Later that evening, just as Michael was sitting down in the living room after his depressing bowl of soup, there was a knock at the door. He waited for a moment to see if Suzanne would come answer it, but when she didn't, Michael resigned to the fact that he would have to answer it himself.
He was relieved to see that the person on the other side of the door was someone he knew; Ari stood there, her white blonde hair wavy from the humidity, a curl of blue trailing sneakily past her ear.
"Oh, hi," Michael felt his face go hot when he saw her, although he couldn't explain why. "Um...I don't know where Suzanne went."
"Oh, that's okay," Ari smiled reassuringly. "I'm not here to see Sue. I actually wanted to ask you something."
"Oh?" Michael's heart sparked with curiosity.
"Yeah, I forgot to ask you earlier," Ari gave a sheepish smile before continuing. "tomorrow is Canada Day, and-"
"What's Canada Day?" Michael cut in. "Oh, is that like the Fourth of July?"
"Yeah, pretty much," Ari laughed. "um...but anyway, every year some of the kids from my school throw a party at this abandoned warehouse at the edge of the village, and it's...kind of a tradition. I was wondering if you'd like to come with us?" She bit her lip hopefully and then added, "It's tomorrow night."
Michael internally groaned. The idea of partying around all those happy people so soon after Grace's death made Michael's skin crawl, but disappointing Ari was the last thing he wanted to do.
"I don't know..." Michael said slowly. "I..."
"Oh, please," Ari begged. "It'll be super fun! Cake'll be there, and Wolfgang and Ashton, and some other people I'm sure you'll really like!"
Michael sighed. "I just really...don't like parties." He wished he could tell Ari that he couldn't possibly party and pretend like he could be happy only weeks after his sister had died, but who knew how she would think of him if she knew it had been his fault Grace had died?
"Please!" Ari pleaded. "I really want you to see what it's like, and this is your only chance!"
Michael licked his lips and decided to give in. "Okay, fine, I'll go."
"Yay!" Ari squealed. She jumped forward and wrapped her arms around Michael in a very brief, very tight hug before stepping back onto the doorstep, her face aglow. "You're going to have so much fun, I promise! We'll pick you up tomorrow night!" She turned around before turning back quickly to add, "Oh, and wear red."
And she skipped down the path and around the corner before Michael had a chance to ask who "we" was.
---
"We", as it turned out, was Ari, Cake, Ashton, Wolfgang, and a girl with more piercings than Michael had fingers that he was introduced to as Cacy.
They had pulled up in Ashton's old, blue, two-seater Toyota and Ari had excitedly knocked on Suzanne's door. Michael had answered, and he had nearly been swept off his feet by her appearance. She had pulled her white-blonde hair into a high ponytail so that it cascaded over her shoulders, and several soft curls that were too short to fit into the ponytail fell around her cheeks. Michael had felt his fingers itch to brush them behind her ear, but he had held back.
She was wearing a baggy, white T-shirt that hung off of one shoulder and was emblazoned with a bright Canadian flag, and a pair of bright red short shorts that made her long legs seem endless.
They had climbed into the back of the blue Toyota with Cake and Cacy (Wolfgang was riding in the cab with Ashton), and Michael had taken a hesitant seat on the wheel well, where he was now.
Michael was a city kid, born and raised, and he had never ridden in the back of a truck, so he was a little nervous that it might be unsafe, especially after...the accident, but it actually turned out to be a lot of fun.
The bumps in the road made staying firmly in his seat on the wheel well a sort of challenging game, and everybody was laughing and talking and playing truth or dare and the wind whipping in Michael's face felt cool and refreshing. They passed fields and forested areas, and they were soon on a badly maintained dirt road with more potholes than it had straight stretches. Luke was tossed into the air by one of said potholes, and fell in a giggling mass on the truck bed, which caused Calum to burst into laughter, which caused everyone but Michael to do so as well.
