High Life | ✔️

30

I blinked as I took in the room before me. It had red strobe lights, casting eerie glows on the faces and forms of students currently gyrating to a G-Eazy hit. It was surreal to watch the languid movements of my schoolmates as they lost themselves to the music. The speakers were phenomenal, dynamics were loud, they penetrated my skin, made my bones vibrate and flooded me with an intense desire to dance. It wasn't anything like those parties they held in forests.

This was the real deal.

It wasn't a large gymnasium, but it had doorways leading to rooms of sizes I couldn't determine. The walls were cement rendered, with torn posters - probably the product of cheap glue. Any other time of the year it would make the place look trashy, but on Halloween night they looked festive.

I could see the effort that went into decorating the venue - plastic skeletons and cobweb dangling from the ceiling, ice boxes filled with blood red ice, blood red fruit punches topped with gummy eyeballs... not much needed to be done for the walls. I could see ripped posters dating back to the 1990s. I wondered why they no longer used this gymnasium.

I located a bottle of Jack Daniel's, downed enough, before deciding to ditch my coat and... just, let the night take over. Tipsy from the whiskey, I decided to explore the place. There was a DJ constantly demanding cheers from the participatory body, which made it slightly difficult to maneuvre the place. I'd lost track of the number of people who'd palmed my ass - but who cares.

The rooms were located on the furthest end from the DJ. They were noticeably quieter, and exponentially less rowdy, facilitating conversation along with all forms of PDA. I averted my gaze from a couple making out in one corner, only to have my gaze land on Jaxon Ortega.

Relief was the first emotion I felt. I prided myself in being this independent person but a small part of me worried that I wouldn't find a single familiar face tonight. We are after all social creatures with social needs.

Jaxon was flanked by a group of males, and they seemed to be in serious conversation. Well, serious for an event like this. I gingerly approached.

His friends didn't really look like Faction Five members. Jaxon's friend, the one from the bathroom a few days back was the first one to spot me.

I watched as his jaws visibly slacked.

"What?" I could hear Jaxon asking his friend.

Then Jaxon followed his friends' gaze, landing on me.

His jaws seemed to harden before he excused himself from his friends. I didn't know what to do. My heart was thundering. I glanced at my empty hands, regretting my decision not to grab another drink. As Jaxon approached, I crossed my arms, trying my best to conceal the amount of skin on display. My attempts were of course futile.

"What exactly are you supposed to be?" He asked when he was in vicinity. He sounded like... nothing. He wasn't revealing any emotions. It was a controlled calm.

"I don't really know," I admitted quietly, before taking my time to study Jaxon's costume.

He didn't seem to have put a lot of effort into his costume, at all. In fact, the longer I stared, the more it looked like he had half assed-ly draped his lab coat over black ripped jeans.

"You're one to talk considering your lab coat outfit," I finally said.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said. His eyes seemed to be everywhere but on me. "I'm clearly dressed as a scientist."

"Lazy," I said under my breath.

He scoffed. "And what are you? A porn star?"

I let out an involuntary snort of laughter. I hadn't realized how good it felt to laugh, genuinely. The past few days were hell to say the least. I had tried my best to drown myself in studies, as a distraction from the imminent trouble that my parents would find me in.