The Underwhelming Party

The two black-haired, pale-skinned girls danced suggestively together, putting on a show for the young man standing next to them. Running his sweaty hand through his shoulder-length brown hair, Kessler fidgeted as the sexy Harrington twins refused to answer his question. Growing frustrated, he asked again.

"C'mon, girls, which one was it?"

"Was what, Abner?" The twin in the pink top flashed a fake look of confusion.

"Don't call me that," Kessler growled, hating his first name. That annoyance rapidly washed away as he could never be rude to girls, guys were a different story. "And you know what I asked?"

"Tell us again, Kessler," the twin in the lavender top said, flashing a flirty smile.

Sighing, the stocky linebacker repeated his earlier question. "Which of you Harrington girls did I spend time with last summer at Ellie Ridge's graduation party?"

"Spend time together?" lavender top repeated in fake bewilderment.

"Do you mean like how we're spending time together right now?" pink top asked.

"Aargh! At least one of you knows what I'm talking about," Kessler responded. "One of you snuck off with me behind the Ridge's pool house, and we hooked up."

"Hooked up? What's that mean?"

"We had sex! But the girl wouldn't tell me which twins she was!"

"Oh, you mean one of us fucked you," lavender top said. "Why didn't you say so in the first place?"

"Why is it so important to know?" the other twin inquired.

"Because Mister Tough Guy catches feelings like a real softy," a new voice joined in.

"Stay out of this, Sharon. It has nothing to do with you," Kessler growled. The redhead held the distinction of being one of two girls that infuriated him. Both had short flings with him and ended up breaking his heart.

"Then you shouldn't be talking about it in public," Sharon sassed back. "Face it, Kess, every girl that comes after me is going to be nothing but a disappointment."

"I can say the exact same thing, but with far more certainly as I came before you," another new voice added.

"You wish, Yelena," Sharon snapped at the girl, who some classmates called her rival. "Kessler, here, loved to moan about how much better I was at everything compared to you. And I mean everything because I'll do anything."

"And you'll do anyone too. Bitch, he only said that shit because I dumped him," the sexy blonde dancer shot back.

"Dumped him? I thought you two weren't even dating," the vice-captain of the cheer squad remarked.

"Couldn't I say the same about you?"

"That's it. I'm done with all four of you. I need a drink," a frustrated Kessler snapped, storming off.

"You should've just told him, Rebecca," Karen told her twin.

"You should've lied and said it was you. You're the one that wants to be in a relationship," Rebecca remarked. "I say you give him a ride tonight—"

"And see if he notices the difference," Karen finished causing both sisters to laugh.

"Twins can be so..." Yelena muttered in disdain.

"Creepy," Sharon finished, causing the two girls to look at each other in awkwardness, and flee in opposite directions.

---

"Nope. Tell me you miss me, first," Hannah ordered, waiting for the reply. "Tell me. And tell me you're sorry too."

"I'm not sorry, but I miss you a little. And I'm even more worried about you," Taylor said from the other side of the video chat.

"Taylor misses me, Taylor misses me," Hannah sang, holding her phone up in the air and twirling around. Her heel caught on the part of the kitchen tile, causing her to stagger slightly into the kitchen island.

"Are you drunk already?" Taylor questioned judgmentally from her side of the video.

"Unfortunately, I'm not."

"So the party is as lame as I expected," Taylor stated, glancing off to her side at something.

"No, the party is not lame. We're having a blast. You should see all the hot guys that are here," Hannah embellished. "I'd show you the packed dance floor, but I wouldn't want to make my bestie jealous."

"Is that Taylor?!" Heather demanded, storming into the kitchen. Before Hannah could answer, the angry party host spotted the other brunette's face on the blonde's phone. "What the hell, Taylor? What gives you the right to tell people to stay away from my party?"

"The right? How about that you're breaking the rules that were put in place for safety," Taylor replied. "You're risking your friends and their health with your unnecessary party, Heather. Imagine how awful you'll feel if one of them gets sick."

"Well, that's not happening. The few people that even bothered to show up, aren't really even my friends. All thanks to you!" Heather said in a huff.

"But I thought the party was jumping? That's the word Hannah used to describe it," Taylor revealed, fighting back a grin. She knew the situation the girls put themselves in wasn't humorous but dangerous.

"Dammit, Heather, I wanted people to think the party was can't miss," Hannah grumbled.

"I'm guessing no hot college guys, Heather?" Taylor inquired with a straight face.

"There are hot guys here!" Heather crossed her arms in anger. "My parties are always stocked with them."

"Actually, the only guys our age here are Carl Miller and Matt Richardson," Hannah admitted, giving up on hyping the party. "It's either some high school boys or girls for me tonight."

"Hannah!"

"Give it up, Heather. This party needs a boost, or it's about to fall apart," Hannah said sadly.

"Are you alright, Han?" Taylor asked in concern. Her best friend hardly ever sounded this depressed, and especially when it came to parties and finding a partner for the night.

"No, I'm not. I'm so lonely and afraid. I don't know what to do. I need your help, Taylor. Can you please send your brother over to fuck my brains out?" Hannah questioned, turning her frown into laughter. "Got you, Tay!"

"That's not funny!" Taylor screeched, holding the phone even closer to her face, while Heather joined in on the laughter. "You got the little shit riled up enough that he tried to sneak out of the house."

"No!"

"Yes! The McRoses caught him trying to push his car out of the garage, while in neutral," Taylor revealed. "Do you know how embarrassed I felt? I looked like a fool!"

"Haha. Serves you right for telling people not to come," Heather said over Hannah's shoulder to Taylor.

"Hey, Zacky!" Hannah yelled, hoping the younger Bishop was close enough to the phone to hear her. "If I don't get lucky here, I'll come over for a ride on your joystick!"

