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The noise from the party had started to give Ghoul a headache. There was some new band screaming their heads off into a microphone and bright colored strobe lights danced all around them. It was crowded too. They were all in the ruins of some old warehouse in the middle of Zone 6 and it was sometime just past midnight. All the windows had long been boarded up, so no light escaped. Even though it was the middle of the night, there was always a chance a stray patrol could find them. It was better to be safe than sorry.
‘I need a cigarette and a spot away from everybody.’ Ghoul loved these parties, if he didn't he obviously wouldn't be there, but sometimes things got a bit too rowdy and he needed a break from it. He didn't want to go outside because the night would be way too cold. ‘So random side room it is.’ As Ghoul picked a direction and started to wander, he realized just how big the old warehouse was. When he had first entered, he hadn't even noticed that there was a whole nother building attached. This one, instead of being empty, was filled with giant shipping containers. And it was almost completely silent. Except for an odd scraping and weak banging sound echoing off the walls. Because of the echoing, it was just about impossible to tell where exactly the sound was coming from.
He didn't know why, but he was curious and decided to investigate. At first he thought it might have just been two ‘joys getting it on in private, but this noise sounded different. It wasn't rhythmic at all. It sounded like someone was trying to escape one of the containers, which made Ghoul a bit nervous. ‘Is someone hurt? Or did some idiot accidentally lock themselves in one of these.’ As he wove his way through the maze, the scratching became louder and louder. He could also make out some muffled yelling and cursing.
“Hold still damn it. Why are you still fighting me? You know you want it.”
Hearing that made Ghoul's blood run cold. ‘Oh hell no.’ He began running, desperately trying to find the source of the voice before anything worse happened, cigarette completely forgotten. Then, he saw it. One container on the very end of a row had the doors slightly ajar. Without hesitation, Ghoul charged in. The sight he was met with made him see red. There were two ‘joys, one with beautiful cherry red hair, and one with the most basic brown hair he had ever seen out in the desert. The one with red hair was being pinned to the floor, movements slow and they looked extremely dazed but panicked. They were also missing their shirt. The brown haired ‘joy was straddling them, one hand tightly gripping and pulling at their hair, the other stroking their bare chest.
Both of their heads jerked over to look at Ghoul when he barged in. “Hello there, did ya need something?” The brown haired one sneered. “If you don't, you can fuck off now. Give people privacy, will ya?” Ghoul stayed frozen in place, still taking everything in. He could now clearly tell the scratching had been the red haired one's doing. Their fingers were bloodstained and their nails were broken from what Ghoul could see. Ghoul moved his eyes up and could see the injured ‘joy giving them a pleading look. The other caught Ghoul staring. “Oh? Do you want a piece?” They yanked the injured ‘joy’s head to the side so they could completely face Ghoul, “Pretty fine find, huh? I guess I could share a bit for a price? They caused me quite a few problems, so how does fifteen carbons sound? I'd say fair deal for this pretty thing.”
“Get off. Now.” Ghoul's voice was deadly serious. The injured ‘joy looked weak and wasn't putting up much of a fight compared to how terrified that looked. ‘They must have been drugged,’ Ghoul realized with a flash of hatred. ‘Who would do that to another human being!?’
“So you want them to yourself? That'll cost ya a bit more. How about thirty carbons then?
Ghoul raised his ray gun and pointed it at the brown haired ‘joy. “I said. Get. Off.”
“Two can play that game,” They snatched the yellow gun from the other ‘joys hip and pointed it at the red head. “Give me the carbons and pretty boy here won't die.”
“Not a boy,” the injured one slurred.
“Shut it!” The brown haired one then pistol whipped them. They let out a sharp cry of pain and slumped back, blood running down their forehead. Ghoul, without hesitation, shot the ‘joy in the hand, making them yell and drop the weapon.
“I won't ask you again. Leave. Or the next shot will hit something vital,” Ghoul growled. The ‘joy shot up and quickly scrambled out of the container, holding their hand.
