Chapter Text
Alex hated parties. Of all kinds. This came as no surprise to anyone who knew him the bare minimum, and he was proud to say he didn't bother trying to hide his dislike for social gatherings from anyone.
As he now sat alone at a worn leather couch with a red cup squeezed tightly in his hand, side-eyeing a couple that dangled dangerously by the armrest, threatening to fall on top of him with every enthusiastic kiss they shared — well, in these very specific settings, Alex had to sit back and rethink his life choices for a moment.
(Only figuratively, though. Someone had spilled beer over the couch's back, and it still dripped slowly but steadily close to where Alex was, cursing his bad luck while perched at the edge of the seat. He cursed his friends and his recent decisions and his poor choice of liquor, too. The punch he was currently holding tasted disgusting. Alex was in his third cup nonetheless.)
When Zach had invited him to a Halloween frat party one of his teammates had tipped him about, Alex delivered him his usual trademark eye-roll and a mighty snort. Like Zach didn't fucking know him after all their years of friendship. Zach was game to let it slide, though, and that should have been it, that's how it was supposed to have happened.
But unfortunately for Alex, Zach had posed the invitation over one of their weekly get-togethers — this time at a sushi place near campus —, which meant Jessica was around not only to be invited as well, but also not to take Alex's yeah, I'll pass seriously.
“It's a whole new world, Alex!” She insisted, staring at his friend in disbelief. “Look, I get it — you didn't like parties back when we were still at school. It's fine, to be honest after a while they weren't my scene either. But we're at college now-- new people! New experiences!” Said Jess, waving her hands enthusiastically to emphasize her point. “Not to mention this is the first really big party of this term, and it'll wrap up the Halloweek events on campus. Are you sure you don't wanna give it a try?”
“Are you sure you're even asking me that?” Alex arched his eyebrows, mirroring the disbelieving look on Jessica's face, although for completely different reasons. “Jess, it's still a party. I couldn't care less if it's a high school party or a college one. Loud music and drunk people are the same no matter the settings.”
“I already expected that to be your answer, actually,” said Zach, fixing Alex with an amused gaze, “but it's never too much to ask, so I guessed why not.”
“Well, thanks, Zach, I'm flattered you thought of me,” replied Alex, no entirely sarcastic — but not entirely grateful either. “But it's a hard pass, I'm afraid.”
“It's fine,” said Zach good-naturedly. “You can make up to me by letting me crash in your dorm after the party. If I don't get lucky, that is. My roommate's a nightmare, he locked me out of our dorm just last week, can you guys believe it?”
Alex chuckled, and he was about to reply with an “Ok, deal,” when Jessica shook her head vehemently, waving her chopsticks at Alex accusingly.
“No fucking way. I'm not taking no for an answer,” she declared. “Zach's too soft on you, but then again, what's new.”
“Hey, what was that for,” frowned Zach, looking offended. Jess only threw him a side-eye glance and a tilt of her head as an apology before soldiering on.
“I'll make you a deal,” she started, eyes intent on Alex. “I'll help you with all these assignments and papers you've been complaining about like an old man, and if by next week you're done with them, you're coming to the party with us,” Jessica challenged.
“You can't be serious,” Alex actually laughed this time, shaking his head. “You have a shit ton of things to do yourself, Jess. You don't have the time to help me out just to make me go to a party, don't be ridiculous.”
“I can't take care of my shit,” insisted Jess.
“You were just telling us how many hours of sleep you'll have to lose this week,” remembered Zach. “Because you actually counted them all already.”
“For fuck's sake, who's side are you on here?” Chastised Jess, throwing Zach an annoyed look. Zach snorted a laugh and shook his head, amused, returning his attention to his tempura.
“Fine,” said Alex, accepting the challenge. “If you get everything you have pending done and help me out with all of my school stuff, then you can count on my presence for this stupid party. These are my terms.”
Jess turned her squinting glare to him, and Alex was thrown off for a second, unused for a while now to have Jessica fixing him with her deathly glare.
“Deal,” she said, much to Alex's and Zach's surprise, “but you'll have to let me pick your costume for the party if that's the case.”
Alex snorted, rolling his eyes in exasperation. “Whatever, Jess. Have it your way.”
“Can I help with choosing the costume?” Asked Zach, interested.
Jess shook her head dismissively. “No, you're a traitor. You were ready to let him off the hook too easily,” she informed, her brown eyes focused on Alex. “So what do you say? Do we have a deal?”
Alex shrugged, a half-smirk resting on his lips. “Of course. Deal.”
