She yanked her arm out of my grasp. “What are you? My mom? I’m fine, Clarke. Go have a drink or s-sumthin…loosen up.”
Her body swayed as she glared at me. As if swooping in to rescue her, Mason prowled over and snaked his left arm around her waist while handing her a beer with the other. Her eyes flickered with delight, and without hesitation, she offered a flirty“thank you” while tilting her chin to the sky and downing several large gulps.
“Meredith, take it easy.”
She flung her head forward, clutching the can of alcohol in her hand. “And if I don’t?”
“Why are you being so difficult right now? I’m just trying to look out for y—”
“No. Fuck you, Clarke. You think you control me because you’re the cheer captain? Well, guess what? You can’t. So just leave me alone, mmkayy?” She turned to leave, but I grabbed her upper arm before she could get two steps in. Digging her nails into my wrist, she pushed my hand away. “You would be nothing without me, and don’t you fucking forget it.”
“I’ll takegoodcare of her, Clarke. Don’t you worry your pretty little head,” Mason drawled as his words came out slower than usual.
The heat flooded my face as I watched Meredith grip Mason by the collar of his shirt and drag him into another room, their silhouettes bleeding into the darkness.
I rubbed my arm, wincing at the pain.
Ugh. I hated girl code. No matter how much I wanted to go home and sleep, I couldn’t leave Meredith here alone surrounded by nothing but fuck boys. All I wanted was to slip away into a quiet corner and lose myself in a bottle of something strong enough to dull the pain. With a sigh, I navigated through the crowd, dodging and weaving to avoid the press of overheated bodies. A sharp ringing buzzed in my ears as bodies swayed and crashed together, moving wildly—jumping, grinding, lost in the pulsing beat.
“Clarke?”
“Camryn?”
I swallowed a gasp as she hurried over, wrapping me in a tight hug. Summoning my strength, I forced a broad smile, concealingthe unease creeping in. No matter how much I wanted to be alone, I needed to socialize. That was the whole point of tonight.
“I’m so happy you’re here!” She gleamed, flashing every tooth in her mouth. “It’s brutal being a freshman at a high school party, ya know? I barely know anyone.”
“Where’s the rest of the team?”
“Just drooling over random guys with half a brain cell. I haven’t seen Mer, though. Do you know where she is?”
I raised my eyebrow. “Drooling over some guy with half a brain cell.”
“Are we the only ones who aren’t actively trying to have sex with someone tonight?”
“Yep.”
“Figures. What about Kendra?”
“Made up some lame excuse about not being able to come.”And now I’m thinking that I should’ve done the same.
“I’m honestly surprised you came, especially with all the drama with you and Ryan. I didn’t even know you guys were a thing until I got here. It’s all anyone is talking about. Everyone says you two were the perfect couple,” she said with a frown. “Sorry, it didn’t work out.”
More like, too bad it didn’t end sooner.“Destined to fail just like almost all high school romances.”
“I’m just glad you’re here. Nice to see a familiar face.”
I laughed, resisting the urge to roll my eyes. “I never miss a good party.”
“Hell yeah!” she squealed. “Let’s dance!”
Camryn grabbed my arm, and in an instant, we were swallowed by the crowd, moving to the rhythm of the music. I swayed my hips as she twirled me in a circle, our laughter blending with the chorus of voices around us. Closing my eyes, I tuned into the pulse of the bass vibrating beneath my feet as we jumped around without a care. Doechii faded into KendrickLamar, then shifted to SZA. But the next voice I heard wasn’t a singer or a rapper—it was Ryan, yanking me out of the mindless haze I had built for myself.
“Wanna dance?”
“I don’t think—”
“Yes, she does.” Camryn nudged me with her elbow.
