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The van rolled to a sharp stop. Fun Ghoul slammed open the door and jumped out, taking Party poison by the hand and pulling them out with him.
The two of them laughed as they ran through the open double doors of the abandoned mall. It was flashing with different coloured lights, while music vibrated the floor, and floods of people screamed and sang at the top of their lungs.
This hell-hole his friends called a good time was Kobra’s worst nightmare, but he didn’t want to disappoint them by staying home from yet another party.
He took his time climbing out of the van. He was in no rush to enter that cesspool.
”You comin’ or not?” Jet star called over his shoulder while walking through the doors, immediately glowing a harsh blue from the fluorescent lights.
Kobra sighed and followed him, pushing past the beaded curtain.
It hit him all at once. The noise, the smell, the lights.
He slid his sunglasses onto his nose, and retreated to a dark, empty corner. Jet wandered off to a group of people playing beer-pong, not noticing Kobra’s distress.
He slumped down on the floor, and brought his knees to his face. Not only did he feel like an absolute loser, but the overstimulation induced anxiety was creeping its way through his mind.
The stomping of feet and the beat of the music made his whole body buzz, and not in a good way. His skin was crawling, and he could feel the seams of his tight jeans digging into his skin as if they were knives. He felt as if his lungs had disappeared, and he was forcing air into an empty space inside his chest.
He buried his head in his knees, whispering quiet affirmations to himself,
”I am safe,
I am alive,
I can breathe,
Everything is fine.”
He repeated those words over and over again like a mantra. They didn’t work. They never did.
Meanwhile, Jet Star was losing at beer-pong, having already drank six cups of poor quality beer. He turned his gaze from the table, and saw Kobra slouched in a dark corner, lightly rocking back and forwards.
He knew something was wrong. Kobra always got a little funny in social situations, but he hadn’t seen him like this before.
He abandoned the game, much to the dismay of his opponents, and hastily walked over to him.
He sat down beside him, and placed a hand on his arm.
Kobra flinched and snapped his head up to see the curly-haired man looking at him with concern etched across his face.
”You okay?” Jet softly asked.
Kobra shook his head somewhat aggressively and started chewing on his nails.
Jet instinctively reached to pull Kobra’s fingers from his mouth.
It was an old habit he used to do when he was nervous, but he always chewed them to the point of bleeding. Jet, of course, knew this.
”Lets get out of here,” Jet said while standing up, offering Kobra a hand.
He hesitated before taking it, but let him pull him up anyway.
The two of them walked back out the doors, and looked around for a place to sit.
They were going to find a place out the back, but found a pink-haired girl and a bald guy smoking a bong and making out, so they opted for the roof instead.
They climbed up the rusty construction ladder that must’ve been left there from when the mall was still a mall.
The music could still be heard, but it was quieter now, and didn’t make Kobra want to rip his ears off.
”Im sorry we made you come to this thing, it was stupid.” Jet said guiltily.
Kobra just shook his head. He didn’t want Jet to apologise. It was his own fault he was like this. He hated that he couldn’t last more than ten minutes in a social situation without having a meltdown, that too many sounds or lights or smells made his skin crawl. He hated being himself more than anything.
It was as if Jet could read minds, because a few moments later, he said, “Im sorry we tried to force you into this shit. I mean, we had it all planned out. We thought that if we brought you to the biggest party of the year, you would somehow see how fun it is, and magically change your brain. But it was stupid. Oh god, it was so stupid. Theres nothing wrong with being how you are, and i’m sorry I even thought about trying to change you.”
Kobra looked at him, feeling a strange mix of sadness, validity, and something he was scared to call love. He carefully rested his head on Jets shoulder, closing his eyes and savouring the moment.
The night air was cool against his skin, and the music was drowned out by the beating of Jets heart.
Everything about this night was meant to be awful. But maybe this moment could change that.