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“Ash!” Red shouted over the music. “Do you wanna go upstairs?” Ash’s hand moved with his when he pointed above them.
“Sure!” Ash yelled back. He pulled them out of the crowd by their joined hands and turned to survey the room. Ash wasn’t familiar with this house though he bet some people here were. It was an old house in a rich neighborhood. Spacious and far enough away from neighbors but too broken down to be on the property market. A few years ago someone had scooped it up and turned it into a party house. And now Ash and Red were crammed against the walls with at least a hundred other people in it on Halloween night.
Honestly they had done everything else there was to do on Halloween at this point. They were even dressed in repeat costumes, Red as a demon and Ash as a vampire. (Yes they could be more creative but any costume was a costume.) The two had been coming back from a fear farm when Red mentioned that there was a party at this house tonight. It was nearly two in the morning by the time they got here but the party was still going strong. Parties in houses like this didn’t end until the police got there.
Either from a noise complaint or suspected illegal activity, house parties at non residential houses always got broken up. Both charges were true, not only was the music so loud it could cause serious hearing damage but there were substances aplenty too. That’s what Ash was going for, he just had to get him and his demon upstairs first.
“There!” Red pointed across the room at a staircase. He looked for the best way to cut through the crowd then pushed Ash in front of him towards it. Ash always led through crowds for the sole reason that he was taller. (Red was stronger but if he couldn’t see then what was the point?)
Red pressed against Ash’s back as they moved through the crowd. Mostly because the crowd didn’t allow any extra space between them but the way he slipped his hands onto Ash’s hips was a little bit extra. Not that Ash minded.
Both of them bounced a little to the music as they made their way across the room. They couldn’t help it, the strong beat to the music would make anyone dance.
Costumes of all colors and shapes stuck out from people and made it harder to navigate. A few times Red and Ash ended up facing each other, taking the time to dance while they waited for the crowd to calm down. Red’s eyeliner was wiping off, Ash noticed.
They had to redirect their line a couple times but eventually Ash and Red made it across the room and to the stairs. Gingerly picking their way over people and objects they climbed up and reached the second floor. Before they went anywhere they took a second to regroup against the wall. Being that close to so many people was uncomfortable sometimes. The music was quieter up here too, it was nice after the loud and crowded downstairs.
“Your eyeliner is smudged by the way.” Ash tilted his head to look at Red.
“And one of your braids is bubbling.” Red smiled back. Nimble fingers started tugging this way and that on the left braid at the front of Ash’s head. He had forgoed his normal single braid today in favor of two small braids framing his face and the rest of his hair swept into four tail braids that started at the base of his skull and fell down his back. Red said it made him look more vampire-like. Ash just thought he was tired of looking at Ash’s hair in the same braid.
“How did this even get here?” Red asked as he pulled one of Ash’s braids out of his fishnet shirt. It was stuck between the loose mesh and the tight dark purple single sleeved shirt he wore underneath. His undershirt had come untucked from his jeans and had ridden up a bit. Red rolled it up a little more and passed his hand over Ash’s stomach with a smile.
“Hey!” Ash complained but didn’t make Red move.
“Come on Ash” Red grinned. “It’s Halloween you have to dress like a slut.” Ash laughed and pushed his shirt up a bit more so it rested at his waist instead of his hips.
“If you say so man.”
“I say so.” Red agreed then pulled out a eyeliner pencil and his phone to fix his makeup. Ash was faced with his phone case which was a clear pink color with a printed picture on regular ass paper of him and Ash tucked under it. The picture was a few months old but Red swore he would never take it out. Unless he decided to dramatically change his hair. He said if he ever did that then he wanted no record of his old look. Ash had told him that was fucking stupid.
But anyway. Red really was right about the costume thing though. If you were between the ages of eighteen and twenty eight then Halloween was less of a costume party and more of an excuse to dress slutty.
