Angel Kiss - Laura Jane Cassidy [37]
Nick was slouched in an armchair. His head was resting against one of his hands and he was staring at the TV in a kind of trance. He looked hotter than ever in a white Undertones T-shirt. Colin sat cross-legged on the red rug on the floor, his fingers clasping a game controller and his eyes fixed on the plasma screen. His opponent, Simon, knelt beside him. He seemed to think that the way he manoeuvred his tongue affected his performance, as he stuck it out to the side every time his virtual car came to a bend.
Chris was sitting next to me on the sofa. He was wearing a big black hoodie and seemed to be engrossed in the game. His brother, Pete, sat on the other end of the couch. He was a good-looking guy, probably about sixteen, with a piercing on his left eyebrow. He’d been texting constantly since his arrival. Fitz sat in an armchair in the corner rolling a spliff. This wasn’t exactly the crazy house party they’d predicted. But I guess it was pretty early.
‘When is Emily getting here?’ I asked.
‘Soon … I think,’ said David. He sounded nervous.
‘Do us a favour and go for it this time, will you?’ said Colin.
David looked embarrassed. ‘Yes, I will … probably,’ he said.
‘Shouldn’t be too hard,’ said Simon. ‘Everyone knows she’s easy.’
‘Hey!’ I shouted, not wanting to let him get away with that remark.
‘OH YEAH!’ exclaimed Colin as his car sped over the finish line in front of Simon’s.
‘Carla, I thought you were going out,’ said David as his fourteen-year-old sister came into the room. She had jet-black hair and was wearing a black corset dress and lots of eye make-up.
‘Nah, I thought this would be way more interesting.’
‘You’re so annoying,’ said David through gritted teeth.
‘Oh, and I invited Amanda over,’ added Carla, with a mischievous grin.
‘You know I hate that girl!’ said David. ‘You totally just did that to piss me off.’
Carla shrugged and walked out of the sitting room. David scrunched up his fists and took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down.
‘This party needs some tunes,’ said Chris, getting out of his seat. He went over to the CD player next to me and began to check out David’s parents’ extensive music collection. Rory Gallagher was soon thundering out of the surround sound system. I loved Rory Gallagher; I had all his albums. I leaned over and scanned the rest of the collection. There was some U2, the Stones, the Cranberries. David’s parents had good taste.
‘Right, who wants to challenge the champion?’ asked Colin, dangling the spare controller above his head.
‘Go on then,’ said Fitz, handing his spliff to Chris. Nick hadn’t spoken one word in the last ten minutes. I watched him get up from his chair and walk out to the kitchen. The doorbell rang and David scurried to answer it.
Emily came into the sitting room, wearing a stunning short blue dress. She sat down on the couch next to me. David was wandering around looking nervous. For a moment it looked as if he was going to sit beside her, but then he turned round and hurried out the door. I wanted to talk to Nick, but the right time never seemed to arrive. I’d only sat on the couch to be in the same room as him.
‘I love your eye shadow, Emily,’ I said, trying to think about something else. It was dark blue and glittery, and matched her eyes. She looked very pretty.
‘Oh, thanks … I got it for my birthday.’
‘Do you want a drink?’ I asked her.
‘No, thanks, I don’t drink. I’ll have a few of those crisps though,’ she said, leaning over to get some from the bag on the table.
‘Where did David go?’ I asked.
‘Dunno, he was acting kind of weird,’ said Emily.
I smirked and nudged her. ‘That’s ’cause he’s really into you,’ I teased.
‘What? No, he’s not!’ she said, but I could tell she was happy to hear it.