A/N: Up there is what I envisioned everyone wearing to the party, cuz why not? Ya know? Also, I'm really excited about this chapter because it's a party and every little group of paragraphs is like a little vignette, so enjoy!

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Danielle finishes curling her hair and gathers her freshly curled brown locks to put them in a ponytail, but she stops, "Leave your hair down, for once, Carlos might like it", she says to herself. She puts her glasses on and adjusts her red top with floral patterns. She leaves her room, says goodbye to her parents and gets in her car to head to Carlos' house. "I'm not going too early am I?", she thinks, "No, he asked me to help him set up and it's seven thirty, I'm fine", she reassures herself, "Yeah, your fine", she says aloud letting out a nervous chuckle.

She parked down the street from Carlos' house. She turned off the car and sat in it for a minute. "I should go back home. There's no reason to be here.", she thinks. She playfully bangs her head on the steering wheel. "God why am I like this?", she asks herself. She takes a deep breath and turns on the car again. She slowly drives up to his house, and slowly walks to the front door. She takes another breath and rings the doorbell. She fiddles with her thumbs for a few seconds as she hears footsteps approaching the door from the inside. She thinks about making a break for it for a split second, but then Carlos opens the door.

"Danielle, hey!", he smiles, "Hey, um I'm not too early am I? I mean you did ask me to help you set up, but I don't know if I'm too early or not", she admits, Carlos chuckles, "Don't worry, you're fine", he says, "Come inside", he says opening the door wider. Danielle walked in and Carlos followed, "You look beautiful by the way", he smiles, Danielle thanks him and blushes. "I really don't remember the last time I saw you without a ponytail", he laughs, so does she, "Yeah, it has been a while, but I thought why not? It's a party, it's not like it's too crazy of me to have my hair down, unless it is weird, then maybe I should put it up", Danielle said gathering her hair, Carlos gently grabbed her wrist, "Don't worry, you look amazing", he said. Danielle let go of her hair and smiled, her knees got weak as she stared into Carlos' eyes, she could really get lost in them, and Carlos could get lost in hers. But, she caught herself staring and cleared her throat. "So, what do you need me to do?", she asked quickly turning away. Carlos frowned. "Uh, here", he said grabbing a plastic bag with potato chip bags in it, "You could pour these into the bowls outside", Danielle took the chips and scurried to the backyard.

As she was pouring, she got a text from Amanda.

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Hey Dani, how's the setting up going with Carlos? ;)

I don't know, you tell me. I've been running away from him everytime he gets close to me 🙃

DANIELLE MARIA LUCERO! WHY?!?

I'M NERVOUS

MY GOD IT'S LIKE YOU'VE NEVER FLIRTED BEFORE

🤦🏽‍♀️

Dani. Just tell him how you feel. I mean I know it may sound scary, but you know Carlos. He's a sweet guy, just go for it. And if he likes you too then great! If not, then he's the BIGGEST idiot on this planet!

Thanks Amanda ❤ I love you, I'll try my best. See you later.

I love you too 😘😘

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Carlos walks outside and sets some bottles of soda and cups on the table, he starts to walk inside, and Danielle musters up all the courage in the world. "Wait. Carlos, can I talk to you?", Carlos turns around to face her, "Yeah, what's up?", he asks. Danielle gulps, "Um, this is very hard for me", she said, Carlos moved closer to her. "But, I really need to get this off my chest", she continued, "I l-like you", she said. Carlos widened his eyes. "Whoa, really?", he asked, "Yeah, and honestly I don't know how you didn't know. Like I've had a huge crush on you since seventh grade". "Well, I mean. I had a feeling but since seventh grade Dani? Amanda's your best friend, and she dated me and you were okay with that?", he asks, "I was, as long as she was happy, I was happy. And, I also kinda lied and told her I was over you", "Okay, but why? Like why do you like me?", he asks. Danielle let's out a laugh, "Are you kidding me? I mean look at you!", she says, "Not only are you cute, you are one of the kindest people I've ever met, you're caring, funny, smart and so much more, but it doesn't matter because you'll never like me back so what's the poin-", Danielle's spiel was cut off by Carlos leaning in and kissing her. The kiss was gentle and romantic, it was as if they had both done this many times before, the kiss was pure bliss. Neither of them wanted to let their lips lose the connection they had, but they had to breathe at some point. When they both pulled away to breathe Danielle's breath hitched. "Oh my God. I just had my first kiss", she laughed, "Oh, wow. I hope it was okay", Carlos said, a little surprised at the revelation,"It was all I hoped it would be", Danielle said as he walked back inside, she quickly took out her phone to tell Amanda what happened.

