Ch. 3 — First Party Night
1098 Words
By the time the sun dipped behind the Manhattan skyline, Ruby was already exhausted. Not physically—she hadn’t done much besides drag boxes from one room to another—but emotionally. The move, the unpacking, the strange city sounds, the overwhelming newness of everything…it all pressed down on her like a weight she couldn’t shake off.
Her mom had gone to bed early, claiming she needed a “fresh mind” for her first day at the new job. Ruby brushed her teeth, tied her hair into a messy bun, and tried to convince herself she could just sleep this whole awful day away.
But then the music started.
At first, it was a low thump. Like someone dropped a box downstairs.
Then it turned into a steady beat. Like drums pounding against the walls.
Then the bass kicked in so violently the floor under Ruby’s feet vibrated.
Ruby froze, toothbrush halfway to the cup.
“Oh, you have got to be kidding me.”
She walked to her bedroom window and slid it open. The cold night air hit her—and so did the chaos next door.
The Kingston house was glowing like a festival. Fairy lights sprawled across the backyard. Teens—lots of them—were dancing around the pool. Music blasted loud enough to shake the trees. Laughter, shouting, splashing… The whole neighborhood probably felt it.
And at the center of it all, of course, was Kai Kingston.
Ruby stared down at him, leaning against a railing near the pool, a drink in hand, surrounded by people like he was the sun and they were planets orbiting him.
He didn’t look like a high school senior; he looked like the poster boy of a celebrity summer movie—tall, athletic, jawline sharp enough to cut diamonds, black hair messy in an intentional way, wearing a white tee that somehow made him look even more annoyingly perfect.
Ruby gritted her teeth.
“He just had to throw a party. On a Tuesday night. Why not.”
She shut the window and closed her curtains. She turned off the lights and climbed into bed.
Five minutes later, she turned them back on.
There was no way she was sleeping through that.
She pulled the pillow over her head. The bass laughed at her attempts. Mockingly. Rhythmically. Loudly.
Ruby sat up again.
“Okay,” she muttered, “that’s it.”
She marched to her bedroom balcony. It wasn’t huge—just wide enough for a small chair, some plants, and apparently now, a sleep-deprived new girl about to lose her mind.
She slid the balcony door open and stepped outside.
Kai’s backyard was directly below her.
The party lights flickered across her face. The music pounded against her ribs. It was like being in the middle of the chaos without being invited.
Ruby placed her hands on the railing, took a deep breath, and yelled:
“HEY!”
The music didn’t stop, obviously. No one looked up.
She tried again, louder.
“HEY! KAI!”
This time, a few heads lifted. Some partygoers scanned the balconies and windows around the neighborhood. Kai was talking to a couple of guys near the pool when he noticed the sudden attention. He followed the direction of everyone’s gaze and finally looked up.
Ruby stood there, in her cartoon pajama shorts and oversized T-shirt, sleep-deprived and furious.
Kai stared at her blankly for two seconds.
Then the corner of his mouth lifted.
A lazy, amused smirk.
Ruby felt her blood boil.
He walked closer, stopping right beneath her balcony. The party swirled around him—people dancing, laughing, splashing water. But Kai Kingston seemed unbothered by all of it. As if this moment, this interruption, was just a slight inconvenience in his perfect night.
Ruby glared down at him.
“Do you mind?” she shouted over the music. “Some of us are trying to sleep!”
Kai lifted his drink slightly, like he was toasting her.
“Oh? Didn’t know I needed your permission to live my life.”
Ruby’s jaw dropped. “It’s a Tuesday night!”
“And?” he called back, grinning.
“And people have school tomorrow!”
“So do I,” he said, shrugging. “Doesn’t mean I’m going to bed at grandma o’clock.”
Ruby narrowed her eyes. “Not everyone functions on zero brain cells!”
He laughed—actually laughed—and a few people around him joined in, though they clearly didn’t know what was going on.
Kai tapped his wrist dramatically, even though he wasn’t wearing a watch.
“You might wanna get used to it, new girl. I throw parties a lot.”
“Yeah, I noticed,” Ruby snapped. “First day here and you’re already making sure I hate this place.”
Kai took a slow sip of his drink, still smirking.
“Hate away. I won’t lose sleep over it.”
Ruby leaned farther over the railing. “Well I will, genius!”
For the first time, his expression shifted—just a flicker, barely there. Annoyance? Surprise? Amusement? She couldn’t tell.
He raised the drink again.
“Cheers to your insomnia then.”
Ruby almost screamed.
He turned to walk away, but she shouted again:
“TURN THE MUSIC DOWN!”
He paused mid-step. He looked back at her. The smirk returned.
“Make me.”
Ruby’s mouth fell open. “You—! Ugh!”
He winked and walked back into the crowd. The music got louder.
“OH COME ON!” Ruby yelled at the universe.
She stormed back inside, sliding the balcony door shut a little too hard. She stomped to her bed, grabbed her pillow, and smacked it against the mattress.
“Arrogant. Self-centered. Narcissistic. Party-brained… UGH!”
Her mom snored peacefully in the room down the hall, blissfully unaware of the war Ruby was about to wage with the boy next door.
Ruby collapsed on her bed again, staring at the ceiling.
She hated him.
She hated his stupid smirk.
His stupid parties.
His stupid drink-raising gesture.
His stupid… face.
She groaned into the pillow.
This was not what she expected when she imagined “new beginnings.”
This was not fresh starts and peaceful nights.
This was chaos wrapped in expensive clothing and bad manners.
And he lived right next door.
By 2 a.m., the music finally faded.
Ruby drifted off with one last thought:
If Kai Kingston thought she was going to let him walk all over her… he was very, very wrong.
- Writer
