After my brief conversation with Antonio, I'd gone back downstairs to join my friends. I wondered what I'd missed while I was absent, because a handful of unfamiliar guys were now in the mix.

"Hey," I said after squirming my way through the congested dance floor.

Lily grinned at my arrival and Romano swung an arm around my shoulder. I looked around at the group. Other than Benny, I didn't recognize the other three guys that were standing with us, although further scrutiny made me realize that I'd seen them around school. They wore the similar baggy attire that Antonio usually wore. Disdain consumed me once I realized that they were merely his ego-boosting lackeys, although I couldn't deny that they were pretty easy on the eyes.

One in particular had been making eyes at me, and I didn't miss the way his eyes lingered over my smooth legs, which were only accentuated by my costume skirt and the flashing disco lights. He was a fluffy-haired blonde with a pretty-boy look to him. I smiled and looked away.

"What'd I miss?" I peered up at Romano. "Who are these guys?"

"They're Benny and Antonio's friends," he whispered back. "Or should I say followers. They're all idiots. I think I lost a few brain cells talking to them."

I giggled at his crude words, although the blond guy must've thought I was laughing at him, because he flared the collar of his leather jacket and smirked at me. I didn't quite mind.

The music suddenly transitioned into an upbeat rap song and Lily clasped onto my hand.

"I love this song!" She yanked me closer to the speakers.

I laughed and began to jump with her. The flashing party lights sent me into euphoria and I fluttered my eyes shut as my heartbeat quickened. My tiny skirt swished with my every movement, and I played with my curly pigtails.

Suddenly, I felt a guy come up from behind me.

"Hey!" he shouted over the music.

It was the pretty blond guy who'd been staring at me earlier. I stopped jumping and became dizzy for a moment, swaying. Though, he latched onto my waist.

"Easy there!" he laughed.

I sheepishly smiled up at him. "My bad."

"You're Rose, aren't you?" He ran a hand through his golden locks and puffed out his chest.

"Yeah. And you're...?"

He seemed almost offended that I didn't know his name.

"The name's Ethan."

"Ethan," I repeated.

He laughed as if I said something funny. "You're cute."

I slowly blinked at his forward compliment and glanced at Lily, who had been eavesdropping to our conversation. She gave me an atrociously conspicuous wink, to which I stifled a laugh.

I placed my attention back on the blondie in front of me, peering at him above my eyelashes. Ethan was positively the type of guy who could get any girl he wanted. He had the same pretty-boy features and ingenuine charm that could make anyone weak in the knees. Though, the lustful look in his eyes merely reminded me of every other desperate teenage boy I'd ever encountered, and I couldn't help but compare it to the way Antonio looked at me.

When Antonio looked at me, it was like time stood still. You could see it in the way his eyelids drooped and his dark eyes flashed. He made me feel... feel... what's that word you use when you feel something so extreme it can't be expressed? Ineffable. He made me feel ineffable.

My cheeks warmed at the mere thought of Antonio, and I cursed myself for comparing Ethan to him. It simply wasn't right.

As if I'd summoned him with my thoughts, my hazel eyes roamed past Ethan's shoulder and landed on Antonio. Since when was he standing there?

Speak of the devil and he shall appear.

He lazily leaned against the wall and cast me a look of pure boredom. It was the same look he had when Buzz had showed up at the bonfire with Beth, his ex-fling. Though, this time, I could detect genuine hints of poorly hidden contempt. His crossed arms, his taut jaw, his narrowed eyes...

It was impossible to ignore Antonio's stare. I gave him a look as if to say, what do you want?

A scowl adorned his face and I became flustered by his irrational behavior. One moment, he was consoling me in a poorly-lit hallway and pledging to be my friend. The next, he was looking daggers at any guy who dared to flirt with me.

I shook my head and faced Ethan once more, swinging my arms around his neck and swaying to the blaring music. His eyes lit up in obvious excitement and he juggled his red solo cup as he planted his hands around my hips. Then I could see it. The eyes beginning to close. The lips beginning to pucker. The head beginning to tilt. He was going to kiss me.

For a moment, my vision blurred. It wasn't Ethan in front of me anymore. It was Antonio, with his head bowed down and a lazy grin on his face. He was ready to defile me right here on this dance floor, and I wasn't going to object. My eyes fluttered shut and I smiled as I leaned into him. Our lips were just an inch apart, and I almost broke the distance, but then I caught a whiff of his scent. No.

There was no musky cologne. No addicting cigarette smell. Instead, he oozed of cheap booze and pure desperation. It was then, that I realized it wasn't Antonio standing in front of me at all—it was Ethan.

I rapidly blinked and jumped backwards, flickering my eyes up to the spot Antonio had been standing mere seconds ago. He was gone.

"Hey, you mind if I leave for a sec?" I pursed my lips as my heart began to hammer. "I have to use the washroom."

"Not at all, go ahead," Ethan permitted, albeit disappointed. I fled before he could even finish his sentence.

I swiftly located the nearest washroom and shamelessly barged through the lineup.

"Hey!" someone at the front of the line shouted.

I promptly locked the door behind me and took a deep breath once I was in the safe confines of the washroom. I closed my eyes for a moment and recollected myself. When I turned around, I suddenly shrieked.

A tall, ebony girl was already in the washroom. She wore a cat costume and had likely been touching up her Halloween makeup, for her hand was frozen in the air as it held a tiny Chanel lipstick against her plump lips.

"Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry," I winced, turning around to leave. "I didn't realize someone was in here—"

"Girl, stay," she commanded, looking at me in concern. "You look like you need it."

I sagged my shoulders in relief and nodded. "Okay, thanks."

The girl radiated elegance and superiority, and as she carefully surveyed me up and down, I awkwardly looked away. Suddenly, she put down her makeup and gave me her full attention.

"Rant."

I didn't need to be told twice and revealed to the nameless girl everything that was on my mind, from the night Antonio and I had nearly kissed, to the way I'd hallucinated his presence in place of Ethan's on the dance floor just minutes ago. There was something therapeutic about ranting to a stranger—perhaps the whole anonymity of it.

"And then I ran off to the washroom, because I feared I was going insane," I concluded, slouching on the toilet. "I just don't know what's happening. It's like he's infiltrating my thoughts. When he looked at me on the dance floor just now, it felt weird. He seemed so... so..."

"Jealous?"

"I suppose, but I'd rather not use that word, because it's not like he has a reason to be jealous. He said it himself—we're just friends," I clarified, slightly blushing.

"Hmm, I see," she mused, crossing her skinny arms as she leaned against the door. "May I ask what this guy's name is?"

"I can't. You'll know who he is," I said. Everyone in Burnsley knew Antonio. His reputation preceded him.

"Fair enough," she nodded, toying with her long and black box braids. "From the sound of it, he's pissed to see another guy flirting with you."

I gave her an apprehensive look. "You think so?"

"Oh, please. I know guys like that. My boyfriend was a guy like that," she laughed. "He's just going all alpha male on you and acting possessive."

"That's stupid."

"Yeah, most guys are," she nodded, faintly smiling. "From what I hear, there's a perfectly decent guy out there waiting for you." She was talking about Ethan. "I mean, come on. You look hot, girl. I know at least a dozen guys out there want you."

I bashfully laughed at the girl's successful attempt of boosting my confidence.

"Look. Don't think about it too much. If he wants you, he'll be straight up and get you. Until then, dance with as many guys as you want. You don't owe him anything."

"But he doesn't want me. We're just friends," I looked up at her in confusion.

The girl shook her head at me in shame. "Oh, honey. You've got a lot to learn."

Suddenly, someone banged on the door. "Hurry up!"

The girl rolled her eyes and stuffed her makeup in her mini purse. "C'mon."

I followed after her out of the washroom.

"Finally," the boy at the front of the line muttered.

"Boy, shut up," she commanded before walking off. I laughed and jogged to keep up with the pace of her slender legs.

"Hey, what's your name?"

"My name's Tabitha, but you can call me Tabby. All my friends do," she grinned down at me.

I smiled back. Something told me I'd just made a new friend.

"Hey, come on. I'll introduce you to my boyfriend."

We ventured past grinding bodies, and I blinked as my eyes adjusted to the flashing party lights. Meanwhile, she led me closer and closer towards—

"Benny!" Tabby hollered, placing a hand on her boyfriend's arm.

My mouth dropped wide open. Benny smiled at the familiar sound of his girlfriend's voice and turned around, but the smile disappeared when he saw me standing next to her.

"Rose. You two know each other?" he gaped.

I was equally as clueless. "I didn't know you had a girlfriend!"

Tabby looked between the two of us and audibly gasped. "Wait, this is the Rose I've heard so much about?"

Benny grimly nodded.

"Let me guess—all bad things," I laughed.

Though, Tabby didn't laugh and frantically shook her head. "No, actually. Only good things."

I glanced at Benny, who shrugged and looked away. Perhaps he tolerated me a lot more than he let on.

"So where's your bestie?" Tabby nudged her boyfriend's broad shoulder.

"Stop calling him my bestie, that's weird," Benny frowned. "And he's off somewhere smoking, per usual."

Tabby looked at me informatively. "Benny and Antonio are attached at the hip. Antonio is—"

"She knows who Antonio is," Benny interrupted. "This is Rose. Or as he likes to call her, Flower."

Tabby dramatically gasped. "So this is Flower? That makes so much sense!"

I cocked my head to the side. Meanwhile, Tabby stared at me. I could practically see the gears shifting in her head as she realized that the anonymous guy I'd spent the last ten minutes ranting about, wasn't so anonymous after all.

I held my breath once her dark eyes lit up in realization. Thankfully, she didn't say a word of it.

"Well, Antonio definitely wasn't lying when he called her gorgeous," Tabby mused.

I made a poor attempt at sounding casual, and my cheeks faintly reddened. "H-He called me gorgeous?"

"Among other things," she winked at me. "You learn a lot when you're dating his best friend."

"What else has he said about me?"

"Well, where do I begin?" Tabby visibly perked up. "He—"

"That's pretty much it," Benny loudly drowned out her voice in solidarity of his best friend. "Rose, I think Lily's calling you."

"Wh—"

I was pushed away.

"Alright, I'm going," I flailed my arms in exasperation. The couple laughed at me and I rolled my eyes.

"Don't be a stranger," Tabby called after me as I walked away. "Say hi to me at school!"

"Will do," I beamed at her before fully turning around and leaving the couple to their lonesome.

I ran over to Lily and Romano and shimmied in between them, as though I'd never even left. Goofy smiles were on each of our faces as we jumped and danced and sung and drank. Minutes later, my eyes caught sight of Ethan making out with one of the many girls at this party. I couldn't find it in me to care, because frankly, it didn't matter. I'd choose my best friends over him any day.

• • •