Joy smelled alcohol strongly, along with cigarettes and something sweet enough to make her nauseous. She looked for the boy who put her in the middle of that hurricane and he was already about ten steps away inside the huge house.

- Joy ! -The girl jumped to her feet, as if she had received a shock. An unknown boy beside her laughed. -What are you doing here? -The person who called him appeared over his shoulder.

-Oh. Hi Lais . - He shouted back to the redhead and happily received the friendly hug. The smile on her colleague's face made Joy more comfortable in the crowd.

-You arrived now? We're having a drinking contest, if you'd like to participate. -The screams were thin and competed with the music to know who would reach Joy 's ears first .

When she heard that, she wondered if it would really be better to leave. He felt a minimum desire to get drunk inside himself... He didn't have it, it was a non-existent desire. So she looked crookedly at her friend and answered in her ear.

-I pass. - With a smile, she shifted her weight on her feet.

-You who knows, but come with me. -The other exclaimed in her ear and soon after dragged Joy through the place.

- Hey ! -A tall boy with curly hair called her. Thin lips and impeccable smile welcomed her into his arms.

-Mateus! What's up?- With even more relief, he hugged his colleague.

-I'm great . And you?- Joy shook her head and replied that she was fine. And then Mateus looked her up and down.- From the looks of it, there's no perfect look to rock, right, beloved?! -The other's speech made the girl laugh, and look at the clothes she was going to put on to sleep, but which, by chance, was now parading in the middle of a party.

-What matters is comfort, isn't it? -Matthew laughed and made a "positive" sign with his hand.

-Do you want some? -The cry made the smallest look at the colleague's hand, which he raised, and frowned.

The liquid swayed, shimmering in the colored lights inside the clear but blue glass. It could be anything. Mateus saw the other's disgusted expression and approached with a playful smile in the other's ear.

-Personally speaking, this is really horrible. But after a few sips it tastes much better. -As he said that, he watched the girl make an expression of mockery. And then she declined with a shake of her head and hands.

Her main question was about to come out of her lips when she felt an arm fold into her own and pull her back. She was slightly bewildered in the middle of so many people, and when she turned around, she saw that it was Marie. The girl, now blonde, looked at her with astonishment and anxiety, it seemed that she was facing God in his final judgment. The black girl couldn't help but smile, with the funny alien expression.

- Hey ! Louis said you were here. Will stay? -The blonde with short, straight hair smiled, finally letting go of her colleague.

Friendly. Until. Too much. Joy always wondered if Marie's treatment of everyone was normal. She shrugged and answered the question asked by the other, saying she didn't know.

-I was wondering, who was the crazy person they told me at the door. I see you've planned another party. - Joy smiled openly for realizing the situation.

-Ah yes... But we won't be long, I promise. It's a holiday celebration party, so I hope you understand. - It seemed that the other had prepared to justify herself to the brunette.

The taller one just wrinkled her forehead, not understanding what vacation she was talking about. He looked around and realized that some of them were his classmates from school, the same ones who, along with Joy and Marie, still had three weeks left for vacation. As she turned to the other, she noted how anxious she was, rolling her wrists in a nervous motion, and when Joy leaned over to ask if she was all right, she jumped back.

Two seconds passed in which Marie, with wide eyes, felt cornered, glimpsing the other's face, which looked confused. She turned to the other colleagues who were sitting on one of the sofas in the large room, talking to other people, and lightly tugged on the shirt sleeve of the mousy-haired boy .

-Quick license. -Told Mateus and Lais that they were excited talking to other people that Joy had never seen before.

They made hand signals, accepting the theft of their older colleague's presence. Marie acted with quick movements, and grabbed the other by the wrist, dragging her upstairs.

-Where are we going? - Joy exclaimed over the party's own exclamations.

-A place where we don't need to shout! - Marie turned in two seconds to the other, and kept pace through the house.

Joy let herself be carried away, as it was her opportunity to ask for what she wanted. The staircase was a spiral, but instead of handrails and some steps, there were people, so it was difficult not to trip over anyone. The eldest finally observed how the blonde girl was all dressed up, and smiled at the realization that she had broken the dress code, which she had never had access to. She wondered all the way, what the other wanted with her.

They were walking down the hall almost quickly when the blonde stopped in front of a gray door and Joy saw her burst inside. There was a group of people in the room, in lively conversation, so they barely paid attention to who entered. Marie turned to the brunette and with slightly wide eyes, she smiled. Joy pressed her lips together, forcing a smile and waited, curious.

-Sorry about the noise. I couldn't have the party at my house, so I had to borrow Juan's. -The way the girl spoke made her seem futile and childish. -Was anyone worried at your house? - So that was it , thought the eldest.

-It was just a little high. No one but me seemed to notice. -There was no one but her inside your house. - But if you can...

-So it is good. Apologies, I'll ask you to calm down. Marie rotated her wrist twice more, then pressed her palms together.

-Ah, okay ... But this holiday thing...

-I'm moving ahead, because I'm going to travel before the end of classes. -In a hurry, the blonde interrupted the other. Very. Ready. Joy couldn't control her distrust. -But will you stay?- Joy took the question as a challenge. Translated as "Could you leave now?"

