"Tally-wa, Fausto just pinged me… YOU'LL NEVER GUESS THE TRICK WE'RE PULLING FOR THE SURGE BASH?!
"Shay-la!" I whined. "You can't do that! Tell me!"
"Okay, okay. We're going to spike the Champagne with hardcore vodka. The rusty kind!" Shay said with a totally happy-making expression on her face. I felt myself smiling, despite my fading headache. She had taken the pills over half an hour ago and I wasn't accustomed to waiting.
"Shay-la, that's totally bubbly. Who came up with the idea?" I asked, as the last shred of pain faded away.
"Zane-la, of course!" Shay said, as if it was obvious. Which, I guess, it should have been. Zane was cleaver to the fullest extent.
"Poor new pretties. Their very first party and they'll wake up with a totally bogus headache" Shay chuckled wickedly. I snickered, too, and soon enough, we were both rolling around on my bed, laughing hysterically.
"Hey Shay-la?" I ventured, once their giggles had subsided.
"Yeah, Tally-wa?"
"What exactly is the surge bash?"
"Tally how could you now know? It's only the first and biggest bash of the season!" Shay exclaimed, rolling her eyes.
"Well, I know that, but what exactly is it?"
"Oh, I dunno, something about when the first pretty was made. All I know is that's it's gonna be totally bubbly! And nobody cared what it's all about anyway, Tally, that's totally bogus"
"You're right, Shay-la, completely brain-missing. All I know is we're gonna see some buzzy new-pretties.
"Yeah, Tally-wa, this is gonna be the bubbliest!" And it was true. The annual Surge Bash is the only party where all the cliques, including new-pretties fresh out of surge, celebrate together.
My wall-screen announced that there was a ping from Zane.
"Hey, Tally-wa, and probably Shay-la, I got the last of the party-making stuff for tonight. Don't forget, it's casual and outdoor. Don't forget swimsuits either -- not that we'll be needing them if we're skinny-dipping. And Tally- I'm sure you'll be a trillion mili-Helens! Can't wait!" the message ended and I saved it carefully.
"Aw... that's totally dizzy-making. I've never heard Zane say a trillion Mega-Helens before" Shay said as I looked down, my flash tattoos spinning.
Zane was so open our their relationship ... I like it, but it took some getting used to.
"Hurry up and get dressed, I wanna eat before we go to the bash so I don't have to deal with calorie purgers when we get there!" Shay said. And she was right; it was a downright waste of time to use those silly things, when you could be partying.
I threw on an orange and yellow swim-suit that she was sure would leave Zane totally brain-missing and the same fashionable skirt and halter top made of silvery synthetic material Shay was wearing. I almost walked out without my interface ring, which I had removed when I napped. I guess old habits die hard. We ran to Fausto and Peris' dorm to see if they wanted to eat, but they were off, probably securing the last of the Vodka with Zane. We didn't bother trying to find Zane himself, because he was surely busy. We left a ping with all three of them, however, saying that we were eating and purging for the party.
As we sat down and sunk their teeth into long sandwiched stuffed with vegetables and cheese Shay asked, "What's skinny dipping anyways?"
"I dunno, Zane-la mentioned it to me before. It's something to do with Swimming. It's what Rusties used to do at their bashes," I answered with my mouth full.
"Oh, well it must not be very fun, then," Shay said a little listlessly
"It has to be fun, Shay-la, Zane came up with it. Totally brain-missing. And anyways, Zane got some new words for us. He found and old rusty dictionary in the corner of Town Hall and he found all sorts of new words for Pleasure-making"
"No way! Dish, Tally," Shay said, stopping her sandwich in mid-air.
"Well, he mentioned a lot but I remember a few. There was shag"
"Shag? Like a shag rug?" Shay giggled.
"Yeah," I continued. "And there was do. Like I want to do you. And there was fuck"
"Fuck? Wasn't that one of those words the Rusties weren't allowed to use? What did they call it?"
"Curse words. Yeah, but they use it like I want to fuck you. Sort of like the way they used do. And there was screw. Same deal, except they said it when there were mad. Like 'screw you'" I explained.
"They were so weird," Shay said, taking another bite of her sandwich.
"I know," I said, "They even--" but before I could finish, she received a ping from the city. It announced that the bash was to start in and hour and a half and so businesses would close in half an hour.
"Lets meet up with Zane," Shay said, after receiving her own ping. I nodded my agreement, sipped the last of my lemon water, and located Zane on the city interface. He was just leaving her dorm headed towards the cafe we were at. Shay, having seen the same thing on her eye-screen began walking along side me towards their dorm chattering a mile a minute (whatever that means) about the party and how fun it would be and asking "what's skinny dipping anyways?" I tuned her out, turning the corner to see Zane walking towards us. He was dizzy-making as ever with his angular features and jet-black hair. But he was walking next to a girl who was just as pretty. She had thick, rich hair and green eyes. From the looks of her she wasn't from our click because she didn't have flash tattoos or anything extreme about her, really. Just average pretty but there was something about her that made you look twice, I thought. Maybe it was the fact that she was just so… unremarkable.
