the tattooed gang

"Hey... you're back." A voice behind us scares me.

I turn around to find myself staring at the girl with the tattoos. I look away in disgust and leave the two couples by themselves, assuming they'll come for me later.

I watch them at a distance waiting for Mason to come over to me, but he doesn't. Part of me feels a slight bit of jealousy towards the two of then. That chic that was sitting with Mason on the couch before, flicks her straight blonde hair to one side in what I know is a conscious act of flirting. Half of her head's hair have been shaved off and she uses the other three quarter of her hair to cover over it again.

She wraps herself around him and gazes through her overly made-up eyes with her cloying vapidity, chuckling softly as Mason tells her something funny. Her eyes flicker from mine to his and back again. Her face is one of triumph and I doubt Mason has the decency to know that she is jealous he took me away without her. But again, why would he think that way? Right, because there's nothing between us, he'll probably flick me off like a fly. But then again, he wouldn't be walking towards me right now.

"Sorry for making you wait, Sky." He smiles.

The girl raises her brows and asks, "Who the hell is she?"

"A classmate." Mason replies plainly and for a moment I actually feel disappointed, but what else could he say?

"Oh." She scowls and fakes a smile as she waves to me, she then puts her focus back on Mason and pull at his arm, "Come on, let's go. You promised me." I give them a questionable look but I am ignored by Mason's smirk and her pitiful smile, they start to run towards the house leaving me alone. I try to run after them but by the time I catch up, they have already disappeared into the house and I am shut out by an auto-lock door.

I dial Harry's number but it goes to voicemail. I groan, how is this happening to me?

I try knocking the door but nothing happens.

Okay... guess I'll just go... Just then, Anna opens the door and stares at me with wide eyes. She is so beautiful, those blue eyes, lovely, pinkish, plump lips, silky hair, she's literally perfect. "How did you end up out here? I am so sorry!" She blinks and I blink. So she and Henryk aren't together doing some stuff I don't wanna know.

"It's okay." I step in.

She frowns and asks, "I wonder where Mason is, he's supposed to be helping out, they're so many guests I can't even get a break." She shakes her head and sighs, placing a hand onto her face. "Right Mason is my cousin, I think he's from your school. Do you mind going to his room? I need you to get him down, please. It's the fifth to the right. One level up."

I blink and nod replying, "Yea, I know him. I'll go get him now." The words "fifth to the right" rings continuously in my head.

Five... fifth.

I shake my head stepping into the hallways.

So many, many rooms...

I could hear my own footsteps even though I am stepping on a carpet. The walls must be soundproof, the echoes of my steps are loud and sharp.

I walk up to the fifth room. Sure enough, the room had Mason's name on it. Beside it there was a sticker pasting, 'Want a high five?' and there is an open palm right by it. I take a deep breath and call him. Then, I remember that he probably wouldn't be able to hear my voice from inside.

Soundproof, remember?

I push the door open and a scream erupts from someone inside as I pull my hands to my eyes and instinctively shut my eyes.

I slowly open my eyes and this time I scream when I find Mason almost naked and the tattoed girl half naked, "You've got to be kidding me," tattoo girl says, "you again?"

"Sorry, I was supposed to er..." To what? Right. "Anna needs you, Mason."

"Right. Sorry Mabel, catch ya later." He winks at her, dressing up before walking towards me, to the door. I move aside for him to walk past and his shoulders brush across mine as he walks down the hall yelling, "Ann?"

"What's your deal?" Mabel asks me.

"What?" I give her a puzzled look.

"You and Mason. You slept with him yet? You won't stop bugging him!" Is this a joke?

"What? No! There's nothing going on between us, what's with you two?" I glare back at her.

She shrugs and says, "Nothing much... He won't date me or anyone... yet." She crosses her arms and says in a matter of factly. She reaches for her cardigan, and pulls it on. She then grabs a fluffy scarf abandoned at a chair and strides out.

Wow, what a way of saying goodbye, how polite!

I walk out of the room just as Mason rushes back.

Really!

I roll my eyes at him and walk right past him hitting him in the shoulder. He grabs my left arm and laughs, "Really?"

"Yes." I yank his hand away and glare at him before heading off.

He yells after me, "Where's Mabel?"

"I don't know anyone by that name." I lie.

I guess he's probably frowning right now as he questions my humanity, "Are you jealous?"

"No." I lie again.

In fact, I am really jealous, he can't just take me back from somewhere special and ditch me outside a house to be let in by his cousin. I thought I was starting to like him, but anger now blinds love and love has always been my unluckiness and that's why I swear to stay away from him to prevent him from getting hurt. By me. "You'll get your turn, okay? Skyla?"

