Chapter Text
Music spilled out onto the street from the house that was practically moving on its own with all of the bass rattling its walls. People flooded in and out of the front door, they spread out across the yard in various collections of social groups that would never interact normally, and some had even taken to climbing the roof of the home, either by dare or by alcohol-induced idiocy. Whatever the case, the entire place was packed, and moving through it actively became a hinderance.
The house was owned by a wealthy family, and it was their daughter that had thrown the party. Someone that Zoey knew was far beyond her caste, yet she had still been grateful to have been invited all the same. Unlike in school, where her preference for baggy jeans and heavy sweatshirts would make her look out of place between the skirts and the tank tops, her current attire of a headband with blue striped ears that matched a similarly colored leotard, somehow fit right in between the zombies and the ‘80s throwback outfits. The whiskers and mask really helped to keep other people from recognizing her, and for the very first time in her life, she actually had people interested in talking with her directly.
Zoey made her way through the throng of convulsing bodies, all moving to their own beat rather than the music shaking the foundation of the home, to finally get into the kitchen. She expected it to be a lot busier there, but it looked like the punch bowl was fully open and available for her to indulge in. With a red plastic cup in hand, she topped off the small amount left behind after her first round and tilted her head back, drinking nearly half in one go.
“Heeeey, careful there! That stuff is strong.” The voice slurred from behind her, and Zoey paused in her drink to glance over.
She nearly choked on what was in her mouth.
The woman addressing her was someone else she knew was far out of her reach. Dressed in a ripped outfit with her tattoos on fully display and horns protruding from her forehead beneath very impressive makeup, Rumi was at the top of the totem pole. Popular in clubs, a perfectionist in choir, and somehow also the best cheer leader at the school, she was everything Zoey sort of wished that she herself could be. There was always a longing to be as cool as that, but she would never voice it, of course. Especially not now.
It was a little surprising that the girl seemingly couldn’t hold her drink, however. She was smiling away at Zoey with an expression that sent a light jolt to her heart, and leaning a little against the table with her own cup in hand. The contents of which was certainly not strong whatsoever.
“Uh…thanks for the warning,” Zoey offered with a little laugh, rubbing her throat to ease some of the pain from nearly choking.
“Just looking out.” Rumi smiled away. She paused and squinted, her eyes narrowing a little as she looked Zoey over. “…do I know you?”
“I mean, I do go to your school.” Zoey held her hands up awkwardly. “But I’m no one important, so don’t worry about-”
“If you went to my school, I feel like I’d recognize someone like you.” Rumi’s arm was suddenly draped over her shoulders, and she was pulled against the taller girl’s side. Her body was warm, to the point Zoey couldn’t stop from leaning into it almost desperately. Was she already buzzed? No, she hadn’t had that much to drink, but the touch was nice.
“Someone like me…?”
“Someone cute.” When Rumi said that, Zoey could feel her cheeks warming up significantly from that.
“Oh! I guess I…is that all?”
“You and I are going to have some fun tonight,” Rumi said happily, setting aside her drink to drag her along. “We’ll take over the dance floor.”
Zoey didn’t really fight against the pull. Really, her cheeks were starting to get unbearably hot, and she reached to pinch at her arm as if to check that she really was awake. To be invited along by the queen of the school felt like she was being set up for some kind of prank, and she subtly checked the upper level above her for a potential bucket of pig’s blood to be ready for it.
But no. Instead, they took to the dance floor, and Zoey felt herself really getting into the sway of the music. Bodies moved around them, pressing them in closer, and Rumi didn’t seem to have any problem with that close proximity.
And the craziness didn’t stop there. Another body moved in closer behind her, and she had to crane her neck back to look up into the face of a pink-haired, bespectacled angel. The host of the party, and someone known for wearing black and punk attire in school, was dressed in an oddly beautiful and sparkly dress that betrayed the very nature that Zoey knew her as. The smirk that she wore on her face as she looked down at her made Zoey’s heart skip a few beats.
There, pressed between the two of them, she couldn’t believe her luck-
”Okay, no, hold on.
”What?”
”I’m sorry, Rumi doesn’t know how to flirt to save her life.”
”Hey! I know how to flirt!”
***
Zoey blinked up from the notebook she had splayed open on her lap. On either side of her were the other two, dressed down in their usual comfy clothes. Mira currently had a facemask on for the evening, and Rumi’s hair was undone from its braid, taking up nearly half of the couch behind her. At her feet, the rumbling purrs of Tiger were audible, the sensation running up the length of her leg with her foot resting on top of him.
“You do not! Rumi, your idea for a date when we first started going out was work related,” Mira pointed out, jabbing a finger at her above Zoey’s head.
“It was not! It was a nice restaurant downtown!” Rumi countered, folding her arms with a huff.
“Yeah, a nice restaurant…while a photo shoot was going on!”
