A Fresh Start

Get The Party Started

After driving for a good fifteen minutes we pulled up next to a large white house. The hosts had gone all out with decorations; the yard was adorned with decorations ranging from cheesy pumpkin heads to motion activated tarantulas, orange lights covered the eves of the roof, and smoke machines had cast a blanket of white over the grass. I glanced over at Sebastion, shooting him a questioning look, I mean loving the holiday was one thing, but this bordered on obsession. 

"Davie takes Halloween pretty seriously," Sebastion said with a smirk. I nodded, still taking in the sight before me.

"That much was clear Sebastion." I turned to my left when Ben snorted at my response from my other side and rolled my eyes. Ben and Sebastion were constantly bickering and trying to one-up each other, yet I had never seen siblings that were as close. Somehow their contrasting personalities strengthened their bond instead of hindering it.

"On the contrary Marie, I had no idea that Dave liked Halloween, I hate to think about where we would be without Sebastion's observations." I laughed and walking up the stairs, hearing the boys bickering behind me. 

If I thought the outside was extravagantly decorated then I was woefully unprepared for the inside. Orange lighting illuminated the rooms covered with fake cobwebs and gore, various objects made infamous through their respective horror movies littered the tables and walls. Despite the decor, the atmosphere of the party was warm and inviting. I was comforted when I realized that this party was considerably smaller than the one I'd been to in September. 

After a few minutes spent wandering around the living room, I sat down with Sebastion and Ben next to a big group of people sitting on the couches in front of the fireplace. Among them was Janie who greeted me with a smile and a slurred hello. Obviously, she was in the party spirit. I ended up sitting between Janie and Amanda, a girl I knew from the soccer team. After looking around at the ten or so other people sitting with us I realized that most of them were soccer players. Naturally, after greetings were exchanged the subject drifted to soccer. The girl's team had played their last game already and had narrowly missed a chance to go to the district championships, the boys had their chance on Tuesday, but had also lost.

 When we finally finished ranting about our respective games and what would change next year it was decided by Amanda that we needed to play a game. According to her, it would get our minds off the recent losses. I settled down in my corner of the couch, wondering what game would be played. So far this party had been fun, I had found myself a nice group of people to hang out with, and I had managed to avoid the drunken teens wandering elsewhere. My sense of comfort fled when I saw Lee produce a beer bottle and checkerboard. No. Uh uh. This was not happening to me, I had been avoiding any thoughts relating to kissing Sebastion since, like, always. My heart started fluttering at the thought of his lips on mine. I was grateful for the intoxicated state of Janie, if she wasn't I was sure she would have heard my heart trying to escape my ribcage. In short, I was exasperated with myself. This was not some cliche moment from one of my dearly loved romance novels. Sebastion and I were not going to share the kiss of the century, it was not going to change the trajectory of our relationship and save our doomed love. 

"Ok, time for truth or dare!" Amanda squealed, leaving my ear ringing and me questioning her sobriety. Wait, what? 

"Truth or Dare?" I questioned, confused and frustrated at my own internal freakout. 

"Yup, whoever the bottle lands on either takes a truth or dare." Ok, that seemed better. My breathing slowed and I felt the anxiety leave my body. "It's super fun! Last time I played I dared this guy I was crushing on to make out with me. He ended up being gay, but it was still worth it." Amanda sent a wink in Ben's direction, making him turn a startling shade of pink. Oh look, the panic's back.