Oh How Times Have Changed

XXXII

 By the time we made it back to town, it was already dark out. We had spent a while at the diner before we started driving back to town. Saint and Mia had spotted a strawberry farm on the way back and insisted we went strawberry picking, since the rain had calmed down by that point. So, our day went by pretty quickly. 

We had all agreed to meet up in a few days for brunch before they all move back home. I dropped them all off, hugging them goodbye and set off to my own house. I was absolutely shattered and looking forward to a hot shower and bed. I decided to head to Daxx's, since my mum would freak out if I showed up in the middle of the night alone. 

As I pulled into Daxx's street, however, I knew my plans of a hot shower and bed were ruined. 

I had never seen a party quite like this. It seemed more like a demolition site than a party. Jimmy's mother was going to be ballistic when she sees the state of her garden; the once green grass was littered with alcohol bottles, furniture and toilet paper. Not to mention, somebody had spray painted the word 'fag' in black on the path, grass and front door. 

I slowed down my car, my jaw hanging open. This was bad. People were everywhere- it looked as if the whole town had turned up for this party. I suppose everyone was done with exams and had nothing else to do. The music was deafeningly loud and I knew the police would be called soon, if they hadn't already that is. 

I pulled over and parked along the street full of cars, taking in a deep breath. I felt like I was going to have a panic attack, but I knew I had to go in. This was my worse nightmare: a party full of homophobes kids from my high school, after dark and unsupervised. I knew, however, that Jimmy needed me. I was his only real friend at the moment, after all. If I were in this situation I would call Felix, so I had to help Jimmy. Be his Felix. 

It took all of my willpower to open the car door and climb out, feeling unsteady and slightly dizzy. I felt sick to my stomach, feeling worse with every step I took. I really just wanted to sprint off up the hill, but I knew I couldn't abandon him right now. I took a deep breath in, ignoring the looks that were sent my way by a few people I vaguely recognised from school. 

I pushed my way past the people who were smashing plant pots in the garden, inside the house. The main goal was to find Jimmy. I also needed to get these people out of his house, before they do some more permanent damage like breaking a window or something. I heard a smash, followed by a crowd of whooping. I spoke too soon. I received several glares, but I hadn't bumped into any jocks yet, which I was grateful for. 

I hadn't been here since I was a kid, so I didn't really know my way around, so I just followed the sound of the whooping to get to the kitchen. The further away from the front room I got, the quieter it became, but it was still deafening. I didn't even want to look at the front room. I couldn't believe that this many people even live in our town. 

All of a sudden, I was slammed up against the hallway wall roughly. I gasped on impact, my head hitting the concrete pretty hard. I groaned, fixing a glare on the goon in front of me. Just my luck. The hundreds of people at this party and I manage to bump into a goon within a few minutes of being here? Fantastic. 

"Come to visit your boyfriend?" The goon snarled, his spit flying across my face as he snarled, "I bet you thought you'd seen the last of us. Thought wrong." 

I could barely hear him over the music, so he was practically screaming in my face. He looked wild. Imagine having the energy to hate somebody this much for just being what they were born to be. Why even both with it? I'm definitely not worth all this effort; it's not like it's going to change who I am.

I didn't respond to him. Usually I'd pull out a smart ass comment, but I was too worried about Jimmy and trying to focus on not hyperventilating. I simple blinked at him and this seemed to make him angrier, pulling me forward before shoving me back into the wall again: hard.