The moonlight pierced through the clouds and illuminated the cold air. The leaves rustled as a breeze swept through the area. Van adjusted his leather jacket, watching over Timothy and the others as they traded nasty jokes.
As they entered the mansion, a throng of people crowded the stage. Cups filled with alcohol were passed around, some busy making out while others danced to the music. Van felt a sense of anxiety as his gang began to disappear.
He reached for a cup, but Jane intervened, greeting him with a chuckle. He could smell the strong scent of alcohol on her breath.
“Hey there, handsome,” she said. “Why are you so late? I was expecting you to be here earlier.”
Van hesitated, eyeing her with concern. “I’m new here, and I don’t want to cause any trouble that might land me behind bars.”
Jane laughed, her face flushing. “You’re joking, right?”
“No,” Van replied, shaking his head. “I’m not talking about you, of course.”
Jane offered him a drink, and Van took a beer, drinking it down in one go. Jane looked surprised.
“You’re a heavy drinker,” she said.
Van slammed the empty can on the table. “Is that a problem?”
Jane shook her head, laughing. “No, no, of course not. So, what about you and Kate?”
Van shrugged. “We’re just friends.”
“You two seem pretty close,” Jane said, taking a sip of her drink. “Are you sure nothing is going on?”
Van frowned. “Positive. We’re just friends.”
Jane’s eyes widened when she spotted Kate. “Oh, there she is. What do you think of her?”
“She’s a good person, but she seems desperate for attention,” Van said, taking another beer.
Jane frowned. “That’s harsh. Why do you say that?”
“The first time I met her, she seemed lonely, like she didn’t know what to do with her life. And when she started hitting on me, it didn’t feel genuine. Something seemed off.”
Jane nodded. “I see what you mean. But if you think she’s desperate, why bother with her?”
Van shrugged. “I can’t just ignore her. People who seek attention like that usually have some underlying issues they’re dealing with. I don’t want to leave her hanging.”
Jane raised an eyebrow. “That’s very noble of you. I don’t think I could do the same.”
Van chuckled. “Well, we all have our ways of dealing with things, I guess.”
Jane smiled. “You’re an interesting guy, Van. I like that you’re compassionate and thoughtful, especially to lonely girls. But be patient with Kate. She may seem tough, but she’s a bit of a drama queen.”
Van nodded, watching as Jane walked away. He couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something more going on, something he couldn’t quite put his finger on. But for now, he would focus on being there for Kate, whatever that might entail. He finally noticed Kate, staring blankly at him. He felt a little bit uneasy knowing that she might hear the entire conversation. She got down from the stairs and walked towards him.
“What did she tell you?” She straightly asked.
Van took a sip before sitting down, facing her.
“She said something about you being a good person.”
“Is that all? It seems that the two of you are enjoying it. Sorry if I make you feel uncomfortable.”
“No need to apologize. She was about to leave anyway. So, is it true that you're a drama queen?”
Kate coughed midway when she drank the beer. She grimaced.
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“Excuse me? I'm a drama queen? Obviously, No. If anyone's a drama queen that's gotta be her.”
“Okay if you say so.”
“Why does it sound like you don't believe me?”
“Well, it's okay to be in denial. No judgment, I understand.”
“Wow. You believe every word that comes out of her mouth, eh? Did she charm you?”
“Believe me if any woman would charm me, the chances would be slim except for you.”
“Do you know the term for a medical condition to those men who tend to praise women when their objective is to get in their pants but can't be easily detected?”
“What?”
“ASS-SIMP-TOMATIC.” She playfully accused him.
“Oohhh, ouch. Now that’s a different level of burn.”
“That's what you get for being a liar.”
“Hey, in my defense, I was trying to be nice. Secondly, your friendliness aura is being appreciated.”
“Oh? It still sounds simple to me.” Kate insisted.
“Will you stop roasting me?”
“Will you drop the pretentious flattering?”
Kate smiled. When she turned around, she saw a familiar face around the corridor hanging with others.
“Is that your friend?”
Van tilted his head and saw Raymond and Lester exchanging beer bongs.
“Have you ever tried to use those?”
Kate shook her head. “Beer bong? No. Cause no one knows how many people put their mouths, remnants of saliva, and the amount of mucus stuck on that this.”
“Yeah, I couldn't agree more.”
Raymond looked at them and used his finger to point at the funnel they use.
