Friday / 9:41 pm / The Miller's House
Kali's POV
A low whistle filled the air as Kali Bowden climbed up the outdoor steps. Her hand vibrated to the beat of the music that was blasting out the two-story mansion. She had been to Tristan Miller's house more times than she could count, but she was always amazed each time she came; decorative lawn, stoned pathways, even the windows looked expensive. The glass door revealed teenagers mingling with their peers, some closer to each other to the point they were definitely not peers. Averting her gaze with disgust, she stepped towards the door.
A hand quickly shoved the door open before vomiting on the nice stone path, merely inches from Kali's shoes.
"Blaine wins!" a cry of voices shout from the front room. Pinching their nose from both the unfortunate event they just witnessed and annoyance, Kali remembered exactly why they never came to parties.
A staggering individual appeared at the door to look at the loser before she locked gazes with Kali. "Kali! You made it!" The blonde grabbed her hand and pulled her inside, before giving her a bone-crushing hug. Tristan's bedroom was the first room when a person walked into the house, and from the looks of it, every new arrival to the party was gathered in his room. This was definitely going to be harder than she thought.
Sighing, Kali patted the girl's back, just as Evelyn handed her a flower pot. Kali accepted it from her, as the girl tripped over her own feet. "Rosie, have you seen-"
"Oopies. The ship's rockin' again. Sit with me, Kali, before we fall overboard into the seaaaa," Evelyn fell against the table, dragging Kali and the expensive pot with her. "Ooooo marshmallows." The girl's hand inched towards the decorative bowl filled with white rocks and colorful flowers. Kali pulled her hand away before she could pop a rock into her mouth.
Setting down the pot, she pulled Evelyn away from the 'marshmallows' and onto a nearby sofa. "Evelyn, I need to find Tristan," she told her firmly. "Where can I find him?"
Eyelids half-closed, she leaned forward in front of her face. "Find who?" She quickly stood up, nearly falling on the low coffee table. "I do see a guy who can get to know me if you know what I mean?"
"I do not." Sighing, she pushed her back down and decided to go with a simpler question. "Evelyn, how much have you drank?"
Evelyn hummed loudly before replying, "Fourrrrr."
"Four what? Four cups? Four bottles?"
"Teennnn. Fourteennnn, yeah. Cups?" she hiccuped. "I think they were cups?"
Kali dragged a hand over their face, before spotting a familiar individual. Her eyes first landed on a dark tanned male carrying a heavy box away from a large group. His face was masked with annoyance despite the pair of sunglasses on his face. Nicolas Garica was not the most observant teenager, but at least he appeared to be sober, she thought.
A longing face caught her eye as he accidentally bumped into her and she felt herself freeze up. She watched as Nicolas quickly stopped to briefly speak to Shandlor, before returning to his destination, leaving Shandor to give him a genuine smile.
Her smiles are gorgeous, she thought as she continued to watch Shandor. Blinking, they buried their face into their hands to hide their embarrassment. Averting away from the girl, she focused back on Nicolas. It took her a few seconds to spot him, but his yellow shirt quickly separated him from the others and she watched him disappear behind a corner. New mission, integrate Nico nicely.
She almost snuck away before remembering the drunk Evelyn, who was now in the middle of a breakdown. "-I did not mean to crash into the hard liquor cabinet. It just happened! Then the glass just went woooosh and everyone went yay! And-"
"Rose, shush. Stop crying," Kali grabbed a handful of tissues and wiped her eyes and nose.
"But... but... glass went woosh... and-" she repeated.
"-And Kali says hush. We're going on a field trip, 'kay?"
Evelyn rubbed her eyes and nodded. "I like field trips. Are we going to the petting zoo... Wait no! Oh! Are we going to the candy store!? Wait, I did not get my permission slip signed."
Before Evelyn could get emotional again, Kali added. "This field trip does not require a slip. We are going to find Nicolas and talk to him."
"That sounds lame," Evelyn bluntly said, before clasping a hand over her mouth. "I mean exciting. Yay! See I'm very happy." She gave the widest smile to Kali, leaning heavily on her as they pushed past people.
Note to self. Next time just ask why I needed to come over rather than accept the text 'Just come over, please,' She thought at the text Tristan sent her. They found a single door opened near the end of the hall, while couples stood making out on the walls.
Internally groaning, they pulled Evelyn along as Kali covered her eyes.
"What? Are they fucking or something?"
"Evelyn, don't need to shout it to the world!" she hissed, nearly shoving her towards the open door. "But no... Not yet anyway and I'd rather not stand around and find out."
The room immediately dropped into the basement but was not like some horror theme film. The hallway light was already on, hinting someone was down there, and the walls and floor were a nice shiny white and gray. Evelyn was intrigued by the new style and she ran her hand across the wall as they walked down.
"I told you. You have to leave! I am allowed to be down here, and you are not," Nicolas' voice growled with impatience. The two of them paused, thinking his anger was being targeted at them, but his anger was quickly followed by a feminine voice.
