They don't hear from The Divide for the rest of the weeks. Earlier October keeps them busy, with the play premiering soon, rugby games approaching soon, and midterms littering each classroom, a tripping hazard.
As always, the members of The Divide excel. So, they manage to find the time to attend the party together. Some of them arrive together. Roman, Jetta, Tom, and Vieira arrange to share a cab. It's a decent ways away, after all. The student who owns the house, apparently, has a connection to the staff underground lot which allows him to commute every day. Such is the life of athletes; they are elite everywhere and Hawkwood is no exception.
They arrive just as the party is getting into swing. Tom and Jetta delayed them since they know when parties typically start and didn't want to be the first on the scene.
They are greeted by Kai, who holds two massive bottles of vodka. He runs over, laughing at a joke told by one of his teammates.
"Well, that's almost half of us," Kai says. "Did the others come with you?"
"Should be here soon enough," Jetta offers. She takes one of the bottles from Kai's hands. "Shot glasses inside?"
Kai grins and winks. The two tear off into the house after each other.
Roman shakes their head and follows after, gesturing for the other two to join.
Tom bends slightly and offers Vieira his hand. She tentatively takes it, letting his palm wrap around hers. Fingers squeezing each other tightly, they head into the party.
Jetta and Kai are already pouring shots. They both cheers and pour one back. They exhale, their throats ablaze and their eyes glimmering despite the low lighting. Kai looks over at Jetta. From her heavy make-up and big hoops, she finally looks like she belongs.
"You're better at that than I am, and that's saying something," he pounds on his chest and coughs, smiling at her.
Jetta scrunches her nose, her tongue pressed against the back of her teeth as she smiles. She shakes her head at him and brushes back, "you're not too bad yourself."
Ez pulls up to the house and pays the cab driver, shooing him away. He has a book in his hand, and he finds a spot on the stairs inside the house. People have to squeeze past him, but he doesn't care. He secretly hopes someone will be interesting enough to talk to him about his book.
When Evelyn arrives, she sneaks through the crowd. She finds her way over to Roman, who offers a friendly wave but doesn't speak. Normally chatty, they find that Evelyn sucks the air out of the conversation.
Oblivious, Evelyn begins to rant and ramble, despite her sobriety.
"Do you think Tom and Vieira are a thing yet?" Evelyn begins. "They are just so cute together, you know."
Evelyn points across the room, where Tom and Evelyn are dancing. While they have stopped holding hands, they stand out in the crowd. Their goofy dances and giggles single them out as people who do not belong at a dim-lit grind fest.
"Small minds discuss people," Roman offers.
"Hm?" Evelyn says, turning her head. "Sorry, it's hard to hear you. Also, I was zoned out looking at them dancing."
In the cab on the way over, Briar and Ellie exchange information. Poppy is healed, the campus police will do nothing, everything is as it was before the events of the previous weekend happened.
Their car pulls up at the same time as Luis' taxi. Normally late, Luis actually made good time. If his goal is to find Kai and talk to him, at least semi-sober, he needed to arrive early. Luis loses track of time like the insane lose their minds. It's perpetual.
They exit together, wave hello, and head into the house. The music is raging, and they swear the floor might be shaking from all of the poundings of the dancers.
While Briar makes her way into the crowd, dancing with strangers and drinking liquors that men bring her, Ellie and Luis meet at the table. Kai is still there, with Jetta, chatting.
The longer the conversation has been going, the more insufferable Jetta thinks Kai is becoming.
"So, yeah, I showed those football guys a thing or two," Kai finishes. He turns to see Ellie and Luis, pouring each of them a shot.
As soon as he looks away, Jetta rolls her eyes.
"Come on, you've got some catching up to do," Kai grins. "Jetta and I are three drinks deep."
Ellie looks at Luis, who is already pounding back the liquor. Ellie raises it to her lips and swallows. She's not a drinker, and the liquid is more bitter than wine. While Luis sucks in a breath, Ellie tries to hide her cough.
Kai sees one of his friends and disappears into the crowd. Jetta narrowly escapes his hand, as he goes to pull her along.
"Can either of you even stand him?" Jetta asks.
"No," Ellie laughs.
Luis pours himself another shot, to avoid answering the question. While yes, Kai is a little bit self-oriented, he's not bad on the eyes.
The party continues for quite some time before Felix arrives. He walks in through the front door, and the first thing he sees is Ez on the stairs. What a pretentious motherfucker. He approaches Ez and sits down on the stair next to him, "you're reading a novel on the stairs at a party?"
"It's a collection of short stories," Ez clarifies, rolling his eyes. "Charlotte Perkins Gilman is a fas-"
"I bet Roman's read it," Felix says. "Maybe grab a drink and go talk to them about it?"
Ez gets up, shakes his head and heads into the party.
Felix feels like he's done something truly altruistic for the first time in a long time. Well, not entirely altruistic. Now it'll be easier to go to the bathroom when he inevitably pukes up his guts. Alcohol, especially on an empty stomach, does that.
Ez fills a red solo cup with coke and rum. As he walks through the party, he finds a spot on the couch next to Roman. Roman sees the opportunity to dodge Evelyn and seizes it, like clinging to a rope hanging over the abyss.