"I will, too, Zacky!" Heather chimed in. "We can play double pole position!"

"You two damn—get that grin off your face right this minute, Zachary!" Taylor screamed, looking to her side. "Get your butt back downstairs. You are so grounded."

"Oh my, the Bishop house should be a blast during quarantine," Hannah joked.

That caused the fuming Taylor to flip the two girls off and end the video call.

"That made my night," Heather remarked, wiping tears of laughter from her eyes.

"Shit, I wanted to tell Zack to leave the door unlocked for me," Hannah realized too late, mad at herself for missing the easy tease. "You want to come with me if we can't get lucky?"

"Wha-wait, are you serious?" Heather did a double-take.

"I would much rather be stuck at Taylor's house than mine. At least there I can tease Zack and Gavin."

"Gavin's there too?" Heather asked in surprise.

"And Chloe's just right next door," Meagan added. She'd been sitting quietly at the dining room table, watching the conversation. "It's only a matter of time before she's at the Bishops."

"And Holly," Poet said, not looking up from where she drew a sketch of Hannah and Heather. Her cousin, Winkie, stood behind her, staring at the exaggerated busts she added for the two buxom beauties. "We should kidnap her. I could use a muse for my art."

"Kidnap?! What the hell are you talking about, kook?" Sharon asked, coming into the kitchen.

"Thinking of cocks and pussies to grab for the upcoming apocalypse," Hannah replied. "I bet Heather has some secret bunker below here, where we can hide, and repopulate the Earth."

"Kidnap!" Heather suddenly yelled. "That's what we should do!"

"Whoa, I was just joking. I'm not driving back into town until after the party is over," Hannah responded. "Wait, does your dad have a bomb shelter?"

"Heather, no more terrible ideas, please," Logan said from behind Sharon as he rejoined everyone. Having missed the earlier conversation, he wondered what the hell they were talking about. "And no, we don't have a bomb shelter."

"No, listen. We should go down and rescue Victoria," Heather proposed. "It's just down the road. It won't take long, and we can be right back to partying."

"Uh, what?" Meagan questioned.

"Screw Vicky, no offense, but we should kidnap Reece," Hannah counter-proposed, her eyes gleaming. "I bet he'd make some pretty babies, and I don't believe you, Logan."

"Reece Kittle? Hmm, now that's a Ken doll that I haven't had the pleasure of yet," Sharon commented, running a hand down her chest at the thought. Logan would always be her favorite, but a little new blood would be a nice memory if she ended up locked in with her family for weeks.

"What, am I chopped liver?" Logan challenged, annoyed that he wasn't the one that made her touch herself.

"Don't give me that. I'm sure you'd be thrilled to take Poppy or another new girl or two for a spin," Sharon responded. Leaning over, she whispered, "You know how hot I get hearing about the girls you bed. We're going to have plenty of time for stories and phone sex soon."

"Who's car—no, how many cars should we take?" Heather pondered out loud.

"Do you have a boat?" Hannah inquired. "We could invade by both land and sea."

"Just a couple paddle and rowboats."

"Wait, a second," Meagan said, forcefully. "Have either of you seen the Wynwick Lodge? There's a very high brick wall that runs around the grounds. The only way inside is through that iron gate."

"That's why I suggested a beach landing!" Hannah pointed out.

"It's basically a fortified compound. You'd take heavy casualties in an ****," Winkie described, causing everyone, but Poet to turn toward him. "Um, sorry, I watch a lot of the History Channel."

"And knowing Grace, she's put up a network of cameras to watch the grounds," Meagan added. "I'd drop the idea if I was you."

"But I want Vicky with us!" whined Heather.

"And I wanted a better selection of men," moped Hannah.

"Just forget about it. I'm not letting you stage some hostage rescue when our friends aren't hostages," Logan declared.

"But—"

"No, Heather! I went along with your party idea, but this is way too far. Drop it," ordered Logan. "We're here to have fun. I wish Vicky and others were here, but they chose not to come. Let's respect their wishes."

"Fine!" Heather cried, angrily crossing her arms with a pout.

"C'mon, Logan, can't a gal do something to change your mind?" Hannah suggestively inquired, running her hands down her body.

"Not on this point."

"Buzzkill!" Hannah joined Heather in pouting.

"That doesn't mean we can't send them some videos or livestream our fun," Logan added with a wink. Heather's eyes lit up at her cousin's idea.

"I like the sound of that. But, what are we going to do?" Sharon asked. "This party is boring."

"I don't know," Heather replied helplessly.

Silence filled the room except for the sounds of Poet flipping the page on her sketchbook. As everyone went over ideas in their heads, the teenage artist rapidly sketched portraits of each person. Only glancing up for swift studies to gather the correct details, it was finally Poet that spoke first.

"Is this what you always do at your parties?"

"Huh?" Hannah responded.

"What do you mean?" Heather asked.

"Sit around and complain," Poet stated, checking to make sure she got Sharon's pushed-up cleavage right.

"What would you know about parties, kook?" the redhead snapped.

"Shar," Logan warned.

"Hey, be nice!" Winkie surprised everyone by scolding Sharon.

"What did you say to me?" growled Sharon.

"Don't you play games or contests?" Poet further questioned, saving her cousin.

"Games!" Heather exclaimed, slapping herself in the forehead. "I can't believe—"

"Games! Hell, yeah," Hannah agreed, clapping her hands.

"What kind of games?" Logan warily questioned.

"Sexy games, sexy games, sexy games!" Hannah chanted.

"Damn, right, sexy games," Heather declared, moving the kitchen island. "Logan, get the guys and move those couches further back. I want plenty of space in the great room."

"Where are you going?" Sharon asked.

"To get the rest of our contestants."