Chapter 29

At lunch on Friday, the day of the party, everyone was buzzing with excitement. Everyone was going to be at Peter Davidson's house in just a few hours. It seemed like the only people not jumping for joy were Ace and me; even Kimmy was excited for it.

"What are you gonna wear? I think i'm gonna wear my cute jeans I got from H&M and this cute crop top I got online from Brandy Melville! But I can't figure out what shoes to wear. Like, how fancy is this going to be? Do I need to wear heels, or am I okay wearing white vans? Do I need-"

I covered Kimmy's mouth with my hands. "Kim, stop stressing. Whatever you wear will be perfect."

She scowled at me. "This is important Madison Grey."

"It's really not," I concluded.

Kimmy turned to Ace. "What do girls normally wear at parties?"

"Close to nothing," he tells her and goes right back to eating. 

"CLOSE TO NOTHING!?" Kimmy and I both shouted.

Ace's head whipped back up and he looked to me with wide eyes. "You can wear whatever you want, but most girls go for a more..... Undressed look."

"There is no way I can wear jeans now," Kimmy sighed and placed her head in her hands. 

I gave the scared boy next to me a glare. He seemed to catch on. "I'll text Peter and ask what the dress code is, okay?" He looked back to me for approval. I nodded and he sighed, most likely glad this was over. But then he smirked and leaned over to me. "You know, Kimmy might want to wear her jeans, but you can still wear a short, little skirt if you wanted to."

"Stop being a perv," I told him with a laugh but when his smirk stayed planted on his perfect face, I lightly pushed him away from me and rolled my eyes. 

By the end of lunch, Peter had answered Ace's text, telling him that girls could wear anything they wanted because it was an open dress code. That information didn't help Kimmy with her outfit stress at all. The whole table, minus Loki, spent an entire ten minutes trying to convince her that it was okay to wear jeans to a house party.

"You're coming back home with me right? You're not getting ready at Kimmy's?" Ace asked me when the bell rang. 

I nodded. "Yeah, but she's coming over to get ready."

"Can I hang out with you guys?" He asked me with puppy-dog eyes. 

I scrunched my eyebrows together. "Why would you want to?"

"Because I haven't had much Mad time. You're always doing homework or hanging out with Kimmy," he had a frown etched onto his face now. 

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, you can hang out with us, you big baby."

He beamed and then held my cheeks, giving me a loud smooch. "Yes! Thank you! I love you!" 

"I love you too Ace." 

Kimmy showed up to the Craige/Ross residence twenty minutes after Ace and I did. I pulled her up to the guest room and she gave me a weird look when she saw Ace already there, scrolling through his phone on my bed. 

"Hey Kimmy," he told her without looking up. 

"What are you doing here?" She squinted at him. 

He looked up from his phone and tilted his head. "I live here?"

"In this room, specifically," she clarified. 

He smiled. "Hanging out with my favorite girl and her favorite girl."

Kimmy turned to me with a frown, "Maddie?"

"I told him he could get ready with us," my eyes were wide and I bit my lip, a little upset she didn't want Ace to hang out with us. 

She was silent for a few seconds. "But you hang out with your boyfriend everyday."

"She really doesn't. She's always doing her homework," Ace came back with. 

I ignored him. "Kimmy, first, he's not my boyfriend. And second-"

"I'm not?" Ace asked, confused. 

"What?" I questioned. 

Kimmy looked between us and then set her things down, sitting on the edge of the bed. "I'm not your boyfriend anymore?"

"When were you?" Now, I was confused. 

Ace shook his head. "What do you mean? The whole 'I love you' thing didn't settle it for you?"

"You said you didn't want to put labels on us yet. And besides, you never asked me to be your girlfriend," I tell him sternly. 

Kimmy was still glancing between the two of us. "Should I wait out in the hall?"

"No," we both say. 

"You really thought that you were my official boyfriend this whole time?" I asked Ace. 

