Knowing Jude
Chapter 39

"Why are you in a pissy mood?"

"I'm not in a pissy mood."

"Yeah right, that's why this pillow is lying in the doorway..." Simon pauses and bends to pick said pillow. "Flew here, I imagine?"

"It has feathers, doesn't it?" I offer drily. "I didn't know you were coming over."

He closes the door behind him and approaches the bed. "I was with Trey. And I need to convince you."

I groan and throw another pillow, this time at him, which he catches in his hand. "I'm not sneaking out with you guys."

"Come on, Jo. You've sneaked Jude in and out of this room numerous times. You can do it for yourself. Besides, your brother does it all the time and he has never..." he grimaces and pauses. "I didn't say anything." Only he has. "Trey sneaks out?"

He sighs and drops on my bed. "Well, once."

I shake my head. "I don't believe that."

"I promise it was once. Jade invited him to her birthday party and he was definitely not going to tell her he couldn't go. So he sneaked out."

"You said he does it all the time," I call him out.

He pushes the bridge of his glasses upwards. "Well... Not exactly. But the point here is he's going to the party too, so you two can sneak out as a team."

"Okay. Suppose I go. What will I do? I don't have friends to hang out with, so let me guess. Sit down at some lonely corner and watch people?"

"What do you mean you don't have friends? What am I? And Nicki? Isaac?"

"Let's be real, Simon. You guys have other friends. I don't."

"You'll hang with me and Isaac and Trey-"

"I don't want to feel like... I don't know, the seventh wheeler."

Simon rises from his spot, clearly exasperated. "Oh for heaven's sake, Avery. It's a freaking party. There's a crowd. You're pretty, guys will be tripping all over themselves to talk to you. You might make some new friends. Jude might even be there. You just have to get yourself out of this boring comfort zone!"

His last remark is marked with a hand sweep around my room.

"It's not a boring comfort zone," I disagree.

Comfort zone, yes. I refuse to agree on boring.

"That's not the point here. You're coming to Niall's party with us and you're going to wear that pretty black dress of yours."

"Now you're out of your mind. If I'm going anywhere full of drunk people I want to be in something I can run in comfortably if things go to shit. Code for jeans and sneakers, thank you very much."

He groans. "You're helpless."

"Thank you."

"OK, fine! So long as you show. Isaac will pick you guys up."

"I didn't say I'll be going."

"We'll see."

I turn my attention back to my phone.

"So, are you going to tell me why you were throwing things around? I know you well enough to know utter frustration is what makes you do that. Trouble in paradise?"

"I wasn't aware I was in paradise."

"Saw Jude and Bethany getting a little too comfortable earlier today, near the boys' locker room. Know anything about that?"

"Does it look like I care?"

"Didn't say you do."

The thing is when I went to return Maria's extra-large belonging yesterday, she vehemently denied it being hers and suggested that it might belong to some other guy I might be sneaking into my room. I shoved it in her face and left before we could get to blows.

I think I hate her now.

We completed our papers today, and school's closing in a week. Earlier on at school, Nicki came with the news that her brother Niall will be throwing a bash for his twenty-first birthday. In a friend's house whose parents were away, because hell would definitely freeze the day Mr. Cooper allowed a wild house party in his home. Nicki got to invite her friends, and from what I knew the rest would all be her brothers' friends. In short, our small group from school would be among the few high school kids around. More reason for me to cower from the idea of going to the party.

"You do know Nicki herself will have to sneak out to attend her own brother's party, right?" Simon reminds me.

I nod.

"I know you're so afraid of getting caught, but look at it this way. You've literally never done anything rebellious. As long as you don't get drunk or some shit like that, I think your parents would let it slide if they do catch you. Which they won't."

I think I might be succumbing to what they call negative peer pressure.

"I have three days to think on it, Simon. I'll see."

I suppose I did see.

Because it's Saturday night and I'm standing in front of my closet, frowning at my two dresses. Only because Nicki insisted I should wear one. I don't really want to. I want to be comfortable, but I admit the dress is pretty.

"There's a dress code. Black and white. Dresses for girls, Jo. So you don't really have a choice," Nicki's voice floats from my phone, which is lying on my bed on speakerphone. "Let me send you a pic of what I'm wearing." I groan, pick my favourite of the two dresses, and retreat to my bed. My phone pings and I grab it to take a look.

"What the fuck?" I stare at the Nicki in the picture and almost get dizzy. "Are you kidding me?"

She giggles. "No."

"Where did you get all that makeup?"

"I've always had it; I just never use it. Is it too much?"

"No, it's... Good. You actually look hot."

"Actually? Really?"

I laugh. "You know what I mean. Is Cole going to be there?"

"I don't know."

"Did you invite him?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Ooo, I'm sure he'll be there."

"I doubt."

"I really hope he'll be there, that dress can't go unnoticed. But you better pray your parents don't notice it because you won't be leaving the house then."

Her dress is a black little strapless number, tight all the way to the middle of her thighs. Forget me and my two dresses, I had no idea Nicki owned a dress.

"Noah and I went shopping and he picked it for me," she confesses.

I gape. "Are you kidding me? Your brother willingly chose that for you? Did the guys in your family change their opinions on whether you should or should not date?" Which was should not.

I grab my boots. "Because that right there is a guy magnet. Even I didn't know you had that many curves, Nick."

"Are you checking me out?"

"Can't help noticing. Now imagine the guys. And your hair... Ugh, you're making me feel like a hopeless case. Who did it for you? All I can think of doing to mine is bundling it up in a hair tie." Nicki's laugh sounds across the line. "It's all on Noah. The guy works in a beauty salon, Jo. And I think you'll be fine. A high hairdo is exactly what you need for that dress."

