He moved his way along like a slithering snake. The streets were empty and it was too dark to make out their names from afar, though even in the sunlight his blurred vision would have made this task equally impossible. He was drawn in this direction by the sounds and bright lights that seemed to echo down the pavement and into the very essence of his body. He slowly dragged his way to the door. His hand reached for the door knob when he noticed his reflection in the glass window giving him a small glimpse into the arena inside. He took a moment to pat down his hair and move it out of his eyes and made pressed down on his shirt that seemed at one moment too big and the other too small. Noticing a stain on his sleeve he licked his thumb and attempted to rub it out, but the stain was older than the night and resisted this. With a sigh (that was louder than he expected) he gave up and placed his hand on the shining golden globe and twisted it.
The door flew open with ease and he tripped over the slightly raised landing as he worked his way inside. The music seemed to be in a far off room as only the thumping of the base echoed through his body like a bad headache. Closing the door behind him with a slam he worked his way through the mazes of rooms to find one occupied. When he found one it was perfect, a gray carpet that seemed almost stain proof, tipped over ruby cups with dark liquid still pooled at the lower bottom, people in various states of consciousness draped over the furniture, and bottles, with more than enough fluid left in them to satisfy, lined up along a table.
He put on his best imitation of a straight face and walked towards the wall of bottles. Picking up a cup from the floor he filled it up a quarter full with the first clear liquid he could could find. He opened his throat and poured it down, the numbness of the night concealing any burn. Setting his cup down he steadied himself on the edge of the table, trying his best to look like he belonged among the others. A girl approached him, her hair and clothes mangled like she had forgotten whether she was dressing or undressing. “Hey, I haven't seen you before.” To him, her words dripped with innuendo that she didn't intend. He froze in his response, his mouth open as if trying desperately to save him when his mind couldn't. “Who do you know here?” she asked. A light “mmm” sound was all he could make out. “Maddie?” She offered.
“Yep! Maddie!” he replied.
“Oh great! That's cool.” she took a sip out of her own cup and stared at him. His thoughts were running wild but any attempts to verbalize them failed immediately. Seeing that he wasn't going to offer any more entertainment she turned to leave, “Well, see you around.” She walked back towards the group she had been apart of earlier, they extended their circle to let her rejoin quickly and quietly as if she had never left.
A sound of rushing water came from a door across the room and a well built man stepped out of it with the confidence of someone who had nothing left to lose. A menacing grin was the only feature of his face that was worth noting to the boy propping himself up on the other side of the party. The man strolled over and threw his arms around his shoulder. “How's it going buddy?”
“Pretty good.” The boy managed to slur out.
“Hey, who do you know here?”
“Maddie!” he said, a bit too excited he had remembered.
“Who?”
“Maddie.”
“That's funny, because I'm Matty and I don't know who you are.” All color drained from the face of the boy. He knew what would happen next. Matty stood back and seemed to puff himself up like a threatened cat. “Get the fuck out of here.” He said with the voice of a god. If the boy could have ran he would have, but the only thing his body could do shake. A single thought brought him peace. In the morning his only memory of this would be the bruises.
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