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After Courtney changed and finished getting ready, she, Bea, and Willow made their way downstairs. As Audrey got a glimpse of her daughter, she gasped, "Oh honey. That's the romper your dad bought you", she says moving in closer to look at Courtney. "Yeah, it is, I thought I'd finally wear it", she smiles, "You look beautiful", Thomas complemented, "You do", Audrey agreed, "So do you girls", Audrey smiled, "Are you all ready to go?", she asked the teenage girls in front of her, "Yup", they all replied, "Alright, well, be safe, have fun, be responsible, and curfew is twelve thirty Court", Audrey says giving her daughter a hug.

The three amigas gather inside Willows red Toyota Corolla. "Well ladies, this'll be an interesting night", Willow chuckles as she drives into the streets of Miami. "The most I hope for is that we have fun, and that Court enjoys her first Montenegro Academy party", Bea smiles from the passenger seat, "Oh don't worry about me, if I don't have fun, I don't wanna drag you guys down with me", Courtney says. "Which won't be a problem, because you're gonna try to have all the fun you can have", Willow eyes Courtney through the rear view mirror, Courtney and Bea laugh, "Okay, okay, I'll have fun tonight", "By the way, Ariel texted me and said she's on her way too", Bea said, "Oh awesome! Ariel is going, we can be antisocial together", Courtney grins, Bea and Willow laugh, "Watch you and Ariel have more fun than Bea and I", she says.

After ten minutes of more conversation, the girls had arrived at their destination. Willow drive past the several cars on the street and parked near the end of it. "Wow, it really looks like the whole school came", Courtney says as she gets out of the car, "I wouldn't doubt it", Bea says. Ariel turned the corner and sped up to catch up to the others, "Hey guys!", she smiled, the other girls greeted her as well, "Wow, Ariel, you look great!", Willow said, observing her army green jumpsuit, Courtney and Bea nod in agreement, "Aww, thanks, but you guys take the the cake! You all look gorgeous!", Ariel gushed. The group bathed in compliments and walked closer and closer to the slightly muffled music being omitted from Carlos' house. Once they arrived at the door, Bea rang the doorbell three times and waited five seconds to ring it another three times, and the door swung open to reveal Carlos on the other side. Courtney and Ariel looked at the others with confusion. "It's the secret password! We can't just let anyone into Montenegro Academy parties", Carlos smiled, "But, welcome you beautiful ladies! Please come on", Carlos gestured to the party happening inside his home. There were loads of people inside the house, music bouncing off the walls, colorful lights filling the darkness and people dancing and talking everywhere. "Wow. Carlos knows how to throw a party", Courtney thinks to herself. "Enjoy yourselves!", Carlos shouts as he makes his way to the backyard.

After a few minutes of getting used to everything, Courtney made her way to her one true love, the snack table. She walked through the open sliding glass doors and laid her eyes on the chips, popcorn, and candy. She walked past Carlos and his friends playing beer ping with soda. "Well, at least the students here really are afraid of alcohol", she thought to herself. If any Montenegro Academy students were caught drinking at a party, they would get immediately expelled. And getting expelled from one of the best high schools in the United States doesn't look good on any college application. Courtney filled her plate with the delicious treats as she observed all the people around her. Talking, laughing dancing, maybe coming to this party wasn't such a bad idea. As she was about to head back inside, her opinion on coming to the party quickly changed. She saw Ricky smile at her and walk over to her. Courtney took a deep breath. "Hey, Courtney you made it", Ricky smiled, Courtney half smiled back, "Well, Bea and Willow basically dragged me here", she fake laughed. Courtney noticed Ricky staring at her, "You look very pretty", he finally said, Courtney gulped, "Uhh. Thanks. You look nice too", Courtney said. The awkward air was so thick, both Ricky and Courtney could barely breathe. Courtney then saw Aaron in the corner of her eye. What a blessing he was at a that moment, "Oh, hey it's Aaron! I'm gonna go say hi", Courtney said with a grin ad she left that awkward mess behind. Ricky sighed and looked over at Aaron, he doesn't know why. But he feels jealous. Should he be jealous of Aaron? Why is he jealous of Aaron?

