7. Party Planners

January...

Next Day...

In the Library...

"Ok, I think we have everything we need. We made a list of people to invite and I still have some of my alcohol stash from like forever. I'll get access to the school's kitchen to whip up some sandwiches. Sandra and Michelle said they'd get the junk food and we're good to go with the music. Just remember, when we invite people over, it's for a study group, not the party. We're going to study for our quizzes and tests coming up. They're only going to find out when they come to my dorm that it's a party. Got it? It's better that no one knows until it's time and we have to be as far away from Manny as possible." Delilah explains in a hushed whisper and I nod kind of excited that we're actually planning this.

I guess my birthday isn't going to be so bad after all once we manage to pull this off.

"That'll work." I whisper to her before resting back in my seat and allowing my eyes to flit over the large school library.

"And don't worry. We never got caught before and don't plan on starting now." Sandra pipes in and I turn to look at her, smiling lightly. Hmm, I wonder if they have a few of those ‘girls gone wild' stories to share. You know, Sandra's a really good looking girl. I wouldn't mind...

"Most importantly, the jocks can't know." Michelle adds in, interrupting my thoughts.

"Guess I have to play it cool when leaving my room on the day since I've got Ryan as a roommate." I voice.

"Actually, out of the five of them, Ryan's the coolest. He's not so bad. But, because of Ethan and the rest, he usually puts up a front to keep his jock status." Delilah explains and I frown, glaring at her interestingly.

She sure knows a lot about the jocks.

I've actually been refraining from asking her about them but whenever she says stuff like that, I can't help but feel extremely curious.

It doesn't help that when I showed up at the dance last night she was hanging out with Ethan. Well, I highly doubt they were hanging out, but whatever conversation they were having before I showed up wasn't pretty due to the tortured look Delilah had on her face.

I don't want to pry into her personal business seeing as it's only been like a month and I hardly know a thing about her but, that doesn't mean I'm not concerned.

Unlike her, I consider us friends and I care about my friends and am always willing to help them if they need me to.

"So anyway..." Sandra begins after a moment of silence. "I'm going to head out. I have law class in a few. I'll catch up with you guys later?" She questions, standing and gathering her belongings to leave.

"Ok." Delilah gives her a light smile before returning to the party list in front of her on the table.

"I'm heading off too. I'm gonna meet up with some of the guys from the chemistry lab to work on our assignment for class. You kids have fun!" Michelle giggles, standing and intertwining her arm with Sandra's so they can leave.

Both Delilah and I wave goodbye to them and watch them until they disappear out of sight...

"You like Sandra don't you?" Delilah asks me, grasping my attention.

"What?" I ask stupefied, locking eyes with her. She gives me a knowing look and I roll my eyes.

"She's cool. I thought about asking her out but..." I drift, not really knowing how to complete that sentence. Why haven't I asked her out yet? I see her almost all the time. It's not like I have a girlfriend. Jess, doesn't count right now. She's miles away and we're separated.

"But?" Delilah probes, urging me to continue and I shrug.

"I don't know. The timing wasn't right?" I suggest and she nods, casting her vision back to the list.

"Well, I'm sure she wouldn't mind so whenever you decide to..."

"Yeah whatever...listen Delilah if we're about done with the whole illegal party planning thing, I'd like to have a word with you somewhere where we can talk?" I question hopefully and she slowly lifts her head but doesn't meet my stare.

"What about?" She asks hesitantly and I sigh, passing my hands over my short head of hair.

"You know what about. Don't think I've forgotten how we ended our night last night." I point out.

"God would you give it a rest Justin?" She hisses, leaning over the desk to look at me. "You're acting needy like some chick."

"I am not." I snap back in offence. "I just don't get why we can't hang out anymore. Listen believe it or not, you're the first friend I made here. That has to count for something." I tell her and she groans loudly, gaining attention from the students close by before she abruptly stands and gathers her belongings then heads for the door.

"Hey, Lilah where are you going?" I quickly jump up from my seat and grab my book-bag before taking off after her.

I catch up to her in the halls, gripping her arm tightly and forcing her to spin around and face me.

