Social Suicide

N I N E T E E N : The Devil You Know

SOCIAL SOLITUDE: ARISTELLE
Wednesday, October 31 2018
I was curling the ends of my hair when I heard a loud knock on the door. A smile consciously formed on my face when Spencer's voice traveled all the way to my bathroom. A short minute later, I felt his footsteps come up behind me. I turned around when I saw his face in the mirror.
"You're stunning." His tone was so genuine, it made my stomach flip.
"That was gonna be my line."
He swiped a hand through his hair. I finally strayed past his angelic features to inspect his outfit, then narrowed my eyes. "Did you talk to Molly?"
He looked down and grinned. "Whatever do you mean?"
"King Henry VIII?"
He grabbed my waist with both hands and pulled me close. It felt weirdly natural for us. "Maybe I'm a mind reader."
"That would be cool."
"Or maybe I just know you so well," he suggested.
"Hah. Now you lost me." I slid out of his reach to get my shoes. "Did you meet Miles?"
"Briefly. Nice lad. I didn't know he'd be here."
"Neither did I. He showed up a few hours ago. We were supposed to go to his place tonight until the weekend, but Molls told him I was sick and we would be late. He knew better." No matter how sick I was, he knew how much I loved Halloween. I'd always been a very punctual person.
"I see." He held out his hand for me. "Shall we?"
We followed Spencer and Vaughn in Molly's white Wrangler since Vaughn's car only had two seats. Mol and I could've squeezed in the back, but Miles wouldn't.
When they passed the frat's street, I narrowed my eyebrows. "Did Lucian say anything about stopping somewhere first?"
She was just as confused. "No. I have no idea where they're going."
I texted Spencer. I saw his silhouette move around to fish his phone out of his pocket.
(8:11pm) Aristelle: Where are we going?
(8:12pm) Spencer: Did I forget to tell you? It's on the football field
(8:12pm) Aristelle: Oh
(8:12pm) Aristelle: Why?
(8:13pm) Spencer: You'll see
"Well?" Molly asked.
I flipped my phone around in my hands. "Football field," I relayed.
Miles pulled himself forward and leaned against my seat, laying his chin on my shoulder. "Where are the parties usually?"
"The fraternity houses," she said.
"You seeing a frat boy, sis?"
"Aristelle is."
Oh, sure. Throw me under the bus.
Miles was quiet for a moment. "That other guy? What was his name again?"
"Holden," I mumbled.
"Holden," he sighed.
I heard a slight mock in his tone. "Can you not?"
"I didn't say anything," he defended, raising his arms and sliding back in his seat.
Molly parked the Jeep on a patch of wet grass by the road. The band Spencer hired was deafening. There were purple, orange, and white light beams shooting up into the sky.
"Damn. Guess this is why." Molly stared at the lit night sky.
It was basically a rave. This capacity wouldn't have fit at Pi Kappa Alpha. I didn't recognize a lot of the people I walked by.
Spencer texted again, telling us to meet them under the score board. They had to park on the other side.
"Elle!" someone yelled. I turned to see Zander. He studied my costume. "Who are you?"
I curtsied. "Anne Boleyn."
"Ah, a Queen. Fitting. You look—"
He was cut off by Spencer. He ran up from behind and lifted me by my waist. He twirled me around with ease and planted a rough kiss on my lips. Zander was quickly forgotten. When we disconnected, Molly pulled me away.
As I looked around a table for a drink that interested me, Miles leaned back against the fence next to it. "So... How long have you and Henry been together?"
"His name is Holden."
"Right, whatever."
I chugged a beer and poured something else.
"Well?" he urged.
"We're not together."
"You seem pretty together," he insisted.
"I don't know what you want me to tell you then. We started hanging out, like, I dunno... two weeks ago? I've known him since I was a freshman though."
"Why didn't you tell me about him?"
"Because there's nothing to tell," I said in a dry tone. "Like I said, we're not together."
