Fire in the Nothing (Jardougall)

Chapter 9

Holy crap, this is sooo late. SORRY GUYS. I'll put up another chapter this weekend to make up for it. Only 5 more !! EEEEP
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The party was in full swing by the time I got to Luke's at midnight. I half-assed my costume and painted the tip of my nose black and drew little whiskers on my cheeks in what I liked to think was reminiscent of a cat, and tied my hair up in two buns, which I secured with a cat ear headband. It looked cute so I really didn't care. I kind of felt a little underdressed when I showed up but I was glad to not be the centre of attention. Luke pounced on me the second I entered the house, smelling strongly of booze and weed.

"Jennaaa! You made ittt," he slurred, his arm slung around my shoulder.

"Oh boy, looks like you've been having a good time. Get me a beer, would you?"

He began pulling me towards the kitchen, his arm weighing me down as we stumbled along. He let go of me and went to the fridge. I finally got a good look at his costume which appeared to be made up of black jeans, a turtle shell over his bare torso and a strip of orange fabric tied around his head. Scanning the room, I saw Calum, Michael and Ashton wearing matching costumes, but their headbands were blue, purple and red.

"You guys are rocking that TMNT tonight," I laughed.

"The chicks DIG it!" He enthused, handing me a beer.

I cracked it open and took a long swig, hoping to drown out my anxiety about the party as soon as possible.

Luke leaned in close to be heard over the music.

"Did you see Tay when you came in?"

I scanned the room, but couldn't spot her. I shook my head.

"Damn. It's almost like you guys coordid... cornidated your costumes," he struggled.

I tried not to laugh at his drunkenness.

"Point her out when you see her," I said.

He nodded, but I noticed his attention was focused on something behind me. I turned around and froze. It was Lynn, walking straight towards us.

"Oh God, let's go," I said and dragged him away from the kitchen and into the crowd.

When I was far enough away from the kitchen and had put as many people as possible between us, I began to relax. I spotted Alex talking to a few people I didn't know over by the TV. He caught my eye and I waved. Luke was drunkenly shouting the lyrics to the pop song blasting from the speakers, so I decided to join in. I figured I might as well make the best of this party. Despite all the shit that had happened to me in the past few weeks, I still had my friends and I owed it to myself to enjoy the night.

About an hour later, I was sufficiently drunk, my throat was raw from shouting and I was fatigued and sweaty from all the dancing. Plus, I really had to pee. I waved to Luke and headed to the washroom, swaying on my feet a little. I saw a few people poking their heads into the washroom, looking disgusted. I peered in and saw the toilet was completely clogged and had overflowed slightly. I wrinkled my nose in disgust. Poor Luke... I turned around and headed up the stairs to the other washroom. It was much quieter upstairs, with only one couple on the floor at the end of the hallway near Lynn's room, making out. The washroom door was closed so I leaned against the opposite wall and waited, my head clearing a little in the cooler air.

Suddenly, the door opened and I looked up. Tay stood in the doorway, donned in mouse ears and whiskers. She froze when she saw me.

"Hey," I spoke first.