"If you're going to continue on the same topic, leave me alone Justin." She says firmly, her gray-browns infiltrating my blues, causing me to swallow hard.

"What's your problem Lilah? Why are you so anti-social? I'm even surprised I lasted this long with you given what I've picked up about you so far just from observation."

"I am not anti-social."

"Ok, fine. Then what other word describes you in that context?" I snap back and she cringes from the harshness in my tone. I can't help it. She's frustrating me.

"Oh I don't know...outcast?" She mutters nonchalantly and I eye her like she's crazy.

"No seriously. That's not it. Do you know what an outcast is? It's someone who's rejected or alienated from their home or society. I'm sure the school hasn't rejected you in any way. I see you talking to students all the time. And you're not friendless either. You have Sandra, Michelle and now..." I hesitate when her eyes narrow slightly. "You have me. So what is it?" I probe and she grunts loudly before whipping around and walking away.

I sigh, deciding to follow her silently for a bit as we walk through the halls passing endless students along the way. Some call out to me, some tell me ‘hi' and some just stare or cut their eyes at me. Typical.

I ignore them for the most part, my focus trained on Delilah's back and her fast strides as I easily keep up with her.

We continue walking in silence until we round the corner and she stops abruptly, whirling around to glare at me.

I halt my steps and cross my arms over my chest, smiling demurely at her.

"Would you stop following me Justin? This is a perfect example of you being a stalker."

Her eyes are wide and her lips are protruding in a small, cute pout and I can't help but chuckle.

"Not until you tell me what's going on with you. Why can't we still be friends Lilah? You still haven't given me a logical reason. And it's rude to just walk away from someone like you're doing to me." I say for good measure.

"Why do you want to even hang with me and be my friend Justin? You don't know me. You're a superstar celebrity who got stuck here against your will."

"Hey, a part of me wants to be here now believe it or not. I never start what I don't intend on finishing. And I want to be your friend because...because I think you're cool. I like you." I admit but that does nothing to persuade her.

She hugs her books against her chest and sways uncomfortably in front of me, bowing her head and casting her vision to the floor.

"But why? What's so great about me?" She asks gently and my stare softens when I hear the sudden weak tone to her voice.

That's a good question.

Why her? Why do I like her and think she's cool even without knowing her? I'm sure I could hang with a whole bunch of different people here and I'm sure she knows this too. Sure we got stuck with each other but if that weren't the case, would I have even known or cared that she existed? Another good question to which I do not have a definite answer. I guess we'll never know.

I pause, trying to find the right words to say when she finally looks up at me expectantly.

"Well, I guess..." I clear my throat nervously, not sure of what I really want to say here. "I see something in you that I like that makes me want us to remain friends even after your volunteer time is up. I don't know Lilah. I'll be honest. You're not exactly my type in reference to the women I go for and date romantically."

"Wow, blunt much?"

"I'm sorry." I laugh. "I'm trying to be honest. Don't hold it against me."

"It's ok." She smiles lightly.

"I just...despite that fact, I do see that we have the potential to be really great friends. Maybe even best friends. I can tell you'd make an awesome friend if you'd just come out of your shell. Sometimes you show it, but most times you hide it. Plus, wouldn't it be cool if we got to hang out for the rest of the year?"

"I guess..." She drifts unsurely.

"That won't be able to happen if you don't give me a chance to know you Lilah. Would you just stop running away?"

I'm getting really frustrated with her.

And I ask myself again...why do I even care? Why does it matter? What is it about her that's preventing me from just walking away?

The only thing I can come up with is that she's a challenge. She's a tough one to crack and the fact that she's not in the least bit affected by my status is probably another reason. She acknowledges who I am, admits that she likes my work (the little bit that she knows about), but even with all of that, she still treats me like just another regular guy here at Higher Heights. That hardly ever happens to me with strangers who aren't my family and close friends.

But, I can't help but wonder if she would be the same with me if she got a front row seat to my real life outside these walls.

A loud defeated sigh escapes her and I watch intently as she scans our surroundings before gripping my hand in hers and pulling me along with her.

"Fine, come on."

"Where are we going?" I ask, following her. "This isn't the part where you take me in some corner and strip me naked before having your way with me right?" I muse, laughing lightly and she smirks.

