Not Alone

Chapter Two

     Loud music blared from the earbuds DJ had plugged in his ears. He enjoyed the vibrations coming from his skateboard as he rolled down the middle of the road. A couple of cars had to swerve so as to not hit him but he merely laughed. Having vampire blood meant that he didn't get hurt easily, so why should he care if he got hit by a car?

     Fifteen minutes ago he had shot a text to his best friend, Juan Torres, to get their friend Luis Santiago and to meet him at the local store so they could decide what to do. Juan was a lean and muscular Puerto Rican boy with dyed green hair and glasses, and was one of the toughest people DJ knew. They met as children on one of the very few family outings to the park, and they hit it off like they were brothers. From then on, they did everything together. Juan was even one of the very few people who knew of his vampire lineage. The other person who knew was Luis. Luis was also Puerto Rican, but had lighter skin and shorter hair than Juan. He wasn't as muscular, but he was the tallest and older by a year. Which meant he was more likely to get them all beer.

     After a couple of more minutes and another car swerving and cursing at him, he rolled up in front of the store. Juan and Luis were already there, and smiled when they saw him. DJ took out his earbuds and hopped off of his skateboard, swooping down to pick it up and stand by them. "Hey bro," Juan said as they fist bumped with DJ, who did the same with  Luis. "Hey guys," DJ greeted. "What's up? You kinda got us up outta nowhere," Luis inquired. "Yeah, sorry 'bout that. I just needed to get outta there for a while. You guys feel like doing something?" DJ asked, not really wanting to bring up the whole college debate between him and his father. "Okay. Well, I did actually have a supply to deliver to one of my regulars, and we were gonna meet at Stein's party," Juan suggested. Juan ran a small delivery system of weed. He had a few regulars who were people he trusted, and he really only delivered to them unless he knew any newcomer could be trusted as well.

     "Alright, I'm down," DJ said right away. He wanted to do something stupid tonight. Luis shrugged. "I'll be the sober driver?" he asked. Juan and DJ nodded. They already knew he didn't have an issue with it, he wasn't a huge drinker in the first place. So, they all hopped into Juan's car and drove to one of the rich neighborhoods. It was actually a few blocks from the de Ville mansion. It wasn't long until they pulled up to the Stein house. The Stein brothers were both in high school, but Ryder and Ronny were total opposites. Ryder was the football team's quarterback and a party animal, while Ronny was borderline genius and a quiet guy. Plus, there was a year's difference between them, with Ryder being older and a senior.

     The trio pulled up to the crowded parking lot, making sure to stay roughly a hundred feet away from everyone else's cars. As they walked, Juan paused and glanced at a car. "She's here. You guys mind coming along so you can kinda block other people's view?" Juan asked. "Yeah, no problem bro," Luis said. The Stein house was tall, tan with white trim and tinted windows. Teens ranging from the ages of fourteen to nineteen were scattered across the lawn and practically flooding the inside of the house. The music was so loud that the cement in the driveway was vibrating, and DJ thought that the windows were going to shatter from how loud it was. They entered the party scene, managing to stick together through the mass of drunk dancing bodies. DJ wasn't able to get a good view of the interior of the house, but he didn't really care. He just focused on following Juan so he could cover him before getting drunk, or at least tipsy.

     Luis and DJ followed Juan, who stopped and tapped a dancing girl who had a drink in her hand and a tongue down her throat. She pulled away, initially annoyed, but she brightened right up when she saw that Juan was here. DJ thought she greeted him but he couldn't hear her. She motioned to the backyard of the house- forgetting about the guy she was previously sucking face with- probably because it was the least populated area and they could actually hear each other.