Shantay You Stay

Part Six

Brock's POV:
The apartment looked amazing. I don't quite understand how Jose made that balloon thing but he did it. I took a few hours to go and see Plastique in the afternoon and by the time I got back there were lights and speakers set up by the bar and he'd pushed the sofa to the side and the TV was gone, probably he moved it into one of the rooms safely. Turns out there was a plug socket randomly in the middle of the floor for that. Which  looked a bit like a tripping hazard just sat there. But other than that the place was amazing. He'd somehow figured out that you can black out the windows which shocked me completely when I walked in. Expecting the usual bright light from the midday sun I was hit with flashing colours and strobe lights like I was at a show. And then the music came on following a meek 'ow' and there was this booming music. Jose's head popped up from behind the bar, he had his hand on the back of his head as if he'd hit it on the counter. His eyes lit up when he saw that I'd returned. He paused the music and flung his arms open "So? What do you think?" He said with the cheekiest grin you've ever seen. "This is crazy." I said half shouting not really realising there wasn't anything loud to shout over anymore. I let the door close behind me and Jose hopped over to the corner of the kitchen and flicked a switch or two. One turned off all the lights and we were plunged into darkness. The other click caused the windows to brighten until they were transparent again. The bright sun almost stung. He still wore this cheeky grin, he was so proud of himself it was so cute to see. I shook my head, shaking that thought from my mind. "What time is everyone getting here?" Jose looked down at his phone. It was 4:47. "I think about 8? Just enough time for us to work on the costumes together?" He hinted. I nodded guiltily. I had promised to help him this morning but then I got a text from Plastique saying he'd missed me. "Ok let's go."

We spent almost three hours sewing and tacking things, we only managed to finish the outfit Jose had already started and prep another one for sewing as best we could. Jose huffed and laid the costume down next to the sewing machine. There were threads and pins everywhere. "Do you want to set everything up now?" He asked getting up from his seat. I nodded and laid down the tape measure I had in my hand. We went into the kitchen and I began laying out all the food that we'd bought on the table. Jose got out two massive bowls and jugs and began setting up the ingredients we'd bought for our cocktails. I joined him and we fumbled through the internet trying to find the cocktail recipes we had before. Once I found one we began prepping everything, Jose juiced the lemons we'd bought and sliced one up thinly so that we could let the slices sit in the bowl. He picked some of the mint leaves and placed them in the bowl with the lemon. We mixed everything together and to be completely honest the two bowls and two pitchers of the different cocktails we made actually tasted amazing. "These are great" I laughed placing the last pitcher on the table. Jose blacked out the windows again and flipped on the lights. It was time. 7:30pm. People would turn up any moment and we still hadn't changed into anything decent. I made my way to my room and sifted through the closet. There really wasn't that much to choose from, a good percentage of it was all drag but there was a split down the right hand side with all of my hoodies and long sleeved shirts. After mulling over what was there for a moment I closed the doors and slid open my shirt drawer instead. I pulled out a tight fitting light grey short sleeved tee and quickly changed into it. As far as my pants went I just changed into a comfy pair of jeans. 

I sat back down on my bed taking a few deep breaths, as much as I'd tried to keep things simple, tried to keep a one track mind, I had a lot on it. I don't understand why but these last few days I've been so thoughtful. I just sat there and thought back to Drag Race and how things used to be, how so many weeks of my life had just become these people. Eating dinner all together like that and making friends in that way, it was really special. And then there was Vanjie. I don't really understand what happened. Why he isn't in my arms anymore. It can't have all been for the show. I didn't want to believe that. But every little thing he does sends my mind to thinking that it was just that. Not reading that letter for a start, it was almost as if he didn't want to accept that he'd toyed with me. And now we're here, together and it feels like he's distancing himself from me. And it's so frustrating. Why can't I just understand? Why is he shutting me down?

I groaned and rolled onto my back feeling like a complete fool, just forget about it, I tried to convince myself. Enjoy this night, you don't let yourself go enough.  

Vanjie's POV:

I went back to the room to find something to change into. I picked out a cream low cut tank top and a pair of black ripped skinny jeans. I sat down at the vanity tussling my hair in the mirror for a few minutes. My eyes caught the pair of jeans I had carelessly tossed on the floor last night and I scowled at them. I had a perfectly good laundry basket. I leaned down and picked them up turning them from inside out back to normal and chucked them in the basket. A pocket sized piece of folded paper dropped out of them and to the floor. The damn letter. I cautiously picked it up and set it down on my dresser staring at the digits on its face. It felt like it was mocking me. I rolled my eyes, this is not how you get ready for a party. 

I left my room as I pulled on my sneakers and made my way over to the bar to flick on the lights and black out the windows. People should be turning up any second. I cracked open one of the bottles of alcopop and pressed it to my lips, taking a swig just as there was a chorus of giggling and screeching outside the door followed by a knocking. My lips twisted into a smirk and I turned the music on. Here we go.