Courtney basically runs over to Aaron, "Hey Red, what's the rush?", he asks confused. "Ricky. That was the most awkward conversation I've ever had. If you can even call it that.", she replies, "At least you knew you had to leave. I do think it's best to stay away from him, you know, if you don't want Ashley to gouge your eyes out.", he says, "Yeah, I know. It's for the best.", Courtney replies half-heartedly, "You look beautiful, by the way.", Aaron smirks, Courtney blushes a bit, "Thank you. I try.", she replies, "Hardly I bet.", he retorts with a grin. "Alright playboy, calm down.", Courtney laughs. Aaron begins talking about something to Courtney and she half-hears as she looks over to where Ricky was standing and sees a glimpse of him staring at them before he quickly jerks his head around and walks inside.

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Alex slinks through the crowded house and eventually makes it to the bathroom, he tries opening the door but it's locked, "Oh sorry, I'll wait", he says to the door, "Alex?" a voice comes from the inside of the bathroom, "Y-yes?", he replies confused, the door opens and he sees Bea, "Oh, hey Bea", he smiles, "Hi, um, I was just touching up, I'll let you do your thing", she laughs as she gets out of the way, "Oh, well, I was just looking for a place to hang for a while, it's pretty crowded out here", he laughs, Bea tilts her head, "Oh, that's smart, there is a lot of people out here", "Yeah, you wanna get away from it for a while?", he asks, afraid of her answer, "Sure, come on in", she smiles, they both move into the bathroom, Bea takes a seat on the sink, and Alex sits on the closed toilet. "You look great by the way", he smiles, "Thanks, you too", Bea replies. After a few awkward minutes of mindless tapping on their phones, they begin to talk about the new school year and the future. Bea enjoys their conversation and smiles at the fact that she's getting alone time with Alex. Little did she know, Alex felt the same way.

Alex laughs, "Wow. You really threw up on Pitbull?", Bea playfully pushes Alex, who is now sitting next to her on the large sink, "Shut up! I was ten and my mom loves him so of course we stopped to get a photo with him when she spotted him at the mall, too bad my stomach didn't love all the pop corn I ate at the movies.", she laughs. "Well that beats me stepping on the class pet.", Alex says, Bea gasps, "It does not! I loved Pepe the hamster! Everyone did!", she laughs, "He would've died less sooner if we got rid of that flimsy plastic cage.", he replies. They both laugh and Bea jumps off of the sink, "Woah! How long have we been in here?", Alex looks at his phone, "Holy crap! About an hour.", he says, "Well I guess time flies when you're having fun.", Bea says smiling at Alex, "It really does. Especially when you're with someone as charming as Bea Ramirez.", he says, "Whatever. We should probably get back out there.", Bea chuckles, "Yeah. This was fun.", Alex said getting off of the sink and walking over to the door with Bea. They moved closer to each other without noticing, but a knock on the door interrupts them. "Oh shit! What are we gonna say?", Bea says, "Uhh. I don't know, if we walk out at the same time, rumors are gonna float around.", Alex says, then he smiles, "Which isn't such a bad thing by the way.", Bea rolls her eyes, she goes to open the door and sees Amanda, "Oh! Hey Amanda.", she smiles as she holds the door open to a point where it prevents her from seeing Alex, "Hey Bea, what's going on?" "Oh, um, I got a uhh-", Bea is cut off by Alex, "A call from her mom. She asked how to delete some software program from her computer, and Bea asked me to help, and it's so loud out there, we just came in here.", he says nervously, Bea smiles awkwardly and opens the door wider to expose Alex, "Yeah, I'm not as tech savvy as Alex", she says, Amanda raises her right eyebrow, "Okay. Do you guys mind? I need to pee.", she says, Bea nods and exits the bathroom, followed by Alex. They walk into the crowded house once again, and they both let out chuckles.

