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♥ louisa ♥

TALISA SURE HAD prepared well for the party. As I sat beside Arlo and Prince on the balcony, I couldn't help but survey the many people below us in the huge courtyard. Since the weather was nice, Talisa had decided to turn the central courtyard of her manor into the main party area with plenty of room for dancing.

Bright lighting was set up in the four corners whilst gentler fairy lights hung daintily from the brick walls of the building. All of her mothers expensive household items had been locked away in the third and fourth-floor storerooms and instead the dining room had been transformed into a bar with numerous alcohols, drinks and glasses nestled in ice across the counters.

"Stop hogging it, you two," I chuckled at the two boys beside me. "Let me spin it this time." I was sitting in a circle with Arlo, Prince and Talisa playing shot roulette. Prince lifted his hand in a surrender motion and stepped back.

"Whatever her highness desires," he responded mockingly as I playfully glared at him.

Arlo gave Prince a suspicious look, "Are you sure this is fair?"

"Yeah, Arlo's right. I swear you've rigged this, Prince," Talisa laughed, wrinkling her nose as she drank what I presumed to be a shot of vodka, not water.

"Nah, you're just not very good at choosing the glasses. Not very lucky. Is that your third shot already?" Prince questioned smugly at her. His curly dark brown hair was pushed away from his forehead, highlighting his oval, sharp face. Each time he had been lucky enough to pick out the water from the vodka.

I vaguely heard her mutter asshole under her breath as I spun the roulette around quickly. The black and red shot glasses merged into a blur until it came to a stop.

"I dibs this one," I called, pointing to the shot glass closest to Arlo whilst the other three picked theirs too. "Okay, on the count of three!" I said, before laughing, clinking glasses with everyone else and chugging the liquid.

The strong taste of vodka flooded my mouth as I felt the liquid flow down my throat. I grimaced whilst Talisa started shouting and jumping into the air in joy.

"Hah, I chose water for once! See I knew you'd rigged it earlier on, Prince!"

Judging by the look of distaste on Prince's face, his three shots of water strike had been broken. "Can't relate," I muttered as I placed the empty shot glass on the table. Prince gave me a half-smile, nudging me.

"Yeah, same."

By now, Talisa has drunk more than most of us together yet still remained marginally sober; her alcohol tolerance had always blown my mind. For most of the night, she had been drinking gin alongside vodka and at the start of the night, she'd opened a bottle of wine too. "Come on, let's go dance!"

I grinned, quickly saying goodbye to Arlo and Prince and letting her pull me through the crowds. We rushed down the stairs as rapidly as we could in stilettos and made our way onto the dance floor. On the way, I picked up a drink from the dining room.

For the first few minutes, I felt numerous pairs of eyes on us; some in awe and others in jealousy. How are their figures so perfect? I'm literally so jealous. The people moved back a little as they noticed who we were and gave us some space. The sound of the music rang through my ears as I let go and allowed myself to sway to the music.

When I briefly opened my eyes, I saw Talisa mouth something to me yet I failed to understand over the loud music. "What?" I mouthed, leaning towards her so that she could speak into my ear.

"I think I see Logan and Ashlei. Let's go over," she said before accepting a cup of drink from a stranger and walking in the direction of the huge water fountain. I followed her gaze and saw them chatting on the side of the party.

Talisa was reckless enough sober yet tipsy Talisa seemed to be ten times worse. I followed her, taking the probably spiked drink from her hand and dumping it on a passing counter.

I felt adrenaline rush through me at the sight of Logan again but was soon engulfed in Ashlei's tight hug. "Damn, I was right! That dress looks amazing on you," she squealed after giving me a one over and pressing her hands to her cheeks.

Her shoes seemed to catch my eye. "You can hardly talk, look at you! Are they Jimmy Choo's?" I asked as she bit her lip and nodded eagerly. I threw my head back and laughed, feeling slightly light-headed. "Beautiful!" I said, kissing my two fingers and feeling slightly light-headed.

As Talisa went to talk to Ashlei, I moved sideways and locked eyes with Logan. Heart-quickening, I had no choice but to go and talk to him. "Hey babe, you look stunning today," he said as I felt his eyes rake through me. A glance at the dance floor told me that most people's attention was on the king and queen of Forteaux and I knew it was time to put on a show.

Holding my breath, I smiled and tucked my hair behind my ear, leaning towards him. He was dressed in a navy button-down with his blonde hair messy. They're so cute, what the hell. A moment later, I felt his hand wrap around my waist and land on my open back.

The corner of his mouth lifted slowly as I regretted wearing the damn dress.

As I uncomfortably shuffled, his grip on me tightened until I had no choice but to slide up even closer to him. "No comments on how I look?" He mumbled into my ear, his eyes shining brightly as I glanced over his gorgeous face.

My hand instinctively moved to the bruise on my wrist.

Nothing was left between me and Logan nowadays apart from bitterness and resentment particularly from my end. However twisted I found it, I valued my title at Forteaux Academy too much to change anything.

Jaw tightening, I forced myself to relax and place my hand on his chest. "My bad. Too swept away by you to say anything. " I whispered to him lowly, angling myself so that everybody can see us. His full pinkish lips skimmed lightly over my neck before hovering over my lips.

