Familiar Faces [a donnie darko fanfic]

Chapter Thirteen

{Warning: Sensitive and mature topic found in this chapter}

Greeted by blaring music, I entered Donnie's house. Bayley had already gone home before then. I had called the hospital before leaving for the party. The doctor had said my mom was on a good track to recovery and that my brother had been playing games with her.

The house was filled with people dancing with a drink in their hand, some were even running around like they seemed pressed for time. I couldn't find Donnie; I had walked right in. Many other people were going in and out of the house at their leisure, so I didn't think anyone really cared.

I felt awkward almost. Normally, I could take a role as a leader of some sort and fit in well. When I was directing, I was good at maintaining a group of people and communicating with them, but amongst so many strangers I felt lost.

I entered Donnie's kitchen where there was surprisingly less people. It was now 6:30 and the sky was beginning to reflect an orange hue. "Hey," a girl's voice called from close behind me. I turned around to see Elizabeth. She beamed at me welcomingly, adorned in a black wig and black dress.

"You look cute," she commented, opening her arms for a hug.

"Thank you, so do you," I told her as I hugged back.

"Help yourself to any drinks. Other people brought beer and vodka but there's water, sweet tea, and milk in the fridge. Donnie should be down any second." She went to walk away but turned on her heel to face me again. "It's good to see you again. Now I think I might get shit-faced, but I haven't decided if that's a good idea yet."

She let out a laugh and headed out to the backyard, gathering with a group of girls. I didn't feeling like drinking anything just yet, so I went back to the front of the house and into the foyer just in time to see Donnie going down the stairs.

He met my gaze and grinned from ear to ear. "I'm so happy you came," he said, hugging me. "You're so beautiful." He was dressed in a skeleton suit and wore a grey jacket over it; his hood hiked up over his head and shielding some of his face.

"Thank you. You make a pretty great skeleton," I told him, drawing nearer to his face, my lips parting in a kiss. He mirrored my actions and our lips met slowly. Everyone else was so preoccupied, we didn't care who watched. His hand held my waist and I wrapped my arms around his neck.

We broke apart after a few seconds. "Let's get some vodka," I murmured, feeling some of my sorrow melt away. I grabbed Donnie's hand as we walked to the kitchen and poured some from the bottle. Some cups were left out so I poured some in those for Donnie and I.

"Here's to a sucky life but my great boyfriend," I said in a toast, holding my cup high. Donnie chuckled softly, raising his cup with me.

"Cheers," he whispered as we clanked our cups together and took a drink. His tongue darted out to wet his plump lips; then his eyes met mine. He pressed his lips together firmly, holding eye contact. I couldn't quite tell what his expression meant. His eyes looked mysterious like always but there was so much more to it; hopefulness?

"Do you need to be reminded how beautiful the world can be?" he asked, pressing his forehead into mine.

"I don't know, do you?" I responded, kissing his lips. The faint taste of vodka mixed in with the kiss as it deepened. I pulled away, drinking more vodka. It burned my throat a little, but I didn't care. After most of the cup was gone, I began to get a bit of a buzz. I didn't have a high tolerance of alcohol like most people did.

"Watch how much you drink," Donnie warned. He tilted his head in concern. "Are you ok?"

I nodded. "I just feel kinda tingly. Let's jump on the trampoline," I suggested, giggling a little. I knew I wasn't drunk but I knew if I drank anymore, the filter I had would disappear and pretty much any thought would fly out of my mouth.