Blue Sargent narrowed her eyes in concentration, one knee braced either side of him. "Quit squirming."
Ronan Lynch, sat sullenly on the sofa with his face tipped towards her, gave her a spiky look. "Asshole."
Previously, Blue might have glowered or retorted snappily, but now she understood him enough to understand that, actually- he was enjoying this, so she just rolled her eyes extravagantly at him and continued trying to draw the last scratch mark onto his cheek with her lip liner. "There" she said finally, leaning back and looking smugly at her handiwork. "You're done."
Ronan playfully pushed her back and stood, raising a hand to his face. "How do I look?"
Blue smacked his hand away. "Don't touch it! You'll mess it all up."
They were in Blue's weird-ass little room, her paper-trees stuck to the walls, beads hanging from the door. Rain was pattering softly against the dark window, and some weird jangly music one of the physics was playing was floating up from downstairs. The night was still relatively early, and despite himself Ronan could feel the soft press of expectations in his stomach. The promise of the night was held like a stilled breath, waiting to be released.
"Here." Blue led him to her bedroom mirror; Ronan had to stoop to peer at himself in the glass.
He looked...frightening. Or, more frightening than he usually did. He wore his usual black vest-top and jeans, but artfully ripped and smeared with fake blood. Gory looking scratches lined his pale face, his eyes heavily underlined with dark kohl. Ronan bared his teeth at himself, savagely pleased with his reflection "I look like an extra from a zombie apocalypse movie" he remarked.
"Is that your way of saying I did a good job?" Blue wanted to know, hands on her hips.
Before he could reply, Richard Gansey strolled into the room, narrowly avoiding hitting his head on the low ceiling. "I found my whip" he said grandly, "I'd left it in the back of the Pig." They both looked at him- Ronan noticed a blush spread up Blue's face, and even he had to swallow hard at the sight of Gansey, prince of Henrietta and a brilliant portrait of youth, dressed as Indiana Jones. Complete even with the fucking hat and whip.
Gansey, oblivious to their reactions to his outfit, beamed at Blue. "Jane, you look wonderful!" She was dressed as Emmeline Pankhurst, whoever the fuck that was, wearing a big puffy purple dress that did not suit her at all in Ronan's opinion, and a white sash across her chest that read votes for women. "And Ronan you look- urgh, you look dreadful." Gansey grimaced.
"Only because you can't deal with anything even relatively frightening, man. You always run out when me and Parrish are watching a horror movie" Ronan replied with a sneer.
"It's Halloween, Gansey" Blue replied. "Looking scary is kind of the idea." She peered behind Gansey, as if expecting someone to be there. "Where's Noah and Adam, anyway? The party starts soon."
"I believe Adam is still holed up in the bathroom with Orla- God knows what she's doing to him in there, and Noah is…oh, hello Noah!" As if summoned, Noah had appeared behind Gansey's shoulder- one moment there was nothing but the streaking shadows of the corridor, the next minute he appeared wearing beige overalls, black rubber boots and holding a hose. Ronan took one look at his costume, realised what it was, and snorted loudly.
Gansey shot him a look, but he needn't have- Blue had already discreetly kicked him in the shin. Shit. Ronan winced, shooting her a look back. For someone so small, she really could kick."Um, Noah" Gansey started uncertainly, whilst Noah smiled at him happily, giving them a little twirl in his costume. "You do realise you're dressed a Ghostbuster, don't you?"
Noah laughed, almost tripping over onto Blue's bed. "Duh, Gansey!"
Gansey exchanged a bewildered and slightly worried look with Blue. "But do you realise what Ghostbusters actually…do?"
"Clues in the name" Ronan supplied helpfully. He wondered what Parrish was doing. Hoped he'd hurry the hell up. Quickly, he managed to side-step Blue's next kick.
"They exterminate ghosts, right?" Noah said cheerfully.
There was a moment's pause, and then Gansey took a breath before he said extra-brightly, "well, ok! Now that we're all sure on that, we really should get going when Parrish re-appears."
Which would be soon. Hopefully.
"I'll go see what monstrosities Orla has done to his poor face" Blue said, leaving the room with a rustle of skirts. It was quite pathetically amusing to watch the look on Gansey's face as he watched her leave. Ronan thought about calling him out on it, because it was the just the two of them (and Noah, but he didn't really count because he already knew everybody's secrets), but it wouldn't have been fair. Ronan was probably just as obvious in his admiration for someone else, however much he tried to hide it.
Outside in the corridor, they all heard a brief snatch of arguing between Orla and Blue- and then abrupt silence at the sound of the bathroom door opening. Ronan heard Blue say something wry and Adam's answering laugh, low and embarrassed. His stomach swooped unexpectedly. Orla then appeared in the doorway to Blue's room, before throwing herself onto the bed as dramatically as possible- with a sigh and one arm thrown over her forehead as if in exhaustion, pulling up her turquoise top to reveal a whole lot of flat brown stomach. "Behold" she said in a low voice, "my creation!"
"Orla, really?" came Blue's exasperated voice from the hallway, and then Parrish appeared in the doorway.
