1 day before;

 Clara's house is mansion like. I take that back, it is a mansion. It's three stories high, I take in as a slight gasp escapes my lipstick filled lips. The gates protecting the way into the house, are made of shiny black stone and the mansion itself made of glistening white rock. Beautifully carved gargoyles stand beside the gate as if they are animate guards. I notice another statue of an angel with a flower in her hand.

 How ironic that Clara, the devil has an angel at the front of her neatly built house.The grass that is growing in the front porch smells so freshly cut and look so green. The flower garden's smell doesn't reach me because the smell of booze hits first. Realization hits me that I have to get out of my car, park and walk through those fancy gates. 

Relief hits me knowing that Clara wasn't lying about her party. I drive slowly down the street and look for a parking spot. There's only 15 minutes into the party and the parking spots are entirely full. I park down the street, lock my door and head out of the car. Anyone who cares to notice the car gasps and I want to hide. I try to concentrate on being different, being this new reinvention of new, Dawn. I place my mind on nothing but how I want to feel different. Regardless of my wishes, this is not me.

I've always known how to walk on high heels, luckily. So my stride towards Clara's mansion of a house is graceful and nothing short of it. If I am ever to enter the house, I know I'll surprise everyone. I'm currently surprising myself. I try not to think about everyone and focus on myself. Adrenaline rushes through me as I contemplate whether to enter or not.  The rush of it makes me idiotically think that I can pull this off. But being here was also an idiotic decision.

  My feet feel less than comfortable but I keep the distress that is clearly inevitable to myself. When I walk through the front doors, I see Clara looking more stunning than usual and I moan at how perfect she is. Her head does a quick 45 degrees turn and her golden locks turn with her. She notices me and spills her drink. Then an even worse thing happens, she walks towards me. Should I be scared? Should I look intimidating? Should I be prepared for some rude comments coming my way? Should I walk away?

Because she's sees me, everyone seems to notice me and I want to hide in a corner. I tell myself no. I decide to be strong just for today at least. I straighten my spine and let off an intimidating aura. I stay and stand exactly where I am waiting for Clara to reach me.Today I am not sappy poor Dawn. I am party goer and vivacious Dawn. She reaches me. She eyes me for a good five seconds before she says anything. 

"I can't believe you showed. You look decent. Just stay out of my way and don't sour my party." She walks away, her ever blond curls bouncing and she remains straight and to the point as always. 

I hear low tone gasps that sound so disapproving aimed my way as I enter deeper into the house. Apparently, I don't belong here. Deeper into the screaming teens and loud music. I don't feel too bad because the music somehow soothes me. Everything feels so crazy as much as it feels serene. I start to feel my body involuntarily move to accompany the beat of the music blaring into my ears. Pretty soon enough, I am overcome by it. The light show starts and neon beams shoot across the dancing space. I readily breathe in.  I notice how the backyard is full of the usual potheads that are more interested in "reaching spiritual limits" rather than the girls that are shaped like Victoria Secret models. 

I am a party girl.

I am a party girl.

I am a party girl. I convince myself and suddenly I feel I am one and no less than it. I feel it.

With that, I prepare for every piece of falseness about to come my way. I head for the dance floor and it seems all eyes steer themselves my way. I try not  to look too much into it. Then the normal becomes restored as everyone continues moving to the beat. Then I notice everyone else. Girls moving their body provocatively as boys watch them is disheartening. The only problem is I want to be one of them. I start off slow with moving my hips gently. Out of the blow, big hands find my waist and I don't shake my way out of it. I work with it. Rather, I dance with them forgetting my timidness in a faraway world. 

I do a 180 turn and notice Dan from my AP Science class with shock evident on his face. For a while, there are no words between us. No words are spoken except for the occasional cheering of the songs. We dance, his hands on me, for the next two songs. The way I feel the music helps me ignore his hands on me. I try to ignore that I don't like being touched. It works, it works so perfectly, so perfectly that I wonder and ask myself why I haven't done this before. 