-When I'm invited, who knows, Marie. The voice was sarcastic and pointed, getting control of the other's face which twisted into a grimace and then a quick smile.

Joy waited for the other to stop staring at her as if she was waiting for the answers to the world. And then finally the blonde headed towards the bedroom door, seeming to struggle for a friendly smile as she left the brunette behind. Before leaving, he turned and asked:

-Did the police travel? -The face of false interest, didn't buy it for the eldest.

-So it is. -Joy 's never-existent interest in the other's friendship has waned considerably.

-Stay there and enjoy. You are my guest.

Within two seconds, Joy found herself static inside an unfamiliar room with unfamiliar people and in scant clothing. She shook her head analyzing the situation and shrugged, she wasn't that worried.

He left the room and came face to face with a greenish girl and got a little scared. Her hair was blood red and she had a completely black dress covering her. She was talking to a boy, who had his back to Joy , but she realized it was the boy who had let her into the party. He was heading towards them, when the redhead noticed his presence and looked beyond the boy in front of him.

- See , I wasn't the only one who got it wrong. -Pointing a finger at Ariel Frankenstein, which made the boy look back.

-’Sup. - Joy said, getting close to the unknown-known.

-Did you also hear that it was a costume party? -The girl's voice, which she had never seen before that moment, surpassed the sound that marked the beats in the ground below them.

-Ah... I didn't know about the party, until it woke me up with a fright. -Said and the yellow smile paralyzed the redhead.

-I never said it was a costume party. - The boy raised an eyebrow to the other. And with both of them looking at the redhead with regret and amusement, she frowned even more.

-Oh no. -With a cry, the stranger left the hall opening and closing several doors, until finally finding what appeared to be a bathroom. She was going to wipe off the ink she'd worked so hard to stick to her skin.

- Looks like she went to clean up. - Joy stated aloud.

She was now genuinely feeling like an observer of a new world. He looked at the boy beside him, his expression less tortured than when he entered the house. And the light haired boy smiled slightly at that.

-Do you want to go drink something? -He offered to leave close to her, walking backwards as he went towards the stairs. A beautiful movie scene , thought the brunette.

Joy read the suggestion on the other person's face and avoided a grimace, because as much as she wanted to start a flirtation, she was still unsure if it would end well. He smiled after two seconds of thinking, and looked up at the ceiling, as if analyzing the question.

-No. - He finally said, and smiled. Innocent as a child when he said that his aunt's baby was as ugly as a knee.

-No? -The boy stopped where he was, and Joy saw his mask falling for a second. He smiled wider and shook his head in a positive sign.

-I do not drink. He pouted and lifted his shoulders, along his forearms, palms up.

-Oh, okay .

Joy saw the other giving up, and realized that she followed a path that she always followed: withdrawal. Push others away, with their own preferences. She thought she could make a little effort, since he was a boy, who, as incredible as it seemed to her, had already invited her twice in the same night.

When evaluating the expression of others, of someone who was thinking of a way to escape and never look her in the face again; his face looked very familiar for a second, and then she got serious.

-I know you. -An affirmation that came out unintentionally, in place of the interrogation.

-Perhaps. -The other looked at her and wondered if it was true. Joy analyzed the circumstances, trying to figure out if he was from high school, from some corner store, or if his expression was simply familiar.

-I don't want to drink, really. I wouldn't even stay, but I think I accidentally forced the hostess to invite me to stay, so... I consider myself a terrorist crasher. -With a grimace he approached the free part at the beginning of the stairs crowded with people. He was two steps away from the taller one, and he stared at her as he analyzed what she had said.

-I invited you too, so you're a special guest. -The smile on the other's face made him not comment on the depth of her speech.

-Wow, I found the princess and the prince, then? It is a pleasure, Your Excellency. And a thousand. Apologies. For my dress. -With a slight bow forward, the girl laughed at her own actions, being followed by the other.

-But you're perfect, don't worry. -The blonde's smile referred to how the body looked much more sensual in that big blouse, which made it impossible to know about the existence of the shorts underneath, unless she was bending over, or lifting the blouse. But the boy was happier that way, as it gave more view to the girl's beautiful dark legs.

-Hum... My eyes are tasty to observe too. - The other's face lit with humor, but he refrained from commenting more than an apology. -Well... I think I may have found a solution...

The boy waited and then the other approached with a smile, and raised her hand to the height of his chest. It looked like she was asking for something, and he was confused, which reacted in his eyebrows and the corner of his lips.

-Can I borrow your coat, please? I'm a little cold, and I live far away. - The face molded itself to a pitying look.

He looked steadily into the dark eyes, avoiding his own, once again, down the other's body. The curves that jumped out and made him want to reach out and touch her, told him that covering her was a mistake. She poked him lightly in the chest, on top of his coat. He sensed in that instant, in that smile, that defiant expression, that the other wasn't much interested in drinks or dancing.

-But you don't know? The party is fantasy. He smiled and took the other's finger, pulling it out of his clothes.

-Go fuck yourself. -Ariel exclaimed when leaving the bathroom and hearing the blonde's sentence.