How Green Becomes Wood

The next day, school went on as usual, and at around 6pm that evening, across the street, Sloan drove off to that party at the Basketball Player's house. Had either twin looked out, they would have seen her leave the house in a sweatshirt and then drive out of view of her house before stopping for a few moments, and drive off again.

Dark and Daizi had no idea there was any drama in the teen world (or, at least, no significant drama, there was always some catastrophe going on with teenagers), and they went about their Friday evening routine as usual, as they prepared for the weekend.

After 10 p.m., however, Xander's phone rang, with Sloan on the other end. "Hey, Xannnder?" She asked, in a hushed whisper.
 
Xander did notice her driving off, and he wondered briefly if he should have gone with her. She had seemed pretty disappointed. Then he shook his head and turned back to what he was doing. She was a big girl and could take care of herself. She didn't need her younger next-door neighbor worrying about her.

At least, that's what he thought until his phone went off. He frowned at her quiet tone. "What's wrong?" he asked, instinctively keeping his voice lowered.
 
"I want to go home," She whispered, holding the phone a little bit too close, "I'm... I'm in the bathroom, and someone, he grabbed my ass, so I, I kicked him," She laughed, sounding like she was plopping down on the floor, "and nobody is mad, or anything, but I keep thinking, these guys suck, you know? And I don't want to be here, now."
 
Xander rolled off the bed where he'd just gotten started reading "The Soul of a Horse" and tossed the book aside. First things first, get a location on who was where. Alec had already fallen asleep on his bed. Were Dark and Daizi still up? He grabbed his socks and pulled them on before heading to the door.

"Can you give me an address?" he asked softly, cracking the door open to listen for the others. "I'll be right there."
 
"Yeah, I'll text it to you," Sloan murmured and then yelled something incomprehensible at someone, "I'll be here. Or, I'll walk out, but I don't know what's going on outside. But don't fight anyone when you get here! Or, do, you can't get suspended again, we aren't at school!"

When Xander headed towards the door, both Dark and Daizi were still awake in the living room, making full use of the quiet evening, although they weren't up to anything that would embarrass or blind their sons. Naturally, Dark noticed him first, "Xander?" He asked, "Where are you going?"
 
"I'll be right there," Xander promised Sloan before hanging up. He stood at the top of the stairs looking down at Dark and Daizi. They looked happy right now. He had a choice: tell them the truth, lie about what was going on, or try to evade. He knew he could trust them, but Sloan had sounded fragile. He didn't think she'd appreciate an entire entourage pulling up to "save" her.

"Can I borrow the car?" he finally asked as he came down the stairs. "Sloan needs a ride. I think something's wrong with her car." Or maybe she ditched it? Either way, it didn't sound like she was in a fit state to drive. "Or maybe you could give me a ride?" he asked hesitantly, thinking he could drive Sloan's car back if he could get to it.
 
"Is she alright?" Daizi asked, taking her legs off of Dark's lap so he could stand up. "What time is it?"

"Not yet eleven," Dark replied, rising to his feet, "How far away is she?"
 
Xander told him the address, leaving out the bit about whether or not Sloan was alright. He didn't think she sounded alright. "If you're busy, I can just go, and we can get her car later," Xander told Dark, grabbing his coat. "Don't wanna bother you too much." Good grief, he was starting to sound like Milo!
 
Dark scanned Xander's face, "Why did she not call her parents?" He asked. Given what he knew of Blaire, if her daughter was out at this time, and she couldn't call her, it was something her mother did not approve of.
 
Xander shrugged. He was starting to wish he'd tried to slip out the back way. "She called me, that's all I know. I promised I'd get there as fast as I could." And he intended to do so, even if he had to run across town. "I need to go."
 
As Dark inhaled, it was almost possible to hear both him and Daizi trying to sort through what they knew, and what their role and responsibility in the situation was. Finally, after what felt like forever but was only a few seconds, Dark handed Xander the car keys, wordlessly expressing that he trusted him.

"If her parents aren't home," Daizi said, despite knowing for a fact they were, "and she's not comfortable being there by herself, it's okay if you bring her here."
 
Xander stared at Dark for a moment before cautiously taking the keys. Dark could be trusted, and Dark understood more than any adult Xander had ever met, but what still took Xander by surprise no matter how many times it was proven was how much Dark trusted him. He felt briefly ashamed of his instinctual desire to sneak out to help rather than just saying, but he shook it off. That was for later. Right now, Sloan was waiting.

