The Beautiful Monster

Zoe always had some sort of curls or braids in her hair that were delicately woven into a beautiful style. Her makeup ranged from a subtle, natural look to something bold with bright colors and shimmer. Alyssa usually just did the bare minimum. She was afraid she\'d look like a clown if she tried anything bold.

"Let\'s get something to eat first, though. I\'m starving," Zoe said, suddenly whipping Alyssa around to head in the opposite direction.

A surprised laugh broke from Alyssa as she quickly moved her feet to catch up.

"You\'re giving me whiplash!" Alyssa said as she balanced herself out. She had nearly tripped over her own feet getting turned around like that.

Zoe smirked.

"Better keep up. We\'ve got so much to do!"

Zoe was the opposite of Alyssa. She was quick making a decision and threw all caution to the wind. Alyssa was far more cautious, but she liked being around Zoe. She felt like they leveled each other out, but if she wanted tonight to go well, she\'d have to match Zoe\'s steps. That meant stepping out of her comfort zone.

The party was far louder than Alyssa expected it to be. She knew it would be loud, but she thought that she would at least be able to talk normally and be heard over the trap music. She clung to Zoe\'s hand tightly as they weaved through all of the people lingering in the frat house.

She couldn\'t believe how many people had managed to stuff themselves in this one house. Weren\'t there other parties they could go to? It seemed like there was always some sort of event happening in the sorority and fraternity houses. They found any reason to party and drink.

Since it was so dark and crowded, Alyssa couldn\'t see how dirty the place was. Maybe that was a good thing. She could smell plenty of alcohol, weed, and body odor, though. She tried not to breathe as much as possible as she slipped through moving bodies.

Alyssa felt the breath get knocked from her lungs regardless when she spotted Kaleigh and Olivia lingering around in the hallway. Kaleigh had a guy\'s arm around her shoulders, while Olivia gave puppy dog eyes to another blonde guy. She ducked her head, trying not to get noticed.

"What are you doing?" Zoe asked, noticing Alyssa try to disappear on the spot.

"Some girls I don\'t like up there," Alyssa replied as her eyes shifted toward Kaleigh and Olivia warily. Elias wasn\'t here to back her up now, and she felt far less confrontational now. If she got into it, she would have to weasel her way out, and she didn\'t feel like getting embarrassed here. It was their turf, not hers.

"Dude, you look hot! Fuck those bitches," Zoe smirked as she gave Alyssa nudge. "Head up."

Alyssa drew in a deep breath and nodded before tilting her head up. Zoe was right. She looked great, and she could belong here as much as Kaleigh and Olivia did. She just had to act like she belonged. She put a little sway in her step as she strode down the hallway toward the girls, who looked up at her with distaste.

"What is she doing here?" Kaleigh muttered to Olivia.

"Excuse me," Zoe quipped before shouldering Kaleigh out of the way. She flashed her a sneer before continuing on, leading Alyssa on by the hand.

Alyssa met Kaleigh\'s glare with a sugary sweet smile. Her heart was pounding in her chest, but she wasn\'t about to let Kaleigh know how nervous she felt right now. Once they made it farther down the hall away from the girls, Alyssa let out the breath that she had been holding.

"Okay, that felt pretty good," she laughed out. Relief flushed through her.

Zoe squeezed Alyssa\'s hand.

"See? Those bitches have no power over you!" she said.

Alyssa wished she was more confident on her own. She always needed a push from other people, but she knew that they wouldn\'t always be there to help her.

"You\'re right. They\'re just a little intimidating," she admitted. They were pretty and popular, which were the requirements to be in any sorority it seemed like. They had more friends, more influence, and more support. They didn\'t seem like the people she wanted to cross, but maybe they were just a walking status.

"They\'re just girls," Zoe pointed out before motioning for Alyssa to follow her.

"What do we do now?" Alyssa asked Zoe. She didn\'t even know where to start. Did they get a drink first or try to talk to people? She felt out of her zone, but she knew that Zoe wanted to go. Besides, she had a rocking new outfit, and her hair and makeup looked great.

Zoe added a few curls to Alyssa\'s hair and did eyeliner and eyeshadow that really made her green eyes pop. Alyssa picked up as many tips as she could, but it would definitely take plenty of practice sessions to get as good as Zoe.

"I\'m trying to find the kitchen!" Zoe replied over the music as she walked through a door to the left of the hallway. She led Alyssa into a crowded kitchen. Open chip bags and empty red cups littered the counters. Garbage spilled out of a nearby trash can.

"Do boys know how to clean?" Alyssa asked as she glanced around. From the dorm rooms that she had seen in her dorm building, they were all incredibly clean. The girls decorated them all nicely and sprayed flowery or sweet air freshener in them. She felt like she was on a whole new planet.

"Nope," Zoe smirked as she glanced around for where the drinks were at. She soon spotted people surrounding a plastic tub full of jungle juice. A few frat boys were scooping juice into red cups and handing them out to people lingering around in the kitchen on the hunt for a drink.

Alyssa had an odd feeling about all of this. Maybe she was just being too uptight, though. She wasn\'t used to this, so a lot of this felt weird. It was probably the norm, and she was the weird one.