Pitch Episode 40: Tricks and Treats
#53 of Pitch
Velmer's underground Halloween party reminded me of STR. There was loud music, cheap beer, and too many people. No one was fighting over places to sleep, and there weren't any burning statues, but there were similarities.
"All I'm saying is, your parents are still human," Velmer argued as he and I stepped from the sea of people swarming his lab.
"But I'm not anymore," I said.
"You believe that?" He asked as we both ducked to avoid an oncoming fairy that nearly crashed into our heads.
The smaller wing baring creatures in the room had some sort of drinking game going on. The objective seemed to be taking shots and flying from one end of the lab to the other. No matter who won, everyone that played probably left the game needing medical attention.
"Why are we fighting about The Ring when there's a party going on in front of us?" I asked as we moved further along the wall to avoid the living projectiles.
Despite all the action, Velmer and I were standing outside the crowd watching other people party. Several of the goblin's robots were forced to entertain guests. There was a mess of red cups scattered across the floor, and food covering tabletops. Things were catching fire, and people were getting high. Still, the oddest thing in the room might have been me. I should have left my costume at home. No one else was dressed up, but they were too occupied with making a mess of the place to pay me any attention.
"Because I already have a girlfriend, and you already have a Wes," Velmer joked.
"There's more to parties than trying to hook up or get laid," I argued with an uncharacteristically high amount of optimism.
From the look of the room, people also enjoyed breaking stuff like a junkyard, getting drunk, and stealing shit.
"Both are easier to do without all these people around," Velmer retorted.
I might have said something witty, but something caught my eye from across the room. Wes was standing on a table with Harmon, the elf. They were chugging beer like water while people circled around to cheer them on. When I turned my attention back to the goblin, he was gone. I looked around until I found him heading for the elevator.
"I thought you were a risk-taker, a thrill chaser," I said as I caught up to my friend.
Admittedly, I had a few drinks myself that night. I blamed most of my upbeat attitude on the alcohol.
"I'm also a super-genius smart enough to know this party was a bad idea," he remarked.
In the background, music blasted loud enough to shake the floor. Someone was playing with the lights, so trippy colors were flashing in time with the music as well.
"You could try to lighten up. We're underground. What's the worst that could happen?" I asked as I stood in front of the elevator doors to keep Velmer at bay.
He still pushed a button to call one down.
"For one, the structure could collapse on our heads," he said plainly.
"Are you serious? I can't tell if you're serious," I yelled only because the music was so loud.
"I'll try to have fun, ok," Velmer surrendered.
"Thank you," I said triumphantly as a stranger replaced the empty cup in my hand with a refill.
Just as I stepped away from the elevator, it's doors opened, and more creatures ran in. They knocked me and my drink over.
There were people from school present that night, but most of the guests were strangers. Daybreak never had lizard people. Montana never had firebirds. We never had dryads or sirens either. There must have been a dozen or more creatures there who didn't openly live amongst humans. The entire reason we excluded humans from attending was to protect Riz, but we were pushing our luck every time those elevator doors opened. Strangely enough, I never saw Velmer's family that night. His parents were nowhere to be seen. Not even his older brother was around to get in on the mayhem.
"Hey, where's your family? They're so cool for letting you throw a party down here," I said as Velmer and I searched for a place less crowded.
"My parents? Cool? No. My parents are upstairs sleeping. I knocked them out hours ago," he laughed.
"What?!" I exclaimed.
"When we moved to town, their only rule was that I keep a low profile and try to fit in. An underground party doesn't fit those guidelines," he added.
"So, you knocked your parents out?"
"Relax, all I did was put a few sleeping pills in their food," he argued as if what he said made everything all right.
"So you drugged your parents is what you're telling me?" I asked somewhat sarcastically.
"You wanted a party; I made it happen," he said, gesturing to the chaos around us.
"You didn't have to do this for me. I appreciate it, but," I started to speak until he cut me off.
"When my best friend says he wants a party, what am I supposed to do?" Velmer said.
I was the one who convinced him to have the party. He wouldn't have done it for anyone else. He wouldn't have done it for Riz because he was her protector. He wouldn't have done it for Wes or Nerf. He did it for me. Velmer was willing to let his lab be wholly obliterated if it meant giving me something I wanted. That's what a real friend was willing to do. It made me feel like an inconsiderate asshole. The flip side of Velmer's loyalty and friendship was my convincing him to give me something I wanted at the cost of his lab being destroyed.
As the sound of glass shattering became frequent behind our heads, I wanted to kick everyone out. We had enough fun for one night. We couldn't continue to handle such a large group of people either way. Unfortunately, before I could suggest to Velmer that we end the party, I was pulled from his side.
