turn up the heat ::PARTY>>OPEN

Alice needed to be gone for the day. She understood why; Hannah and her brothers and sisters had gotten their parents back together. She needed to wait until it settled down and they were in the new house before she could get back in. Hannah was grateful for everything the Del Rossi's did for her, really. The girls had gotten her in the house. She was now had a warm place to sleep, even if it was in Hannah's closet. She gave her sleeping bags and made sure she was comfortable enough to sleep. And, she had loaned her clothes. One thing that the girls realized--when she had Hannah's clothes, they really were hard to tell apart. Alice had never even known she had an identical twin before. But now, she was grateful for it.

She was wearing one of her favorites of Hannah's outfits, when she was approached by someone. She had no idea who this bubbly, blond girl was, and she wasn't sure how she knew her, since she talked too fast to really understand her. But, from what she got from the conversation, the girl thought she was Hannah, told her that some guy (Jack, was it? She wasn't sure) was having a birthday party, and she just had to come. Alice wasn't sure what to do, and she started to say now, until the girl said something about spending the night at her place afterwards.

So, she was here, ready to try being Hannah, if only for one night so she had a place to crash while the real Hannah moved. Alice wasn't too sure what she was doing, but so far, nobody had pointed at her and accused her of being an imposter. When she spotted the pizza, she bit her lip and approached it, grabbing a slice. She took a bite, looking around. She didn't really have to socialize. She didn't mind if people ignored her. She had food, and the blond would show up soon enough. Alice was content.

Parties weren't normally her thing.

Well, okay. That wasn't exactly true. Erica didn't really know if they were her thing. Since, she had never really been to a party before. But, she had never wanted to, either. But there was something different about tonight. Jack had told her about this. Honestly, she didn't even realize that he knew her name. It impressed her, since she didn't think anyone knew her name. But, he had, and with that charming smile of his, Erica had practically melted. She might have been an outsider (or at least, that was how she felt), but she wasn't immune to cute boys. He had asked her if she would come. And, before she knew it, her IQ had dropped and she had nodded with a giggle.

Her dad didn't know she was here. But really, would he care? Erica didn't think he would. He cared only if she did something that got negative media attention. Her father cared about looks, and that was about it. Well, looks and his reputation. Sometimes, Erica tried to get his attention. But not today. Today, she was taking a break from life. She was going to be daring today. So, when she showed up, she had an envelope for Jack with a fifty that she had borrowed from her brother. And, she was even wearing a dress that her mother had bought her but she had yet to actually wear it.

She followed Natasha in, silent as a mouse. Her eyes followed the girl as she set her gift down, and once Natasha walked away, she, too, went up to the table and laid her envelope down. She bit her lip and looked around. Now what?

Isaac was learning real quick that when it came to certain girls, English wasn't always necessary.

Take Willow Santos, for example. The girl couldn't care less that he didn't know much English. Honestly, he had been watching her with other people. She didn't listen, anyway. She listened for tones. It was obvious. Which, was fine for him since his tone with her was always flirty. There wasn't much to be said between them, especially when smiles and looks said it all. And in their unspoken language, he knew that if he showed up at this party, he would get to sleep with her.

So, that was why he showed up tonight. Though, checking out the other girls who were in here, he wouldn't mind sleeping with a few of them, as well. He walked past his sisters, ignoring them for the moment. He didn't mind getting to know them at home, like Andrew wanted him to do. But here? He was here for fun. He was here to sleep with as many girls as he could, and try to set a record. He was here to use every single condom he had in his pocket. He wasn't here to chat up the girls.

Making his way into the kitchen, he grinned when he saw the beer on ice in the sink. "That's what I look for," he said to Jack as he grabbed one and opened it. He took a long drink and sighed. Man, he missed this. That was one disadvantage to not being in Europe anymore. The drinking age is no longer fifteen, but nineteen. And Isaac hadn't had a drink since he got here. And man, did he miss it!

If only her dad knew what she was up to.

