Down stairs was quiet, not a noise being made. Raine sat on the couch, reading a book peacefully.



Suddenly, Taylor ran down the stairs grinning. "Get off of your lazy butt and dress into something nice. People are coming over."

"What why?"

"I'm throwing a party, duh."



Raine rolled her eyes and walked up stairs to her bedroom, opening her closet and studying the clothes inside. She wasn't sure if any of the clothes inside were "party material." The most exciting her outfits got were funny sayings on her shirts.



Suddenly, she got an idea.

She tiptoed over to Taylor's room, and when she was sure the coast was clear, she darted inside. Heading straight for the closet, Raine remembered Taylor offering her some of her uniforms because they were around the same size - but for different reasons,

"Well, I'm sure she wouldn't mind as long as I returned it," Raine mumbled to herself as she searched through Taylor's clothes rack.



She searched, and searched, without finding anything that was even close enough to something she would actually wear. Finally, at the very back, she found the perfect dress.

Grinning to herself, she grabbed it, and ran back to her room where she put it on.



Glancing at herself in the mirror, Raine liked what she saw. But something was missing.

"Maybe you should do something with your hair," Taylor appeared behind her. "You can't just wear it in a ponytail for every outfit every day, you know."

"You say that but I've only ever seen you with your hair down," Raine snorted.



"Look, let me help you." Taylor walked closer to her, and started doing stuff with her hair that Raine didn't even know was possible. When she was done, Taylor stepped back and admired her work. "There, now your outfit is complete."

Raine looked herself over again and realized Taylor was right. She looked amazing.



"I'll see you down stairs, the party is starting soon. Maybe do something with your makeup too." Taylor turned and left the room, leaving Raine all alone in her bedroom.



Raine adjusted her makeup just like Taylor said and then sat down, letting a few minutes pass by before she decided to finally join the party. She knew she would regret it, but she knew she had to make more friends.

Raine got up and looked at herself in the mirror one last time, deciding that she didn't even look like herself at all. She quickly undid Taylor's work and settled for a much more simple but elegant hair style.

She walked to the hallway, instantly hearing the music playing from down stairs. She swallowed hard and forced herself to walk down there, trembling just slightly as she took step by step.

She saw the others there, naturally socializing, and some even doing more.



Reaching the end of the stairs, Raine was too busy looking at the others who stood in the living room, socializing, to realize that she was about to crash into a tall figure.

"Ow," Raine grumbled, stepping back and rubbing her head. "Watch where you're going," she mumbled and looked up at the being.

"Sorry," Jones smiled weakly at her. "I didn't see you there."



"Oh, it's okay." Raine offered a small smile back.

"I'm Jones by the way. You're Raine right? Trevor's cousin?"

"Yeah, I am. I moved here a couple of weeks ago from Ashbourne. You're in my first period right?"

"Yeah," Jones laughed. "Mr. Reeves is the worst isnt he."

"Yeah," Raine laughed in unison.



Jones looked back at the group of people standing in the living room and then back at Raine. "Do you want to go outside?"

"Uh, sure," Raine shrugged.

Jones lead Raine outside to the back yard, and sat down on one of the swings. Raine sat by him.



They talked for hours like that, while the party continued on. They talked about random things like their hopes and dreams, their famalies, their fears and movies. Raine found herself trusting someone she barely even knew, and opening up to him.

It felt like she had known him all of her life.



"Can I be honest about something?" Jones piped up after a couple of minutes of silence.

"Yeah, what is it?" Raine tilted her head and looked at him.

"I know this is going to sound kinda weird but, ever since I first saw you, I couldn't get you out of my head."

"Yeah you were right, it does sound weird." Raine laughed awkwardly.



"But the point is, I want to get to know you more Raine, and I hope you'd feel the same about me. So would you like to maybe go hangout sometime?"

"Depends on where..."

"What about bowling? Or skating? Or you can pick, it doesn't matter to me."

"Sure then," Raine laughed.

Raine wasn't sure if it would be a good idea, seeing that she was still recovering. But she needed the fun, and she'd rather it be with him than anyone else.

"Great," Jones smiled. "I'll call you with the date."