Trinity

4

The smell of cigarettes and spilled beer washed over Shepherd as he entered the noisy house party. Music blared from haphazardly placed speakers. Some kids danced, but most stood around, drinking. There had to be at least fifty or so people packed into this room alone.

A few of Whitney's friends cheered as they walked in, calling them over. Shepherd recognized most of the people here.

Simon stood nearby, grinning as he spotted Shepherd. Quinn Carter's hulking form was surrounded by girls. He donned his football jersey and took large swigs from a bottle of whiskey. A few guys gave Shepherd dirty looks, their auras turning bright crimson.

Oh God, Shepherd thought. I have no idea what I'm doing.

Whitney took Shepherd's hand, making his cheeks tingle with heat. She pulled him towards her friends, one of them being Courtney, the hostess of the party.

"You look so cute!" Courtney said to Whitney, pulling her in for a hug. They began discussing her outfit as Shepherd stood awkwardly with the other girls.

"So, Shep," Molly Andrews said, "is this like your first time out? I never see you at parties." The other girls snickered.

"Oh," Shepherd started, "well I like to go out, I mean, I do go out. Sometimes. I guess I've just been busy with work lately."

"You work at that diner, right?" Bethany Powers slurred. She was drunk. Her aura moved slowly, almost cautiously, like it too was intoxicated.

"Yeah." Shepherd said sheepishly. There was a moment of silence, the girls staring at him. Mila Connor broke the tension, handing Shepherd a bottle of clear liquid. He stared at it, stunned.

Whitney had noticed the exchange and was smiling at Shepherd, expectantly. This is what he wanted, wasn't it? To forget things for awhile; to have fun. When he still hadn't taken a drink after a few moments, Whitney chortled and placed her hands over his, guiding the bottle up into his mouth.

Shepherd thought of his mother before he took his first gulp. He wasn't sure why. The drink felt incredibly hot, stinging his throat. Shepherd's eyes watered as Whitney continued to hold the bottle upright, not stopping until a good portion the liquid was gone. Shepherd started coughing as soon as she let up, making the surrounding girls laugh. The alcohol evaporated in his throat, burning his nostrils.

Simon approached, still grinning, and put his arm around Shepherd's shoulders.

"This is gonna be a good night," he chuckled.

The next few hours went by in a blur. Shepherd's head began to feel lighter and lighter, as if it might float from his shoulders. At the same time, his legs grew heavy and difficult to direct. He didn't talk to many people, he wasn't sure what he was supposed to say. The house grew even thicker with cigarette smog, but Shepherd couldn't smell it anymore. Eventually he couldn't trust his legs, and stumbled over to a couch in the living room. His aura moved slowly now, just like Bethany's had.

People danced around him, music still blaring, but it was hard to focus on them. Time had seemed to slow. Motion and thought were tied in a web, too caught up to struggle for freedom.

Whitney danced with another boy across the room. He held her waist with both hands. She giggled and backed up against him.

Simon appeared, taking a seat next to Shepherd on the couch. He noticed Shepherd's eyes on Whitney and patted him on the back.

"Ah, don't worry about that man," he said. "She's probably just trying to make you jealous or something. You should go dance with her."

Shepherd was confused for a moment, trying to make sense of what Simon had said. He had almost forgotten about Whitney being his date. He wasn't jealous, but maybe he should've been.