made her fall in love with only just a look in her eyes

Aurora Holland

Music echoed loudly through the giant house. I'm sure if they had neighbors directly next to their house it would be heard inside the neighbors' house, that's how loud it was. It vibrated in my chest, and I ignored the feeling I got from it as I stood awkwardly behind Paige.

After my awkward encounter with none other than Carter Jackson, I found myself hiding away behind Paige. When she's present, nobody pays attention to me. And I had enough of the fake compliments and kindness from her friends before the party even started.

"Rora! You enjoying the party?" Logan asked as he walked up to me. He had a red solo cup in his hand, most likely full of alcohol.

I didn't respond, unsure of what to say. I wasn't, but it wasn't anything against Logan. I'm just not used to it. Maybe after a party or two, I'll grow to like it, but right now I was definitely out of my limit.

"Have you met everyone yet?" He then asked. He bent down so I could hear clearer, and I could smell a mixture of cologne and alcohol on him.

I'd been watching him most of the time, not to be weird. I just wanted to see who Paige hangs out with, plus our talk earlier had been running through my active mind.

She was not lying about the girls. They were all over him, left and right flirting with him. He was kind, friendly, and open to talk to them. I wasn't sure if he was flirting back, however, as I was too far away to hear what was being said.

One girl seemed to almost faint at his touch. How odd.

"No, and I'm okay with that," I admitted, finally mustering out a response to him. I didn't want him to think I was ignoring him or not interested, I just didn't know how to talk to people.

Especially at a party.

"Logan, come dance with us!" The sound of a girl nearby called the boy. She stood with a group of other girls, the lot of them waving him over.

He nodded at them, waving them off before turning back to me. "You wanna dance?" He asked, "I'm sure there's room for one more over there."

"No, thank you though." I politely said, "I think I'll just stick with-" My eyes widened as I realized Paige was no longer in the kitchen where I lingered. "I'll stick with my own thing." I played it off, hoping it wasn't too obvious I was panicking at the fact that my cousin was nowhere to be seen.

"Well, if you change your mind-" He stopped, pointing in the direction the girls were dancing. I just nodded and he touched my arm as he passed by me.

I sighed out a deep breath, realizing I needed some air. I was bored out of my mind if I were being completely honest. Paige had left me despite promising me she wouldn't, but I don't know what else I expected.

She was a popular girl and had popular girl duties to attend to.

Remembering that Logan had mentioned something about a balcony, I decided to tour the giant house a little bit more.

Sure, it didn't go too well last time, but with how many people are going in and out of rooms -- I'm sure he won't mind if I make my way to some fresh air.

My legs moved to the staircase, squeezing past the people who didn't acknowledge my existence. This was what I was used to, not having any attention on me.

I found the top of the staircase, but instead of going left, I went right. It didn't take long for me to get lost in the house, but part of me didn't mind. Paige would find me eventually, hopefully outside with a breath of fresh air.

Finally, I found it. I smiled to myself despite how stupid I probably looked. I saw the sliding glass doors with a sheer curtain over them, and I didn't hesitate to walk over and open them. It was empty out on the balcony, and I gawked at the beautiful scenery.

Logan was right. The angle up here is definitely better.

The moonlight was beautiful and the stars were out, shining brightly. I could see a lake or a pond of some sort in the distance, the moonlight glowing off of it. It was a beautiful sight, and I wish my phone camera would capture its beauty to the max.

Remembering I brought my notepad with me, I pulled the tiny notebook from my purse. Call me a nerd, call me weird, but I always carry one with me.

One for times like these, where pictures can't capture the beauty of things. When I get inspiration for drawings, paintings, or even light sketches. Anything that gives me thoughts, I jot it down.

Flipping to an empty page, I used the light coming from inside the house to shine on my notepad. It put me at an awkward angle, leaning on my side against the railings. Thankfully, I was left-handed, so I usually already had to angle myself to write as most desks in school were made for right-handed people.

First, I started with the trees. The trees with lots of limbs and branches, sticking out and touching each other as if they were holding hands. Then, the beautiful green grass on the ground below the trees.

My hand worked quicker than my mind, sketching down the scene I saw in front of me. Just as I began to sketch the moon's reflection in the pond water, the sound of the sliding glass doors behind me caused me to jump.

The pencil went over the railing and onto the ground below. Thankfully nobody was standing there, but at the same time... my pencil fell.

I gripped the railing tightly, looking over to see if I could see the yellow pencil. I couldn't, and I sighed as I leaned back on the landing.

Realizing someone was with me, I turned with a frown. I was angry with whoever interrupted me out here, in my own peaceful state. They were the reason my pencil fell over the edge.

Expecting to lock eyes with a drunk human, I was shocked to see Carter. The same Carter whose bedroom I bumped into only an hour before everyone showed up.

