Chapter Four Willa

Chapter Four

Willa

Three Years Ago

Swaghouse was stupid big. An honest-to-god California mansion in the Malibu hills, beyond anything Willa had personally set foot in before. Three stories of chrome and glass and minimalist design sparkled above her head, with the beach a short stumble away. Willa couldn't hear the crashing waves above the thump of the bass emanating from the back of the property, butthe ocean had a presence. Powerful and vast.

The house was larger than life, distinctly Hollywood in a way that sent a trill of electricity down her spine. Tonight a crew was even shooting a TV pilot, some streaming-network pitch for a reality series about Swaghouse and its most TikTok-famous resident, Declan DuPont. Would she end up on TV? Willa's heart palpitated hopefully in her chest. Although…Declan's whole thing was pranks. What if he targeted her for the cameras and she ended up a national laughingstock? Anxiety pushed up her throat, as it had in the Uber, while at home getting dressed, when Delaney invited her in the first place…

Willa was lucky to be here, and Delaney had been nice to include her; she didn't have to. And Willa's friend wouldn't let anything bad happen to her. Everything was going to be fine.

Confidence restored, Willa stepped inside. The foyer was intimidatingly vast, the only other soul in sight a waiter slinking by with a tray of dirty plates and glasses. Willa grinned wide, and he sneered in reply. Heat flooded her cheeks and Willa nearly retreated, but then a familiar voice rang out.

"There you are! I thought I'd lost you."

Her best friend sauntered into the foyer like she owned the place. Delaney was supermodel chic in a silver sequined backless bodycon dress, complete with a peekaboo triangular cutout above her navel. Delaney didn't scream impostor. She belonged in this place.

Delaney whipped out her phone from her clutch and examined the screen. "Party's apparently out back, but Dec says he's in the kitchen. We should go there first."

This was the part Willa hated. The price of access was presenting herself like a show pony for the approval of Delaney's new, cooler, richer, famous friends. And not just friends. Her boyfriend, too.

Delaney-with-Declan was new, foreign. It was like they'd lost a whole year in the blink of an eye. Last Willa remembered, sheand Delaney were at sleepovers watching Harry Styles videos and following YouTube makeup tutorials with questionable results. One pandemic and half of freshman year later, and Delaney was dating a TikTok "celebrity" and was brand-new besties with rising reality-TV personality Eden Laskin and the always perfect—and perfectly cruel—Camille Sutter. Willa wasn't even certain Eden knew her name, and Camille's tiny gymnast body made Willa overly aware of her own, which was decidedly not tiny. She tugged self-consciously on the thighs of her romper, which had ridden up on the walk from the car.

Delaney toddled into the kitchen in her stilettos like a baby giraffe. Willa clomped behind in a pair of too-big and too-tall silver spikes Delaney had pressured her into wearing. She felt huge, unwieldy, and out of place.

And before her was the living embodiment of a fashion yes. Eden's sparkly cobalt jumpsuit had a deep V plunge at the front. Her long, tanned legs glowed above a pair of crystal wedges. Willa wasn't the only one looking. Wyatt Riemer hovered beside Declan and Eden at the kitchen island with his eyes locked firmly on Eden's shapely calves. At least, Willa chose to believe his view remained respectfully in that area.

"Hey, babe." Delaney pecked Declan on the cheek and grabbed his arm possessively, swaying him on his bar stool that extra few millimeters away from Eden.

Eden had Delaney's hackles up, that was for sure. For a split second Delaney got that telltale sucking-on-a-lemon look that showed she was displeased. But then she emitted a high-pitched squeal, and the happy, bubbly girly-girl act was back in force.

"Camille, you look divine!"

Camille Sutter, in chic black jeans and a red bustier top, demurred. "This? I picked it up in Paris on the way home from Chamonix last month. Isn't it stunning ?" Then she volleyed Delaney's compliment right back.

"Omigod, thank you!" Delaney trilled. "I spent way too much, but I think it was worth it, don't you think, Dec?" Then she did a twirl for her boyfriend, though everyone watched—which Willa assumed was the point.

"You're lucky you could go shopping." Eden pouted. "I was so busy filming for my mom's show, I had to borrow some designer piece she got sent in PR." She scooted a millimeter closer to Declan. Only Willa seemed to notice.

Willa waited for the faux compliments to end and for Delaney to introduce her to her Zoom-pod buddies. The nicety never came. Willa was the plus one. Adrift.