“You wanna try?!” Raymond shouted.
“Gross, no! Dude, do you have any idea how many mouths were put in that thing?”
Raymond stopped in motion as if he realized something, then he began to sprint to the bathroom, and he vomited. The mood of the music changed, it was something soothing, and romantic yet it was only filled with pure instruments.
“Princess, will you give me the honor to take you on a dance?” he bent a little, his head slowly lifted with his right hand presented to her, inviting her to a dance.
“Oohhh, charming. I'll bite.”
He placed her hand on his neck, wrapping it and his hands crawl to her waist. He slid his foot backward, smoothly in motion across the floor. She moved her right foot forward chasing him but her flat shoes slipped, and she nearly tripped but he held her tight enough to regain their balance. It seems that they were not sensuous enough, so they started again, but this time she caught up.
As she moved forward, he guided their movements to turn around. She gripped harder, and their faces come closer. He could smell the perfume along with the stench of alcohol.
“Weird,” Van muttered.
“Huh?”
“I mean look at everyone. They seem to be hooked on the music. As if they’re under a spell of some sort.”
“Yeah, totally weird. Maybe, they're drunk enough to slip this music.”
The two pursue, their movements flail like dancing leaves, and they rock for a few moments. Their eyes tell the same, both are caught in the atmosphere she was about to press forward but the music abruptly changes and turns back to the previous music.
“I'm so sorry to interrupt, but uhm, can I borrow your girlfriend for a minute?” An odd-looking guy wearing a broken hat interrupted them.
Van exchanged glances with Kate, then at the man then back to her.
“Uhm, he's a friend of mine. Can you leave us for a moment?”
“Alright.” Van once again looks at him, his voice seems familiar but no matter how he jogged his memory there was still no clue to identify him. Finally, with Van left, he begins to speak to Kate.
His lips slightly trembled as he drank another beer, gulping it down. He puts his hat down on the table. She noticed that Laswell smelled weird, awfully strange, as if he came from a sanitary place, like a hospital or an office.
“Can we cut off to the chase?” Kate prompted.
“Sure, sure.” Laswell said, “Sorry, I kinda phase out, I need a breather, okay. It’s not quite invigorating when you have to sneak in the morgue and check out a live dead body.”
“You said what?”
“I snuck on a, uhm, morgue.”
“As in were dead bodies—”
“Yes, yes that’s the place.”
“Wait, what?”
“I know it’s a little weird, okay, but I had to.”
“What did you find out?”
“Do you want me to explain the gory parts?”
“Ew, please no.” Kate groaned and went for another drink. Her face was a long and thoughtful one.
“Okay. I sneak on the morgue lately and investigate, there was no any kind of altercation, except this.”
Laswell showed Kate a picture of one of the victims, its back has a baleful tattoo of three rings of snakes.
“Do you know what this means?” Laswell asked.
“Witchcraft.”
Even in this distance, she couldn’t shrug off these ominous feelings. A sensation that kept crawling back, her instincts telling her to be careful.
“I’m gonna research this. For now, don’t do anything stupid.”
“I know.” Laswell scoffed. “No need to tell me.”
Kate noticed that Jane was coming on their way. Her face was stern and disappointed.
“Why did you blow your chance off?”
“First of all, I didn’t screw up. Second, I’m just greeting my cousin here. He just came back from a long trip.”
“Cousin?” Jane looked suspiciously at him. Laswell smiled from ear to ear.
“I don’t see the resemblance,” Jane said.
Laswell’s mood quickly turned sour.
“Uhm. You don’t need to worry about it. Everything went well.” Kate winked at Jane.
“Oh. I see. Well, I won’t bother you anymore.”
Even when Jane went away, Laswell still followed her until Kate snapped at him. With a cautious glance, Kate inquired of Laswell.
“What is that?”
“What is what?”
“That look.”
“Oh. It’s nothing.” Laswell chuckled. “Women like you and her drives men crazy.”
Then Laswell conjured a spell, a white hue enveloped him until he disappeared.
“What do you mean?” Kate asked, but was left hanging.
A man came running inside the house. The way he walked implied that he was drunk.
“We’ve been made! ‘Cops are coming!” he shouted.
Everyone in the room snapped out. The majority went running behind the house, others carried their drunk buddies. Cups, beers, and a bottle of scotch were left. Only Kate and several drunk people sleeping in bizarre positions were the only ones left.