“Fine! Have them! They're messed up in the head anyways!” Ghoul paid them no mind, purely focusing on the injured red head. Shockingly, they were still conscious, eyes full of fear as they tried to back away from Ghoul, only to hit the back of the container.
Ghoul slowly set the ray gun down and held his hands up. “Hey, I don't want to hurt you, I promise. Will you let me help you?” Ghoul kept closer, hands still up. The other ‘joy flinched back and Ghoul immediately stopped.
“Stay… stay away,” they warned shakily. “I don't have any…thing you want.”
“Like I said earlier, I don't want to hurt you, I just want to help.”
“Why? What's in… in it for you?” They were still heavily slurring their words.
“Nothing! I promise. I just don't like seein’ people hurt. What that ‘joy tried to do to you was awful. And by the way you're talkin, I assume they drugged you too?” The other weakly nodded. “Okay, do you know how long the drugs will last?”
“He… he said like… 30 minutes, I think? But I don't know how… long ago that was.” Ghoul could feel his heart breaking for them. No one deserves this.
“How about this, I'll stay over here till it wears off. Then, when you're back to bein’ you, I can help? ‘Cause you're still bleeding pretty bad there.”
“Fine. Thank you,” they answered quietly.
After about fifteen minutes of silence, both just sitting on their own sides of the container, Ghoul finally got brave enough to ask a personal question. “So, what's your name? If you don't want to tell, that's fine. I'm Fun Ghoul.”
“Party Poison.” Their voice was steadier and clearer now. Ghoul noticed that they were shaking, probably from the cold of the metal, since they still didn't have a shirt on. Either that or they still had blood dripping down their cheek from where the gun had hit them along with the blood on their fingers.
“Well, nice to meet you, Party. Are you feeling any better?”
“I feel like shit, but I think the drugs have worn off, if that's what you're asking.” Party's voice then softened, “By the way, I owe you one. Thank you. For what you did.”
“Don't thank me,” Ghoul slowly got up and moved towards them. This time, they didn't flinch back. “What that asshole was trying to do to you was awful. No one deserves that,” Ghoul sat down next to Party. “I know I'm still a stranger, and after what just happened you've probably had enough of strangers for a while, but can I help you? I don't want to just leave ya here on your own.” Ghoul slid his jacket off his shoulders and offered it to the red head. “Or would you rather me just go find a member of your crew?” They gingerly took the jacket and put it on.
“I… My crew isn't here right now. It's just me,” Ghoul noticed Party had started to shake even worse and they had lowered their head. “I came here by myself. I… I thought…” They didn't finish their sentence before a broken sob escaped their lips.
“Hey, you're okay,” Ghoul gently took the sobbing ‘joy into his arms and cradled their head against his chest. “You're safe now, no one's gonna hurt you.” He couldn’t resist stroking his fingers through their hair. It was so smooth and soft, which was rare out there in the zones. Party clung to him and just sobbed. Even though Ghoul had known them for less than an hour, their cries still shattered his heart. “I won't ever let someone hurt you like that again, I promise.” Ghoul didn't know what possessed him to say that, but he fully intended to keep his word.
Ghoul wasn't exactly sure how much time had passed, but after a while Party seemed to tire out, just letting out the occasional sniffle. “Do you want to get out of here? I've got a car and can drive you back to wherever your crew is stayin’,” Ghoul said while rubbing their back.
Party's response was almost inaudible, “I don't want them to see me like this.”
“Alright. Is there absolutely anything I can do for you?” Ghoul was itching to run his fingers through their gorgeous hair again, but restrained himself, not wanting to make them uncomfortable.
Party looked up at him with gleaming eyes and tear stained cheeks. “Get me out of here? I don't care where we go, just somewhere not here and preferably not around other people.” Their voice sounded hopeful and a bit desperate.
