Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Aug 4th, 201X.

It started off as a normal day, I was one of Korse’s top advisors. He took good care of me, gave me food, gave me shelter, and less dangerous tasks than others. Today, He let me do something special. I got to go out into the zones, finally leaving battery city. I mean there’s nothing wrong with battery city! I’ve just always wanted to go to the zones…

So there I was, on one of the cars on my way to zone 4. We were going to go see if the killjoys were there, as they were previously seen camping around there. It would take us about an hour to reach zone 4.

Once we arrived we hid behind a hill just in case. I was first to get out of the car.
I inhaled,
“The air feels so much better than in battery city! Was Korse lying-”
One of the S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W soldiers covered my mouth before i could finish speaking.
“Oi, don’t ya see that them killjoys are o’er there? Ya gotta shut yor pie ‘ole.”

I felt ashamed to speak, this was my first time interacting with the S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W Unit and I wanted to make a good first impression.
We sneak around some rocks and just start stalking them..
And look who’s there! The guy with red hair that Korse always talks about… I think his name is…. Uhmm Potion Punk or something?? That’s cool. I love his hair….. Reds a nice color… his jacket is cool too… his arms? Oh……
My fuzzy thoughts were interrupted by the feeling of a scarecrow unit guy pulling me down as I was daydreaming, apparently Potion Punk saw me. Why was I suddenly so entranced with this idiotic bastard?? Eugh.. must be a protection method. It hurts my head to look at him anyways..
I ended up blowing our cover anyway, and was handed a ray-gun. I was trained well by Korse to be a perfect shot, and a perfect shot I was. So shooting one guy should be fairly easy. I made sure the ray-gun was good to go, looked up again and saw four of them. Four. WHERE DID THE OTHER THREE COME FROM???
Oh well, no thinking about that now, just shoot. Any of them would work. Just shoot, come on, what's taking you so long, Axel? Just shoot…
It got really windy out of nowhere, or was I just dizzy? Who cares! You’ve got the entire S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W Unit yelling at you telling you to help them shoot, or were they telling you to go with them? Or get down? Who cares, just SHOOT!! HE’S RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU NOW, SHOOT!

BANG!!
…

You’re dead. You're dead Axel.

Through seemingly closed eyes I see someone approach me.
“Korse…?”
A familiar bright red was the last thing I saw.

Chapter Text

Mmmm what a comfortable bed… must be in battery city…
My head was still fuzzy.
“...korse? Is that you?”
Feet shuffle across seemingly rough textured floors
“No Deton, I’m not Korse.”
“....what? Who-”
Before I could open my eyes I felt someone hug me, and suffocate me in embrace.
“...where am i?” I opened my eyes to see an old trashed diner.
“You’re home.”
This triggered something within me, as I started to cry. But i didn't understand why.
I inhale deeply only to smell the stench of sweat and spray paint…
*COUGH COUGH*
“Oh my gosh, are you okay?!”
The person pulls away from the hug only to reveal their face. It was potion punk…
“No! Not you!! I- where am i?!”
“You’re safe now-! It’s okay!” He stated, trying to hug me again.

I push potion punk away and scurry to the diner’s kitchen where I hide, i search my pockets for my two way radio… I turned it on while I hid from potion punk or whatever his name was…

I turned on the two way radio,
“*SHKRR* Korse! Or- anyone!! Just please come get me…Potion Punk has me cornered in- uhm.. I think I'm in the old diner in zone fou-?”
Potion Punk came from behind me and snatched it away and threw it on the floor, breaking the two way radio.

I tried fleeing but I couldn't, “Potion Punk, don’t hurt me.. I know what you and your terrorist friends do. Please just spare me…Better Living already knows where i am,” I stared at him, holding my hands up.

Potion punk looked at me with a look of surprise, perhaps even amusement.

“Man, you really were brainwashed by them weren’t you..? *scoff* Did you really forget all the pain and suffering we went through just because of better living? And it’s all led by Korse! Did you forget!? All those times you’d tell me you’d never fall for the propaganda? That you’d never turn to them! I trusted you. We used to be…” he wanted to cry. “We aren’t even terrorists!! KORSE IS THE TERRORIST!!! You- You know what? ..I don’t even have time for this-”

Potion Punk stormed off, "Oh! and my names PARTY POISON!" he yelled from the back rooms of before Leaving me with a broken two way radio on the floor.
Annoyed at ""party poison"", I got up and attempted to leave this shit hole.

