Faking Perfection

24|Future

２４|Ｆｕｔｕｒｅ

Ｉｚｚｙ

For the first time in a very long time, I'm attending another party.

This used to be second nature to me—getting drunk, flirting, dancing my ass off, but now, as all the football players check me out, craning their necks as I pass by, it all feels so foreign.

The only place I want to be is back at Mason's house in his bed with his arms wrapped around me. Never did I think a man would ever turn my world upside down, but Mason is truthfully the best thing to ever happen to me. With him by my side, I'm more confident than ever, and because of that, I have no problem showing up to a party I wasn't necessarily invited to.

I've been to Zane's house plenty of times, so I stride through the front door without a care in the world. The same shit is going down, just a different weekend. Boys are throwing shots back in the kitchen, a chicken fighting contest is unraveling in the pool, and the smell of weed is so strong it makes me nauseous. How did I ever think doing this every weekend was fun?

Now my nights are filled with late-night ice cream runs, long conversations in the dark, and kisses so sweet I feel like I'm floating, and I wouldn't change it for the world. I've come a long way, and I guess that's partly why I'm trying to help Zane. I want to do this as a goodbye to not only him but to my old life as well. I can leave this version of me behind knowing at least something good came out of it.

Nobody bothers to shoot me a questionable look as I start my hunt for Zane. After all, we were hooking up for the majority of last year, so it wouldn't be shocking if we were to have started things up again between us.

He's not in the pool where he normally is, which is concerning. Girls in bikinis are where most of the horny men end up for the night, but I backtrack into the living room again directly into a large ring of smoke where a group of stoners sits around in a circle passing a blunt. "Hey, have you seen Zane?" I ask.

"Nah, haven't seen em' since we got here," a vaguely familiar face replies.

Weird.

"Okay, thanks." I inhale a large cloud that passes underneath my nose, attempting to relax before I take the staircase in the foyer to the upper level of his house.

 I need to get in and get out before my parents realize I'm gone since Everett is reluctantly covering for me. He's still pissed at me for what he thinks I'm doing to Mason, but when I threatened to punch him in the balls in his sleep if he refused, he made the right choice and relented.

I stride down the long corridor with different art pieces, unsure of what I'm even looking for. Zane didn't necessarily give me a hint, but I know he's in trouble, and I know something's happening tonight. I just have to figure out what exactly that is.

I make it past the first door on the left when it suddenly swings open. Willow is standing on the other side seeming high as a kite. Her eyes are cloudy and she's got a lazy smile on her face. "Iz! Are you kidding?" She throws her arms around me in nothing but her bra and panties, holding me close to her chest. "I never thought I'd see you at another party. Have you decided to be cool again?"

"Are you high?" I ask, stepping back to hold her at arm's length. "What did you take?"

She runs a hand through her messed-up red hair and thumbs behind her. "I... Ah..."

"Babe, where'd you—"

My heart stills in my chest when Zane pops up beside her without a shirt on, his eyes mirroring the same high expression as Willow's. I'm rooted to the spot, unable to move, unable to process what is happening right in front of my very eyes.