4 Picnic Weekend

Another week has passed us by and we've never even exchanged a word together, but I can't get him out of my head. There's something that makes him beyond irresistible, the way he styles his hair so effortlessly and the way he rarely wears any color other than black makes it seem like he wears the same outfit for the whole week but if you look carefully, you can notice different and almost invisible prints on his shirts and how his jeans would fit differently. His style totally matches his mysterious personality even though it seems to have stayed mysterious only to me. He's all friendly with everyone he sees but he passes me by like I don't even exist.

All of this has been bothering me so much that I even shared it with Callie but she just brushed it off saying that we just didn't get a proper chance to talk but I did actually give him a chance, on our first day of school, and he's the one who ignored me.

Right now he's sitting just in front of me, another ten minutes and the bell will ring and he will gather his belongings as fast as he can and be the first one to get out. It's one of his habits and apparently, he's also always the one who comes first to class, he might not seem like it but he's a clever guy, at first our teachers would think that he's zoning out and would randomly ask him questions about what they were explaining but he would respond correctly at each one of them so eventually they gave up and let him be.

Finally, the bell rings and as I step out of the class, a guy hands me a flyer without any explanation and passes on to continue distributing what he has left to the other kids in the hallway.

I look at Ethan who was standing beside me "What's this about?" I ask flipping the flyer without actually paying any attention to what's written in it.

"It's for a party next week, James is organizing it next Friday. Will you come with us?" he asks.

"Us? you mean.." But I get cut off by James himself standing in our way.

"Hey Nikki," then he turned to Ethan "Ethan right! we have a french class together, I believe."

"yea that's right," says Ethan. I just smile and wait for him to say what he has to say.

"so have you seen the flyers?" he asks.

"I didn't really pay attention, but Ethan was about to enlighten me when you stopped us."

"Oh so you're planning to come?" he asks Ethan.

"Well if this one agrees to come, of course."

"So Nikki, I'll tell you about it since I'm the host." he flushes a proud smile "it's gonna take place in my house, obviously, and well it's mostly for seniors since this is our last year. We'll have a DJ, drinks and everything that screams fun, you should definitely come, it's on the next Friday."

"I'll see what I can do, I can't promise you anything."

"Well you didn't reject my invitation immediately so that's a start," he smiles "I'll leave you now, I hope you both come because it's gonna be lit!"

He joins his friends and we head to the cafeteria, Callie was already there waiting for us. As soon as we sit down, Ethan asks "we're going to the party right?"

"I don't know about you guys but I'm totally in, it sounds fun plus James will surely book an amazing DJ." Responds Callie.

"I'll have to think about it truly."

"Oh come on, don't be such a fun spoiler."

"Yes, it'll be fun the three of us together and maybe you can stay over at my place." suggests Callie.

"I can't promise you anything yet." I say before spotting Mark on another table across us, he was sitting with another boy but I couldn't truly figure out who it was.

"I'm going to see Mark." I say before getting up and taking my plate.

As I get closer, I realize that the boy with Mark was in fact Ian but it was too late because Mark already spotted me and waved me over. I sit awkwardly next to Mark and say a simple hey, I try my best to not look at Ian while they continue their conversation about the soccer team and their next matches. At last, their conversation comes to an end and Ian gets up saying that they have practice and Mark tells him that he'll join him later.

"So!" he turns to me "What kind of movie are we watching tonight?"

"Actually, I was hoping that we'd skip the movie."

"Do you have other plans?" he looks at me suspiciously.

"Nah, but I was thinking that we can go to the lake and just hang out there."

"You know it's Friday! It'll probably be packed with some kind of party."

"Well that'd be a plus, we can join the party if we want or we can just take some food and just hang out at a quiet place."

"Okay, I'll probably finish practice at around 5 p.m, I'll join you at your house we can prepare something to eat and then go." he suggests.

"Okay!" I say as I get up "I'll see you later then." I kiss him goodbye on the cheek and head to my next class.

At around 5:30 p.m, Mark comes knocking at our door. My mom lets him in and he joins me in the kitchen where I was packing our dinner.

"It smells nice in here!" he says checking the Tupperware boxes I was packing.

"I made some fruit tarts and mini-hamburgers that we can enjoy by the lake."

"Helping my mom at the bakery truly paid off! I thought we'll be eating some take-out but this is way better than I expected."

"We can go and get some beers on the way." I mutter so my mom won't hear us "but we'll have to drag the motorcycle all the way home."

"I don't mind, now let's go!" he claps his hands excitedly and I let him put the boxes in my backpack while I go to my room and get a jacket and my keys.