It was BJ who took me. But it wasn't BJ, which meant it was Riz. She escorted me away. There was nowhere with enough privacy to speak completely alone, but we found a corner of the room where a few drunk people laid passed out. For a high school party, it amazed me how much alcohol we had access to.
"Can you make yourself look like someone else, anyone else, anyone I don't know?" I asked of Riz.
It didn't feel right seeing BJ naked. It didn't feel right seeing her at all, considering she wasn't invited.
"You are much too sheltered but fine," Riz remarked before changing her form.
Her body took on an unusual shape. She was a ball of ink like liquid that held together loosely. The only human thing about her anymore was her green eyes.
"This is how you look when you're not wearing someone's face?" I asked.
"Does this displease 'The Mighty Rabbit' as well?" She answered with a sarcastic tone.
"No, I just wasn't expecting...never mind," I said.
"You need to tell Velmer to end the party," she said.
"What?" I asked, somewhat confused.
"He and I are free spirits, that's how we came to be together. But after so much loss, a person learns not to risk where they sleep," she said.
Velmer's lab was definitely at risk. It was almost unrecognizable. Still, there was a more significant threat to consider. With so many unregistered creatures, underground or not, hunters were sure to be a concern. I'd yet to deal with such adversaries, but I didn't want to summon them either.
"I was about to tell him to send people home when you pulled me away," I argued.
"Liar," she accused me.
"I swear, but why don't you tell him?" I asked.
"He did all of this for you, its only right that you admit you were wrong," she answered.
"You wanted to have this party, too," I said.
"Yes, but you're his friend. I'm his girlfriend," she said.
I waited for the rest of her explanation, but it didn't come.
"What does that even mean," I said.
"Just do it," she remarked as she solidified an arm to push me on my way.
"Fine," I said as I lost myself back in the sea of creatures.
"Thanks. And when this is all over, we should do it again sometime, just not here," Riz yelled from the fading distance behind me.
Traversing the lab floor was a challenge. With so much broken glass everywhere, I had to treat the ground like a minefield. Eventually, I climbed up a table. There were enough tables and chairs to move around without touching the floor. My problem was finding the goblin of the hour. Flashing lights and moving bodies made it near impossible to find anyone. But someone found me.
When a fairy crashed into my face, I was knocked off a table. A bed of broken glass was waiting to break my fall, but Wes was there to catch my wrist and pull me back up to safety.
"Fuck!" I exclaimed.
"You alright?" Wes asked as he continued to hold on to me.
"Yea, I'm fine," I answered while my nose was hit with the scent of heavy alcohol.
Wes should have been drunk, but Satyrs were Olympic drinkers.
"We should have sex on a robot," he said, and immediately I realized he wasn't an Olympian.
"We're going home," I said.
"My home or your home?" He asked as we swayed back and forth.
"My home, I mean my house," I said with a laugh.
We were trying to keep our balance but our movements were basically dancing after a while.
"So we can have sex in your bed?" He joked.
"Wes," I said too inebriated myself to argue.
"You're so shy," he said.
"I'm not shy," I argued.
"You're private then," he corrected.
People may have been watching us. I hated the feeling of being watched, but with Wes there, it was easy to let everything else disappear.
"I'm glad you put up with me," Wes said.
"Every pessimist needs an optimist, Wes. You help me be happy when I'm lost, or afraid. I don't put up with you, I love you," I said.
We had to yell every other word at each other. I couldn't say for sure if he heard anything I said.
"You love me?" He asked.
I suppose he heard the last part.
"Yea...wait," I stumbled.
"You love me? He said with the biggest smile.
I had to look away; he made me crack up.
"I didn't mean it like that. I mean, I did, but," I tried to backtrack, but it was too late.
"I love you too," he said.
He actually yelled it. And then he yelled it again.
"You're just saying that," I yelled back with a chuckle.
"Pitch, I love you," he reiterated just as the music was cut.
Suddenly everything stopped. The lights went back to normal, and everyone looked around as if the cops busted us. It didn't matter, though.
"You don't always know what you want, but you're always looking for it. And you finally let me see you naked," Wes gave his reasons why.
"Ok, you've definitely had enough to drink tonight," I joked.
"I'm for real. You're who I want next to me wherever I go. You feel right," he said.
He held my hand, and I could feel he wanted to kiss me. It was mutual. I'm sure we looked like a couple of drunk idiots, but for once, I didn't care.
"I want you to come to Europe with me," Wes said.
"Europe?!" I exclaimed.
He surprised me, and it took me out of the moment. I tried to take a step backward, and I fell from the tabletop. The last thing I remember before everything went dark was Wes reaching for me, but he was too late.