"Don't flatter yourself Justin. Your witty charm hasn't won me over completely yet. If anything it's quite annoying."

"Ah, but I'm wearing you down baby, I'm wearing you down." I say in my best Steve Urkel impression, causing Lilah to drop my hand so she can cover her mouth to control her sudden snort and laughing fits.

I smile brightly that I was able to make her crack up before I notice that we're heading towards the bathrooms.

Before I can ask her what she's doing, she pushes the male bathroom door open and peeps inside before strutting in.

I follow her in, glaring at her strangely. "Uh Lilah? Is there something you forgot to tell me in terms of your gender?" I ask jokingly, pointing to my crotch area for effect and her eyes widen before she blushes.

"What? Oh god no! Justin!" She scolds me and I chortle, liking the fact that I made her blush. Score one for me.

"I'm kidding. So uh, why are we in here? I hope you're not thinking of having some quick, hot bathroom sex because I have a class to get to in about fifteen minutes which is clearly not enough time. But, I could go for some birthday sex though."

Yeah, I'm on a roll.

I'd sprout any stupid shit right now to rid us of the tension.

Obviously she dragged me in here so we could have some privacy away from wondering eyes.

"Just shut up Justin. You know I dragged you in here so we could talk in private." Delilah laughs out.

It's like she read my mind.

"I know." I smile.

Luckily for us, we're in the bathrooms on the public halls which are regular bathrooms compared to the dorms bathrooms and showers. At least, in here is empty since people are probably on their way to their classes right now.

Whatever this is, it's obviously important so my class can wait.

Yeah, my priorities are right on target I'd like to think.

"Ok, let's make this quick and painless." Delilah voices, taking in a deep breath and I wait patiently, my eyes drifting to the large mirror to study our reflections.

God I hate these uniforms.

I'm also aware that I could easily twist what she just said into something sexual...quick and painless...yeah...

Fuck.

Focus Justin.

I can't believe it's almost been a month and counting since I last had sex.

This is unacceptable.

Ok, stay focus...

I bite my bottom lip, trying to rid myself of my random thoughts when Delilah starts to speak.

"To make a long story short, Ethan and I used to be really good friends from high school into our freshman year here at Higher Heights. He came to Higher Heights on a basketball scholarship so obviously he joined the team ‘Eagles' here. It wasn't long before he made captain which was rare for a freshman to accomplish but of course Ethan did. When that happened, he started getting noticed, started getting popular and I guess somewhere down the line he changed into a real overconfident jerk. Now don't get me wrong. We were still cool at the time, but we were drifting you know? Anyway, you know that whatever reputation you start out with as a freshman has the ability to haunt you for the rest of your school life unless you find a way to change that image the student body has of you. Well, let's just say, the time frame when Ethan and I went from being really close to practically enemies and not speaking resulted in maybe the span of one week. It happened when I told him I couldn't keep up with his attitude and behavior anymore. I told him if he didn't try to at least tone down his negative ways, I was gone. Obviously he didn't take that lightly and decided that no one was going to take the upper hand on him. So, he attacked first, getting me back for supposedly embarrassing him among other things. What he did was all it took for the rumors to start spreading and the next thing I knew, everyone was looking down on me like I was this less than human creature..."

Delilah trails off, clearly not wanting to divulge anymore to me as the memory seems to be consuming her and causing her emotional pain.

I'm tempted to ask her, to beg her to tell me what exactly the jerk did, but I refrain when I see her eyes welling up with tears.

Shit. I don't want her to get upset. I hate it when women cry.

"Hey, hey Lilah." I whisper, quickly closing the gap between us. "It's ok; it's good to let it out." I tell her, looking down at her.

She locks eyes with me, shaking her head in protest as she wipes at her dry eyes. She may want to cry, but I'm pretty she's not going to...not in front of me anyway.

"No, talking about shit that bothers you only brings it up to the surface."

"It's a good way to heal and move on. Listen Lilah, I think we've both established that Ethan is a jerk. You shouldn't let whatever he put you through years ago affect you like this. That means you're giving him power over you. Power he shouldn't have. And you can't let whatever happened between you two prevent you from living your life. You also shouldn't make that affect how you deal with other people because no two persons are the same. Ok?" I say gently, cupping her cheeks in my palms and forcing her to look at me.

