It’s been 2 weeks since the party. The schools are still whispering rumors about what happened, but most have died down. The most popular theory was aliens, but as a few students may know…it was a planned attack. Not that it matters to Casey. All Casey cares about from that night is Max. Max- who was known to help some shady business going on in the cafeteria back bathroom. Max who was the most stunning person they’ve ever seen. Max. The person they absolutely failed to impress.
Casey had been avoiding seeing Max since the party took place. Their absolute failure at flirting made them so horribly embarrassed, they hadn't checked social media for the last few days. It was a bit helpful that the rumors were taking up most of the attention, but Casey couldn't be sure that no one was talking about them, so they didn't bother to look.
For Max it’s his day off from helping Daun, and has just sat down to enjoy his lunch, writing vague and illegible scribbles on a notebook as he eats. As usual the cafeteria buzzes, mostly around Casey because of course. To the sidelines is our ever present detective in the case. A lovely Kenneth Quinn. He actually purposely started the alien rumor so that he could focus on solving what actually happened. Today he has a lead. He knows both Max and Casey were there when it happened and he may have some questions.
Kenny is writing erratically in his journal, jotting down every possibility he can think of. Despite the alien rumor, it's not actually off the table, and is more of the likely situations he has thought up the past two weeks. He sits in a chair at the local library, in a back section where not many eyes pry.
Casey decides to hide out in the library. However, despite trying so desperately to hide, Casey had an unfortunate ability of attracting attention wherever they went. A student volunteer quickly walks up to them.
“Are you Casey Briar?” She seems way too excited.
The sudden question startled them away from their book with a yelp. Casey looked at the girl and gave a nervous giggle, "Uhm, yeah. Can I help you?"
The girl sits down next to them even if she wasn’t invited to do so. “I just- well you-“ she giggles.
“I was wondering if I could give you my number? You’re just. Well I mean you’re Casey Briar and it’s so hard to ever find you alone.” Her face is red and she keeps leaning in closer “I just think you’re really cute…”
Kenny can hear their conversation from across the room. He keeps his journal open, but is focusing on listening, occasionally glancing towards Casey and the fangirl.
As the girl spoke, Casey's face got more and more red. "I-"
Although their usual 'royalty-like' appearance was what they tried to portray, they never got used to confessions like these. "N-no, I'm not really- uhm, interested." It came out much more bitchy than they intended, fuck. "N-not that you're not adorable, I'm just worried you'll get hurt if people see you're taking all my attention." They gave a cheeky grin and kissed her forehead before grabbing their book, putting it back, and walking off.
The girl looks disappointed and slumps. As Casey walks away, they turn to leave- only to see your usual cloud of “friends” walking into the library looking around. They have not shut up about the party and have perfected the sport of hunting you down. Dealing with them would be a handful, but not impossible. Their only choices being to face the crowd or dive deeper in the books.
Casey sees a somewhat familiar face nearby. From where you recognize it you aren’t sure, but they aren’t staring at you with admiration. Actually, he seems to be glaring at the book he's trying to pretend to read.
Casey weighs their options and chooses to face the crowd. Kenny sees Casey walk up to the group of people that just entered the library. He shuts his journal and moves closer, behind a bookshelf, peering at the scene unfolding as Casey's friends begin to talk. The swarm of friends spots Casey quickly and runs forward to meet them. Almost grasping at Casey, they start to pull them towards the exit again.
“Oh my gosh! Casey you silly did you forget how to get to the cafeteria again?”
“You look absolutely great today.”
“Have you heard the newest rumor? Something about villains at the party or some shit? I keep telling people it was just old pipes”
"I saw fighting!”
“No you did not!”
They shuttle Casey back to the cafe. It’s loud and booming but once back into the open area, Casey catches a glimpse of Max sitting alone, lost in his notebook. The many voices jumbled together, giving Casey a headache. There they saw the one person they really didn't want to meet. Internally, they groaned at the situation, and just crossed their fingers that Max wouldn't notice them there. They just focused on trying to answer their friends.
"I heard that there was a racoon that fucked with the trash."
“Not to mention someone ate all the fucking sandwiches. Literally hundreds of sandwiches gone within like ten fucking minutes.”
