The party had started later than she'd anticipated it would. After dinner, there was plenty of time for her to shower and pick out her outfit and since she didn't want to look like she tried too hard but she also didn't want to look unkempt, she really needed that extra time. In the end, she chose a cute black dress that somewhat resembled her uniform back at the estate, except that the skirt was shorter and the front was cut a lot lower.

She decided to keep her hair down but pinned the front strands back so they wouldn't fall in her face. There wasn't much to say for makeup; she just didn't have any.

Justin's steak dinner hadn't been all that bad and she appreciated having a home-cooked meal for the first time in a while. He'd cooked some peas from a can as well, but had burnt them because he was too busy talking to a girl on his phone and hadn't noticed that all the water had evaporated.

Both guys had changed outfits too but she hadn't seen Justin arrive with anything, making her suspect he'd either borrowed Sébastien's or just took them. They looked good, both wore fitted jeans but where Sébastien had chosen a white T-shirt Justin had picked a light blue dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up.

The way Sébastien's muscles would stretch under his skin every time he moved enchanted Ava and she had to actually focus in order to not get caught staring at him. The shirt fit him very well and showed off his fit body in the process.

The first people to arrive were a group of three men and one woman. Sébastien had introduced them to Ava as Philip, Sam, Steven, and Elena. The guys had greeted her politely before walking towards the kitchen to talk to Justin while Elena stuck behind to talk to Sébastien and Ava.

The latter couldn't help but admire the beauty in front of her. Her long brown hair was styled to perfection with long curls falling down her back. Her dark skin seemed to radiate and her makeup was subtle yet still highlighted the natural beauty of her face.

They exchanged some words and Sébastien walked off, making Elena fully turn towards Ava who had to pretend like she hadn't been staring at her for the last five minutes.

"I'm so glad you're already here," she started with a smile. "I was afraid I'd get here and would have had to spend the first hours of the night with these guys," she finished while pointing at the men far off behind them.

Her English accent made her sound even more charming than she already was and Ava wished she had even a fragment of her charm.

"I know what you mean, I had to spend the whole afternoon with them," Ava fake sighed dramatically, causing Elena to laugh. "You poor thing," she gushed. "Come on, let's get a drink to forget your horrendous day."

"Oh um, I don't drink," Ava replied awkwardly while staying rooted in her spot.

"Aw, come on," Elena drawled while hooking her arm through Ava's. " You're going to need one if you want to enjoy this night, especially with some of the people I know are coming too," she explained while pulling Ava with her to the table with all the drinks.

Ava threw a look back at the kitchen to look for Sébastien but he was laughing and talking with his friends. "I'll tell you what, I'll make it extra tasty for you. You look like you like fruity drinks so this will be perfect for you."

The drink she made turned out pink and came from a bottle one of them had brought with them as Ava didn't recognize it. It did smell good, but she still eyed the drink skeptically since she really didn't want to drink.

She didn't know how she'd react to it and feared the possibilities. It wouldn't kill her, but it scared her nonetheless.

Elena made one for herself as well and turned back with an excited smile. "Here's to us," she toasted before taking a large gulp of the drink, making Ava eye hers again. "Come on, Ava," Elena whined after seeing she hadn't taken a dip yet. "It won't kill you, I promise."

With one last look at Sébastien, who was still busy enjoying herself, she decided to close her eyes and go for it. After a large breath, she took a sizeable gulp and swallowed.

At first, the taste wasn't all that bad. The cherry flavor dominated the drink but there were hints of strawberry and melon as well. The trouble started with the afterburn, which threw her into a coughing fit.

"Oh, dear," Elena laughed. "Take it easy, we have the whole night in front of us."

"I'm sorry," Ava coughed while trying to survive the burning sensation. "It looked easier when you did it."

"That's talent baby," she laughed in reply as some people approached. "Oh, hey girls, what's up? This is Ava," she said while gesturing at Ava who smiled at them awkwardly.

"Ava, this is Chloe," she said while waving her hand at the tall blonde woman, "and this is Tina," she finished while pointing out the somewhat shorter woman with platinum blonde hair.

Both wore so much makeup it was hard to make out what they actually looked like and Ava wished she had the means and talent to shape her face the way she wanted to.

The taller one, Chloe, swept her eyes up her body and stared at her face a little too long before answering, "Hi Ava, aren't you a sweet one?" Her lips were so large and puffy they hardly moved as she spoke and it made her pronounce some vowels in a funny way.

She didn't really know what she meant by that, but luckily the shorter one talked before it could get awkward. "Hi Ava, nice to meet you," she said with a small smile, making Ava feel a little more relaxed.

More people had arrived while she hadn't noticed but it suddenly dawned at her that it was getting a little crowded. She'd never done well with crowds and nerves started running through her body, causing her to quickly take another sip while the women around her talked to each other.

"Chloe, baby, come sit with me," a man she didn't know yelled from the sofa. A few people were sitting around them but there was still plenty of space left for their little group.

