Chapter Eight: THE party
The parking lot of our school was so crowded. I felt all too relieved that I had not taken my car here, though I wondered how I would get home without the car. Well, hopefully this night would end in someone's bedroom, preferably Rinoa's. I took the helmet off and tied up my boots before climbing down the motorcycle. I didn't even pay attention to where Seifer put them. I just didn't care.
"Thanks for saving my ass. Let's check out the bar." I mumbled, stalking off into the direction of our gym where we had set up the party very cliché-like. Seifer followed me in silence. Maybe tonight was the night of people being out of character. I saw Zell sitting in a corner, brooding and ignoring my greeting, Selphie quietly talking to Irvine who had a look of forced patience on his face. They smirked at me both for my outfit and being followed by Seifer. Raijin was dancing with Rinoa not far from the bar; the sight gave me a stab of jealousy. Fujin was debating with Quistis and throwing her arms up in a desperate gesture every now and then while the other female listened to her with an amused expression. I ordered five beers and a Coke all at once, which earned me a look of disbelieve from the bar tender. Not to mention the puzzled look he gave my skirt. I passed one beer over to Seifer who accepted it with mild curiosity. Usually I didn't drink on parties. Somehow I had the feeling this evening would be very strange. Once I had downed all my beers, I grabbed Seifer and my Coke and dragged him over to Rinoa and Raijin with the intention of breaking their dance and make her talk with me instead.
"Hey Rinoa. Hi Raijin. Whazzup?" Okay, now I knew there was something wrong with this party. I knew it. My father had beat the crap out of me and I was in coma dreaming this shit. I never used Zell-vocabulary. I never drank at parties. And I never clung to Seifer like my life depended on it.
Obviously Rinoa thought the same judging by her expression. I sweat-dropped. Seifer chuckled. Life sucks.
The party itself was great. Selphie wouldn't let me choose all the music, but people recognized my influence immediately. Maybe that's why those Hip-Hop-Gangsta-jerks didn't come here. The rest of the students enjoyed the music and I had to admit the mixture of Selphie's party and dance music and my Hard Rock was awesome. When they played David Guetta everyone freaked out and even Rinoa and Raijin broke their dance to dance alone. Rinoa looked beautiful with her hair swaying around her whenever she moved her head. Raijin looked a little uncomfortable with the situation. I, on the other hand, had so much fun. I knew people said I danced like a girl afterwards but hey, I was supposed to look like a girl all week, right? So why shouldn't I use my hips a little more than strictly necessary? Still, my eyes were on Seifer for the next two hours flat. The way he moved spoke with a fluency that each of us lacked. The way he still managed to look very, VERY masculine impressed me; it still does today. I knew he caught my looks, as did everyone else and suddenly I forgot what my goal for that evening was. I forgot all about Rinoa. I forgot the bet. I didn't even notice when Raijin accompanied Rinoa to the toilet. It took me another hour to realize they were nowhere in sight and this epiphany was only triggered by Seifer nudging my shoulder to tell me he needed to go to the bathroom as well. He looked like he had just run a marathon. His face was all flushed and sweaty, his hair was tousled and his shirt clung to his chest like a second skin. I stared at his ass when he left.
Then I noticed I had a hard on. Fuck, that was embarrassing.
Thus I decided to return to my original plan and ask Rinoa to be my prom date. Right. I could do this. Strange enough I felt disappointed by the thought of some girl dancing with Seifer all night. Or perhaps it would be a guy? I didn't know anything about Seifer, I realized. I found Rinoa standing with a group of girls in front of the girls' bathroom, giggling about something. When I approached they fell silent, only watching me with bemused expressions. Probably because I had more style than any of them and looked much hotter in a skirt. Yay me.
"Rinoa, can I have a word with you?" I was suddenly very nervous and started toying with the hem of my skirt. She nodded her head yes, forcing her face into a serious expression and began leading the way over to a secluded corner where we could talk in peace. Her friends giggled some more. I considered swaying my hips some more to make them jealous of my sexy ass but they'd probably only burst out in laughter.
"What is it?" She sounded worried. Did I really look that horrible right now? I wished I had a mirror. I should probably check my make-up. "Squall?"
"Can I use your lip gloss? I think mine's –" She looked at me like I had grown another head. Oh shit. What the heck was that? "Err… Sorry, that wasn't what I wanted to say. Though if you could lend me yours for a while I'd be grateful." She stared at me, mouth agape while she handed me the lip gloss.