He was backlit from the light behind him, creating an interlocking dance of light and shadow across the fine structures on his face. The light almost rendered him something imaginary, like a figment of Ronan's imagination- the finely shaped features, pale skin and eyes lined in dark kohl. The kohl made him look different, older, more exotic. Like a dancer from a nightclub, perhaps, or an artist's muse. Ronan stared, trying to work out what was so different. Orla hadn't done much. All Parrish was wearing was tight dark jeans and a dark shirt- the only differences were his eyes, large and dark-rimmed, his lashes made long and black, and some shinning gold powder swept along his cheekbones.
Ronan stared.
And stared.
Was this real, or was this a dream?
Parrish spoke then, and abruptly he was shoved back into real life. Dropping his eyes, Parrish shifted uncomfortably. "I haven't really got anything else to change into like you guys. I just came back from my shift at-"
"You don't need to change" Blue assured him in a slightly odd voice, at the same instant Orla said indignantly as she sat bolt upright, "excuse me, but what are you inferring? You're perfect."
"We're also late" Gansey said, checking his overly-flashy watch. "Everyone ready? It's time to go."
Even with Gansey's parental ushering of them towards the door, it was still another good fifteen minutes until they finally got the door. Blue had to run back for her tall purple hat which she'd forgotten, Jimi wanted to take pictures of them all, and Noah kept petting Parrish's hair in awe, mumbling "pretty" until Orla screeched at him not to touch her handiwork, resulting in Blue snapping something in his defence.
The cold air outside the heat and chaos of 300 Fox Way was a relief for Ronan. Goosebumps rose up on his skin as he watched the trees, looming dark shadows, shake against the night sky in the wind. "Right" said Gansey, opening the driver's door to the Pig. "Ronan, you're following in the BMW, right? Remember to follow me, okay? And that means actually follow, not just zoom on ahead like a maniac."
"Yes, Dad" he muttered impatiently, already sliding into the BMW. It was cool leather against his skin, the engine waiting to spring to life after the smooth insertion of the key.
"Blue, Noah, you're with me. Parrish?" Gansey looked expectantly at Parrish, who stood loitering between the two cars. Ronan was taking great pains not to look at him directly. It felt a little like looking into the sun.
He drummed hectically on the steering wheel with his fingers, closing his eyes. There was something clawing inside of him, desperate to break free. Something that felt even more desperate every time he looked at Parrish.
"I'll go with Lynch" he heard him say, and then a moment later he was sliding into the passenger's seat beside him.
Ronan focused on the mechanics of driving to try and still this racing thing inside of him- turning on the engine, feeling it purr beneath his feet as he slid smoothly into gear, waiting for the Pig to pull out onto the road. He managed about twenty seconds before he cracked and glanced over at Adam- he was looking out into the night, his profile shadowed, eyes strange and dark. The top two buttons of his shirt were undone- Orla's handiwork, definitely, and Ronan could see more pale skin there. His hands tightened unconsciously on the steering wheel.
"I'm surprised you're coming tonight" Adam said quietly, wryly. "Didn't think Fantasy was your type of place."
Ronan curled his lip. Fantasy was Henrietta's only downtown night club, which meant it served awful beers and played awful music and worst of all- was choked full of drunk Aglionby boys trying to dance and look cool. Ronan hated sober Aglionby boys at the best of times- drunk Aglionby boys, on the other hand, were damn near unbearable.
But it was October 31st, and Fantasy was putting on a special Halloween themed night. Gansey had been asked to go by about five different people, and although Blue hadn't been immediately thrilled by the idea she'd eventually said yes and now here they were, dressed up and heading to a nightclub full of fucking Aglionby bastards on Halloween.
Ronan had pretty much been expecting the night to be awful.
Now, with Adam sat beside him, looking like…that, it had taken a definite up-swing.
"Didn't think it was your type of place either" he replied, settling his hand on the gear-stick to move to fourth- Jesus, Gansey drove like an old woman. There was a gap, he could just about shoot past him- Adam put his hand over Ronan's, squeezing it gently. Ronan felt his entire body freeze, his eyes jerking to Adam. "We're about ten minutes away. Think you can bear to keep to a sensible speed for that long?" he said, eyebrows raised. He removed his hand. Ronan didn't change gear. Instead his mind was full of skin on skin, Adam's warm fingers, his long lashes against his cheek…
They got to Fantasy almost unbelievably quickly. The car park was full of huge shiny Aglionby cars, their back windows full of stickers for crew team and various bands they thought were cool and indie. Ronan watched the headlights slice off their elegant fenders as he managed to park beside the Pig.
The five of them walked up the door, where a bored looking bouncer let them in. The pumping bass, echoing Ronan's galloping pulse, could be felt in the soles of their shoes. Strobe lights cut across their vision, blurred and bright, illuminating a mass of dancing bodies. No one looked real- devils and witches, zombies and ghouls, princesses and superheroes. The air hung thick with alcohol and sweat, perfume and desire.
"Well" said Blue in the doorway, looking noticeably less keen to go in than she had been a moment ago.
"Looks fun!" said Noah brightly, his arm linked in hers.
"Excelsior" Gansey said bravely, and led the way into the chaos.