"Oh." He stood there with a small smile before sauntering away.
Why was he being so nosy and overprotective? You'd think he'd be giving the third degree to Molly, not me.
I turned my attention to the music. The band was elevated on a platform and, I'll admit, the song was good. I guess it was worth the extra shift Spence had to work.
My focus zoomed in on the singer. He looked vaguely familiar, but I couldn't place his face. Maybe I had a class with him?
I spotted Zander again and made my way to him.
"Hey." I smiled and he returned it warmly. "Sorry for the interruption before."
"Don't worry about it. Everyone deserves their turn to greet you."
"Very funny."
It seemed like he was trying to look at anything but me. "I missed you at practice this morning."
I blanked for a second. "Right, today's Wednesday. Wow, my bad."
"Keeping yourself busy, I guess."
His tone was clipped now and when I looked back up at him, he was shooting daggers somewhere behind me. I followed his gaze to Spencer.
I narrowed my eyes at Zander. "Are we gonna have problems?"
He composed himself quickly. "No. No, of course not."
"Good." I walked back the way I came. Spence was leaning toward Lucian, who was between him and Molly. They looked upset, but I looked to her before they caught me trying to read their lips.
"What's with them?" I asked her.
"Not sure." She glanced around. "Where's my brother?"
I shrugged. "I don't know what the hell his problem is. Has he told you if anything's going on with him?"
"Anything like what?"
"He just seems different."
She pursed her lips, still searching the crowd for him.
"Hey, do you know if the guy singing goes to our school?"
"Hm?" She looked at me, focused now. "Oh, yeah, that's Niklaus Foster. A lot of students listen to his band. They're pretty good, I guess."
That name sounded familiar...
"Holden knows him," she continued. "He's center on the football team."
Nik from the football team! He was at the frat house the night I slept over with Spencer, the Sunday before last. I didn't hear his Irish accent in his singing voice. That must've been why I couldn't place him.
"Right. Yeah, they are good," I agreed.
Our conversation was effectively cut short when I felt a quick but heavy slap on my ass. Reflexively, I whirled around and right-hooked someone's jaw. The junction sent a shock through my body and I stepped back.
When half a second passed, I realized that it was something Spencer might do, but it was too late.
Thankfully, it wasn't him. When the white noise faded and my red vision snapped back to reality, I saw who it was. He was cradling his mouth, just under his bleeding lip.
Spencer stepped in, swiftly palmed his chest to the ground, and stood over him with his arms raised. "What the fuck?"
The stranger looked horror-struck. "It was just a dare, man, relax!"
"Piss off."
Spence turned to me and reached out for my hand to inspect it. "Are you all right, love? Do you know him?"
"Yes and no."
"Your knuckles will be bruised in the morning," he noted disapprovingly.
"I'll live," I quipped. "That felt good. I needed that."
He threw his head back in laughter. "You're going to be the death of me, woman."
I stared back up at him through my eyelashes, a small smirk playing on my lips. "That just means I'm doing my job right."
With one hand at the back of my neck and one gripping my waist, he kissed me ardently. He chuckled again when he pulled away, then pecked my forehead.
"Poor guy," Molly said in feigned concern. "He never had a chance."
"They never do." I winked at her. I was getting tired of yelling over the music.
Spencer handed me a drink. I thanked him. "You said you had to take an extra shift to pay for the band, right? Nik's on your team. Did he not give you the 'friends and family' discount?" I joked.
"Definitely not. He's not too fond of me. I gave the money to Luci to give to him."
Oh? "What did you do to him?"
He avoided the question. "I didn't know you knew him."
"I don't."
I let it go for now. I wasn't in the mood for drama. I would ask again if there was a reason to.
I decided to try someone else. "Is there something I should know about you and Zander?"
He squinted his eyes in incertitude. "Jackson?"
"That's right."
"Not something you wanna hear."
