Beautiful Mess

"Did you have a nice time at dinner last night?" Lacey asked me the next day at work.

I nodded and kept my eyes on the arrangement I was working on. "Yeah. You guys are definitely an interesting crowd."

She laughed. "Yeah, you gotta love us though. Speaking of us, we're all gonna be hanging at Matt's house tonight. You should totally come."

I looked up from the flowers and raised an eyebrow. "What's with you trying to get me to be all social?"

She shrugged. "You don't ever go out."

"Is that a problem?"

"Yes!" she shouted. "It's unhealthy. Just come hang out with us, please."

I sighed. "Alright, I guess I could."

"Yay!" she squealed, throwing her arms around my neck. "You'll have fun, I promise."



I followed Lacey's directions to Matt's house and groaned nervously as I pulled into the driveway and shut my car off. I had never really been one to socialize, and had no clue why Lacey was trying to get me to do it.

"Lindsey!" I heard from outside. I looked up and saw Lacey waving like crazy with Jimmy and Johnny standing beside her.

I smiled at her and stepped out of the car. Lacey ran over to me and began pulling me toward the house. "I'm glad you decided to come," she said. "Stop looking so worried. I promised you a good time, didn't I?"

I nodded and laughed at her. We walked around the side of the house, where everyone else was either in or next to the pool. Two guys, who I recognized as Zacky and Brian, were in the pool with two girls who I assumed were their girlfriends. Matt was standing next to the grill, with Val right next to him of course. She stood on her toes and whispered something in his ear.

Matt's eyes left his girlfriend and traveled to where I was standing with Lacey. His mouth curved into a bright smile as he waved. "Hey, Linds! Glad you decided to come."

Val loosened her grip around Matt's waist and walked over to us. "Hey, beautiful! How are you?" Her greeting threw me off slightly, but I managed to reply with a 'fine.'

"Want something to drink?" Lacey asked. I nodded, and she pointed to the house. "Kitchen's right through the glass doors."

I walked up to the door and entered thee house, taking time to look around. Not only was this the biggest house I'd ever set foot in, but the most beautiful as well. I ran my hand over the black counter top until I reached the stack of plastic cups. I took one and continued admiring the space around me.

"Hey," I heard from behind me. I spun around found myself face to face with another one of Matt's smiles. He chuckled, I'm assuming at the look that was probably on my face, and took the cup from my hand. He filled it with ice and then stuck it under the faucet. "You don't look so excited to be here," he said, frowning.

I shrugged. "I just don't go out much, I guess."

"Why not?"

"I don't know," I replied, shaking my head. "I just like to keep to myself."

"Oh, come on," he said, half grinning. "You're depriving the world by doing that."

I rolled my eyes. "Alright, I don't need an after school special in your kitchen."

He just laughed. "I don't care. I've bought enough flowers from you to know what a great person you are. The guy who snags you is going to be pretty lucky." He looked at the plastic cup still in his hand, then thrust it toward me. He placed his hand on my shoulder. "Don't think I'm lying either."

"Darling, I need your help with the grill." Both of our heads snapped toward the door, where Val was standing.

Matt nodded at her and walked off without looking back at me. Val gave me one of her polite smiles as she followed him back outside.