“We were in the area anyway, and it was quick!”
“It was a couple of hours!”
“Guys!” Zoey pouted, leaning back against the couch. Her voice at least caught their attentions. “Okay, so maaaaybe it’s a little unrealistic.” Her pout shifted into more of a coy smile, and she glanced up at Rumi. “Sorry, I thought of this because the first time I saw you drink, you were quite literally wasted before you finished the first cup.”
“I was not!”
“Rumi, you got on stage and started singing,” Mira said, folding her arms.
“It was a karaoke night!”
“It wasn’t your turn!”
“I wasn’t sure how to play with you being drunk, soooo I made you a flirt.” Zoey held her journal up proudly, and Rumi just huffed. It was clear by the way the other girl still looked fairly relaxed that she was putting on a show.
“You know, there’s one more unrealistic thing from that,” Mira piped up after a moment. She waited until both Rumi and Zoey were looking at her before she reached over and poked Zoey on the forehead. “You are not that awkward.”
“I used to be!” Zoey said, wiggling her book and letting some of the pages flop free from her hand.
“It’s hard to imagine someone as fun and spirited as you being shy,” Mira chuckled. She settled back a little, pulling out a compact mirror to check on her face mask. “…why’d you put me in a princess dress?”
“You’re not in a princess dress. You’re an angel, and you’re rebelling against your strict parents by throwing the biggest party in the town.”
“Sick. Sort of wish I’d had the courage to do that back when I was actually living with them.”
“What about me? Is being a demon bad in this world?” Rumi asked.
“No, no! It’s honestly a really cool thing, and you’re super popular because the tattoos you have go against what a lot of the other popular girls look like. And you’re also super kind to everyone around you.” Zoey flipped through a few pages. “I just…haven’t written about it yet.”
“Well, what have you written? How long does this go?”
Mira leaned over just as Zoey got to a page with some very in-depth drawings of what she wanted to have happen the night of that party. She promptly snapped her journal shut, feeling heat bloom in her cheeks and race down her neck. It wasn’t like the three of them didn’t enjoy each other’s beds some nights, but she was not an artist by any means! And she absolutely did not want either of them to see how she’d drawn them for this story…
“Awww, Zoey! I wanted to see that.”
“It’s not ready yet! I haven’t gotten that far!” Zoey laughed awkwardly before leaning forward to pull her stack of journals over to her, putting that one on the bottom. “Look, it’s not even one of my better pieces, either. I have way more stories that I’d rather read to you guys than that one, it just set the mood because tonight’s Halloween!”
“Are they all about parties?” Rumi leaned over to drape an arm around Zoey’s shoulders, much like Zoey had written which only made her cheeks burn more, and peek at the stack of journals.
“Mmm, I might have a few more in here. Honestly, I’ve been writing for so long, I barely remember what some of these are.” Zoey shifted the stack, grabbing one from somewhere in the middle and opening to flip through.
For the most part, it was innocuous. All she really saw were short blurbs, some stories that turned into lyrics and lyrics into stories, and a few drawings that she didn’t mind Rumi seeing. But it also meant that this one was boring and not worth reading, so she simply tossed it over the couch behind her and grabbed the next one.
While she was looking, Mira moved out of the corner of her eyes.
“I never really got the chance to go to a big school party like that before, much less throw one. Sounds kind of awesome.”
“I wouldn’t know – never got invited to one,” Zoey said absently as she started flipping through another journal. “No one ever invited me when I was in school, so I wrote that based off of some movie I saw. I always did want to go, though.”
The silence had her glancing up, which meant she just barely caught the slightly concerned expression Rumi’s face, though Mira’s was impossible to read with the face mask over it.
“What?”
“Well, they don’t know what they’re missing out on. You’re fun!” Rumi squeezed her, pressing her nose and mouth against Zoey’s cheek. The effort had Zoey laughing lightly, leaning away only to press against Mira on her other side.
“Of course I am! And that’s why I think I want that story to end with me being invited to all future ones that you throw, Mira.” She beamed, and Mira’s frame relaxed.
“Just keep trashing the place. Don’t care if the old bat’s precious jewels get damaged in the process.” Mira shook her head, accidentally dislodging the slumbering bird from his perch. She apologized with a gentle rub of his beak. “Honestly, though, it would be nice to experience at least one.”
Zoey smiled. Given the nature of both of their lives, it wasn’t surprising that neither had experienced any kind of party like that. It was something she actually had in common with them – one of the few things, because there were plenty of other things that she didn’t share with them.
It took a little while of flipping through journals before one cover caught her eye, and a grin split across her face as she held it up.
“Ahhh, I remember this one! Okay, I think this is the next one I want to read.”
“Yeah?” The other two settled back in around her as she flipped through the pages, only having to go a few in before settling.
“Hope so! Because I'm going to start whether you're ready or not!”