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Jeff doesn’t know what he’s gotten himself into.
He glances around the shopping outlet Liu’s convinced their parents to drive them to. There’s tons of people walking around with shopping bags, gossiping and laughing as they pass him by. He stares up at the arcade spot they’re currently standing in front of, and he spots the giant “Karaoke Lounge” sign off to the side. It takes all the strength he has within him to not jump back into the car and tell Liu he would join him some other time.
“We won’t be long, I promise,” he can hear Liu saying. “Just two hours max.”
Jeff knows that last bit is more for his sake than their parents’.
He feels Liu’s hand on his shoulder, and he looks up to see Liu flash him an encouraging smile. He hears the car pull away, his fate for the next two hours sealed. He can feel his dread growing.
“Two hours,” Liu repeats. Jeff nods in acknowledgment, which is enough for Liu to guide him towards the Karaoke Lounge. Seriously, what had Liu talked him into?
The lounge doesn’t look particularly inviting to Jeff. Everything’s white and plain, with the most color coming from a sign on an empty desk with the words “We’ll be right back!” and a smiley face written on it in blue ink. The desk sits right beside a long hall of doors. Jeff can see disco lights coming through some of the doors, but he can’t hear anyone singing. He hopes that means the rooms are soundproof, but something tells him he’s hoping for too much.
“C’mon, Jeff.”
Liu tugs Jeff’s sleeve and walks him down the hall. Jeff wants to open his mouth to protest but he suddenly can’t find the strength to. He glances around, just to make sure a desk clerk hasn’t spontaneously spawned in behind them, and finds himself clinging to Liu. Liu doesn’t push him away, but Jeff can’t help but wonder if he’s already fed up with him.
They reach a door at the very end of the hall and stand in front of it. Jeff realizes that it’s the only one with a window, albeit the glass is patterned, so he can't actually make anything out when he peers in. He feels Liu shrug him off as he places his hands on his shoulders.
“You’re gonna be okay. My friends are gonna love you.”
Jeff isn’t so sure, but he doesn’t voice the thought. He offers a weak smile, which is enough for Liu to open the door and walk in. Jeff follows, and is met with a small room with a tv, a small table, and a couch filled with Liu’s friends. Jeff doesn’t know when Liu had the time to make so many friends, but he reminds himself that Liu also likes interacting with people, so it wouldn’t be that hard for him to make friends.
He scans their faces but he doesn’t recognize any of them, at least not right away. He can hear Liu introducing him to them and they all stare up at him expectantly. He immediately stands behind Liu, which causes the group to laugh. Liu says something else, something he doesn’t catch, before introducing the group to him. There’s so many of them that it’s hard to keep track of the names but he manages to remember a Ben, two Jacks, a Jason, and a Natalie. Possibly even a Tim and a Brian but he can’t be sure.
One of the Jacks hands Liu a microphone and Jeff suddenly finds himself sitting on the couch holding one, too. Everyone around him is singing, screaming out the lyrics to the song, and Jeff doesn’t know how it happened so fast. He stares up at the screen but doesn’t recognize the song, so he finds himself leaning against Liu and cradling the microphone in his hands. Liu wraps an arm around Jeff and moves his body along to the beat of the song. There’s a warmth in the gesture that helps Jeff relax a little and allows him to sway with the music.
Jeff watches the others sing, some of them horrendously off-key but still clearly enjoying themselves. It amuses him, to an extent, and it’s almost enough to make him smile.
Almost.
There’s something in the way the others act and look that feels familiar to Jeff. He doesn’t know how or why, but it’s something that bothers him more than it comforts him. It almost feels like he should know them, but his brain keeps coming back with nothing each time he tries to remember them. He tries to brush it off and shove the feeling down, but it stubbornly stays put.
He’s distracted when he feels Liu gently pushing the microphone into his face. Jeff rolls his eyes and holds it up, feeling his dread grow once more.
It was time.
He knows he isn’t going to get out of this one. Liu convinced him to come so now it was his time to follow through with his promise. He stares up at the tv, and as the lyrics show up on the screen, he hears Liu snicker in his ear. He gently shoves Liu off of him, doing his best to come off annoyed at the song selection, but Liu brings Jeff into a tight side hug, causing him to groan.
“This is gonna be great,” Liu says, and he’s practically grinning from ear to ear.
It takes all of Jeff’s willpower not to bolt out of the room and call their parents early.
Jeff nearly misses his cue to sing when he realizes that the room has fallen silent to listen to him, but he recovers quickly enough that he’s sure the others won’t notice. He faces away from the others, knowing that if he dares to look, he will falter and embarrass himself more than he already has. But he can still feel their gazes on him, and it’s almost enough to make him stop anyway.
Somehow, he manages to get through the song. A wave of relief washes over him as it ends and the group claps and cheers as he sinks into the couch. His face feels hot and he’s sure he’s red, so he hands his microphone to Liu, who hands it off to another friend in the group, and hides his face in Liu’s shoulder. He feels Liu pat his arm as the next song begins, and he takes in a few deep breaths before peeking out, where he sees Ben and one of the Jacks singing a song together. Jack looks less than thrilled to be singing it, which makes Jeff laugh a little.
Liu suddenly stands and plants himself in front of the tv. Undeterred, Jack tries to peek around him to look at the screen, but Liu merely moves his body in the same direction. Ben and Jack frown.
“Liu, get out of the way.” Liu grins. Jack gets up and continues singing but Liu simply jumps up and down to further obscure his view. “LIU GET THE FUCK OUT OF THE WAY!” Jack reaches out to shove Liu, but Liu manages to grab his arm and pull him into a hug before spinning him around in a circle as he sings the words for Jack. Jack lets out a yelp as he squirms in Liu’s arms.
Jeff’s laughing now. He’s laughing so hard that his face hurts and tears are streaming down his face. He’s sure that he’ll pass out if Liu continues but he can’t find his voice to tell him to stop. Neither can the others, though, who are also crying with laughter at the scene unfolding in front of them. Jeff falls to the ground and the rest of the room dissolves into silent laughter.
Liu lets go of Jack and collapses beside Jeff on the ground. He has the widest smile on his face and it’s one that Jeff doesn’t want to see fade away. He can hear everyone around him trying to catch their breaths, but Jack grumbles something under his breath that gets everyone laughing again. Liu doesn’t seem to be paying attention to him, though. His eyes are still trained on Jeff, and there’s a look of pride in them that lets Jeff know that he did good. He then says something to Jeff, and he says it quiet enough so that only he can hear it.
“I told you you’d be okay.”
Jeff wakes with a start.
His heart is racing in his chest and there’s a ringing in his ears that overwhelms him for a moment. He sees the stars above him in the night sky and feels the cold seep into him. He looks around and sees trees in every direction, spanning as far as his eyes can see. His knife lays beside him on the forest floor. He slowly stands, the smell of his blood soaked clothes hitting him full force now, and stares down at his bloody hands.
He doesn’t remember when he fell asleep.
Or what he was just dreaming about.