Then suddenly out of nowhere *BANG!*
Scared the hell out of me…
The noise came from outside so I crouched low and hid behind a couch that was in the main part of the diner. I clutched the ray-gun that was still in my holster. I stood hidden as someone entered the diner…

Here enters the oldest of the killjoys…i think Korse mentioned him a few times before…
I stayed hidden as he walked into the diner, he looked like he was looking for something.
He took off his helmet and threw it to the couch I was hiding behind, which made me lose balance.

“...Hello?” he says with uncertainty, approaching the couch.
Shit I'm so done for… I held my gun tight and shut my eyes.
A noise suddenly appeared from the kitchen, it was the broken radio…it managed to make a noise after all.
While the man was distracted I got up and came behind him, holding up the ray-gun.
Korse would be so proud of me if I shot him right now.
I kept my position, closed my eyes…and pulled the trigger.
…
Nothing. Happened.
I open my eyes, confused.
“Put the gun down.” the man demanded, looking me right in the eyes.
It sent a shiver down my spine the way he looked at me.
He was gripping the ray-gun from the muzzle, my hands loosened and let go of it.
“Thank you.” He simply said, “I see party was able to bring you back here. nice to see you around. you should stay awhile you know? it’s not like it’s a new place.”

He takes the ray-gun and puts it into the bag he was carrying…he left whistling a tune, I think it's longview by green day?

I decided to stay, thinking about the man’s words. About thirty minutes pass, the smell of paint and dog food cover the air. I sit on the couch that's in the center of the diner.
My head started to ache the longer i thought about this man. My vision got blurry, my head throbbed, then.
I remembered the man’s name.
JetStar.
I don't trust jetstar.

I tried recollecting anything else I remembered about the killjoys. weren't there four? Where were the other two?
The pain radiating from my head was too much to continue thinking, i decided to focus on Better Living instead.

suddenly I hear a car pull up and two voices yelling from the outside,
The other two killjoys. They appeared to be fighting…

“GET INSIDE GOD DAMMIT!!!”
“OH SHUSH YOU'RE THE ONE WHO TOOK SO LONG COMPLAINING ABOUT YOUR ANKLE!!!”
“KOBRA SHUT UP…!!!”
“Just…get inside broski…”

I hear more rustling before the door swings open and a guy wearing a green vest with black slick hair looks at me, as if he was looking forward to seeing me. He gives me the creeps…
“...Diana..?” I see him mumble.
The man in the red pushes him to the couch across the one I was sitting on.
He then came up to me and gives me a big hug,
“I’ve missed having you around! I’m so glad we got you back.”
I push him away slowly, giving him a disgusted look,
“Hah…” I replied, then another burst hit me like a lead pipe,
KOBRA KID!! THE AWESOME WANNA BE COWBOY!!
I subconsciously laugh, “...loser..” and I smile.
“Seriously?” Kobra looked at me with a frown, “...Well i can't say i didn’t miss your taunting..”
I gave him a confused look,
What? Huh- what did i say??

“Nevermind forget it, see you around- hopefully anyway.”
He punches the green vest guy and nearly trips his way to the kitchen.
I was stuck in the room with confusion and a guy who wouldn’t stop looking at me with endearment. It made my head hurt again.
Who is he?

–
Aug 5th 201X

The room was filled with an awkward silence. it didn’t help once I saw that his face was filled with a light pink color. He was blushing. Which made me blush out of embarrassment…
“Is something wrong, weirdo?” I said, a little nervous.

