《》Chapter 16

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"Alright boys, time for a practice match! A team from one of the neighboring schools has kindly accepted our request for this match, so make me proud and show them what we've got! But don't reveal all of our secret moves," coach says, chuckling at the last part.

Alright Eli, time to show off how good of a libero you are. While we exchange greetings with the other team, I glance towards the bleachers where Eris and Conner are. Conner is busy taking photos for the article, and Eris is writing something. She tucks her hair behind her ear, then looks up at me and I quickly turn away. Focus! I can't be distracted by the fact that the girl I have a crush on is watching me play and analyzing my every move. Great, now I'm nervous. I shake my head, getting rid of most of my nerves, and focus on what couch is saying.

"Remember, this a 3-set match so make every move count. Melvin, Ryder, Kai, Deion, Oscar, and Eli. You guys are up. Give'm hell boys!" coach says.

"Yes, sir!" we respond, and jog over to our spots once the whistle is blown. Once both teams are in their ready positions, I'm given the ball, and take a deep breath. The starting whistle blows and I throw my complete focus into the game, tossing the ball into the air and delivering a killer serve.

The final whistle is blown, and the practice match ends. We won the final set by 4 points, but overall, it was a pretty good game. We meet the other team at the net and shake hands, saying "good game" to each other while catching our breath. After we all part ways we jog back to the bench, to drink water and wipe off the sweat dripping from us in buckets. Thank goddess for the water girl coach found recently who already has everything laid out for us as we rest from the demanding game. Someone clears their throat behind me, and I groan from having to move my head to face them but slowly straighten up when I see its Eris (what? I'm still sore).

"That was a really fun game to watch Eli! That ball was moving so much I lost track of it several times!" she says giggling, "Though sometimes it looked like it was floating through the air! You're really talented."

I fiddle with my t-shirt, chuckling along with her. It's nice to hear a compliment come from someone at this school instead of a slur of insults. Especially when everyone looks down on the volleyball team for the number of omegas on it. Maybe we wouldn't all flock to the only accepting sport here if it wasn't for the abuse we receive when trying to join anything else. You know this is a school of assholes when even the golf club is shunning you.

"Thanks Eris, I'm glad you enjoyed the show! We're practicing really hard to get back to states this year, but I'm confident that we have a chance with the winning streak we've had so far in real matches. We might even make it to nationals with this team," I say.

"Fascinating!" She starts writing some more stuff down, and I chuckle at her enthusiasm. Conner is off taking more photos of the team and talking to coach about possibly joining us on trips to games and tournaments. It's nice to see him in his element, considering how shy he seemed at the dinner two weeks ago. He's barely even stuttering! He must really be passionate about photography; I should get him to take some reference photos of cool scenery for me.

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"Okay, so ready for the rapid-fire questionnaire. I must warn you I tend to ask a lot of questions," Eris says with an evil grin.

"Bring it on, but I do have to help clean up so try to keep up!" I say, and she starts pop quizzing me on everything volleyball while I help pack up the net and equipment. It ends up making the chore more fun, as I try my best to answer her questions on the team, its players, the game, tournaments, and anything else she can come up with. By the time I'm done with clean up she's filled up half of the pages in her little notepad.

"Alright I think that should do it! Thanks again for letting me and Conner view your practice match and interview you," she says.

"No problem. It's nice to have a friend here to show off my skills too," I say trying my best to sound cool. Goddess, I hope I don't sound cringy.

She giggles, which is a good sign, as she puts her notepad away in her bag, and pulls out an orange piece of paper. "Actually, I have one more question to ask you. Since this is our senior year, I've been trying to cross a bunch of stuff off of my "high school experience list", and one of those to-dos is go to a high school party. So~, I was wondering if you would like to go with me to this Halloween party I heard about," Eris says, handing me the orange paper.

I instantly recognize it and internally growl. It's a stupid flyer for Luke's infamous "Night Fright" costume party that he hosts at his parent's extra house near the edge of pack borders. Lots of popular kids and alphas go to this STD festival every year since freshman year. I'm surprised that the cops haven't shut it down a long time ago, but I guess that's why they have it at the edge of town. I heard that teens from other packs and even rogues go to this thing. Not to mention Grayson will obviously be there. Yeah, not thanks.

"Um, no offense but I don't think I'll be welcomed there. Considering Gray will know I'm coming from a mile away by scent and Luke hates my very existence," I say rubbing the back of my neck.

"Don't worry Eli, it's a costume party, so as long as you have a good disguise than none of them will recognize you. And as for your scent I've got just the thing." She digs into her bag again and pulls out what looks like a perfume bottle. She hands it to me and it turns out to be a scent blocking spray. Usually, omegas in high-ranking jobs get this so they don't give away their sub-genders at work and lose respect from workers. How did she get something this expensive?

"I knew you would be worried about Gray sniffing you out so asked my aunt to lend me a spare bottle the she had. That way we could have fun together. So, what do you say?" Eris says, placing a hand on my upper arm and giving me puppy-dog eyes that are almost as good as Milo's. Oh no. I'm crippled with indecision. On the one hand this could be my chance to get closer to Eris. But on the other hand, my will to not get harassed by an army of drunk alphas at that party is very strong.

