All the Little Lies (English Prep 1)

The faded white lattice with overgrown, tangled vines scratched my stomach as I shimmied down to the ground. Once my black Converse crunched the crispy leaves, I let out a sigh of relief. My stomach was cut, I think, but I didn’t care. I felt ten times lighter after being in that house with Pete’s blaring TV downstairs. My door was locked at 8pm sharp, just like Pete said. I just hoped he didn’t check on me through the night, but by the looks of him through the living room window, he wouldn’t, as he was passed out with a slice of pizza resting on his belly and a pile of crumpled beer cans on the floor. What a sight.

I spotted Piper’s BMW down the street with the headlights off, like I told her, and hurried over. I tapped on the window twice to signal it was me.

The lock unlatched, and I climbed inside, buckling my seatbelt.

She opened her mouth to say something, but I stopped her by putting my hand up.

“I need to say something,” I rambled, pulling my thick hair down from my ponytail. Piper leaned back in her seat and angled her body toward mine. Her glittering eyes stared at me intently. “I don’t know how to be a friend. I have a hard time letting people in because I’m scared. And it takes a lot for me to admit I’m scared. Everyone and everything has been ripped away from me at some point, and it sucks. That house I’m living in? It sucks. They lock my door at night. I haven’t had dinner because I’m being punished for taking food out of the pantry when they were asleep. I don’t eat lunch because I don’t have lunch money.” I took a deep breath, realizing I was talking a mile a minute. “I emailed you because I realized I need a friend in the worst way. So, I’m sorry if I end up sucking at being your friend in the end. Just know, I’m trying.”

A huge smile worked its way onto Piper’s face as the words tumbled out of my mouth. It was dark in her car, the lights on the dashboard the only thing illuminating our faces. A bluish glow danced along her cheeks, and I felt myself relaxing. She reached over and squeezed my hand. “You're doing just fine. I need a friend, too. My old best friend just had to move with her family. The nerve.”

She snickered, and I did, too. Then, we were full-on laughing. I felt like a thousand bricks had been lifted off my shoulders, but as soon as we pulled up to the party after Piper stopped and got us tacos in a drive thru—which I basically inhaled—the nerves were right back where they started.

“You look great.” Piper stepped up beside me as we began walking to the tall house. I crooked my head up so high I could see the glittering stars playing peekaboo behind its roof.

Piper was wearing distressed skinny jeans and a chunky sweater that probably cost more than all of my attire combined. I glanced down at my outfit: black Converse, black skinny jeans with holes in them—only mine were distressed from actual wear and tear—a white band t-shirt I stole from a past boyfriend, and my jean

jacket that was also distressed from wear and tear. I shrugged. “I don’t have a whole lot to work with. I hope I don’t stand out too much.”

Piper smirked, shoving her braid off her shoulder. “You were born to stand out, Hayley. And that has nothing to do with your outfit.”

Not sure what she meant, but I didn’t have time to ask as we were suddenly walking through the threshold of a house that looked lavish on the outside and even more extravagant on the inside. Glossy tile floors were at our feet, and strange, headless statues stood along the walls, as if the intricate chiseled bodies were part of the welcoming committee.

“Come on, Andrew and his friends are on the second floor.”

Piper pulled me along and gave me a rundown of the Wellington Prep gang. Andrew was basically the leader of the school, and Piper pretty much compared him to Christian, except she said Andrew wouldn’t be a world-class dick to me. Then, there were the girls of the school, but since I was with Piper, they’d be on their best behavior since she was Andrew’s cousin and they were all friends at one point or another.

“Then there are Andrew’s guy friends.” Piper blushed a little as we climbed the stairs. “You’ve got Chase, Will, Cole, and Harrison. Then a few random guys here and there, but those are Andrew’s closest friends and part of the ‘in’ circle.”

“The ‘in’ circle?” I asked as we rounded the landing. I could hear a rap song playing and girls squealing. This oughta be fun.

We stopped a few feet away from a large room that had strobe lights interchanging in color and loud music blaring from speakers. I spotted some dancing girls holding drinks above their head when Piper stepped into my line of vision. “Yeah, you know how Christian has Ollie and Eric, and a few others, always trailing behind him?”

I nodded briefly, although I didn’t want to admit that I’d noticed Christian and his gang. It was hard to miss them striding down the halls, though. They thought they were divine superhumans or something.

“Well, Chase, Will, Cole, and Harrison are the guys that trail Andrew.”

I formed an O with my mouth. Piper’s hand landed on my wrist, and her face turned somber. “Stay away from Cole, though.”

I furrowed my brow, but before I could ask why, she pulled me into the party.

Alrighty then. Let’s do this. Time to be a normal teenager, for once.

Chapter Eight

Christian

Eric passed the blunt off to Ollie, and I had to force myself to keep my hands on my lap. I was seconds from ripping the damn thing from his arrogant mouth, but I also realized I was a little on edge lately.

We had won the game tonight, and my teammates deserved to celebrate, me included, but I didn’t want to do that shit right now. I was too worked up and inside my own head. My thoughts weren’t clear enough as it was. They were muddled with visions of oceanic eyes peering up at me from below.

“Bro, just take a fuckin’ hit. You need to lighten up.” Ollie puffed out some smoke and tried to hand me the joint.

“I can help you lighten up,” April purred from my right, and I glanced over at her. If I closed one eye and turned my head, she was attractive, I guessed. It might help me calm down, too.

I broke my silence today. I’d been simmering the entire week on what to do about a certain someone named Hayley. Did I continue tormenting her? Did I come right out and tell her to get the fuck out of my school? Did I yell at her and tell her I hated her? The choices were endless. I couldn’t decide what route to go.

Then I saw her stealing an apple, and I jumped at the opportunity. I was alone. No one would give me shit about it. Ollie wouldn’t give me that disapproving look. Jake wouldn’t mouth off that she was “hella fine, even with those bruises.” So, I swooped in and got entirely too close to her face. She smelled good. Sweet, like vanilla. She smelled nothing like Madeline with her overpriced perfume, or April who had somehow found her way onto my lap.