Archive of Our Own ^beta

Charlotte took a look at herself in the mirror. Running her fingers through her hair, she felt nervous. It was recently cut thanks to bullies. Luckily, Aiden cleaned it up a lot, but she was still getting used to it being short. She no longer felt it brush against her back, and its comforting weight was gone. Aiden also made the new dress she was wearing. Even though it was one of his less elaborate pieces, it was a bit much for a house party. The short sleeves and collar ended in frills, and a yellow sash around her waist tied into a bow at the back. Needless to say, she felt pretty in anything Aiden made. She gave her reflection one last look and stepped out of the bathroom.

She went into Felix’s room and saw him feeding Venus. As always, he looked focused, but he had a smile on his face.

“Hi, Felix.” She smiled.

“Hello, Charlotte.” He looked up and switched to a poker face. “You look dressed up.”

“Yeah, Bennett’s throwing a party tonight.”

“Oh dear lord-” Anything hosted by Bennett was bound to be a disaster. Odds are, he would have to play damage control.

“Are you going?”

“Of course not. I don’t like… people, or large gatherings of them.” He folded his arms.

“Are you sure?”

Turning back to Venus, he put the rest of the bugs away.“Positive.”

“Bennett really wanted you to come.”

“Why?”

“I think he wants to see you come out of your lab for once,” Charlotte laughed. “Come on, Felix, please?”

“Charlotte-”

“Pllllllllllllllllllleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaasssssssssssseeeee?”

“Fine,” he scoffed. “But just so you know, I’m not going to have any fun.”

“Thank you!”

Side by side, they walked next door. Felix couldn’t hear anything coming from inside, so maybe it wasn’t that loud.

When Charlotte opened the door, they were blasted by music and lights. Everyone he had ever met was there, and everyone had a red solo cup (like you see in movies), even Scarlett. She was standing in the corner looking vaguely pissed off.

Chatting with Vincent, Charles sat on the couch. “Have you been to a house party before?” Vincent asked.

“I haven’t been to any parties.” Replied Charles. “Have you?”

“Oh,” He laughed. “Can’t say I’ve been to many, I don’t go out very much.”

They stared into the solo cup like it was a bottomless pit. “Me neither.” Swirling the punch around, they moved the cup in a repetitive motion. “Sometimes I feel like I’ve substituted the real world with my fictional one.”

“You are a passionate writer.”

“Not a good one, though.”

“Nonsense.”

Charles didn’t think so, yet they smiled. Vincent was the weakest person there by far, yet they felt safe in his presence.

Most of Huxley’s lab workers were playing cards and yelling about the rules.

“You can’t just play green on a swap!!”

“YES, I CAN HAVE YOU EVEN RE-”

Anri was in the bathroom doing Florence’s hair.

“Ooh!! I want stripes like, right here!!” Florence held two pieces of hair near the sides of her face. “Like raccoon tails, do you know what I’m talking about?”

“Yep!” Anri held a tint brush and precisely painted each stripe as if it were its own tiny painting.

The only people absent were the responsible adults: Aiden and Huxley.

So many things were happening at once and it was so loud. It was too much. Felix ran into the room down the hall and shut the door fast. Slumped against the wall, he sat down on the floor. It seemed a lot like Charlotte’s room. He would’ve sat on the bed in there, but it was stained red all over. He could still hear the music, but it was a tolerable volume behind the door. Letting his mind catch up to his body, he sat there for a while.

After that, someone came in. It was Bennett. “You okay, Honniker?”

“Yeah, I’m just… why'd you want me here? I’m not exactly the fun-loving type.”

Bennett sat down beside him. “I guess I wanted to see you somewhere more normal. Every time we see each other it’s in the lab, or you’re examining me.”

“You could’ve asked me to hang out.”

“I was afraid you’d call me a dumbass and go back to studying,” said Bennett.

“You’re probably right,” he laughed. “But we can certainly hang out,” mumbling, he looked at the floor. “I mean if you want to.”

Bennett pulled him into a hug. “Totally!”

“Ack!” It was a sudden, tight hug, but it felt comforting nonetheless. “Don’t you want to be out there having fun? It’s probably boring here.”

Releasing his vice grip, he said, “Nah.”

“Thanks, Ben.”