Page 33 of Two Weeks to Fall in Love

Two Weeks to Join the Party

Melissa sounded predictably surprised after I’d relayed the situation. “A party on a Tuesday? That’s . . . interesting.”

“I know. His sister likes to do unexpected things.” I exhaled into the phone and rolled onto my back, the bed groaning below me. “You’ll come, right?”

Silence stretched on the other side of the line and worry seeped into me. There was no way I could go to a party alone. The fact I had a PhD in overthinking didn’t exactly make me shine in situations that involved new people.

“Mel, please, I really don’t wanna go alone and I already told him I’d come and also you know we said we’d go to more parties this year and the fact that—”

“Oh my god, okay, okay, anything to halt your word vomit.” Melissa exhaled on the other end of the line, and I grinned.

“Ugh, I can hear your obnoxious grin.” Melissa groaned and I pursed my lips together. She knew me too well. “You’ll owe me for this, though. I don’t usually party during the weekdays, it cuts into my sleep schedule.”

I rolled my eyes as I spoke. “You never know, it could be really fun!”

“Doubtful.” The sigh on the other end sounded mournful, but I knew she was already mentally picking her outfit.

“Wanna come over early and get ready?” I asked, excitement with a tinge of nostalgia running through me. Lily had been here for the last party we went to, and now we were one woman down.

“Of course I’m coming over to get ready. You promised I could put makeup on you the next time we went out,” Melissa said in her singsong voice, and a chill ran through me.

“Shit.”

All that came from the other line was laughter. And not the cute, comforting type.

*

I had surpassed nervous and was walking straight into panic mode .

The school day passed faster than any school day before—maybe because it was the rare day when Noah didn’t sit on our table for lunch.

Well, for most of lunch. He had come over to whisper in my ear that he was looking forward to the party, causing me to almost choke on the apple juice I’d been drinking.

“You okay?” Noah’s voice shook me out of my thoughts. I looked to the side and saw him glancing at me with a frown before focusing back on the road.

“Yeah, I’m very okay, totally okay. Why wouldn’t I be okay?” I mumbled, squeezing my hands together.

Noah chuckled before stretching his hand out and grabbing mine, coaxing it out of the clenched ball of tension I’d created in my lap.

“Because you don’t look very, totally okay to me,” he said, and entwined our fingers, giving my hand a light squeeze. “What’s bothering you? School? Family?”

I shook my head to each question, looking down at my lap.

“Jacob?” he tried.

Snorting at his ridiculous suggestion, I rolled my eyes. That guy was no longer even a blip on my radar.

“Me?”

I shook my head with even more vigor this time, glancing at him for emphasis. He cast me a playful glance, one eyebrow raised, before shifting his focus back to the road.

“Ah. It’s the party, isn’t it?”

This time I just cleared my throat, not wanting to lie or admit that something as simple as a party had me tied in so many knots.

But technically, this wasn’t just a party.

It was a party I’d been invited to by my boyfriend.

A true staple of the high-school experience, based on all the teen movies I’d watched.

“It’s just a small party, there won’t be too many people if that’s what you’re worried about.”

I sighed, pretty disappointed in the fact that I was so horrible at hiding my emotions. “I just haven’t gone to a party in a while, so I guess I’m a little nervous, maybe.”

“I’ve got you, Skyler. I’ll make sure you have fun. Trust me,” Noah said, and squeezed my hand again.

My eyes drifted to him naturally, and I felt my heart skip when he hit me with one of his trademark charming smiles.

“I trust you,” I said automatically.

“Good. That’s good. You wanna do a question? Might distract you.”

“Yeah, sure, let’s do it.”

“What role do friends take in your life?”

A good question, but one that I didn’t have to think too long about before answering.

“Family,” I said, and placed one hand on my chest, thinking of Melissa and Lily.

They meant so much to me the word friends often felt like it didn’t explain the sentiment well enough.

They had been with me through everything.

Forgave me anything. Supported me even when they disagreed with me.

“For me, true friendship bleeds into family. The found kind of family.”

Noah chuckled, and I looked at him, frowning.

“Is something funny?” I asked, mildly irritated at the idea he might be mocking my answer.

“No, not at all. It’s just, you stole my answer,” he replied, and glanced at me. “I think friendship is found family as well. At least, if you find the right people.”

My heart warmed at another thing I seemed to have in common with this enigmatic boy. “I’m guessing you found the right people too?”

He nodded, his shoulders relaxing with quiet reassurance. “You might meet them tonight, actually. Only if you want. I mean, no pressure.”

“I’d like that, actually.”

Even though I knew of them, I was pretty sure I’d never really interacted with anyone from their group.

Noah beamed at me, clearly excited that I was willing to meet his friends, and the pressure in my heart lessened. It was going to be fine. This party was going to be low-key and fun.

*

“Okay, you look hot.” Melissa spun me around to face the mirror.

My mouth dropped open. The reflection staring back at me did look stunning.

Melissa had used green and violet eyeshadow to match the violet dress I wore, a light-colored lipstick, and a golden highlighter that subtly enhanced my cheekbones.

Her skills had gotten even better since the last time I’d seen her wear fancy makeup.

“Damn, I do look hot,” I agreed, turning my face to stare at it from every direction.