Red was a perfect example. His black corset top and red crushed velvet flare pants could be just a regular party outfit. The only inclination of a costume was a pair of demon horns on his head and the shiny red contacts he had in.
Ash had about the same thing going on. His purple shirt and black ripped jeans alluded to nothing without the blood splatters on his face and the fangs that they had to repaint several times on his bottom lip.
“Okay I’m done.” Red shoved his eyeliner and phone in his back pocket and pushed off the wall. “Weed room or spin the bottle room?”
“Weed room obviously.” Ash snickered as he followed Red down the hallway. There was always a weed room at parties even if the party was an upbeat one. There was always a weed room at parties especially if the party was an upbeat one. People need somewhere to relax… and that’s pretty much all weed does.
Of course there was always a spin the bottle room too. Well it wasn’t always spin the bottle specifically, but there was always a horny people room. Maybe they should call it that instead.
Red led Ash into one of the rooms by his belt loops. Yeah this was the weed room alright. Besides the fact that it smelled like dog shit there were people draped all over the furniture and there was smoke everywhere.
Ash zeroed in on a group of people huddled at one of the walls on footstools and pointed them out to Red. The two of them made their way over and sure enough there was a bong in the middle of the circle.
Neither of them ever went to parties like this with stuff on them. It was too easy for it to get stolen plus they could get it for free if they played their cards right. And they had gotten pretty good at playing their cards.
Red tugged Ash over to the corner closest to the bong and flopped down. Ash sat next to him and leaned on his shoulder so that he was a little too close to be platonic. They intentionally did not make eye contact and kept shifting their bodies like they were trying to get comfortable. It was subtle enough for them to not be out of place but eye catching enough for people to notice them. And hopefully since they placed themselves next to the group with the bong they would be the ones to notice them.
“Hey! You know this isn’t the make out room right?” A guy sitting on one of the footstools with a scream mask pushed up on his forehead asked. Red caught Ash’s eye as they perked their heads up in unison.
Got em! He mouthed.
“Yeah we know.” Ash drawled. “We’re more interested in what’s in here.” Red flicked him on the hip in warning. You’re laying it on too strong ! He was saying.
“Ohh you want some of this?” A girl dressed as Poison Ivy (or maybe a fairy?) asked. She held up a grinder in one hand and shook it back and forth.
“If you’re offering.” Red chimed in from next to Ash. He patted Ash’s hip in apology and Ash pushed down a satisfied smirk. He was always right.
“Come over!” A second girl with a red beanie on waved. “We have extra seats!” They didn’t really have extra seats but Red and Ash went anyway. They ended up perched on the end of a wooden bench between the girl in the red beanie and a guy dressed as a farmer. Farmer guy pulled a baggie of weed out of his back pocket and tossed it in the middle of the small table that the bong was set on. Poison Ivy snatched it up and tipped a little bit into her grinder. Ash watched as it went in just to make sure it was all weed. He’s personally never had a time where someone tried to put not weed in but you just never know.
“So you’re what, a vampire and a demon?” Scream Mask asked while Poison Ivy twisted the grinder back and forth.
“Yup!” Red popped the P and pulled his phone out. “Gold star.” His phone illuminated his face and made his contacts reflect the light weirdly as he tapped quickly. Then he gasped delightedly and looked up at the girl with the red beanie.
“Are you the subway surfers guy?” Red asked. He turned his phone around to put a comparison of the character next to the girl.
“Yes!” She clapped excitedly. “It’s such a fun costume right?”
“That’s sick.” Ash agreed. “Looks comfy too.”
“Oh it absolutely is!” Subway Surfers said proudly.
Their conversation was interrupted by a person in a banana suit with the hood pushed down reaching between them to hand Poison Ivy a lighter.
They were using a water bottle bong. Poison Ivy probably already had it ready since she was holding the lighter to the metal cap placed on top of the water bottle.
“Are we chugging or taking sips?” She asked while glancing around the circle.
