Just Girly Things

"Just do your girly thing, do your girly thing
Just do your girly thing, do your girly thing
And live it up, live it up
Don't let nobody bring you down
Just live it up, live it up
Don't let nobody bring you down...
Cause one day, one day
Somebody will bring you a crown
One day, one day
Somebody will bring you a crown
And Live it up!" Just Girly Things by Dawin


"How are you feeling?" I asked Trevor over the phone as I laid down in bed Tuesday night. 

"Better." Trevor responded.

"Get on Skype. I want to show you my hair." I exclaimed.

"No... I'll see you tomorrow." He said. 
I spent my off day with Rachel and Serena getting pampered. 

Serena ended whatever it was she was doing with Blake so it called for a girl's day. Apparently Serena and Blake hooked up on and off for a couple years. Her job as an event coordinator required her to travel a lot, so she never ask for anything more from him. She finally decided she wanted more than that. 

She also saw he was never going to want more than that, so she cut him off and took a vow of celibacy. Rachel applauded her choice by treating her to a day of beauty. They invited me along, so I joined them.

I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed Serena's personality. She had a dry sense of humor and was very straightforward, but I enjoyed it; especially when she didn't treat me like a fiance stealing ho. Her words, not mine. I was glad we were able to laugh about it now.

I got my hair shampooed, trimmed and straightened, my nails done and waxed with them. I found a cute top at a boutique Serena loved. 

After dinner, we went our separate ways, with them both agreeing to come to our New Year's Eve party. 

Serena had to work that evening, but was delegating to her intern so she could have the night off. She was up for anything not including Blake. Rachel normally spent the holidays with her parents and Forrest in Florida, but this year she had to save her vacation time for the wedding. I was super excited about ringing in 2015 with my friends: old and new...

...Well, for the most part I was excited. I was worried at first Trevor wouldn't make the drive down. He was still sniffling and coughing, but he said he was feeling better. His voice still sounded hoarse to me, but he blamed it on lack of sleep. Trevor already told me he was coming back. The only thing that worried me now was Jake.

I had no idea what kind of a mood he would be in. I just knew his reaction to me would not be good if he was still upset. 

Considering I hadn't heard from him after I gave him the Christmas present, I was sure he was still mad at me. His reaction would be even worse if he saw Trevor and me together. 

I sighed thinking about it.

"What's wrong?" Trevor asked me over the phone.

"Jake is going to be at the party." I told him.

"Ok... with his new girlfriend right?"

"I don't think we can call her his girlfriend..." I frowned.

Trevor chuckled. "Ok... special friend?"

I laughed. "You're stupid." 

"Is that what's bothering you?"

"Not entirely..." I started. I told him about my drunk dial and how I invited Jake over to get my mind of him.

"Geez Lily..." Trevor breathed heavily. 

"I know... I apologized. He hasn't responded." I added quickly.

Trevor cleared his throat. "Can you blame him? Even I feel sorry for him." 

"I know. Now it's going to be weird and awkward, or worse." I groaned.

"Why don't you just come out here?" Trevor suggested.

I bit my lip. I knew Bilal's boss was throwing a huge house party. Bilal worked at radio station as a broadcast manager. The owner of the station knew Bilal from his band. He took a liking to him, gave him a job and the rest was history. 

All of Trevor's friends in Austin had been talking about it on social media; how big the house was, what local celebrities would be there, and how much liquor they were going to drink. I knew Trevor wanted to go, but I didn't. I wanted to bring in the New Year with my friends, not a house full of drunk strangers, no matter how awkward or weird it might be with Jake. 

"No, I'm going to stay here. I already invited Rachel and Serena. Worst case scenario, I'll ignore Jake." I said.

"Ok." Trevor said, shortly.

"If you wanna stay in Austin, I understand." I said, half-heartedly. I didn't really mean it, but I didn't want him to feel like he had to come for me.

"You never heard how you spend New Year's Eve is how you spend the rest of the year? I wanna spend it with you."  Trevor said.

I smiled, instantly worry free.

"I wanna spend it with you too." I said, truthfully.

"Then stop distracting me. I gotta get these codes done so I don't have to worry about them."

"Urgh, it's a holiday. Take off."

"I wish. Kenji's new novel's deadline is the end of January. The website's major functions have to be done by then."

"What does his comic book have to do with anything?" I said, confused.

"It's a graphic novel Lily..." He corrected me.

"What's the big difference?"

"I don't know, but there is." Trevor laughed. I laughed too.

