Chapter Text
1 Margaritaville┆Enter Jeff ★ ₊ ˚⟡
"𝓤𝓶𝓶𝓶𝓶 𝓘'𝓿𝓮 𝓷𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓻 𝓫𝓮𝓮𝓷 𝓽𝓸 o𝓸𝓿𝓪 𝓳𝓪𝓿𝓪."
The bottom of the red solo cup stared placidly back at the girl. The green film sloshed at the bottom as she gave it one more shake. It was empty, met with a frown from her glossy lips.
This must have been her fourth—no fifth margarita served enthusiastically from the 20-something frat-boy manning an Amazon-bought ice machine. Sure, it was watered down and contained a cheap margarita mix, but the tequila had gone to her head 3 drinks ago.
By now, she had been throwing ass for hours on end and had returned to the plastic table for another iced monstrosity Jimmy Buffet himself would turn a nose to. The girl began to debate further risking her chances of alcohol poisoning when a melodic sound caused her to break her train of thought.
The voice of Kesha was more than enough to convince her to return to the muggy living room of the overpacked frat house. She swayed her hips to the rhythm as she sauntered through the glass door, her red cup discarded to the wind and falling unenthusiastically onto the lawn.
She maneuvered her way through swaths of men getting no game and pairs of intense make-outs alike. She approached the throbbing speaker set. Most people were sat to the side, taking long drags from tiny pens or joyously slouched on the couch, engaged in alcohol-fueled conversation. The girl couldn't care less and continued to sway to the early 2000s banger that graced the speakers.
Her actions were keenly watched by a pair of green eyes from across the room. He had been observing the girl for a while now but had soon grown bored with watching her drunken display. He left the side of his friend, appearing before her with a sly smirk played on his lips. He wore a Spirit Halloween rendition of a Patrick Bateman costume, fake blood dashed across his cheek. He dragged his gaze up and down the girl's body, fitted in her own costume of a PlayBoy bunny. It was contrived, she knew that, but she felt hot so then again whose business was it?
She immediately stopped dancing at the sight of him, his plastic jacket blurring into colorful lines. She immediately became aware of how exposed her chest was.
"Fuck off Harrison, you aren't ruining Kesha for me." She pointed an accusatory finger at the discount American Psycho, her whole body wobbling as she did so.
The blonde threw his hands up in defeat, tousling his curled hair with it.
"Hey I'm just checking in on you, what's so bad about that?" He gave her an innocent smile.
She narrowed her eyes as she slurred over her words, "Because your shitty vibe is... shitty! And I want none of it."
He shook his head and laughed coolly, "I think you need to relax. How about you sit down before you fall over and we can get you another drink?"
She went to respond snarkily to his offer, but the prospect of another drink was not entirely unwelcome.
She mulled over his words and he extended a toned arm behind her shoulders. He took up the small of her back and gently guided her towards a nearby couch. She followed hesitantly, allowing herself to be escorted over. Just as she was about to surrender herself to the plush surface, a voice broke through the thrum of the synthetic beat.
"(Y/N!), girl where have you been all night?"
The girl turned her head to behold her concerned roommate. The much taller girl wore a closet costume of Tiffany Valentine from Bride of Chucky.
The drunken girl took one long look at her friend before furrowing her brows, "More like where have you been? I thought you left like an hour ago and I had to fuck it up on my own!"
Her roommate gave her a questioning look, "Did Becca and Cass leave?"
The girl nodded feebly "Uhhh yeah! Becca had to leave early because her ass is not built for more than 2 White Claws and Cass had to make sure she didn't die."
Her roommate shrugged, "Sounds like her. Sorry hun, I didn't mean to leave you alone for so long but—"
The girl rolled her eyes, "Yeah I get it, you and Noah found a room. Girl if you needed dumb dick you had better options!"
A sharp laugh sounded from the male next to her, "Damn ok, we really need to sit you down. Let me get you some water. Don't go anywhere."