“Sips.” Said Red, Subway Surfers, and Scream Mask at the same time. Ash nodded. They had too many people to make chugging worth it. It would take too long.
“Alright.” Poison Ivy clicked the lighter off and set it down. Her other hand was still holding the cap onto the water bottle. “Clockwise.” She motioned to her left. “And don’t get greedy.”
“Yeah… sips okay.” Farmer guy on her right said.
Ash snickered. He and Red were about halfway around the circle so they’d be fine. He would hate to be Farmer or Subway Surfers though.
“Me first!” Poison Ivy lifted the cap off the water bottle and leaned in to take a quick sip. She sat up and held it while Scream Mask next to her took a sip. Ash leaned forward while he waited for his turn. Then Red was done and he sipped from the barely there smoke.
Ash leaned back on Red while Subway Surfers and Banana Suit took the last sips. He aimed to hold his breath for ten seconds but only made it to eight before exhaling. The last thing he wanted to do right now was cough. That would be so awkward.
Red cleared his throat just barely. Not enough to be heard over the music but Ash was physically touching him so he felt it. He poked Red in the side teasingly and grinned when Red glared at him.
They went another round (counterclockwise this time) before Ash convinced the group to let him take a chug under the circumstances that he would shotgun it to Red. They let him but just because technically the chug was going to two people. Then Ash and Red were shooed off before they could steal more free weed. At this point they had probably had enough for how alert they wanted to stay. (Non- residential house party equals cops equals mob of people running to get out. That kind of thing.)
As they made their way across the room to find another place to hand out a group of girls on a couch flagged them down
“Y’all are so pretty!” A girl with a police hat hanging precariously off her head yelled when they got within range. “Where’d you get those pants?” She asked Red.
“Thrifted ‘em.” Red winced. “So I’m not sure.”
“Awww.” A girl with pigtails and a half red half black shirt (Harley Quinn!) sighed. “Those pants are so cute. I love flare pants.”
Red grinned and set his phone down on the arm of the couch. He spun once and kicked one of his shoes up behind him to show off the pants. The girls hollered and clapped.
“Wait-“ a girl dressed as Cupid was looking down at Red’s phone case. “Is this you?” She pointed at Ash with her gaze still focused on the picture.
“Yeah that’s me.” Ash answered. He had a feeling he knew where this was going…
“Are y’all together?” Police girl asked excitedly. The entire group perked up. There was nothing a group of girls loved better than a couple of gay men…
“Yes.” Ash laughed. Red came over and wrapped his arms around Ash’s middle, kicking his foot up again. Ash put a hand on his back to stabilize him and gave him a small peck on the cheek.
The girl on the couch erupted into excited screams. Yeah they were all on something.
“Oh my god!” Harley Quinn jumped to her feet and scurried over to Ash and Red. “You guys should play seven minutes in heaven! There’s an empty room at the end of the hall!”
“Okay maybe not that-“ Red laughed as she grabbed him by the arm and pulled him off Ash. Police girl and Cupid were off the couch now too along with a girl dressed as a prisoner who Ash hadn’t even noticed until now.
Severely outnumbered, Ash and Red were pushed down the hallway until they got to the room which was indeed empty. They went sort of willingly, assuming that the girls would close the door and then leave or at least wait around for ten minutes or less. As they were shoved into the room, Prisoner girl caught Ash’s arm.
“Don’t worry.” She grinned. “They did this to me and my girl last time.” She jerked her head at the girl dressed as a cop and Ash suddenly connected that those two girls were together too. (That was kind of a cute couples costume…) “We came out the next day just fine.” Prisoner girl finished.
“Wait? What do you mean the next day?” Ash asked but the door was already being closed. See, what they didn’t expect was the solid sound of the lock being turned and the girls giggles recessing as they walked away.
“Umm.” Ash said dumbly.