Maybe it was pure adrenaline, or maybe it was the fact that laughter is, as rumoured, contagious, or maybe it was, indeed, Luke's comical display of clumsiness, but Michael felt and giddy chuckle escape him, and soon enough, he was howling along with everyone else.
When the intense laughter died down, Michael noticed Ari giving him a curious look from where she sat to his right.
"What?" He felt his face curve into a smile.
"I've..." Ari smiled too, biting her lip. "I've never seen you laugh before."
Nor had anyone, Michael realized, at least not since Grace's death.
"You have a cute laugh," Ari continued, a wide smile still adorning her lips. "Your eyes squeeze shut and you kind of...throw your head back, I guess."
"Thanks." He wasn't sure why he had said thank you. It had felt like a compliment.
He felt the happiest he had in a long time. Even before Grace had died, he hadn't been that happy. He had thought he was happy, but he hasn't really been. It had just been a illusion of happiness, he supposed, brought on by schedule and monotony.
Michael's thoughts were cut off by a sudden jolt as the truck pulled to a halt. They had pulled into a large field that had obviously been transformed into a makeshift parking lot, as it was full of people's parked vehicles. Michael was shocked at how many cars there were. If some people had been carpooling like they had, then there were a lot more people than Michael enjoyed being around. A lot more. As in, at least a hundred more.
In front of the field was a large warehouse, an enormous, grey cube with a huge set of double doors.
As they got out of the truck and made their way towards the building, Michael noticed people lingering outside it, drinks in their hands. Solar powered fairy lights had been strung on the outside of the warehouse, making it possible to see in the rapidly fading light.
With every step they took towards the building, Michael felt his good mood fade. He could already hear the thumping of the bass, and it felt unnatural and jarring. He could already feel the people closing in on him, their damp skin grazing his.
"Come on!" Ari grabbed Michael's wrist and tugged him towards the doors, an excited look on her face.
They entered the warehouse, and it looked even bigger on the inside than it had on the outside. The floor was one wide, flat stretch, perfect for a dance floor, and it was packed with people, swaying to the music, lit with an eery glow from the dozens of strings of fairy lights hung around the room.
There was a stereo system set up in the corner, with several enormous speakers littered around the room. Michael guessed there must be a generator or something powering it, as the old warehouse couldn't possibly still be supplied with electricity. If there was, though, it was impossible to hear it over the din.
There was a set of stairs at the edge of the room, an entrance to a balcony that circled the perimeter of the warehouse, and people were up there too, talking, laughing, dancing.
Michael had never seen so much red in his life. Every single person was wearing it. Not just any red, though. Bright red. Canada red. Michael felt silly and out of place in his maroon plaid flannel. There was so much red that it made the room seem as if it was under a red spotlight. It made the room seem dangerous, unpredictable.
The red cups fit right in too, the ones everybody was holding. Michael assumed they had gotten them from a table across the room. He wondered if they were full of alcohol. They probably were. It was a high school party after all, and there was rarely one without at least a smuggled bottle of beer.
"Come dance!" Ari laughed, tugging at his wrists, trying to pull him into the mass of people. She had to yell to make her voice heard over the din.
"Uh...that's okay." Michael yelled back, trying to gently tug his hands free of her grasp.
"I feel like dancin' tonight!" She sang, grinning. "Do you know that song? All Time Low?"
Michael knew the song, but he most certainly did not feel like dancing.
"C'mon, Mikey," Ari trailed her hands up his arms until they were resting on his back. "Come dance with me!"
Michael felt the room begin to close in on him, and he yanked himself away from Ari, finding his way to the double doors and out into the clear night.
Ooooh. She just got REJECTED.
Kidding.
But kinda.
Anyway, if you guys haven't read it, I started writing a Lashton fanfic called Empty, an then I got really stuck on it for a while. But it's up and running again, and this time as a collab with my best friend @IckyIrwin a.k.a. Ryan, so feel free to go read that!
Loser_Luke a.k.a. Milo the grain silo