“No…I'm just admiring your pretty face... I haven’t seen you in so long and it’s the most i could do without fucking up my ankle some more.” he says in the most flirtatious voice, with a smug facial expression.
I got frustrated at his attitude. I don’t even remember who this guy was??
“Listen, i don’t know what we were before, So I’d appreciate it if you stopped acting like I'm the same person you knew! So much attitude for a Killjoy!”
His eyes fell in disappointment,
“...You don’t remember me? I'm your-...was…your…” he mumbles something i couldn't understand, “...I’m Fun Ghoul. Or Frank… We used to be ‘best friends’, don’t you remember, Diana?” He looked at me as if i was supposed to remember him by hearing that name.
“No. And I don't think I want to,” I gave him a disgusted look, “ Also my name is Axel. I'm not whoever this “Diana” person is-”
He cut me off, rolling his eyes;
“Your name is Diana. I would know, I was the only one you could trust enough to tell.” i scoffed at his words, "Everyone calls you Detonation Devil, or “Deton” for short. It is your killjoy name after all, and it is Killjoy code to call a Killjoy their codename.” he gave me a big smile.

So Diana? That's a pretty name… doesn’t fit my face though.
What if he’s just lying to me? Because I “look pretty”?? I can’t trust a word this guy says, in fact i trust JetStar more than this guy…
I got furious,
“Okay Frank, sure…Maybe that was my name. But is it that now? Do I look like I still want to be a part of your shenanigans?? NO! I don’t care about what I meant to you before or who I was! I just want to go home. Maybe this WAS my home before. But I don't remember anything, and just because I look like Diana, or act like her, that doesn't mean I AM her.” I look at him, with tears nearly showing through all I stood for, this guy is giving me a major headache.
“...You're right. You aren’t my Diana. You’re just a fucking no-good girl that showed up. I don't even know who you are…” He looked at me with anger, “Go home.”

Chapter Text

Aug 5 201X

It was evening now, the sun setting in the distance. Cooled sand waiting outside, with the sound of the breeze whispering ever gently.
I had left the diner. More or less just stepped outside; I couldn’t really bring myself to go anywhere.

I glanced around, checking for somewhere to run off to; but it was night now and I was too tired to really put effort into running or walking a far distance. I sat outside near the killjoy’s car and finally decided to walk to a building that didn't seem too far away at the moment. you could see it from a distance…or at least I think that's a gas station…

Half way there I realized it was a BL/Ind hideout, which was way better because they are probably looking for me!! Korse probably sent a look out crew to find me! Oh I knew he was going to save me..
I started running through the dark approaching them and yelling “GUYS GUYS!! DON’T WORRY I'M RIGHT HERE!!!” I kept yelling at them, trying to get their attention.
And the attention I did get, I saw that they were not S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W Unit soldiers… They were draculoids, which means Korse did not send a search party but sent a team of murderous brainwashed-bots out, probably just the mandatory set to look for the killjoys. The Draculoids did not seem friendly, of course they're not meant to be…

There were about four of them, and they all showed me that they were a threat; they all raised their weapons and pointed them at me. It was too late to run back and I had nowhere to hide, I felt fear cross my body. I tried telling them that I wasn't a threat or a killjoy but they persisted in pointing their weapons at me. One of them whispered in an automated broken voice,

“D-d-..-d-d *SKRRR* de-... Destroy…a-a-a…a….destroy-a…..k…*SHHKERR*”

They pointed it to my face, and before they pulled the trigger i yelled
“STOP!!” which made one of them flinch and shoot the ground.
Knowing they wouldn’t stop at any cost, I began running back towards the diner. I had a better chance at survival with the killjoys than with four draculoids.
They kept shooting at me, running at high speeds chasing me through the dark desert.
I cried as i ran, thinking this may be the end of my life, i would never be able to outrun a Draculoid… suddenly i heard something among the sand, in the distance a far light;

Am I dead? Oh , sweet angels of heaven take me to safety…

I was then shot in the arm and I grew weak. I had stopped running since I was losing so much blood. It wasn't a normal ray gun. must've been a stronger version. Perhaps even an actual…gun? I don't know… I couldn't think properly with all the pain…
I turned back around, holding my arm as I stood in front of the draculoids. I stumble to my knees.
I was shot again in the leg, I fell to the floor. I tried squirming away but there really was nowhere to hide.
The draculoids had gotten ahold of me and were dragging me by the arms back to their post.
I saw the light growing closer and it grew faster and faster until it stopped in place.
The lights caught the attention of the draculoids, they stopped and just stood there for a few moments, trying to calibrate what the light was.

