Babysitting the Bad Girl's Brother: Who do you protect?

20) Facing Calamity

The party was hectic, the party was full.

Many were raving, many were having the time of their lives and many wobbled around as though their bones were replaced with jelly. Here they were, getting to experience entertainment that they would never be able to capture again once their old age began to stick.

The party blared on and I was merely a traveller. I wouldn't be able to enjoy the night, not with my duty. I pushed through the crowd of idiots. They were enjoying themselves, truly the vanity of youth.

Unfortunately, I was an hour late. An unexpected shift in my work schedule resulted in me rushing to Simon's house. I currently dawned my skeleton costume that I had worn last year for Halloween, back when I had friends. Sure, I had friends now, yet those three years with my old friends could not be challenged by a couple of days with new companions. Those three years were my greatest times, nothing could surpass them.

Currently, I was sober. Though this party clearly had alcohol galore, the way the crowd swung in an unconventional manner. Wiggling passed the drunks in-front of the front door, I was able to get to a responsible place, in the now fully painted hallway leading towards the living room. Even with the front door wide open, the house was a cosy warm, with the heat sponging into my skin.

Fumbling through the continuous onslaught of buffoons, I managed to squeeze pass, popping into the living room. It was just as it was on Friday. Comparing it to the calm and peaceful nature of my last visit, this place was in shambles. It used to fit nine people in here with relative ease, but now, it was cesspool of teenagers all having the time of their lives. There was a group playing ping pong on the coffee table, another group were having a drinking contest, some were even crowded around laughing over a competition of rock, paper, scissors.

When you're drunk, the silliest of things can make you laugh from the mundane to the downright stupid shit you would normally do. Thanks to the alcohol, some were freer, acting as though they could fall from great heights without any issues.

Especially a kid on the second floor.

"I'm going to jump!" He claimed in a humorous fashion, his voice trembled.

"Do a backflip!" Another shouted.

Travelling through the horde of drunkards, I searched for anyone familiar. My main target was Deroc; I trusted him the most. Deroc would be partying no doubt and it was my job to track him down, take this drug and be smooth sailing.

Sure, the drug would affect me in some way, shape or form, but it truly didn't matter. At the end of the day, we were after results. Back when I lost my closest friends, I hadn't stuck around long enough to know the true effects the drug created. It was a guessing game, even for me, the most experienced one out of the group. But if we could figure out the effects then we would have an advantage.

I could have tried to talk to my old friends about their experiences...

I scoffed. They would attack me on sight.

With no other way of learning the effects, I had to place my livelihood with a majority of people that hate me. Whilst I trusted Deroc, it wasn't the smartest idea to walk into a lion's den whilst holding a tantalising steak with a zookeeper disguised among the pact as protection.

I didn't trust any of them, but I had to. In order to stay in the group, I was forced into a less than favourable position. It was peer pressuring, plain and simple, but I was willing to do this, I just wanted to know the effects as much as anyone else.