(Disclaimer- I do not own any part of "The Great Gatsby"- all of that amazing writing belongs to F. Scott Fitzgerald. In the next chapter or so, you will see more diverging from the actual book and movie. Don't worry, it will get gay! Very gay! And soon. Thank you for reading!)
Nick's thought that Gatsby was watching him became reality when he received an initiation to Gatsby's.
No one received an invitation- all of New York just piled into automobiles and headed over to the grand estate every weekend, all weekend for the lavish parties. The estate was truly exquisite- the finest of décor, fountains and statues, a pool in the center of an entertainment hall- and of course the signature golden organ whose pipes wound throughout the entire building.
It seemed this music machine was the center of the home, if you could call it that.
Nick walked throughout the busied hallways-it was as bad as waiting in the crowds during the morning commute at a subway. The people around him were from all walks of life- businessmen, media stars, Wall Street brokers, Nick's own boss! Losing money at the roulette table! Gangsters and politicians, heiresses, models, actresses, Playboy publishers…. It seemed everyone came to join this mismatch group of people.
Nick walked up to every waiter, every person who would talk to him- asking if they had seen the infamous, or famous, Gatsby. And no one had any idea- no one else had ever received a personal invitation! Feeling embarrassed, and slightly out of sorts, Nick decided to once again get roaring drunk.
He danced with beautiful women, not eyeing their bodies, but rather enjoying their energy. The men around him seemed to not pay him any attention, and Nick felt well hidden in the mass of people. Dancers and musicians, liquors and booze- the crowd took the dance floor with a level of excitement Nick longed to drink in.
It was then that he saw Jordan- and Nick felt comforted to see a familiar face. He ran to her, and held up his invitation, slightly waving it her face. "I thought I might see you here!" She leaned into him, and he smelled the sweat and booze from her skin.
"Why yes, I received the invitation!" Nick still waved the golden parchment in front of her, and she laughed. "Why, no one receives an invitation!" Nick smiled. Did that make him special? To be the only one?
"Well I live just next door… I want to find Mr. Gatsby!" Nick gulped down the rest of the drink in his hand as Jordan laughed at him.
"No one knows Mr. Gatsby! But instead of sitting around here pondering him, let us go find the man! Come on!" She dragged his hand and led him through the crowd.
"Who is he?" Nick looked around, and a random man decided to chime in. "Mr. Gatsby? He's a German spy!"
"Teddy Varnun, Nick Carraway." Jordan muttered the introduction with haste. It appeared she was with this other man.
Another stranger chimed in, "No no no, he's Kieser's assassin!" A woman exclaimed "a heard he killed a man once!"
Nick's head swam in the variety of rumors, trying to process which might be true and which might be false. What was interesting was that none of the people appeared to actually know Gatsby on a personal level. Where was this information coming from?
"He kills for fun, free of charge!" "He's certainly richer than god!"
Nick leaned into Jordan, "You don't really believe he killed a man do you?" he whispered, not wanting to entice the opinion of more strangers. "Well, let's go find him!" Jordan led them through the crowd, up spiral staircases, and into an abandoned library. Abandoned, that is, with the exception of an old man with rounded Owl Eyes.
"Mr. Gatsby?" Nick called in a drunken voice. Owl Eyes approached the two.
"You won't find Mr. Gatsby here. This house, these things, these parties- they are all part of an elaborate disguise! Mr. Gatsby does not exist." Owl Eyes had a glass in hand; the alcohol consumption slurred his words.
"Well, that's not true!" Jordan swayed around the men. "I've met him!"
"Which one? The hero? The prince? The murderer?" Owl Eyes stepped closer to Nick, making him feel antsy.
"Well, I don't care! He gives large parties, and I like large parties." Jordan led the others to the window in the library, which gazed out onto the fountains and pools of the estate.
"If that's true, then what is this all for? There has to be a reason!" Nick looked down at his empty glass. All of this thinking and mystery made him want more booze. It was easier to join the crowd than it was to ponder these secrets lurking within the estate.
"That, my friend, is the question." Owl Eyes looked out the window, and then returned to his books, leaving Jordan and Nick in their own thoughts.
"Come on!" Once again, Jordan grabbed Nick and they bolted from the library back into the pulsing areas cluttered with the partygoers.
Nick danced with Jordan on top of the fountain, and streamers and confetti dazzled the air as Jordan was stolen from Nick by her actual date. As Nick followed the two, an elaborate fireworks show was beginning.
"Nick, come on!" Jordan shouted, as she was tugged up a staircase. Halfway up the stairs, a waiter with a drink on his platter asked Nick a question. "Oh hello there old sport! Were you by any chance a soldier in the war?" Nick didn't look at the stranger square in the face, he kept on chasing after Jordan. He didn't want to be left alone again. While Jordan was intense, she was familiar.
"Oh yes, I was in the 9th battalion!" Nick kept moving, as the waiter moved with him. "Oh I was in the 7th. I knew you looked familiar, old sport! Are you having a good time tonight?"
Nick finally turned the face the waiter, but his eyes drifted around lazily as more people moved past them. "Oh yes, I am. It's so funny- he sent me an invitation, and it appears I'm the only one! I live right next store, but I've never actually seen this Mr. Gatsby."
The two men shoved through the flow of people heading down and up the stairs, and Nick showed him the invitation. "Some people say he's third cousin to the Kieser and second cousin to the devil!" The waiter turned to another water, and grabbed two drinks from the platter, holding one out to Nick with his back slightly turned away.