My mouth fell, beginning to apologize yet again. Then, I remembered I wasn't in his bedroom. I was somewhere I had permission to be, somewhere where I wasn't bothering anyone.

"You made me drop my pencil," I muttered.

He looked surprised, then confused. "What?"

I waved my unfinished drawing in the air, sighing. "I dropped my only pencil over the balcony."

Next party I come to, I need to bring more than one pencil.

Carter didn't say anything, and instead stepped further onto the balcony. He walked past me and stood by my side, leaning over to see where it was. I watched his side profile, my stomach swarming with butterflies at how close we were standing.

"Yeah, looks like it." He leaned back, moving his hands to his sides again. "Sorry about that."

I stayed silent, putting a good distance between us. I stared at the unfinished drawing, disappointed that right as I was about to get the prettiest part of the sight, I had to stop.

"There's a giant party downstairs yet you're up here... drawing?" He then asked, seeming to realize how weird it was.

"I-I-" I stopped, not knowing what to say. This is quite embarrassing. He probably thinks I'm a nerd or some weirdo.

"I've just never seen anything like it is all," He quickly countered, as if he could read my thoughts. "I just- this is my first party. I'm not doing so well," I admitted. "I lost my cousin and I felt suffocated so-" I waved my hand around as if it would finish my sentence.

"So you decided to come outside with very shitty lighting and draw?" Carter asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It sounds sad when you say it, but yes." I held the tiny notepad in my hands tightly.

Carter didn't say anything, causing an awkward silence between us. He just watched me, and so I stared at the ground in partial embarrassment.

This was weird. I know I should've just stayed home, but I can't let Paige know I'm already backing out of being more open and different here. This was a new opportunity, to be someone I could never be back in South Dakota. I can be more talkative, open, and basically, another version of Paige if I really tried.

We were standing only inches away from each other, something I hadn't noticed till now. I could smell his cologne wafting off of him - and it smelled really good. The wind blew slightly so both mine and his hair were moving with the breeze.

Only if I had a pencil right now, this would be the perfect sketch.

"Well, thank you for apologizing for the pencil, it is just a pencil after all." I mentally face-palmed at how stupid I sounded. He apologized so long ago, yet I was making a sad attempt at keeping a conversation going.

"Yeah, I mean least it wasn't you-"

He was cut off by someone stumbling out of the sliding glass doors, ramming their body into me.

A pained yelp left my lips as I flew forward, my side hitting the railing roughly. I felt a cold, wet substance trickle on my left arm and my side, running down my leg.

Carter reached forward to steady me, his large hands gripping my arms to help me stand straight. He was quick to react, but almost as quickly as his hands were on me - they were off.

It was then I heard slurred giggling, and I looked over to see a boy I hadn't met yet. He was tall, even taller than Carter. He had a dazed look in his eyes, and it was then I smelled the weed reeking off of him.

"Sorry about that, love!" He exclaimed. He has an accent. Nice.

Glancing down, I noticed that whatever alcohol had been in his red solo cup was now all over me and the ground of the balcony. My eyes then shot to my notepad.

It was completely destroyed. It took most of the damage from the spill, the pages already smushing together and colored a dark brown color. I tried to begin to pry the papers apart but cringed as I saw them begin to rip.

"It's okay," I mumbled anyway.

It's my fault for bringing a notepad to a high school party where drunk teens would be running around. Clumsy teens at that.

I shut the notepad, sighing in devastation. It'd be weird to start crying, despite how much my notepads meant to me. I couldn't put it in my purse anymore, either, due to the fact that it was soaked.

"Hey, I haven't seen you before," The boy spoke with realization as he pointed a crooked finger at me. "You go to one of the rival schools or something?"

"She's new at Riverway High," Carter answered for me. His eyes were on the destroyed notepad, so I just hid it by holding it in my arms over my stomach.

As if he knew I was watching him, Carter looked at the other boy with a bored expression. "You're a clutz when you're drunk, Layton."

"When am I not?" The boy giggled again, his attention leaving Carter and coming back to me. "New to Riverway, huh?" He looked me from my head to my toes, causing that familiar feeling of insecurity to make its way through my body.

"Paige Holland's cousin, Rory." Carter introduced. "Rory, this is Elijah Layton. Riverway's drunkest teen at every party, and unfortunately my best friend."

"Unfortunately?! It's a blessing I'm in your life, Jackson. Embrace the friendship!" The boy slurred, a giant smile on his drunk features. "Paige Holland, huh? We just made out in your living room closet for seven minutes."

He patted a hand to Carter's chest as he wrapped an arm around the boy's shoulders. Carter looked annoyed and pried the boy's arms off of him as he didn't want what was left of the cold liquid to get all over him.

The wind blew again, causing goosebumps to form over my body. Even though I was wearing a long-sleeved top, it didn't change the fact I was now soaked in alcohol. My shoulder and legs were bare, part of what took a hit from Elijah's spilled drink.

