Sky was having fun.

It was a surprise to everyone, herself included, but an undeniable fact nevertheless.

It started on the dance floor. As soon as they walked through the doors with Demetri and the girls, and the beat hit her core, she knew that this, this, was what she had lacked. She didn't even need the opiates when the beat carried her to the center of the room, and her body reacted to it. The heavy thumping of the bass drum took over and soon she was sweating through her costume, her heartbeat matching the rhythm of the music as she let go of everything.

The next best thing, after the music and her friends, was that she hadn't seen Hawk all night.

Well, that wasn't entirely true. She had seen him hanging out with Kyler - seriously, Kyler Parks? - and some Cobras by the doors when she had arrived, but when she looked the next time, he wasn't there anymore and after that, no glimpse of the red mohawk had bothered her fun.

And from now on - the night could only get better. They had left the school dance and arrived at the after-party which took place at the home of one of the cheerleaders, a friend of Moon's named Annie - Sky didn't know her, but apparently, it didn't matter because everyone was invited. It had been a lifetime since Sky had attended a house party, and it was a lot more fun than she had remembered. There were awesome Halloween decorations everywhere - spider webs, skeletons, and real candles, there was dry ice in the punch bowl and the playlist was a perfect combination of dance hits and scary classics. Sky was on her way to getting happily drunk, downing her second beer and chatting with Sam and Moon in the living room, while Yas was somewhere with Demetri - sucking faces, Sky hoped.

Oh Yes.

That was the best part of this night so far. As soon as Yas had seen Demetri's Harry Potter costume, she had glared at Sky with narrowing eyes and said "You did this on purpose, right?" and Sky hadn't even bothered to deny that yes, indeed, it had been her who had hinted to Demetri that he might want to come as Harry instead of the Doctor Who he'd originally planned. The look on Demetri's face when he had seen that he was matching with Yasmine, was the best thing Sky had achieved in her whole damn life - and apparently, it had also erased every last objection of Yasmine's mind, because after that she had only had eyes for him, and well—

Now they were nowhere to be seen - which could only mean that this was the night when all Demetri's dreams came true, and Sky couldn't have been happier for him.

Noticing that her can was empty, Sky excused herself from the company of her friends and made her way to the kitchen in her search of more beer. The deep red punch in the huge bowl was oozing smoke all over the dimly lit kitchen, and Sky decided to pass, making her way through the crowd toward the counter where the beer was.

She noticed the boy before he noticed her.

He was leaning on the kitchen counter, talking with a group of kids Sky didn't know. A slim boy, wearing a long, black leather jacket that reached his ankles, cowboy boots, and a stetson, all equally black but with silver details, and even if he was standing his back to her, Sky recognized the posture, the slender built, the beautiful hand that held a bottle of beer by his thigh.

Sky felt a smile on her lips. Without hesitation she walked to the boy and laid a hand on his arm, making him turn around.

"Howdy, cowboy," she grinned. "What's up?"

The reserved look on Cody's face melted away the instant he saw her. His eyes widened and his mouth fell open, then turned into a wide, delighted smile.

"Oh my God," he said, glancing at her outfit, and then with a laugh, again. "Oh my God!"

"My goodness," Sky laughed. "This might be the first time I've ever seen you speechless. What - don't tell me you're a Potter fan too?"

Cody seemed to recover from the reaction that seeing Sky in her Ravenclaw outfit had caused. He took a sip of his beer, looking calm and collected again, even if his eyes were still smiling at her.

"Would you believe me now if I said I wasn't?" he asked, making Sky laugh.

"No, too late for that. So, what house would you be in?"

"I'd love to say Ravenclaw, but let's be honest. It would have to be Slytherin. I look amazing in green." He glanced at Sky's hands, and noticing the empty can she was holding, asked: "You want another one?"

"Sure," Sky replied and passed her can to Cody. He tossed it away, picked a bottle from a cooler, opened it, and passed it to Sky. Their fingers brushed as Sky took the cup from him, and for a split second Cody's hand froze, his throat bobbed—

—and then he pulled his hand back, picked up his own bottle from the counter, and took a long swig. Sky's eyes were drawn to his lips that touched the bottle, to his throat that dipped up and down when he swallowed, and once again she was attracted to his beauty like one is attracted to the frescoes of Raphael, the paintings of Botticelli.

A crush, Moon had called it, but Sky wasn't sure that was the right word. She enjoyed looking at Cody, she enjoyed talking with him, but—

—but why do I want to label everything?

Maybe she didn't have a word for this thing, but maybe it didn't need one. She enjoyed being here, with him, at this moment. She enjoyed the way he had completely abandoned the circle of people he'd been talking to when she had arrived, the way he gave her his full attention, like she was something magical, like he couldn't take his eyes off her either.

It was fun. And Gods knew Sky had missed fun.

"You weren't at the dance," She said with a grin, taking a step closer to him, to be heard over the music and people's chatter.

"Did you miss me?"

"A little," Sky replied with a shrug. "But it's okay. I'm glad you're here."

Cody turned his eyes away, took another sip of the beer, then laid the bottle on the counter and pushed it away. Suddenly there was something tense in his posture, in the sharp line of his jaw.

"Look, Sky—" he said, clearing his throat. "There's something that... that I have to tell you."

"Oh," Sky replied, leaning closer to hear him better. "You know I can keep a secret. What is it?"

