7 Days in November, Part 8 (Saturday)

Ty drove to the party; only two of them had a license that night, and between Bourbon and Ty, Ty had a car, or at least access to one. That was OK, though: Ty was an excellent driver, and her friends had grown to expect this much. TJ started her early, and he wouldn’t let her get a license until she passed his test, which was much harder than anything the county would throw at her. Farly was going through the training, but he was more reluctant to learn, so he, like the rest of the group, were at Ty’s mercy. No one questioned TJ about the test, it was obvious why he did it. They all noticed how pained he looked when they’d go out driving in the rain. He pretended it was nothing, but they knew better.

Bryan and Ty barely knew the girl throwing the party. They knew her parents were out of town, gone on some trip to Europe or the Caribbean, or where ever rich humans went when they left their kids alone for weeks at a time. Sophomores didn’t get to party much, usually because they weren’t invited. So, seeing an opportunity, Katie stepped up and spread the word. Ty and Bryan weren’t surprised when no one said anything to them; they never went to parties. It’s not that they weren’t interested, because they did find parties interesting, like watching a train slowly run over a car on the tracks; it wasn’t pretty and they knew being there to see it wasn’t going to make them happy, and yet…

Bourbon didn’t do parties anymore, not since he came to this group. He hadn’t been invited to parties since then, since he and that group at Rockcrest had been avoiding each other. He was happy this was a Cherrywood thing. Next to him, Farly looked out the window of the Checker, his head resting against the glass. They held hands across the wide bench.

Ty pulled into a field of cars. The house sat a hundred feet away, completely lit up and, it seemed, its heart beating softly.

“Lock your doors,” Ty said, twisting her key in the lock.

Bourbon let out a long, frustrated “aaaaauuuuuuugggghhhh.”

“Can’t you get a car with power locks like every other normal human being.” He re-opened his door and jammed the lock down.

“Human beings, huh? This thing’s better than that piece of shit beater you used to drag around.”

Bourbon grinned. “Did I… did I just touch a nerve?”

“I’ll touch your nerve!” Ty moved around the car and took a swing at him, landing a punch firmly on his arm. Bourbon stumbled.

“Yeah?” Bourbon jumped back a half-step, fists up, and he jabbed back, hitting her on the shoulder. “That POS belonged to Mr. and Mrs. Tavlor. I wash my hands of it.”

Ty squeaked and ducked, driving her shoulder into Bourbon’s stomach. Bourbon fell back, scrambling to keep his footing. Ty stood a few paces away, giggling wildly and ready to strike again.

Bryan and Farly watched from behind.

“I think we’ve lost them to each other,” Bryan said, sliding his hands into his pockets. He squared his shoulders.

Farly took Bryan’s arm. “That’s OK. We could always be together.”

Bryan’s muzzle turned pink. He pulled Farly closer and followed after Bourbon and
Ty.

It was starting to smell like winter in Gateway City. The air was crisp, their breath clouding out in front of them. The tang of burning wood wafted from the direction of the house. The moon shone down on them, surrounded by a hazy halo.

“They have a fire going,” Ty said, staring at the house from across the field.

“That’s the last thing they need.” Bryan pulled his hood up over his ears. “I can see this whole thing going down in flames.”

The heartbeat grew louder as they ventured closer to the house. The closer they got, the more they could make out: bass, vocals, a hook, until they were at the driveway. There were so many people inside, and they could hear all of them talking. On the front steps, people gathered in a cloud of cigarette smoke.

“Well,” Ty said, stopping at the porch, “abandon hope all ye who enter here.”

They climbed the steps to the front door, which hung open. They passed through the entry way, assaulted by obnoxiously loud music and heavy cigarette smoke. It wasn’t that the music was loud, because they could handle loud music. They went to a lot of concerts, but the concerts they went to were put on by people with talent, and the music here was mass-produced, targeted, and ironically sold alongside colas and brand new, soon to be forgotten teen stars. Bryan sighed, then coughed. He tried to say something, but his voice was drowned out by the booming of the stereo.

Ty hugged herself, letting her eyes wander around the house. People filled every possible space they could, either with a plastic cup or a bottle in their hand, and they all shouted over each other. Ty sank a little. She knew these people, most of them — there were other schools here, but Cherrywood held the majority — and they knew her. Some of them ignored her, which was fine, but others watched intently. A group of girls, who didn’t think Ty saw them, pointed at her. They were talking excitedly, back and forth. This was a place where rumors got started. Those girls were there for that reason. Had they been anymore blatant, they would have had little note pads with them, just to get everything down. The girls noticed Ty watching, and they turned slowly into a little huddle. Ty’s ears sank. What the hell was she doing here?