"In your dreams," Chloe called back while moving towards the couch but sitting on the other side as far away from him as possible. While the other ones chose a spot Ava watched and took the last one, which was between Elena and a blonde guy she also hadn't met yet.

"Hi pretty, I don't think we have met yet," he said, trying to grab her attention. Successfully, too, because she immediately looked back at him to reply, "Hi, I'm Ava."

The music was louder from their new spot so she had to speak up to be heard, but it was surprisingly easy to do so. That might have had something to do with the now empty cup in her hand.

"Ava," he said as if testing the name in his mouth. "A beautiful name for a beautiful girl. I'm Olly."

"Hi Olly," she replied, not really knowing what the right thing to say in these situations was. "That cup looks terribly empty, I would hate for you to dehydrate," he smiled while taking the cup from her.

"Oh no, I don't--" she tried to plead but he was already gone. With a sigh, she looked back at the girls, now deep in their conversation about a mutual acquaintance she didn't know.

She lamely looked around the party which was now absolutely crowding the apartment. The amount of people meant there was plenty to see. There was already a pair kissing heatedly in the hallway, making her quickly turn her gaze the other way. She found a guy from the first group eating fistfuls of M&M's while dropping half of them.

Great, she thought. Guess that'll be fun to clean up in the morning.

The next thing she saw was Sébastien talking to a girl. They were too far away for her to hear what they were talking about but they stood unnaturally close to each other, making her fear she was someone he liked.

And why wouldn't he? The woman was absolutely gorgeous. Tall, skinny, perfect skin, and long blonde hair with a small tight-fitting dress that drew more than one guy to stare at her assets.

It hurt to imagine them together, but it didn't make sense for him to stay single. Besides, it wasn't like she ever stood a chance anyway. The truth hurt, she supposed.

Her field of vision was obscured when Olly returned with her drink and a big smile on his face. "Here," he said while handing over the cup. He'd put in even more than Elena had and if she moved too much it spilled over.

"Thank you, Olly, but you didn't have to. I'm done with drinking," she said apologetically. The first drink hadn't affected her much, but she also didn't want to drink in the first place. The second one was bound to cause some effects and she definitely didn't want that.

"What do you mean you're done? The evening hasn't even started yet. Just a little sip?"

"No, I really shouldn't," she replied while looking down at the drink. It was a light orange color and smelled a whole lot different from her previous drink, but she didn't know what it was exactly.

He took a large gulp from his own drink, which looked similar to hers before going on. "Don't be like that, baby," he whined. "One sip? I walked all the way over there for your drink."

It was hard to say no to that. He did through the trouble of getting the drink for her specifically. "Just one," she said, finding it hard to resist the puppy dog eyes he'd put up.

"That's my girl," he cheered while watching her take the sip.

It was only a small one, but the burning wasn't as bad as with the previous drink so she didn't start coughing right away at least. The fact he'd called her 'my girl' made her a little uncomfortable and she turned to look at the group of girls again, only to find that they were gone.

No help there, then. It was hard to determine how much time had passed. One moment they were there and the next they were gone. "So where are you from?" he asked, leaning in too close for her comfort. She felt the seat next to her dip and took that opportunity to look back. Unfortunately, it was a group of unknown people who sat next to her now so she had to turn back to the guy next to her.

"I'm from... around," she replied vaguely while scanning the room while taking another sip. "I like mysteries," he said while shifting in his seat. "Keeps things exciting. I'm from Miami, ever been there?"

"No."

"Don't worry, I'll take you there someday," he said while smiling in what she assumed was supposed to be a flirty manner.

"Um, I have to use the bathroom," she said while standing up to create some space between them. The room suddenly spun around her and she had to step back to steady herself.

She walked towards the bathroom but it was hard to walk and easy at the same time. It felt as if she was floating through the hallway since she couldn't really feel her legs. But at the same time, the hallway was blurry around her vision and when her eyes moved too fast she had to take a moment to see clearly again.

When she arrived the door was locked and she didn't feel like waiting around with a bunch of people she didn't know. So, she went to walk upstairs to use her own bathroom.

She passed the usually empty balcony on the second floor but it wasn't empty this time. Sébastien was there, as well as the girl from before. Both were still chatting and standing close together and Ava had to tear away her eyes. It was none of her business what he did, but she'd be lying if she said it didn't hurt.

He'd been so nice these past months she couldn't help but develop feelings for him, even if she tried so hard not to. But it had been out of her control and now she was all set up to get her heartbroken.

The wall seemed suddenly more important than the party below, even if she sat on the toilet doing absolutely nothing. With a sigh, she realized she couldn't let her first party experience be soured by her own hurt over an almost parasocial relationship.

On her way back she made a point of not looking back at the balcony. Walking down the stairs was a lot more challenging than walking up and she almost fell down due to placing her foot on the wrong spots.

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I'd love to hear your thoughts/theories of what's going on and what's going to happen!

I mean, I've already written the next chapter, so I know muwahaha

Please vote if you liked it and I'll speak to you all next week!

xx May