"Better to arrive late than ugly," Gabby laughed, spraying an entire bottle of hairspray into her hair before fluffing it out with her hands. "Let's go."
I gulped, following them out of Cora's room and down the stairs, stumbling a bit in Cora's heels that she insisted I wear. We loaded into Cora's white Mercedes and Gabby cranked the radio up. While they sang along up front, I took that time to mentally brace myself. Wiping my sweaty hands down my dress, I pressed my forehead against the cold window, inwardly trying to wipe away my thoughts of all of the worst-case scenarios that could happen.
Gasping, my eyes bulged out when we pulled into a giant, circular driveway packed with cars. Dang, Cora didn't lie when she said this party was going to be huge, but that's not really what shocked me. Lane's house was huge. I mean, like gigantic. I swear, the longer I was here, the bigger the houses got. The mansion perched in front of me was twice the size of my aunt's house. It screamed money from every angle. Columns surrounded the entire front in a circle and the rest of the house was made entirely of windows. Of course, there was also a large fountain in the middle of the driveway that could be used as a pool it was so big.
“Holy house,” I muttered. Cora pushed a button on her visor and one of the six garage doors opened. Pulling in, she parked next to a black Escalade, like it was her own personal spot, and turned off the ignition.
"Lane’s dad is like super loaded. He owns one of the top music labels in Atlanta,” Gabby explained, turning around to look at me from the passenger seat. "And Cora's lucky ass gets to meet famous people all the time." Her elbow nudged Cora but she was too caught up in her phone to pay any attention.
Speaking of phone. “Hey Cora, is it alright if I leave my phone in here?” I asked, unbuckling my seatbelt. I ran my hands through my hair and pulled down my pocketless dress again.
“Yeah,” she mumbled, her fingers stopped tapping and she looked back at me. "No one else is allowed in here so it will be fine." Pulling down her visor, she checked her reflection one last time before opening up her door. "Alright, let's do this."
I internally counted to ten before opening up my door, ignoring the building tension in the pit of my stomach. I already had a bad feeling about tonight. It was too soon. What if I freaked out in front of everyone? People would start calling me a freak again. Gabby stopped at my door and squatted down to look at me.
"Hey babe, everything is going to be fine. I'll be with you the entire time and if you want to leave early, we can. I got your back." I nodded, setting my phone down in the seat and she grinned. Gabby grabbed my hand and the three of us walked towards the door.
I heard the pulsating sounds of the music before we even walked into the chaos. The place was overflowing with sweaty, costumed teenagers. Every piece of furniture was covered with large blankets and pushed back against the walls. A giant staircase in the middle of the entry way was roped off with a "DO NOT ENTER" sign taped to it.
"Let's find Lane and get our drinks," Cora yelled over the deafening noise, grabbing my arm. She dragged me through the large crowd and I kept my eyes on the pigtails in front of me while Gabby held onto my back. She stopped at the kitchen and I scanned the giant crowd surrounding us. Granite counter tops were covered with food, drinks or someone's ass. Two kegs were set up on the floor with drunken kids circled around it. The entire house had an open concept design (I had been reading my aunt's interior design magazines), so you could see everything that was happening from the kitchen.
My eyes immediately landed on Piper and her goon squad dancing in the living room. Her “costume” was a tiny, sparkly, pink tutu, a crop halter-top showing off her dream catcher belly ring and a pair of heels that were even taller than mine. Maybe she would trip, fall and break a leg so I could get a break from her sassy attitude and elbows to the body. She finished her ensemble with a sparkly tiara perched on top of her overly teased blonde hair.
“What is she even suppose to be?” Cora asked, appearing beside me.
“Toddlers and Tiaras All Grown Up: The Street Corner Edition,” Gabby joked. "Looks like Queen Bitch Face decided to bedazzle her horns tonight to look like a tiara," she added, shaking her head. “Our costumes totally kill hers.”
"Duh they do. I'm just confused because I thought you were supposed to dress up as something you weren't already when it's Halloween," Cora laughed, shaking her head.
"Ladies, you look ravishing!" Lane's voice boomed out from behind us. I turned around, spotting him holding a red cup in his hand and wearing a football jersey and jeans. I guess he didn't go with the Bam Bam idea. "Mmmm pigtails," he grinned, grabbing Cora around the waist and hoisting her up onto a small open space on the counter. Flicking a pigtail, he kissed her neck.