"The website is a major part of the novel. I just have to make sure it can do what it does in the novel."

"What does it do in the novel?" I asked, curiously.

"That's how the main character meets the girl. They comment on a post, then message back and forth, which leads to video chatting each other."

"That's it?" I asked, mostly teasing him.

"They start collaborating on their own fan fiction on the site. He posts it under his name on the website. Things that they write start happening in real life so the main character has to track her down." 

"How does it end?" I asked, genuinely interested now.

"Buy the novel and find out."  

"Asshole." 

He laughed, hoarsely. "I'm sure if I get these codes done I could get you a copy."

"Then get to work slacker!" I exclaimed.
----------

Wednesday, I spent the day with Rocky getting ready for the party. We ordered wings and sandwiches for pick up, bought party trays from the grocery store, and we found a chocolate fountain on sale, so we bought supplies and ingredients for it. We also stopped by the liquor store and stocked up on champagne, beer, wine and alcohol. 
I got home around 2pm and tried to call Trevor. I didn't get an answer, but I wasn't surprised. He told me he had to stay up to finish the codes, he was probably sleeping.
I went to my room and took a nap. When I woke up at 4, I had a missed call from Trevor and a text.

Trevor: I'll see you around 9!

I grinned, excitedly and texted back.

Me: Ok. Call me when you leave!

I then got up, took a shower and got ready to go to Rocky's house. I paired my new top with my black leather leggings. I kept my hair down, straight and shiny but gathered in a loose side braid. I wore a festive Happy New Year crown on top of my head. I did my makeup then pulled on the boots Sammy gifted me.

I pulled on my duffle coat and grabbed gloves, hat and a scarf and threw them on the passenger seat of my car. I checked to make sure Justine had everything she needed and took her outside one more time before we left. 

When I got to Rocky's house, she was putting up decorations. I put Justine in the backyard before joining her.

"Damn, how high are those heels?" She asked me, looking me over.

"I don't know. 4 inches?" I guessed. 

"Well, put them to work!" She said, tossing me a streamer that read: Happy New Year! 
It was black and gold to match the top hats, tiaras, noise makers and horns that were sat out on the dining room table. Besides the streamer, Rocky kept the decorations minimal with black and gold balloons and balloon weights she found at the dollar store scattered randomly in the living room and dining room.

I put on a 2014 playlist as we finished decorating. After we hung the streamer, Rocky headed to her room to get ready. 

"Do I need to pick up the food?" I asked.

"No. Brandon is going to get it when he gets off." She answered before leaving me.

I set up the make-shift bar in the breakfast nook. I put juices on ice and set out the alcohol in a neat line on the table. I put an ice bucket next to the plastic cups. The beers went in a cooler under the table. 
I then started to set up the food on the kitchen counters and island. I started with the chocolate fountain so I could get it put together and see how much room it was going to take up.

It instructed me to wash the parts, so I did. That's about as far as I got before getting confused by the pictures and the instructions. I was looking at the picture on the box to guess how it went together when Brandon showed up with the food.

"Hey Lily. Where do you want this?" He asked, motioning to the bags of food he was carrying. 

"Just on the stove." I replied, still frowning up at the picture.

"Having some difficulties there?" Brandon grinned setting down the food.

"No...these instructions are stupid." 

I looked up and he was playing on his phone. "Where is Rocky?" He asked.

"Getting ready." I nodded to their room.

"Ok. I'm gonna go change too. Leave that for Ethan. He's on his way." Brandon instructed me.

Thank God.

I moved on to putting the wings, boneless chicken, and French fries Brandon bought in the oven on warm. I was setting out the dipping items for the fountain when Ethan arrived with the party trays from Quiznos.

"Help!" I called helplessly as he found room to put the trays down on the counter.

"Hello to you too." He smirked at me, pulling off his overcoat. He put it in the hallway closet before returning to the kitchen. 

 "Hey Ethan. You look nice. Help me!" I said, holding up the instructions. 

"Hey Lily. You look nice too. No problem." He replied. 

I smiled as he went to wash his hands. He did look really nice in navy slacks, a white button down, with a gray sweater on top, all tied together nicely with a blue and silver striped tie.

He looked over the instructions and started to separate the parts.

"I did that step already. All the parts are there." 

"Ok." He said, as he still repeated what I just did. I just rolled my eyes. 

"Can you turn the music down?" He asked me.

 "You have 30 minutes." I warned him, turning the music off.

"How can you focus with that? That's probably why you couldn't get it together." 