"Okay, control yourself, you two lovebirds!" Talisa retorted, rolling her eyes at us and clinging onto Ashlei's arm.

A flicker of something passed through Ashlei's eyes before she giggled at us. "Get a room!"

A few minutes of small conversation passed until I noticed the glass of champagne almost slip out of Talisa's hand as she gazed around the party she was hosting. Her eyes widened as she stared at something in the distance before quickly licking her lips. "Sorry Logan, but I'm gonna have to steal Louisa away from you for a second."

He nodded his head at her and leaned backwards, "No problem, I've got Ashlei to keep my company, haven't I?" The huge smirk he shot at me told me that he knew I was aware of him and Ashlei's friends with benefits relationship. I looked at him directly for a few moments before breaking away to follow Talisa.

As I glanced behind me, I saw Ashlei's eyes brighten at Logan's words as they engaged in conversation.

My eyebrows furrowed as I saw the look of worry and guilt on her face. "What happened?" I asked quietly, quickly grabbing hold of her hands when she began to rock slightly.

"Okay, promise you won't kill me first."

"Not gonna make any promises I can't keep," I whispered dangerously before bursting out laughing. "I'm just kidding, of course, I won't."

Talisa bit her lip, "You know you told me not to invite Gabriel here?"

"Yeah?" I responded slowly, hoping this wasn't going to go the way I thought it would.

"Well, he might be directly across the room from us," Talisa blurted out before grabbing my hands tighter, compelling me to notice the sincerity in her eyes. "But I swear to god, I didn't invite him here! It wasn't me! You told me not to so I took extra care to make sure he wouldn't know about it. I don't know why he's here if neith-"

Ignoring the forming lump in my throat, I let go of her hands and quickly squeezed her shoulder. "It's cool. I trust you, I know you wouldn't. Where about's is he?"

Part of me was extremely grateful to her for not questioning my decision. She lifted her hand and pointed to the outside of the bar.

Clad in a shirt with a few of its buttons undone to reveal his almost hand-carved chest and surrounded with numerous girls, Gabriel attractively leant beside the door to the dining room. Once again, his dark brown hair stood up in many directions and his eyes seemed to twinkle mischievously, even from such a distance. Rubbing my forehead, I smiled at Talisa reassuring her that it was okay but dying inside.

I thought this party would be perfect for some Gabriel-free time but of course, I'd jinxed it.

At the thought of Gabriel, her face began to piece together in my drunken mind, and I found myself squeezing my eyes shut to push it away before I ended up crying. Gosh, why was I such an emotional drunk?

"Uh Louisa, I may have discovered who invited Gabriel here," Talisa interrupted me, her manicured nails fiddling with the hem of her teal mini dress that showcased her long legs. Whoever invited him here was screwed. I caught sight of the culprit and cursed myself for not thinking of it early.

Trying to grab his face for a kiss despite his numerous attempts to shoo her away was Lexi. A bitter laugh escaped my mouth as I glared at her. "Of course."

Judging by that huge kiss in the dining hall, Lexi was obsessed with Gabriel.

"That bitch. It's my party and she thought she had the right to invite whoever the hell she likes without asking me. She's clearly forgotten who she's fucking with," Talisa started, slamming her drink on the table and storming towards her. I grabbed her arms before she did anything impulsive. It was the alcohol talking.

I failed to mention that not only was Talisa extremely reckless when drunk but also rather violent.

"Hold your horses, you're right but let's not rush into anything," I said to her, meeting her pale green eyes. "She does need a little reminding but not in a way that'll cause a scene for us." Her Russian eyes seemed to dim in disappointment but brightened again as I continue.

"That doesn't mean we can't do something that'll make her regret turning up here. Because we all know how crazy Lexi gets when she's high and I think Forteaux needs some entertainment. Don't you?" Her eyes flashed in understanding and a smirk grew on her face.

She wrapped her arms around me quickly, "Fuck, I love how smart you can be. Remind me never to mess with you."

"Why thank you," I said, tipping an imaginary top hat at her. "We'll meet in the same room as earlier?"

"Yeah. What should I do if Gabriel tags along when I bring Lexi up?" She questioned, biting her lip. The shimmer of lust I'd seen earlier when she spoke of Gabriel seemed to resurface as I held back a sigh.

If only I could tell her how much of a disaster he was. She'd immediately end those feelings.

If I kept pushing him away, he'd only get more and more suspicious.

"Try to stop him but if he persists, bring him up I guess," I said begrudgingly as she nodded.

God, I was digging my own grave.

"Cool, I'll go tell the guys and Ashlei the plan, and we'll meet upstairs in ten minutes. I'll bring Lexi up later. This is gonna be so much fun!" I laughed as she ridiculously sashayed away and danced her way back up to the balcony.

I wasn't so sure about fun; interesting would be a better choice of word.

Jheez, the foreshadowing is overwhelming! What did you think of all the build up? Any guesses on what the girls are planning to do with Lexi and why? Let me know, I'd love to hear what you think!

If you enjoyed this chapter, please hit that star! Also huge shoutout to desaraedotson who's been showing so much support! Check out her stories!
KiwiAndKoalas x

♥ 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐯𝐨𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫! ♥