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By the time I’m stepping into the high-waisted leather shorts she picked out for me—because she doesn’t trust me to pick out anything appropriate—I’m positive she’s moments away from having a breakdown.
I quickly shove a black blouse on before leaving my room.
“What is up with you?” I ask when she brushes through her red hair for the fifth time in as many minutes. The curls she so expertly styled an hour ago are already drooping at the ends from her constant preening.
I can’t tell if she’s excited or nervous, but she’s jumpy and it’s weird.
“Hm,” she murmurs, not hearing a word I’ve spoken. She looks at me sheepishly, a wry smile on her face. “What did you say?”
I shake my head, stealing the brush from her before she can run it through her hair once again. “What’s going on with you? You’re acting weird.”
“Nothing,” she says, turning with a forced smile. “I’m just excited we’re all going out for once. It’s been ages since we’ve gone out, all three of us.”
I eye her suspiciously, not believing a word she’s saying. I nod anyway. I’ll ram a tonne of drinks down her throat and drag it out of her later if I have to.
“You do realise we have lessons tomorrow, right?” Noah grumbles, stepping out of his room wearing a navy polo shirt and dark blue jeans. His blonde hair is still wet from the shower, but it’ll dry within minutes.
Lucky bastard.
My hair is still damp, despite my attempts to blow dry it like Betty had the other night. So instead of faffing, I chuck it into a messy ponytail, letting a few strands fall to frame my face.
“Actually, we”—she starts, pointing between me and her—“have a free morning. You have maths and you can do that in your sleep.”
“How does she even know that?” he whispers dramatically, ignoring the way Betty huffs beside him.
“I’m right here arsehole.” She passes us both a fresh drink, gesturing for us to down them. “And I stole your phone to check out your timetable.”
Doing as she tells us, we both make quick work of emptying our glasses while giving her the side-eye. If there’s one thing you can say about Betty, she’s efficient. When she gets an idea in her mind, she’ll go balls to the wall to make sure it comes to fruition.
For example: stealing people’s phones and shoving alcohol down their gobs so they have no options but to agree with her.
I sometimes wonder if I hadn’t met her back when we were only five, if I’d even be friends with her today.
Honestly, I can’t imagine a world without her pushy self at my side.
ELEVEN
Thetaxirollstoa stop, pulling up outside a lone building on an empty street. When I step out, I check the map on my phone, making sure we’ve come to the place Betty wanted. She hasn’t told us anything about what we’re doing tonight, but I’m assuming it’s a party, based on the amount of alcohol she had us drink before leaving and the two bottles of wine in her hands.
Noah steps out behind me, wrapping his arms around my shivering body. I sink into his warm chest, regret heavy I didn’t grab a jacket before we left. Unlike our friend, who stumbles out of the car, I’m not nearly drunk enough to deal with the frigid air comfortably.
“Is this right?” I ask, staring at the building in question, despite my phone saying it’s the correct location. It looks like an industrial warehouse of sorts, with a steel exterior and two rolling metal doors on opposite ends of the long wall.
“Yesss,” she slurs happily, slipping her bag under her arm and twisting the cap off the wine. “Want some?”
She offers the bottle to Noah first, who wastes no time grabbing it and swallowing a solid quarter before passing it while he mutters in my ear, “We’re going to need it, by the look of this place.”
A giggle slips free, wine spilling down my chin.
He’s not wrong.
“Dude,” I say, stepping out of Noah’s hold and linking my arm through Betty’s. “You really need to start bringing us to nicer places.”
“Well,” she mutters, refusing to look at me. There’s an odd expression on her face, and if I had to guess, I’d say it was guilt.
“What?”
She tightens her grip on my arm, pulling me towards one of the rolling doors, leaving Noah to trail behind us. “I didn’t know how to tell you, and I knew if I did, you wouldn’t have come.”
