Eighteen
Eli
T he stuffy, musty smell that always seemed to accompany these parties was definitely a stench that I could go without.
Everyone was in their costumes. I saw angels, devils, policemen, firemen, ghosts, doctors, and all of the other popular costumes. Some were dressed more revealing than others, it varied. I also saw a few people in inflatable costumes which was pretty fun.
Ricky was dressed up as an inmate, Bella was a zombie princess, and Kailey was a Christmas tree. I wasn’t as confident about my costume as I was when we bought it. Imagining myself in it and wearing it were two different things.
I was wearing a white tuxedo shirt with a tuxedo jacket over it.
I left the top few buttons on the shirt unbuttoned and folded the collar.
The suit was very cheaply made, as expected since it was a costume from a costume store.
I had on the black slacks that came with the outfit and black sneakers that I found in the back of my closet.
The sneakers were too small because they were a few years old, but they were the only ones that matched so I had no other options.
That part of the outfit was fine, it was the accessories that made me question it all.
I had black gloves on my hands and tall black bunny ears on my head.
The headband was squeezing my head so hard that I could already feel a headache brewing.
I had a bushy bunny tail stuck on my ass, and I wouldn’t have been surprised if it fell off in the middle of the night because it was barely staying on to begin with.
If it did, however, I wouldn’t have complained.
The one part of the costume that I did like was the cute little bowtie I got to put on. It made me feel spiffy.
Kailey put pink blush on my cheeks and nose. It wasn’t a lot. She told me it was just enough to give off the, in her words, ‘very sophisticated and important bunny’ look that I was apparently going for.
My friends had told me that they liked what I was wearing and that I did not look as ridiculous as I felt. I thought I looked good at first but the more I thought about it the less confident I became.
But I ignored my self-conscious thoughts and walked in with my head held high. It wasn’t like anyone in the party would be sober enough to give a shit what I was wearing.
Kailey and Ricky were acting strange, the uncomfortable tension between them palpable.
They wouldn’t stand beside each other and would share intense looks with each other when they thought Bella and I weren't looking. I chalked it up to a normal couple’s fight.
All couples went through tough times, and they were no exception.
I followed everyone else. I didn’t know where we were going but I assumed it was to the kitchen. As we were walking, I noticed Javier and Diane in the corner by the couches. Diane and Javier were an angel and the devil. It was a classic costume, but they could have put more thought into it.
They looked to be having an extremely heated conversation. Diane was pointing her finger at him in an accusatory way, and he had his hands held up in defense. His mouth was agape as he watched her mouth move swiftly as she spoke to him.
What Diane did next shocked me and the people around us.
She picked up a red solo cup off the table—one that I was pretty sure was not hers— and threw it on Javier.
Whatever was in the cup was clear so it didn’t stain, but it still completely soaked Javi’s costume.
Diane shouted some more before storming off.
Justin took off after Diane. I hadn't even realized Justin had been with us.
Javier looked pissed. I watched as he stomped down a hallway to I assume find a bathroom.
I felt compelled to go after him. Part of it was because I wanted to be nosy, but I also felt like Javier probably needed a friend right then.
I may not have had been his friend, but I didn’t see Paxton anywhere so I was the closest he could get.
"Hey." I nudged Ricky. "I'll be back, okay?"
Ricky eyed me. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I just really have to do something, but I'll meet back up with you."
He nodded unsurely but I didn't give him the chance to say anything else before I walked off.
I pushed through the crowd of people once again.
Limbs were flying everywhere from dancing drunk people and I had to dodge them like I was in an action movie.
Once past the mob, I opened one door that I thought led to a bathroom but it instead was a closet.
I then opened another door, but it was a bedroom.
My eyes fell on the bed occupied by two naked bodies going at it and my eyes went wide.
I slammed the door shut and made a mental note to bleach my eyes when I got home.
There was only one door left to open so it had to be the one that I was looking for. Lo and behold, it was.
Javier was dabbing at his red shirt with a wet paper towel. All it was doing was making the wet spot worse, but he was too irritated to notice.
