“That shitstone!”, Serena yelled and kicked my bean bag in fury, “I will burn him with gasoline”, she waved a fist around, perfectly impersonating Hitler but then abruptly turned around and looked at me with an evil smile on her face, “How about I feed him the diamonds from his precious watches”, she snaps her finger like it was the best idea she has ever had, “That will kill him, right?”, She asks eagerly.

I heaved a big sigh and fell back on my bed, staring morosely at the ceiling, “ What’s a shitstone anyway?”I wondered aloud, not the most important thing to focus on right now, but I was having a hard time digesting the other big elephant in the room.

A.k.a my boyfriend of four long, hard years, breaking up with me over text, completely out of the blue.

“It’s like when a piece of shit is left out in the open for a long time and it hardens”, Serena oh-so-graciously provided me with the grossest imagery known to humankind. My nose wrinkled in disgust and I shook my head at the ceiling, closing my eyes.

“Sooooo, about those diamonds? I am serious, you know”, came her matter-of-fact voice again, as she flopped down on the bed beside me, making me jostle. I reluctantly opened my eyes and shrieked in fright when I found her face inches from mine, staring at me creepily.

“Get off of me”, I mumbled, shoving her aside and sitting back up again, “And I don't think the diamonds are real anyways”,  I said, gathering my hair into a messy bun atop my head and cracking my fingers.

“Hah, I knew it!”, she pumped her fist in delight, “So, we are back to the gasoline again, huh?”, she sat up beside me as well and hugged me from the side. I let out a tired chuckle at her antics and leaned my head against her shoulder.

“You never liked him anyway, why are you so mad?”, I craned my neck to look at her.

“Obviously I didn’t like him but you did and now he has broken your heart and the best friend code says I must kill him or at least dismember him to some degree”, she trailed off at the end, looking deep in thought as if she was actually contemplating Shawn’s dismemberment. 

I couldn't help but laugh at the murderous look on her face. I hugged her side tightly and leaned my chin on her shoulder, “No need to murder or dismember him, we will just burn his stuff in the firepit and call it a day”, My words came out a little muffled but the ear-piercing squeal she let out was confirmation enough that she heard me loud and clear. 

“You know what?”, she excitedly jumped from the bed, “We should go out to a bar or something, get hammered and flirt with guys”, she suggested as she rummaged through my closet looking for God knows what. 

I groaned, “Can't we just stay in, eat junk food and watch a movie?”,  I offered hopefully. I so not wanted to go out tonight. 

“Nope”, she replied with finality, however, “You need to drown your sorrows and get over that asshole. Flirting with a cute stranger is just the boost you need”, she pulled out a black dress from the recesses of my closet and threw it at me, “ Chop chop”, she went back to rummaging through my closet, probably looking for something for herself.

I groaned loudly again and looked at the clock, “ It’s eight right now, too early”, I inspected the dress she had thrown at me. I don't even remember when I had worn it last time, or the last time I had put any real effort into my appearance. I had gotten too comfortable. Maybe that’s why Shawn broke up with me. I mean, we have barely gone on dates for the past year, unless going to the grocery store counts. Maybe if I had……

A finger snapped right in front of my face, bringing me out of my reverie. “I know you’re thinking about that f**kturd”, Serena's nostrils flared. “Look, I know it's early, but let's start getting ready. Looking the bestest version of ourselves is going to take some time, then we will go to the pizza place at the corner and eat the greasiest, unhealtiest and yummiest pizza they have on the menu and then we'll go to the club to have the best night of our lives”. She finished on a deep breath.

“Pizza doesn't sound too bad right now”, I mumbled reluctantly, fingering the hem of my black dress. I'd probably keep thinking about Shawn if I stay in so maybe Serena is right. I took a deep breath. 

“Let’s go”.

“Holy Crow! This is awesome, Marcus”, I gushed, taking a second bite of the most delicious pizza in all of New York. Serena had ordered the “most greeseist, yummiest and unhealthiest pizza you could find”, as soon as we entered The Italian Village. It was just down the block from my apartment and I had eaten there countless times since I moved here five years ago.

By the time we had finished the pizza, I had gulped down at least five Bellinis and was more than a little tipsy. Serena was munching on her slice with a lazy smile on her face. Yeah, she was drunk. 

“Maybe we should call it a night and go home”, I hesitantly suggested to Serena who was looking out the glass window. Her neck snapped toward me so fast, that I was worried she'd get whiplash for a moment.

“Don't you dare bow out! Aren't you having a good time?”, she wagged her finger in front of my face. Although her voice was furious, I might have detected a slight undercurrent of hurt in her tone. I knew she was going out of her way to cheer me up and make me have a good time and I felt like an asshole for being ungrateful.

“You know what?”I took hold of her palm in between mine and squeezed, “Let’s go to the Raven”, it was a nightclub three blocks away.  Neither of us had been there before but I had heard pretty wild stories about it. 

Serena perked up immediately. “Really?”, she bounced in her seat from excitement.

We paid the bill and decided to walk the three blocks. We were both stumbling on the footpath, giggling no reason, probably making a fool of ourselves. I didn't care though. I had decided to have fun tonight when I offered Serena to go to the Raven. I deserved it.

I kind of missed spending time with my bestie without even realizing it. We used to do this almost every weekend when we were in college. But I guess life got in the way after we graduated. Both of our routines were tough. Her, as an engineer in one of New York's largest firms, and I as a lawyer. I typically worked twelve-hour shifts during weekdays and sometimes on weekends too. That kind of routine doesn’t leave much room for fun.

I looked over at Serena as we stumbled along. Her short hairs were teased in a messy style and the silver dress she had chosen from my closet fit her perfectly. We were the same size after all. We used to swap clothes all the time in college when we shared a dorm room.

I had gone with Knee-high black boots along with my tiny black dress, choosing to leave my long, wavy brown hair down. I had also applied a sinfully dark red lipstick on Serena's insistence and a smokey eyeshadow. In short, I looked nothing like myself. I think I like it. It's been so long since I've felt sexy.

As we enter the dark club, I realize that I haven't thought about Shawn for the past five hours. Hmmmmm. Serena might be on to something after all.

Little did I know, that this seemingly ordinary night would set in motion a chain of events that would completely turn my world upside down.