My face scrunched as I realized what Elijah just said - he just made out with my cousin. That was something I definitely didn't want to hear, nor needed to hear.

But then again, I know my cousin's done many things related to that, so it's not a surprise.

"We didn't need to know that, Eli. Get yourself another drink, yeah? You spilled yours." Carter motioned a slender finger toward the red cup.

Elijah looked down, realizing it was almost completely gone. "Ah, shit you're right. Good call, man!" He patted Carter on the back one last time as he took a step back, his attention then going to me. "I'll be seeing you later, sweetheart!"

A blush crept its way onto my cheeks and I just looked down, waiting to hear his footsteps walk away. Once the door was shut again and assuming I was left alone, I looked back up.

Carter was looking at me. He stood in the place he'd been standing the last five minutes, a look I couldn't decipher written on his features. He then looked at my body, his eyes looking over the spilled drink.

"You're wet," He said matter-of-factly.

"Yes, nice observation," I sarcastically remarked.

A light smirk showed on the corner of his lips, but as soon as it was there it was gone. He took in a sharp breath, seeming to be thinking deeply of something before finally rolling his eyes at his internal battle. "Come on," He said.

He began to walk toward the sliding doors. I didn't move, not sure where he was going.

Stopping at the door, he gave me another look. "You deaf?"

"No, thank you very much." I couldn't help but snap, "I heard you loud and clear."

"So why are you still standing there?" He asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Because I don't know where you're going?" I copied his tone, shooting him the same look.

"What, you think I'd take you down to the basement and kill you?" He questioned, dropping his hand to his side. He leaned against the door, and I'd be lying if I said he didn't look good.

"For all I know you could be a teenage serial killer," I said with a shrug. Of course, that wasn't my thought. I wasn't going simply because I thought he'd kill me, but more of I don't know where he wanted me to go. I kinda just wanted an explanation before following him.

"Ah yes, because you looked so worried when you walked right into my torture chamber disguised as a bedroom," He sarcastically remarked with a smirk. He was right, as I did stand there like an idiot until Logan showed up.

If he were a teenage serial killer, I'd be long after dead at this point as instead of turning and leaving, I stood there like I was a deer caught in the headlights.

I didn't say anything, and his smirk only grew as he realized he won the little spat back and forth. He straightened himself out, motioning a hand lazily toward me. "I just want to get you something more comfortable. Surely you sitting there marinating in alcohol isn't very comfortable."

He was right. I was soaked all over my left side with soda and whatever alcohol Elijah had mixed with it. Although you couldn't really see it on the clothing itself, you could still see it on my legs, shoulder, and hand. Plus it was causing my clothes to stick to my body, which was a very unpleasant feeling.

Before I could fully think through whether it was worth it or not to go, my legs moved first.

Okay, I guess we're going then...

Carter led me through the house, the cold air conditioner causing me to shiver as the air hit my wet body. I held my hands to my stomach, the soaked notepad leaking onto my clothes as we made our way through the giant home. He passed the staircase, where drunk teenagers lingered. Nobody paid any attention to us, but instead of going down the stairs the way I thought we would, we went in the other direction.

He opened a door - the same one I'd accidentally opened only hours before. He walked into the bedroom after turning the light on, where I stopped in the doorway.

As if he could hear that I'd stopped walking, he turned to face me. "What's wrong?" He asked. His voice was soft, almost the opposite of what I'd witnessed the whole night.

"You- you want me to come in here?" I asked awkwardly, earning an eye roll from the boy. "I just- I've never been in a boy's bedroom, and I-"

"I'm not asking to fuck, you know that right?" Carter cut me off.

My mouth clamped shut in embarrassment, my cheeks turning a dark red. He seemed annoyed, more than he had only moments before when I was sarcastically calling him a murderer.

"I have a bathroom in here and I brought you here because this would probably be the only unoccupied bathroom, okay? I'm not forcing you to do anything you don't want to do. If you want to go, go ahead." He waved a hand at me.

I stayed silent, my eyes bouncing anywhere but at his face. He was staring at me, seeming to be waiting for me to make a decision. He was getting impatient, and I knew it, but I just felt awkward.

Not that Carter gave me any reason to be uncomfortable, despite his attitude he was quite nice to offer to help me at all. I've just never been alone in a room with a boy - let alone someone as attractive and intimidating as him.

Hearing the sound of Elijah's voice heading up the stairs - followed by giggling, my eyes widened as I recognized that giggle.

That was Paige's giggle.

"I'm sure that one of these thirty rooms is empty," Elijah slurred.

"But Eli, my cousin-"

"Oh, she's fine!" Elijah cut Paige off.

Before I could hear much more of the conversation, I was quickly pulled into the bedroom. The door slammed shut behind me, and I stared at the boy with wide eyes.

"Rory, I promise you I'm not trying to seduce you,"