Tonight was awful.
It was Halloween night, and Riku was at a party. He didn't usually go to things like this, but one of Kairi's friends was hosting, and she begged him and Sora to go. She immediately abandonded them when they arrived, though, and left him and his friend to drink punch and wander around the house of someone he'd never met.
The music was loud, and they hadn't yet played a song he enjoyed, but he didn't complain as he leaned against a wall, chatting with Sora. The house was packed, and he looked out at the sea of costumes, and suddenly decided he looked really lame in his mummy costume. Kairi had wanted them to dress as a trifecta, so he was a mummy, Sora was a campire, and Kairi was a witch. Staring at the other people, he saw some zombies, a guy with an axe in his head, a hot-dog, some anime characters, and some girls in their underwear with animal ears on their heads.
Sora stayed by his side, but was chatting around with some of the other people there. And while Riku appreciated the gesture, he wished he was elsewhere, especially when a girl dressed in lingerie, with angel wings strapped to her back started to circle him.
"I'm going to get more punch." He announced to Sora, who gave him a thumbs up, then continued talking to someone else. Riku navigated through the maze of sweaty bodies from the living room to the kitchen and helped himself to another Solo cup full of the bowl of ice cream and hawaiian punch concotion.
As he drank, he looked around at the people in the room. His head began to swim, and he decided it was from being too hot. So, he downed what was left of his punch, fixed what would be his 4th cup, then headed for the back porch.
It was mostly empty out here, for which he was glad, save for a few people who were rolling the back yard, and some couple making out in the corner on the porch swing. He sat down on the stairs of the back porch and looked down at his cup, swirling the lumps of ice cream by swishing the cup around.
"Wow, it's way more quiet out here." Spoke a voice, and Riku looked up. There was a girl dressed like Black Cat, her long red hair pulled into a pony tail. "May I join you?" She held up her own solo cup, clutched to her chest, and pointed at the stairs with a single finger.
Riku shrugged and she sat down next to him. His heas was still swimming, and the smell of her perfume swirled around, making him sleepy. She looked down at her own cup, stretching her legs down a few steps. They sat in silence for a moment before she spoke again, making small talk. "It's a nice night out."
He grunted a response. "It's going to rain soon, though." She continued, more to herself. They were quiet again. He could hear bull frogs in the difference, and the wind rustled through the trees. He drank more of his punch. "This punch is good, risn't it?" She asked, looking at him through her black domino mask. "What ever they mixed in it is pretty strong."
Mixed in? He looked down at his cup. So that's why he was feeling so strange and tingly. Someone spiked it. After a moment, he took another swig. She followed suit and set her now empty cup beside her on the next step. "I like your Mummy costume." She complimented, and he looked down at his outfit.
It was starting to get cold, Riku thought, but he really didn't want to go inside. He looked over at the girl as she stared up at the sky, her green eyes glistening with the nearby porch light. "My name's Riku." He spoke, introducing himself. She glanced over at him with a smile.
"Drea." She nodded, and they fell silent again. He liked this a lot, this serenity. It was almost east to ignore the couple who were now having sex, or the punks who had given up rolling the yard and instead turned to rolling a joint.
After a while, Drea pulled a cell phone from her bra and checked the time. "Hmm.." She sighed, then stood, their arms brushed as she moved. "Well, Riku, nice to meet you." She smiled softly. "I'm gonna head home, I guess. Thanks for keeping me company."
Riku stood up as well. He got a bit of a head rush from his druken state and grabbed the railing for support. Drea quickly helped him steady. "You okay?" She asked, and he nodded.
"Yeah," He spoke, and his words seemed slower than he meant them too, "Let me walk you home." He offered, wanting to leave the party as well. He figured this was the best excuse he was going to get, and he genuinely was concerned that the girl got home safely.
Drea laughed softly, "Are you sure I dodn't need to walk you home instead?"
Riku smiled, "I'm fine." He insisted, so she nodded.
"Very well, sir. You may escort me home." She gave him a soft smile, and stepped onto the porch. Together, they went inside, grabbed another cup to drink each, and made their way through the living room towards the front door.
As they passed, Riku caught eye of Sora, and his friend seemed like he hadn't even noticed Riku's prolonged absence. He decided they would be fine with out him, and he didn't stop to say anything as he and Drea reached the front door.
They shut the door behind them, muffling the loud music. It looked like the party had spilled out onto the lawn. There were people hanging off the trees, and rolls of toilet paper everywhere. A few people were vomiting in the bushes, and even more were passed out in the grass.
Drea stepped around them daintily, her heels sinking slightly in the dirt. They made it to the road, and she turned left, taking him down the side walk. "So, what brought you out tonight?" She asked, "You don't really seem the partying type."
Riku shrugged, "I came out with two of my friends. Kairi begged us." He answered as they ambled. It began to sprinkle as they moved, but it wasn't bad enough for an umbrella - not that they had one anyway. "What about you?" he asked the girl as she took another drink.