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As Ricky made his way back inside, he felt weird. He knew he was jealous of Aaron. But, didn't know why. Why would he be jealous. It's not like Courtney is his girlfriend, her stepsister is. He doesn't like Courtney, he likes Ashley. He has too. Right? His mind was a giant jumbled mess. Maybe he should go home. And that's what he was gonna do, then Ashley clinged onto him. "HI stranger," She said hugging him from behind and kissing his neck, Ricky looked down for a moment, "Hi," he replied quietly, "What's wrong? Come on, let's dance.", she said pulling him to the center of the room. He reluctantly danced along. But, he soon let loose, he has to keep his mind off of Courtney.

Elsewhere on the dance floor, Bea and Willow moved along to the rhythm of the song," Where did you disappear by the way," Willow said, Bea gulped, "I was in the bathroom," she replied, "For an hour bitch?", Willow laughed, Bea rolled her eyes slightly, "Well, Alex and I just took a breather and hung out. That is ALL that happened.", Bea made clear, and Willow's mouth hany wide open, "That is insane! Oh my God!", she says excited for her best friend, Bea laughs, "I know! I'm just so glad things are finally going somewhere with Alex", Bea smiles.

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Amanda walked out of the bathroom  and walked outside for a breath of fresh air. She looked at all the people outside, including Courtney and Aaron sitting on the swingset and laughing along, "Whipped", she grins at her thought, "Hey," a familiar voice says softly behind her, she turned around, "Carlos. Hi", she forces a smile. "So, I'm glad you came", he said trying to begin a conversation. "Why wouldn't I?", she said, Carlos quickly thought about something to say, "Look. I'm over you. I hope you're over me, cuz if you're gonna pursue Danielle, she needs to be the only girl on your mind", Amanda said. Carlos looks at her in shock, Amanda laughs, "We're best friends. You don't think we tell each other everything?", "Well yeah. But, um, I- are you okay with Danielle and I?", he asks, "Of course! I know how she feels about you. I hope you grow to feel about her that way too. And just KNOW if you EVER hurt her in any way, shape, or form, I. Will. End. You.", Amanda reassures staring Carlos down. "Don't worry. I do care about her and I wanna do this right." he says, "So. Are we good?", Carlos asks, unsure, "We are good." Amanda says. Carlos smiles and walks away, "Amanda!", Danielle says as she sees her best friend, "Ive been looking everywhere for you", Danielle says, "Well, I'm here, what's up?", "Well I wanna spend time with my best friend and freak out in real life!", Danielle says jumping up and down, Amanda giggles, it's feels great to see Danielle happy, "I know, I'm very proud, I've taught you well young jedi", Amanda says, Danielle adjusts her glasses, "Well, now that this Carlos ship has finally set sail, I wanna make sure that my best friend and my, um, well, Carlos, get along", she says in a serious tone, "Don't worry, I just talked to him, we're good, as long as he treats you right and never hurts you. Why aren't you with him?", Amanda said. Danielle let's out a breath of relief, "Oh thank God. I'm so happy you guys are on good terms. And he told me to enjoy myself and that he'll talk to me after the party. Now come on I wanna dance", Danielle smiles as she pulls Amanda back into the house.