"Dawn, you look hot." He is stunned.

"Th-thanks." I reply and keep dancing.

"I never thought a chick could be so hot."

I ignore him calling me a 'chick' and see that I arouse him with how aligned my dancing is with his steps.  He brings me so close to him that I feel him. He growls a low groan into my ear. I run my hand down his broad chest accidentally while trying to restate my space boundaries. He gets the wrong idea and takes that as encouragement from me to him. I breathe subtly trying to hide my growing discomfort. He leans in, as If to kiss and I turn away even more subtly trying to not hurt him.  Not noticing, my effort to put distance between us, he diminishes the space I struggle for and we are too close again. 

" You're so hot. Let me get us some drinks." He walks off and I wait. 

In the minutes he is gone, I maneuver myself to a different spot and find another guy to dance with. He is a year older than me, a Year 12 kid. I know this because he makes his job to ask me what grade I'm in and I ask it of him to. His smirk is so disheartening. Asking myself, why I am dancing with him, I find no good enough answer. I have to leave his side. Now.

"Damn you're hot." He says as his hands find my butt and clench unto it. A low squeal escapes from my lips as he does so. I want to punch him but I keep my cool instead. I don't want his and if this includes being party girl then I want no part if it. Year 12 guy with no name ignites fear in me. I want to be as far from him as possible. He's so grabby with his hands and I dislike it. I wonder how mad Wes will be if he sees me with this guy. I immediately shoot the thought down. No more thoughts of Wes.  Soon enough, vile rises from my throat and I walk away leaving him with a puzzled look.  

Guys seeking me out for a dance is so weird. Their eyes seem to tear my clothes off.  Everything  should be right but it isn't. I keep drinking and I feel so much more loose. The side effect is the burning feeling of the alcohol as it slides down my throat and into my acid belly. After all the alcohol, I take, it still isn't enough to have me under its influence. I can think as bright and clear as day.  Werewolves have a high tolerance for alcohol.

"There you are!" I turn my head to see a puzzled Dan.

"I went to get the drinks and when I came back, you were gone." He continues speaking but I don't really care what he says. I just want his hands on my body. I want to erase all traces of new girl's DNA on me. 

"I'm sorry, I got lost in the crowd."  I seamlessly lie and he buys it. 

He doesn't seem to see the lie beneath my red lipstick smile. Even if he does, he hides the fact of his acknowledgement well. He takes a hold of my hand. That's when I realize there are no drinks on his other hand. I ignore it. I choose not to pay too much attention to it and focus on the bright lights that light up the house. He starts walking and leading me. Away from the dance floor, away from the bar, away from the living room and towards upstairs. Coincidentally the bedrooms of every household happen to be upstairs.

Not looking too much into it, I breathe steadily. I feel his sweaty palms as he leads me upstairs. Naively, I follow him not wanting to think too much about anything. Dan is a nice, smart guy and he wouldn't hurt me, I convince myself. At the top of the stairs, I look at him with a questioning look that speaks thousands for me.Ignoring my look, he grips my frail fingers harder and pulls me in to a room and skillfully looks the door. He then pins me against the white oak door. I feel like crying and fighting but I also feel numb. 

He grabs my two hands and places them above my head. He is face to face with my cleavage. Attacking my neck first, he sloppily kisses it and disgust flows through me so evidently, I hope he feels it. I hope he feels how much I hate this and him even more.

"You're...," Another sloppy kiss on my neck, "so...," then another, "hot."  

Finding my inner fighter, when he releases my hands to grope me, I shake him off. A look possesses him that blazes fear in me just like Year 12 did. 

