The Heaven I Found In Hell (7 page)

I rolled my eyes at the thought, and looked her in the eye. Her china blue eyes screamed out frustration towards me, and my aqua-colored orbs sent back the same feeling. She stomped her foot down on the cemented road, before she folded one of her arms over the other and rested them on top of her chest.

Blake was amused by the current situation I was sharing with Cindy, since he was looking at us with a wide, playful smirk while Anthony on the other hand, looked down at the ground, and decided he didn't want to get into the mess, if ever one was going to happen. Nathan remained behind me, and so did Riley, while Kendra stood in between the both of us. She looked from me to Riley repeatedly before telling us to settle 'this'…and fast.

"I just bought this from Armani." She whined, putting on a smug expression. She tapped her foot continuously, and waited for my comeback.

"He gave me this dress…" I said, and immediately realized what trouble I was going to be in.

Oh God…bye-bye Calculus tutor…

I know I should be rejoicing, based on the look on Cindy's flawless face. Her eyes were wide open in surprise, and she seemed to stammer, mouthing out something incomprehensible, but I was in deep trouble. I had my academics to worry about! I never thought I was going back to school!

"Well, I'm not going to change." She said in the same acidic tone she used before, the smug expression she still had.

I started thinking carefully, and thought about the consequences of a 'yes' and a 'no.' I decided to settle for a 'yes.'

"Fine, I'll change." I said apathetically, but deep inside I was burning. I had to go back up to the dorm building, and pick another attire while she swallowed herself in triumph for out-staging me only once. My mistake, she had already overstepped me before. It wasn't my fault she was genetically talented academically, while all I could do was walk down runways and pose for magazines.

"Don't worry. We'll wait." And then I heard her let out a brash, egotistical laugh.

After a couple minutes of browsing through my closet I decided to settle for a white-polka dotted dress from Dolce and Gabanna. The dress was short, but it could be worn simply as a dress, or could be paired with leggings or a tight pair of jeans, whichever way preferred. I decided to wear it as a mini dress. The hemline and neckline were bordered with thin, silky black ribbons, while the straps of the garment consisted of small metal rings, connecting the front and back figures of the dress. I paired the retro-styled dress with a simple diamond necklace, before I left my room, and went to join the others for the second time.

When I got to the parking lot, they were all waiting for me, as they leaned on the couple of cars parked beside each other. It was Nathan who commented on my dress first.

"I'm glad you picked that. That's definitely better than the blue dress." He said, winking at me. "The other one looked too formal."

I made my way to the rest of the group, and stood beside Nathan who greeted me with a small embrace.

I had only known these people for a week, but it seemed like I could already distinguish them clearly from one to another.

Riley was the carefree girl-next-door, and so was Kendra, but what differed them from one another was that Riley was more outgoing, and blunt in some instances, while Kendra was more soft-spoken and shy. Cindy, on the other hand, was the total opposite of the two athletes. She wasn't your typical dumb blonde because as figured out, she was incredibly smart, and I needed her help. On the guys' side, Blake was the typical proud, egotistical player/jock, who had some good in him, while Anthony was the mysterious one who barely spoke. Nathan, in contrast, was the sarcastic, but sometimes shy one who preferred his small group of friends even though he usually hung out with a very, very large group of people (the soccer and track teams, and sometimes even the basketball and football teams) during games, breaks, or in parties.

With that said, I liked them all. Yes…even Cindy. I needed a tutor. I'm just not sure if they liked me back as a friend.

"Are you ready to party?" Blake asked the whole of us. He unlocked his Lamborghini Gallardo, and opened the scissor doors of his car.

God, this guy was amazingly rich…

"Cocky much?" I asked as a tease.

He gave me a wide, narcissistic smirk, before saying, "Are you impressed?"

I smiled playfully at him. "Yeah." 
I was impressed. 
That was the truth. Of course, I was used to seeing such luxury cars every day, but come on…? An eighteen-year old driving one…? Rarely.

Nathan patted me on the head, as he gave me a small frown. I cocked an eyebrow up at him before he spoke up. "I'm sorry Alex, but you'll have to ride with me in my Ferrari. No Lamborghini for you."

Damn…
"What do your parents do?"

They laughed my question off before everyone
dispersed i
nto their own little groups. Riley, Anthony, and I were riding with Nathan in his red Fiorano while
Kendra and Cindy were with Blake inside his yellow vehicle.

"Alex, watch out for my sister will you?" Nathan said, eyeing me with the use of the rearview mirror. We were still inside the car on the way to a club called Mixx.

Riley who was seated beside me at the back seat of her brother's car looked at me with a sheepish smile. I smiled back at her, before I turned my attention back to Nathan.

