Falling In Love

Chapter: 2The party

After school, me and Kenny head to my house. Kenny flops down on my bed dreamily.

"So Let's see it. What are you wearing tonight?? "

"Uhhh,this???"

"That???? "

"Yeah,what's wrong with this??"

"You’ve been wearing that sweater since you decided to go Saint Gobain a million years ago!!!! This is

your first high school party, you deserve a makeover."

"Umm..I don't know…"

"Please!do it for me..More importantly do it for you. Let yourself stand out for once."

"You're right. I've been hiding behind this same old look for too long. Let's see what I've got in my

closet."

I found a beautiful balck lacelacy dress thatdress, that fits me so well..

"Well,what do you think? Is it too much???"

"You'll be too much for Lan. He won't be able won't able to keep his eyes off you. But it’s not what he

thinks or what I think. It’s what you think."

"I think...I think I love it."

After getting ready for the party,I enter the living room to see my dad is setting up a pile of board games

on the coffee table.

"So,I think We've got time for one round of forbidden island and a best-of-three in the colony before I

have to head into the office."

He glances up and sees my new look.

"Ohh..Hi,Kenny,Ellie..You look very nice. Are you two going somewhere?"

"Oh,dad..I forgot to tell you..Kenny and I made plans."

"Plans??What kinda plan?"

"We're going to a small get-together with some friends. "

"Sounds nice. Which friends? "

"Some… uh.. Girls from school,right, Ellie?? ", said Kenny.

"Yeah,You know them,dad. Anna and… uh..Marie… "

"Right. I guess I'm just forgetting. That sound That sounds fun. Well..no worries. It’s your birthday. You

celebrate it however you like. We can play some other time. And be safe! You'll be home by

ten,right,Ellie? I'm leaving for my night shift around then."

"I'll make sure of it! Bye, Mr.Wheeler! ", said Kenny.

I head to the door with Kenny and take one last glance at my dad as he packs up the board games…

Then I hurry out to Kenny's car.

Brent's huge house is packed with my classmates, dancing and talking. Music blasts from the

speakers.

"Soak it all in!!", said Kenny.

Beer sloshes from a pitcher onto Paul's shoulder.

"I'd rather not be so literally. " said Paul.

"So this is a party? This is.. So epic!!! There's something kinda magical about it. Like It's loud and

bright and vibrant. Beauty in chaos."

"That's surprisingly poetic.", aaid Kenny.

"What's everyone drinking out of those red cups?"

"We will get to that part later." said Kenny.

"Ellie! Is that really you??" asked by Tim?Josh? Whatever his name is!!

"Uh..yes? I think so?

" Wow! you look awesome."said Tim?or Josh?

'Thanks???"

"Yes,she looks awesome. She'll be signing autographs later." said Kenny.

"Who was that guy?,asked Paul.

Someone brushes by,bumping me.

"Oh,sorry, I didn’t see you there...wait! Ellie???"Surprised Response by Lola.

" Yes, In the flesh."

"Where did you find that get-up? You almost looked hot, and then I realised It was you." angry reply by

Lola.

"Don't you have something better to do, Lola???" Kenny said.

"Definitely,Toddles."

"Come on,that dance floor looks so fun!!" said Kenny.

"Hold on, where's the snack table? I bet Brent spent my net worth on food!" said Paul.

"Ellie, You're the birthday girl. Where to?" asked Kenny.

"I want to hit the dance floor. "

"People better clear the floor! I'm about to break out moves that haven’t even been invented yet!!!" said

Paul.

The three of us head towards the middle of the dance floor, where Kenny and Paul dance

enthusiastically. I join in awkwardly at first but get more confident as I lose myself to the beat. Kenny

spins me around.

"There you go, You're getting it!" Said Kenny.

"I don't look dump?"

"No way, you’ve got rhythm!" said Kenny.

"That's twelve years of classical musical training for you."

I overhear a couple of girls nearby..

"Oh wow! Who is that hot guy with Brent?" I look across the living room just in time to see Brent with a

backpack approaching Lan. They shake hands.

"My dude! So glad you made it! Having fun?"asked Brent.

" Let's just do this.".

Brent hands his backpack over to Lan,who unzips it to check inside. From a distance, I'm able to see

it’s stuffed with stacks of cash.

"Whoa! Did you guys see that?"

Lan tosses Brent a set of keys in exchange.

"You know I got you, Lan! I can't wait to get this baby on the openon open road."

"How does Brent even get that much cash? Just walk up to the bank and ask??" Said Paul.

"Given that his parents own the bank? Probably." said Kenny.

Lola walks up and flirtatiously touches Man'sLan's arm. And said,"Hey,there. I'm the unofficial welcome

committee at our school."

"Is that so?"Said Lan.

I try to ignore their conversation, but when I look back over, Lan is watching me. Kenny nudges me

toward him.And said" He is legit staring at you. Go talk to him. "

"And, say what???"

"Anything,save him from her!!!

Kenny pushes me again. Swallowing hard, I walk across the room and clear my throat.and said," Hey " Content bel0ngs to Nôvel(D)r/a/ma.Org.

"Hey yourself."

