lonerism ; jschlatt (lunch club au)

one

nights like these were always so peaceful. i had come to notice that this area was one of the rare locations in LA where it was always quiet once the sun went down. no cars, no people, no noise. everything was ... still.

walking up the empty street, the only sound i could hear was my own shoes scraping against the road, kicking rocks far distances and wearing down my already thin soles. as i approached the house at the top of the hill, the sound of muffled music playing from inside was escaping, cutting through the silence of the night as i got closer, drowning out any sense of calm i had felt previously.

hands held tight in my jeans, i stood in front of it for a while, hesitating the final steps that would lead me to the party within.

shaking my head, i told myself that this was something i needed to do, despite my mental protests. i had already avoided too many of my friend's parties in the past, making up weak excuses or avoiding the subject altogether in the hopes that they would eventually get the message. even though noah, cooper and travis hosted these on a weekly basis these days, the last one i regretfully attended was about a month ago, which ending with me sitting alone in the living room for hours, not receiving so much as a glance from my 'friends' as they preoccupied themselves with alcohol, drugs and others. i left early as soon as a stranger passed out next to me, throwing up at my feet. the music made my ears ring for days and the smell seemed to stay no matter how many times i washed.

i sighed, already bracing myself for an inevitable repeat of my past experiences as i walked towards the front door. they always kept it unlocked on nights like these, allowing any passers-by to join in on the 'fun' if they were brave enough. this had lead to strangers causing havoc in the past, adding to the unpleasant atmosphere of these events.

the open doors also let cops walk in with ease, which they had done on multiple occasions. it usually left the 4 with considerable fines that i doubt they bother to pay off despite my complaints. many arguments have been made about how out of hand these parties can be, but of course, they don't listen. they never do.

with this in mind, i opened the door with ease. new week, same old mistakes.

as soon as i stepped inside the house, a wave of music filled my ears, removing any sense of serenity i had experienced on the other side and replacing it with an overwhelming feeling in my stomach. one step at a time, i entered further, multi-colours lights pulsed in irregular patters around the seemingly never-ending silhouettes of dancing bodies.

my eyes strained as i put my hand over them in the hopes they would adjust, trying to push through the wall of bodies and desperately searching the room for someone i knew. i was in the middle of it now, strangers jumping and pushing on either side of me as i struggled to move against them.

looking around i could see glimpses of the house around me, such as the bright lights coming from the kitchen. i decided to make my way towards them, and soon recognised a tall figure standing there. ted somehow spotted me in the crowd, waving me down and yelled over the music.

"schlatt! over here."