"I'll be back," Xander said and headed out the door. He got in the car and took the time to make all the safety checks, forcing himself to slow down. He'd do Sloan no good if he did something stupid like back straight into a mailbox or get pulled over driving too fast. He headed out, taping the wheel anxiously as he followed the seepd limit exactly. The house should be easy to find. Sloan? He wasn't so sure.
 
"Call me if there is an issue." Dark told him as he left.

The noise from the party could be heard prior to seeing the line of cars outside the house. It was almost amazing the cops hadn't been called it shut it down yet, and there were two high schoolers sitting alone on the front porch swing, looking seriously at each other, looking like this night was probably going to mean something different to them than it was bound to mean for Sloan and Xander.

The front door was open, and through the warm light glow in the doorway, numerous students were wandering and laughing, but from a distance, most dialogue was drowned out by the music.
 
Xander parked at the end of the line, keeping what he felt was a safe distance from the party. Then, making sure to lock the car, he headed in, hands deep in his pockets. She'd said she was in the bathroom, or she was going to walk out. He moved slowly, checking around the outside of the building first before moving toward the door. He hesitated, staring at the crush of people inside. This... was not going to be awesome.

He glanced at the couple on the porch. "Wrap it up if you aren't going to keep it in your pants," he warned just because it seemed like a good piece of advice considering the circumstances, and then he went in. The volume made him wince, and he went straight to the first wall he found as the people heaved this way and that. He followed the wall, trying not to touch anyone, which was growing increasingly difficult the deeper into the house he went. If he was a bathroom, where would he be?
 
Both teens flushed a deep red at Xander's comment, and the boy stuttered, "No, it's not, we're not--I just, we--" as they both stared horrified at him, awkwardly and embarrassedly pulling away from how they had been holding hands. It wasn't something Xander would have known, but they had intentionally scampered away to somewhere more quiet and private, and were trying to work up the courage for their first ever kiss when he walked up.

While Xander wandered through the party seeking through the bathroom, at first nobody even seemed to notice him. It was loud, crowded, and many of the party-goers were in various levels of inebriation, although there were a few who looked very sober, and very much like they were regretting their life choices.

"Woah, Xander? I can't believe you came!" A girl from Xander's math class said, coming up to him. Her hair was up in two space buns and she had drawn a heart on her cheek in eyeliner, which had been slightly smudged, "I was hoping, but I was afraid to invite you!"
 
Xander eyed the girl uncertainly. He vaguely recognized her, but he didn't think he'd ever shared two words with her. "Uh, yeah, just.. stopping by for a second. Dropping in. Hey, you know where the bathroom is? Kind of, you know, urgent."
 
"You should stay! I could get you a drink!" She offered brightly, swaying from side to side, but she frowned when he asked about the bathroom, "There's one on this floor, around the corner by the kitchen," she pointed, "and then there's two upstairs, one in the hall, and one connected to the master bedroom..."
 
"Cool, cool," Xander said with a nod. "I'll circle back to you, right? You just wait here, and then I can find you again." He pointed toward a chair that didn't have anyone in it at the moment. "Be back later."

He scooted away, flinching as he brushed briefly against another person in order to get around her. He might feel bad about lying to her later, but not right now. Right now, he had to figure out which room Sloan was in! The upstairs bathrooms sounded more promising, but the downstairs one was closer. He'd check the closer one first. The kitchen was easy enough to find, at least. He aimed for the door that looked like the right one, hoping the girl - what was her name again? - wouldn't follow him.
 
The girl believed him completely and sat down to wait, "Cool," she said, "I'll be here!"

Some guy, one of the seniors, probably, was walking out of the bathroom when Xander found it, which made it immediately obvious it wasn't the one Sloan was in, because he turned off the light as he exited and then went up to dance with another senior boy, so upstairs seemed like the only option.
 
"Love is in the air tonight," Xander muttered to himself as he turned and tried to find his way to the stairs. "If you spell 'Love' starting with an H and ending with a Y."

He found the stairs, and it was impossible to make it up without bumping into a couple of people. His heartrate, already high, ticked up a little higher, and his breathing came sharper. It was okay, he reminded himself as he made it up. It was just like Judo. Passing glances, no intention. Just focus on the mission. The end goal. Forget the now, find the end goal. The end goal... behind one of these many damn doors! He stared at the doors, terrified of what he might possibly find behind some of them. Grimacing, he went to the first door and knocked loudly.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top