He shot her a playful wink and disappeared around the corner.
"Seriously girl? Harrison? You said I was desperate." Her roommate gave her a disapproving look.
"I don't want his ass! I am way too fucked up for that." The girl shook her head and gave her a grimace.
"Honestly, you should just get out of here. I can call you an Uber since Cass took the keys?" Her roommate offered, holding her hand out expectantly.
"Nah it's fine, I just need to sit down for a bit! You don't need to worry about me." The girl gave an unconvincing smile.
"Girl you are one cup away from a bad decision, you should call it quits before you find out the hard way." Her roommate heaved an unimpressed sigh.
The smaller girl groaned and surrendered her phone, ultimately knowing her friend was right. Harrison swiftly returned with a cup of iced water. He held it out to her with an easy smile.
"Here (Y/N), why don't you sit down?"
Her roommate shook her head, "See this is what I'm talking about. Come on, I'm getting you out of here."
She grabbed the drunken girl's arm.
"But—!"
She went to protest but was swiftly stopped by a groan from the male.
"Oh come on Jen, she just needs to cool off for a bit. Let her enjoy the party, I'll watch her." His tone was edged with annoyance.
Jen looked from him to the cup in his hand, "What she needs is to go home. I already called an Uber, it's fine."
"I told you I'd watch her! Here (Y/N), just take the water." He grabbed onto the girl's arm, trying to press the cup into her hands.
Jen jerked her away, "God, will you just leave it? Come on girl."
Jen gave the girl one final tug and she relented to follow her.
"Damn Jen, why do you have to be such a bitch? We're just having fun!"
She gave him a cynical glare, "Fuck you, Harrison."
She took the girl by the shoulders and led her out of the party. The girl gave one last perplexed look at the blonde before letting herself be pushed away.
"He's a fucking case waiting to happen." Jen shook her head before looking at the girl's phone, "Ok hun, I'll help you find where this guy is gonna pick you up."
Jen guided the girl from the driveway of the house down to the street. They didn't get much further before the taller girl looked down at a notification from her phone.
"Oh god damn it, Julia is getting creeped on by Andre. Shoot, do you think you can find this guy on your own?" She groaned as she read the desperate text from another member of their friend group.
The girl nodded her head, attempting to put a hand on her hip confidently, "Don't worry girl, Juli is in way more shit than me. I got this!"
Jen sighed and handed the girl her phone back, "Are you sure?"
"Totally babe, I can read most of these words." She gave her a playful grin.
Jen smiled nervously before turning to leave, "I'll see you back at the apartment, ok? I gotta go before Juli freaks the hell out."
The girl watched her friend jog away and sighed as she turned to face the pavement. The street lights were far too bright for her pounding head and she began her trek with a sigh.
The driver was apparently having trouble finding the house, much to the girl's annoyance. She already struggled to respond to his text, and now this? Nearly every other house was booming with club anthems and brimming with cheap decorations. The girl found herself confused by yet another building with gruesome pumpkins crushed on the driveway. She felt as if she was going in circles and she did her best to wander in any direction that wasn't filled with trashed houses. Eventually, she found herself in a calmer area, presumably the place where her driver awaited her.
Like clockwork, her whirlwind of confusion ended with the spotting of a white Tacoma parked outside a nearby alleyway. It perfectly matched the picture illuminated on her phone, save for the splatters of blood along the truck bed, which in her mind was a declaration of Halloween spirit. She gave a cheer of triumph as she attempted to run over to the vehicle, although it appeared to be more of a wobbled skip.
A man emerged from fiddling with something in the back. He was considerably taller than her, wearing a white jacket with the hood pulled over his head. His black hair contrasted the blood-spattered fabric, barely hiding his face.
As she got over to him, she met his piercing gaze. She saw his face in the pristine light, displaying a haunting smile carved into his face.
