The mechanical whirring of the elevator fills my ears as Izzy leans into my side, staring at something on her phone. We’re on our way up to the party that I knew she’d drag me to, and she did. Hopefully it won’t be too boring or anything.

"Texting someone?" I ask, glancing over her shoulder, but she hastily pockets her phone before I can see anything.

"I bet you’d like to know, you jealous or something?" She says with a smirk, pushing herself off of me as the elevator stops and the door slowly opens.

"You wish." I chuckle out loud before strolling out of the elevator and beginning to head down the short hallway to the entrance of the penthouse.

Once entering the penthouse, the sound of a pop song being played way too loudly over speakers assaults my senses. A large crowd of students are dancing to the music in the living room, while many others are mingling around the kitchen. Either chatting, or drinking and eating whatever the host has given as options.

I spot some familiar faces among the crowd, the first being Amethyst, sitting by herself in one of the corners of the room. She takes a slow sip of her drink, likely just people-watching for the time being. I wonder if her boyfriend is here somewhere.

Next is Rowan, dancing among some others to the music that is currently playing and pressing herself into one of the guys. She takes a big swig from the solo cup in her hand before tossing it away and running her hands through her hair, clearly enjoying herself.

The last two people I recognize are... Thea and that new kid from Chemistry. I wonder what they’re doing together. The two of them are just quietly chatting until some Hispanic girl seems to call them over; they glance in her direction before approaching.

"See anyone you like, J?" Issy asks as she hands me a solo cup of what is probably beer, which is confirmed by the immediate swig I take from it.

"What makes you say that, Iz?" I respond, leaning into a wall.

"Don’t kid yourself, you definitely expect to get laid by the end of the night."

"So what if I do? You probably will too."

"You got that right." She chuckles while striking a typical sexy pose.

"You know, posing like that almost makes you look hot."

"I’m always hot, pencil dick!" She laughs harder as she gives a playful shove, making me stumble away from the wall.

"Yeah, I guess so. Anyway, try to have some fun. I’ll see ya later." I regain my footing and give her a pat on the back before walking into the crowd of partygoers.

🜂🜂🜂

The next couple hours are a blur, much drinking, flirting and dancing to be had until I’ve found myself relaxing on the couch, watching some girls dancing around nearby, including Rowan.

Upon taking a swig from my cup, I find that it’s empty, tossing it away before rising to my feet and walking over towards the coolers in the kitchen for another beer. I pull a cool bottle from the cooler as I see another hand reach in, following it along the arm until I make eye contact with Rowan, who is bending over beside me.

“Gaah!” Rowan yells out as she jumps back, stumbling into the counter and dropping her beer, the bottle shattering on the tile floor.

“Whoa, what is your problem?” I say in response, idly kicking one of the bottle fragments that landed at my feet.

"I-I-I…" Her words seemingly get caught in her throat as she looks me over, probably checking me out.

"Oh, you’re just stunned at my looks? Probably want me all over you, huh?"

"Uh, sure, that works." She straightens herself out, adjusting her jacket as she blushes slightly. "Let’s go with that."

"Alright, well, I’m sure we can find an empty bedroom if we want."

"Oh, I don’t think I-"

She is cut off as Izzy rushes past us, drawing my attention as she sprints towards a bathroom and slams the door upon entering.

"Damn, she's gotta take a bad shi-" I stop as I turn back to face Rowan, and find her replaced by air.

Well, now I gotta figure out what to do...

I take time to wander a bit, moving around the penthouse in random directions until I end up leaning on a wall in one of the hallways, the corridor empty aside from Tyrell, who’s on the phone with someone.

"You sure you don't need me? It could be alo-" Tyrell asks, sounding slightly scared, but is seemingly cut off.

"Yeah, alright, I’ll stay here. Please just call if I’m needed." He responds to whoever is on the other side after a moment, hanging up a moment later and giving a slight wave my way as he exits the hallway on the far side.

After taking a moment to myself, I headed back out to the living room and immediately noticed a news report on a battle starting between the Enclave and Lo Indomable on the docks.

I start moving towards the exit, making my way out so I can head to the docks to join in. I just hope Izzy won’t be mad at me for ditching her.