Neither End Up Alive

Party of the Century (part 1)

Dash's POV

It's funny how interesting the ceiling appears when one is too frightened to look anywhere else.

Ugh. This stupid reoccurring nightmare is killing me. I'm never going to get a good night's sleep with this crap replaying in my head every night.

Saturday morning, five am. Wide awake.

Hooray.

I can't wait until later today. The party's going to be awesome.

But that isn't for many hours. Many hours of torture.

~

Pinkie's party starts in an hour.

I'm wearing a black tank top with gaping sleeves and dark blue ripped jeans, with knee-high stylish black boots with ever-so slightly raised heels and silver zippers.

I'm fully aware that my outfit barely matches, but when I throw a black leather jacket over it all, it looks somewhat presentable.

I sigh and throw myself onto my bed. One more hour to kill.

~

Pinkie's party starts in ten minutes.

Finally, I think to myself as I shrug on my jacket and leave the house, locking the door behind me.

As I approach the sweet shop, I see many other people already there, just hanging out at the entrance. I spot AJ immediately. She's wearing jean shorts and a white crop top with pale orange suspenders and white sneakers.

At least her outfit matches.

"Howdy, Dash!" AJ says, waving.

"Hey, AJ," I reply, grinning. It's relieving to be out of that stuffy house. "How long have you been here?"

"Couple minutes," AJ says, yawning. "Not long. I was up since five helping Mac harvest. I had to start early, Granny said, 'cause I ain't gonna be gettin' much sleep tonight, that's for sure!"

I laugh, deciding not to mention how I had also been up since five. It feels good to laugh. I should laugh more often.

Or maybe not. Maybe if I laugh any more, I'll become as annoying as Pinkie. That thought makes me stop laughing earlier than I'd planned. AJ looks at me funny, but doesn't say anything.

I hurry to change the subject. "So how's your granny?"

"Yellin' her head off, same as always," AJ says, sniffing. "How's your mum? I hadn't thought to drop by to say 'happy birthday'."

I scowl, wishing I'd thought of something else to talk about. "No idea. She hasn't come home yet."

"Really? Damn. This is the longest time she's ever been gone, ain't it?"

"Yeah, well... She's busy, I guess."

I know AJ can tell I don't want to discuss it any more, and she doesn't push the subject. We stand around in silence for a bit, watching people arrive.

Suddenly, someone lets out a loud whoop, and there's a fizzling sound followed by a startling boom.

Fireworks. The party has begun.

Everybody floods into Sugarcube Corner excitedly. AJ grabs my forearm (because holding hands is for softies) and pulls me through the crowd into the building.