Fire and Ice [Slow Updates]

Chapter Five

Inside, someone had set up a little speaker that was playing some music, with a little disco ball spinning from a string tied to the ceiling, several lights pointed at it to throw light around the dark room. Chairs from around the abandoned building had been brought into the room, lining the edges of the room. Black tape outlined where the dance floor would be when more people arrived. I took a seat in one of the chairs, drawing up one of my legs to rest my chin on. Shortly after we arrived, others began trickling through the door, either taking a seat, dancing, or chatting.

I knew most of the people that came to the building, but there was the occasional new person who would only come to a couple of parties before leaving.

"I'm surprised that you could come. You know, with the Joker and all." I looked up, spotting Taylor. We were friends, enough that she knew about my paranoid parents. "Who says they know?" I smiled up at her, laughing with her.

"I could never sneak out. My parents are always so alert, and I don't have the guts," Taylor admitted. "Where do they think you are?" I asked, dropping my leg to the floor. "They think I'm shopping in town. It was the best lie I could create at the moment," Taylor laughed. "Flimsy, but I hope it'll hold."

I nodded. "If my parents go into my room, they'll know immediately that I'm gone. I just hope they don't panic and call the police." Taylor nodded. "Yeah, that wouldn't be good." She reached into her pocket, fishing out a pack of cigarettes. "Want one?" I nodded, accepting her offer. It dangled from between my fingers as I waited for her to get her lighter. She lit hers, and then mine. I watched the redness burn the tip of the cigarette

My first inhale always resulted in my coughing until I was lightheaded, no matter how many times I had smoked. Taylor patter my back, laughing as I doubled over, nearly dropping the cigarette. "Ever think that you'll get used to smoking?"

Once I cleared my lungs, I sat up, nodding. "I'm used to it, I just don't understand why I always choke after the first inhale." Taylor nodded, easily taking a drag from her cigarette. "Do you have any perfume or gum?"

I nodded. "Evelyn keeps some in her car at all times. Her parents don't think anything of it. We use that." Taylor nodded. We had all been busted one time or another for drinking or smoking, which is why the gum and perfume was so important, in order to mask the smell of the smoke, or the alcohol that we had consumed earlier.

We sat peacefully beside each other, smoking as we watched other people enter, milling around. I had lost sight of Evelyn and Grace, but I knew that they would find me when it was time to leave. For parties, I usually sat against a wall, as I wasn't much of a dancer or a social butterfly. If someone wanted to find me, they knew where I would be.

After we finished our cigarettes, Taylor stood, brushing her jeans off. "I'm gonna get us something to drink," she said. "I think I saw Stacey come in."

I nodded, and she walked into the crowd. Stacey, along with Shelly, was well known for bringing drinks to parties, as her parents believed that it was important to allow your teenager to attend parties if they wanted, so they wouldn't feel like they needed to if you said no. It was something I wanted my parents to let me do.

Taylor returned with two cups filled with something clear, but I knew it wasn't water. I took a cautious sip, feeling the liquid burn against my lips and throat. "Take a guess." Taylor sipped her drink faster, and I presumed that she had already figured out what she was drinking. "Vodka?" It was a broad guess, but the liquid tasted like vodka.

"Yeah. I think it has something else mixed in since it isn't completely vodka." Taylor tilted her cup around, watching the drink swish around in the cup. I nodded, copying her action. "So what time do you have to be back at your house by?" Taylor looked at me curiously over the rim of her cup. I shrugged in response. "I don't know. It's what, two?" I waited for a nod of confirmation before I continued. "Probably around three or four."

Taylor smiled at me as she lowered her cup. "You're brave, you know that?" I shrugged. "I wouldn't say I'm brave, I just have the guts to do things others couldn't." It was true.