Dressing Up

Chapter 2: The Party

"I think this is it." Lincoln announced.

Lizzie smirked, "You sure?"

He checked his phone in earnest, "Yeh I think so. Twenty five Fisher Lane."

Lizzie shook her head. Did he not get sarcasm? They all got out of the car and she wondered for the second time that night if Lincoln might be a little dumb.

"So who do you know here?" Lizzie asked as they started weaving their way through the crowds. It was bigger than she'd expected. Apprehension shivered through her at the thought of trying to make conversations with strangers over the loud music.

Lincoln rubbed his chin, "A guy I met at the gym told me about it."

Lizzie nodded, "Oh right, so he lives here?"

Lincoln shook his head, "I don't think so"

A feeling of doubt crept its way up Lizzie's spine. Oh god, how awkward. They were actually gate crashing a stranger's party. At least it was a costume party and there seemed to be a lot of people there already. Lizzie looked around. Everyone was dressed in varying degrees, from a simple cowboy hat to full on KISS makeup.

Once they made their way inside Lincoln found his gym buddy and the two of them went outside for a smoke, leaving Tara and Lizzie alone in the hallway. Tara immediately excused herself to the toilet and Lizzie found herself all alone. She opened a beer and leaned against the hallway wall. A feeling of panic washed over her but she made an effort to keep her body language strong and look around with what she hoped looked like confidence and boredom.

The house was absolutely packed full of eclectic people. Long hair, funky clothes and pretentious chat, from the little she overheard. As more people moved inside they bumped into Lizzie so she slowly walked down the hallway looking for a different place to hide. Music pounded loudly and the carpet was wet and spongy under foot. At the end of the hall she found herself in a kitchen. At least she assumed it was a kitchen. There were piles of dirty dishes and garbage in what may have been a sink. Traffic cones decorated every surface and it smelled. It smelled like something had died in there.

Lizzie retreated down another dark hallway. People bumped into her and growled at her to get out of the way. Lizzie frowned and kept moving until she came out into a living room. She backed into a girl with a big purple fluffy wig who scowled at her. Lizzie apologised and turned to leave when she came face to face with a heavy chested girl in a gold onesie and a flamboyant short black wig. A large mirror on the wall showed that she had The king written on her back with silver sequins. Lizzie made eye contact and smiled. The girl smiled back.

"Great costume." Lizzie said tentatively.

"Oh thanks. I made it last night."

Lizzie made a face that she hoped looked like amazement and not boredom. The thought of mediocre small talk with strangers all night made her want to run home. She forced herself to give it another go, "Wow. That's impressive."

The girl smiled, "Yeh took me about 5 hours to get the sequins to lie flat. Such a pain... but worth it!"

Lizzie forced a smile, "I admire your determination. If it were me I'd probably just wear something like blue suede shoes and a shirt with an arrow on it."

The girl frowned. "I don't get it."

Lizzie smirked, "You know..." She curled her lip in what she hoped was a decent Elvis impersonation and sang softly, "Don't you step on my blue suede shoes."

The girl stared at her cooly. "I don't get it." Her eyes were already drifting away.

Lizzie blinked, "You don't know Blue Suede Shoes?" She pointed at her golden outfit, "It's one of Elvis's big hits."