Party tonight at my place! Parents are gone for the weekend!
The facebook status already has 78 likes on it. You stare at it across the screen, sitting in the highschool's library where you were supposed to be studying for your pre-cal test. Biting down on your pencil, you click on Hau's message box and type out a reply
You: Isn't your Grandpa gonna be pissed?
Hau: Grandpa who? The dudes on a fishing trip. C'mon it'll be fun! Captain of the volleyball team is gonna be there. If I'm not mistaken, weren't you and him caught making out in the changing rooms last week?
He sent a winky face after that, making you blush and your pencil drops noisily. A girl next to you shushes you angrily.
It's Friday evening, school had just finished but you decided to stay back to do some studying. You'd be attending the prep school, St. Arceus' since middle school, deemed the most prestigious in the region. Bring top rated and with many student head-hunted after graduation, many rich families boarded their kids here in preparation for law, medicine or engineering. The price was a heafty 40K a year, but it was nothing compared to your parents combined salaries: pocket change. Luckily for you, your family decided to move here from Kanto many years ago to reduce your mental stress. In the world of Pokémon, it was common for people to either go to University or start their Pokémon training; both a diploma and license ended up costing roughly the same, although training Pokémon and making enough money at it was somewhat of a gamble. Your parents had deterred you from it at a young age, as it was decided to be too risky for the inheritance to assuringly be passed on.
You mulled over the thought of a party briefly. How many more opportunities would you have, while graduation was quickly approaching and your youth fleeting? You decided that the days were getting shorter and you weren't going to be a teen forever.
Shutting your NacBook Pro, you pack up your belonging and exit the library, the girl next to you giving another loud "SHH!" as the door accidentally slams behind you. She was the only one left in there.
o o o
While walking home, you had texted the groupchat inviting all the girls to your place to get ready for Hau's event.
A few hours later, you're blasting music in your room with the girls, including your best friend, Lillie. She was the daughter of the Aether Paradise Foundation's founders, as well as heir to the company. She had been homeschooled all her life along with her younger brother, but for the sake of tending to the company, her mother decided to board her children at St. Arceus'. She was a beautiful young girl, with grace and perfectly domesticated, albeit naive. That aside, you're laughing, drinking some cola and one of your pals is rummaging through your closet looking for a pair of heels to borrow.
"I hear rumours that Souths Side is coming as well," one of your girlfriends chimes into your conversation, as you curl Lillie's hair. All the attention snaps on her.
"Yo, aren't those dudes, like, druggies?" one girl pipes in. She was doing her mascara before she turned to the one holding her phone up.
"Yep! Check it out! Guzma even posted this on his Instaglam!" she holds out her iPhone, the screen showing a big pile of some sort of dried green herbs, with the caption being dollar bill emojis. You crinkle your nose. Weed was illegal, you thought in disgust. How his parents let him have it was beyond your comprehension. But more importantly, why was she following Guzma on Instaglam...?
Your house was on Dougald Road, in the ritzy neighborhood of Elm Bay, by the ocean overlooking the mainland of Unova on the distant horizon. You'd lived on this island your whole life, in this beautiful modern house your parents bought to celebrate their marriage. Your mom was a real estate agent that sold multi-million dollar homes and your father an engineer. He had been the main project builder for on of the most extravagant bridges spanning near Iki Town, skyrocketing tourism after it's initial reveal date. Your life was relatively peaceful; vacations every winter to Sinnoh ski slopes, and in the summer your family visited the estate in Johto. Although you were an only child, your mother and father gave you strict responsibilities, such as paying off your joint-credit card on time, cleaning the house, and occasionally taking your pet Meowth for a walk.
Along with your enrollment at St. Arceus', you were active in the leadership committee, the cheerleading team on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, along with your private tutoring once a week for your AP chemistry class. You were not about to go to a party with weed, you thought distastefully.
"Are you kidding? That public school is coming to our party, with the promise of marijuana? Hau won't allow it," you spit the word marijuana like venom and scoff, accidentally pulling Lillie's platinum hair, who squeaked in protest. Your three friends turn to you, frowning.
"Hau has a crush on one of the girls there. He'll probably be all sad if you don't come, anyways. You wouldn't want him to be too upset that that girl would pass him up, would you?" one of your friends asks, a fake pout on her lips.
"Oh whatever," you frown, "like she'd turn Hau down. No matter how pudgy or homely he is, he's already been headhunted at Parterre Way University in Kalos, he's gonna make big bucks one day. A girl would be daft to turn him down," you say with your nose in the air, and your friends burst out laughing.
"So, what if the volleyball team captain is going?"
That catches your attention, but you fake interested as you finish up the last curl in Lillie's hair.