"Then why did I ask?" I countered.
"Can we talk about it later?"
"Nik is one thing, Zan is another. He's on my team, I see him a dozen times a week. He's my friend. I need to know if I'm gonna be pulled into the middle of it."
He looked me in the eye. "I assure you, you won't be... He would answer to me."
I hated this guy. I hated how something so small and stupid made my heart desist and my stomach knot. I cleared my throat and went to stand by Molly. "Wanna go find Miles?"
Without hesitating, she touched Lucian's arm. "I'll be back in a little bit."
He smiled at her.
Their connection seemed effortless. I wasn't exactly sure where their relationship stood, but it was obvious there was something good there. I wondered if she had seen Cassie again after bowling night.
I missed Tyler. Not that I'd ever admit it to her. He wasn't her first love, but he was my favorite.
Her first love was a cunt. Lucian was at least an upgrade from her. And he made my Molls happy, which was ultimately all I cared about.
"Why did he come if he was just going to disappear?" she wondered out loud. I was thinking the same thing. "He doesn't even know anybody here."
"That doesn't matter to most guys here. He's probably hooking up with someone under the bleachers."
She frowned. "Gross, Elle."
I fought a smile.
"I guess you're right. He did seem kind of off in the car... Kind of around the Holden part of the conversation," she hinted.
"Oh, don't start. We're not in high school anymore. That ship sunk before it sailed."
"Alright, alright. Sue me."
"I'm already your sister. We don't need a piece of paper to prove that." I pretended not to notice her shit-eating grin. "Revel. I'm not repeating it."
"Okay, real question." She stopped walking. "Are you apathetic or just stoic?"
I paused mid-step to face her. I stared for a long moment before continuing my path without replying.
"Was that offensive? Because you know I would never—"
"I'm not offended."
"Because I get a kick out of the things you say," she reassured me. "Really. I just wonder sometimes."
"I didn't answer because I don't have an answer. I don't know. I just feel what I feel."
"So you do feel."
"Where the hell is he?" I slammed the family restroom door shut. "He wouldn't call a cab without telling you, would he?"
She sighed, giving up. "No. I don't think so, no." She jutted her chin toward the men's room. "Go check in there."
I wrinkled my nose in disgust. "You go check in there."
"The fumes in that place are a literal crime against humanity."
"You suck," I mumbled. I took in one last gulp of fresh air before stepping in. "Miles! Are you in here?" I kneeled down to look under the stalls, waited five seconds, then jogged back out. "Nope."
"Ugh. I'll call him."
I stared at her with bug eyes. "You couldn't try calling him before I went in there?"
She giggled, putting the phone to her ear. "Please don't ever tell me what you saw in there."
We were walking back toward the guys now. I heard the dial ringing.
Molly scoffed. "Voicemail. Jerk. Okay, I'm officially worried now."
I noticed the crowd wasn't as spaced out as before. The music suddenly stopped and I heard screaming, chanting. I couldn't understand what everyone was saying.
I tapped on a guy's arm. "Hey. What's going on?"
"Two meatheads started a fight." He rolled his eyes.
I was fully aware of how long I actually knew Spencer, but I still somehow knew he was part of it.
I grabbed Molly's hand to keep her with me as I pushed through to the fight, not even bothering to excuse myself. Not that they would hear me anyway.
Now in view, I watched Spencer get punched in the face by Matthew. I tried to let go of Molly's hand and go after him, but she held me back.
Where the fuck is Lucian? Why isn't he doing anything to stop them?
I yanked my arm from Molly's grip and yelled Spencer's name as loud as I could. Neither of them reacted, so I decided to step between them as soon as I saw an opening. Spencer kneed Matt's stomach and he stumbled back a few feet.
I faced Spencer to assess when I got in the middle. His eyes softened for just a split second before rage filled them again. I turned back to mouth off Castro. Just before we locked eyes, his fist met my left cheek and everything went black.