Chapter 4

The place isn't what I expected for a kind of party like this. 

Yes, it was in a very big estate with cool houses and stuff like that but the outside was oddly quiet. There were only a few people outside and they were obviously apart of the security team. There was no paparazzi, not a single one. No flashes from cameras or people asking questions I definitely wouldn't want to answer. The outside was quiet and it's not like I expected to hear any music from the outside but at least you'd know a party when you see one. 

I was still in the car when I considered how possible it was for the whole thing to be a plan for me to be kidnapped or something. Definitely a stupid thought, seeing Kaitlyn was here with me and I wasn't in the middle of nowhere but why would it look like this? I then remembered dad said something about this, William's party was usually a secret to the public. 

Seeing the way things was actually took a bunch of worries away. The thought of the paparazzi was one of the things that brought me most concern and now i didn't have to deal with it any longer, all I had to think of is what would happen in there. Whether good or bad, at least no one would know about it. 

"Christina, it's time to go inside"

"Yeah, I know" I said, resting my back on the seat again for the one millionth time that night. I really didn't want to be here, I was pulled into this without my consent and now, I have to deal with the whole thing. My parents were good at things like this, they've done it for years now. It would take them nothing to come here by themselves, I don't know why it just had to be me. 

"You know its just a party, you can always spend like three hours in there and leave"

"It's easy for you to say Kaitlyn, you've been in this for years. This is my first time and I'm not even ready"

"You're right, I've seen a lot of people like you and I've also seen how easy it is for them to do it. I can advice you if you'd like"

"Let me hear it"

"Just know everyone there wants you to make the slightest mistake. I've seen it before, it's crazy in there but if you know the right things to say, you wouldn't end up in trouble"

"And if I make a mistake?"

"Everything will be fine, don't worry about it"

"It's just that I'm not ready for this and it'll be my fault if anything bad happens"

"You're too hard on yourself. It's always like this at first, I'm very sure you would feel better the moment you step out of there. It's just a party and this isn't even the big type of parties, they're bigger ones with more people than you can imagine."

"It's William's party, I know it's the big type. You're just saying that to make me feel better and I really appreciate it but it's not helping"

"Fine" She sighed "There's actually nothing I can do to help you but if it makes you feel any better, they're a few good people you can stay with and it's easy to spot them the moment they start talking. If they say anything about your dress or the way you look, just try to end the conversation quickly and make up an excuse to leave."

"Now that's a good advice"

"I'm glad I could help"

"Okay, just please be ready In case I decide to leave"

"I'll always be here"

It was cold when I stepped outside. Coming outside in an armless dress with no sweater of scarf was a bad idea. I imagined inside to be better and if it wasn't, I might just leave earlier than I hope. The walk inside was short and on my way, I could remember spotting a guy from outside with his phone up. So much for secrecy after all. I guess he saw me too cause a second after, he was walking away like I didn't just see him. I ignored the whole thing and proceeded to go inside. 

After getting scanned, it was finally time to go inside. All I could feel in me was fear, I didn't think of the possibilities there were if something goes wrong. I didn't see myself saying something I shouldn't. As a matter of fact, I didn't even know any secrets or anything I was supposed to hide but at the same time, I've heard they can be very manipulative and I didn't want to underestimate. 

The inside was very fancy, even more than the outside. Every single thing in there spells out luxury. It was a gold and white themed party and there were people inside that had the color on. In fact, there were a lot of people in there that had it on. Almost everyone was either in gold or white and there I was in a green dress with just my purse gold. That was the first red flag I got. I was odd and everyone would easily spot me under these white lights. They forgot to tell me I was meant to wear gold and now, I just had to bear the problem. Even before I spoke to anyone, I already felt like leaving and honestly, if I saw this coming, I would've gone straight home. 

About fifty percent of the people here were grown ups and the other fifty young. The former were the ones I was warned about and there were already some with their eyes on me. The others didn't look like people that would like me at all and apparently those were the people I was supposed to be with. It wasn't looking good at all and I could just feel something bad would happen at the end of the day. 

"Christina" The voice I heard was masculine and unfamiliar. I wasn't surprised the person knew my name, seeing everyone here knows everyone. I turned around and saw the Leonardo DiCaprio. 

Just kidding, it's William's son, Leo. 

"Hi Leo, it's nice to see you"

He took my hand in his and placed a small kiss on my knuckles, making me wonder if they actually did that anywhere besides movies. "It's been a while since I saw you, how have you been?"

I didn't realize I'd actually seen him before. I knew the way he looked through social media and sometimes on TV and I also remembered the times I came here when I was still younger but I didn't know if Leo was one of those friends I used to have. Whether or not we met, this would make it the first time I met him. 

"Great, and you?"

"A little tired from walking around all day but I'll survive."

"I can just imagine, this is a really good party by the way and congratulations"

Besides being odd and getting stared at by almost everyone in the room, i just had to admit it was a very good party. Everything looked perfectly arranged and the setting was just as perfect. Although I wasn't wearing the color code, it didn't change the fact they came up with a good idea. 

"You should say that to my dad. It's his party afterall"

"Yes, but it's to celebrate you, isn't it?"

"Well, my father's is going to be the one running it while I'm in school. It just happens to be in my name" 

"Yeah. Thanks for the invite by the way. It's my first time here in a while and It's a good thing I'm here for a good reason"

"I'm glad you're impressed by this. If I may ask, how long would you be here in France?"

"A month or more" It really depends on when my parents wanted me back home. "But I'll definitely be back in New York to get ready for college"

From what I saw, Leo didn't look like an bad person at all. However, I couldn't just judge by what I saw. For all I know, he could just be more than the smile he was showing. He wasn't too bad to have a conversation with and I didn't see any reason why I would leave to talk to someone else. He didn't comment about my look and definitely wasn't giving me a flirt type of vibe. 

"I'll expect to see you more after today, that's if you're not too busy"

"I'm pretty sure I wouldn't"

Not when I didn't have any friends or family here and even if I did, it's not like I would go out every single day. Leaving my comfort zone was always a problem for me and now he said he expects to see me after today, I'll just have to hope he just ends up forgetting about it. 

"Then it's settled, well definitely be seeing more after today"