She couldn't help her mouth from falling open in shock, "Damn dude, that makeup is crazy! But what are you? Like Gerard Way if he was the Joker? Or wait, wait, are you like an album cover?"
The man only looked taken aback, surveying the woman before him with sinister eyes. She was of a smaller stature, shamelessly rocking such a bold costume, and of course, completely alone. Perhaps she was just stupid or very confused, he reasoned.
She sighed, "Man I have like the coolest driver ever. I was scared I wasn't gonna find you. Dude, I'm not gonna lie I'm like this close to passing out on the street."
She was definitely stupid, he confirmed in his mind.
"What the hell are you even talking about?" He finally spoke.
The girl laughed, stumbling closer to him, "Sorry I just came from a party and I needed a designated driver. We go hard but we don't do DUIs here."
She cackled at her words, being met with a deadpan from the man. He gave her a once over and sighed.
Yeah, it seemed about right. A drunk girl alone a few days before Halloween, why was he even surprised anymore? He had found that people have an affinity for getting themselves into horror movie situations.
"Another drunk huh? Do you really think it's a good idea for you to be out here on your own?" He replied.
He leaned nonchalantly on the dash with his hands in his pockets, marveling at how stupid the girl was. Occasionally, his gaze flitted to the truck bed, which was messily covered with a tarp.
"I'm not alone! Or I wasn't alone anyway, my friend called me an Uber because I'm like 90% sure this dude was trying to roofie me." She explained, stopping to gain her bearings.
He stifled a laugh. She truly had no filter left.
"So your friend left you to find your ride even when you were getting creeped on? Sounds healthy." The bloodied man chuckled, watching with amusement as she pouted.
"So not true, she had to help our other friend who was also in deep. It's just girly things, duh." She smirked, although it looked less serious than she'd hoped.
The man threw his hands up in defense, "My bad, you do your thing, bunny girl."
The girl narrowed her eyes and began to protest, but was abruptly interrupted by an annoying voice.
"There you are (Y/N)! I thought I'd lost you."
The girl groaned dramatically, turning around promptly, "What the hell Harisson? Is your stalking ass following me?"
The blonde strutted up to her, considerably more inebriated than he had been when they last met. This time, however, he was followed by a posse of equally as intoxicated men.
"Of course I am, I wasn't going to let you run off on your own." Harrison stopped abruptly, staring at the bloodied man next to the girl.
"Whose this (Y/N)?" His mouth held an easy smile, but his eyes held warning behind them.
"He's my Uber driver!" She answered, stepping closer to the man.
"Someone who doesn't have time for this shit." The man remarked soon after.
One of Harrison's friends laughed wryly, "Dude what are you supposed to be? Some kind of emo band member?"
The bloodied man stared through him, stuffing his hand further into his pocket.
"Something like that." He responded.
Harrison rolled his eyes, "I don't care who you're supposed to be buddy, (Y/N) come on, we're getting out of here."
The girl grimaced and crossed her arms with a malicious look in her eye, "Hell nah! I know what your ass is up to and I'm not about that."
Harrison narrowed his eyes, "What I'm up to is trying to help you, now let's go."
He held out a hand to her. The girl shook her head.
"Nuh-uh!"
"I said, let's go!" He grabbed her arm roughly.
The girl gasped at his audacity and jerked her arm away, "Let go of me, asshole!"
As she pulled away from his grasp, she tumbled backward in her discombobulated state. The bloodied man dove into action and looped his arms under her own, pulling her to her feet.
"Who the hell do you think you are? She said no and you grab her?" The bloodied man accused, raising his voice.
Harrison glanced between his fellow frat devotees with a drunken smirk.
"Do we have a problem here? We're only trying to help her." He chuckled, raising his arms in a carefree gesture.
The bloodied man gently pushed the girl behind him, "Bullshit. We're gonna have a problem if you don't quit while you're ahead."
"Are you seriously threatening me?" The blonde mused, stepping closer to him.