I heard a door close and the lights started to fade and turn off, and then I felt the draculoids let me go. I fell to the floor, the cold sand beneath me like a soft bed with my blood dripping upon it, it warmed the earth; making it the perfect death bed…
I closed my eyes just wishing I could go back home to Battery city.

Someone picked me up and took me to the backseat of a car, it felt cold and I started shivering.

“You’re going to be okay…you're going to be okay…you have to be, please…” i heard someone whisper,

I slightly open my eyes and i saw that it was fucking Potion Punk… but i was too weak and frail to even push away, i just clinged tighter hoping it would stop the pain. He hugged me back, caressing my back and laid me down ever so gently. He exited the car and told me to wait.

You could hear the killjoys yelling and shooting the draculoids, it was all so vivid, the lights from the rayguns covering the backseats. I had fallen asleep for a bit and once I had awoken the noise had stopped. Well, besides the sound of the car engine being on and light music playing in the background. The killjoys were done fighting the draculoids I think…and we were headed back to the diner? The pain was still very much there and I just felt really light headed, we arrived at our location and everyone rushed out of the car. Potion Punk carried me out, putting me on the couch.
“Are you okay? Well- dumb question obviously not i mean how are you feeling?” he asks,
“...i'm fine…just…tired..” i whispered, almost just mouthing the words
My hearing at this point wasn’t very good so all I could hear was muffled voices. I fell asleep again. Last thing I remember was party poison hugging me.

—
Aug 6th , 201X

I woke up with a big headache, or maybe it was just the fact that Foot Fungus was with me.
He was playing guitar or something, he kept glancing at me.
I didn’t say a single thing to him, why would i?
I got up and winced, the pain wasn’t gone fully…and it hurt to move.
Foot Fungus spoke, “Goodmorning, Axel.”
I grumbled in response. “The fuck do you want, Fungus?”
He got up and sat next to me
“How are you feeling?” He asked, taking my arm to see if he needed to change the bandage.
“..I'm fine.” At this point there was no use in pushing him away or making him leave me alone.
“...Mind if I take the bandaging off? I have to change it.” He looked me in the eyes for approval.
“Fine.” I grumbled, but I mean I can't do it myself so I'll take what help I can get.

Foot fungus finished changing the bandages and thought it would be a bright idea to kiss my forehead once he was done. I pushed him away,
“Don’t forget that we aren’t friends, Fungus.”
he fell back, “Can’t blame me for trying..” He grumbled and crossed his arms.
I scooted away to the best of my abilities, and found myself dissociating as my brain banged in my skull. My vision got blurry again, and I turned to Foot Fungus.
“I missed you.”
The words came out subconsciously. I couldn’t see anything but colors, my head feeling like it was about to explode.
Someone mumbled something…
“I missed you too” was all I could make out.. I felt myself be embraced, my eyes fell heavy.

Chapter Text

Third day with the killjoys, my arm still bandaged. my leg....still hurting and unable to move much. I was starting to get used to being here, especially after the killjoys saved me from those draculoids. I felt closer to them and it felt like home, truly being home. Though my headache still lasted, it wasn't as bad.

I woke up on an empty bed. for the past three nights i’ve been sleeping next to kobra on the floor. Fun Ghoul sleeps on the lower bunk and Jet at the top, Party Poison has their own room, fun….
I got up and I saw a bulletproof vest near the door with a letter that said: (in terrible handwriting..)
“For Diana From Frank”
I chuckled to myself realizing that none of these guys probably don’t have good handwriting because they were probably too young in their learning to develop a proper handwriting style when the wars started. I mean yeah me too, BL/Ind is the only reason why i have good handwriting…

–

I got changed and made my way out to the main part of the diner, and saw the killjoys eating breakfast.

Fun Ghoul pats the seat next to him, urging me to go sit.
“Here Diana, i saved you a seat!” he smiles at me, aww... .of course i hurry and sit, party poison looks at me in disgust and disappointment… I smile nervously at him, and begin to eat.