And now, as Alex miserably watched the swarm of bodies around him in the dimly-lit room, annoying pop music blasting from the speakers in the upper corner, he had to admit to himself he'd underestimated the single-minded determination of one Jessica Davis. Honestly, he should have known better. Considering how long he and Jessica were friends, Alex wasn't supposed to let himself get fooled into believing she couldn't pull it off — all the while scolding at Alex if he tried to stall on his papers on purpose only to derail her plans. As the week passed, all their assignments were done and submitted even before due time, a novelty in his life, and once Saturday loomed menacingly on the horizon, Alex was forced to give in and embrace his destiny. He would be going to a Halloween frat party. There was no way he could back down from it with his dignity intact.
(It's not like Alex cared much about his dignity at this point. But Zach had been present for the whole thing, and he knew his friend would never let him live it down if he decided to completely ignore his agreement with Jess. Alex could put up with a lot of things but Zach Dempsey giving him a hard time wasn't particularly something he longed to include in his near future. He'd been there before, and he would prefer not to ever be there again.)
So all in all, in retrospect, Alex thought he had learned a few lessons this week. Those being 1) never doubt Jessica's dedication to having the last word (she'd neared the end of the week with very visible dark circles under her eyes from how little she'd slept but she was committed to going to this party. Alex had never seen her apply such a huge amount of concealer while doing her makeup before), and 2) he should cut off his friendship with Zach entirely. As soon as possible.
It felt a little too drastic, he could tell, but to be frank, as Alex adjusted his unicorn tiara to prevent it from falling to his forehead as it had already happened at least a million other times before, he thought some sacrifices had to be made so he could keep his sanity intact. Cutting off his jock friend from his life seemed only sensible if this could prevent himself from being bullied into any frat parties ever again. Yeah, this was a price Alex was willing to pay.
(He wasn't, though, not really. But this was especially hard to keep in mind as he remembered Zach's delighted laugh as he watched Alex begrudgingly allowing Jess to apply glitter and little stars on his cheekbones. They matched the saying in his flashy light blue onesie, which read Sparkle like a unicorn in rainbow-colored letters. His onesie, by the way, had wings (and a tail, but that at least made sense, he figured). There were shiny, medium-sized golden wings sprouting from his shoulder blades, and Alex didn't know what to make of them. His knowledge of magical creatures was rusty at best but he was sure unicorns weren't supposed to have wings. He tried to point this out to Jess but her only reply was to place one giant white-and-pink pointy horn at the top of his head. It felt very final. There wasn't much left to discuss after this.)
Jess could have gone dirtier on him if she wanted, Alex knew that, but this didn't make him enjoy the horn or the wings any more. He had to draw the line at the flimsy pink tutu that composed the costume, though. Alex stared Jess dead in the eye as he venomously enunciated his 'hell no', and something on his voice, or his stance, or the fact that he could look menacing even while dressed head to toe in glitter and soft colors, made Jess reconsider and allow Alex to skip the tutu.
In a surprising turn of events, Luke Holliday, Zach's new friend from the football team, had taken one look at the tutu and positively beamed as he dropped by to give them all a ride to the party. He claimed the fucking tutu for himself — Alex didn't make much of an effort to stop him — and ended up quite a vision: half scary Dracula, with his upper body drenched in fake blood, and half whatever the hell that was, wrapped inside a pink tutu that didn't really fit his body. It laid tight around his waist when it actually should have been low on his hips. But Luke didn't seem to care. He was one of those die-hard 'I love Halloween' guys. In his own words, he wanted to make this 'a night to remember' and if in his book that meant walking around like a fusion of Dracula and Cursed Pony, so be it. Alex wouldn't chastise him for that. It was relieving that someone was truly enjoying this night.
Jessica still seemed to be forcing herself to have fun at college at all costs, and Zach was trying to carve his way into the frat scene without having to resort to drinking. Everything just contributed to lessening the holiday spirit for Alex. As he absently scratched some of the glitter off his face, he came to the conclusion they really were a group of misfits. They were so in high school, and they were still the same here, at college. Jess could say everything she wanted about new people and new experiences — nothing that Alex was seeing here tonight gave him the impression that the small age gap from high-school to college had changed these people around him in any way.
The couple that was making out at the other end of the couch finally toppled over, hands all over each other, knocking Alex's half cup of punch from his hands — and ok, that was about it. He'd fucking had it with these people, and this music, and the lights, and this whole fucking party. He got up to his feet, holding his tiara in place as he made his way to the kitchen, where Jessica had headed in search of drinks the last time he'd seen her.