But then someone familiar walked in from the patio, and Willa bloomed with relief.

"Liam! Oh my god, hi, what are you doing here?" She clopped around the kitchen island, everyone's eyes burning her back. In her heels, Willa towered two inches taller than her classmate, but Liam Parker-Yang was as easygoing in person as he was online. He gestured between them, marveling at her height in person, and they laughed.

"It's so nice to finally meet you!" he said, pulling her in for a hug. Willa's heart raced at his closeness, at the unexpected intimacy. A hot boy was hugging her. Her mind brimmed with questions. Had she said something about the party over DM? Was he here because of her?

It was over too soon, and Willa hoped she wasn't red as a tomato when she turned back to the group. "This is Liam, everyone. He transferred to Warner Prep in September, and I was assigned as his welcome buddy to get him caught up," she offered, as if presenting a science-fair project.

"We know who he is, silly," Delaney chided Willa. Then she flashed Liam her winningest smile. "You're even more handsome off Zoom."

"In fairness, I think everyone looks better off Zoom," Liam deflected with the utmost charm. Everyone readily received the compliment.

And then another familiar face slunk in from the patio. The small boy froze on the threshold, swallowing hard at the high schoolers, and returned his attention to his phone screen.

"Ew, why is there a kid here?" Eden sneered.

"Noah, hey!" Willa said quickly, hoping to set him at ease. He was hardly a kid, but definitely still in the middle school wing at Warner Prep, if they'd been on campus. Willa had peer-tutored him in science since the start of the year.

Declan halted mid-fist bump with Liam, brow furrowed with confusion. Liam flushed and turned contrite.

"Sorry, guys, this is my cousin Noah. He was going to snitch about me coming to the party if I didn't bring him."

Willa wasn't sure why. Noah barely looked up from his device.

"So the Boy Scout snuck out?" Wyatt said, clapping Liam on the shoulder.

Liam shrugged. "I think we've all been going a little stir-crazy, and Declan invited me."

"Liam lives a few houses down from me. Our moms are tight," Declan contextualized for the group.

Embarrassment crested through Willa like a wave. Of course Liam hadn't come to the party for her. He was gorgeous and cool, already in with the group. She was an idiot.

"Now that we're all here…" Declan trailed off, hopping from the bar stool and disappearing into the pantry. He emerged with a bottle of Jack Daniel's and a teetering stack of shot glasses. "Let's drink. Not you." He pointed at Noah, who was skulking in the corner by the trash can. "If I see you drinking, I will smack the shit out of you."

It was not lost on Willa, the nebulous moral line that they were drinking at fifteen but Noah was somehow too young. Even though she agreed that he was. He was her little duckling, always hanging on her every word in Zoom tutoring sessions, so eager to learn and improve. Noah was a good kid.

Declan poured out six shots, and Willa's stomach fell. Willa made seven. She was literally invisible, once again. But then Liam's eyes locked with hers, and he slid a sloshing shot glass across the countertop her way.

Camille sniffed. "Thank you for remembering I am not drinking tonight. Coach Beal thinks I have a real shot at the Olympics in a few years." She transitioned seamlessly from sanctimonious to bragging.

"Oh boo," scoffed Eden. "Like one drink would make a difference. The Olympics are ages away."

"Maybe so, but I have my first competition in over a year this week," Camille said.

While Declan passed out the rest of the shots, Liam turned to Willa, his eyebrow giving a wicked quirk. "And you, Hawley? You game?"

Willa nodded, unsettled by the sudden attention. "You know me, Liam. I'm always game."

"Then a toast to our host. To Declan!" Liam raised his glass high.

Declan's lips fell into a pout. "Not Declan. You can call me Prime."

Liam laughed, but Willa resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Declan's TikTok nickname was not only puerile, but in distinctly poor taste.

Nonplussed, though, Liam shouted again. "Thanks, Prime. "

"To Prime!" Eden called out, raising her glass in a toast. Everyone else echoed her. The deep amber liquid glinted in the bright kitchen lights, and Willa's heart raced. She hesitated with the shot glass at her lips, the smell of the liquor so strong it tickled her nostrils.

Drinking underage was stupid. Her parents would be shocked if they knew. But when else would Willa get this chance to win over Delaney's new friends? And maybe impress Liam, she dared think.

The shot went down like gasoline, and Willa wasn't certain if the burn in her chest was from the whiskey or the glow of the group's approval.

All she knew was that she could get used to this feeling.