Chapter 13

Natalie laid on Savannah’s living room floor a couple of weeks later, lazily flipping through the latest June issue of Vogue magazine. “You know what would be fun?” She asked after a few minutes, glancing up to her friends who were both painting their nails.

“Hmm?” They both responded in unison.

“Doing one of those fashion shows,” Natalie replied, partially drifting off as she glanced back down at the page. “Like the whole catwalk and everything. Just to give yourself an excuse to dress up and look hot,” she said with a small laugh.

“Oh I’ve always wondered that too,” Savannah said, reaching over to shift the magazine towards her as she looked at the same picture.  “Oh but too bad you’re too short for the catwalk, Nat,” she teased, laughing before continuing to paint her nails again.

Natalie rolled her eyes, flipping back through the pages.

“Speaking of short,” Hadley spoke, looking over to Natalie. “Have you asked Bruno if he’s coming to Bridger’s house tonight?” she asked, referring to someone from school.

“Oh shit, I keep forgetting,” Natalie said as she stood up, walking over to where Savannah’s phone was. “I should probably get on that…”

She laid back down on the ground, propping her head up with her free hand as she dialed his number. It only rang a few times before Bruno picked up. “Hey,” Natalie began, letting out a lazy sigh at the same time.

“Helllooo,” he said in a singing voice. “What’s up?”

Natalie continued to browse through the magazine as she spoke, deciding to skip to the chase. “Are you going to come to Bridger’s tonight?”

“Oh jeez, good afternoon to yourself,” He said sarcastically with a small laugh before letting out a sigh. “No, I can’t. I have to sing tonight.”

“I thought you got done around ten?” Natalie asked, wrinkling her forehead in thought for a moment, confused.

“Not tonight,” he added with another, deeper sigh. “It’s going to be an all-night thing,” he said, not sounding too excited.

“Oh…” she said, not too sure what to make do with the situation.

After a moment of silence, Bruno finally spoke again. “…And you’re going to Bridger’s.”

“You don’t sound too thrilled about that,” Natalie pointed out, glancing over to Hadley, watching her paint her nails.

“I don’t know,” Bruno said in a lower tone.

“What’s wrong?” Natalie asked, her question causing both Savannah and Hadley to look up from their hands, watching her curiously.

“It’s just that, there’s going to be a ton of people there,” he said, his tone making Natalie believe he was most likely shrugging his shoulders. “That’s pretty sketchy, Nat.”

Natalie rolled over onto her back, facing the ceiling. “You don’t want me to go then?” She asked, scrunching her face up slightly.

“Not particularly,” Bruno replied.

Natalie allowed herself to let out a small sigh. “Bruno it’s fine, really. Ryan’s going…” she pointed out, confused as why he’d be worried about her and not his best friend.

“Well I was hoping you’d actually have the reason to listen to me,” he said. “Can you just not go?”

She let out a small groan, trying not to roll her eyes. “Bruno, it really isn’t as bad as you’re making it out to be. I’ll be fine,” she said with emphasis, trying to assure him she wouldn’t wind herself up into trouble.

“I know,” he said, not sounding too convinced. “But I don’t exactly trust it with Bridger. His neighbors are like hawks…do you even know how many parties he’s had crashed?”

“…Like five,” Natalie said, biting her lip in thought. “But you just need to relax.Everyone is going.”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying,” he said with a sigh, knowing his point wasn’t getting across to her.

“I don’t get why you’re having a heart attack over this,” she said with a small laugh. “You’re the one who can hardly last the week without going to some party…”

“But it’s different with this one,” he said with another sigh. “I really don’t want you to go…”

Natalie mimicked his sigh, taking in a deep breath for a moment afterwards. “Would you be mad if I did go?”

“I don’t know, probably.”

Natalie shook her head, trying to understand him. Both of them were silent for several minutes, the only sounds coming from the background noise of Bruno’s house. “Fine, then I won’t go,” she finally stated tiredly with an exasperated sigh, reaching her hand up to run a hand through her hair.

“You’re mad, aren’t you?”

Natalie shook her head. “No, I’m just…I don’t know,” she said with a sigh.

Another break in the conversation. Oh God, this is awkward, Natalie thought, not knowing what else to say.

“If you want I could see if you could get in tonight to watch,” Bruno finally said, changing the subject.

“That’s alright,” Natalie replied, now not in the mood to even do anything. “I’ll just find something else to do…”

“Alright,” he replied, sounding skeptical. “If you decide you want to come, you can just show up then.”

Natalie nodded her head, knowing he couldn’t see her.

“Natalie?” Bruno asked after another moment.

“Hmm?”

“Promise me you won’t go tonight? Please?” He asked hopefully, sounding a bit nervous.

“Yeah, sure,” she said nonchalantly, staring off at the ceiling still. “I promise I won’t go,” she added before hanging up with him.

She flipped back over to her stomach, shaking her head as the two stared at her. “Sweet. Have fun without me tonight, guys.”

—

“I don’t get it, why won’t he let you go?” Hadley asked later that evening as she threw on a different shirt.

“No idea,” Natalie replied as she flopped down onto Savannah’s bed, kicking her feet up. “It’s stupid.”

“Well you’ve got yourself a keeper there,” Savannah laughed, joking towards her as she fixed a few strands of hair.

Natalie watched as the two got ready, envying them. I don’t want to stay home tonight, and I really don’t feel like watching Bruno, either, she thought, shaking her head. She glanced over to the digital clock on the nightstand, which read a quarter to eight.

“Ugh, I don’t care anymore,” Natalie suddenly stated, standing up from the bed. “I’m going.”