Shadows Among Us: Volheir Institute

One: This Adonis...

ONE: "This Adonis,"

The music grew louder as more and more people made their way into the already-packed house, crowding in the living room. I scrunched my nose at the lingering stench of alcohol in the air, as I leaned onto the kitchen doorway and watched as people messily and drunkenly jumped up and down to the beat.

I rolled my eyes and turned away from the couple near the stairs, who practically were consuming each other's faces with their slimy tongues. I typically don't bring myself out to these particular kinds of settings, the party life really wasn't for me and I was okay with that. Connor, however, was not. He was my older brother and seemed to have an affinity for dragging me to places I didn't want to be.

He got invited to this party by the class president, Joan, who I believe has a crush on him. Yet, he promises otherwise.

I'm pretty sure the only reason he dragged me along in the first place was to drive his drunk ass home but, he claimed that as my older brother he had a duty to get me out of the house and into a 'social' environment because apparently, that's what kids my age do.

Most of the people here are seniors, and I could tell because of all the 'class of 21' decorations that occupied the halls and were scattered throughout the house, many in the kitchen. Being only a sophomore meant I didn't know, let alone recognize most of the people here. I know I've seen a few lingering after Connor's practices a few times, waiting to be taken home but everyone else was pretty much a mystery.

I kept looking around the room and saw that the stairs were now completely covered with bouncing heads and conjoined bodies. I smiled when I eventually spotted Dain among them, attached to a girl's hips. They were dancing along to the music which was weird because they were sitting on the steps, but it seemed to work for them. She had on blue short-shorts and a black cropped shirt that read 21' in large white letters and her curly brown hair bounced on her shoulders, matching the music. I couldn't help but feel a little pride for him. He wouldn't shut up about her, 'the junior girl' is what we referred to her last year and he's been completely obsessed with her all summer.

I averted my gaze to the dining room as I heard movement and loud cheering. The table was covered with a dark cloth with individual cups lined up on opposite ends, a rowdy crowd around it. The light gray letterman jackets some wore stood out in the colorful strobe lights.

One of the wearers took his jersey off swiftly before leaning back narrowly and throwing a small white object into the air. The ball seemed to float for a second before it bounced off the middle of the table and landed directly into the cup with a slight splash, eliciting a row of cheers from the audience.

I let out a sigh. This isn't exactly how I'd prefer to spend my Sunday evening. Usually, it contains a much quieter scene with a lot less alcohol and a lot more ice cream while I curl up on our insanely comfortable couch reading my favorite book.

But no, C wanted to come to this stupid party and I had to go with him. I don't even drink so I'm likely to be the only sober one here.

I shook my head and turned around, walking to grab a cup from the stack nearby to pour myself some water.
As I took a sip I saw a dark figure move from the corner of my eye.

I dropped the cup down and just stood quietly in the dark while he came closer to the sink.

He didn't notice me, I don't think so at least. If he did, he didn't say so as he shifted past me to grab a cup. I backed into the edge of the counter, hitting the sink.

I froze as our eyes met, he must've heard me. The window above the sink exuded pure moonlight and the way he stood in front of it perfectly allowed me to capture his features; he had jet black hair that sat atop his head and impossibly beautiful grey eyes that sparkled in the light. His skin was brown like mine but much darker and his mere presence felt unnaturally warm.