“That, I can do,” Ghoul stood up, pulling Party to their feet with him. Hand in hand, as not to lose each other in the writhing crowd, they both made their way out to Ghoul's car. Once outside, Ghoul turned out to check on Party and froze. Ghoul hadn't been able to properly take in their full appearance due to the little light inside the container, but he could see them clearly now. ‘They're stunning,’ he thought with amazement. They were a couple inches taller than he was with mesmerizing brown eyes. ‘And they're still wearing my jacket,’ Ghoul remembered. It was a bit small on them, but Ghoul still found it unbelievably attractive. "Pull it together, Ghoul,” he mentally yelled at himself.
Party seemed to be getting more and more comfortable again as time went on. “You just gonna stare, or are you going to get me out of here?” Ghoul turned red and muttered several apologies, feeling thoroughly embarrassed. He led them over to his car and they both climbed in.
“So, anywhere particular you want to go? We can drive around a while, but I don't got enough gas to drive the whole night.”
“Not really, sorry. If you're good with it, we could just drive for a little bit and then find a place to stay?” Party seemed shy again. Ghoul noticed that their personality seemed to switch between confident and outgoing and shy and quiet. ‘I want to get to know the real Party Poison.’ Ghoul was aware that Party had just went through something traumatic, but he desperately wanted to know how they normally were. ‘Were they loud, chaotic, and confident? Or kind, understanding, and caring. Or a mix of all those things?’ He hoped he would be around them long enough to find out.
“You got it!” Ghoul grinned, rolled the windows down, and reached over and cranked up the radio. Then they were off, screaming along to the music, leaving all the pain and fear behind them, forgotten.
Ghoul learned another new thing about Party during the drive, and it was that they could sing. They hit all the notes, high and low. They poured all of their being into the songs and it blew Ghoul away. He never wanted to stop driving, he didn't even care about how he was running out of gas, he just wanted to hear them keep singing. He only agreed to find a place to stop after Party pointed out that they would get stranded out in the middle of nowhere if they kept going. Luckily, the place where Ghoul had been staying the past couple of days was close by, so that's where they ended up. It was a crappy, old, abandoned motel. Ghoul had picked the cleanest room he could find after looking for a new hideout for days.
“Sorry it's a bit messy, I wasn't expecting company,” Ghoul grimaced, pushing bits and pieces of projects to the side with his foot.
“You're good, my place always looks like it's been bit by a dust storm.” Party was in a much better mood compared to how they were when they left. They plopped down on the end of the bed, pulling their legs up and tucking them beneath them. “If you don't mind me asking, where's your crew? It's rare that someone's on their own.”
“I don't have one right now. Last one I was in kicked me out, that's why I'm here. Also, you said place? Does your crew not move around much?” Ghoul didn't want Party's pity, it was his own fault he had gotten kicked out.
“Oh, I'm sorry Ghoulie. What happened? Anyone who would willingly kick you out must be an idiot.” Party scrunched up their nose, and Ghoul's mind completely buffered, ‘Ghoulie? That was new, no one had ever called him that. He liked it though.’ Additionally, the face Party was making was making him melt, they were adorable.
“Eh, it's my own fault. I'm a demolitionist. One bomb I was working on didn't go as planned and went off early, giving away our hiding spot, which put us all in danger. Once we got to a safe spot again, they told me that they couldn't risk that happening again and told me to fuck off. And now I'm here,” he shrugged, “It's not that bad, they were assholes anyways, I was just with them for the protection. Also, you never answered my question, you got a permanent place?”
Party backed off from the topic of his former crew, seeming to understand he really didn't want to talk about it. “Yeah, I've kind of got a place? Me and my crew found an empty diner a couple months ago, it's actually out here in Zone 6! We're planning on stayin’ there till we get found, it's pretty nice.” Party yawned and stretched. “Oh, I almost forgot to ask, tomorrow would you take me to the site of the party earlier? My jacket got left and I'm kinda hoping I can get it back. This one's a bit small,” they said, tugging at Ghoul's jacket.
“Oh, shit! Yeah, of course! Sorry about that. We can swing by there when I drop you off. I would offer you something more comfortable, but I don't think I really have anything else unless you would prefer a too small T-shirt, sorry.
