Welcome to the Darkness

Chapter 5

The week washed over just as fast as it had come upon me, the days were long still, autumn was around the corner though and you could feel the chill in the air. Today was Friday, it was noon and I had eight hours before my date with Brandon.

Danni always told me I was a boring texter, I answered shortly and as quickly as possible. She knows I hate texting, that's why I still had an old flip phone. Texting is overrated, I mean it's good for in a pinch or when you don't really wanna hear someone else's annoying voice... i.e, mother dearest.

My classes were over for the day and Danni was planning to skip out on her last class to take me clothes shopping so she could play "dress up the gay boy so he doesn't look like a bum on his date." She'd grabbed me from my last class as soon as it had ended and we now stood in the middle of a store in the next town over, their mall was bigger.

She'd taken me to 10 different stores, I repeat, 10. Different. Stores. They all had the same shit for me to try on, she was obviously looking for something specific because whenever they didn't have it, she'd throw a hissy fit saying how "why the hell doesn't a normal clothing store have this shit."

At last, she came back with an outfit she deemed to be alright and shoo'd me away to the change rooms. She locked me into a stall and left the clearly marked out men's only change room. I was left alone staring at myself in a mirror with a bundle of black clothes in my arms.

I don't really see why she picked out all black everything, I'm as pale as a ghost. "Danni, you couldn't have chosen something less bold?" I complained to her as I took off my own clothes.

She scoffed. "Of course not, and you need to come out here and show me when you're done because I know you won't be able to tell if you look good or not." She jabbed at my sense of fashion and I groaned a bit at her rudeness.

I pulled on the last bit of clothing to complete the ensemble, a pair of black dress pants. Tucking in the black dress shirt, I fastened the black belt around my waist, making sure the silvery metal buckle was centered. I made Danni choose a pair of dress pants with pockets, I need some way to sulk about while I run around in this monkey suit.

"Done." I mumbled, unlocking the door and walking out to the entrance to the change rooms where Danni waited, scoping out a pack of guys looking for clothes.

She tsked and shook her head, "Honestly, everyone should use my fashion expertise..." she finally turned her head to look at me and her eyes flared up, firey with determination. "Oh my gosh you look so darn good!" She squeaked softly, grabbing me by my shoulders.

I groaned again, not pleased with her attention grabbing display of giddiness. She'd picked out the darkest shade of black she could possibly find, a black dress shirt with silver buttons down the front that tucked into a pair of nice fitting black dress pants along with some black socks and a black leather belt with a plain silver belt buckle. It was way too dark of an outfit for me, pale as a ghost, remember?

She ended up shoving me back into the changing room to get back into my usual clothes as soon as possible so that she could buy them for me. The entire way to checkout she was complaining about how my hair didn't match and I pointed out that it was her fault.

That's how I got a random piece of blue stuck into my hair, she dyed the rest of it black to match the outfit. By the time we were done, it was 7 PM and she was standing back, admiring her handiwork.

"Buddy-o-pal, you look amazing. Brandon's jaw is gonna hit the floor!" She yipped happily, jumping onto my bed for another vantage point. "Mmmph! Just imagine how sexy he'll think you are!"

I stared at her and rolled my eyes. "I'd rather he didn't."

She frowned at that, Danni had never heard the full story. My own parents hadn't heard the full story. "Well, even if he doesn't wanna have headboard bangin' sex with you, he'll definitely wanna cuddle you." She tried to fix what she'd said but still, it wasn't at all what he wanted to hear.

"Danni, I don't want him touching me either... I'd have to be really drunk for that to happen and in the mornin I'd probably want to die." I deadpanned. "I don't want to have sex with him, I don't want to cuddle..." The last part was a lie, a nice, relaxing cuddle would probably do me real good but I just couldn't accept it. Marcus is a no touchy zone.

Danni threw her hands up, sighing in defeat. "Fine I give up, no touchy, no sexy, no feely. Just foodie."

I rolled my eyes at her and shoo'd her out, she wasn't supposed to be in the boy's dorms after 5 PM. "You, go. Leave me be. I need to brush my teeth and make my hair look as normal as I can get it." Danni groaned as I shoved her out the door and locked it behind me. I slumped to the ground, sliding down the door until my knees were to my chin.

Tonight is a ridiculous idea, there's little chance that it might turn out good. I've learned to keep to the side of the better chances, I value my safety. It was 7:30 now, the sun was dipping down into the earth and I should really go wait for Brandon by the front gates.

I dragged my ass up off of the floor and grabbed my keys, leaving the dorms to walk along the gravel path towards the front gate. The sky was pink and purple, the clouds looked orange. The sky was gorgeous this evening, probably one of the prettiest nights of the summer thus far.

I forgot a jacket, I hadn't thought that the night air would get this chilly tonight. The front gates stood closed, black and tall with big iron loops at the tops. The security hut was already lit up and Korey sat on his ass on the inside, a box of donuts on the counter beside him that laid unopened.

Korey was a big guy but he was trying to lose weight, the last security guard on shift left the box for him. Was it a gift or was it to taunt him, who knows. Korey is the only nice one.

I waved hello to Korey, he stood up in his box and came out to say a quick hello. "Hey k'ddo, you go'n out ton'te?" he asked, a drawl present in his accent from a spot in the south he hadn't bothered to tell me.

I nodded to him. "Yeah, I have a date actually." This revelation sparked an interest in Korey, probably one of the funner stories he'll hear tonight. He gave a hearty laugh and went back into the hut, hitting a button. One of the gates creaked open and he waved. "Have a good n'ght now, ya hear, boy? You be safe now."

I nodded, managed a goodbye and stepped through the gates to the other side and leaned against a stone part of the fence surrounding the campus. The pinks had turned to purples and the purples into indigo, giving the sky a dark look. A car roared to life a little ways down the street and an excited Brandon ran over to bring me over.

He stopped up short, the run turning into a light jog then he stopped. "Fuckin' hell you clean up good, Marcus." he beamed, staring at me up and down.

I shrugged and told the truth, as usual. "Danni told me I needed something fancy for a date so she dragged me shopping."

Brandon smiled and reached out his arm, "My good sir, would you accompany me to the car?" I eyed his arm wearily before taking it gently, allowing him to lead me to a yellow soft top Jeep.

The night air was cool on my cheeks as we drove along the curvy roads away from Satherfell, the smell of the ocean became more prominent the further we went along the road. Above me, the moon was smiling.