Before I Forget

The Chamber of Secrets

Sky was having fun.

It was a surprise to everyone, herself included, but an undeniable fact nevertheless.

It started on the dance floor. As soon as they walked through the doors with Demetri and the girls, and the beat hit her core, she knew that this, this, was what she had lacked. She didn't even need the opiates when the beat carried her to the center of the room, and her body reacted to it. The heavy thumping of the bass drum took over and soon she was sweating through her costume, her heartbeat matching the rhythm of the music as she let go of everything.

The next best thing, after the music and her friends, was that she hadn't seen Hawk all night.

Well, that wasn't entirely true. She had seen him hanging out with Kyler - seriously, Kyler Park? - and some Cobras by the doors when she had arrived, but when she looked the next time, he wasn't there anymore and after that, no glimpse of the red mohawk had bothered her fun.

And from now on - the night could only get better. They had left the school dance and arrived at the after-party which took place at the home of one of the cheerleaders, a friend of Moon's named Annie - Sky didn't know her, but apparently, it didn't matter because everyone was invited. It had been a lifetime since Sky had attended a house party, and it was a lot more fun than she had remembered. There were awesome Halloween decorations everywhere - spider webs, skeletons, and real candles, there was dry ice in the punch bowl and the playlist was a perfect combination of dance hits and scary classics. Sky was on her way to getting happily drunk, downing her second beer and chatting with Sam and Moon in the living room, while Yas was somewhere with Demetri - sucking faces, Sky hoped.

Oh Yes.

That was the best part of this night so far. As soon as Yas had seen Demetri's Harry Potter costume, she had glared at Sky with narrowing eyes and said "You did this on purpose, right?" and Sky hadn't even bothered to deny that yes, indeed, it had been her who had hinted to Demetri that he might want to come as Harry instead of the Doctor Who he'd originally planned. The look on Demetri's face when he had seen that he was matching with Yasmine, was the best thing Sky had achieved in her whole damn life - and apparently, it had also erased every last objection of Yasmine's mind, because after that she had only had eyes for him, and well—

Now they were nowhere to be seen - which could only mean that this was the night when all Demetri's dreams came true, and Sky couldn't have been happier for him.

Noticing that her can was empty, Sky excused herself from the company of her friends and made her way to the kitchen in her search of more beer. The deep red punch in the huge bowl was oozing smoke all over the dimly lit kitchen, and Sky decided to pass, making her way through the crowd toward the counter where the beer was.

She noticed the boy before he noticed her.

He was leaning on the kitchen counter, talking with a group of kids Sky didn't know. A slim boy, wearing a long, black leather jacket that reached his ankles, cowboy boots, and a stetson, all equally black but with silver details, and even if he was standing his back to her, Sky recognized the posture, the slender built, the beautiful hand that held a bottle of beer by his thigh.

Sky felt a smile on her lips. Without hesitation she walked to the boy and laid a hand on his arm, making him turn around.

"Howdy, cowboy," she grinned. "What's up?"

The reserved look on Cody's face melted away the instant he saw her. His eyes widened and his mouth fell open, then turned into a wide, delighted smile.

"Oh my God," he said, glancing at her outfit, and then with a laugh, again. "Oh my God!"

"My goodness," Sky laughed. "This might be the first time I've ever seen you speechless. What - don't tell me you're a Potter fan too?"