For the damned | ✓

3

EVEN THOUGH SHE HAD been to parties in high school, Delilah couldn't help but be surprised at how big this one was. Amidst other huge mansions stood the frat house, every window spilling with dimmed, colored light and loud music thumping throughout the whole street. The lingering summer heat simmered warmly in the evening, her dress exchanged for a shorter one now, with moons and stars on the navy silk, a sheer button up blouse tied up above it. Her dark hair was in space buns and her lips were colored mauve, Theresa by her side in a crop top and flared pants.

"So, that friend of yours, he is meeting us here, right?" Theresa asked her, shouting to be audible above the music.

"Roshan and James are, yeah," Delilah nodded as they passed a group of guys passed out on the lawn.

She looked around, searching for someone else specifically, but when she didn't find him she just entered the house. The chaos inside was clear, the floor sticky and littered with red cups, people running around and laughing everywhere she looked. Theresa pulled her along through the crowd until they reached the bar, pouring a drink in for the both of them.

"Hey," Delilah asked her," I forgot to ask before, but do you know a Jonathan here?"

Theresa froze, only snapping out of it when the questionably pink juice in her cup overflowed.

"I do," she said, somewhat stiffly. She scraped her throat, recollecting herself as she looked back at Delilah. "Why are you looking for that asshole?"

"Just to relay a message from a friend of his," Delilah said. She took the roll of paper towels lying on the side and pulled off a few clean ones, wiping Theresa's hand clean. "Did he do something wrong?"

Her friend blinked at her, looking surprised by the move, but when Delilah simply smiled back she looked away guiltily.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap," she sighed," it's just - well, he's my ex and we broke up quite messily this summer. Unfortunately I had already made the plans to go to this university then so we'd be together." She handed Delilah a new cup, filled to the brim, nodding at her wisely. "Never make decisions when you're in love. That's the only life lesson I can give you."

"Why?" Delilah said, tilting her head so she could catch Theresa's gaze," I think it's beautiful to have a heart so gentle it allows others to reside in it." She flashed her roommate a smile, squeezing her hand. "Besides, if you hadn't come here, we wouldn't have met, right? Fate knows what she's doing, she is a woman after all."

Theresa looked like she was going to cry, her eyes wide and expression touched, but before Delilah could say anything else she had already enveloped her in a hug.

"I literally love you already," she said," I honestly was a bit uncertain if you were going to be into voodoo or some sort of satanic magic when I entered our room and you were placing all those charms of yours down, but I take it all back now."

"Voodoo isn't the same thing as satanic magic," Delilah corrected her gently," and I'm glad you do. When I last did my reading of the cards it told me we would be great friends."

"I absolutely need that," Theresa sighed as she pulled back and grabbed another cup of the counter," I seem to fall in love every other day, but I decided to try to change that, because I've had my heart broken one too many times. You seem like you could keep everyone around you grounded, with this whole spiritual thing you have going on."

"She does," Roshan said as he came up from behind the two of them, his confident smile resting on his face. "Delilah could die and she wouldn't even scream."

"You make the world feel like a calmer place," James agreed, a faint blush tinting his cheeks once he realized what he had said. He scraped his throat, awkwardly rubbing his neck as Delilah looked warmly at him, before quickly turning his gaze away  to Theresa then. "Hi."