“Some many weird things happened that night. You’ll never believe what someone said about you Casey-“
“don’t bother them with that!”
They just keep fucking going. Sadly the small peace you had Max is interrupted as this tidal wave of chatter hits the scene. And in the middle, the person who passed out in front of you at the party.
Max is currently staring at his phone, furiously texting Daun, who won’t stop badgering him about this and that.
Daun: Don’t forget to tattoo that dickhead in 5 🥰 also charge him extra I hate his ass.
Max: Isn’t he the other guy you are seeing? The fuck is wrong with you?
Daun: I needed him to make Jordan jealous.
Also kinda a good kisser.
I’m not ashamed
…
Daun: Do you know where I left my math textbook? I think I lost it.
Max: Dude Jordan was always gonna be jealous he’s an asshole.
Also, you literally know that you only ever call people good kissers when they aren’t your primary partner
m Not dumb, I can see patterns, I know when a person actually likes a guy, and this isn’t it
And who the fuck did you sell to that you told me never to sell too, don’t think I don't know how that particular text works either.
Bad enough you have me selling shit for you. Which like I never wanted to do
But then you have me remember who we are and aren’t selling to each week depending on your whims
Half these guys walk up to me the day after selling to them completely unaware that you blacklisted them? Do you ever bother letting the boys know, or is it just two weeks cold turkey before you realize they were actually cool this whole time
Like I don’t mind the work but I’m getting really tired of the petty drama
I just wanna help people you know?
Daun: Look…I’m sorry. Things have been. Weird lately. I seem to be much better at making problems than solving them.
Max: Your math textbook is in your back up bag. I knew you’d forget you put it there so I took special note.
Daun: Lol of course it is….thank you Max.
Max: It’s fine just like, give me the goss, but stop expecting me to get mad for you, cool? I bet I wouldn’t even get mad if I was the one getting mistreated (read not getting responded to for 10 mins) by a dude, so it’s hard for me to do it in your behalf I'm not
mad it just, it can be a lot sometimes:)
Daun: Alright MOM I get it. I’m going back to bed. Thank you for talking to me. I’ll see you Monday, I’ll finally be back! Ttyl.
Max: See ya kid
Max glances up and notices Casey near their table. "Oh hey Casey, Jesus, how are you? How's your arm?"
Casey is caught off guard by Max, whipping their head around to meet him. "Oh- It's fine, d-don't worry. I got it checked out and it was just a sprain!" They looked everywhere other than directly at Max.
The group surrounding Casey seem to be quiet when they speak and part ways so they have more direct line of sight with Max.
Max sighs, relieved. “Oh, good. Lucky eh? I mean did you see the size of the fuckin dent? I was drunk off my a- “ Max looks around for teachers. “I mean, I uhh I was a little out of it and I was still super worried for you.” Max notices Casey isn’t really saying much.
"Worried about me? Pff- why? I'm fine, see?" They smack their arm to prove it was fine. Too hard. They winced. "I was just- uh, nervous,"
Kenny is stationed at an unassuming lunch table, listening in, and cringes from afar.
“ So uh, anyways, it's crazy, I didn't see you much at the end of the party, one second I was on the stairs and I saw y-, well I don't know what I saw I was pretty uh…” Max glances at a teacher. “out of it but next thing you know someone had fucking pushed me head first into the flooding water and by the time I am really up again everyone was gone and it was dark.” He pauses. “Anyway I just wanted to apologize…”
“Like, you must have been so embarrassed by my actions all night, right? Like even now I can see you're cringing about it,”
The group now start to talk with themselves, seeming to have lost their interest in Casey for the moment.
“You know I swear I saw Casey in the basement at the party when shit went down.”
“Shut up, that's impossible, they were on the first level with us you dunce.”
“I know but it could have been the aliens!”
“You are so fucking stupid.”
Max shifts in their seat. “You? But I was so excited to make a new friend, and instead I got so drunk and confused I didn't even get to see you walk in the basement. I mean I, I think I saw two if ya, but, if I am honest I am not even sure you were there at that point. Maybe no one even pushed me and I fell over on my own... It's embarrassing.”
