BLACK ROSE

The favourite basement.

Alex. 

I shut the door behind me, and appreciate the familiar smell. Lingering in the cold air in the familiar and my absolute favourite basement.

There's a belief going around people from down here, that Ray's house was built for parties. Maybe the impression is raised by the architecture of the house, by the big front porch or the neonish green grass. Or perhaps the huge pool in the backyard alongside the jacuzzi that draws people to it. Or it's the interior – modern, spacious, yet with a hint of classical history, and of course, the bar with a wide range of alcohol. Name your drink and it shall be crafted.

His house surely was built for one purpose – to leave an impression. Unforgettable impression. Passing by it once, you'll want to come back. Just to see if that cherry tree perhaps hasn't bloomed. Or to see if the windows are still perfectly polished. There's something about this house. Though we believe the heart of this house is this basement.

The wicked history of basement hangouts dates back to over ten years ago. We haven't created this unhealthy trend, simply taken over heredity. We're the second generation, Nico being the only one from the first.

Just like we're not the first generation, this house isn't the first house to be used. The history of this basement hangout trend is turbulent. What we've created now is much different than what it used to be. Though the initial idea to get high and smoke and drink stays. The inner circle always remains the same – everyone else is just here to fill out the space. They don't even know how irrelevant they are, the feeling of being 'invited' to a secret hangout here is enough to cloud their rational perceptions.

"Alex!" Francis shouts at me, waving with a smile. "Have you seen Parker?"

I shake my head.

We did come together, with Mae and Ace too, but where they are now is beyond my knowledge. Mae's probably still upstairs, stopping by her new friend before disappearing for a long time. Sometimes I feel sorry for her, the lies Mae keeps from her. But there's a price you have to pay for being friends with Mae, with us all. And lies are usually it. The closer they'll be getting, the more entangled in a wicked web of lies she'll get.

"Want a joint?" Sophie generously offers me the other half of hers. I stare into her eyes, noticing the slightly dilated irises. The ratio of her dark blue eyes and black irises is becoming dangerously favourable to the black.

"Not yet, but thanks."

I take a seat on the couch, as I usually do.

"What are we actually doing here?" I ask Sophie, though it's meant more as a rhetorical question. She doesn't have to answer, in fact, the music swallowed my question I wouldn't mind.

But she looks at me, frowning ever so slightly. And then she shakes her head. But I know I've already inserted that bug in it, raising the suspicion that this is bad.

"I say we get a drink," I stand up and turn to her. "Anything you want?"

I suggest a couple of drinks I can mix with the random alcohol down here, sprawled on random tables all over the room. But Sophie turns down all of my ideas, shaking head every time. Eventually she wishes for a drink that requires me to go upstairs.

"Oh, no." I shake my head. "You're coming with me."

Without giving her a second to object, I grab her small wrist and drag her after me. With a figure so small and fragile I drag her behind me with ease, though I can feel her stomping her feet and fighting against me.

We pass Heather, who flashes us a smirk. To Sophie's call for help she grabs her free hand, pulling her back to her.

"Are you cheating on me, Alex?"