2.

“You were rude to her, so you deserve everything and more,” Nina said firmly.

Hayes and his friends were gathered at Mike’s house, as they often were. The five of them had a private room they jokingly called their lair, where they spent most of their free time.

“Why are you defending her? Is it because you’re both on the same stupid team? Is that why you keep defending that fake-ass bitch?” Austin asked, taking a drag from his cigar.

“First of all, smoking kills. And my team isn’t stupid. Mila is one of the realest people you could ever meet at Henry M. Gunn High School,” Nina replied.

“Enough about that fake-ass bitch. Is there a party tonight?” Mike asked, changing the subject.

“None that I’ve heard of,” Austin replied.

“There is, actually.”

Hayes pulled out his phone and showed them a chat between him and Trisha. She was inviting them to a party at her house that evening.

Within seconds, the argument about Mila was forgotten.

---

“Hey, Naya,” Willow greeted as she entered the house.

“Hi, Willow. She’s upstairs in her room,” Naya replied, pointing toward the staircase.

“Okay, thanks.”

Willow climbed the stairs and headed straight for Mila’s room.

“Yo, bitches! What’s up?” she exclaimed as she walked in.

Khalil was sitting on the floor, busy texting on his phone, while Mila sat at her desk working on her homework.

“Nice to see you too, Willow,” Mila replied sarcastically.

“I heard there’s a party at Trisha’s tonight,” Khalil said.

“Today is Tuesday,” Mila replied, looking up from her books.

“And it’s the first day back from summer break. Throwing a party when school reopens is her tradition,” Khalil reminded her.

“We’re going. No buts, Mila. You need to live a little. Life can’t always be about books, school, dance rehearsals, sleep, N*****x, and food. YOLO, Mila. YOLO!” Willow insisted.

“Yes, ma’am. I don’t have the energy to argue with you,” Mila said, shaking her head. “Besides, if we’re going to a party, what happens to Aaliyah?”

“She has a party and a sleepover at Kiera’s, so she’s covered,” Willow replied.

She cared about her younger sister, even though she wasn’t overly protective. She preferred to keep an eye on her from a distance and let her have some freedom.

“What time is the party?” Mila asked.

“Seven,” Khalil answered.

“Okay. We’ll pick you and Jake up at seven-thirty. We’re going late,” Willow said.

“Alrighty. I’d better get some rest before the party. See you later, and dress sexy.”

With that, he left the room and headed downstairs.

“See you later, Naya,” he called as he made his way outside to his car.

---

“Do you have everything?” Trisha asked excitedly, chewing her gum.

“Yes. We have the punch, the bar is stocked with plenty of drinks, and there are chips, sour gummies, Skittles, chocolate bars, and water. The playlist is ready too, so I think that’s everything,” Gloria, one of her closest friends, replied.

“All right, then. We’re ready to paaaarty!” Trisha shouted.

“And the pool has been cleaned,” Annie added.

“That’s more like it.” Trisha smiled. “What time is it?”

“It’s six,” Gloria replied.

“Come on. We have to get ready!”

The girls hurried upstairs to prepare for the night.

“It’s going to be a good night,” Trisha said with a satisfied smile.

---

“Naya, we’re off to the party. We’ll probably be back late, so don’t stay up waiting for us. You need your rest,” Mila told her caretaker.

“Have fun, and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” Naya replied with a wink.

Mila and Willow laughed as they headed outside.

Mila walked toward her grey 2021 Jeep Wrangler and parked it in front of the house while Willow climbed into the passenger seat. If she was going to a party, she was going to arrive in style.

“Oh yeah, baby!” Willow exclaimed as Mila drove away.

Their first stop was Khalil’s house. It wasn’t far from Mila’s, but it was too far to walk comfortably.

“Khalil!” Willow shouted, honking the horn.

“Enough, Willow,” Mila warned.

Instead of listening, Willow honked again, even louder.

“Hi, Willow. Hi, Mila,” Jake said with a smirk as he got into the back seat.

“Jeez, Will. Do you want to burst our eardrums?” Khalil complained as he joined them.