When we get to the lake, there were already a few people in the cabin but it was too early for the party to start. This cabin has been abandoned for years so a couple of high schoolers took it upon themselves to fix it up and since then it became the one place where teenagers hang out and party all weekend. Each one will bring his stash of alcohol or drugs, some will be responsible for the music and they'll just party together without any invitation needed or even knowing each other.

We set up a small napkin and spread all the food that we brought on it, Mark had the idea to snatch a bottle of champagne from his house and it made the picnic set up look like a scene from some movie, I took a couple of photos to keep as a souvenir and then we cheered and ate what I've been preparing for the whole evening.

Our time passed chitchatting about what happened during the weekend and we ended up talking about James' party.

"So, are you going to the party?" He asks.

"Are you?" I ask back.

"Yes, I'll be your date if you want." I laugh at him "But you should though, you'll make James the happiest, he's totally crazy about you." He smiles that wicked smile of his.

"Well, we both know why he's that crazy about me and I'm not willing to be one of his score girls."

"I'll kill him myself if he does that."

"I know you will," I lean over and kiss him on the cheek "thanks and I'll go to the party but you don't have to be my date, Ethan and Callie are already going."

"Fine then but you should definitely save me a dance."

"I will! You know how much I enjoy dancing with you."

"Well, I'm the best dance partner you can ever ask for."

"Then how about you show those dance moves now?" I say nodding my head towards the cabin. The sky grew darker and music is already jamming out of the cabin, the party wasn't too crowded today and I could spot a couple of familiar faces.

Mark gets up and holds out his hand for me to get up, we clean everything and pack the boxes and napkin into my backpack.

As we get closer to the cabin, Mark surprises me by stopping on his trucks and calling Ian while waving his hands frantically and then I spot him coming towards us hand in hand with Michelle. I couldn't help the stinging feeling of jealousy creeping inside of me and I know I have no right to feel this way.

"Hey! What brings you guys here? I thought you didn't like crowded places." Mark says playfully hitting Ian on the shoulder.

"We were just hanging and Michelle suggested that we check out today's party." he explains wrapping his hand around her shoulder and she lays her head on his.

I noticed I was staring hard at them, especially him and I divert my eyes quickly in the hope I wasn't already caught but he was wearing a piercing on his left ear, one that I haven't noticed before and it was killing me to know whether it was a new one or he just didn't wear often.

"Let's all head in there, it seems like a good party." and he drags me by the hand while Ian and Michelle follow right behind us now back to holding hands.

When we get inside, the few couches were full and a few people were dancing in the center and that's where Mark takes me. The music was amazing and my body starts moving to the rhythm, Mark was showing off his moves, he's a good dancer and some girls start looking our way. I have to admit that he's truly attractive with his curly hair and his dark green eyes.

"I'm gonna grab a beer, do you want one?" he asks leaning over, the music wasn't too loud which allowed us to hear each other clearly. I shake my head no and he walks away towards a boy that seemed familiar to me and I can only assume that he probably goes to our high school.

A few minutes pass me by and I keep on dancing between the other teenagers and suddenly find myself face to face with Ian, I stop for a moment but he smiles at me and then takes my hand and swirls me around. I could swear that I stopped breathing for a second and when I find myself once again face to face with him and my hand still in his, I don't know what to do.

He starts leading the dance and I slowly relax but only for a couple of minutes because Mark joins us and interrupts our dance telling me that we should leave since it's already past midnight and we have a long way to go. Ian let go of my hand and offered to helps us get home but Mark only waved him goodbye thanking him and dragged me out of the cabin.

As I set foot outside, I take a deep breath, and only then did I realize that I've been holding my breath since Ian let go of my hand. I can't help but hate my best friend a little for interrupting such a moment, the guy literally went from totally ignoring me to dancing with me and Mark only chose that moment to go home.

I was in no state to ride the motorcycle and I couldn't trust the amount of alcohol that Mark consumed either so we opt for the least pleasing option and that is dragging it all the way home. He hands me the backpack from which I take out my jacket and put it on and then he starts dragging my motorcycle. We walk side by side in silence for a moment, my head unable to stop reliving those few minutes passed with Ian.

"Are you close with Ian?" I ask looking at him in the dim light of the street lights.

"Kind of. Since he's in the team, we had the opportunity to meet a few times." he pauses for a moment "He's a good guy, he's actually been hanging out with Michelle a lot lately. I heard they've been in a couple of dates and he never put up anything in the platform so I can only assume that he's decent." he smiles at me then continues "you know, I might even say that if ever you thought about dating someone from school, it should probably be him. Plus from what I've seen earlier, you two make a nice couple." he winks at him and I slap him on the shoulder but I can't help but think about what it'll be like if I dated Ian.