Of moonshine and memories | BoyXBoy

Falling at first sight

(Flashback)

I shouldn't have been out here. Not this late, not in this part of the city, and definitely not on my own. But that's what I came to New York for, right? To break away, to be reckless, to find something, anything, that would make me feel alive.

The cold night air bit at my skin as I made my way through streets that still felt unfamiliar, the buildings looming over me like silent sentinels. I shoved my hands deeper into my pockets, the distant hum of the city filling my ears. New York was nothing like Minnesota. Here, the world was bigger, louder, faster. Back home, everything felt like it was closing in on me. My family, my past, the expectations I didn't know how to meet. I left all that behind a few weeks ago, thinking that maybe here I could finally figure out who I was.

Or at least have some fun while I tried.

A friend had told me about this party, some underground rave in an abandoned warehouse. It sounded sketchy as hell, which made it all the more appealing. The kind of thing I wouldn't have dared to go to back home. But here, in New York, I could be anyone. I could be the guy who'd go to a party with strangers, the guy who wouldn't care about tomorrow.

I spotted the alleyway my friend had mentioned and ducked inside. The air was thick with the smell of cigarettes and something else I couldn't quite place. The thumping bass of music grew louder as I neared the warehouse, and I felt my pulse quicken. This was it, the start of something new. A night where nothing mattered but the moment.

I tugged my jacket tighter around me as I approached the door, nodding to the guy standing outside who was clearly keeping an eye on things. He looked me up and down but said nothing, just stepped aside to let me in. The second I crossed the threshold, the music hit me like a physical force, the heavy bass vibrating through my chest. The place was packed, bodies swaying and moving like one mass under the dim, flashing lights.

It was chaotic. It was reckless. It was exactly what I needed.

I slid into the crowd, grabbing a drink from a nearby table without asking whose it was. The alcohol burned as it went down, but it didn't matter. Nothing did right now. For the first time in a long while, I felt free.

Without hesitation, I downed my drink and grabbed another, moving through the crowd, accepting drinks from strangers, their smiles and nods blending into a haze. The music pulsed through the space, a constant, throbbing presence that made everything else feel distant and irrelevant.

I leaned against a wall, surveying the scene with a mix of detachment and intrigue. The warehouse was a living, breathing entity of its own. Chaotic and unpredictable. People swarmed around me, their energy a sharp contrast to my own growing inebriation.

The night was a blur of loud conversations and blurred faces. I found myself engaging in small talk with random strangers, their voices muffled and their expressions hazy. I was conscious of my outsider status, yet somehow I felt like I belonged amidst the madness. The freedom I sought was in the chaos around me, even if I was just another face in the crowd.

I wandered through the space, trying to make sense of my surroundings, when I noticed 'him'. He stood out amid the chaos, a presence that seemed to command attention without even trying.

I couldn't tear my eyes away from him. His appearance was striking. Platinum hair that gleamed under the flashing lights, black clothes with mesh that barely concealed his skin, and that cocky grin that seemed to mock the very chaos around him. He stood apart from the rest, radiating a confidence that was magnetic.

He was completely absorbed in his own world, bouncing between groups, picking fights, and getting absolutely wasted. I watched from a distance, unable to shake the feeling that there was something captivating about him. His smile was like a brand burned into my mind, drawing me in despite the reckless environment he was immersed in.