But he didn't get that far — as soon as he had put a safe distance between himself and the horny couple, a tall, broad figure stepped into his way, Alex almost bumping into him with the momentum of his escape. He blinked, recognizing the tutu first. Luke's huge smile greeted him when he looked up. There was now an ugly plush monkey perched on his shoulder, and Alex recognized it as part of Zach's costume. Luke had tried to grab hold of his pirate hat while they were still on their way, but Zach had been pretty adamant about keeping the integrity of his costume. He seemed to have compromised (or just given into Luke's prodding) at some point.
“Hey, man, have you seen Zach?” He asked, voice thundering to be heard above the music. “We're kinda having a game in the kitchen, and I'd like to hear his saying on the matter.”
Alex shook his head. “Last time I saw him, he was chatting up this girl in a Catwoman costume. Guess we know where that was headed.”
“I guess we do,” snorted Luke, amused. “Well, you could also take a chance into our bet, if you'd like? I need as many people's inputs as I can take.”
“No, thank you,” replied Alex, firmly. He was so done with bets, possibly for the rest of his life. “I was just about to leave, actually. Could you tell Jess I'm off to my dorms if you see her?”
“You leaving already?” Luke asked, shocked. He shook his head, throwing one heavy arm around Alex and nudging him forward as he spoke. “No way, man, it's too early to go home! The fun's just getting started--”
“I feel like I missed this memo somehow,” grumbled Alex, following Luke's lead mostly because he didn't feel like he had a choice, dwarfed as he was under his one-armed hug.
“-- and also,” continued Luke, ignoring Alex's complaints (or most likely, not hearing them above the noise), “your friend Jessica's here with us. You can deliver the message yourself if you really feel like leaving.”
“Great,” sighed Alex as they entered the kitchen. The smaller room shone warmly in comparison to the dimly-lit living room with all the strobe lights that made Alex feel a constant heaviness in his head.
There went his chance of smoothly sneaking away without reporting back to Jess. She sat at the kitchen island, looking very pretty in her rendition of Beyoncé's iconic yellow Coachella look, in her own words. She was laughing as she sipped from a large red cup, and the least Alex could say was that she actually seemed to be having fun. It was still surprising to him that Jessica wasn't snoring on top of the marble surface, though. Alex was yet again impressed at how his friend managed to do stuff counting on the sheer force of her stubbornness alone.
“What the hell do you mean, you're leaving?” She protested loudly as soon as Alex announced his intentions to her. Jessica's voice was one or two tones too high, and from the glow on her face and eyes, Alex could tell she was quite ahead of him in the path to getting drunk. “That wasn't our deal! Our deal said you got to come to the party, and stay at the party.”
“Jess, for fuck's sake,” sighed Alex tiredly. “I came, and I stayed for a couple hours, what else do you want?” He huffed out, annoyed, gesturing to his back. His wings swayed cheerfully, shining under the light. “I have cheap beer sticking to my back while I'm dressed like a gay Pegasus. I think enough is enough.”
“Shut the fuck up, I need you to stay,” Jessica grabbed his wrist urgently, leaning closer, her voice coming out in a hushed whisper. She threw a glance over her shoulder before adding, “There's this guy that I want to--”
“You need to chill out, bro,” said apparently such guy, with whom Jessica had been engrossed in conversation right before Alex arrived. “Here, take this,” he offered Alex a red cup amicably. “You need to get drunk. That'll make you loosen up a bit.”
Alex was so thrown off by this stranger's intrusion that he accepted the cup that was handed to him more out of shock than anything else. “I'm sorry, do I know you?”
“This is Diego,” announced Jess, placing one hand affectionately on the boy's forearm. “We were just discussing costumes before you arrived. Oh, by the way-- I was the one to pick Alex's.”
“Oh, really? You look good, man,” complimented Diego — and it was such a fucking lie because Alex himself could tell his current attire wasn't anything to be impressed by. Jess didn't have the time to choose his costume as carefully as she would've liked after working so hard all week, so she just improvised with an onesie. Alex stared at Diego, speechless, watching as the other boy turned a charming smile on Jessica. “You did an amazing job.”
They grinned at each other with their perfect white teeth, and their perfect skins glowed under the yellow light, and Alex just wanted to punch them both. He merely sighed instead, glancing at the closest bottle of vodka and grabbing hold of it. He didn't know about Diego's advice on loosening up but he sure as hell would need some more alcohol in his blood if he was to put up with third-wheeling for Jess and this guy for the rest of the night.
Alex barely had the time to finish filling up his cup when a hand clasped firmly around his shoulder. “I see you're sticking around-- good for you, man!” Luke's cheerful voice roared from behind him. “So, you're up for that guessing game I was telling you about? You only have one shot, though. No second chances allowed.”
