Party

"Is it sad to say that I actually kind of miss the old conversations we used to have?" I asked Good and Bad. We were once again at the coffee shop, and slowly, more and more things began to grow color. The table was a light oak, as well as the chairs with their wrought iron frames. Yellow and orange decals were attached to the inside of the coffee shop window, advertising a new drink.

"You must really be bored then..." Bad carried on, clenching a cup of coffee in his hands.

"No." I replied. "I'm just tired of this. I want it to be back to the way it was."

"We got invited to a party tonight." Good said quickly, looking between Bad and I.

"Party?" Bad asked.

"Tonight?" I stuttered, both of them looking at me. "I thought it was always day?"

"Who's throwing the party?" Bad asked Good, ignoring me.

"I think you know who."

"Let me guess." I chimed in. "More voices to meet?"

"I think this will be the second to last batch." Good droned, looking away and counting on his fingers.

"You've pretty much met all of his cronies." Bad stated, nodding towards Good. "But not all of mine."

"Yeah." Good answered himself. "Second to last."

"But what if I don't want to go to a party?" I asked, both of them beginning to stand.

"There will be cheap beer." Bad teased.

"I don't care. It's a party. I don't do parties."

"You don't really have a choice though." Good added.

"What are you two gonna do if I just sit here instead?"

"One would think that you owe us after tearing our souls apart." Good winced.

"Well..." I sighed, looking between the two of them. "You've got me in a corner here."

"How about you go," Bad grumbled, "or I drag you there by your ankles?"

"Fine." I groaned, getting out of the chair. "But if there isn't cheap beer there, I'm gonna have a bone to pick with you."

They led me off the patio and down the street, into the neighborhood. The houses began to grow color as well. I could see faint pink stucco sidings, green garage doors, and blue front doors. The trees rocked back and forth in a silent breeze. Good and Bad walked next to each other, occasionally looking at the houses around them in silence. Off in the distance, I could hear a rhythmic booming. They turned right on the sidewalk, and stopped; turning away to let me in front. The faint blue sky quickly rolled over to darkness. The streetlights came on to shower the roads. At the end of the street was a cul-de-sac. All of the houses windows were dark, except for the furthest one. The windows faded in and out of a spectrum of colors, timed to the beat. I could hear the voices of hundreds, but no shadows hugged the windows.

"I'm guessing that's it right?" I asked Good and Bad. There was no response. I turned around, but no one was there. Good and Bad vanished, leaving me to the party. I looked back at the house, sighed, and moved on. As I went to grab the handle, the door opened itself. A dance track deafened me, and the silhouettes of people dotted the house. But a figure off in the kitchen drew my attention. He pranced over, pushing people out of the way. It was me. He had much longer hair that was tied back in a bun. He was dressed in a long sleeve oxford with the sleeves rolled up, and a pair of slacks and a matching suit vest.

"What's up buddy?!" He called over the music, hugging me and shoving an open beer can into my chest. "There's more in the fridge!"

"Who are you?!" I yelled back at him, but he didn't hear me. He had pushed himself back into the crowd. I sighed once more, and took a long drink of the beer. Off in the massive living room, I could see Love intertwined with a group of figures. But one of them was another woman. Love looked back at me and smiled with a raised eyebrow. She turned to the woman and said a few things. The woman turned around to look at me. It was her.

Oh no. I said to myself. Not now, please. I was frozen in place. I wanted to go up and say something. To go talk to her. But I couldn't move. It became less and less of a lack of courage, and more of a grip on my shoulder holding me back. I turned, and another figure was behind me. A black leather jacket, black jeans, and skeletal hands. But his hood covered his face.

"You'll mess it up." He grumbled, the music quickly fading. The strobe light wandered in his direction and he flinched.

"Who are you?" I asked. "Get off me!" I added before he could answer. I turned back, and she was distracted, back to Love's conversation.

"I will not see you do well." The hood mumbled again. "Don't you know how much I hate that?"

"I just want to go talk to her!" I shouted, again trying to pull away from him, but to no avail. "Come on, I finally have courage, let me use it!"

"I will not let you!" He hissed, grasping tighter.

"What's goin' on guys?" The host came back with more beer.

"I'm just trying to go talk to her." I replied, nodding in her direction. The host looked over, and laughed.

"Good luck dude." He smiled, pushing another beer and my free hand. "I don't know what's up with you, but all I need is more alcohol."

He walked back off into the crowd, and I was again left with the hooded man.

"Is there any particular reason why you won't let me go?" I asked him, trying to push the new can into his hand.

"I hate it when you do well." He replied, throwing the can on the ground. "I always have. And I will do everything I can to make sure you fail."

Love came waltzing over with a large smile on her face.

"Hi Misery!" She called. "How are you?"

He nodded slightly, but his hand was still latched on my shoulder.

"You wanna help me out here?" I asked her, motioning behind me.

"Not my problem." She laughed, looking behind me into the kitchen. "Hey you haven't happened to see Host around anywhere have you? I need more social lube."

"Host?" I repeated.

"Yeah?" She questioned. "You know, the host of the party?"

"Okay, I give up." I said, finally pushing away Misery's hand.

"What's wrong?" Love asked.

"I get who this is." I pointed at Misery. "He doesn't want me to do well, he never has, blah, blah, blah. Who the hell is Host?"

"I'm just a guy who enjoys a good party now and again." A voice laughed from behind me. Love went up and hugged Host, and then whispered something into each other's ear.

"Beer?" He asked me.

"No I don't want another God damned beer!" I screamed. Then, all of the silhouettes disappeared, including her.  Now I was left with Love, Misery, and Host.

"Dude, calm down! Host shouted back. "See, it's people like you who I don't invite to parties. You're such a buzzkill!"

"I'm the kind of person who fucking despises parties." I retorted. "But apparently I don't have a choice."

"Maybe this wouldn't have happened if you had just gone and talked to her." Love stated.

"I tried!" I screamed, turning around to Misery. "But this asshole wouldn't let me!"

"Don't blame him." Host corrected.

"Why not?"

"Blame the side of you who took too long to push him away."

"Who do you even think you are anyway?" I asked him

"Dude," he stuttered, "I just like a good party. It's a good way to cap off the week, you know?"

"No I don't know." I hissed as he brought a beer bottle to his mouth. "Dude how many of those have you had?"

"Not enough." He laughed, beginning to walk back into the kitchen. "The life that I gain from these bottles give me an escape from the everyday. A new unconscious."

"That's not healthy!" Love chimed in, visibly distraught.

"Just leave me to my own vices!" He shouted back. "Let me drain the bottles that drain me!"

I looked over my shoulder, and he was gone.

"So now what?" I asked Love. "She's gone. The party's over. I fucked up. Now what?"

"My job here is done." Misery laughed, following Host into the kitchen, and eventually disappearing.

"Are Good and Bad just out to mess with my head?" I asked love, looking out the window to see the light approaching.

"I can't say that I know Bad too well." She replied innocently. "But I don't know why Good would be out to get you."

"Thanks." I replied without tone, shuffling towards the door. It creaked open, and the hueless light swallowed me whole.