"And…why would you ask me to do such a thing?" I asked, leaning closer to the front.

Anthony let out a small laugh and said, "Nate here wants his sis to be an old maid."

Nathan smacked Anthony, his hand coming in contact with Anthony's head made a loud 'bam.' Riley and I laughed it off, before the female twin started to whine.

"I am so getting a lot of numbers tonight." Riley said as a way to piss her brother off.

"Geez Riles…" Nathan said in mock-annoyance. "You act like you've never been to a club before…"

"Nah…" Anthony said casually, with a hand gesture. "Her self-esteem just rose."

That made me laugh. I leaned in much closer to the front, nearer to the two guys, and started asking them about Riley's love life. This apparently caused Riley to redden in the cheeks. She slouched back on her seat unethically, as she let out a small groan.

"Well…our dear Riles here…" Nathan said while ready to start humiliating his sister.

"You guys are going to embarrass me…"

"Let's just say she's not as adventurous…in bed…" Nathan said, with a small mischievous smile. The use of the word 'adventurous' made me laugh. It was such a not-so-usual description when it came to the topic of dating.

"Look who's talking." Riley countered.

Nathan turned his head, and looked at the back, to us. Riley stuck out her tongue at him, and he simply winked in return.

"When was the last time you've had…you know…?" Riley asked her brother.

I didn't need to wait for Nathan's answer since I already knew what it was without the need of him to tell me, and figured out that this debate was eventually going to be won by Nate. No offense to Riley, my best friend and roomie, but her brother was just at the top of everything, making him cocky, sometimes. 
And you know how cocky guys are...

"I'll just save you from embarrassment, sis."

"Shut up."

"Just focus on your dressing problem for now." He teased. "Sex can come later."

This caused all of us, Riley excluded, to laugh. I looked at my friend whose cheeks were like ripe tomatoes, and sent her a smile of mock-sympathy.

"But she never has to worry again…" I said proudly to the guys. "She has me for a roommate!"

This caused the two guys to smirk before they let out a laugh. "Just make sure Ralph or Tommy won't give you the same thing Cindy buys next time."

Riley and I smacked both Nathan and Anthony.

"You're talking more than usual, Anthony." I said, noticing a difference in him.

Nathan shouldered his guy friend, and they looked at each other, in a way best friends would. You know, that 'I-know-exactly-what-you're-thinking' look.

"Inspiration maybe." That was Nathan.

I eyed Anthony who was looking at Riley, and a few seconds later, he turned to me, before he looked away.

He liked someone…
I just knew it.

The moment Riley, Nathan, Anthony, and I got out of the car, a mob of photographers scrambled over to where we were and started taking pictures. The three of them, all of whom weren't really used to this kind of thing, got taken aback, and started questioning me as to what was happening.

"Just smile." I said to them quickly. They did what I told them to do, and we entered the club briskly, not wanting any more pictures taken by the paparazzi. Since Nathan and the others knew the owner of the club, we went straight up to the V.I.P. section, and waited there until the rest, Blake and co., arrived.

"Is your life really like that?" Riley asked in bewilderment. She plopped down on the loveseat beside me, and looked at me with an 'are-you-kidding-look'.

"Yeah…why?" I asked, letting out a small laugh.

"You mean whenever you go out…?"

"Yes." I said, still laughing softly.

"What’s more Nicole Richie or Britney…the tabloids have their eyes on them all the time?" She asked me, as the two guys sitting across from us snickered.

"Unimaginable…" I said. "Just don't get surprised if you're going to see pictures of you in magazines."

"I've always wanted to be in a magazine…" Riley said thoughtfully, resting her chin on her hands.

What Riley said caused Nathan to laugh. "You wish." Her brother said with a smirk.

I slapped him in the arm, and called him, "Mean."

"What? How did I become mean?" Nathan asked in a baffled tone. He stretched his arms out, and rested them on the couch.

"Riley can be in a magazine!"

"You don't have to lie just to make her feel better!" Nathan countered, speaking in a voice that was a little too loud.

Anthony who was smirking and grinning patted Nathan on the shoulder and told him to, "Calm down."

"Huh…? Why isn't anyone siding with me?" Nathan asked all of us with a pout. I waved him off and told him that the pout wasn't cute at all, but honestly it was cuter than cute and hotter than hot. I just wasn't going to tell him that. Not giving up, he matched the pout with puppy-dog eyes and I was desperately resisting the urge to hug him. Good thing I had more self-control when it came to these things than to food. 
Riley was able to force me to eat a chip! Don't call me dramatic…I'm just trying to maintain the body that gives me a lot of money.