"I guess." She shrugs and I smile, shaking my head at her.

"Not good enough. Promise me you'll try to get over this. If you need me, I'll be there for you; I'll help you through it. But only if you ask. You need to start making an effort to move on instead of dwelling on the past and shutting people out in the process."

"I promise I'll try. You're right." She decides and I nod.

"You know I am girl." I utter, my smile falling as I continue to examine her closely with my fingertips grazing over her soft cheeks.

You know, she's really not a bad looking girl. I mean, I only ever gave her a surfaced glance but looking at her now, I'm starting to realize just how pretty she is. I mean, look at her eyes for example. They're the most amazing mixture of gray and brown. For her complexion, they really stand out and that has to be the first thing you notice when you look at her.

I know I said before her mouth wasn't attractive or whatever in my ranting but, I so take that back. Her lips are plump and full and slightly shinning from whatever lip gloss she's wearing and I'm suddenly wondering about the flavor.

Wow, wow, wow...hold up...

"Justin?" Lilah whispers, her eyes searching my blues wildly as an awkward silence keeps sucking us in.

"Hmm?" Is the only reply I manage to give her, never breaking her gaze as I'm overpowered with this overwhelming urge to suddenly kiss her and make whatever doubts she has about me go away...

Unfortunately, as fast as that thought crosses my mind, it vanishes with the sound of the main entrance doors to the male bathrooms opening and closing.

Shit, for a moment, I forgot where we were...

Delilah's eyes widen when we hear footsteps and I quickly retract my hands from her face, taking a step away from her before we're greeted by one of the students.

"Yow, I hope I'm not interrupting anything." Comes a suspicious, slightly amused voice.

When I see who it is, I shake my head with a groan. "What do you want Ryan?" I hiss, staring at the slightly shorter guy.

"Uh, why do people go into bathrooms Justin?" He quips. "Ignoring the fact that the two of you are clearly in here for unconventional purposes."

Fucking wiseass.

"Shouldn't you be in class?" I smirk.

"Shouldn't you?" He retorts, a devious grin spreading across his face.

He has me there.

"Excuse me." Delilah suddenly speaks up, diverting our attention.

I watch as she quickly brushes past Ryan, giving me one last glance before she's out the door, disappearing out of sight.

Well shit. I didn't even get a chance to say ‘see you later' or anything for that matter.

"Look Justin. I'm not going to ask you what was going on in here before I walked in because clearly, I don't want to know." Ryan divulges.

"Good. Let's keep it that way." I hiss, moving to leave but he blocks my path. "Out of my way man, I need to get to class."

"A moment ago class seemed to be the furthest thing from your mind. You're a real class act aren't you Justin?" He says sarcastically in a crude manner.

"Oh ye of a jackass's intelligence. Do not judge what you don't know or understand my friend." I wisecrack, causing him to scowl. "Now out of my way Ryan."

Raising his hands in defeat, he chuckles lightly before taking a few steps to the side, clearing my path.

Smirking, I shake my head in disdain before heading straight for the door. If I run down the halls, I'll just make it on time based on my wrist watch.

Before I can exit though, Ryan decides to speak again, only pissing me off in the process.

"I said I didn't want to know what was going on with you and Delilah Justin, but, I'm sure Ethan would be a different case. I don't know what you think you're doing, but if I were you, I'd not do anything to provoke Ethan. You don't want to get on the top of his shit list."

"And how exactly would I be provoking him Ryan? I don't like the guy and we don't exactly talk either." I say coldly, keeping my back to him as I swing the door open and notice a few students passing by.

"The answer to your question just stormed out of here a moment ago like a passing tornado. Why don't you try asking her instead?" Ryan supplies coolly.

Clenching my fist, I inhale sharply using every ounce of willpower in me to walk away.

Without saying another word to him, I easily exit the male bathrooms leaving everything he said in there behind me.

If there's one thing those jocks will eventually learn either the easy way or hard way is that, you don't mess with Justin Timberlake without being ready to face the consequences.