“So, how’re you enjoying being back Axel?” JetStar asks
“It’s been fairly well with you all,” I smile, “I quite like it here…i’ve been thinking of staying here. You guys just treat me so much better than korse!”
Everyone looks cheerful and excited to have me back, but party poison has an odd face on…. He's looking at me right in the eyes, with relief? Anticipation? Anger? Who knows, but it worries me thinking he doesn’t want me here…

–

The day progressed and we didn’t do much…
Jetstar was fixing a machine, Kobra was doing some shooting practice, Fun Ghoul
and I were reading some magazines he found at the old mall a few miles away… Party Poison came out of his room looking enthusiastic,
“Diana-! I mean Deton- uhh Axel?”
“Yeah?” i say, half distracted due reading the magazine
“Wanna play a game with me? I just found a deck of cards in my room,”
“Oh sure!” i place the magazine on Ghouls lap and go to sit with Party Poison
“What game are we playing?”
“Go fish!” He smiles like an idiot. “It’s my favorite card game!!” awww…..
Party Poison sorts out the cards and gives us both 7 cards to start with.
He starts, “do you have a….king of hearts?” and gives a sly smirk,
I scoff, “no, go fish loser” I smile at him, while he dreadfully takes a card from the stack.
Fun Ghoul gets up puts the magazines down and sits next to me
“Whatcha guys playin’?” he asked, he placed his hand on my leg.
In that moment i couldn't think straight, my head i remove his hand and scoot as far away as possible, i bump into Party Poison
“Hey!! No cheating!!” he laughs, putting an arm around my waist hugging me.
I didn’t know how to react to all the attention I was getting…but it caused my face to turn a dark red colour.
“It’s okay Deton, we can play against Ghoul,” he chuckles and looks down at me… his eyes seem so kind… and nice. He notices I'm meek and blushing, he smiles at me.
“...or you could just watch us play.” he says, “that's okay too.” he smiles at me, bringing me closer to him before looking up at Ghoul again.
“Okay dude, your turn.”
Ghoul picks up the cards, “...do…hm…queen of hearts?”
“...yeah…” Party sighs, giving the card to Ghoul
“Thank you!” Ghoul smiles like he just won the whole game. He places down the almost full set of queens.
Party Poison pulls out the queen of hearts he has and just shows it to me, he leans in and whispers the plan…
“...ok so we’re gonna ask him for one of his queens….then, since we get to go again we’ll just keep askin’ him for ‘em ‘til we have the whooooolllleeee set. How do ya like the plan?” he smirks,
“Alrighty!” I whispered.

—
Aug 7th, 201X

Fun Ghoul won the game in the end… he kept cheering and saying
“FA-FA-FA SCORE!!!! IN YOUR FACEE LOSERSS!!!” …right in our faces.
Me and party poison have had enough…
We went outside and enjoyed the sunset. We sat near the passenger door near the car, not too far away from where everyone was. Just in a place where we could semi hide from ghouls taunting.

We stared at the sunset. Me and party poison just sat by each other in silence before Party turned and looked at me.
“I’m sorry…for yesterday.” He said.
“...It’s okay. i-...i’m sorry too.” I said, retracting myself.
“...why? You were just scared. No need to apologize for the reaction you had when you were scared.” He said, holding my hand. He had a worried face on, he stared at me in the eyes…
“Well- i don’t know i just feel bad now for having such a reaction.”
He sighed, and nodded his head. He understood how I felt.
“Anyway, I forgive you.” He turned back to the sunset.
I found myself more entranced with the way his hair looked in the sunset rather than the actual sunset itself. He proceeded to clear his throat, which kinda spooked me.
“Hey, I just remembered!! Tomorrow there’s this concert over by zone 6…”The Mad Gear and Missile Kid” they call themselves.. They’re really cool and they’re one of the only sources of music we have, that's not on-air. You know?” I nod, “Anyway I was wonderin’ if you wanted to go with us?”
My eyes lit up, “Oh I'd love to go!! Back in the city we don’t get to listen to anything fun besides what Korse likes.” He seemed excited to go with me.

