Chapter 67 Shiver
663words
Rainbow lights bounced over the crowds of people, endowing the illusion of bright, colorful hair and painted skin.
I blended with the decorations' pastel shades—conflicting with the bright, tangerine flooring and puke-green walls.
Ella rushed up to us, hauling a smirking Rake after her. When Kayn's gaze met his, that smirk widened.
"Hello, my old friend," Rake mocked. "I had no idea you could clean up so well." His gaze drifted to Ember and me. "Looking good, ladies."
Ember snorted. "Drop dead, please."
"Excuse me?" Ella stepped forward, linking her arm with Rake's.
"Nothing to worry about, love," Rake pulled Ella closer. "I told you I'm not exactly favored amongst some of your friends. Nothing unresolvable."
"Speak for yourself," Kayn retorted. He moved closer to me with a defensive posture. "So, what's the plan here?"
"We need to find Poppy." Ember glanced at Ella. "Do you know if she's here yet?"
Ella shook her head. "We just showed up. If she's here, she's lurking in a corner somewhere, avoiding any social interaction."
"It won't surprise me if she's sitting somewhere, reading," Ember teased.
"Right?" Ella laughed. "Oh, Carly, Derek is looking for you. Saw him dwelling around the punch stand."
Kayn stiffened. "Why is he looking for you?"
I glared up at him. "Why do you care?"
"He's her date." Ella stared past us and smirked. "She's reading. Unbelievable."
I followed Ella's gaze. Poppy sat in the far corner of the auditorium, reading, oblivious that there was a couple nearly sitting on her in a heated make-out session.
We fell into a fit of giggles.
"Ego a little bruised tonight, my dear friend?" Rake asked beside me. I glanced toward him to find him stuck in an epic glare-off with Kayn.
"I'm not your friend," Kayn bit out.
Rake directed a grin my way before he said to Kayn, "Ego bruised still, though."
"Why don't you go dance with your date?" Kayn snarled.
"Oh, you bet I will," Rake assured. He leaned in next to Kayn, whispering loud enough for me to hear, "So you know, killing humans is against your law."
"What is that supposed to mean?" I paused.
"Keep a close eye on your date, Carly," Rake instructed, patting my shoulder. "There are sharks out for blood."
"Right." I shook my head, not sure what he's on about. I turned to Ember. "I'm going to look for Derek."
She pointed toward a table at the corner of the room. "We'll be there if you guys want to join us."
"Sure," I smiled before heading off to find Derek.
Sure enough, he was right by the punch table sipping from a paper cup. "Carly!"
He high-fived his friend—a guy I've seen him hanging around with at school, but I had no idea what his name was.
"See you later. Have fun." His friend passed me a wink before walking away.
The way he exaggerated the word fun triggered a suspicious feeling inside me.
I brushed it off, twisting around to peer at Derek, who gave me a once-over. "You. Look. Amazing."
"Uh, thank you." I was never good at responding to compliments. "You look great yourself."
"All for you," he stated, depositing his cup on the table. He appeared more relaxed than his usual anxious self. Out of nowhere, he snaked an arm around me and yanked us into a lung-crushing hug. "I'm so happy you're here with me."
"Yeah. Me too...Uhm, Derek, I can't breathe."
"So happy," he breathed into my ear. Regardless of the heat of his breath, an unpleasant shiver ran through me.
"Derek, can you let me go?" I asked.
"Hmm, you smell nice." I was relieved when he finally released me. I turned to scan the crowd for my friends, thinking it was better if we went to hang with them.
Clearly, he had been drinking.