Spark what do you think?

Spark!

Just answer the question, please.

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Gee, thanks.

😊

"S-sure, you only live once I guess," I say, praying that I won't regret this decision later.

"Great! I'll meet you at the party at 10-ish, it should be in full swing by then," she says, motioning to Conner to wrap things up.

"Um, is it okay if I bring some of my friends with me? I'm sure they would like to go too." If I'm going to this party than I'm at least bringing backup in case things do turn for the worst. Or if I get rejected.

"Of course! The more, the merrier. Welp, I need to head back to the press room to type up a ground-breaking article, and Conner needs to process those pics. I guess I'll be seeing you next weekend, unless we get to attend another practice. Oh! Let's exchange numbers so we can text each other." We, as well as Conner, exchange numbers and then say our goodbyes, allowing me to finally hit the showers. I really hope that I didn't smell to bad.

Not helping.

Please don't mess this up for me, I really like her.

That's the best part. Anyways, do you think the crew will be willing to go to the party with me?

******

"Have you lost your fucking mind?! Or do I need to bop it back into you!" Beth shrieks, frantically pacing a hole into the floor of my room. Milo, Atlantis, and I are still sitting on my cozy bean bags, but they don't look to happy either. Milo is looking at me like I grew a second head, and Atlantis has her eyes shut, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"I'm sure the party won't be that bad, maybe a bit too loud but it's popular so I'm sure they have some good food," I say try to make a joke that definitely fell flat.

"Eli, you're talking about sneaking into the biggest party of the year, full of the biggest assholes in our school, and our only chance of even getting past the front door is trusting in this magical spray that may or may not work?" Milo says, probably questioning my sanity.

"Best case scenario, if we're caught than we'll just get kicked out," I say.

"Worst case scenario, you or Milo could get severely hurt by Luke and his goons," Beth says.

"Eli, I know you really like this girl, but this a pretty risky move. Excluding the fact that it's Luke's party, this is going to be held very close to pack borders. What if rogues show up and injure one of us? Or worse? Especially considering that you're Gray's mate," Atlantis says.

"First off, I'm not Gray's mate. We just haven't broken off the bond yet. And second, these parties are held every year, and nothing's ever happened. Yeah sometimes a few rogues show up, but it's mostly to party and eat some food. Please! This might be my chance to get closer to Eris and talk with her about things other than volleyball. We could make a real connection!"

"Yeah, that's smart, connect with someone else while in the same room as your soulmate," Beth says rolling her eyes and falling back onto her beanbag.

"He won't even know that I was there in the first place. Plus, I doubt that he'll even care since he's trying to find someone too. Come on guys, pleeeeeease," I say trying my best to imitate Milo's puppy-dog eyes.

Which only results in them laughing at me. Well at least it put them in a better mood, but I think it's time to play my ace. While they calm down from their laughing fit, I go to my nest room and grab the big bag of goodies I bought for this occasion. Hopefully this works, because begging and logic are not getting me anywhere. I sit back on my beanbag and pull out my first item, a giant stuffed bear with bushy eyebrows. Milo immediately starts squealing and tries to rip it out of my hands but I'm quick to move it out of range.

"I know you've been wanting this bear for a while now, so I'll give it to you IF you agree to go to the party with me," I say trying to get him to pay attention to what I'm saying.

"Yes, yes, whatever! Give me the fluffy!" He says, and I hand it to him, getting a squeal as a thank you.

"Wow, you must be desperate if your resorting to gift giving," Beth says, shaking her head.

"Yep, I have no shame. Now let's see." I pull out my next item, a bag made from the curtains from actual Broadway shows with the word "Merde" embroidered on it. Beth's eyes go wide as she nearly starts drooling on herself from looking at the thing. "This custom bag with gold metallic embroidery and a pocket for your Playbill can be all yours if you come with me," I say waving it in front of her. I can see the inner turmoil going on in her head through her amber eyes, but eventually her want for the bag wins and she takes the gift running her hands over it in awe. Two down, one to go. Atlantis is probably the hardest to persuade, since she hates dressing up for unnecessary reasons and hates everyone going to that party as much as I do. So, finding something that would sway her was really challenging but I think got this. Maybe.

"Would you believe me if I said that my gift to you was my undying love and affection."

"Hah! Nope."

"Fine, here." I hand her my last item and hope that this will work. A black beanie that has the words Fuck Off in white embroidery on it. She chuckles at the item and puts it on, then looks at me with an unreadable expression. After a couple of tense seconds she sighs, shaking her head. "Okay fine, I'll come with," she says with a small smile. I jump up and give her a big hug, though she grunts from the impact before hugging me back.

"Okay, okay get off," Atlantis says shoving me to the floor, "I'm still not happy about this but someone needs to come be backup for you, and be the designated driver since none of you have a car, and can't hold your alcohol to save your life." She chuckles as the rest of us fuss at her for the slight insult. But overall, I'm glad that I'll have my awesome friends with me to see this through.