"Mhmm, which is why your 'bestie' is nowhere to be found," she pointed out.
The silence between the two of them made Kali question if she should just quickly turn back before it was too late. She could see Nicolas' tanned hand twirl his pencil aggressively as he held in his anger, the other girl walked away towards the nearest shelf.
"I think he's angry," Evelyn informed the room loudly, once more. The pencil in Nicolas's hand stopped and he rushed towards the stairs to see the two of them standing there. "Oh hello! You aren't angry that you found us, right?"
Nicolas's gaze lingered on Kali for a few seconds before he quietly said, "No."
Evelyn clapped her hands and quickly walked down the stairs and gave him a hug. Kali started down the stairs after her but fell short of Nicolas. The mysterious female was dealing with Evelyn, with annoyance but was harmless nonetheless, leaving Kali to deal with Nicolas.
"What are you doing here, Kali? I didn't think parties were your thing," he asked quickly.
"They aren't, I'd rather be sleeping in my nice warm bed. That's why I came to ask you if you knew where Tristan was. He wanted me to come over, but did not say why... much less mention the party. Why are you here?"
Nicolas furrowed his eyebrows at her before quickly snapping out of it. "Stuff! Came to get some stuff that Tristan left for me. Found her in here when I came to gather it."
The two turned their attention to the female that was practically throwing candy at the girl. She watched as Evelyn gave her a thumbs up for the treats as she sat cross-legged on the floor. She brushed her black hair out of her face and mumbled something out of reach to the two teenagers.
"What do you think she gave her?" Nicolas whispered as the girl went to lounge on the sofa, her gaze fixated on the two of them for a moment.
"Evelyn hasn't killed over and died yet, so I think it's safe."
Raising an eyebrow, the female said aloud, "If you want what she has, you just gotta ask. No need to be whispering behind my back. Not that you all are doing a good job at it." She showed them a small bag of Warheads as she popped one into her mouth.
Before either of them could respond, the door at the top of the stairs slammed shut along with heavy and quick footsteps. "What are you two doing!? You can't be in here!" Tristan yelped at both Kali and Nicolas. His eyes widen once he saw the other two girls. "Four?! Father's going to kill me!"
A set of footsteps reached the bottom and appeared next to Tristan, which happened to be right next to Kali. Kali averted eye content with her while trying not to panic. Don't freak out. Don't freak out. Act natural, Kali. Everything is fine.
"Everything is fine, Tristan. Nothing's broken, so put on your big boy pants and tell them to scurry," Shandor said with a hint of annoyance at Tristan's state.
"We are right here," the female at the end of the room informed her.
Shandlor pursed her lips slightly before breaking into her fake smile. "Delta, what a pleasure to see you here."
"Can't say the same about you," she retorted just enough for them to hear, making Shandlor frown.
Seemingly ignoring them, Tristan turned to look at Kali. "Kali, my dear beloved friend, I am so glad to see you but very confused about what you are doing here, like in my father's private office here."
"Looking for you!" she said. "Your room was packed to the brim with people, which by the way, I was not given a heads up."
Tristan sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, "Sorry. I was not aware of this whole thing either until they arrived in wild packs. My parents left before I came home from-"
"Oh my goodness! Is that a cat!" Evelyn squeaked as a furry feline appeared behind Tristan, completely unaware of their conversation.
"Yes that is my cat, Patch," Tristan introduced to her with a tired sigh. The ginger cat slowly stopped once he became aware that it was not just him, Shandor, and Tristan anymore.
Evelyn instantly went to the cat and scooped him up. "Aren't you such a good kitty, Pouch!? Yes, you are."
Tristan started, "Uh-"
"Just let it go. She's drunker than a sailor," Kali told him.
"This cat..." she hiccupped. "This cat's name is Pauch-Pouch and I-"
Delta appeared behind her and pushed her towards the couch with the cat. "That's very nice, dear. Sit while the grown-ups talk."
Nicolas was the first to question, "How did you know we were down here?"
Tristan glanced at Shandor and said, "She saw you three disappear away from the party and noticed you never came back."
Shandor shrugged it off. "No better person to send then the resident himself. I didn't know she'd be here though."
All attention focused on Delta, who had just quietly stood there. Her forest green eyes glanced at each individual before she snapped. "What? So you found me snooping through some stuff. What more do you want me to say?"
Tristan narrowed his eyes and asked, "You didn't steal anything did you?" Kali assumed he was trying to be intimidating and assertive, but Delta's statue and gaze did not seem to help his tone one bit.
Rather than making a big deal out of it. She quickly showed her pockets, all empty except the candy, and rolled her eyes. Scoffing while she said, "Not everyone out to steal your fancy décor, rich boy."
"Good. I mean yes. I know. I..." he stammered. "Whatever. Just everyone out, please!"
The four of them did not even move when the sound of beating drums suddenly filled the air and deafened the party music completely.
