This isn't weird.

Mazel Tov!

 "This is going to be so fucking fun, Millie! I literally cannot remember the last time you and I were at a party together!"

Tess was bouncing on her heels, mashing the top floor button as if it would make the elevator move faster. She was dressed to impress in a slinky, backless gold dress that left little to the imagination and stilettos that made her tower comically over her already much shorter companion.

"That's probably because you always ditch me five minutes in to go chase after some hipster dick," Millie replied, elbowing Tess lightly on the side. She looked practical in comparison, in a forest green wool dress and boots, but she was still freezing. As a general rule, she was morally opposed to the idea of wearing any sort of dress in the winter, but Tess had insisted. She had even been cajoled into wearing red lipstick. It was a party, after all.

"I do love some hipster dick," Tess said with a happy sigh. "But we both know you're going to be the one ignoring me for Ben all night, anyway."

"I am not!" Millie protested. "I'm here to hang out with both of my best friends. Assuming one of them doesn't elope with the first unemployed drummer to offer her a shot."

"No promises," replied Tess with a grin, but then her face became momentarily serious. "For real, though, do you need me to stay close?"

"I'll be fine, Tess. Ben promised to look out for me if I get too tipsy."

"Yeah, but who's gonna look out for Ben?"

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Just saying, he's never met Drunk Millie. Poor guy has no idea what he's getting himself into."

"Stop being dramatic. I'm just gonna have one or two. You don't need to worry about me, you can go have fun."

The elevator dinged. Tess grabbed Millie by the arm and pulled her through the doors before they even had time to fully open. When they reached their floor, Tess pounded impatiently on the door. Ben was the one who opened it, and Tess launched herself at him, throwing her arms around his neck. "Bennnyyyyyy!" she shouted. "Thanks for inviting us!"

"Woah!" Ben was nearly knocked off his feet, but he managed to grab the door frame in time to steady himself. "Of course. Come on in." He made eye contact with Millie, who smiled at him apologetically. Tess let him go, and he almost lost his balance again as she flounced past him.

"I probably should have warned you about Party Tess," Millie said as she stepped inside.

"Yeesh, how much pre-gaming did she do?" Ben asked, closing the door behind her.

"None. Believe it or not, this is Zero Drinks Party Tess. Aaaand she's already found the tequila."

There were already twenty or so guests inside, a motley but intensely fashionable crowd. The lights were out, but the room was illuminated by three film projectors. One projected what must have been Indigo's work onto the far wall, oddly spliced, black and white footage, depicting seemingly random, mundane moments of day-to-day life, shot from inexplicably disconcerting angles. At that moment, it was playing a close up shot of Indigo, visible only from his mouth to his chest, eating an entire jar of jellybeans very, very slowly. From what could be seen of his face, he did not appear to enjoy them. Another was projecting onto the ceiling; a silent film Millie couldn't name, though she recognized Charlie Chaplin. The last projector wasn't pointed at any particular flat surface; its light spilled disjointed images across the room, over the faces and bodies of the partygoers, breaking up over a window in the dividing wall to the kitchen and crumpling over a corner before spilling into the entrance to the hallway. It took a great deal of puzzling for Millie to realize it was playing a continuous stream of episodes of Little House on the Prairie.