Basorexia - J.MAGUIRE

[3.64] halloween

The group all got ready for the concert at Erin's house as they had all collectively agreed that the getting ready process was much better than the actual event they were heading on. Chip, dressed in baggy white trousers and a tight white top, stared at herself in the mirror as she stuck on the gems and fixed her wings. She had been somewhat coerced into wearing a much tighter top than she ever had thought to wear so she was, naturally, feeling rather self conscious about it all. Orla, as if she had seen the look in her eyes, complimented the top and called it all different types of cracker - Chip from there pushed it to the back of her mind and tried to focus on having fun with her friends instead of letting her mind ruin the fun.

They, after Clare's Dad fashioned some sort of structure on the back of his car to transport them all there, walked into the venue with equal grins pulling on their faces. After their initial joy of being at the event had resulted in squeals amongst a few of the girls, Clare split away from the group in search of Laurie. Chip had, upon Clare's advice, given her some forms of advice on how to act around people that you liked as she was the only one who had had genuine success in the relationship department. She hadn't really known what to say but just gave the minimal advice that she could think of. But deep down they both knew Clare, when in front of Laurie, would forget absolutely everything and just attempt to stammer her way through her conversations.

Orla, James and Chip stuck together as they wandered around the venue, just checking everything out so they could get a sense of their surroundings. They eventually made their way to the bar, Chip planning to flirt with the bartender to get a drink with something a little stronger than the advertised lemonade within it. "There's hundreds of them!" Clare exclaimed, suddenly appearing next to Chip out of absolutely nowhere.

"Of what?" Michelle asked abruptly as she and Erin both rejoined the group, looking oddly suspicious and like something had happened between them.

Clare sputtered, unable to believe that not everyone knew what she was talking about given their surroundings, "There's clowns to the left of me, clowns to the right! It's like a- a clown shop!"

"And just like looking for her is out of the question?"

"They're wearing masks, Chip!" Clare fretted, arms flinging up as she gestured to the dozens of clowns that surrounded them.

"Right so they are," Chip responded calmly, absentmindedly watching a rather scary looking clown walk behind them. "But Clare... Masks can be removed, you know that right?"

"I say we just start whipping people's masks off," Orla shrugged with a mischievous grin. Following this, after little to no deliberation, the group all split off and went through all the clowns and began to whip off every mask they saw. Some did it forcefully, others politely asked them to remove them.

As Chip finished talking to another person about seeing under her mask, she saw a clown screaming at James on the brink of an attack. She did not know who this guy was - given the costume - but by assumption that no one else would physically engage in a fight with a teenage boy without cause, she had an idea who it was. She, and somehow all the others, coordinately attacked the man by running and grabbing at his limbs so James could escape easily and make a break for it. After the man had spotted Chip, and she had revelled in the sight of lines for her rings across his face, he turned his focus of attack to her. Ciara was in a rather easy position to run away so she did so, not wanting to engage in another fight that would bruise her knuckles even further.

She stood with James outside, then seconds later the other girls were chased out of the main venue and into the hall in which they both stood. Laughter erupted amongst all five of them, laughter which died down upon the sight of Clare and Laurie finally talking mere metres away from them.

Security, following the man who cried punch, suddenly descended onto the group and kicked them all out for initiating a fight - complete and utter bullshit that Michelle was rather glad to yell about. They all spilled onto the front steps, aggravation written on each person's face - other than Clare who just looked downright dreamily in various directions.

"Did Laurie plant the lips on you back there?" Michelle asked hurriedly as the group ford a sort of circle around Clare, awaiting the answer to the question.

"Yeah," she grinned, muscles pinching at the side of her lips. "We're going steady!" she exclaimed and the group all erupted into cheerful celebrations, glad that their friend was finally getting to experience the relationship side of life.

Erin spotted her Da behind Chip's head before anyone else did. Her deep frown was enough to cease all celebrations around her, a frown that was directly mirrored on her Dad's face. "What's going on? What are you doing here?"

Jerry sighed deeply, "Clare, love..."

-

In the hospital, they all squished into the same row of chairs while waiting for Clare to come back out of the main room. Not being family. They weren't allowed through the double doors. Clare's dad had had an aneurysm and was currently fighting for him life just outside those doors. Most of the time the group were silent, barring a few conversations about the condition and hopeful prayers but Chip was just silent. She held onto James' hand for dear life as she silently prayed thar Clare's Da would pull through and she wouldn't have to go through everything that Chip had. She wouldn't wish that kind of pain on her worst enemy, let alone her closest friend.

The second Clare came out of those double doors, eyes full of tears Chip leapt up and ran towards her. She didn't end the shake of the head she gave to the others to know what had occurred, she could just see it in her eyes. She was the first to hug her and the last to let go.