My Friend

Part 1

You wouldn't believe me if I told you my best friend was the king of an alternate dimension. You'd probably laugh and ask what I was high on if I told you I saw him, standing there in all his majesty's glory, black wings spread, sword raised, his crown resting firmly on his head. You'd tell me that I was sleep walking or having a dream if I told you about what kind of monster I watched him fight.

No one would believe me, so no one has to know.

At least, no one in this dimension.

...

I don't care if you don't believe me. I'm going to tell you my story anyway. Someone has to know his legacy before we fade.

It begins with an average high school party, stupid kids, and a fire. Ryan dragged me along to his friends' house that Friday night, saying that "it'll be fun." Let me tell you, it was not fun. If fun involves nearly exploding in an imploding house, fighting a demon, and watching your friend almost die, then yeah, I guess it was fun and I'm just a pessimist. I also have a bad habit of getting ahead of myself.

I remember this night like I remember my own name. I remember each word spoken like I'm in that room again, listening to them talk.

We ran into the party house and I was greeted by a physical blast of music and the smell of beer and smoke. "Are you sure about this?" I asked nervously. I'd never been to a party like this before. My idea of partying was usually a Lord of the Rings marathon, or maybe a sixteen-ish hour Star Wars marathon at my house, by myself, with lots of fish crackers. I was not a social person. Scratch that - I am still not a social person.

"Oh, come on, Alex. It'll be fun!" Ryan dragged me into the middle of that chaos and began to introduce me to all of his other friends. I forgot most of their names two seconds later, but no one talked to me after that anyway, so I didn't really care.

Soon after the intros, Ryan ran off to play some crazy games, after giving me one piece of advice:

"Whatever you do, don't go in the basement."

"Why not?"

"Just ... don't."

After promising that I wouldn't, he gave me a grin and left me alone. "Some friend you are!" I shouted after him, but he couldn't hear me. I grumbled lots of things under my breath and wandered to the table to get some pizza. Of course, he was my best friend, and a great guy, but he really bothered me sometimes.

It was rumored that I might've eaten an entire box of pizza, but I'm not entirely ready to confirm that yet. I tried a sip of beer, but it was the strangest tasting thing and I felt guilty afterward, so I started dumping as much as I could down the sink, stealing cans and cups and being as subtle as I could be. I felt uncomfortable here, but I couldn't leave without Ryan, and I knew he wasn't going to leave for another couple hours.

At this point, I had no idea that he was a king. I just thought he was an annoying jerk who happened to be my friend. I hung out in the corner, snacking on pizza and playing on my phone until I heard someone scream, "FIRE! FIRE!"

"What idiot thought it was a good idea to smoke in the house?" I muttered, and sure enough, I could smell smoke, coming from the basement. Why the basement? I thought that the basement was a place for couples to go make out - or worse, but maybe I was wrong.

The fire grew until the floor became hot, and trying to get drunk kids to evacuate is harder than herding cats. Still, the heat and smoke grew larger and larger, spreading faster than I thought was possible. At last, after a terrifyingly long time, I think we all get out of the burning house.