We headed back inside, it was getting dark and we were tired. Everyone seemed to be getting ready for the night, bringing out all the blankets and cushiony material they could find. I again slept in the room with Kobra, Ghoul, and Jet-Star. This time Ghoul slept on the floor with me, apparently he lost a game of Rock Paper Scissors. Sometimes I think these guys are just so unserious…

—

I lay on the two semi-soft blankets they had put on the floor for me and Ghoul. Ghoul was half asleep, shuffling around the make-shift bed. I stared at the ceiling, the only noise in this abandoned diner being Party Poison’s “Road To Ruin” Ramones record playing. I pondered getting up and asking him to turn it down but I was too tired to get up.
A few moments passed and Ghoul had completely turned to me and started hugging me… i tried pushing him away but it didn't work. It was so hot I just ended up slapping him in the face to get away.
“OW!!!!” he yelled, still half asleep. Two seconds passed and he was back to snoring, thankfully on the other side of the floor.
I fell asleep to the song “I wanna be sedated.”

Chapter Text

Aug 8th, 201X

I woke up to party poison shaking me awake,
“Axel, you won't believe what I just found!!!”
I yawned, “...what?”
“Look, come!! Get up!!”
I did, and I saw Party holding up some clothes, and he smiled at me.
“Are those mine?” I asked, grabbing the shirt.
“Yeah you left them in my room before Better Living got you. You can have them back if you’d like!” He handed me the clothes, and I immediately went to the restroom to change.

I looked different…that’s for sure. But something about the way I looked seemed so familiar…
I stared into the mirror, looking at myself.
My headache lifted and I felt lighter.
All I could do was blink. Every blink brought back a sense of familiarity…
I exited the restroom only to bump into Fun Ghoul.
“Where’d you find that outfit?” he looked at me with wide eyes
I gave him a confused look, “Party Poison gave it to me?”
I notice the slight pink tint to his face,
“Oh. Well, you look nice in it.”
I gave him a smile,
“Thanks, Fungus.”

—

We all ate breakfast and started getting ready for the trip to zone 6.
I found myself in Party Poisons room…thought I would get some of his CD’s to play in the car…in his room, hung on a wall… was a picture of me and him.
We look so happy.
He also had a bunch of letters that were written to “Diana.” never sent letters. To me. I wonder if I ever saw them.
I placed the CD’s down and started looking at the letters. I began to open one with the words “Letter #65. Wake-up call.”

in oddly good handwriting?

“Dear Diana,
Read this out loud. Find your core. Remember who you are. Remember us.

Precision. Koi. Yellow. Lace.
Precision. Koi. Yello-”

My head began to hurt, and my vision got blurry. I found myself remembering a moment before BL/Ind. The memory was escaping my mind as i tried focusing on the details… And before I could remember it clearly, Party Poison had entered the room. I put the letter down immediately and scrambled to pick up the CD’s.

“...what are you doing in my room?” He looks at me dead in the eyes. It kinda scared me…

“Nothing- i was just trying to find cd’s to play in the car while on our way to zone 6..”
He stares at me for a solid minute, then looks down at the CD’s before speaking again;
..
“...Radiohead, huh? God, you hated that band.” he chuckles and he lets out a relieved sigh
“I always knew you’d love Kid A..” I gave him an awkward smile, I didn't know what to say.

“..yeah…ha…” I actually hadn’t listened to any of these… I just picked up the closest ones I could find.
He walked past me and picked up a couple of fall out boy and green day cd’s himself.

“Come on i wanna show you what we’ll be listenin’ to!!” he smiled as ran out the room, i was left with a feeling of warmth. I stared at the letters for a few seconds before exiting the room as well.
I figure he’ll just tell me about them once it’s time…

—

Aug 8th, 201X

In the car, Party finally showed me the CD’s he got. “…why don’t you put ’From Under the Cork Tree’? The openers for MadGear made that album!” he said with a smile, not looking away from the road.
“Wait, really? Are they any good?” i asked,
“Well put the disc in, loser. then you tell me.”
I leaned to the front since I was sitting in the back, to put the cd into the car.
ghoul (who was sitting in the front) turned to party and looked annoyed.
“Ghoul you’re gonna hear this played live anyway, cool your jets buddy.” Party said, pushing Ghoul‘s face away.
Party turned up the music,
Without looking away from the wheel he asked, “Do you like it, Axel?”
“Hell yeah!” I exclaimed, Fun Ghoul gave a loud side eye and proceeded to slouch in his seat.

—

We arrived at a broken-down makeshift stage, it had a small bar next to it. It seemed very mobile.
Cool.