One emotion that I very rarely saw from Javi was anger.
He was either being overly confident and cocky or very charming and sweet.
The only time I had seen him pissed was that morning at his house, the morning I insisted that I walk home because I didn't need his help.
Back then he was slightly angry, but he was fully angry now.
He jumped when I swung open the bathroom door. It took him a minute to register who was standing before him, and he went back to cleaning his shirt without a word. Cleaning his shirt very aggressively, I might add.
"Rough times?" I tried to joke.
He didn't laugh.
I took a small step forward. "Are you okay?"
"It isn’t really the best time right now, if you couldn't tell," he said through gritted teeth.
"Oh."
Javier turned the knob to shut off the sink water and tossed the paper towel into the trash. He shook his head as his fingers pressed against the bridge of his nose.
My rival's eyes met mine with fire behind him. "What do you need?"
"Nothing, I just..." I trailed off before pausing. "It looked like you and Diane had a pretty bad argument."
"So you came to be nosy?"
"No, I came to make sure you’re okay."
He rolled his eyes before trying to exit the bathroom. He attempted to push past me. He severed his body to try and go around me to make it to the door, but I took a step to the side and pushed his chest back. The push wasn’t aggressive, but it was firm.
"Move," he grumbled with a dead stare. If this were any other circumstance I would have taken that to heart, but I could see how ticked off he was.
I folded my arms with a huff. "Are you not going to tell me what happened?"
Javier replied by grabbing me by my shoulders and pulling me away from the door and I resisted by widening my stance to stand my ground. It was moments like these where I wished I was a star quarterback like my brother because it would have been a lot easier to hold my own.
That was a lie, I would never wish to play football.
I was starting to lose, so I grabbed onto the door frame to keep me in place.
I let out a laugh on accident. I knew Javier was angry but keeping him from escaping felt like a game to me.
I didn’t dare look at him as I concentrated on not being forced out of my spot.
That was when I heard a faint chuckle from him.
His hand trailed down to my waist, it was accidental.
I wasn't too ticklish of a person, but when his hand pushed against the spot above my waist and below my rib cage, I busted out into laughter that I couldn’t hold back.
It was a ticklish spot for me. My amusement was contagious; Javier was laughing too.
I was laughing so hard that my ribs were starting to hurt while Javi was practically falling to the floor.
We laughed like children giggling at fart jokes.
It was the first time I had laughed like that in a while.
After a minute we had caught our breaths, and we were left standing in front of each other with smiles on our faces.
I had forgotten that we were even at a party. Sure, I could still hear the muffled sound of the music playing and both Javier and I were wearing costumes, but I really had forgotten about the party itself.
Normally I would already have had a couple of shots by now and I’d be on my way to having a night that I may or may not remember.
That was what I did at any party because that was what was fun.
I didn’t have the desire to go drown myself in liquor at that very moment, and that might have been because I was with Javi.
I was still cheesing way too hard. "What happened to you being mad?"
My smile faded when the words left my mouth. Bringing up how upset he was before this probably wasn't the best idea. I didn’t want him to be irritated all over again. However, his answer made my stomach do a weird fluttering thing.
"It’s hard to stay mad around you."
Well, shit. Am I fucking blushing?
Cortez was my rival. My enemy. I wasn’t even supposed to like him in a friendly way, so now could I start liking him as something…more.
Javier took my silence as an opportunity to continue. "Diane broke up with me."
My eyes widened and I had to refrain from smiling.
I wasn’t happy that he and his ex had gone through something as heartbreaking as a breakup.
Even though I had never been through one, I could imagine how shitty it felt afterward.
However, I couldn’t help but be glad that she wasn’t constantly going to be around him anymore.
"I'm sorry."
Javier shrugged loosely. "It was a heat of the moment thing. She was super pissed, and I was being a dick. We were trying to move past it, but I think it was too hard this time.”
Move past what?
“It wasn’t the first time we’ve broken up, but it will definitely be the last,” he mumbled. "Besides, I think I have feelings for someone else."
Oh.