King of Spades

Was this supposed to be some kind of joke? Noah wasn't sure. Throughout his entire school experience, not once had he been invited to a party. Whether it was a birthday party in elementary school, or a house party once his peers and him got older. Not that Noah wanted to ever be invited. Being alone wasn't as bad as it seemed. He always had weekends free, and he wasn't out spending money doing activities with his friends. It had its perks for sure. Yet in front of him stood Bailey, a girl who Noah was convinced didn't even know he existed up until this point.

"Are you serious?" These were the only words he could manage, his eyes scanning her up and down. She had on black jeans and a bleach splattered Def Leppard shirt, her blonde hair up in her signature ponytail.

"Uh- Yeah?" she looked at him as if he had three heads. Him? He was the crazy one here? Now he was convinced he'd lost it. "Listen, if you don't want to go that's all you have to say. It's low-key disappointing but it is what it is I guess" she huffed. Her body language showed how agitated she was already, arms crossed and her eyes now focusing on something behind him.

"I just-" Noah was cut off by her swinging her bag off her shoulder and pulling out a piece of paper, scribbling some words down on it and handing him it.

Noah took the paper, reading the address written down. "Show up if you want. I don't care" she rolled her eyes before turning and walking back over to her friends.

The end of the day came faster than expected, and Noah stood in his room, staring at himself in the mirror. He was invited to a party. Did he want to go? Absolutely not. But something about how bothered Bailey had seemed from his response triggered a feeling he hadn't felt in a while. His eyes were cold as he looked himself over, his dark brown hair covering his eyes, pieces of metal in his nose and lip. The boy huffed, before grumpily walking over to his closet. He pulled on ripped black jeans, searching his mess of a closet for a t-shirt.

Picking up a black piece of fabric, he brought it to his nose, smelling it. He shrugged, pulling it on and slipping a blue flannel over it. Was he going to regret this? Probably. Was he going to do it anyway? Seemed to be that way.

He walked down the steps slowly, feet strategically avoiding the spots where he knew they'd creak if his weight shifted on them. His attempt was a failure when he heard a familiar gruff voice. "Where are you going?"

Noah closed his eyes, mentally preparing himself to have to speak to this Neanderthal named Will, his step father. He finished his walk down the stairs, walking into his living room which was filled with smoke. "To a friends house." he mumbled, the smoke already irritating his eyes.

He wasn't sure what was funny about his statement, but it seemed to have made Will laugh. "You have friends?" he chortled hitting his cigarette, his mom seeming to join the conversation when she smacked his chest, causing him to cough.

"Don't be rude to my son. Have fun baby" she smiled at him, and Noah nodded "Thanks".

He walked outside, shutting the door and walking over to his bike, the piece of paper Bailey had given him crumpled up in his fist. He fixed the chain and took off to the address, grateful for the salt on the roads, making the roads clear of snow. It was about a 20 minute bike ride, and Noah began questioning if this was some kind of prank as he reached the edge of the woods. He looked down at his phone, seeing the directions leading him in.

His eyes narrowed as he shook his head, turning around and getting ready to head back home, when he heard a familiar voice.

"Noah!"

The teenager looked up seeing Baileys head hanging out of a window, grinning at him. "Get in, you can't ride your bike through the woods. Too much snow" she smiled at him.

He looked at her for a second, before dropping his bike to the ground and walking towards the open door. He climbed into the backseat next to her, her smile never faltering.

As Noah shut the door, he glanced up hearing another voice coming from the front seat. "Buckle up, we follow the rules of the road in my car". He recognized her as Naomi, they'd gone to school together since the seventh grade.

He heard a laugh as he reached for his seatbelt, looking up yet again, but with a puzzled expression now.

"She's just fucking with you." Bailey giggled, and Noah noticed how she covered her mouth with her hand.

He just looked at them, before forcing out a small chuckle, dropping the seatbelt he was previously holding.

Suddenly another head popped out from the passenger seat. Noah didn't recognize this girl, she stood out from Bailey and Naomi and he was confused how they knew each other.

"I'm Prissy, lovely to meet you" she giggled, outstretching her petite hand. He raised an eyebrow at her, shaking her hand.

Prissy had long black hair, with bright green highlights, and an eyebrow piercing to tie together the whole punk look she had working. A definite difference when compared to Bailey's bleach blonde hair, and Naomi's auburn hair.

"She's also wasted. Pre-gaming is important for these prestigious events" Bailey hummed, laughing, and once again covering her mouth.

"Yes very prestigious. Creepy cabin in the woods. How fancy" Prissy snorted, stealing the vape out of Baileys hand and hitting it, the smoke disappearing quickly.

The three girls chattered as they all drove up, Noah beginning to wonder if this was a mistake when he saw all the cars outside.

"Relax." Bailey murmured into his ear, probably too close for comfort, but Noah didn't mind.