“Nice car, Bennett,” he added.

“Thanks, Adam,” Mila replied before pulling away.

The party was already in full swing when they arrived. Cars filled the driveway and lined the street, while music played from inside the house. Surprisingly, it wasn’t as loud as Mila had expected from a typical house party.

“She actually did well,” Mila said as they got out of the Jeep. “It’s a pretty cool party.”

“Trisha only throws cool parties,” Willow replied. “At least that’s the only thing she’s good at.”

They walked inside.

Just as Mila expected, the house was extravagant. Everything about it screamed money. However, the smell of alcohol and weed had already begun to replace the clean, expensive scent of the place.

“Let’s get something to drink,” Willow suggested.

Jake and Khalil had already disappeared into the crowd, leaving the girls to find their way around.

“Hi. We’d like two mocktails, please,” Mila told the bartender.

“Coming right up, hot stuff,” he replied with a playful wink.

Mila rolled her eyes and waited for the drinks.

A few moments later, she handed one to Willow.

“Here you go.”

“Thanks.”

Just then, the doors opened, and Hayes walked in with his friends.

Mila noticed him immediately.

“Ah, the devil himself finally decided to show up,” she said with a smirk.

“Yep, and so did his minions,” Willow added.

Mila glanced at Hayes and raised an eyebrow.

“He cleans up pretty well, though. I’ll give him that.”

“That he does,” Willow replied, looking him over. “He looks good tonight.”

Mila stared at her as if she had suddenly grown two heads.

“Seriously?”

Before Willow could answer, Hayes noticed them.

“Just when I thought I’d had enough of Miss Fake Two-Shoes, she shows up here,” he said loudly enough for Mila to hear.

Mila turned toward him.

“Oh, don’t worry. You’ll survive,” she replied. “Besides, you’ve managed to live with yourself for eighteen years. What could possibly be worse than that?”

Hayes’ expression immediately darkened.

“Watch it, Bennett,” Mike warned.

“Oh, come on, Mikey. Not you too.” Willow laughed. “It’s a Miller-Bennett thing, so run along. Shoo.”

Nina and Natalie laughed at the exchange.

“There you are, handsome.”

Trisha appeared beside Hayes, immediately drawing his attention away from the girls.

Willow grabbed Mila by the arm.

“Come on. Let’s get some fresh air.”

As they walked outside, Mila glanced back and noticed Hayes still watching them.

Behind them, Mike, Austin, Nina, and Natalie scattered around the house, each finding something else to do.

Trisha stayed beside Hayes, clearly enjoying having his attention.

“Looks like someone needs to blow off some steam,” she teased.

Hayes gave her a knowing look.

“I could help with that.”

She smiled and took his hand, leading him toward the stairs.

“Now, where were we?”

She opened the door to her room and pulled him inside, shutting it behind them.

---

“We leave you alone for two minutes, and you’re already causing trouble with Miller again?” Khalil asked when he found the girls outside.

“Oh, hello to you too, Adams,” Willow replied sarcastically.

Mila laughed.

“It’s not my fault he hates me for no reason. Besides, it’s fun getting under his skin.”

“You two are going to drive each other crazy one day,” Khalil said, shaking his head.

“Maybe,” Mila replied with a grin.

---

“What are we watching tonight?” Vanilla asked as she placed a bowl of caramel popcorn between them.

“We’re binge-watching The Resident,” Kiera announced. “I heard it’s a really good show, and there are a couple of handsome guys in it.”

“It actually is good,” Aaliyah added. “I’ve watched a few episodes, and I liked it.”

“All right, The Resident it is,” Vanilla said as she picked up the remote and pressed play.

A few minutes into the episode, Kiera sighed dramatically.

“Dr. Okafor and her mentor, Dr. Austin, would make such a good couple.”

Aaliyah laughed.

“Dr. Pravesh is so handsome. Look at his nose and those dimples!”

Vanilla shook her head, laughing.

“And Conrad and Nic need to get back together already!”

The three girls burst into laughter as they settled in for the night, completely absorbed in the show.