"Why don't you use your fucking brain and figure it out? Just fuck off before you find out what being a spineless dickhead really means." The man reached his hand into his pocket threateningly.
Harrison's smirk dropped as he eyed the man's hand warily. He looked back at his friends, nearly speechless.
The bloodied man led the girl to the passenger side of his truck, ushering her inside, "Get in the car. Now."
The girl stumbled along with him, giving one last look at Harrison bitterly. The man slammed the door and looped back around to send a final glare at the group of boys before slipping into the driver's seat. He stepped on the gas, leaving a trail of slack-jawed drunken frats.
The girl observed the man through half-lidded eyes.
"Thanks for that. I'm sorry you got involved with those assholes." She sighed.
He peered over at her from his place behind the wheel.
"Don't mention it." He grumbled, focusing back on the road.
He had no idea what he was doing. Between the drunk girl in the passenger seat and the body stored in the truck bed, he was deciding what to deal with first.
"You're really intimidating, you know. That was fucking terrifying." She laughed slowly.
The laugh promptly turned into a fit of giggles as she stared out the window, "I would have totally pissed my pants in that situation."
"With how fucked up you are right now, I don't know if I like those odds." The man quipped, his gaze still focused on the darkness ahead.
She looked at him offended, her stupid smile only widening, "I am not going to piss. I might throw up though."
A laugh slipped from his torn mouth, "You are so fucked up lady."
She continued to giggle, only to be interrupted by a hiccup.
"No wait I'm serious. Oh man I am so fucking sorry, I am really trying not to ruin your seats right now." She looked at him with a mix of fear and regret.
He chuckled, "Don't worry about it, I stole this piece of junk anyways."
"Yeah, for sure, can we please pull over?" She half laughed half coughed.
She thought he was joking.
He was not. The body in the back could attest to that.
"For real?" He eyed her skeptically.
She nodded, covering her mouth with her hand.
"Oh for fucks sake."
About five minutes later, the girl was on her hands and knees, spilling the contents of her stomach all over an innocent gutter. The bloodied man held her hair back begrudgingly.
"Alright come on, get it all out. We don't have all night." He gave her back a firm smack.
She gave a final cough and looked up at him warily. Her eyes were glazed over and her makeup was running down her cheeks, glistening in the headlights. She went limp in his arms, resigning herself to the depths of her Margaritaville stupor.
"You good?" He heaved her up, although she was showing no signs of standing.
She mumbled a response, her eyes flittering shut.
"Come on bunny girl, stay with me." He gave her face a gentle smack.
She didn't budge.
"God fucking dammnit." The man cursed.
He slung her arm over his shoulder, dragging her back to the car. Surprisingly, it wasn't the first body he'd manhandled that night.
He returned to his seat soon after, staring out the window at the headlight-bathed asphalt. He glanced back at the woman in the stolen passenger seat. It would be so easy to end her life quickly, adding her to his growing collection in the back of the car. His thoughts trailed back to the idiotic men from before who hunted her like dogs. She had the unfortunate luck to be met with danger on every corner, and yet here she was, peacefully knocked out in a stranger's car. He watched the way she breathed softly in her drunken coma.
He sighed, gently pulling her phone from her grip. She didn't stir as he examined the screen. It was still turned on, lit up with the front page of the Uber app. Her real driver had canceled the ride long ago. The man navigated to her profile and looked at her address. He glanced between her and the trunk. He cursed under his breath as he typed her address into his own phone.
With that, he sped off into the night, wondering just what had gotten into him.
"𝓦𝓪𝓼𝓽𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓪𝔀𝓪𝔂 𝓪𝓰𝓪𝓲𝓷 𝓲𝓷 𝓜𝓪𝓻𝓰𝓪𝓻𝓲𝓽𝓪𝓿𝓲𝓵𝓵𝓮" -Jimmy Buffet
★ ₊ ˚⟡
Rest in peace Jimmy Buffet, you were truly a visionary.