“You don't need to apologize! If anything, I need to be apologizing to you.” Ghoul gave them a questioning look, prompting them to go on. “I kind of ruined your night, you were probably there for a good time, but wound up having to take care of me instead. Which I am extremely grateful for! But still, I'm really sorry.” Party looked down at their hands, nervously rubbing at their knuckles.
Ghoul was dumbfounded. ‘Why the hell would they be sorry? They didn't ask for that! They didn't even ask for my help, they pushed me away the first time I tried!’ Ghoul lightly grabbed their hand, avoiding their injuries, “You have nothin’ to be sorry for, none of that was your fault. You did not ruin my night at all, got that?” Ghoul ducked his head so he could make eye contact with them. “Honestly, getting to know you so far has actually made my night.”
Party's face turned slightly red. “Thank you,” they said quietly. “Meeting you has absolutely made my night too.” Ghoul opened his arms, beckoning to them, which they gladly accepted. Once they were in his arms, Ghoul held them tight, trying to pour all his emotions into just a hug. Party was completely relaxed, all stress from earlier in the night entirely dissipated. “I could go to sleep like this, you're very warm,” they whispered, already sounding partly asleep.
“You can if you want to, but can I take care of you first? You’re still bleeding.” Ghoul carefully untangled himself from their embrace and got up to grab a wet washcloth and some bandages. After meticulously cleaning and wrapping their hands and cleaning the wound on their head, he climbed back into the bed and brought Party back into his arms. Ghoul slowly leaned himself back till his head hit the pillow. He briefly let Party go again to reach for a blanket, which made them let out a whine. Ghoul laughed quietly after laying back down with the blanket, “Demanding much?” Party rolled their eyes and immediately crawled under the blanket and back into his arms. They curled up against his side, head resting on his chest. It was the most relaxed Ghoul had probably been in years. Soon after, they both drifted off.
Party was awake before Ghoul was. When Ghoul cracked his eyes open, he was met with brown ones staring right back. “Mornin’, Ghoulie,” Party whispered.
“Mornin’ to you too.” Ghoul stretched, his brain still trying to remember all the details of the night before. “You sleep well?”
“Honestly, that was probably the best I've slept in years,” Party mirrored him, sitting up and raising their arms above their head to stretch. Ghoul's jacket slid upwards on them, revealing a little bit of their stomach and hips, which made Ghoul blush and quickly look away. Party noticed immediately. “Like what you see?” They grinned and stretched again, this time purposely making sure the jacket came up a bit more.
“You got comfortable,” Ghoul mumbled, still blushing furiously.
Party smirked. “Well, you didn't try to kill me in my sleep. Plus, you're nice. Anyways, are we gonna eat breakfast before we hit the road? I'm starving.”
“Oh com’on, first you steal my bed and now my food. How could you?” Ghoul dramatically placed a hand over his heart, “I fear you may just steal my heart if you keep acting like that.” Party giggled. “Yeah, we can eat. I only got Power Pup though, nothin’ fancy.”
“That's good with me,” Party replied as Ghoul got up and dug through his bag at the end of the bed. He handed Party the can and they ate in silence. ‘I don't want them to go,’ he thought hopelessly. Logically, he knew they had a crew that was probably worried sick ‘bout them, and it made Ghoul just a bit jealous. He wanted them to stay and he wanted to spend more nights together. Maybe I could ask to join… no. That's not right. I have no reason to butt into their life like that.’ He was pulled out of his thoughts by Party clearing their throat.
“I'm ready to go when you are!” They hopped up. “I swear to Destroya that if anyone touched my jacket, I will personally hunt them down and ghost them myself.”
“Let's go then,” Ghoul tried his best to sound cheerful. He grabbed his bag off the floor and quickly threw the things scattered across the floor into it. He knew staying in one place without a radio, especially alone, was extremely dangerous. Once he dropped Party off, he needed to find somewhere new to stay.
