Lilian's POV
If anyone had told me hangovers hurt this badly, I would not have drunk so much last night. One second I was holding a drink, and the next everything turned blurry. I am not even sure I lasted thirty minutes at the party. I honestly felt bad for Karl, having to leave with me so early.
He piggybacked me to my room, but Avelyn was not in and the door was locked. Karl suggested we wait in his dorm until she got back. When we got there, I sat on the bed and he offered me juice. I remember it being red. It tasted awful. I spat it out after one sip, then slumped onto the bed and fell asleep.
I woke up the next morning with a throbbing headache and Karl sitting on the chair opposite me. He was watching me. Not casually. More like he was staring straight through me.
"Good morning, Karl," I said.
He did not respond. His eyes never left me.
"I am sorry if I inconvenienced you last night. Thanks for letting me crash here," I added, suddenly uncomfortable with the silence.
"You smell… different," Karl said.
Different? I frowned. Did I have body odour? I lifted my arm slightly and sniffed, trying to be discreet and failing badly.
"I do not know what you are talking about," I said, irritation creeping into my voice. "And I do not appreciate whatever this is."
I grabbed my shoes, stood up, and left his room without waiting for a reply.
On my way back to my dorm, there were whispers and stares. At first, I brushed it off. The guys here always stared. But this felt different. Their eyes lingered too long. Their expressions were unreadable, unsettling.
By the time I reached the girls' dorm, nothing had changed. The looks followed me down the hallway, sharp and curious. I started wondering if I had somehow become interesting to everyone overnight.
When I reached my room, I was relieved to see the door unlocked.
"Hey, Lilian," a voice said.
It was not Avelyn's.
I turned around, my mouth falling open. "Mirabel. To what do I owe this pleasure so early in the morning?" I said, forcing cheerfulness.
"You smell," she replied flatly. "And no, the pleasure is not yours. I am here for my darling Vee."
She pointed at Avelyn, sleeping peacefully on the bed.
I ignored the question of why Mirabel was in my room and focused on the one thing that now seemed to follow me everywhere.
Smell.
I swallowed whatever comeback was forming and headed straight for the bathroom. I was grateful, for once, that it was attached to my room. I had no desire to step back outside and give anyone else a reason to look at me like that.
When I got back from the bathroom, Avelyn was awake and talking to Mirabel. I glared at her, reminded of exactly what kind of person she was.
"Since when do we accept visitors in the room?" I said.
I could not wrap my head around how or when she managed to befriend Mirabel. And I hated that a part of me felt jealous. She should have been sulking. Or apologising. Not laughing.
She did not respond.
That annoyed me more than if she had.
"I do not know where this new act is coming from," I continued, "but you would not even be here if not for me. And why was the door locked when you are not the only one staying in this room?"
She finally looked at me.
"I was not expecting you to forget your keys," she said calmly. "You do not expect me to leave without locking the door, do you?"
Then she turned back to Mirabel, and they continued talking like I was not even there.
That was it.
I got dressed, sprayed my perfume generously, did my makeup, and walked out. I was not giving anyone another reason to look at me like I was the problem.
...Avelyn's POV .....
After sitting in awkward silence with Mirabel at the cabin party for a few minutes, I saw Zane.
Our eyes met.
I looked away immediately, silently hoping he would not come over. He did.
Mirabel was the one who called him over. A moment later, he was sitting beside me, and I found myself stuck between the two of them
" I heard there was a fight in the girls dorm cause of you" Mirabel said and I could feel myself tense up, I know one thing for sure and that is Mirabel is a blabber mouth.
" Hmmm…. You heard wrong, there was indeed a fight but wasn't about me" He replied and I couldn't help but want to laugh, really?… not about him? I got spat on cause he came looking for me and he's claiming the fight isn't about him.
" I was talking about the rite my family had me participate in over the summer but Avelyn here is confused " she said and now I really think she was sent after me, why can't she just talk and leave me out of it.
" She might be confused cause she just joined the school and I'm not sure her parents and any of ours are friends like the rest of us" he replied and I was really starting to get bored, I didn't want to get drunk so I haven't really drank my beer, Zane somehow sensed I was bored and he spoke up this time directing the talk to me.
"You don't always have to put up with your friend's bullshits, learn to stand up for yourself" he said and that was it, I hate being the center of people's talk, yeah I know I'm being pushed over but please don't make me look weak by sounding like that.
" You know there are a lot of topics for the both of you to talk about without making the subject" I said sounding upset than I intended.
"Sorry" I could hear the two mumble.it was silent again. Remind me why I came to this party again? If this is how the rich parties then it suck's for them.
" I got these gummies for anyone who wants to try" Zane said dipping his hand into his pockets showing two pink colored gummies on his palm. " it's not that hard, I've taken 3 in hopes of getting high but here I am" he added as he dramatically slumped his shoulder in disappointment.
" let me try one, been wanting to get high" Mirabel's cheerful voice rose as she snatched one the gummies from Zane and dropped it in her mouth. " this is nice, you should try it" she said facing me.
" Let's share the last one" Zane said as he bit half of the gummy into his mouth and offered me the other half which I took without hesitation.
Moments later, something shifted in my body. The music felt farther away, like it had been turned down even though it hadn't. Everything felt lighter. Brighter. I realised, distantly, that I was high.
I stared at Zane and pointed at his nose.
"You're annoyingly handsome," I said, my words slurring together. "No wonder Lilian is so obsessed with you."
"Why is it so quiet?" I frowned, looking around. "DJ! Where's the DJ?" I shouted, even though the speakers were still blasting. Only the two of them reacted.
"Zane," I said suddenly, tugging at my dress. "It's so hot. I feel like taking this off."
"No, no," he said quickly, standing up and holding my hands. "You can't do that. Let's step outside and get some air."
He guided me away from the noise, toward the trees.
"I don't get how you're this high from half a gummy," Mirabel said, watching us.
"Maybe she's different from the rest of us," Zane replied. "She needs to stay here until it wears off. I don't want her doing something she'll regret."
He sat down beside Mirabel while I spun around, arms loose in the air, laughing at nothing.
"This feels so good," I shouted. "I love being happy!"