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Jason pours some Sprite into his red plastic cup and sees Ricky walk over to him, "Hey dude! What's up", Ricky says dropping his hands on Jason's shoulders, "Not much, how is everything going for you?", Jason asks, as Ricky is about to answer, he sees Aaron and Courtney walk inside from the backyard and walk over to Bea, Willow, Danielle, Amanda, and Ariel, Jason sees this as well, "Dude. What is with you and Courtney?", Ricky looks at Jason in shock, "What? What do you mean?", Ricky tries to play it off, Jason sips his drink, "Really? It's not like either of you keep your mutual attraction to each other a good secret", "You think she likes me too?", Ryan says, "See! Why are you ignoring your feelings man", Jason says, "Why do you think?", "Bro. It's not that hard. If you really do like Courtney, then break up with Ashley and tell her", "You say that as if Ashley won't burn both me and Courtney alive.", Ricky jokes, "I get that Ashley isn't the easiest person to deal with. But, if she really cares about you and wants you to be happy, then she'll understand the break up. Now, you might not wanna date Courtney right away, not unless you wanna live, so give it a while and pursue her later", Jason says, "Wow dude. You're really insightful", Ricky says, "I'm just trying to help out my friend", "Or maybe it's that you also wanna take your own advice", Ricky says, Jason raises his eyebrow, "Ariel.", Ricky clarifies, Jason chokes on his Sprite. "Um, oh. Uhh, yeah", he tries to form a sentence, "Jaosn. You don't have anything holding you back from talking to Ariel", Ricky says, Jason sighs, "You're right, it's just, what do she isn't interested?", "Then you know you at least tried your best and will hopefully move on", Ricky says, "Yeah, I guess you're right", Jason admits. "Then go talk to her! Now!", Ricky says pushing Jaosn out of the kitchen and into the living room, or dance floor, "Okay! Okay!", Jaosn said walking over to Ariel by himself, "Ricky! Come here baby!", Ashley yells standing outside with Lauren and Isabella, "You got this man! Duty calls.", Ricky says walking over to the backyard. Jason takes a deep breath and walks up to Ariel.

"Uhh, hey Ariel. I'm-", "Jason Benett", Ariel cuts him off, "I know. We have Spanish together", Ariel smiles, "Si. Correcta", Jason says, "It's correcto", she laughs. "I was wondering when you were gonna come talk me", she said, Jason's eyes widened and he once again struggled to spit out a full sentence. "I mean, I saw you staring at me so", she said trying to calm Jaosn down, "Well yeah. I mean I haven't really talked to you, so I think I'd like to get to know you.", Jason admitted, "I think that's a good idea.", Ariel smiled as she took a seat on the sofa and patted the spot next to her, Jason smiled back and sat next to the blonde haired beauty.

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Jordyn and Ryan sulked in the corner of the house. Ryan was basically dragged to this thing. Jordyn is always excited to come to these things but never ends up enjoying them. The Harris sisters always had each other. Their parents never really cared much about what they did. They were both recovering drug addicts, but when the fraternal twins were growing up, it was bad. Their parents were so drugged up all the time that sometimes they forgot they had two daughters to care for. The only thing they knew would keep them safe were each other. But, now that their parents were sober, Jordyn thought it was time to branch out and try new things, to the dismay of Ryan. Jordyn sees Bea, Amanda, Courtney, Willow, and Danielle sort of looking at them from across the room. Amanda waves her over, "Yes?", Jordyn asks crossing her arms, "Well. We were just wondering if you guys wanted to come sit with us", Willow smiled. Ryan walked over as well and was about to decline their offer when Jordyn said, "Sure. Why not. You bitches don't seem that bad", Jordyn said sitting down next to Danielle, Ryan reluctantly joining then as well. It was extremely awkward at first, but soon, Jordyn let loose and Ryan tried her best and the group of teenage girls were soon laughing and dancing along to the music together.

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Around eleven thirty, Ricky had been left alone in the kitchen after Ashley, Lauren, and Isabella went to the bathroom. He looked past the arch above the kitchen sink and into the living room. He saw Courtney and her friends talking, laughing, and dancing. He saw Jason and Ariel talking as well, and he saw Carlos and Aaron hanging around them. He saw all of this and more, yet the only thing his eyes focused on was the gorgeous redhead wearing a beautiful green jumper. As if she was the one glimmer of light in the dark and crowded house. She stood out to him how Nicole Scherzinger stood out in the album cover for "PCD". Almost as if he wasn't operating his own body, he walked over to Courtney. Everyone saw him walk over to her and the room felt quiet even with dozens of people talking and music blaring through the house. "Hey", he smiled. "Hi", she smiles back, "Um, wanna dance?", Ricky asked, Courtney was taken aback by his offer, "Uhh. Sure, if love to", she said without hesitation. Bea and Willow looked at each other with concern. Aaron glared at Ricky. Courtney got up from her unknowingly comfortable spot on the sofa and walked to the other people dancing in the middle of the room. It took them a while to find each others rhythm butvthe eventually found it and enjoyed it. They smiled and laughed as they talked for a few minutes.