The music was on as loud as it could go as they once again sped through the desert. After about a ten minute drive, Ghoul parked the car outside the abandoned warehouse, now silent and lifeless. Party jumped out of the car, going straight in, Ghoul quickly followed. Party weaved around the room until they made it to what had been the make-shift bar last night. They went behind, opened some cabinet from underneath it, and came back with a dark blue leather jacket. “Thank Destroya.” They grinned, sliding off Ghoul's jacket and putting on their own. “This feels a lot better.” Ghoul just stared. ‘Damn.’ In contrast to their jacket, their hair stood out even more. ‘They’re even more gorgeous.’ Ghoul was curious about something though.
“Hey, if you don't mind me askin’, how'd your jacket end up back there?
“Oh, I was drinking here before, y’know, and just got too warm and asked the bartender if I could stash it here,” they shrugged. “I didn't want to risk setting it down somewhere and havin’ another ‘joy steal it. I was gonna come back and grab it on the way out, but that obviously didn't go as planned.” That response just gave Ghoul more questions.
“What exactly happened? How did you end up in the other room? Sorry, you don't have to answer that if you don't want to.” Ghoul felt a little bad about bringing up the events of the previous night, but his curiosity won out.
“You’re good. I was an idiot, wasn't payin’ attention and got my drink drugged.” There was anger and annoyance mixed in their voice. “Me and the other guy were just chatting when he offered me a drink, and I wasn't going to say no to a free drink. I guess at some point when I was talkin’ he slipped something into it. Made me feel like I couldn't control my body,” they shuddered, “I didn't know what was happening and thought I was just getting sick. He offered to help me outside to get some fresh air, but ended up dragging me into one of the damn shipping containers. You saw what happened afterwards.”
Ghoul felt pissed on Party's behalf after hearing what went down. ‘Who the hell would do that to someone so kind? Who would do that to anybody!? They did not fucking deserve that, if I ever see that fucker again, I'm shooting in in the head.’ Ghoul quickly brought himself back to the present. “I'm so sorry that happened. If you want help hunting that fucker down, I'd be glad to help.” He spoke firmly, letting just a bit of his anger seep into his voice. He had met Party less than twenty-four hours ago, but he was ready to kill whoever dared to hurt them.
“Thank you, but I'm fine. He's long gone by now and I don't really want to think about it anymore.” Party gave him a small grateful smile. “I really just want to get back home, my crew is probably freaking out.” They both made their way back out to the car.
“You must have a very loving crew. Tell me about them?” Ghoul offered Party the car key since he didn't know the exact directions and they excitedly took in and jumped into the driver's seat.
“Well, it's just me, my brother, and my best friend.” Party's face lit up when describing their friends. “First, there's Kobra. He's my little brother. He's been with me since the very beginning, we ran away from the city together.” The last sentence came out a bit softer than the rest. Ghoul was born in the desert, but he still could imagine how much bravery it took to run and have someone you need to protect run with you. “Then there's Jet. Other than Dr. Death, he was the first real killjoy we met. He's our medic. He's also one of the kindest people you will ever meet out here.” With the way they spoke, Ghoul was a bit jealous of these people. He wanted to be someone they considered close. He once again pushed those thoughts out of his mind and focused on the wide desert blurring around them.
“They sound wonderful. I can tell you care about them a lot.” Ghoul smiled.
“They are! You'll love them. Well, you'll at least like Jet. Kobra might take a while to warm up to you, but he'll come around.”
‘Wait. What?’ Ghoul's train of thought ground to a complete stop. ‘A while? Come around?’ I… did they just…?’
“You okay over there?” Party glanced over, smirking. ‘Oh, you motherfucker. You know what you're doing.’ After getting no response from Ghoul, they quickly added, “If you don't want to join you don't have to! I just thought… well since you didn't have a crew, you could join ours? We could use a demolitionist. You could be my detonator.” Ghoul's brain buffered again before answering. ‘Their detonator?’