When the fifteen year old left the house, she hadn't said where she was going. Nor had she allowed her parents to see what she was wearing. It wasn't hard to do. Her dad was off at the hospital handling things, and her mom was in a wheelchair. Her dad was a strict disciplinarian. She would probably be reacquainted with his belt if he saw the way she was dressed. But, she rarely was in trouble. The reason was simple--he was never there. She had no reason to be afraid of consequences when he wasn't even there. And, he didn't really believe that she could do things like this. She was his little princess, who could do no wrong. Violet Maxwell definitely had her dad wrapped around her finger. She was completely used to getting what she wanted with him.

At school, she had to work a little harder. All she wanted was to be friends with Willow Santos. Violet would honestly do anything to be friends with her. And if it meant wearing things that she normally wouldn't and taking major risks with her dad, then she would do it. Willow had told her to be here, and to not dress like a loser. So, Violet had gone shopping, and she showed up wearing a brand new outfit. She felt naked, but she would never admit to it. Because, she might actually have a shot at being friends with Willow.

She walked in, ignoring the pizza. Normally, she'd be scarfing it down, but she knew that the clique had higher standards than that. And if she was going to have to give up pizza, then she might as well start now.

This was way better than tragic crying, moaning about loss, and yes, hanging.

Willow didn't like dealing with tragic things. Like the dance. Sure, she had her moment where she wanted to be nice and goody-goody, after seeing that creep hurt her sister. But, Abigail snapped her out of it, and she was thankful that she did. Because, Willow's world didn't have room to deal with this sort of thing. She wanted to party, to have fun, to go on with her life. She completely agreed with Mr. Snyder when he said they should just move on as normally as possible. Of course, Ms. Aden didn't seem to think that they should. So, yeah, she got her in trouble for dwelling on it instead of moving ahead with her lesson plans. She wasn't doing her job.

Willow was going to go crazy if she heard one more person moan and groan about what happened. She wanted an escape, wanted a party. But really, she knew better than to throw one herself. Hello, her mother's best friend was dead. She wasn't an idiot. So, she would have to convince someone else to throw a party. And when, in the midst of conversation, she found out that Jack's birthday was coming up, Willow saw this as her golden opportunity. Jack had thrown a party before the dance, and it had been fantastic. So, she decided to coax him into throwing one.

She had done well. She decided this as she walked in, wearing a new dress. After all, this was her idea. She nodded approvingly before looking around, trying to spot her girls. They had better be here. She had made it clear that it was not optional. Willow decided that if they didn't, it wouldn't take much to drop them and get a new set. But, that would take work. So, they just better be here.

Alice looked up when she heard Hannah’s name. She swallowed and looked around. “It-it’s not?” she frowned. Maybe she should have asked Hannah before coming. Alice hadn’t thought of that. She had been thinking of how nice it would be to not have to go back to the park until they were ready for her again. She looked around before giving Jessa a panicked look. “I won’t be in trouble, will I?” she whimpered out. She didn’t know how these things worked! What if only certain people were allowed to go? What if she didn’t belong here? Well, she knew that she didn’t belong. But, she wasn’t being herself. She was supposed to be Hannah. But what if Hannah wasn’t supposed to be here, either? Alice really didn’t know how this world worked. She was still getting used to being away from the world she grew up in.

“I’m sorry, Jessa. The blond asked me to come.” She should have asked permission. She knew that. Jessa had been taking care of her. Even though she was younger, she was like a mother to her. She had been the one that Alice learned to rely on when Hannah wasn’t home and she needed something. Suddenly apologetic, Alice felt like she should have talked to her before coming. “I won’t do it again, I-I promise. Please don’t be mad.” She couldn’t stand the thought of Jessa being mad at her. She hadn’t seen Hayleigh since shortly after she took her to Jessa’s house. She heard Hannah say something about Hayleigh being arrested. She didn’t say why, though. Alice was worried. What if Daddy found out? What if he knew who had helped her and got her arrested for it? What if Jessa was next? She really should be careful of who found out.