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It’s unusual for a Vortex to suck, especially for Silvia. Tonight is definitely one of those rare times, though. Maybe the theme isn’t clicking with her, maybe the crowd isn’t preferable for her. Who knows. Definitely not her.
So instead of torturing herself by lingering in a corner like a loser, she just slips outside with her drink. It’s a chilly night, with February going into March, so she wraps her arms around herself.
Still, being outside in the early spring chilliness is better than being inside that hellscape of a party, she thinks. The bass of the music that’s playing too loudly vibrates the walls of the indoor pool that she’s leaning against, which only makes her dread this even more.
“Why are you being moody?” Silvia hears Nathan sneer as he exits the building after her, standing in front of her. “Come back inside.”
Silvia shrugs, just slightly tipsy, her eyes lightly glazed over as she peers up at him through the dark. “I’m not feeling it tonight.”
He sighs (it’s more of a scoff), as if even the slight thought that she’s ditching the party he planned is an inconvenience for him. “What fucking ever,” he mutters, his back knocking against the wall next to hers as he rummages through his pockets for something. Silvia looks away at this point, not wanting to somehow annoy him by watching him. “Hey,” his voice cuts through, blank. “You want a cigarette?”
She snorts, looking over at him, the breeze making her hair flail a little. “Fuck that. I don’t smoke those.” Silvia says with a grin and watches as his eyes roll.
“I knew that.” Nathan retorts defensively, and Silvia snickers as her gaze drifts away from him and back down into her drink. She hears the flicks of his lighter as he attempts to light his cigarette, alongside his grumbles of frustration.
It’s quiet between them, as quiet as it can be considering there’s a party happening one wall away. It usually is. Silvia can’t find a lot to talk about when she’s buzzed if there’s no party around her, and Nathan isn’t much of a conversationalist in general.
The quiet is suddenly interrupted, though, when a window from inside cracks open, likely from someone bumping into it. Their silence is very quickly tarnished with shitty bass-boosted music.
So, Silvia is essentially in hell. Loud music, the cold. But at least someone’s here with her to make things less shitty.
She snickers to herself at the disbelief she feels. Her night only gets worse. “You’re gonna get in trouble for the noise.” She quickly reminds Nathan.
Nathan groans. “I get in trouble with my father for everything. Whatever.” He grumbles, tossing his cigarette into the asphalt and stomping it out.
Silvia isn’t wearing much that would shield her from the chill; she was just at a party, after all. Her arms are laden with goosebumps, and she shivers. “Fuck, it’s cold,” she exhales. “We should just ditch this place.”
He doesn’t reply. It’s not unusual that they leave these things together. It’s not like anyone would question why Silvia and Nathan are suddenly missing.
He nods, just once. Silvia pushes off the wall, throwing back the rest of her drink and letting the solo cup fall onto the grass.
The two of them walk back to the dorm building in silence. Not uncomfortable silence, though. At least, not for Silvia. At least now she doesn’t have to pretend to like her surroundings.
At least now, she doesn’t have to dread going back inside the party.