The lights blare, maybe only a smidge less than how high the bass of the music is playing—the volume reverberating throughout the frat house you were in. It’s a Saturday night, and that means a new college party. You originally came with two of your other friends, before they both branched out and left you stranded to navigate this party. The air smelled like alcohol, weed, and sin. You grimaced as you walked past the couch—trying to advert your eyes from the view of a pair of college students making out.

You could finally get a breath of fresh air once you made your way upstairs, inhaling deep and letting it hold in your chest before exhaling. Behind you, barely heard footsteps approached you. Then, a hand on your shoulder. This made you jerk, letting out a gasp as you turned around and the perpetrator quickly snatched his hand away.

“Sorry—I didn’t mean to startle you.” It was Choso. You two had known eachother for years. He was wearing some tank top from a metal band, exposing his intricately inked skin. His fingers and wrists were adorned in rings and bracelets, and, on his neck, a few necklaces. “But I didn’t think I’d see you in a party like this anytime soon. Didn’t you come with anybody?” He asked, trying to speak above the blaring music and looking around for your friends.