The girls behind us cracked up with laughter. I felt my face burning.
"Was that everything you wanted?" She asked incredulous. I shook my head no immediately.
"No, actually I wanted to ask you if… you… kinda… wanted to go to prom with me?" Oh god, this was SO pathetic. I could see her answer showing on her face before she even opened her mouth to articulate it.
"Oh Squall, I'm so sorry. I already have a date." She honestly looked apologetic. I let out a long breath I hadn't realized holding. Funny thing was, I didn't even feel disappointed. I guess I knew it since I saw her dance with Raijin. "I'm going with Raijin. I didn't know you wanted to go with me. I mean, not that I wouldn't go with you, you're one of my best friends." Yeah, continue stabbing my heart. "Actually I thought, you know, you were gay." THAT I had not expected. Was that what people saw in me? A fag? Okay, calm down Squall. You can't blame them. You're wearing a skirt, you dance like a girl, you practically drooled all over Seifer, you jerk off to guys, although they don't know that – I HOPE - AND you just borrowed your best friend's lip gloss. So MAYBE people realized something you haven't a little faster than your little brain can think?
"You thought I was GAY?" Okay no shouting in the halls please. Or else everyone will hear you. Thank you dear. "Okay, I can see why you might have thought so. But no, I'm not. Anyway, I think I gotta check on my make-up now. See ya." With that I excused myself and rushed into the men's bathroom. There were a couple of guys in there but I ignored them as I leaned against one of the basins and glared at my reflection in the mirror. At least my eye liner had not smeared. There were no remains of my lip gloss, though. Sighing in defeat I began to fix my make-up. The lip gloss was the same shade of pink as the pattern on my skirt. I would have preferred a less flashy color but my alternatives were slim.
"Hey faggot, fuck off and do that in the girls' bathroom." One of the guys yelled at me. I still ignored him. When he tried to grab my arm and forcefully throw me out, I caught his wrist and twisted it, lip gloss carefully secured in my other hand.
"Hey fucker, do that again and I'll beat the crap outta you." My voice was not more than a hiss but it was enough to draw every male's attention to me. Some were cheering for me, some glared at me. My attacker fled. "Anyone else who's got a problem with me? I'd love to smash a few things right now, so bring it on." None of them said a word. So I resumed fixing my make-up. When I was done, I stalked out of the bathroom, passed Rinoa, threw her lip gloss in her direction, and went to search for my other friends. I couldn't help but feel strange whenever I felt eyes on me. I wondered what they all thought of me. I know I shouldn't've cared, but I did. I felt vulnerable, like my every thought was exposed to them. I always considered myself a freak, but I never wanted them to think of me as a fag. Plus I couldn't find any of my friends. I think I had some kind of mental breakdown right then. I threw my ass onto a bench where I sat for a while, thoughts turning in my head. When I woke up from my inner coma, the party was almost over. It was four o'clock in the morning and the crowd started to vanish. I had to pee.
When I came out of the bathroom again, Seifer leaned against the wall facing the door, waiting for me. I didn't say anything, neither did he while he led the way over to the bar. I guess I looked like I needed a drink. I did, too.
"What happened?" He asked, handing me a beer. I didn't need to ask what he meant.
"I asked Rinoa out for prom. She said she was going with Raijin." Why was I telling him in the first place? Who cares.
"I know." His voice was apologetic. Maybe he felt guilty that he didn't tell me.
"You didn't know I wanted her to go with me." We were silent for a while.
"Where are your guys?" I took a look around.
"I dunno." I sighed. "Where are Raijin and Fujin?" He shook his head. Again we fell silent.
"So what are your plans for the rest of the night?" I thought for a while, sipping my drink.
"Nothing. To go home and sleep, I guess." I didn't want to answer that hidden question about how I planned to win our bet still.
"Won't your parents kill you?" I shrugged. "How about you go home with me?" I blinked. Did I just hear right? I turned around fully to look at him. There was no hint of amusement in his eyes. I actually considered his offer. I didn't want to go home. He leaned forward to whisper in my ear. "I guess the sleep part wouldn't be a problem as well." His lips curled against my skin. My heartbeat sounded like drums in my ears. I could smell alcohol in his breath, sweat on his body and that little pure scent I couldn't describe that was just Seifer. I inhaled his scent with deep breaths. It intoxicated me, making my senses swirl in a way that had nothing to do with alcohol.
"I'll kill you if we sleep a single minute this night."