Alex put the bottle back on the counter as carefully as he could with Luke restraining his movements as he was. “I'm not sure exactly what I'm getting into?” He questioned, warily.
“It's easy,” reassured Luke. “You'll take one look at a friend of mine and try to guess his costume. Don't think much, just-- say whatever comes to your mind first.”
“Um-- okay,” Alex frowned but shrugged in agreement. Out of all things, Luke's request was the simplest thing he'd had to handle so far.
“Yo, Charlie!” Shouted Luke over the heads of everyone in the kitchen. “Come over here, man, time for one more round!”
Alex felt the slightest bit sorry for this Charlie guy. By the way Luke made it sound, it seemed like this wasn't the first time he had to go through this. Whatever Charlie was wearing, it had to be really bad for such a game to take place. Well, Alex could relate to bad costumes, he thought, trying one sip of his flavored vodka.
Much to his surprise, though, when the guy he assumed could only be Charlie approached them, a weary, long-suffering expression on his artistically black-stained face, Alex knew exactly who he was meant to be. His hair was styled to look messy, and he wore a black overall with a dirtied long-sleeved shirt underneath. A bluish mask hung around his neck, unused, and he held a plastic scythe in one of his hands. Sure, his mask didn't look perfect (but then again, neither did the movie's character), and you could tell his costume was probably borrowed from his friends' wardrobes, considering how the overall was a bit too large for him, but still. Alex recognized him easily, and he was failing to understand what the whole fuss was about.
“Wait, him?” Alex asked incredulously, wondering if he was drunker than he imagined. He frowned. This wasn't supposed to be easy, was it?
“Yeah, come on, give me your best!” Said Luke with a huge grin, his amused expression focused on his friend's face.
“Luke, I swear to God," Charlie let out yet another heavy sigh. "You said last time was the last time!” He protested indignantly.
“I know, man, just this once more, and I promise I'll leave you be,” vowed Luke.
“This is totally on you, St. George, for picking up a costume nobody fucking gets. You set yourself up for this,” informed Diego, one arm wrapped around Jess's shoulders, and wait, when had that happened?
“Yeah... I thought I had messed up on Alex's but you just managed to top it, Charlie,” agreed Jess, seemingly comfortable in Diego's embrace.
“You guys are all amateurs,” proclaimed Charlie. “You can't appreciate a good horror mockumentary, which is why y'all don't get my costume.”
“Yeah, he's clearly Leslie Vernon, from Behind The Mask”, completed Alex in an obvious tone.
A silence followed his statement, four heads turning in Alex's direction with different levels of surprise and befuddlement painted across their faces. Luke seemed to be having a mild stroke. Charlie, on the other hand, stared at Alex as if he'd never seen anything like him before. Alex shifted uncomfortably under the attention. He occupied himself with drinking more from his cup, vodka dribbling down his chin in his eagerness to get his hands busy.
“Yeah! That's exactly who I'm supposed to be!” Charlie shouted excitedly, turning in his heels to look at Luke with a triumphant expression on his face. “I told you I wasn't making this character up!”
“Well, that was unexpected,” deadpanned Diego, his face quickly changing to amusement once his eyes laid on Luke. “Yo, man, you gotta breathe!”
“Alex, I think you broke him,” said Jess in a mocking tone. She crumpled one paper napkin in her hand and flicked it at Luke, grinning. “Seems like you were bested in your game.”
Luke was now staring at Alex, dumbfounded, looking him up and down as if just now really seeing him for the first time. “You're a menace,” he declared, looking stricken. “How did you know who Charlie was? No one got it right the whole night!”
“Well,” Alex waved a hand at Charlie, who still watched him gaping a little, a dazzled look on his face. “This is one of my favorite slasher movies, actually. I've watched it, like, about twelve times already or something.”
“I think you're my new favorite person in the world,” announced Charlie in a dreamy voice, startled out of his stupor by Alex's admission of undying love for Behind The Mask. He shoved a hand against Luke's chest, effectively pushing him out of his way so he could get to Alex, his eyes never leaving the shorter boy's face. “Hi. My name is Charlie.”
And Alex couldn't say for sure if it was the single focus with what Charlie was peering down at him, or his unapologetically fond declaration, or maybe the fact that he could tell, even under the black paint, that Charlie was quite eye-catching — Alex didn't know which of these was responsible for his cheeks burning, it was possible that a combination of all three. He was thankful, for the first time, for all the glitter Jessica had smeared over his face.
“Yeah, I figured that much,” a small smile lifted the corner of Alex's lips, and he tipped his cup towards Charlie in a salute. “Hey. I'm Alex.”