Angry by my presence Lola said,"um,could you leave? We were kind of in the middle of something."

"No,we weren’t. " Lan never takes histhis eyes off me. Stunned. Lola flips her hair and storms off. He

looks me up and down.

"Wow! "

My cheeks burn with heat as I blush.

"Wow,what?"

"You know damn well that. You had me worried there. Thought you hadn’t shown, until I saw you

across the room."

"You must have great eyes then.I mean,you vision. Because you saw me,'cause...your eyes are great.

Not that I'm, like, into your eyes or--"

"Am I making you nervous? "

"Nervous? Very…"

"How come?"

"Because, I think you're preposterously hot."

"You do like to cut to the chase."

My eyes involuntarily play across his toned arm and chest. I feel myself blushing.

"Come on. It's no secret. You know you are."

"It may have come up in the past. I like that you say exactly what you are thinking."

"Well, what are you thinking right now?"

"That there's gotta be something better we could be doing with our night."

"You mean you don’t usually hang out at high school parties with a backpack full of cash?"

"You noticed that, huh?"

Lan hands me the bag.

"Go Ahead.Open it."

I swallow, a bit nervous, and unzip the bag. I take out a single stack of $10,000 from a pile of them.

"Wow,I've never seen this much money in my life,what were you, um…"

"Selling Brent a car. He's taken a few off my hands. He's got quite a collection in the garage here."

"Is that...Is that really it? What all that cash is for?"

"You asking if I'm lying? I've got plenty of secrets but none that are tied up in Brent's car collection."

"Secrets?"

"I can show you the collection, if you want. Maybe a secret or two, If you ask nicely."

"Okay,Lan.Let's go."

"Follow me."

Lan navigates through the packed halls of Brent's sprawling mansion, leading me into...a pristine,

luxurious garage, lined with rows of stunning,rare luxury cars.

"Wow.You sold him all of these?"

"Most of them."

"How?"

"I have my ways. Say what you want about Brent,but the guy has solid taste." Lan lovingly runs his

hand over a silver car.

"This one was almost impossible to find. The aluminum -bodybodyy 1965 Schwarz Drei CLS. Gull-wing

doors,2,966cc single overhead camshaft, top speed of around 160 miles an hour."

I watch his expert fingers gaze at the curves of the mint condition body… the way his eyes catch fire as

he talks about it.

"First car ever built with direct fuel injection. Raw power. Only 29 of 'em ever made. The way she

purrs… there's nothing like it."

"You really love cars. Don't you?"

"Every car's got a story…. Just like people. "

"Then,what's youryou story?"

"You sure want to ask that? It’s not a happy one."

"Of course, I'm sure. Like, where are you from?"

"Nowhere. Everywhere. Depends how you look at it."

"Are you trying to be mysterious? "

"Usually. Keeps me safe. Honestly, I've spent my whole life on the road. I've lived all over. Nowhere, I'd

ever take a nice girl like you."

"Who said I'm a nice girl? Maybe I'm not as nice as you think."

"I doubt that."

He opens the door of an orange coupe and gestures for me to sit inside. I slide in the car and sit next to

him in the front of the car.

"The 1966 Santagata Toro. The one that started it all. You look good behind the wheel."

"It's beautiful. How much is it?"

"About $900,000. You wanna take it for a spin? Brent owes me a few favors."

"I wouldn’t know what to do with it. I never learned to drive. "

Lan laughs, thinking I'm joking, when he reads my face, his eyes go wide.

"You're serious!! "

"My dad won't let me."

"Now that's a surprise, I wouldn’t have guessed there was anyone who could stop you from doing what

you want."

"Not anymore, there’s not. I'm not the girl you think I'm. "

"That so?"

"I think you just have a very skewed perception of me."

"Maybe everyone else does. Maybe I have exactly the right perception. It's time to get you out on the

open road, Ellie. There's nothing quite like the thrill of a ride, the wind in your hair. Especially You're up

to no good. "

"No good??"

Lan offers me a hand to help me out of the car. As I do, My shoe slips and I lose balance, falling back

against the Santagata clinging to Lan for support.

"Ouf!, sorry…"

He catches me, and I find myself pressed against him.Leaning against the sports car, my face is just

inches away from him.

'Easy, I've got you.'

'Was this your plan all along? Because I might have fallen for it.'

He looked me straight in my eyes. His eyes were so dark and mysterious.Maybe there was more about

him,I can feel an invisible magnet that was pulling me towards him.

"Maybe it was."

"Getting me alone in here, just so you could get close to me."

"Didn’t think it was much of a secret. I'm not a subtle guy."

He looks down for a bit and laughs.

"I can feel your heart pounding."

"You can!!"

Entranced by his gaze, I find myself leaning in….just then he pulls away sharply.

"Lan...what's wrong?"

"Listen..sirens!! "He said it with much rage.

I strain to listen, sure enough I can hear police sirens are drawing closer...then a commotion coming

from the party.

"Come on let's go." Lan takes my hand and we made our way to the main house.

Around me, everyone starts screaming, running in different directions in complete chaos.

"Kenny! Paul! Where did they go?? My first time going out and I'm about to get arrested!!!dad is going

to kill me……"