"Is that The Yellow Wallpaper?" Roman asks. "My God, I had an English teacher in high school tell me it was about insanity, and not you know, the plight of women at the time."
Ez's eyes light up. He's ecstatic. Thrilled, even.
Evelyn gets up, not bothering to bother with it.
Just as she passes by the door, Poppy arrives. She knows it's risky to be here. Among them all. Too many eyes. Someone brushes her shoulder and she grits her teeth. Risky, but worth it.
She watches as Evelyn approaches Kai in front of a few of the other members of the rugby team.
"Hey," Evelyn says, her voice high-pitched.
"Let me get you a drink," Kai says, about to move.
"I don't drink," Evelyn says, feeling herself deflate. She thought he would remember from the first time they met.
"Oh come on," someone says, "you brought this uptight bitch to the party?"
Evelyn feels herself freeze. She waits for Kai to defend her, but he sips on his drink, avoiding eye contact. She thought he liked her. She feels her stomach dropping.
"I'm not uptight," she corrects.
"So you are a bitch then?" the man asks.
A chorus of laughter erupts. Everyone likes music, but the harmonies don't hit Evelyn's ears well. It unsettles her. It makes her uncomfortable. So, with her nose turned high and tears in her eyes, she leaves.
Poppy slips after her.
Across the room, Vieira is beginning to feel drunk. She's had a few drinks too many, and while Tom has had none, she doesn't mind. She likes his presence. She likes how he rants about films and she likes everything about him.
She doesn't think she can lose him as a friend, and she knows where this is going.
"Umm, I should go," Vieira says.
Tom watches as she darts through the crowd, running away from him.
"Vieira!" he calls, chasing after her. He grabs her hand and pulls her back in. He forces a smile on his face. "Where are you going? We're just dancing."
Vieira leans forward and puts her head against his chest. She's too drunk to fight. At this moment, maybe even too drunk to stand.
Nearby, Felix darts up the stairs. He makes it to the bathroom just as Jetta opens the door. Inside, he pukes.
Jetta runs back inside the bathroom, closing the door behind her. She pulls his loose hair behind his head to prevent the entirely liquid upchuck from dirtying the thin black strands. Felix, who normally is indifferent to Jetta, doesn't mind. He pukes and pukes until he collapses on the bathroom floor.
"You good?" she asks.
"I'm fucking fantastic," he rolls his eyes.
She puts her arms up in defence, "I don't have to watch over your ass."
She goes to leave, but Felix grabs her ankle, "stay."
She obliges, sitting down on the bathmat in front of the shower. Felix curls up beside the toilet. He is sure his hair is going to be filled with dust, but he doesn't care.
"I don't know why everyone hates me," Felix says.
Jetta scoffs, "you're like, purposefully obtuse, you know?"
No, he's not. He's just perfect. He has to be. He has the entire weight of the universe on his shoulders. Jetta's a scholarship kid. She couldn't begin to understand the pressure.
Then again, saying that kind of stuff is what has gotten him puking, alone, friendless.
"At least your honest," Felix says.
Jetta swallows. She has secrets that would get her ostracized, maybe even killed. Though she doesn't have to disclose that she is trans, she can't help but feel like a liar and a coward. A fraction of the hero that Roman manages to be.
In the backyard, Poppy trails after Evelyn. She finds her, knees pulled up to her chest, sitting on the back porch. Poppy sits down next to Evelyn.
"I know something that'll make you happy," Poppy points out.
Evelyn looks up, "sorry?"
"Copy me," Poppy sticks out her tongue and pulls up a thin strip of what looks like film.
Evelyn mirrors Poppy, sticking out her tongue. Poppy places the film on Evelyn's tongue, and it dissolves.
"Come back to me when you want more," Poppy says, and makes her way back inside.
It takes a minute for it to kick in, and then Evelyn feels like she is bouncing off the walls.
Downstairs, Luis sees a guy begin to carry off Briar towards the staircase, but her feet are barely moving beneath her. She looks more like a doll than a person. She isn't even tripping on her heels. They drag on the ground behind her.
Though he is drunk himself, he pulls and Ellie over to Briar.
"Hey, come on," Luis looks to the guy with Briar, trying to be as chill as possible, but he can feel his heart racing. "Maybe find someone soberer."
"She's fine," the stranger insists.
"No she's not," Ellie says. She grabs Briar by her cheeks, patting the sides of her face. Though she is standing, Briar is gone. She tries to speak, but the words are so slurred that Ellie can't make them out.
"Listen, you could pull anybody at this party," Luis says, eyeing up the guy. "Why waste your time on someone who is this drunk?"
The guy looks at Luis, and then bolts, charging through the party.
"Weird," Luis says. "Should we get her a cab?"
"We should get her an ambulance," Ellie says. "I think she's been roofied."
~~~~~
This was a shorter but busier chapter. I had to get it out into the world.
Also, stay safe. If you guys ever go to parties, make sure to watch your drink. What happened to Briar isn't her fault for sure. Things are just scary. There was a big event in Canada where around 30 women were roofied at a university recently. I wanted to bring awareness and, don't worry, it adds to the plot of the story.
I'll see you all soon.