He jokes? What is that supposed to be? Assurance?

"Go away, don't you dare talk to me." I tell him firmly even though something wrenches at my heart and threatens to tear it apart. Something I've never felt since the day I turned five. I remembered cutting off contact with all my friends, telling then how much I hated them and never want to see them again. Their pained expression like a dagger in my chest, their eyes like a tsunami wiping me clean off the surface of this earth. It made me Skyla Styles, a heartless, uncaring person. A bitch you can say.

But again, remembering him brings me back to those weird speeches from my babysitters. They were lovely at first, but when you dwell longer in it, it turns into a trap. A sour and bitter one, then it swallows you and threatens your existence.

Now, I refuse to feel anything for anyone or anything and so, Mason Nialls is nothing to me. I walk away repeating that phrase over and over again in my head.

It has never occurred to me that this pain from loneliness and lost love would pull me back to its depths again, but here it is, trying me again. I won't let it take me down, I won't give in. I won't. I can't. That's why I must remain strong, if love is the cause of pain I mustn't have it. If lies are what it takes to hide the truth, so be it. If these rumors keeps people away from me let it be. And that's just how it goes, deal with it.

"Sky?" Henryk's voice rings into my ears. I have never felt so relieved to hear someone's voice. He's my brother so it's fine, right? I turn to look at him and I meet a pair of worried eyes. "Where did you go?"

"Sorry, I drifted away." I lie. Not exactly a lie either, though.

"Glad that I've found you, dinner's starting." He says and beams at me. I nod as he takes my hand and leads me into a huge dining hall. It feels like I'm in a hotel. No shit.

"Hey, Henryk." Anna takes Henryk's free hand and I release the one I was holding, feeling a little awkward. Henryk shoots me a serious look and I smile assuringly at him. He nods and introduces me, "Hey everyone, I want you to meet my sister, Em—Skyla." I was at the verge of glaring at him but when he changed, I soften my gaze and fake a smile. A few people came up and says, "Hi." I just nod quietly, waiting for Henryk's cue for dinner, but it never came.

"Sit with us." A sweet looking girl with no tattoos waves at me and I sit beside her on a sofa. "Hey I'm Regina, but people call me Gigi. Zach over there is my boyfriend." She nods at a tattooed man. Woah.

"Cool." I say.

"Where are you from?" Zach asks.

"Erm here?" I said hesitantly.

"Oh, sorry." He laughs, "You just seem different. In a good way, you're sexy but special. Are most Americans this introverted though?" Cocky boy.

"Nppe." I answer him calmly while examining his looks.

"Cool." He says just as someone plops beside him, "My best pal, Luke." I nod as he introduces me to Luke. Cool they must all be Henryk's friends. Luke is a muscular man, his muscles so visibly shown beneath his almost transparent shirt.

"Hey." Luke says and I nod again. Something about being in a group of new people uneases me and somehow removed my voice box. It's been a while, I've never made any friends since I was five. Crazy, huh?

"Are you alright?" Regina checks in on me. I'm still not used to using people's nicknames.

"Yea, just a sore throat." The lies come out quicker than expected.

"Ohh, so you're not introverted. Need a drink?" Zach offers a wine but I shake my head politely. "Okay... anyways, Luke where's that new chic you hooked up with?" He diverts his attention away from me.

"Dunno..." Luke slurs a little as the alcohol takes control, "Around the backyard. Flirting with some girls I guess."

"Wait, she's gay?" Regina sounded more interested than surprised. Luke just shrugs like it's nothing. I've never really mingled with gay people and here I am in a group of people who may support LGBT.

"Na, she's not, plus I wouldn't date her if she's gay." Luke assures us, "She flirts with anyone she comes into contact with, it's just her way of talking and attracting attention." Luke explains further.

"Oh." I get back my voice and somehow manage a syllable. Maybe they support LGBT but... they just don't wanna get too caught up with someone to find that most of the time they're getting attracted to someone else.

"By the way, we're hanging out this Friday, ya joining?" Zach smirks at me and I don't what to say but, "Sure." He nods at Regina who excitedly squeals and claps her hands together. I know including friends would only bring in more trouble, more unluckiness, more love and pain, not for me but them, but this, this made me want to accept it not eliminate it. That's when I realize that I've just discovered five new people I could probably call 'friends', Anna, Regina, Zach, Luke... Mason. The best part of this, is that it feels kind of good.