"C'moooooon (y/n), a little bit of weed can't make you not go to a party! Loosen up a bit! Say what, I'll even let you borrow my Praba bag for tonight," your friend pulls out her new purse, cream coloured and gold accents. Your eyes light up and sparkle at the designer bag. You can't resist.
"Fine. Throw the Louis Vichon shoes in as well," you add, standing up. Your friends exchange looks with each other.
"This doesn't even make sense, but sure,"
You smile, and begin your transformation from innocent-student-in-plaid-uniform to is-it-even-legal-for-a-seventeen-year-old-to-look-like-that.
o o o
You lead your friends to Hau's front door. You decided on a little black dress, hair flowing down over your shoulders, and of course the Praba bag and Louis Vichon heels, signature red sole and everything. You contrasted Lillie quite well; she is wearing pastel blues including a mini skirt.
The lit-up house is a three stories tall, wooden and surrounded by palms and a front garden. You can hear the music thumping already, even before you approach the front door. You ring the bell.
Hau lurches it open, nearly falling over in the process. He's dressed in slacks and a polo, a red-solo cup precariously swinging in his hands. The smell of brandy fills your nostrils, no doubt his father's import.
He slurs your name loudly, having to catch himself on the door frame. "So glad you came!" You didn't quite picture Hau being a sloppy drunk by 8 pm.
The door opens wider before you, and you gather the scene in. There are people everywhere, all holding red solo cups filled with imported liquors or bottles of expensive craft beer. The stairs leading up to the second floor have people sliding down the railings, and in the living room a table has been set up for beer pong. You can see two girls shaking their asses in the corner of your eye, and a few couple grinding on each other or making out. The music is a deafening beat, from the sounds of it some sort of rap or rnb. Bost Nalone, probably. He was popular on the mainland, which usually carried over to the islands eventually.
The house party was already so lively. Tonight was going to be incredible, you smile in excitement.
"Of course, Hau! I couldn't miss out on this!" you say sweetly, patting his shoulder. You could feel your friends glower at you from behind, their gazes burning at your back. Weren't you just trying to back out less than an hour ago...?
He lets you step through, and immediately multiple pairs of eyes land on you, including the captain of the volleyball team, who had just successfully tossed a pingpong in a cup. He smirks at you as his friends leap around him yelling in celebration, and he takes a swig from his cup. Then he winks and you feel your cheeks burn up furiously.
"Looks like you're already reeled the Gyarados in," Lillie smirks and elbows your side. You swallow, and decide to toss your hair in an attempt to look passive. "Everyone says you'd make a cute couple!" she adds, leaning in for your reaction. Lillie was deemed the matchmaker in your group of friends, although she never seemed to have much luck with boys herself...
Brushing her teasing aside, you make your way to the bar and pour a line of shots for you and your friends.
As the alcohol settles warmly in your stomach, you notice Hau has began letting people into his pool and hot tub outside. You wistfully wish you brought a bathing suit, but apparently missed the memo. A shame too, you just bought a new swim piece.
You push your way towards the kitchen, where Hau was currently unpacking a platter of hor d'oeurves. "Hey, is it true you invited the South Side?" you ask, eying a piece of avocado sushi.
"Hmm? Oh, yeah," he smiled his usual toothy grin, "I thought it would be a great idea! You know, making friends with the less fortunate and stuff. It'll bring our community together!"
You nod slowly, disregarding his classist remark. You pick up the piece of sushi before making your exit to locate Lillie. Hau was known for being friendly, not necessarily wise.
"Hey Lillie, what do you think about the South Side coming?" You find her lounging with some wine in her hand, surrounded by the socialites.
"I think it's a really great opportunity for them! You know, eating food that isn't cheetos or a party in a basement," she smiles, the socialites nodding in agreement.
As if on cue, a girl with pink hair in pigtails and shaved eyebrows stepped into the house, followed by a few others in off-brand clothing.
"Speak of Darkrai, and he shall appear," you murmur, the attention focusing on the door.
Everybody begins to hoot and holler, Hau pushing through to greet his guests. You can't quite make out the conversation over the music and yelling, but the thin girl nods and is let in, the other South Siders pooling in after her.
And one catches your eye.
A short guy walks in, his hair scraggly, black, and somewhat covering is eyes. He has tattoos on his arms, despite being underage. He walked with a sort of slouch, as if he was trying to dissolve in the background. For a fleeting moment, his stormy glower met your curious gaze, and you quickly looked away. You wondered if it was true how you could pay an amateur to do tattoos with used needles in some random garage. Hau told you that's how people got aids.
Hau pipes up, turning around smiling, sensing the shifting emotions of the crowd.
"Everybody have lots of fun tonight, okay! Let's play nice— and get this party started!" he jumps and nearly falls over in his drunkness, and on cue people hollering and laugh louder as the music is cranked up a few octaves. You hope you wouldn't be deaf after this.
