Tory’s POV
It’s been a week and four days since Nate and I last spoke – yeah, I’ve been counting. Sure, I’ve been seeing him at school, nearly every day. As for Rex, he shows up at school whenever he likes smirking at me every chance he gets.
Looking back at it now, I understood why I fell in love with him. He was perfect, he was handsome, sexy, popular and a nice guy, Rex had no bad side known to me and I really believed that he didn’t have a bad side.
Now, I know what he is and whenever I think about how we kissed or had sex, I see now that he was just using me, I was a means to an end.
It was our last day of continuous assessments and I hadn’t aced my exam today. I was avoiding Rex, he’s been threatening me for some unknown reason.
He keeps dragging me inside empty classes, telling me not to screw his plan up, and before I get the chance to ask him what he means he just dashes off.
” Hey!” My friends said all at once, startling me. Rachel was holding Jake’s hand, Joanne was with Zach and Janelle was alone but she was still dating that guy from the club. I am the only one who’s suffering in self-inflicted silence while they were all glowing.
“Hi, guys” I said smiling faintly.
” What’s up? We’re having a party Tonight at Zach’s house, wanna come?”
” No thanks Rachel, I’m good”
” You know, you don’t have to shut everyone out because of that meatloaf brain”
” Yes, Janelle, I know. I just… don’t have it in me to have fun or whatever. Besides, the fact that you put my name on the list of prospective prom Queens doesn’t help matters” I said weakly, tucking my hair behind my ears as I made my way out of school.
” Duh! What did you expect? You ditched us on the Date-A-Thon and you didn’t have any fun. I want you to have fun tomorrow -”
” – and that’s final!” Joanne chipped in. They had promised to never speak to me again if I didn’t show up and honestly I didn’t care.
I know it sounds bad of me to say but I didn’t. As I came out of school and stood there watching everyone chatter excitedly about school being over and prom being tomorrow, what dress they were gonna wear, what car they were gonna ride. I didn’t even see any reason to attend, I am not gonna attend.
” You remember our deal right?” Rachel said as she joined Janelle and Joanne in their arm folding position and stared at me. Zach and Jake moved aside a little and were talking.
” We’re gonna unfriend you!” Joanne reiterated and I scoffed.
“I don’t need to go, I call your bluff!” I said with a pout afterward and they just looked at me like I was crazy. Zach and Jake now moved closer and were now wondering what’s going on.
” Babe, what’s up? We should go get ready.” Jake asked Rachel and Rachel reported me to him, he and Zach shared knowing looks before Jake chuckled.
” Leave her alone, she’ll go” he said to Rachel as he hugged her from behind and kissed her cheek.
” No! ” Rachel said slightly pissed.
“Tory do you even have a dress?”
“No, Joanne I do not”
” Damn it, Tory, you’re ruining your self all over again!” Rachel said unable to watch me go back to being the same old dull looking and no fun Tory. Some people looked our way and when I looked away from my friends, my eyes caught sight of Nate. He was looking at me, it was brief but he was.
My heart lurched as I saw him talk to a girl and she excitedly squealed ” yes!” To him and then he flashed her one of those sexy smiles of his and said to her ” look pretty tomorrow” before he got in his car and left.
When I looked back at my friends, they also seemed to have looked back at me at the same time and were holding back smiles.
” What’s with you guys?”
” Nothing, just that, I think Nate is going to prom tomorrow and he just asked that girl to go with him,” Janelle said smiling mischievously and I sighed.
“Good for them. Have a nice time at your party ” I said as I sighted Mr. Joe and started going to our car.
” Tory!” I heard Rachel’s Stern voice calling but I turned around and smiled before yelling ” Happy hangovers!”
” Ugh!” I heard her groan in frustration.
I got in the car and greeted Mr. Joe. ” Are my sisters coming?”
” No miss, they’re not – something about coming back later on their own.”
” Okay,” I said before I rested my back on the seat and closed my eyes, dozing off.
***********
After several hours of sleep, I woke up that evening to the sound of my phone vibrating, damn it was so annoying and loud! It was a text from Toni.
” I need your help Tory, can you bring me Toni’s inhaler? She’s having an asthma attack! – Rachel”
Toni had been asthmatic and never went anywhere without her inhaler, she barely ever used it but whenever she needed to, asthma hit her hard.
I rushed to her medicine cabinet in her room and took about two inhalers before I looked myself in the mirror. My hair was a little – not so bad and I wasn’t dressed at all, all I had was my bra and panties.
I opened my closet and threw on a pink, sparkly hoody and jean trousers before I wore my Jordans and raced downstairs, leaving the house.
” Take me to the party at Zach’s – you drove my sisters there right?” I asked Mr. Joe and he nodded before he got in the car and I did as well, seating in the front.
” I need you to drive real fast Mr. Joe”
” Buckle up!” He said and I obeyed.
*********
” Have you seen my sister, Toni?” I said to a tall redhead boy who was holding hands with his boyfriend, I presume.
” No, sorry” he said with a smile before he focused on the boy and I left. I had called Toni’s line, in fact, everyone’s line – I just couldn’t fucking find them.
” It’s been fifteen minutes. Damn it!” I yelled out in frustration as I walked past the crowd of drunken teenagers at the back of Zach’s large house. The music was awful and I just didn’t have a clue where my sister was. What am I supposed to do?
My phone vibrated in my hand and I quickly looked at it. It was a reminder that I had to study, totally useless – I never used it.
” Very convenient!” I groaned before I entered Zach’s house through the back door and climbed the stairs. I walked past the teens talking and making out in the lobby and suddenly wanted to pee.
As I entered a room, I quickly rushed into the bathroom and my eyes widened in shock when I saw Troas banging Toni, her legs wrapped around his waist, Eww!!!
” What the hell Toni?!” I said closing my eyes. Troas seemingly pulled out of her as I heard her feet touch the ground, yep, he pulled out alright.
” What the hell Tory! Don’t you know how to knock?!” She said glaring at me murderously.
” Don’t you two know how to moan so that someone would know something is going on in here?” I shot back and she cleared her throat.
” Uhh, I’m just gonna go” Troas said, slightly embarrassed but Toni pulled him back.
” Troas, wait! – Tory, what are you looking for?”
“You don’t need your inhaler since all this sex you’re having would not require it” I deadpanned and she glared at me.
” Of course I don’t! Did you come here to joke with me?”
” You’re the one who asked me to bring your inhaler – actually Rachel did but she used your phone.”
Toni scoffed and then walked out of the bathroom, pulling Troas with her.
” Your friends have tricked you then. My phone’s with Rachel, I lost a bet at the party and she’s seizing my phone for the rest of the week. What else to do than to sleep with my boyfriend?”
” What? How could she do that to me? – And wait, boyfriend? You two are for real?”
” Yeah, we are. Now get out!” She said with a sweet smile and I just grunted but I went inside the bathroom and peed first, they didn’t care, they had resumed their kissing by the time I left their room.
Without even thinking twice I turned right when I found Rachel, Janelle, Joanne, Penny, and other girls laughing as they sat on the couch and I started to move towards them only to slam into a firm chest.
” Damn it!” I said as I almost fell but the person held onto my waist, while I steadied myself by placing my hands on his chest but as I was getting ready to curse the hell out of him, my words got stuck in my mouth as I saw Nate’s green eyes and his perfect lips so close to mine. We stood there in that position for a split second before he released me and I removed my hands from his chest.
” Watch where you’re going” he said coldly before he walked away.
How wonderful.