"By the way, we still would have come with you even if you didn't give us gifts. We just wanted to try and talk you out of it," Atlantis says, with Milo and Beth nodding in agreement. I sit there, shock on my face at the betrayal, and weeping internally for my wallet. I take back what I said about them being awesome, they're just greedy moochers.

******

"Eli, get out of there I need to pin the crown to your head," Milo says.

"I feel stupid." Right now, I'm hiding in my nest wondering why I thought that this was a good idea.

"Come on dude, it was your idea to gender-bend our costumes so it would be even harder to recognize us." At the time I thought it was a good idea, but now that I'm thinking about Eris seeing me in this, I don't want to go at all.

"Eli, get your ass out here, I did not go through the trouble if borrowing these costumes from the theater department just so you could sulk in them all night. They look to good to NOT be shown off," Beth says. I've decided that not responding is my best option.

"If you don't get out of there than I guess I'll just have to keep Eris company all night. Who knows, maybe me and her could really hit it off," Atlantis say, though I can hear her chuckling so at least I know she's not completely serious, but I can't take that chance. Atlantis is a really attractive delta and might accidentally charm Eris with her looks. Grumbling to myself I get up and open the door.

"There he is, our beautiful black swan," Milo says gushing over my intricately designed costume. On Thursday we all went to the costume storage room and picked out some old costume that the theatre department wasn't using anymore. It took a while to find costumes that would fit us with only minor alterations, had masks with them, and were the opposite gender to each person. So that search resulted in Atlantis being a ninja, Beth being the Phantom of the opera, Milo being a belly dancer, and me being a black swan. Thankfully, despite being a couple of years old the costumes still look great. Though its times like this where I curse and bless the fact that I have a slim figure and a bubble butt. Stupid omega traits.

"Stop sulking and sit down so I can finish your outfit ya big baby," Milo says guiding me to my desk chair. At least this costume doesn't have a stiff plate-looking tutu like the ones I've seen online and just flows down in layers of fabric so I can sit comfortably.

"I don't know why you're pouting; we both have great figures, despite needing the boob padding and wigs. Why not show them off a bit?"

"A bit? Your outfit could almost qualify is a bikini."

"Hey, I'm wearing pants."

"Yeah, see through ones."

"Don't be so jelly, because you're showing off more of your legs than me."

"I had to shave for this! So much of my masculinity has been lost to this disguise," I say burying my head in my hands.

"Don't worry babe the hair will grow back, but tonight's memories will last forever! Aaaaand, done. Now you're ready for your date. My baby girl is all grown up," Milo says pretending to wipe away a tear. I try to swat at him but he jumps out of reach, squealing like a pig. Sometimes, I hate this dork. We make our way downstairs where my mom is waiting with a camera. She insists on snapping a few pics before we leave and I die a little on the inside, hoping she won't show them to my future children.

"You know we're technically supposed to be sneaking out like most teens are in the pack right now," I say as we make our way to the front door.

"Oh please, all the parents know where you all are going tonight. Your generation isn't that good at keeping a low profile as you may think. So, go have fun, be safe, don't take drinks from strangers, and be back by 2 am," mom says, giving me a brief kiss on the cheek and pushing me out the door. She probably just wants the house to herself so she can smoke weed without feeling guilty that she's being a bad influence.

The drive to the party takes two hours (we have a very big territory) and is filled with Milo and Beth blasting the latest pop music, much to Atlantis's dismay. We finally arrive and find a place to park by 10:30. The party is already packed with tons of teenagers and even college students. The house in question looks huge and is covered in Halloween décor, with a huge front yard and fountain out front that a few people have already fallen into.

As we make our way towards the beacon of loud music and lights, I scan the people we pass by through my feathery eye mask. There are clusters of people sitting around outside either making out, dancing, drinking or just talking; but it doesn't look like anyone is recognizing us. Plus, no perverted alphas have approached Milo and me so the spray must be working, thankfully. Let's hope none of us run into Gray and his goons too much. We meet up with Eris by the front door and I try not to stare at her in her cute bee outfit. She even re-dyed the edges of her hair black to match.

"You look great Eli! I wish I had the figure you have to fill out that outfit," Eris says with a wink.

I don't know how to take that compliment but she's already grabbing my hand and leading me inside and the deafening music drowns out any further thought processing. If I thought that the outside looked crowded, it's even worse inside. The main foyer is nothing but bodies pressed against each other grinding to the music that the DJ on the stage plays. At least the colorful lighting throughout the house distracts you from how hot it is in here. By the time we make it to the kitchen I've already lost track of my friend group. Here's to hoping that they're okay and still together; thankfully we already made a plan to text each other every hour to make sure that we were all okay.

"Oooo, they have Jell-O shots!" Eris guides me to the large counter full of tons of snacks and sweets connected to a bar with an actual bartender. At least I don't have to worry about random people pouring my drinks. Eris grabs four shots from him and hands two to me.

"A toast! To an awesome night full of debauchery!" she says, raising her glasses.

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