The party goes on straightforward, or however straightforward parties can go. Nobody had hurt themselves, and only one girl began to vomit. Things were running smoothly, until a strange odour hit your nostrils around 11pm.
You had been dancing in the living room for some time now, your inhibitions released as the alcohol saturated you. Something outside caught your eye; what looked to be a small lighter flame. Slowly, you put down your drink and investigate.
One of your girlfriends was standing on the deck with what looked like a lit joint in her hands, the short guy you saw earlier sitting at Hau's glass outdoor table, rolling doobies for bystanders. A bill was handed to him, and he passed the joint to one of your classmates.
You stare for a moment, taking in the scene. Away from the music and the pool being on the other side of the house, this was a different atmosphere all together. Suddenly, the boy looks up at you with a scowl.
"You gonna tattle on me 'r what?" he hisses through his teeth. "D'you come to buy or just stand there with your jaw on the ground?" you notice him bring a freshly rolled joint to his hands and lick it with a pierced tongue. You shiver, meeting your friends bloodshot gaze. You felt betrayed she would succumb to such an illegal act.
You back up slowly and go back inside without a reply. The music filled your ears, and you tried to forget what you just saw. Slowly, you made your way back to the coffee table and found your drink where you left it. So, you chug it back hastily in attempt to bring you into a better mood.
For the next half hour, things go well. You somehow end up bouncing on the sofa, people gathered around to watch your skirt flit up and down along with a few other girls pretend pillow-fighting.
But sudden strange feeling sweeps over you. You feel tired and disoriented, and on reflex begin searching the crowd for Lillie's blonde curls. You decide it's a good idea to step off the couch, seeing as your hands begin shaking.
You stumble towards the washroom on the main floor, when you trip on a discarded cup. You're caught by the captain of the volleyball team. "Hey babe, you okay? Let's take you to the washroom," he says in a concerned tone, bringing his hand to your forehead. You blush, feeling tiredness numb your legs. Did you somehow get alcohol poisoning? It was strange, but your thoughts slowed and slowed, so that by the time the captain had helped you up the second flight of stairs, you couldn't form words. The washroom was right there. Why're you taking me to the one upstairs? You think, your mouth cottony.
"Alrighty, Hau said there was a bathroom in his parents bedroom," the captain assured you, as if reading your mind, "oh hey, dude," you look up to see his friends standing with smirks on their faces, arms crossed. Something in his voice sounded fake or strained, "Wanna help me get her to the washroom?"
Nothing was making sense.
Your legs feel like gelitan. You suddenly collapse, unable to hold your weight. His friends rush forward, one grabbing your thighs and lifting you towards Hau's parents bed. The world was spinning and tunnelling, and for a split moment fear churned your stomach. However, you had no energy to reason or form thoughts in your brain, so you let them toss you onto the bed roughly. You heard the door shut and one begin fiddling with your dress strap.
You hear a commotion. It sounded like the door was kicked open, along with a booming shout. Opening your eyes, you see the South Sider who was dealing weed early puffing himself up against the much taller boys from your school, who were cracking their knuckles. The contrast between them was stark: ones yellow dress shirt had been tailored to fit, and the South Sider's tipped pants were nearly falling off. You can faintly make out the words, but only later did you look back and comprehend them.
"Dude, chill man. We were only bringing her up here to tuck her in bed. She's had way too much to drink," one boy smiled insincerely, crossing his arms to puff out his chest.
"It doesn't take four of ya prissy fuckers to do that. Or with undone belts, either," the short boy growled, grey eyes flashing dangerously and head lowered. You notice him reach in his pockets, then pull out his fists clad in spiked brass knuckles.
You don't really remember the rest, other than grunting and yelling. What seems to be seconds later, you open your eyes and see the South Sider hastily put your shoes back on. His nose appears to be broken, and blood was dripping from various parts of his head, particularity his temples.
"...nng?" you try to sit up, only to flop down again.
"It's okay, doll. Big bad Guzma delt with those houndooms. You're safe now." He hoisted himself up, "I'm gonna get yer friend," as your gaze follows him as he runs out, you notice nobody else is in the room, save the captain sprawled on the floor in the hallway.
Your whole body is numb, despite your shivering. You try to sit up once more, this time dizzying into blackness.
o o o
Birds are chirping, perched on your window sill. Sunshine tilts through, landing annoyingly in your eyes.
You wake up the next day in your bed. Meowth looked at your apprehensively, kneading your side and mewing. What on earth happened last night? Who was Big Bad Guzma? You wonder, grabbing your sore head.
A sudden urge to vomit overcomes you, and you leap out of bed.