He nodded, "well, yeah. Should I ask you now?"

I shrugged, not knowing what to do in this kind of situation. Ace wants to be my boyfriend. "Yeah?"

"Do you want to be my girlfriend Mad?" His smile dimpled. 

I nodded enthusiastically. "Uh, yes!"

"Good. Now come over here and give me a kiss, girlfriend," Ace crooked a finger, beckoning me. 

"Okay, I really think I should go outside," Kimmy's uncomfortable voice said, interrupting our little moment. 

I turned toward her. "No! I'm sorry, we'll stop being gross."

"I never agreed to that," Ace chimed in. 

I sat down beside my best friend. "Do you still want him to leave?" My voice sounded a little sad. 

"Duh," he said, earning a glare from us both. 

The party was in full swing when we arrived. It wasn't what I expected. There was nobody puking in the planters outside. There weren't so many people to the point where I couldn't walk anywhere. And there wasn't a DJ set up in the living room. 

Instead, Peter's moderately sized house was filled with probably one hundred people, yet it wasn't crowded. There was a snack table in the kitchen. And there was no keg stand, like in the movies. There was alcohol, grinding teens and dancing though. 

I clung to Ace like gum to a piece of hair; Kimmy clung onto me. We spotted Raze and Loki drinking out of red solo cups in the kitchen. Kimmy went straight to the snacks. 

Raze and Loki looked like they were arguing over something but they stopped when we walked in. Raze gave Loki a sharp look before Loki  tipped his head back and downed whatever was in his cup. 

"Hi," I tried to get Loki's attention. He passed by me without saying anything or acknowledging that I had said anything at all. "....okay. Good talk," I called after him. 

Ace's eyebrows furrowed and he turned to Raze. "What is with him? He's been such an asshole for the last few months."

"Why don't you talk to him about it, instead of me?" Raze told him harshly and then walked out too. 

"What the hell?" Ace thought out loud. 

My grip tightened on his hand. "Maybe you should go talk to him and see what's up."

"Maybe I should. I'll be right back sweetheart, okay?" He told me and then gave me a quick kiss. I joined Kimmy over at the snack table and we started munching. 

After ten minutes and Ace still wasn't back, we decided to go venture into the living room to dance. 

"Oh! There he is Maddie. He's over there talking to Loki still," Kimmy informed me. 

I caught a glance of my boyfriend. Wow, boyfriend. And willed him in my mind to look at me. It was a little freaky when that was exactly what he did. 

He sent a smile and a wink my way, making me blush. He ticked his head in his direction, calling me over. I made my way over to him and he turned back to Loki. 

But before I could get over there, Farah stopped me. I could tell she was drunk from the way she walked. "You!"

"Me?" I questioned in a bored tone. 

She nodded, almost stumbling into another person. "Why does Ace want to date you? You're so boring."

"Thank you Farah. Have a nice night!" I tried to duck out of her view but she shrieked and tugged my arm back. 

"No! Don't leave! I want you to know how much I despise you!" 

I rolled my eyes. "I don't need you to tell me what I already know. But just know that I feel the same way Farah," I patted her shoulder and went to keep walking. 

"Madison Gre-" she went to say.

"WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM?!" 

We both turned at the loud voice booming through the room. I knew that voice anywhere; it was Ace. 

But why was he yelling?

Loki's eyes were burning with anger. "You aren't listening to me."

"I am listening to you Loki. And I already told you that it's okay. There's nothing wrong with that," Ace's voice calmed down tremendously. 

Loki sighed and turned to look at me across the room. I had made my way closer and was almost to them. "I don't think you understand what I'm trying to say."

"Then why don't you tell me exactly what you mean?" Ace encouraged. 

Loki's eyes frantically moved from Ace to me as I got closer. He looked completely panicked but then his sight settled on Ace and he took a deep breath. 

And thenLoki was kissing my boyfriend.