“That’s what I said.” Melissa squealed, jumping beside me and clapping her hands.

“You’re really good at this, Mel. You should start a channel or something.”

She waved my suggestion away. “Oh, the popular ones are much better than me, and there are so many makeup artists now anyway. But, hey, I can make my bestie look like a movie star, and that’s good enough for me.”

“Thanks, Mel. But I still think you’re the one who looks like a movie star.” I hugged her quickly and then pulled away to stare at her face and the little diamonds she’d stuck on it. “Let me guess, was Euphoria the inspiration?”

“Maybe.” Melissa smacked her lips and twirled around. “You like?”

“I love !”

“Well, thank you, thank you,” she sang and curtsied. “I think we’re party ready, don’t you? Noah said it starts around seven thirty, right?”

“Yup. Seven thirty,” I replied, and stretched my fingers, the nerves in me growing again at the mention of his name.

“Well, then, let’s get going, girl. We’ve got a rager—”

“Small party,” I interrupted, and Melissa rolled her eyes at me.

“A party to conquer.”

“Yup. We’ve got this,” I echoed Noah’s earlier sentiments and grinned.

*

We so did not have this. And this was so not a small party.

There were at least a hundred people there when we entered Noah’s massive house. I should have expected this kind of mansion was where Noah Archer lived. After all, his car was proof enough that his parents were well-off. But seeing it in the flesh was another thing altogether.

“Wow. Just wow, that’s it.” Melissa spoke first, squeezing my hand as she looked around.

“Should we, uh, mingle?” I asked, looking around the crowd and trying to spot a familiar tall shape.

“Okay, who is that ?” Melissa asked, nudging her head to my right.

I looked in the direction she was hinting at and saw a girl and a guy among a group of people chugging beers arranged on the table. The girl finished first and smashed her cup down with vigor, letting out a happy yell as the rest of the people around them clapped and hollered.

“ That’s my sister.” A very familiar voice said behind us.

Before I even saw him, I turned around with a familiar sense of excitement.

“I’m glad you’re here,” he said, reaching out his hand and squeezing mine for a second before turning to Melissa. “Both of you.”

“Thanks for inviting us,” Melissa said, her eyes seemingly searching for someone in the crowd.

I looked around the room. Every so often a familiar face would surface. People I remembered from back when we were juniors or even freshmen. It was an odd feeling. But I doubted Melissa was swept up by nostalgia. She never seemed so interested in others.

“Did you get here re—” Noah started speaking again, before being interrupted by a girl throwing a hand over his shoulders.

“You must be Skyler.” It was the girl who had been playing the beer game, pink hair sticking to her face and blue eyes glinting with excitement.

She’d made such an entrance that it took me a second to realize she wasn’t looking at me.

She was looking at Melissa. “I knew my brother was smitten, but I didn’t know you’d be so gorgeous. ”

Oh. My.

Melissa turned crimson and seemed to be struggling to come up with words to say. Something highly unusual for her, seeing as we always joked that she’d probably rise from the dead just to hold her own eulogy.

“That’s Melissa. This is Skyler,” Noah said, rolling his eyes as he motioned to me. “This is my sister, Tara.”

“Oh! I’m so sorry, I just assumed . . .” Her eyes drifted from me to Melissa, and the corner of her lip rose in a smile that looked oddly familiar.

“Lucky me, I guess,” she said, before clearing her throat.

“I’m Tara, it’s so nice to finally meet you, Skyler.

” She grinned and offered her hand. I shook it and then her attention quickly shifted to my best friend.

“Melissa, or Mel, that also works.” Melissa finally spoke, taking Tara’s hand into hers. There was a moment of distinct tension that flickered between them, as they held each other’s hands a few seconds too long.

“Melissa,” Tara repeated, drawing out the name as if savoring every moment it spent on her lips. The moment between them almost seemed intimate.

“Well, thanks for interrupting, sis, off you go,” Noah said, gently pushing his sister to the side.

“Oh, no, no, little bro, you won’t get rid of me that easy. I require a tribute,” Tara retaliated, gazing significantly in Melissa’s direction. “Ever played spin the bottle, Mel?”

“Who hasn’t?” Melissa snorted as if she was the local expert in the game. If I hadn’t known her better I would have even believed that.

“Well, great, we’re missing one person to make it even. Wanna join?” Tara said, a grin on her face as she extended her hand to Melissa.

Melissa looked at me, her eyes asking for both approval and judgment. I nodded enthusiastically, bumping her hip with mine.

“Go, have fun, I’ve got Noah,” I said automatically, without even considering the words I’d just spoken. Before I could mentally freak out, Noah’s hand found mine and my heart seemed to slow down and speed up at the same time.

“Then sure.” Melissa giggled and put her hand into Tara’s, who wasted no time pulling my bestie into a crowd, and then they were gone.

“Your sister seems cool,” I commented, glancing at Noah, who exhaled as if he’d just avoided a tornado.

“She’s a lot of things,” he muttered, but the love in his voice made it clear how close the two actually were.

“Loving this small get-together, by the way,” I joked, squeezing his hand. He let out a groan and ran his hand down his face.

“Oh god, don’t even get me started. Want something to drink?”

I laughed and nodded. “Sure.”

And into the crowd we went.