“Did they seriously lock us in?” Red asked as he tried the doorknob a couple of times. “Feel on top of the doorframe. There might be a key up there.” He instructed Ash.
There wasn’t and Ash told Red such. Judging by what they could see there wasn’t a way out.
“Welp.” Red shrugged. “Do you wanna play seven minutes in heaven?”
Ash sighed. “Just say you wanna make out oh my go-“ before he even finished his sentence Red was right next to him and kissing the words off of his mouth. He walked Ash backwards confidentiality like he knew where he was going. (Ash very much didn’t but he trusted Red to not run him into something.) Just as Ash thought that though he ran into something and toppled over. Luckily the thing was a bed.
Red barely gave Ash any time to get his bearings before perched himself on Ash’s lap and resumed kissing him. Ash relaxed into it. They didn’t really have anything else to do. Eventually someone would open the door and let them out. Their biggest concern was probably getting munchies if the weed decided to do that to them.
So they made out lazily switching positions every once and a while. At one point Red pushed Ash backwards so he was laying down while Red loomed over him. Somewhere in there Ash lay on Red’s stomach. It passed in a hazy blur on tempo with the music downstairs and the dingy wet smell of a house party in a house never cared for.
Red pulled back to look at Ash adoringly. “Your fangs are gone again.” He said sadly.
“Who’s fault is that?” Ash accused. He looked down and sure enough there was a faint black smear across Red’s mouth where his drawn on fangs had been wiped away.
Red snickered and sat up. His hair was mused enough to still look elegant. Though Ash would be that nine times out of ten would say Red is pretty. Nine and half maybe.
Ash was about to tell Red that when a loud noise startled them both.
Police sirens wailed outside. Three cars at least. Eight cars at most. Red and Ash both jumped to their feet and looked around panickedly.
Yes they had expected the cops to show up to close out the party but they didn’t expect to be trapped in a fucking bedroom when it happened.
“How the fuck do we get out??” Red asked frantically. “I’m not trying to explain to the cops how we got locked in a room! And we smell like weed!”
The music below them abruptly cut off and left them with the soundtrack of drunk and high people clamoring to get out of the house. Sirens blared again and a voice rolled over the megaphone.
“Please exit the house.” It said. They were trying.
“Maybe the window opens.” Ash rushed over and wiggled the lock. Red joined him and together they broke the seal on it.
“Holy fuck I thought this house was definitely too old to have functioned windows.” Red muttered as they lifted the window up and open. “How the hell do we get down?”
Red had a point. They were on the second floor.
Luckily the roof of the first floor was below their window but the drop would still be big. They just had to try.
“I’m not tryna get arrested.” Ash said gruffly and hoisted himself out the window. He turned around to help Red out but he was already halfway down the roof. As Ash followed him he heard people shouting from below. A guy in a Wreck-It Ralph costume and a person in Jack Skellington makeup waved up at them.
“There’s a terrace!” Jack Skellington shouted. “You can climb down!” They pointed towards the corner of the room where Ash could indeed see the wood of a terrace.
“I don’t know if this will hold.” Ash admitted when they got over. It looked termite bitten at best. But…
“I’m not tryna get arrested.” Red echoed his words from earlier and swung himself over the edge of the roof.
Red was scared of heights. He must be really scared of cops to be actively climbing down an unstable terrace. To be honest Ash was too. He took a deep breath and started climbing down the terrace too. It shook under their feet and Red kept making scared little noises but they made it down. Wreck-It Ralph and Jack Skellington were gone by the time they made it down but there wasn’t any time to thank them anyway.
Flashlights shown on their heels as they ran away headed directly into the woods. Red’s car was parked off the main road about a two minute walk away. They were safe once they made it into the woods but they kept running anyway. Ash caught Red’s hand in his as they jumped through the woods. At some point frantic panting turned into uncontrollable laughing as they ran off into the sunset. Or the woods where Red’s car was waiting for them.