"You don't know which dress I'm wearing."

"I'm pretty sure I do. It's not like you have much choice."

Well...

"Let me go now so you can get dressed. Be ready in twenty."

She cuts the call and I heave a sigh. Looks like I'm really going to do everything out of my element tonight. And hope I don't get caught.

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Trey and I walk several metres away from home and finally jump into Isaac's car around a bend. I don't want to think about getting caught anymore. Nicki is sitting up front with Isaac and the two of us join Simon in the back. "Told ya," Simon says smugly.

"Shut up."

The first thing I notice when we get to the house is that not everyone is in black or white, and the girls are wearing a myriad of things that are clearly not just dresses.

I confront Nicki, realising she fooled me.

She laughs and backs away, palms up. "I'm sorry, okay? I just wanted you to try something different for once! I mean come on, look at me!"

"So there's no dress code or something stupid like that."

I can't believe it, but I'm actually only realising Simon is in a pair of denim pants, a T-shirt and a plaid shirt, same as Trey. And Isaac is in a pair of combat shorts and a T-shirt.

I suddenly feel overdressed.

"I look stupid!"

Isaac takes my hand and pulls me toward the front door of the house. "No, you don't. You look perfect."

"It's what I've been trying to tell her for years, but she insists on hiding behind baggy shorts and-"

"Shut up, Trey. You're my brother, you should have no opinion."

He rolls his eyes. "Whatever. Look, there's Luke!"

He breaks away from us, and I get a sick feeling.

Time for everyone to break away.

The feeling doesn't last for long however because Isaac doesn't let go of me as he goes after Trey, and Simon and Nicki stick with us. We're in a large foyer that's crowded with kids, and which opens to a living room that looks like a freaking ballroom. I gaze upwards. High ceiling, adorned with chandeliers, and I see the DJ set up on the first-floor balcony which overlooks the foyer. It looks like a club with the strobe lights, loud music, fake fog, and the dancing crowd. "This is crazy," I shout to Nicki because whispering won't do for the noise in here.

She nods. "Exciting."

"No, it's not."

"You, girl, need a drink."

"Not the kind you have in your mind, I'm sure."

Isaac comes to a stop and the next moment he's placing a cup of something in my hands. I peer into it, take a sniff, and shake my head. "None of this for me."

"Oh, sorry. A soda maybe?"

"There's punch over here!" Nicki says, a beer cup already in her hands.

"I'm not dumb, I can bet my life that's laced with God knows what."

"True. Come on, maybe we can replace you a soda in the kitchen," Isaac offers, and I go along with him.

Before we get to the kitchen, however, we're waylaid by a very familiar-looking brunette.

"Isaac! Hey, I didn't know you'd be here!"

"Uh, yeah," he replies sort of awkwardly.

"Who's this?" she asks, one finger unwrapping from her cup and pointing at me.

"Oh, uh, this is Jo. Jo, this is Janet."

I finally place her in my mind. It's Janet, Jude's sister, Jared's twin.

Is Jude here too?

Her trimmed eyebrows come together. "Jo? I'm sure I've heard that name somewhere. Are you a friend of Jared's?"

"No."

"Do you know Jared?"

"No."

"Okay. So, you're friends with Isaac?"

Isaac tugs on my hand. "Yeah, look, I'll see you around?"

He doesn't wait for her reply as he leads me along.

"What was that about?"

"You know her, right? She's Jude's sister."

"Yes I do, seemed a lot friendly to you compared to her brother."

"Yeah..." He pauses. "We used to hang together a lot when I was friends with Jared."

"You're not friends with Jared now?"

"Not really." "Why?"

We come to the kitchen and he doesn't answer right away. I spot Nicki's eldest brother Nathan leaning against the counter among a group of older girls and guys. I stand back as Isaac makes his way to the fridge. More drinks are displayed on the island.

"I really shouldn't have come," I say when Isaac gets back with a Sprite. "Thanks."

"Why?"

"It's not like I'll drink, and I can't dance to save my life... And definitely not in that crowd full of groping drunk hands."

"Don't be a buzz kill. There are lots of ways you can have fun here."

"If you'd only have one tiny harmless drink," Simon's voice sounds from behind me.

"Nicole? What's that in your hands? And what on earth is that you're wearing?"

The four of us turn around to replace Nathan advancing on us, a stern look on his face.

"Noah chose it for me!" Nicki replies. "Leave me alone, Nate!"

Then she turns on her heels and rushes out of the room.

Nathan curses and rushes after her.

Simon chuckles. "Boy is Noah in trouble."

"Nathan will probably have her glued to his side all night," I sigh.

"Or worse... Take her home." He backs away from us. "I'll try to save her."

Isaac doesn't seem to be in a hurry to go do anything, so we hang around a bit. After a while, I realise I'm probably keeping him from having fun and I let him know he can go ahead and ditch me.

He looks around at the crowd, then back at me, smiling. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"You didn't come here to babysit me, did you?"

"We can go have fun together," he suggests with a wiggle of his eyebrows. "Let's go dance."

"I don't know how to dance."

"You can't say you don't know how to dance because there's no how. Look at you, you can't stop tapping your feet. I'm sure you want to move to that song. And whichever way you move, that's dancing." I look at the swaying crowd in consideration.

Isaac takes my hand and leads me into the action. "The more you think about it, the more you cower. Just do it."

Only we run into somebody else. Jared.