romeo + juliet ↠ l.h

2

The pulsing lights, the smell of alcohol, the packed room. All part of the infernos trademark. Only tonight, many people, if not everybody, was in a Halloween costume. It was the end of October, and would it even be a holiday without a night at the inf?

Tonight, I was some kind of tinker bell. A pale green shimmery slip and a little set of wings and I was set. Most people went all out, wearing the typical skimpy nurse costumes while the boys wore tight police uniforms. I kept it simple, and so did Michael. He threw on a suit and tie and said he was Christian Grey.

"Find your friends. Tell Morgan I'm looking for her." And then he was off. I started looking around, knowing Morgan would be on the dance floor, which wasn't exactly the easiest place to look. Her platinum blonde hair is usually easy to find, but right now that proved to be no help.

"Your costume's interesting." I heard a voice from behind me.

"What do you mean?" I questioned the boy, who was just in a a black t-shirt, black jeans, and a batman mask.

"Is that a silk slip? It's just weird to wear to a club on Halloween." the stranger looked me over, his eyes lingering on my platform pumps the longest.

"If you're trying to insult me, you're not very good at it."

"I'm not. It's just... different."

"I'm tinkerbell, now if you'll excuse me I have to go find my friends. Nice talking to you, I guess." I tried to slip away from the guy, but he continued talking.

"Who are your friends? Maybe I've seen them."

"Alice and-" I stopped talking when he motioned towards a couch in the corner with his head. Sure enough, Alice and Morgan were over there, neither of them holding drinks yet.

"Thanks." I quickly said, turning and leaving him behind. He just let me go this time.

I never caught his name, but his thick accent sounded strangely familiar.

•

The girls and I were buzzed. If my mom were to see me right now, she would... well, I'm not sure what she would do. Ground me until I'm out of the house?

"Do you think he likes me?" Alice slurred, reaching for her drink. Michael, the least drunk of all of us, grabbed it and placed it out of reach.

"You'll never know unless you talk to him." Morgan pointed out, her hand creeping up Michael's leg. I had to look away, the thought of Michael with my best friend wasn't pleasant.

"But what if he thinks that I'm..." Alice trailed off, focusing her eyes on something across the room.

If anybody saw me here, or rather anybody important, I'd be dead. My family has a name to uphold. The Baldwin family did not go out to clubs on Saturday nights, and more importantly did not sit at a table taking swigs of vodka straight from the bottle.

If my mom knew about my drinking habits, she'd throw a fit.

Lucky for Michael, he could do whatever he pleased. His mom, my dad's sister, got pregnant at 19 by a fling at a frat party. Therefore, his last name being Clifford and no pressure of upholding the family values applied to him. He could do whatever the heck he wanted. I envied it.

"Em, you should slow down." Michael warned, attempting to take the alcohol away from me. I quickly snatched it out of his reach, pulling it to my body and pressing the glass against my lips. By this point, my throat didn't even burn. I was numb to the feeling.

"I'm going to the bathroom." I slurred, standing up and almost falling. The platform of my heels was too much for drunk-me to handle.

I walked into the closest door, the sign resembling one you'd see at a bathroom, and leaned against the wall. My head pounded and I couldn't catch my breath. The wall provided support for my dizzy body, which was liable to collapse at any second.

"Are you okay?" A voice called from the far end of the bathroom. I realized it was a boy's voice, and I must've walked into the men's room by mistake. I wasn't fazed, it had happened before.

"I don't feel too-" I cut myself off by running, or rather stumbling, to the nearest toilet. All of the alcohol i'd consumed, emptied into the toilet. I didn't notice at first, but the boy was holding my hair.

"I feel sick." I moaned, feeling my stomach knot up again.

"Yeah, id assume so."

More alcohol came up, and the boy held my hair again. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and sat on the floor, leaning against the stall. Before I could even thank him, he was gone.

"Thanks." I said out loud, to no one in particular.

Getting trashed on Saturday's was nothing to me. I'd been doing it since I was 15. The tough part was when it was the middle of the week, and I'd be doing something as simple as listening to music, but I'd get the urges. The urges that say, 'you know what would be fun right now? alcohol.' It consumed my every thought. I didn't want to have to depend on it, I just did.

I was 17 and on the fast track to becoming an addict.

And I hated it.

But there was nothing I could do. I couldn't stop now. How would I ever get through the day? Michael didn't know about this, he only knew of me getting out of control at parties and clubs like this.

If only he knew the real truth.

"Here. Drink this." the boy was back, and I noticed his batman mask again. He was the same boy from earlier, the one who told me I was dressed weird.

I reluctantly took the water he handed me. After all, he could roofie me and I would have no clue. I didn't know what type of person this boy was, but a part of me didn't care. I was so wasted that I took water from a stranger at a club.

"Why are you being nice to me?" I questioned.

"Because I'm a nice person."

"You weren't nice to me awhile ago." I pointed out. He seemed surprised I remembered.

"Yeah, you're right." He only said this, not even offering an apology.

"Well, I'm gonna go now. I need to find my friends." I stood up, once again almost falling, but playing it off for the sake of the boy allowing me to leave. I tried to act as sober as possible, but this proved to be hard.

I walked out of the bathroom, only spotting Alice at the table.

"Where did they go?" I questioned. Michael usually hated dancing, so I didn't think he'd be out on the dance floor. He only danced with girls when he wanted to get laid.

"They left together."

"You know what? Why do they get to do it? I haven't got to do it in 2 months!"

"You're so embarrassing when you're drunk." Alice harshly stated. I took offense to this, for some reason, and decided to leave. I'd already puked twice and danced with four different guys. It was time to call it a night.

My car was waiting for me outside, and as I was leaving, I caught a glimpse of the boy with the batman mask getting into the car in front of mine.

And his car was more expensive than mine.