal, who is now speaking to Ray, another one of the football players. "It won’t bother her for long," I remarked.

I searched for Luke, finding him dancing with Wes and Grey, two of his friends, as they tried to make the floss seem sexy.