"It's... not a secret. It's actually a confession—"

But whatever he'd been about to say, was cut short when some drunken dude dressed as a werewolf approached them, calling Cody's name and making his eyes turn away from Sky's face. The boy greeted Cody with some kind of a signature handshake, then slid a couple of bills to him over the counter, and without saying a thing, Cody slipped him a small, white envelope.

"Thanks Man, you're the best—" the dude slapped Cody on the shoulder, and left, soon disappearing in the crowd that filled the kitchen.

Sky had observed this exchange silently. It sure wasn't her place to say anything about it, so she just took a gulp of her beer, then another. She had a couple of pills in her pocket just in case, but so far she'd been having so much fun that she hadn't felt like she needed them.

"So, you were about to tell me something?" She asked, turning her eyes back to Cody's face.

He shook his head, flashed her a smile. The former seriousness was gone, and Sky had a feeling that whatever he had been about to say, was gone now too.

"No, come on!" She persisted. "You said you had a confession to make—"

"Oh fine, I confess to you that I have read all the Harry Potter books, and I was so sure that I was going to get to Hogwarts that I cried when my letter never came. Seriously - once I saw an owl at the park and I begged him to take my message to Dumbledore and come to my salvation. That old bastard never did."

"Awww, poor you—" Sky laughed and drank some more of her beer, forgetting that she'd thought Cody had been about to tell her something else. "So, Potterhead - which one is your favorite book?"

Cody replied without a moment's hesitation. "Chamber of secrets."

"Why that one?"

"Two words: Gilderoy Lockhart."

"Oh my God, Yes!" Sky laughed and laid a hand on his arm in delight. "You know, you remind me of him—"

Something dark flashed in Cody's eyes. "What - because I too am a coward and full of shit?"

"Noooo! Because— because you're charming." Sky replied, her hand still on his upper arm, feeling the soft, worn leather of the jacket. "And kinda mysterious - like, nobody knows who you really are."

"You know, though," Cody replied, with a hint of seriousness. "And you didn't even have to curse me silly to make me blabber that out."

"That is actually weird—" Sky said, faking a serious face. "I'm a complete stranger. You shouldn't trust me with that kind of stuff."

He laughed, but it sounded a bit strained. He glanced down at his hands which were holding the bottle of beer, at those beautiful hands of his that had big, silver rings on several fingers, including his thumbs.

"Call me stupid," he said softly. "But you don't feel like a stranger. In fact... Sky, the thing I wanted to tell you—"

But the third beer Sky had just downed was beginning to affect her. She found it a bit difficult to concentrate on what Cody was saying, because not only was she drunk, but because the pressure in her lower belly was growing by the minute making it obvious to her that she really needed to pee.

"You know, hold that thought—" She interrupted Cody's sentence, letting her hand drop from his bicep. "You happen to know where the bathroom is?"

"Ah, yeah—" Cody sighed. He rubbed his chin, the rings in his fingers glimmered as the lights caught them. "There's one down the hall and another one upstairs."

"Thanks—" Sky flashed him a grin. "I'll be right back, Cowboy. Don't go anywhere!"

If he replied something, she didn't hear because she was already making her way through the crowded room into the hallway. In the doorway, she bumped into a couple of girls in Wonder Woman and Catwoman costumes and complemented their looks and they admired her costume. The music was louder here than in the kitchen, the beat was resonating in her core and she loved it. It was all so much fun, she was laughing as she danced down the hallway with the beat of Thriller. She was in that wonderful state of getting drunk when everything felt light and exciting, and she knew she was smart and pretty and she couldn't even remember why she had been so sad for so long.

In the hallway she ran into Sam and Moon, who were sipping their drinks, leaning on the wall, near the door that Sky suspected was the bathroom.

"You in the line?" She asked, joining them.

"Yes—" Sam replied, a bit annoyed. "But I don't think we're getting there. Sounds like someone is... going to be there for a while."

"What?" Sky laughed. "What do you mean?"

"We think someone's having sex in there—" giggled Moon.

Sky's brows arched as she stepped closer to the door, and true enough, even over the music she heard sounds that couldn't be anything else - loud thumping and moaning, that made her cheeks flush.

She couldn't help a laugh. "Oh my God! You think it's Yas and Demetri?"

"I don't know, I haven't seen them since we got here—" said Sam.

Laughing, Sky slammed her hand on the door and called: "Guys, we can hear you! Keep it down!"

No one answered, not that she had expected to, but as the sex sounds continued, Sky stepped further away from the door.

"Come on girls, let's find another bathroom, okay?"

Moon and Sam followed her - Sam looking a bit embarrassed, her cheeks burning red, but Moon smiling and giggling with Sky. They found their way upstairs and to another bathroom, did their business, freshened up their makeup, and after some time Sky was again on the stairs, going back down because she had suddenly remembered Cody and that she had promised to come back.

Walking down the hallway, she saw the bathroom door again, and couldn't help a grin. So fucking cute if it was Demetri banging Yas in there. All that built-up sexual tension they'd had between them these past weeks was bound to burst at some point, and that thought made Sky a bit giddy. Besides, they were a hot couple. Not that Sky got her kicks imagining her friends at it, but still - the thought of bathroom sex at a party was kinda kinky and fun. She wished she had a boyfriend who'd fuck her in a bathroom—

But no, no she didn't, because she didn't want to think about Hawk, she was done with boyfriends, she was done with love. Love had brought her nothing but pain and misery and she was fucking done with it.

It was so much better this way, single and happy.

With a wide grin on her face, Sky started walking towards the kitchen, the beat of the music carrying her. She almost walked straight into the bathroom door as it opened and the two people, still in each other's arms stumbled out.

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