"Music actually motivates me." I said. 

"Speaking of which, how was EJ's report card?" 

"Since you asked, I'm assuming you already know it was his best report card of the year." 

Megan did mention that to me. I didn't rub it in anymore; I just smiled.

We worked in silence, him constructing the fountain while I set up the dipping tray. I put apple slices, marshmallows, pretzel sticks, pineapples, strawberries and pound cake on a large tray together. 

"You can start melting the chocolate." Ethan instructed me when he had it put together in 10 minutes. "And turn your music back on." He added, sarcastically. 

I narrowed my eyes at him as he smiled and I turned back on the music. I melted the chocolate in the microwave and sang along obnoxiously to Ed Sheeran Sing.

"Who's killing a cat out here?" Brandon said as he and Rocky joined us.

I flipped him off and sang louder while Rocky laughed. Ethan just shook his head. 

Brandon and Rocky looked so cute. Brandon was wearing all black: jeans and a polo with a gold crest. Rocky matched him with a black dress with a gold sparkly blazer.

"You guys look great!" I complimented them, while delivering the melted chocolate to Ethan. He poured it into the fountain. It gurgled, but after a minute, the chocolate started flowing beautifully. 

"That looks great!" Rocky said.

I smiled at Ethan. "Thank Ethan."
"Good job man. Let's test it!" Brandon said, grabbing a strawberry.

"Use a skewer!" Rocky scolded him. She then turned to Ethan "Thanks." She said, sincerely. 

"No problem."

We all tried out the fountain.

"I should have put some alcohol in the chocolate. Like Disaronno." I commented, munching on a pineapple.

Rocky nodded. "Next time."

"Disaronno huh?" Brandon said, questioningly.

"Yeah, it's an amaretto." I explained.

"I know. Why Disaronno?" Brandon asked.

"Because it's my favorite." I said simply. 

He nodded. "Makes sense."

We set out all the food before all of our friends started to arrive. Everyone was having a great time as we ate, drank and watched the Rocking New Year's Eve special.

I didn't have to worry about Jake; He flat out ignored me. He acted like I wasn't even there. I knew because I tried to meet his eyes a couple of times, but he wouldn't. I shouldn't have been surprised. Holding grudges was like a specialty for him. 
Jake was holding on to stuff that happen years ago with his ex, all because he wouldn't forgive her. He carried that into our relationship. I wished he would forgive me so he wouldn't carry our drama to his next relationship. 

Well, maybe not if he was with Alexis. That girl just rubbed me the wrong way...

That's why I was surprised and a little pleased to see he showed up with Jasmine, not Alexis. I was shocked when she actually smiled and greeted me. I smiled back as they made their way to the kitchen.

I checked my phone. No call from Trevor, but he was probably on the road. I was glad he wasn't trying to talk and drive. Austin had a winter weather warning and he had a bad habit off trying to be on his phone and drive.

I was fixing another virgin drink for Corey when Ethan called me.

"Are you close friends with Serena?" He asked when I looked at him.

"Getting there. Why?" I asked.

"You might want to warn her that Daniel has a short attention span when it comes to women." Ethan suggested.

I looked up. Sure enough, Daniel and Serena were engaged in a conversation in the corner of the kitchen.

"Thanks Ethan." I said.

I delivered the drink to Corey who was sitting next to Sammy in the den. They were playing with Justine and talking to Jordan, Derek, Lamar and Chris.

I then went over to Serena and Daniel.

"I need to borrow her for a second." I smiled, pulling her into the living room.

"What's up?" She asked, straightening out her red blouse. It was tucked into a black bandage skirt. Her legs looked great in shimmer tights and red booties.

"Daniel is another Blake." I warned her.

"Really?" She sighed. I nodded. "Do I just have a sign that says 'Scumbags, I'm available'?" 

I laughed and looked her over. "Not that I can see."

"Thanks for the heads up girl." She said. "I wonder what he's going think about my celibacy rule."

"You're still going to talk to him?" I said, surprised.

"Why not? I'm not going to have sex with anyone unless they treat me like a queen. That doesn't mean I can't date until the right guy comes along."

I nodded, but we both got distracted when Jackie, Rachel and Peyton catcalled the TV. We looked up to see Jason Derulo, lifting his shirt as he danced on the screen.

"Or if the guy looks and dances likes that." Serena murmured.

I laughed. "I'm trying not to drink too much tonight, but I'll drink to that." 

We were clinking glasses when Jasmine joined us.