"You want this. I want this." Darting his tongue out, it connects with my my cheek, so ever close to my lips. A forbidden area for him.  Using all my strength, I awake my inner wolf and possess some of its energy and force him off me. Stumbling back, I see this as my opportunity to get out of here. Taking off a heel, I aim it at him and hit his head hard. His head hits the floor and it seems he passed out. Shaking, I walk over to check if he's actually out.  Afraid, I shake my hand above his face and he doesn't react. I kick him and nudge him a little scared of him waking up but he doesn't. My gaze falls on the bed beside him. I take off its blanket and place it over me.  

Grabbing my heel and placing it back on, I feel too much discomfort. I take both of them off and hold them as I make my way downstairs wanting to leave this party I am done with this lifestyle. Dancing with guys trying to grope you, then dealing with guys trying to bed you is more than I, sappy Dawn, can take in a day or perhaps a lifetime. 

 I bump into Celina, one of Clara's "friends". "Watch where-" She stops mid sentence with an appalled look in her eyes. "Is that you Dawn?" She seems taken aback at my new look. Silence overtakes her. She looks she is wondering if I actually am Dawn or a very close look alike. I figure she is smart enough to notice I am just a dressed-up version of original Dawn. 

"You look different. Did Clara invite you?" She asks taking me in apparently deciding that I am the original Dawn and not somebody else. 

"Yes." I say and it is almost inaudible.

"Clara always does this," She shakes her head in frustration and as she does her hair seems to shine. Her eyes never leave my face as if it's a challenge for me to back down. With all my fighting spirit used up with Dan, I give and she sighs expectantly. 

"W-what do you mean?" I inquire further unsure of how confident I sound at this point. 

"I shouldn't be talking to you." She shuts me out. Well that's what it looks like to me considering that me and her really shouldn't be talking. At least, we both acknowledge how different our lifestyles are and the barrier that cannot be crossed.

"Please," I ask with a more sturdy voice. I want to know what she is talking about.

"You want to know?" Isn't that obvious, I think to myself. I see a change of emotion in her look, she almost seems apologetic. I wonder, do I really want to know?

"Mmhm." It's the only sound that comes out of my mouth and she see my serious expression. She takes it as the go-ahead to talk.

"Well, you should know how much Clara despises you. She wouldn't invite you here for nothing." She pauses and breathes. 

"She usually does little pranks new guests  but with you she wanted to do the extreme."

"So?" I am interested, more than she can tell. I want to know how far Clara can go.

She then says, "Clara had been hearing Dan say how much he wanted a black haired chick like you." Once again, I do not react to someone calling me chick. 

Continuing she tells me, "So she tells Dan that you have black hair and how she is going to invite you to her party and that he'd better come. It's like she knew you would and you did." She keeps talking, "When you arrived, she sent Dan your way, knowing that he would make a move immediately."

"Why?" I ask, my voice brutally shaking.

"She wanted Dan to have sex with you. She told me rape but sex is such a nicer word don't you think? Dan is a predator, a very good one at that."

 Now I see how far Clara is willing to go. I just feel complete and utter sadness wash over me.

" It seems you came from upstairs not smelling like sex. I can say nothing happened but the hickey on your neck says that he got close to you. How boring. You should've let Dan have his way. Maybe then, people would actually know your name." Her tone turns icy cold. Any hope that she could have cared is now vanished. She looks as brutal as Clara. The way, Celina now glares at me sends a cold shiver down my spine. I don't think about the hickey she was talking about.

"Run along." She says and does a hand motion to match her words.

So I do, with my shoes in my hand and my dignity trailing behind. 

Umm... if anyone supported Clara on this, you have issues, and serious one at that.

Anyway I finally finished Chapter 5. It only took 6 months. Though I doubt anyone reads this, thank you to those that have and those that stay for Dawn's journey. Notice how I said Dawn and not Dawn and Wes. 

VOTE, COMMENT AND SHARE.

BTW : Any ship names for Dawn and Wes?

P.S. BTW: 1 more day till Dawn has to go meet Wes! Yes, I am a girl that believes in Romance.

SIncerely, Abbie Orsar