Author's Note: Inspired by the songs "Big Machine" by the Goo Goo Dolls, "Nightmare" by Eve 6, and a fun episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Disclaimer: Not mine, don't sue, no money anyway
Hey, what are you thinking, I tried to read your face. Say, say what you're thinking, don't carry 'round that pain.
Johnny sighed and looked up from his latest Happy Noodle Boy comic. He really hated it when the neighbors had parties. Not only were there entirely too many people around, most of them acting like complete idiots, but he could always hear the music all the way down the street. He wondered briefly how may explosives he had left after all the fun at that café, but he really didn't feel like going out. Thinking there might still be a guest from the last annoying party chained up in the basement, he started for the stairs.
Bzzaaagh!
Nny froze. Someone was ringing his doorbell? That was odd. He shrugged. It was a little late for door-to-door salesmen, but he could always use an extra victim. Pulling open the door, he was surprised to see two girls standing before him - a slightly familiar-looking redhead and a blonde. Both of them were giggling and leaning on one another, apparently having some trouble balancing on what Nny judged to be four-inch heels.
Ooh, drunken party girls. Even better than annoying salespeople.
"Hey," the redhead began, then stopped and stared at Johnny for nearly a full minute before slurring, "You're hot," and collapsing in giggles once more, joined by her friend.
Oookay.drunker than I thought.
She tried again. "Do you mind if we park some cars on your lawn or something? We kinda ran out of room on the street." She gestured behind her. Johnny could indeed see cars parked along every available inch of sidewalk.
"Read the signs," he muttered, closing the door. But before he could get it shut, the girl moved to block the door. Nny was surprised her reflexes were that good.
"Thass rude," she said, smiling.
Johnny rolled his eyes. I'll show you rude. But for some reason, he wasn't feeling very homicidal at the moment. He simply said, "I'm sorry. Goodbye," and attempted to close the door again.
"I'll forgive you," she said, still holding it open, "if you come to my party."
Nny stared at her in shock for a moment. "Uh."
"We gotta get back now, but you better come, okay? I'll look for you. Bye!" And with that, the girl and her friend, who was still laughing at absolutely nothing, stumbled back in the direction of the noise.
Slightly stunned, Johnny slowly returned to his chair. He had been invited to a party. All right, he had been invited to a party by someone who was barely coherent, but it was an invitation nonetheless.
Naturally, he wouldn't be going. He didn't even know the girl, or, for that matter, want to know her or any of the other pieces of human waste that would surely be at such an event. He turned back to his comic, then remembered that he had been headed downstairs.
Hmm. Nny fingered the trusty machete tucked into his boot. He could always go, just to pick up a new victim or two. There really wasn't anyone worthwhile in the basement. And that way, no matter how things worked out, it wouldn't be a complete waste. Nodding to himself (and completely forgetting that just a few minutes ago he hadn't wanted to leave the house), he bounded for the door.
The girl had not said where she lived, but it wasn't terribly difficult to figure out. A house a few doors down had all its lights on, music blaring even louder now that he was outside, and a nearly constant stream of people going in and out. Johnny approached the house a bit uncertainly, almost expecting to be stopped at the door and turned away. He entered without incident, feeling strangely relieved.
Inside, everything was bright, hot, and loud. The majority of the room was being used as a makeshift dance floor. It wasn't large enough. The result was a nearly solid block of people dancing. Johnny edged carefully around them, wondering how on earth they could move without bumping into each other.
There was no shortage of people in the rest of the room, either. Nny wove between them, trying not to step on anyone's feet as he glanced around. All right, what the hell was he supposed to do now that he was here?
Spotting a table loaded with food and in a slightly less populated area, he made a beeline for it. He poured himself a cup of soda from one of the half-full two-liter bottles littering the table and stood back to watch the dancers. He had just enough time to think how glad he was not to be among them, when.
"Hey! Hey, you, hottie!" Nny glanced up to see the drunken hostess hurrying toward him, moving through the crowd surprisingly well. "Hey, wanna dance?" she asked breathlessly upon reaching him.
"No, I." But she was already grabbing his arm and pulling him onto the dance floor. Nny had just enough time to set his drink down on the table before being dragged into the solid wall of bodies.
Three songs later, Johnny finally managed to shake off his captor and regain the relative safety of his spot by the food table. The dancing had not been quite as bad as he had imagined. After only three dances he was tired, hot, sweaty, and quite tired of being rammed by people's elbows, but other than that it wasn't so bad. Grabbing the soda he has left behind, he gulped down the remainder of it, then looked up. He noticed a girl with bright-blue hair and really awesome boots moving in his direction. Probably a complete coincidence, but he decided to move just in case she was having any misguided thoughts of dragging him back onto the dance floor.
Strange, though, he didn't seem to be able to move as quickly as usual, and the next thing he knew, the girl was beside him.
"Hi," she said. Up close she seemed unbelievably beautiful.
"Hey," he replied, suddenly feeling very warm, content and comfortable. The girl said something and gestured with one hand, brushing it against his arm. He didn't hear the words. His arm seemed to tingle where she had touched him. His vision was a bit blurry, but all his other senses seemed sharpened. She spoke again, and though the words didn't register, her voice cut through his head, drilling into his skull. He winced. He could feel her, could feel everyone in the room, the heat from their moving bodies prickling along his skin.
The sensation was fascinating, but somewhat sickening at the same time. Wanting out of the room, away from the people and their stinging warmth, he attempted to walk away again and made some progress this time, though it was still slow going. He seemed to be moving at normal speed, but he wasn't getting very far. Finally he made it to a fairly quiet hallway and wandered aimlessly down it. At the end of the hall was a bathroom, which was miraculously empty. The floor was checkered with black and white tiles. Nny stared at it, fascinated, until the tiles seemed to go on forever, the sway gently around him. Slightly dizzy, he sank down on the edge of the bathtub, wondering why the lights seemed to be getting dimmer. The room swam and darkened as the chill of the porcelain seeped into his skin, burning even more so than the heat of the bodies in the other room. Nny was dimly aware of throwing up on the tiled floor before sliding onto it as everything went black.
One more author's note: K, so that sucked, but it was fairly necessary to the plot. Next chapter should be somewhat longer and better. Byeeee!