Naomi parked the car, and everyone climbed out. Except for Prissy who stumbled out, but if she asked anyone would tell her it was just as graceful.

They all walked up, Noah already receiving a few looks from people who stood out on the porch, smoking or drinking. The cabin was lit up with led lights, and Noah wondered how they even found this cabin.

He voiced his question out loud as they walked up the stairs.

"Anderson found it!" Naomi hummed.

Noah's eyes widened, this didn't even belong to anyone? This added to his personal list of reasons stating that 'popular kids' were psychopaths.

The group of teenagers wandered in, Noah seeing a lot of people he knew, and a lot of people he didn't. The address must have been leaked to their rival high school, because everyone seemed to be in between the ages of 16 and 18. Not including the few stragglers who looked way too young to be there.

Bailey surprised Noah when she grabbed his hand, leading him to where the drinks were. "Lets get you to loosen up" she smiled at him, pouring four shots. She handed him two of them, smiling and taking one.

Noah nodded at her smiling, and as she took both the shots he quickly dumped his into the garbage next to him, making a face as if he'd drank them. "Yay! Okay, let's go." she grabbed his hand yet again, and he thought he might just die in that moment.

There was loud music playing along with sweaty bodies crowding around, "maybe we should go outside" Bailey yelled to him over the music, and he nodded, following her out the back door. In the back of the cabin, there was a lot of smoke and Noah suspected he'd found the more chill group of teenagers. And when he smelled it, he knew he was right. She led him over to a chair on the deck in the back, sitting down, and he sat himself down across from her.

She hit her vape once she sat down, "Don't you know how bad that is for you?" Noah asked, looking at her.

"Everything's bad for you. If I wanna hit my blueberry flavored pen, I will" she smirked at him, and Noah held his hands up in defense.

"Fair enough." he nodded, a hint of a smile displayed on his lips.

They both looked up as the lights flickered, lots of screaming erupting from the house. Noah rolled his eyes at how dramatic the people his age were.

"I have no cell service up here, meaning I'm out this bitch" some girl hummed to her friend as they walked by, and Bailey looked at Noah, laughing at them. He surprised himself when he chuckled too, Bailey grinning when she heard it.

As the night went on, more people left, and the lights kept flickering. There was probably thirty or forty people left, as opposed to the original seventy or so, but Noah didn't notice as he talked to Bailey. Well, he mostly listened to her, but he didn't mind hearing her go on about how she loved playing tennis. Especially because he hadn't expected that from her. Or how she loved grilled cheese, that came up after she took a few more shots. The girl talked about grilled cheese for a solid twenty minutes.

Noah found himself enjoying her company a lot more than he originally thought he would.

"I like when people put ham on it. Yanno? Ham on grilled cheese is li-" Bailey was cut off when the lights flickered again, but this time they didn't flicker back on. The music had stopped, and suddenly it was pitch black.

"The fuck?" Bailey mumbled, and Noah could hear her hand hitting certain things, seeming to be reaching for his. He met her halfway and grabbed her hand, his thumb moving to rub the back of her hand.

Noah cleared his throat, "You alright?" he asked.

"Yeah, let's go find Naomi and Prissy and get out of here" she hummed, standing up and pulling Noah inside. A few people had found some candles and lanterns.

Bailey led him over to a familiar head of hair, the green being obvious to spot. "Prissy, where's Naomi?" Bailey asked. Prissy turned around, her smeared lipstick matching the boys lips who stood behind her.

"...Uh- she said she was going to the bathroom" Prissy slurred, clearly even more wasted than before. If that was even possible. "Hey, when did it get so dark?" She asked, looking around.

"When did she say that?" Noah asked for Bailey, seeing the frustration on her face.

Prissy turned to look at the guy she was making out with, who shrugged, and turned back to him and Bailey. "Well- It could have been five minutes, maybe twenty?" she offered with a smile.

Bailey groaned and walked over to the bathroom, seeing there was a line of people waiting. She knocked on the door loudly, "Naomi?" she yelled.

All she received was a groan in return. Bailey opened the door, grateful it wasn't locked, to see Naomi laying her head on the cool porcelain of the toilet.

"C'mere" Bailey hummed, helping her friend up, ignoring her grunts of protest. Noah grabbed Naomi's other arm, leading her out of the bathroom, Noah rolling his eyes when applause erupted from the line of people waiting. "Shut up" Bailey glared at them, leading Naomi back into the living room where Prissy sat on the couch.

They sat Naomi down next to Prissy, Bailey grabbing a garbage can and setting it in front of her. "Naomi give me your car keys" Bailey held her hand out.

"Here, I'll go warm the car up" Noah took the keys, Bailey looking at him appreciatively. As Noah walked towards the door, Anderson walked in, shaking his head at everyone. "Cars are snowed in. Nobody is leaving unless they walk" he announced, a lot of people groaning. It was getting cold with the heat off.

