"Well, then relax. It's a party," Briana Leigh told her.
"Right."
Ariana turned around to scan the crowd and tried to find something, anything stationary, to focus on. Everywhere she looked, people were in motion. Girls danced in barely there skirts up on platforms dotting the stage. Waiters circulated with trays full of neon-colored drinks held precariously above the revelers' heads. People shouted and hugged and danced and sweated on each other. Ariana was starting to realize that she was not used to this. Even in her former life, she'd always had a little group of friends
to attend parties with. A group that acted as a sort of lifeboat in the choppy waters. She didn't like the fact
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that she didn't know anyone here. That she didn't have a safe zone to retreat to--a place where she was in control.
Maybe this had been a bad idea.
"Come on! Let's get down front where he can see us!" Briana Leigh shouted, grabbing Ariana's other arm.
Ariana's shoulder exploded with pain as Briana Leigh yanked her into the crowd, moving toward the stage. It was her sore shoulder, the one she'd fallen on during her faked suicide attempt, and suddenly it all came back to her in stark flashes. The cold floor, Kaitlynn's screaming, the rough hands of the orderlies, being held down with the tube shoved into her throat. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't breathe. Couldn't--
No. Stop it. You're not there anymore. It's over. Over. Over.As Briana Leigh wound around a group of randomly moshing skater-boy types, Ariana forced herself to breathe.
In, one... two... three...
Out, one... two... three...
It's a party. The first one you've been to in almost two years. Just relax....
That was when Briana Leigh took a sudden turn and Ariana slammed right into a passing waiter. His tray went flying and empty beer bottles scattered everywhere, one shattering against the edge of the stage. Bits of glass ricocheted in all directions and the partiers within range shouted and scattered.
"Oh my--I'm so sorry!" Ariana cried.
Briana Leigh stopped, annoyed, still clutching Ariana's hand.
"No problem." The black-clad waiter gathered up his tray and
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stood. He ran a hand through his longish blond hair and looked around. "Everyone okay? No injuries?"
The partiers shrugged and went about their dancing. The waiter turned to Ariana and smiled. Her breath completely left her, but in a good way this time. His eyes were a gorgeous dark blue, and deep dimples anchored his lightly tanned cheeks. He wore a tight black T-shirt, and his arms were obviously defined. For the first time in forever, Ariana's heart skipped a few delighted beats. He took in her face and obviously liked what he saw. Ariana found that she simply could not help smiling back.
"All good?" he asked.
He even had a sexy voice. Ariana's smile widened. "All--"
"Oh my God! Let's go already!"
Briana Leigh yanked one last time on Ariana's arm, and before Ariana could take one more look at the gorgeous waiter, he was swallowed up by the crowd.
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HUDSON
"I just don't get it. There are perfectly good schools here in Texas. Why does everyone feel the need to go to the Northeast? Like just because the schools have been there forever, they're innately better. That is totally backward thinking. Those schools are stuck in the past! They're archaic. And I, for one, like new. Progressive. Old school can kiss my ass."The more alcohol Briana Leigh imbibed, the more crap spewed out of her mouth, and Ariana was starting to get tense. She smoothly pulled her cell phone out of her purse to check the time. It was a quarter to one. The band for which this party was being thrown had long since taken the stage, so where was Briana Leigh's beloved Teo? Ariana had been counting the minutes until he found them so he could bear some of the Briana Leigh burden.
"Where do you go to school, Emma?" Briana Leigh asked, taking a sip of her cocktail.
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"Oh. I haven't decided where to go this fall," Ariana said. "But I know where I won't be going. I won't be going to Atherton-Pryce Hall."