Ghosts in the Smoke

"I can't sleep, Ava. I thought maybe-- I can't keep doing this." A brunette walked through the door, anxiously raking her hands through hair that had barely dried from the night before. Her eyes were bloodshot and her skin was pale. She'd at least changed out of her sweat and puke ridden clothes, now dressed in a simple white tank top instead. "I can't enjoy these parties anymore. No matter what, no matter how many more boys I hook up with, no matter how many drinks I down, I can't forget it," the girl muttered, pleading eyes looking up to her friend.

Ava looked up from her phone, her face softening in sympathy for her friend. "You look like a ghost, alright," she said, lifting open her window to let the soft morning breeze in. "Do you want to talk about it?"

The girl breathed in the fresh air with a sigh, then twisted the cap off a water bottle before chugging half of it. "Yeah, maybe I should."

She sat on the window sill, taking in the lazy orange sun rising.

"Emma, cigarette?"

"Always," Emma sighed, plucking the white roll from Ava's fingertips. The latter lit it up before sticking one in between her lips and doing the same. A large puff of smoke escaped Emma's lips before she spoke.

"I didn't expect it, at all. Everyone knows the boys get in trouble, but I guess they really fucked it up this time, and the Tears were planning for a surprise revenge. I drove their with James, old tradition. Double trouble busts into the party and we liven the place up, y'know?

Now that I think back on it, he was talking about the whole thing that blew up. He was like 'Oh, you should've seen the look on Ian's face when I snatched that bag. Priceless!' I thought it was a harmless prank. I guess he did, too."

Emma sniffed, pausing for a moment and letting her leg dangle lazily out of the window.

"The party was just like any other. Loud music, flashing lights, spiked drinks and enough flirting to make even Mia blush. James wanted to make an entrance. He downed a can of Keystone in a few seconds then swept me into a kiss." Emma gave a small smile. "It felt almost unreal. I shouldn't have been surprised he was such a good kisser, but I was never really into him, y'know? We were just real good best friends, although I think I'm why he could never hold onto a girlfriend for too long," she chuckled.

"It felt a little awkward for me, but the crowd was loving it. We started delving deeper into the party, and next thing you know..." The smile faded and her eyes became unfocused as her voice lowered to a bare whisper. "Next thing you know, some Tears kick down the door and start shooting. It was so... confusing. I just couldn't piece it together. I don't know why. But, James was quicker. He started dragging me through the house, but not fast enough. I don't know if I felt it first or heard it first. James gets-- He's--" Emma stumbled through the words, her voice growing hoarse. "There was just blood everywhere, and it burned. It burned, Ava, and the whole world turned upside down."

She wiped her face with a hand, tears starting to fall down her cheeks. The sun hadn't moved, a giant unaffected by trouble, letting the clouds lazily drift.

"It was like a dream after that. I heard the sirens over the music, and then someone picked me up. I couldn't move." She absently rubbed her hand over her side. "I was like a vegetable. Everything was so overwhelming, I just couldn't move. I couldn't talk. I just watched. They took me away, and I watched as they hunched over his body. He was dead. And then the others. People I knew, just lying there, unmoving. Were they dead? Just like that. No last words, no one else to send their last wishes... They were all gone, like it was nothing."

Emma drew deeply into the cigarette, closing her eyes and letting the nicotine wash over her.

"No more parties," Ava muttered.

"No more parties."

They sat there for a while, chatting idly about the school day ahead of them. Classes would start in an hour, but they didn't care. Nobody would come on time anyway. The sun slowly climbed up the sky, burning away the trails of smoke that left the window.

They heard a faint howl, soon followed by several laughs. Emma glanced in the direction of the noise. Their whooping took a sinister turn as she discovered the origin. A small group of five boys, each with masks and scarves to hide their faces, paraded by, some with guns strapped to their backs, and others wielding bats peppered with nails. One of the rifle carriers slowed as he passed beneath her window. A white skull painted on black looked up at her. She felt her heart racing, but was too afraid to move. Then, he lifted the mask, and a sly smile paired with deep, coffee brown eyes gave her a knowing look. She'd know that face anywhere. It all happened in a split second, and the mask was back on and he was running to meet up with his crew again, a manic laugh echoing through the skull. A range of emotions flooded through her. Her lip quirked into a smile, but her eyes widened in fear and her throat felt raw. He's alive.

There was a near minute of silence between the girls before Emma spoke up.

"Hey, Ava. Maybe we should skip school today."

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The song of inspiration: 'Foster The People - Pumped Up Kicks (slowed)' by 80s & Chill

The comment of inspiration: "Okay, okay, hear me out: Imagine a group of teenage boys skating down your street, all with masks and either a knife or baseball bat. You are smoking out of your bedroom window and happen to look at them as they past by. One of the members at the back of the gang looks up to where you are, he slows down but the rest don't notice. He takes off the mask and it's your childhood bestfriend who was proclaimed dead. He winks at you, places his mask back on and catches up to his group. (edit: please give me your whattpad username if your gonna do this and post it i would love to see it, thank you :) ) my wattpad username is: WeVxbing x :) (i'm writing the story lol)" by cba

Please check out WeVxbing's own version of their story, "Lost Friendship."