Noah walked back over to them. They could get in the car and use that for heat but he quickly came to the conclusion that doing that would definitely drain all Naomi's gas.

Bailey sighed, shaking her head. People were beginning to leave in pairs, but they both knew Prissy and Naomi wouldn't be up for that.

"Guess were staying the night" Bailey hummed, shivering as a chill ran down her spine. Noah quickly pulled his flannel off, handing her it. Why none of these girls wore coats or at least a jacket was beyond him. It wasn't like it hadn't been twenty five degrees all week.

She smiled at him, "What about you?".

Noah looked around, seeing a few blankets. He walked around the cabin, gathering up some blankets and finding water bottles, grabbing one for each of them. He grabbed a lantern and walked over to them, handing out the drinks and blankets. He sat on the chair across from them, wrapping up in the blanket.

"Now what?" Prissy asked, looking at them. Naomi was out like a light, curled up on the couch.

"We could play a game" he hummed, looking around. A few other staggered groups were getting comfortable in the cabin, realizing they'd be there for a while.

Everyone all looked up hearing a wolf howling, and Noah shuddered. "There are people, drunk and high people, walking out there right now" Bailey murmured, looking at Noah.

He nodded, "Yeah".

"So, a game?" Prissy asked, looking at them.

"The party doesn't have to stop" Anderson spoke up, loud enough for the last twenty-something people there to hear.

Everyone all seemed to look at each other, trying to feel out how others felt about the idea.

"I mean, he's right. This doesn't have to be boring just because we are all trapped here" another girl spoke up.

Noah looked over at Bailey who seemed unamused, and he stood up. "Grab Naomi" he hummed, picking up all of their stuff. He led the three girls into the hallway, opening up a door, pleased to find an empty bedroom.

Once all three of them were in the room he shut the door, Bailey and Prissy laying Naomi on one side of the bed. The three got comfortable on the floor.

There was a lot of loud noise coming from outside the room but the three ignored it. "A game?" Prissy reminded them.

Noah got up looking around the room, and checking drawers. He hummed finding a deck of cards. "Let's play Go Fish" Prissy grinned, Bailey rolling her eyes at her friend, but laughing and agreeing anyway.

Even though she suggested the game, Prissy grew bored and threw her cards on the floor, trudging over to the bed, "Bedtime" she hummed aloud, laying down.

Noah raised an eyebrow at her, Bailey shutting her eyes and laughing, her hand moving to cover her mouth.

"Why do you do that?" he asked, looking at her with a puzzled expression.

"Do what?"

"You cover your mouth when you laugh. Why?"

"Oh- I don't know"

"Oh".

They both sat in a comfortable silence for a few moments, before Noah spoke up. "You shouldn't... do that I mean. You have a nice smile" he murmured, shuffling the cards to occupy his hands.

He glanced up, not missing the light pink dusting her cheeks now had.

"Wanna see a magic trick?" he asked, smiling at her.

Bailey nodded, suddenly amused. Noah shuffled the cards quickly, knowing he was about to waste her time. But there was nothing really to do, so why not mess with her.

"Pick a card, any card" he smirked, holding them out.

"How original" Bailey rolled her eyes, pulling one out. "Can I look?" she asked.

After Noah nodded, she glanced at the card and pushed it back into the deck, smiling amused at him. He shuffled the cards again, sending little glances and fake shocked facial expressions her way as he did so, causing the giggles he'd grown to enjoy to erupt from her.

He looked at the cards as he spread them out on the floor. He pulled one out, flipping it over and grinning. "Was this your card?" he asked, holding the card up towards her. Her jaw dropped, and for a second Noah thought she was messing with him.

"How did you-?" she asked, confused. Noah flipped the card over to look at it, seeing a King of Spades. He raised his eyebrows, looking back up at her. Sure, he could tell her it was a complete coincidence, but something about that didn't sit right with him.

"Magic" he grinned, and Bailey laughed loudly, smacking his arm, causing him to laugh with her.

"Shut up!" Noah heard Naomi groan, a pillow then smacking Bailey in the face. They both laughed even harder, covering their mouths as if that would make it any quieter.

Noah and Bailey sat together in the dark that night, faces lit up by the dim light from the old lantern, accompanied by Prissy's snoring and the loud yelling from the party outside the room. But neither of them minded, and if they woke up that morning with sore necks from sleeping on the floor next to each other, they didn't mind that either.

That morning, Noah grabbed his bike from Naomi's trunk, walking towards the side of the car. "I'll see you Monday?" Bailey asked, a smile on her lips.

Noah nodded, smiling, waving to Bailey, Naomi and Prissy as they pulled off.

If Noah strolled past his step-dad that morning, and headed right up the stairs with a smile on his lips, ignoring the snarky comment Will had made, nobody had to know.

If Noah pulled the King of Spades playing card out of his back pocket, and set it on his desk, nobody had to know that either.