“Two of me?? haha you must've been super out of it haha” Casey is sweating bullets trying to act like it’s nothing.
”Who are they talking to?”
“You know, Max. They work in the back bathroom. With the girl who sells forged shit. Max is the tattoo kid.”
“Oooo I heard they got in a fight though.”
“Who cares.”
“Actually speaking, I need a doctor's note soon to get out of that test.”
“Daun isn’t here today. I think I heard she was sick.”
“Anyway, I am super sorry for all of that and for you getting your wrist sprained and everything, and just, hey if ever you need a favor back, Daun made me print out these dumb business cards, so uh you can contact me here.” Max hands Casey a business card.
The business card shows a small icon of a bathroom stall with graffiti. In big letters: “Inking Emporium.” And under that “Where you can get inked or buy ink in the form of a signature! Wink!” Along with two phone numbers.
Casey takes it. “Oh- thank you, the card is.. Cute.”
“Anyway, I see you already want this conversation to be over, hey?” Max stands up, gathering their things. “I’ll head on out, get out of your hair and all that. I think I have an extra client I'm supposed to be inking today anyway, but I don’t know for sure, Daun never lets me keep an itinerary for “ infosec” or whatever the fuck.” They laugh nervously.
“No, wait- “ Casey grabs Max’s arm. “Do you.. Want my number? I actually really like talking with you…”
The cafeteria almost seems to grind to a stop. Everyone around seems to have dazed out, but no one looks at Max and Casey. Almost no one.
Max stares at Casey. “Yeah, um, feel free to give me your number, I would be happy to chat again, if you’re comfortable.”
They smile, “Of course I am.” Casey holds out their hand for Max’s phone.
“I uh don’t think I'm allowed to keep phone numbers in my work phone though. Same infosec stuff. It’s fine if not, like, I may have a piece of paper somewhere at the bottom of my bag, I would just feel super bad if I lost it before I memorized the number, y’know?”
“How about your arm? Do you have a pen?”
“Yeah sure thing, it’s in the right pocket of my bag, one sec.” Max rummages through their bag and pulls out a pen, handing it to Casey.
Casey writes their number on Max’s arm in perfect cursive.
Casey's so-called friends are still talking among themselves.
”Bro did I tell you about that one kid who did the magic trick for us?”
“The card kid?”
“Yeah! Straight up magic, like they musta had some fishing wire.”
“Not to mention they were one of the last people to leave the house.”
“Oooo maybe they saw aliens too… we should ask them.”
A friend roughly throws an arm around Casey's shoulder and says “Alright prince let’s get going, class is gonna start soon!” They get pulled away just as they finish writing down their number.
"Oh- shit, I didn't even realize the time." Casey follows their friend out, wanting to look back at Max.
Max goes to wave, but decides against it. He shifts his hand against the back of hair as he looks at them leaving with their friends. As Casey leaves, Kenny makes his way to where Max is sitting and sits at their table. If he’s going to learn anything about the party and what went down, he has to start asking questions and getting to the bottom of things. He sets down his lunch tray which consists of only a can of orange juice and a sandwich.
Max turns away from Casey’s direction and is met with an abrupt visitor. He notices this kid is a bit rough around the edges and has a notebook gripped in hand full of scribbled notes. Kenny sits in silence and waits for Max to say something first. He’s attempting to look stoic and cool, but comes off more as a sleep deprived paranoid, staring at Max with intent to talk, but isn’t saying anything. He should’ve thought this through better.
"Can I help you?" Max asks.
Kenny is about to answer when Max interjects. “Ohhhh- you must be the guy Daun isn’t dating. Big spender, huh? It’s okay you can pay me after. Come on, we’re going to the bathroom." Max stands up from the lunch table.
Kenny is taken aback, confused. "Uh, what? No- I need to ask you-" Kenny is cut off by Max walking far in the lead of him. They eventually arrive at the boy’s bathroom stall near the library.
Max sets down a metal carrying case. "Now I know what you had in mind and paid for, but-I have a few more details I can get to stay than the average artist yeah? So just trust the process kid, it’ll be alright. Want a drink?" Max hands over a 40.