"To be honest, I didn't want to be at home." She said, "So I just started walking, and kinda got a little lost." The redhead admitted, "Saw that there was a party going on, so I decided to check it out." They finished their cups and tossed them in a trash can at a bus stop.
Riku laughed, "So you didn't even set out to go to the party intentionally?" She shook her head, and he laughed again. "Then, why are you in a costume?" Every time he laughed, his body hummed with him from the alcohol.
She shrugged, "Cause it's Halloween. Why else?" And Riku supposed that was a good enough reason, and left it at that.
The buses stopped running long ago, and houses were dimming left and right as people started going to bed. Riku wondered what time it was exactly, but he didn't care too much.
The wind rustled the trees again, and several leaves came twirling down onto them. Drea stooped and piced one up, looking at it. "Do you ever wonder how far leaves can go?" She asked him and he shook his head. "Like, do they just rest in suburb yard, or make it all the way to the city? Or do they just land in the rivers and float away?"
Riku looked down at the redhead and smiled softly, "I've never really given it any thought." He admitted and she shrugged. "Do you always talk like this?" He asked, and he saw her blush.
"Only when I've been drinking." Drea answered, and they continued to stroll together. She lead him around a corner into a suburb, and part of him hoped she didn't live down this way because he wanted to keep walking with her.
The rain started to pick up slightly as they continued down the sidewalk, the last of the trick-or-treaters danced around them to collect their last minute candy bars. "I miss it sometimes." Drea mused, motioning to the children, "Trick-or-Treating." The redhead sighed dreamily as she paused to slip off her heels.
"This looks like a good neighborhood for it." Riku observed, and Drea nodded. The houses weren't particularly large, but they were well landscpaed, and it was near the beach. He could hear the ocean from where they stood, and could feel a nice breeze. Riku thought he wouldn't mind getting a house in this neighborhood when he was older.
"It is." She agreed, then poitned to a small brick house. "I grew up there." He looked over at it. The lights were off, but they crossed the street together to stand in front of it. There was a for-sale sign in the front lawn, and Riku thought the house looked sad.
He looked over at Drea, who had dark eyes. "This is the first time I've beem able to look at it properly." She murmured, then looked down to the pavement. The girl crouched and ran her finger over one of the hand prints in the cement of the driveway.
Riku looked at the handprints. The larger of the two, the one she was tracing, had the words "Lea. Age 13." carved in the concrete under it. The smaller read "Drea. Age 8."
Her hair was starting to get wet now, and it began to cling to her neck as the water beaded up and rolled across her skin. It was starting to get colder, so he put his arms around her shoulders. "He was so young.." She whispered to herself, leaning against him.
"Hey..." He said soothingly, "I saw a convenience store over there. Let's go get something to drink.." She looked at him with teary eyes and nodded with a smile. They crossed the street together again and cut through someone's yard, coming around the back side of a gas station.
Riku sat her outside on the curb before going inside. He returned shortly thereafter with a hot dog for himself and a paopu slushie for each of them, and together they sat. As Drea slurped on the icee, she leaned against Riku with a sigh. He looked down at her, and smiled softly as his cheeks warmed up. "Do you mind if we hang out here for a bit?" She asked. He told her he didn't mind at all.
They sat in silence for a while, and Riku was content. Drea radiated enough heat to keep him warm in the rain, and though his butt was numb from the cold concrete, he didn't feel like moving. His head was still swimming with the alcohol, but time was starting to sober him.
When they had finished their drinks, Drea stood and threw their cups away. The seams of her cheaply made costume began to tear, and she took off her domino mask and tossed it in the rubbish bin as well. The girl turned back to Riku, running her fingers through her damp, scraggly pony tail, and Riku gave a soft smile.
She offered her hand to help him up, and when he got to his feet, he didn't let go of her. They continued to walk down the sidewalk, hand in hand in the rain. He was sure it was well past midnight, but he didn't mind being out past curfew for her.
"I appreciate you walking me home." Drea thanked, smiling up at her newfound friend. "When we reach my house, I'll thank you properly." Riku looked away with a soft blush. They walked along together, her bare feet making no noise on the leaf-covered sidewalk.
Eventually they reached a small cul-de-sac on the edge of town. Riku could smell the ocean and hear a train in the distance. Combined with the sound of the rain, and frogs chirping, he felt at peace. Drea let go of his hand and raced forward, her laughter echoing through the empty streets. "C'mon, it's up here."
They stopped infront of a small grey house, decked out with spooky decorations. She turned to face him, and he found himself sad they had reached their destination. "Hey, Riku.." She spoke, stepping to him. She took his hand in her, and he looked at her for a moment, before she stood on her tip-toes and placed a kiss on his lips. After a moment, she pulled away and smiled, "Thank you."
"Don't worry about it." Riku said, his head spinning. Drea gave his hand a squeeze, then let go, and made her way toward her house.
"I'll see you at school tomorrow?" She asked, and he nodded dumbly. The girl smiled and waved over her shoulder before unlocking her door and slipping inside. Lingingering in her yard, Riku eventually turned away and began to walk home.
Tonight was a good night.