One of Bryan and Ty’s classmates broke off from the group, speaking enthusiastically at them, his voice falling short of the noise around them. He thrust a beer at them. They shook their heads, and Ty pointed vaguely in the other direction. The classmate laughed and waved them off, and disappeared back into the crowd.

The huddle moved, pushing towards the back door, past the basement door, past the bathroom, into the kitchen. People seemed to occupy every available space in the house, every surface holding forgotten red plastic cups, or open bottles, or discarded, half-crushed cans. And the smell was thick in the air, of sticky perfumes and body oder and really heavy bread. Bryan looked ill.

“Bourbon!” A human walked towards them from a corner in the kitchen. “Hey! Shit! What’s up?”

Bourbon turned, his ears perking suddenly, drawing a smile from the human. “David?”

“What the hell are you doing here?” David stuck out his hand. Bourbon did not.

“What are you doing here?”

“I know some people at Cherrywood.”

“Me too.” Bourbon’s hands disappeared into his pockets. He stared at a spot just over David’s shoulder.

“Small world. I’d never have thought you’d hang out with brats like that, but look at me, right?” David laughed. Bourbon didn’t.

“Right. I’m going over-”

“You doing anything? I mean, right now? Everybody’s downstairs.”

Bourbon had started to turn away. He stopped. “Everybody?”

David laughed again and hit Bourbon on the shoulder. “Remember everybody? Are you still smoking up?”

Bourbon narrowed his eyes.

“Dude, come downstairs. Everybody’s been talking about you. Fuck, dude, it’s not the same without you.”

“Really?”

“Fuck yeah. Come on.”

Bourbon looked over his shoulder. Farly watched him. He held himself. He looked ready to bolt at any minute. Ty placed her hand on his shoulder and said something to Farly, but Bourbon couldn’t make out what it was. Farly motioned to the back door.

Bourbon held up a finger, then pointed to the basement.

Farly dropped his shoulders and turned back to Bryan and Ty. David shoved a beer into Bourbon’s hand, and they disappeared into the basement. Farly sighed.

Ty put her arm around Farly, fully aware of the people watching her. There would be consequences Monday. She said, “he’ll be OK. He’s a smart boy.”

Farly nodded, leaning his head on Ty’s shoulder.

The party pushed on around them. The music died, and people scrambled for the stereo. They started flipping through a CD book furiously.

“Hey, guys,” someone said behind them. The huddle turned at the same time. “This is the last place I’d expect to see you guys.”

Bryan relaxed, looking over Jeremy. “Yeah, well, you too. What are you doing here?”

Jeremy, a fox from the grade above theirs, smiled at them, his tail wagging a little. “Someone told me there was going to be a party tonight, and since I never get invited, I figured…”

Bryan nodded. “I didn’t see you when you came in.”

“I was upstairs.”

The music started up again, and an approving roar arose from the mass.

“Let’s get out of here,” Ty shouted.

They pushed through the oblivious crowd to the backyard, where people gathered around a fire. The furs kept their distance.

“When did you get here?” Bryan asked, watching the fire.

“A couple hours ago. I didn’t really know what time to come. I’ve just been hanging out, you know.” Jeremy’s smile faded. He held his hands behind his back. “It’s funny, cause I keep expecting people here to be happy to see me. I guess you guys are it. That’s sad, right? Not you guys, I mean, just that… I’m going to stop talking now.” He shut his mouth, and held it closed tight, looking at the ground off to his side.

Bryan let out a little laugh. “Have you seen Katie at all?”

“Well,” Jeremy started, slowly. “That’s why I was upstairs…”

“Oh,” Bryan said. “OH!” He blushed, his ears dropping.

“No no no! It’s not like that. She was drinking before I even got here, and before everyone else, really. She passed out about an hour ago, and I was making sure she was OK.”

Bryan didn’t say anything. Ty and Farly were almost cuddled up together, Ty mumbling to Farly. Farly stared at nothing, his eyes unfocused, and he rested against Ty.

The furs wandered to an open spot around the fire. They left their coats open and basked in the warmth, staring blankly into the fire. Farly sighed again, and he scooted closer to Bryan, resting his head on the wolf’s shoulder. Bryan discretely put his arm around him and rubbed his shoulder.

“You don’t believe me, do you?” Jeremy pulled his knees up to his chest and hugged them.

“About Katie?”

Jeremy nodded.

“No, I do.”

“You don’t sound so sure.”

“Jeremy… do you really think that I’d believe you were going around and hooking up with random drunk girls?”

“No… not really.”

Farly shifted and looked at Jeremy. Bryan nudged him with his muzzle.

“You’re a good guy. I wouldn’t worry about you.”