"I'm not one to pay attention often, but I wasn't the only one that heard that right?" Nicolas asked the group, his pencil touching his lip with a worried tone. Tristan strayed away from the group and towards the single closed room. The four sober teenagers glanced at one another before following him. He opened the door to reveal a closed-off space with a large couch and tv screen. A few gaming equipment was scattered around, and Delta quickly took to it and sat herself down on the couch.
"Oh, it's just my dad's Xbox game. He left the game in and sound on. See," he flicked the controller on and the game came to life once more.
"Ooo give me!" Delta stretched out her hands for the controller, but Tristan held it close. "Awe come on. I just wanna see what your dad is playing."
Tristan slowly gave her the controller as the game flashed on the large screen. Rainforest sounds along with the same beating drum boomed out of the speakers along with the words "Jumanji: A GAME FOR THOSE WHO SEEK TO FIND A WAY TO LEAVE THEIR WORLD BEHIND" appeared on the screen.
"Man, your dad hates you all that much or something?" Delta asked him as the words disappeared and the main screen appeared. Kali turned to look at her friend, but he already turned away and went to grab the controller. Delta was in the middle of picking her character when the controller was snatched from her hands. "I was in the middle of choosing."
"Not yours anyway." He stared at the remote and all its buttons and knobs. "How do I get out?"
Delta sat up in the chair. "Press A and you'll get out."
"I'm pretty sure it's not-" Tristan did as Delta said, before Kali could finish, and ended up selecting a character rather than exiting.
Tristan twisted to look at Delta's smirking face, as she reached for another controller and turned it on. "I said exit! Not play!"
"Relax, it's just one game, Haven Careheart. Now I will be... Killa Bondmore," she read aloud, before turning to Kali and the others. "Mhm? You three joining?"
"I don't know... I don't do video games."
"Nonsense," Delta told him and dragged him to sit next to her with another controller. "Go on. Pick a name."
With the remote selected on the first default name, he clicked A. "White Featherbottom? Looks like he's not available. Here... you are now Professor Brighteyes. Seems fitting." Delta picked up two other remotes and practically threw them at Kali and Shandlor. "You two pick."
The two girls glanced at their remotes then each other. "I don't think-"
Kali glanced at Tristan who was slumped on the couch in defeat. The two met the eyes of each other and he shrugged.
"Fine. I'll be Sergeant Quinn," Kali announced as she climbed onto the back of the couch.
Following suit, Shandor did the same. "And I'll be Sharptongue. Sounds just as badass as Kali's character," she smirked at her and lifted her hand for a fist bump.
"Uh yes!" Kali smiled and did a quick fist bump to her.
"Darling petting the cat, we need you!" Delta yelled as she held up the last remaining controller. She had it selected on the last remaining avatar, Nurse Herbson.
"Are you sure the drunk should be the nurse, much less even play?" Shandor whispered to the group, just as Evelyn wandered over holding the purring cat.
"You talking to me?"
Everyone glanced to look at her before Delta wagged the controller to her. "You are holding a cat right?"
Evelyn glanced down and nodded. "I do believe so... am I not?"
Sighing, Delta grabbed her by the arm and sat her in front of her. "Press that little tiny circle button that bright green. You can't miss it. And this is what you'll do."
Shandor leaned towards Kali, and Kali could feel her gaze on her before she even whispered, "Again. She's drunk and everything's a never-ending circle."
Kali glanced at her before shifting away from her a little, her blossom perfuming engulfing her and make her head spin in a not so good way. Shandor seemed to notice her movements and moved back to give Kali their space back. She said the first thing that came to mind, in hopes Shandor didn't notice her long pause, "You speak from experience?"
It took all the amount of willpower to not die of embarrassment right then and there. Of course, she was! She's THE Shandor Lehman aka the most popular student at Silver Valley High School. Of course, she's experienced everything under the sun.
Shandor let out a chuckle that she looked like she was desperately trying to hold back. All Kali's embarrassment went away and was replaced with a nervous laugh. "What, Shane? Why are you laughing?"
Shandor shook her head and focused her gaze on the TV screen, before saying two heart-pounding words.
"You're cute."
Kali was sure she forgot how to breathe as she stared at Shandor. She could feel her cheeks and ears getting warmer by the second and was glad the room was only being lit by the TV screen. It took an amount of courage that she normally never cared about to keep her voice straight and even. "Uh, what?"
"You know, silly. Funny, hilarious? That's why you're my bestie," she clarified and gave her shoulder a playful nudge.
Kali nodded quickly and looked towards the screen, "Yes, of course!" She fiddled with the game controller while silently whispering to herself, "Besties for life..."
~~~
F in the chat for Kali
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Oop... uh so like yay next chapter they are going straight into the game no questions asked. Who's POV would you like to see next? I will do anyone except for Kali (of course, she got like 3032 words), Shandlor (she'll come later. Y'all gotta work for the Popular Girl thoughts... sorry Pauch), and maybe Eveyln (cause like she was mainly in this chapter for like most of it).
So you're left with Delta, Nicolas, and Tristan
And no White Featherbottom is not an option
;)
Now I shall go scream into a hole because of this chapter