"Well, I'm afraid I haven't been a great host then, old sport." The waiter turned to face Nick completely, and Nick finally got a full shot of the man.
His jaw began to drop and he figured out what he was looking at- or rather, who.
"You see, I'm Gatsby."
The fireworks illuminated the sky as Nick stared at Gatsby for the first time. The mysterious man behind the curtain, revealing himself and opening up to Nick a new world of possibilities.
He had the kind of smile that all people wanted to be smiled at with- a certain hope flowed from his eyes. His irises were a bright blue, which made Nick think about the sky on warm summer days with its clarity and sharpness.
"Oh…. You're…" Nick was taken back from the smile that made him feel understood and believed in. "I'm so sorry sir, forgive me. I've had so much to drink."
"Oh, it's fine! Mr. Carraway!" A butler approached Gatsby, and whispered something to him. Gatsby began walking up the steps, with Nick following behind in a kind of trance.
"You know old sport, I'm planning to take out my hydroplane tomorrow morning. Would you like to come along?" Gatsby marched on, and Nick wasn't quite sure how to take this request. He didn't have that many exchanges with other people, not of the friendly or business kind on such short notice, that was for sure.
"Of course! What time would best suit you?" Nick stumbled slightly up the stairs, and the two neared Jordan.
"Why, the time that best suits you, old sport!" Gatsby turned to see Jordan. "That's kind of you.." Nick watched as Gatsby took Jordan's hand, and brought it to his lips.
"It is certainly nice to see you again, Ms. Baker." He smiled at her, and once again Nick found himself staring at that smile.
Gatsby reached out and touched Nick lightly on the shoulder, and Nick nearly stepped backward, but Gatsby squeezed slightly.
"If there is anything that you'd like, just ask for it old sport." He smiled that smile, and Nick wasn't sure what to do. His mouth wasn't moving very fast, and his thoughts were in circular roundabouts of the mystery of the man before him.
"Excuse me, I will join you later." Gatsby smiled, and looked at Nick for a moment, before walking away from them.
"I expected him to be….." Jordan interrupted Nick's sentence- "old and fat?"
"Well yes, rich young men just don't appear from no where!" Nick laughed as he brought another drink to his lips.
"He told me once he was an Oxford man…. However I don't believe him." Jordan looked out towards the water from the view of the balcony they had found themselves standing upon.
"Why not?" Nick questioned. "I just don't believe he went there." Right after Jordan spoke; the same butler who had summoned Gatsby earlier appeared by her side. "I beg your pardon, Ms. Baker, but Mr. Gatsby would like to see you." She looked at Nick, eyes full of expectation, and followed the butler up another spiral staircase (the spiral staircases appeared to be never ending) to where a man was standing with his back to the party. A man, who was now undoubtly Gatsby.
Nick watched Jordan walk away, his mind adrift. Where she and Gatsby somehow involved? How did he know her? Why her? And why introduce himself to Nick when it appeared that no one else knew who he was?
Nick also couldn't forget that smile. It was like gold- no wonder Gatsby had made such a fortune so young. That smile alone made you want to trust him, and trust can be a powerful thing.
The magic of the night seemed to wear itself out as Nick found himself wandering slightly less populated crowds. The party was winding down, and staff of Mr. Gatsby cleaned up drinks, collected glasses, and stashed decorations. Drunken individuals lay amongst the floors and furniture.
Nick stood- he had been half sleeping on a couch- and walked toward the exit. Suddenly, someone grabbed his arm. "Nick! Nick!" Jordan's voice pierced the heavy veil in Nick's brain. "I just heard the most shocking thing! It all makes sense!"
The man she had come with began tugging her out of the estate and towards the now leaving cycle of cars, grumbling as he went.
"What all makes sense? What are you talking about?" Nick looked confused, and she shook her head. "Everything! It just all makes sense… Oh I'm sorry, but I can't tell you anymore!"
"What why?" Nick followed her as she was pulled away. "I promised not to tell! I swore I wouldn't tell."
Jordan was put into a car, and drove away, leaving Nick on the steps of the Gatsby mansion.
Suddenly, the man appeared. "Sorry to keep her from you, old sport." Unlike the others around him, Gatsby still appeared clean, even at such a late hour of night. Nick felt soiled and sweaty, and slightly embarrassed by his drunkenness once again. But that smile gave him reassurance.
"Don't forget, we are going up in that hydroplane tomorrow morning." A butler came to Gatsby's side, and whispered in his ear once again. For a moment, just for a moment, Gatsby's face fell, but then the radiant smile was back. "Good night old sport."
"Thank you!" Nick exclaimed, feeling slightly out of control and still embarrassed. He stared at the ground, and began walking away, back towards his little shack.
He felt the eyes of Gatsby linger on him, but when he turned back Gatsby had disappeared. Suddenly, Nick heard Jordan calling his name from a car that was circling the property. "Nick! Nick! Come and see me! We will have tea next week! I'm in the phone book!"
"I'll call you up!" Nick waved to Jordan, and then walked to his property. He stared up at the windows the large Gatsby mansion, and this time, could see the man with striking clarity through a lit and unshaded window. Gatsby was on the phone, but suddenly looked down to Nick. Nick felt the eye contact, even from such a distance, and shivered. The man's eyes were piercing, and mysterious. He waved, and his smile still seemed to radiant a level of acceptance Nick had never felt before in his entire life. Nick smiled, and waved back, and even as he turned, he felt the heavy eyes of Gatsby still on his back.