“I would love that actually. Thank you.” Ghoul didn't really know how to thank them, his mind was still reeling. “Also, you said I would be your detonator?,” he laughed quietly, “Are you not gonna share me? Am I just yours now?”
“Yeah? Only if you want to be though,” They glanced over again at him, eyes full of hope and a little bit of fear. ‘Oh hell yes. I will be yours forever.’
“I would like that. I would actually really like that.” Party laughed, their smile growing. “Since you said that, you're stuck with me now. I'm never leaving,” he dramatically placed a hand over his heart, like he was swearing on his life. That only made Party laugh harder, to the point where tears were coming out of their eyes.
Once Party stopped laughing enough to talk, they managed to squeeze out, “We're almost there.” They were right. Just two minutes later, they finally drove up to an old beat up diner. Ghoul's first impression was that it was huge compared to the single room he was previously staying in. “Dang, how'd you get this place?”
“We actually came here to raid it for supplies. We hoped it would have some decent food.” Party grimaced. “All the stuff we found expired years ago, so we couldn't use any of it. It had plenty of space though, so we planned on staying a little while.” They shrugged. “Com'on, let's go.” They got out of the car and started making their way towards the front. Before they could even get in, two people came bursting out the doors and ran over to them.
“Damn it, Party! The hell have you been? You really scared us, we thought you got ghosted!” The one that was currently yelling had brown, impressively curly hair. He then caught sight of Ghoul and gave him a confused look. “And who are you?” Ghoul watched as once the curly haired one had directed his attention to Ghoul, the blond one had walked over to Party and given them a quick hug. As soon as he let go, Party started talking.
“So, I can explain. First, this is Fun Ghoul. He's going to be our demolitionist!” Party made a dramatic gesture towards him and soon they were all staring at him.
Ghoul gave a small wave. “Hi?” He felt awkward. He felt like an outsider who was interrupting a private moment and he wanted nothing more than to just go back into the car, away from the attention. Normally, he liked the attention, he was a demolitionist after all, but this felt way too personal.
“Nice to meet you Ghoul, I'm Jet Star,” Jet held out his hand for a handshake and Ghoul took it.
“Nice to meet you too,” he gave Jet a small smile. He glanced over at who must be Kobra, who only gave him a nod in return. He remembered Party saying it would take a while for Kobra to warm up to him.
Jet turned back to Party. “So? Are you gonna finish your explanation on why you completely disappeared on us without any warning? You said you'd just be gone a couple of hours and would at least be back before the morning.” He crossed his arms and glared at Party, who looked like they would rather be anywhere but there. Ghoul felt bad and wanted to defend Party, but didn't know how much information they wanted to give away, so he stayed quiet.
“While I was there, some dude drugged my drink,” Party replied quietly, rocking back and forth on their heels. “I'm fine though! Nothin’ happened. Ghoul showed up and scared the guy off.” Jet looked horrified and extremely guilty.
“Shit, I'm sorry, Party. One of us should have gone with you.” He then turned to Ghoul, “Thank you so much for watching out for them.”
“Com'on Jet, you're not my mother,” Party rolled their eyes. “That has never happened before, I should have just been payin’ more attention.”
“But…”
“No. It's over and done with. I'm fine. Ghoul shot the guy in the hand, so he didn't get off easy. Now, let's go inside, it's getting way too warm.” Party grinned, walked over to Ghoul, gave him a light kiss on his cheek, and strolled inside the diner. Kobra just followed them without saying anything, but Jet hung back with Ghoul for a minute.
“Thank you again, seriously.” Jet put his hand on Ghoul's shoulder. “They get reckless sometimes and seem to forget not all ‘joys are as kind as they are. Other than bein’ a bit reckless though, they are one of the best people you'll ever meet,” he let out a quiet laugh. “It'll be nice to have you as part of our crew, I will warn you though, it does tend to get a bit chaotic at times.”
Ghoul just grinned. “Chaotic is my type.”
Jet chuckled. “Yeah, I can tell. You are in for a wild ride.”