Chapter 30: : Chapter 30

I’m talking with Benji among the other students. The guys and I came here as a group over two hours ago but more and more of them left over time. Jamie and Orion were with us a moment ago but Jamie dragged his friend off to dance. Elsa was not happy. Marcus keeps getting trapped in conversations with people I’ve never talked to. I’m currently unaware of his whereabouts. Elija and Liam left a moment ago to grab some drinks.

‘Here you go,’ Liam says as he hands Benji a drink. Then, to my surprise, he turns toward me. ‘I got you one as well. It’s non-alcoholic,’ he tells me.

‘Piss off, Liam. Here, Florence,’ Elija interjects, holding out another drink to me. All my former teachers kept telling me not to accept drinks from anyone and here I am. To be fair, the boys aren’t strangers. Still, I feel weird taking a drink from Liam.

Smiling at him apologetically, I take the drink from Elija. ‘Thanks. Both of you,’ I mutter. Maybe I’m imagining things but Liam actually looks hurt for a beat. Then it’s gone and he looks his usual, snotty self.

He downs the drink he offered me before throwing the cup to the ground and storming off.

‘I didn’t mean to offend him,’ I tell the others quietly as I stare at Liam’s discarded cup. Did I upset him? Clearly, nothing was wrong with the drink.

‘Nah, his fragile ego is probably just hurt. Don’t feel bad though, I wouldn’t accept a drink from him either,’ Elija says, eying the cup as if it were something disgusting. Knowing the history between the two guys, I understand why they don’t get along. Still, being trapped in the middle of their power games isn’t nice.

‘Nothing was wrong with it. He drank it himself,’ I add.

‘Flo, don’t worry about it. It’s good to be cautious at parties. Besides, Liam has probably forgotten all about it and is already busy making slimy moves on girls,’ Benji assures me.

Nodding, I decide to let it go and engage in the other guys’ conversation.

When Jamie and Elsa finally return, Orion actually has a smile on his face. His cheeks are a little flushed, standing out drastically against his white hair even in the dark.

‘What did we miss?’ Elija asks suggestively.

‘Nothing,’ Orion says but Jamie shoots him a funny look.

‘Nothing? You call that kiss nothing? If you were planning on keeping me a secret then think again. To clear things up for you guys, I finally kissed Elsa since he was taking too long,’ Jamie says. Elija whoops while Benji looks anything but surprised. I can’t help but beam.

‘That’s awesome, you two. I was wondering when one of you’d make a move,’ I tell them.

‘Look who’s talking,’ Orion mutters. Without my permission, my eyes move to Elija. Instead of meeting his, he’s focused on something behind me. I turn to see Joe talking to a few friends, Miley amongst others.

Well, if that isn’t a punch in the face.

‘Sorry, I’ll be right back,’ Elija mutters before walking off without a glance at me. When I look at the other guys, I’m met with a sympathetic look from Jamie while the other two guys are glaring after their friend.

The guys quickly snap out of it and try to distract me as well as possible. It’s a nice effort but my mind keeps wandering to Elija. Am I the problem? Is there something wrong with me? Am I just delusional? Honestly, I have no clue at this point. I keep getting my hopes up with this guy only to be let down again. I don’t blame him. After all, he’s never told me he wanted us to be anything other than friends. Just last night he said we were just that. Friends. I think it’s time for me to take the hint.

Besides, Joe is really cute. If she and Elija are a thing then I’ll stay away. You could call me a lot of things but I won’t be a homewrecker.

The two of them fit together, don’t they? Joe with her blonde hair and golden skin the perfect contrast to Elija. After all, opposites attract. I can see that.

‘Sorry for that.’ The voice drags me back to reality. I didn’t even realize I zoned out. But now Elija is back, without Joe, as I notice. Weird, I think, but none of my business.

‘Right, I’ll go look for Sarah. She’s the one that told me about the party so I should probably say hello,’ I tell the guys.

‘We’ll help you look. That way we’ll find her faster,’ Benji offers but I shake my head.

‘It’s fine, I can just text her.’

‘Tell her to come here then,’ Orion says as if it were obvious. What smarty-pants doesn’t know is that I’m trying to get away from here. Or more precisely a certain person present.

‘Florence, we’re not letting you walk around alone, at night, near the woods, surrounded by drunk people,’ Elija says. He smiles but I feel like he always does that to soften the blow when he tries to tell me what to do. Well, guess what, right now I don’t want to be bossed around.

‘I can take care of myself,’ I state firmly. Maybe I’m wrong but Orion’s lips really seem to twitch.

My hunch is only confirmed when the guy leans over to whisper something to Jamie. He seems to have had a beer too much though since he’s speaking loud enough for the rest of us to hear. ‘She definitely gets that from me. The sass. I feel like a proud parent.’

I try to stifle my smile but when my eyes meet Benji, we both burst out laughing.

‘Tell you what, I’ll call her and stay on the phone until we’re together. If you’re really that worried, I can text you when I found her,’ I suggest. I don’t owe them anything but I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t nice to feel cared about.

The guys grumble some unconvincing agreements so I dial my friend’s number. I didn’t actually mean to find her but planned to sneak off to my tent. That’s why I’m not surprised when the girl doesn’t pick up. Oh well, I used to want to be an actress so let’s try this.

I wave at the guys with a smile and walk off into the crowd while pretending to talk to Sarah. When I’m far enough, I take my phone away from my ear and head for my tent.

Honestly, it’s been too long since I read and the camp should be nice and silent now.