Jeremy leaned back, putting his arms out behind him. Like everyone else around him, he lost himself in the fire. Bryan didn’t know Jeremy too well, not as well as he should have, but he had been there since Ty and Bryan had started Cherrywood. He seemed to really like them, unlike some of the other people around the school. Jeremy wanted to be their friend, not just keep up appearances. Bryan watched him for a moment, and assumed Jeremy didn’t realize he was staring at Farly. Bryan smirked. Jeremy was usually a cheery, good-natured guy, but he seemed even more so around Farly.

“Why are you here?” Bryan finally asked, bringing Jeremy out of his trance. “It’s not for the party, or hooking up, or getting fucked up. Why are you really here?”

Jeremy’s ears dropped. “I’m tired of being alone all the time.” He didn’t look at Bryan.

“Jeremy…” Ty had stood up while Bryan and Jeremy were talking. She knelt down next to Jeremy and hugged him. “You don’t have to be. Come find us sometime.”

Jeremy nodded. “You leaving?”

“Yes,” Ty said. “Oh God, yes.”

Jeremy turned back to the fire and sighed.

“Don’t do anything stupid tonight.”

“I’m here, aren’t I?” Jeremy said. Bryan stroked the fox’s ears back as they left. Jeremy didn’t move, but allowed himself a little smile.

The huddle plunged back into the house, pushing forward towards the basement door. Bryan’s eyes burnt, and he squinted through the haze in the kitchen. Farly stayed close.

The wood steps down to the basement were slick with spilt beer. The low red light that lit the basement made it more difficult to navigate down. Bryan could make out Bourbon in the corner, sitting with David and a half a dozen other boys and girls, both fur and human. Bryan approached quietly.

“Bourbon…”

Bourbon turned and looked up at him, his eyes a little wider than usual. “Hey. Where’ve you been?”

“We’re leaving.”

“Dude, these are my friends from Rockcrest. I think I’ve told you about them before.”

“Once or twice.”

“Give me a few minutes.”

“We’re going now,” Ty said.

David laughed. “What, past your bedtime?” His friends laughed. Bourbon didn’t. He shifted in his chair a little, his ears flattening out.

“Seriously. I haven’t talked to these guys in months.”

“E-mail them,” Bryan said.

“Oh hey! That’s a great idea,” David said, thrusting his beer at Bryan. “Let me give you mine. Got a pen? It’s ‘I’m a big nerd at no life dot com’.”

Bryan narrowed his eyes. “Catch ebola.”

David’s friends laughed.

“Look,” Ty said. “We’re going now. This is your last chance to get a ride with us.”

Bourbon sighed. He glanced between Bryan and Ty. Farly was still at Bryan’s side, clinging to his arm. Bourbon dropped his eyes to the floor, sinking in his chair. He glanced at the people he had called his friends. One of them was watching Bryan intently.

“Hey, he-wolf, he said. “Who’s your boyfriend?”

Bryan tightened his jaw. He stared at Bourbon.

“Aww… is the little homo not going to talk to me? I bet I can make you talk.”

“Goodbye, Bourbon,” Ty said, pulling Bryan and Farly away from the group and up the steps. As they left, they heard Bourbon’s friends laughing. Someone offered him another beer.

“Dude,” one of them said, his voice carrying over the crowd. “Why are you hanging out with those fags?”

The huddle welcomed the air outside. Bryan coughed the last of the cigarette smoke out of his lungs. Farly kept close to Bryan and Ty, his eyes fixed firmly on the ground ahead of him. Ty didn’t say anything. She listened to the steady thump of the stereo fade out of earshot.

A thin layer of frost covered the Checker. Ty rubbed the back window, trying to clear a spot to see out of. After a desperate moment, she gave up, and fished the keys out of her pocket. Coming around the driver’s side, she stopped short. Jeremy crouched on the ground, his back to the car, and he looked up at the sky, watching a lone cloud slide across the moon.

“You OK?” Ty asked.

Jeremy nodded. “If it’s alright, I need a ride.”

“You drinking?”

Jeremy shook his head. Ty unlocked her door. She crawled inside, unlocking the passenger doors. “OK,” she said. Jeremy silently took his place in the front seat. Bryan climbed in the back with Farly. Normally, someone would have said something, anything, like a plea to go to Geri’s All-Nite Diner. On any other night they would have blasted the stereo, windows down, no matter how cold it was. Tonight, the silence of defeat echoed in the car. Ty pulled out on to the gravel road and began home. Farly seat-belted himself in the center of the bench and lied down, his head resting in Bryan’s lap. Bryan stoked Farly’s ears back and stared out the window. Slowly, he let his head fall against the window, and made no attempt to correct it.

“So…” Jeremy said, shifting nervously in his seat. “What happened?”

Bryan sighed. “Down in flames.”