“Axel, come on!! Let's go get drinks!!” Party yells.
“Okay!!” I smile at him.
He grabs my hand and we rush through the crowd of people. He led me to the bar while talking about how he knows the members of Fall Out Boy (the opening act) very well.

We got to the bar and party asked me what i liked to drink,
“Uh, water?”
“...ehhh…Lame! I’m getting you something more fun!!” He smiled at me, oh what a nice friendly smile…
I laughed, “okay, dude” I smiled back at him,
“A Daiquiri for me, and uhhhh… a margarita for my lovely…” He winked at me…i don’t take back what i said when i initially saw him.

Party received the drinks and handed me my margarita. I looked at him with a smile.
He put his available arm around my waist, “This is the best spot we’ll get, but! If you wanna get closer we can, I think Kobra and Ghoul are over there...” he takes a sip of his drink, squinting his eyes into the crowd
“Yeah i think right here’s good for now, thank you!” I take a drink of my ‘margarita’ …
What even is a “margarita” anyway…

—

We talked some more, after a few sips I already felt tipsy…
The show began, and here came out the infamous “Fall Out Boy”...

“Hi guys!!” said some guy with sideburns, As they proceeded to begin the first song of the night, “I slept with someone in Fall Out Boy.” Surprisingly, Kobra Kid knew all of the words. Huh. He must REALLY like this band.
Kobra got noticed by the Bassist.
Party poison started talking to me. “THAT'S COALMINE CANARY.. HIM AND KOBRA HAVE LIKE A THING GOING ON!!” it was really loud so i could barely hear him,
Party held me closer by the waist, singing along.
I blushed and nodded my head to the beat.

“DOUSE YOURSELF IN CHEAP PERFUME ITS, SO FITTING, SO FITTING!!!”

As the crowd yelled the lyrics in unison, Party led me to the front of the stage with the others.
“Come on, you'll love the view!!!” Party Yelled as he held my hand,
I just felt glad to be a part of it all, life was so much more exciting here in the zones than in battery city…so colorful, so loud, so chaotic, so at home.

Once we got to the front Party let go of me, and started wandering around.
He didn't say a word, which frightened me because now I was left alone, in a sweaty place…with a bunch of random people I didn't know… With Fall Out Boy blasting and people yelling, I wasn't comfortable anymore. It felt too chaotic. I didn’t know where I was. And the rest of the killjoys had left me. I tried looking around for any of the killjoys… Jetstar? Kobra? Ghoul? Party??

I got dizzy, looking around. My head started throbbing, and my vision started to blur.
I nearly gave up until I saw bright red. My Party Poison!! I ran towards the red haired killjoy.

It was not Party Poison. It was just some random guy,
“Do you know where another red haired idiot is? His name’s party poison.” I asked the man

“Party Poison? From THE killjoys?! HE”S HERE??? Man! I’m Val Velocity…I didn’t know he was here, where is he?”

“I don't know! Uh- nevermind!!”

“Wait-!”
I had already started walking away. What a weirdo…. Val Velocity? i mean i’m not one to judge the names killjoys choose but…ew.

–

The opening act had finished, it was loud. I tried yelling but no luck.
Party Poison, where are you?
I shuffled through the crowd some more, What if they're waiting at the car for me?

I made my way to the back of the venue, and I saw a bright blurry light coming from a car I'm pretty sure.
‘Maybe party poison is in the car waiting for me’
I stumbled my way through the crowd finally making it out, I approached the car.
it wasn't killjoy's. It was white. and plain…and had a smiley face on the hood of the car.
better living industries.
I froze, ‘they aren’t here for me right?’
MadGear and Missile Kid announced themselves on stage, and I heard an excited scream. It was Party Poison. meaning even if this was a decoy car, or replica- Party wasn’t here.

I turn back to the crowd, my movements stiff.
I haven't seen Better Living in almost a week, it’s not that I don't wanna go back. I do,
Or do I?
I don't know what took over me. I just- couldn’t move.
turned back to the audience as The band performed their first song,
Cold, black gloves touch my shoulders
“...I don’t want to go home.”
They didn’t listen.
I was pulled back, knocked unconscious.

“FUCK THIS WHOLE WIDE WORLD!” Were the last words whispered in my conscious awake.

--