"What are y'all drinking to?" She asked.

"Jason's Derulo's face." Serena answered.

"Body!" I added.

"Hear Hear!" Jasmine smiled. We laughed and drank. Serena excused herself and rejoined Daniel. Jasmine stuck around.

"Lily, I want to say sorry."  Jasmine started.
I shook my head. "It's ok, really. That's your brother. You're allowed to hate his ex. I get it."

"I didn't get it, why you couldn't give him another chance, but that was your choice to make. Just like he is choosing to be a dick right now." She stated.

I just looked at her, confused.

"I read your letter." When my eyes widened, she continued. "He left it out where I could read it." She reasoned.

At least I knew he read it.

"You forgave him, he should forgive you and y'all should both move forward. It's that simple. Even if he won't, I miss you: as a friend and a client. Your hair looks good, by the way." She complimented me.

"It should for what I paid for it." I smirked.
She laughed.

"So was making amends a New Year's resolution? Or was it just my letter? Because I feel like I should write letters to everyone if that's the case."

"A little of both. I'm starting to realize relationships shouldn't be that complicated." She said, sadly.

"Oh no. You and Reggie?-"

"I don't wanna talk about him." She said, quickly.

"Good! I think that's my New Year's resolutions. No complications, just keep things simple." 

I thought about Jake when I said it. I thought his forgiveness would make me feel better, but I didn't need it. I forgave him and myself for our mistakes. No more complications.

Yes, I wanted his friendship and his forgiveness, but it was his choice to make. It was that simple. 

"Me too. I'm putting people in two categories: Either you support me up or bring me down. If you bring me down, I'm done with you." Jasmine stated.

"Fuck, I'm going to need another drink so I can drink to that too." I smiled.

I cut myself off after two beers and a glass of champagne. 

At nine, I called Trevor. Straight to voicemail.

I frowned and called Bilal. It rang before going to voicemail.

I texted them both to give me a call as soon as possible.

I kept my phone out waiting for Trevor's call. My mind automatically went to our last conversation. Maybe he really did want to stay in Austin. Maybe he didn't want to deal with any more of my drama. I pushed those thoughts out my mind and continued to have a good time. If Trevor wasn't coming, he would have told me that.

Right?

By the time we were getting ready to go to the Dart station, I was really worried. It was an hour after he said he would be here. Maybe the weather was worse than I thought...

I called him again as I drove to the Dart Station. Same thing, straight to voicemail.
On the Dart train, I called again. Same thing. I checked his Facebook. Some of his friends in Austin tagged him in pictures from the party. He wasn't in any of them. It might just be a" look what you're missing" type post. Assholes. Then I frowned when I saw Amelia in a lot of the pictures...

"I know that look." Serena said, sitting beside me. 

"What look?" I said, putting away my phone.

"That waiting by the phone look. I did it over and over for Blake." She said.

"No... My friend was coming in from Austin. I'm hoping he didn't get caught in bad weather or traffic. I can't get in touch with him. His phone is going to voicemail."

"No car charger?"

I frowned. Trevor had one...

"Look, I've been there. Guys suck. He's where he wants to be, not thinking about you. Have fun with us. Live it up!" Serena danced in her seat.

I smiled at her and I really tried. The event was as crowded as Jordan said, but we were able to find a good spot. Jasmine, Serena and I huddled up close together, danced and sang along to the music, made New Year's resolutions, counted down to midnight, and owwed and awwwed over the fireworks. I kept a smile on my face even when it started to rain. I was having a great time with my friends. I didn't check my phone once.

 When we got back on the train and I still hadn't received a call or text from Trevor, I had a horrible sense of dread.

I knew Trevor. I knew how he was. He would never just leave me hanging with no explanation. I kept thinking about how he said he wanted to spend the night with me, so we could spend the rest of the year together. I felt so stupid letting my insecurities cloud my judgment. 

Something wasn't right.

When we got back to Rocky's house, I asked her to watch Justine for me.

"Sure, what's up?" She asked.

"I'm going to Austin." I told her.

"Lily, it's late. Just wait for him to call." Rocky lectured me.

"I have been. I tried to call Bilal; neither one of them are answering their phones. Something's wrong."

"If something bad happened, you would have gotten a call from someone. I'm sure there's a simple reason-"

"Well if there's a "simple reason", I want to hear it in person." I cut her off, stubbornly. 

"Can you watch Justine or not?"

"Call me the second you get there." Rocky demanded me.

"Thank you!" I called out, before leaving for Austin.