"Zane-la" Shay squealed, rushing up to them and closing the gap, "You MUST enlighten us what is skinny dipping anyways?"
"Yeah, Zane… what's the deal with that?" I heard the girl ask from where they were still a few feet away. I felt a twinge of… well, I wasn't sure what. But I just wanted the girl to know he was MINE. And besides, I was the only one who called him Zane without the "la".
"Ah, girls, that's a secret..." Zane said, arriving in front of us and wrapping his arms around my waist, "But I'll give you a hint... it has to do with swimming..."
I shivered as he drew his lips to my ear," Naked" he added in a whisper meant for only me.
And then whatever I had towards the girl evaporated. Everything was okay with Zane by my side.
Just then Fausto sidled up from behind me.
"Fausto," the girl said, "Where were you?! I was just thinking I wished you were here…!" And then it struck me and I almost laughed out loud. This girl didn't like Zane… she defiantly had the hots for Fausto. I started to view her as less of a potential competitor and more as a potential friend.
"Hi," I said, stepping forward, "I don't think I've met you… what's your name. I'm Tally, by the way".
"Oh, sorry. Yeah, I'm Ezrah," the girl replied.
"Oh! Ezrah… didn't I meet you at that party with Fausto one time?" Shay cut in, always the social butterfly.
"Yeah, I remember that".
And before I knew it they were wrapped up in their own conversation. Also, I was hyper-aware of Zane engaged in the conversation across the loose circle we had formed. I ran my eyes along his jawline admiring the sharp lines.
"Hey, Tally," he hissed, catching me by surprise.
"Hmmm…?" I replied too breathless to answer with much more.
"C'mere" he gestured. I looked around. Peris and the girl of the week had come up along with a few of the newer Crims. At this point we were a crowd, I realized. Conjugated in the middle of the street. But that's how the crims roll, right?
I unhooked her arm from Shay's who was too wrapped up in talking to Ezrah to notice or care .
"What is it, babe?" I asked. He pulled me in roughly and kissed me. His left hand pulled jerkily at my wrist while his right gently touched my hip. He was so rough usually that when he touched me slightly like that it sent a crazy ache though my entire body. I wanted him and badly. But we were in the middle of a crowed street. I had to compose myself. I pulled away.
"Zane..." I groaned. I vaguely remembered another relationship. In this one, she thinks, she was in charge. She liked that. A lot. She liked this, too, but she liked being the one that made the other pull away thinking "Damn.... I have to get control of this one". She decided to keep that in mind.
What are we waiting for?" Zane says, turning to the crowd, but somehow still smirking at her. "Lets get this party started!!"
"Alright!" Some random crim shouted over the hollers, "Where's the hard stuff?!" Zane pulled a bottle out of his jacket that had a liquid that looked almost like water but somehow you could tell it was... stronger, lighter. Lets get this party started, indeed.
***
The club was absolutely booming. Every type was there, but the crims stood out the most, without a doubt. We all had some tempsurge before coming to the party, arriving late because that's how we roll. I had eye surge that made my eyes pulse silver with my heartbeat. They went from their natural violet to silver.. Zane had a the same thing, his dark eyes going molten golden with very thump of his pulse. He also had a scorpion crawling up and down his arm... I was friends with that scorpion... it gave me an excuse to stare at his fabulous body. I also had a lightning bolt on my cheekbone which changed color with my emotion. IT was currently the perfect color to match my mood.. an exhilarating fuchsia tone. It was the color you looked at and your mood was instantly brightened. We partied hard together, Zane and I, and many girls had hit on him. But I didn't mind. i could tell just from the way he was looking at me that he didn't want them. And this thought made me fuzzy... well, that and all that alcohol.
Suddenly, someone came out of nowhere, appearing at my shoulder and pulling me away from Zane. Standing behind me was a boy. Lanky and muscular, he stood only a couple centimeters taller than me, unlike Zane who towered over me. He had blue eyes the color of the sky and floppy blond hair. He didn't have flash tattoos or any sort of surge, really. He was fresh looking and clean-cut. What the hell is he doing in the crims' corner? Something inside me jolted. He looked familiar. Who was this?
"Uhm...Hi?" I said, wondering who the fuck he thinks he is.
"Tally!" he exclaimed, and I found I liked the way he spoke, "Long time no see".
"Long time no-- who are you?"
"Don't you remember me?" he asked, looking a little astonished. By this time Zane was next to me. I wrapped my pinkie around his.
The freaky stranger continued," Remember? We sorta had a...thing".
Then it clicked. How could I forget?