Lauren and Isabella made their way back to the living room. They left Ashley in the bathroom, as she actually needed to use it and didn't exactly want an audience. Lauren was babbling on about some guy when Isabella froze in her tracks. "Oh. My. God.", she said as she saw Courtney and Ricky. Lauren looked at her confused and looked around to find what she was looking at and she gasped. "Holy he'll, Ashley is gonna freak", she said, "Well, yeah, but not unless she doesn't see it", Isabella says. Even though Ashley was the biggest bitch she knew, she is aware that she has feelings and that deep deep inside her was a good person who would feel terrible if she saw what her and Lauren were seeing. "What do you mean?", Lauren asked, "We distract her so she doesn't see it, and maybe even warn them, duh", Isabella says, Lauren nods and "Ohhh's" understandably. Isabella and Lauren turned around to make sure Ashley didn't see anything. And, as soon as they turned around, they saw Ashley. Both brown haired girls widened their eyes and gulped. "Are you two having a seizure?", Ashley said, "Umm. No but, why don't we UHH go outside", Lauren said, "Yeah! Through the front door!", Isabella said gently pushing Ashley towards the front door, Ashley slapped her hands off, "What is going on with you two bitches? I'm good, you two can go if you want. I wanna find my boyfriend", she said trying to shove last them, "No! Wait!", both Lauren and Isabella plead with Ashley, "Out of my way you whores!", Ashley says as she successfully pushes past them. She stops dead in her tracks as she sees her boyfriend and stepsister dancing close together and laughing, no, giggling along. She didn't care of she was overreacting. Her heart sank. And her body quickly filled with anger. Courtney saw Ashley and felt her heart stop, as did Ricky's. Ashley didn't even do anything. She just stormed out to the house. Everyone saw this, Courtney quickly rushed after her, Ricky was about to as well, but both Jason and Carlos held him back.

Ashley stormed past the driveway, picking up a cup of Coke on her way, she stormed past the people out there and their confused and curious stares. She walked down the sidewalk from Carlos' house and heard Courtney call after her. "Ashley! Please! Wait!", Courtney yelled jogging after her, Ashley stopped and turned around, "You disgusting slut! I thought I told you you stay away from my boyfriend!", Ashley yelled, "Ashley please! Nothing happened! It's not like we kissed or anything!", Courtney retaliated, "I don't give a fuck! I didn't even want you to breathe near him!", Ashley spat, Courtney was full of rage now as well, "Why?! It's not my fault you are so cynical, so jealous, and so selfish! Not everyone wants to steal your boyfriend! Ricky is not your property!", Courtney yelled, "I don't care!", Ashley's voice cracked, tears wanting to escape her eyes, "The reason I didn't want you near him or him near you is because I know he likes you!", Ashley yelled, tears now flowing down her face, Courtney's eyes welled up as well. "Ashley-", Courtney began, "NO! Shut it! You are a disgusting hoe and I knew not to trust you or your whore mother!", Ashley screamed as she raised her hand and slapped Courtney. Courtney grabbed at her red cheek and gasped in shock atvbkth the slap and what Ashley said. Courtney felt tears freefall from her cheeks and she slapped Ashley as well. Ashley gasped, "Fuck you!", she spat and threw the drink in Courtney's face which hit her hair and dripped to her romper. Ashley threw the cup and stormed back to the house. Courtney stood there, with soda all over her, a red cheek, and tears overflowing her face. She knew she should have never come to this damn party. She let out a cry and walked down the sidewalk. Not caring where it lead her.

All she thought about was how much she hated it here and wished she would never have moved. This was gonna be hell.

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A/N: I'm alive! And, this might just be my favorite chapter of any story I've written. Also my longest. Hoped you enjoyed!