Twist of Fate

Serenity’s POV

“It’s the last night before the first day of senior year,” Maddie explained to me, “you have to go!”
I rolled my eyes at her. She has been begging me to go to a party some jock is throwing. I’m really not interested in going. To me, parties are bad news. So many things can go wrong in a place jam packed with teenagers and booze, two things that don’t mix well together. It’s a potion for a disaster. “No,” I said bluntly.
We were sitting by the pool in my grandparents’ house. I’ve been living with them since I freshman year. No, my parents aren’t dead nor did they dump me here willingly. They live in Van Nuys, Ca, my hometown, with my older brother. I hate the California weather so I decided to live here in Maryland. It’s much cooler here than in LA.
Maddie gave me a pointed look. If there was one thing about my cousin that I hated, it’s her persistence. “You are going with me to the party on Saturday. That’s final.” Her stare was unwavering and it was making me feel uncomfortable.
Groaning, I kicked my feet that were dangling in the pool, splashing Maddie in the process. That’s what she gets for being so damn annoying. I hate to admit it but she won, again. There’s really no point in arguing with her anyway, she always gets what she wants.



I was peacefully playing the solo of Afterlife by Avenged Sevenfold in my purple bedroom when I heard someone banging on the door. What the fuck! No one disturbs me when I’m playing. EVERYONE knows that. If anyone, or anything, even dares to come between my music, and me they’re dead.
A soft, velvety fabric was shoved on my face as soon as I opened the door. “Here,” an irritated voice said, “I’m gonna let you borrow this dress since I know you don’t own one.”
I examined the thing for a second with a disgusted face. “I am not wearing this. Not in a million years! It’s too girly and short and revealing and no. Just no.”
“That’s the longest dress I have and at least it has straps. Or maybe you want to wear my long gown and look like an idiot.”
“I already agreed to go to the stupid party. Can’t I just wear my jeans and a shirt?” I threw the thing on my bed and walked towards my closet.
She huffed and followed me. “No way you’re wearing jeans. You always wear them. Let me look through your shit.”
After about an hour of Maddie wrestling me into a short black skirt, that I didn’t even know I owned, and a tank top that says The Rock and The Roll I gave in. The skirt had a white belt attached to it that ties into a bow in front. It rides up to my mid thigh and shows about 6 inches of my thigh given that I have long legs. She also made me wear black peep toe boots with 4-inch heels. I had no problem with this one. I actually liked it. If wasn’t wearing my converse, I’m most likely to be wearing some type of boot, pump, or boot pumps. To top everything off, she handed me my favorite Balmain Antique leather jacket. At least we agree on some things about this outfit.
She had a smug look on her face as I stepped out the en suite bathroom. “I did good. You look stunning my cousin dearest. You’re growing up,” she gushed as she pretended to wipe a tear. Drama queen. “Now, we need to put some color on your face.” With a blink of an eye, she had me seated in front of the vanity facing away from the mirror.



I could feel the music thumping as we neared Seth’s, Maddie’s current boyfriend’s house. He’s the cornerback of the football team, or, shall I say, the Maddie’s ex boyfriends club. He reserved a parking spot in front of the house for her so it didn’t take long for her to be dragging me through the crowd inside the living room, which was turned into a makeshift dance floor. I felt uncomfortable as she literally ripped my jacket off my body as we entered the house. The point of wearing it in the first place was beyond me.
“Remember, don’t take drinks from strangers or any guy for that matter. You never know what’s in it. Unless it’s sealed in a bottle or can.” She looked at me sternly before Seth grabbed her.
For a moment, I felt nauseated by the thought of being alone in a party with a bunch of wasted teenagers. Not a single familiar face was in the crowd so I decided to go to the garden and just stay there for the rest of the night. It was chilly out so not a lot of people were there.
I sat in an unoccupied lounge chair by the cabana. This is why I don’t like parties, there’s nothing for me to do. I don’t exactly drink nor can I dance, at least not with a bunch of sweaty people grinding on each other. I busied myself playing with the hem of my skirt until I felt someone sit next to me. That someone was wearing grey skinny jeans. Instantly, I felt jealous. I hate skirts with a passion. Also, the fact that it was cold and an unknown male was sitting next to me didn’t help. I cursed Maddie for taking my jacket.
His eyes bore a hole onto my skull. He was staring. How rude. Invading my lounge chair then now this. I heard him clear his throat, obviously trying to get my attention but I continued to ignore him. “So, what are you doing out here?” He asked.
Still not fully acknowledging his presence, I just shrugged. There were only a few visible stars in the sky. I was starting to count them when I felt something warm around my shoulders. Out of reflex, I looked at the guy next to me. Holy shit. It’s Alex Gaskarth, as in, the guy who has most likely slept with 99% of the female population of the school.
He just gave me his billion-dollar smile. “It looked like you were cold.”
I pulled his hoodie closer to my body and thanked him. I couldn’t help but notice the way his hair falls across his face. It makes me want to draw him. No, scratch that, I cannot draw to save my life. It makes me want to write a song about him. He looks like an angel, his features are perfect. This was the first time I’ve had a close up look at his face and it made me understand why girls gush over him. My hazel eyes averted from his hair to his chocolate brown eyes to his lips. They looked so—him crashing his lips onto mine cut of my thoughts. It didn’t take long for me to recover from my shocked state and begin to move my lips in sync with his. His lips were soft, like velvet. As he cupped my face, he licked my bottom lip asking for entrance, which I willingly gave him. He tasted of beer and cherries and something else I can’t point my finger to. My hands are now tangled in his perfect hair.
Our bodies we so close together that I could almost feel his heartbeat. We were cut off by the sound of someone clearing his throat. A deep scarlet blush crept up my cheeks as we pulled away. A guy, whom I recognize as Zack Merrick, was standing awkwardly behind Alex holding two bottles of beer. A panicked look was evident on Alex’s face as he stood up from next to me.
“Uh, I’ll see you around…” he paused.
“Serenity,” I finished for him.
He extended his hand awkwardly in front of me, “Nice meeting you. I’m Alex by the way.”
I shook his hand with a tight smile on my face. With that, he left with Zack, who gave me look of disapproval. What the hell was that about? Plus, aren’t introductions supposed to happen before the kiss? I just groaned and started to look for Maddie. Miraculously, I managed to find her and have her go home early. It was probably because of the disgruntled look I had on.
“Spill,” she demanded as we pulled out of the driveway.
I just looked at her incredulously and crossed my arms across my chest.
“Whose jacket is that? Is it a guy? Oh my god! It probably is! That’s so cute!” she gushed and started rambling about how sweet it was blah blah blah all the way back to my house. She was sleeping over this whole weekend so I wont be hearing the end of how romantic it was for a guy to let a girl wear his jacket until Monday. Ugh! I don’t want to face Alex or Zack. Not after tonight.