Effortless

Twenty-two

The stuffy and musty smell that always seemed to come with these parties was definitely one smell that I could go without.

Everyone was in their costumes. I saw angels, devils, policemen, firemen, ghosts, doctors, and all of the other popular costumes. Some people were dressed more revealing than others, it varied. I also saw a few people in inflatable costumes which was pretty fun.

Ricky was dressed up as an inmate, Bella was a zombie princess, and Kailey was a Christmas tree. I wasn't as confident about my costume as I was when we bought it. Imagining myself in it and wearing it were two different things.

I was wearing a white tuxedo shirt with a tuxedo jacket over it. I left the top few buttons on the tuxedo shirt unbuttoned and folded the collar. The suit was very cheaply made, as expected since it was a costume from a costume store. I had on the black slacks that came with the costume and black sneakers that I found in the back of my closet. The sneakers were too small because they were shoes from a few years back but they were the only ones that matched so I had no other options. That part of the outfit was fine, it was the accessories that made me question it all.

I had black gloves on my hands and tall black bunny ears on my head. The headband was squeezing my head so hard that I could already feel a headache coming on because of it. I had a bushy bunny tail stuck on my ass and I wouldn't have been surprised if it fell off in the middle of the night because it was barely staying on to begin with. If it did, however, I wouldn't have complained. The one part of the costume that I did like was the cute little bowtie I got to put on. It made me feel spiffy.

Kailey put pink blush on my cheeks and nose. It wasn't a lot, she told me it was just enough to give off the, in her words, 'very sophisticated and important bunny' look that I was apparently going for.

My friends had told me that they liked what I was wearing and that I did not look ridiculous, but I couldn't tell if they genuinely meant that or not. I thought I looked good at first but the more I thought about it the less that I thought so.

But I ignored my self conscious thoughts and walked in with my head held high. It wasn't like anyone in the party would be sober enough to give a shit what I was wearing.

Kailey and Ricky were acting strange, there was an awkward tension between them. They refused to be right next to each other and would share intense looks with each other when they thought Bella and I weren't looking. I chalked it up to a normal couples fight. All couples went through it and they were no different.

I followed everyone else. I didn't know where we were going but I assumed it was to the kitchen. But as we were walking, I noticed Javier and Diane in the corner by the couches. Diane and Javi were an angel and the devil. It was a classic costume but I felt like they could have put more thought into it.

They looked to be having an extremely heated conversation. Diane was pointing her finger at him in an accusatory way and he had his hands held up in defense. He clearly didn't think that she should have been as upset as she obviously was.

What Diane did next shocked me and the people around us. Diane picked up a red solo cup off the table — that I was pretty sure was not hers — and threw it on Javier. Luckily whatever was in the cup was clear but it still completely soaked Javi's costume. Diane yelled something else before storming off.

I watched as Justin ran after Diane. I hadn't even realized Justin had been with us the entire time.

Javier looked pissed. I watched as he walked down a hallway, I assumed to find a bathroom. For some reason, the urge to go after him was strong. Part of it was because I wanted to be nosy, but I also felt like Javier probably needed a friend right then. I may not have had been his friend, but I didn't see Paxton anywhere so I was the closest he would get.