Kenny is severely confused. "Wh-what process, sorry? Oh uh sure-"
“Alright you just sit there on the seat, a little weird I know but I promise it’s sterile." Max starts unpacking his equipment. "Daun won’t let me do this elsewhere, says it’ll ruin the aesthetic, you know how she is."
"What- what is going on?" Kenny’s questions fall on deaf ears, Max is too focused on setting up. He looks at the drink he’s been handed, not recognizing the brand. He takes a sip of the alcohol. He spits it in the toilet when Max turns around, and sets the can on the counter.
"Now okay kid I know you are really nervous but it’s going to be okay." Max pulls on a pair of black rubber gloves and rolls up his sleeves. “We can even talk the whole time while I work, sounds good?"
Daun: Asshole just canceled the appointment.
Found my math textbook too. And a bag of trail mix. Score!
"Look kid, you want the tattoo or not? I know you and Daun have been talking about this for weeks and that you are super wishy washy about it." Max sighs out of frustration.
"But I fucking promise you it will be the best damn tattoo of your life okay? Better than any you’ve ever seen. So just lift your shirt up and let me work on sterilizing your chest, or get the fuck out right now."
“Tattoo? What? No- I’m not here for a tattoo, I just wanted to talk to you-”
Max buries his head in his hands. “No no no no no NO- I don’t wanna deal with these negotiations.” He paces angrily. “Daun promised I wouldn’t have to do this shit! The deal was you guys figure it out on your own and I just do the damn tattoo.” “Look kid-”
He stops and checks his phone.
“-How the fuck did you get Daun to cancel while we were talking??? Did you text her behind your back while we were chatting?”
“What? No. How is- how is that even possible?”
“Look, I’m so fucking confused, do you want the dragon tattoo on your chest or not?”
Kenny whispers under his breath, “Wait, that sounds cool actually…”
“I should hope you think so, it was your goddamn ideaI’ve been sending you sketches through Daun for like 2 weeks now. I'm kinda impressed you’ve managed to keep her attention this long honestly. No offense or anything. She's just… well… you would know, being her other other boyfriend and all…”
“What?? Other other? Like meaning three?? Who even is this person??”
“Oh shit you didn’t know? I'm so sorry uhhhhh fuck. How the fuck didn’t you know? Doesn’t she make y’all meet up to talk about her every once in a while???”
“No, no- okay look- I'm not here to get a tattoo”.
Max throws up their hands. “FUCKING HELL! Ughhhhhhhhhh”
“Okay- okay, I'll explain things.”
Max leans against the wall next to the sinks, clearly bothered. “Alright kid. Now you’ve wasted the goddamn bottles of ink I prepared for you. What’s up? What are you going to explain? I'm waiting…”
Kenny sighs. “Two weeks ago, there was a party. The whole house ended up getting flooded, and everyone evacuated. Except for you, you were still in the house after everyone left, right? So, I need you to tell me what you remember. Any of it, all of it.”
“Dude why would I tell you any of that? What are you, a goddamn cop?” Max scoffs.
“Look I- it's important, I need to know. And no, I'm not a cop.”
“Kid, I’m gonna need some motivation here. I mean fuck, I’m starting to think you aren’t even dating Daun.”
“Honestly I have no clue who this Daun person is.”
“Dammit.” he runs his hand through his hair, clearly stressed and frustrated. “So uh, What’s your name again kid?”
“My name?” Kenny takes a second to think. “It's uh, Kirby.”
Max squints at him. “That’s a dumb name kid, no offense.”
“Sorry your parents named you that.”
“I thought it sounded kinda cool…”
The room is silent. Kenny isn’t leaving without information. There was a hero at the party, and he’s sure of it. More so, he’s sure it was Casey.
“Look. Why would I talk to ya, Kirby? Especially after this god damned mess. This has just been a waste of time. I mean- fuck. Even if I wanted to tell you what happened, I was uh, out of it- let’s say. What good is my testimony?”
“It's a start. If I get a tattoo, will you tell me what you remember?”
“Can you even afford one of my tattoos?”
“Does 16$ get me anything?”
Max laughs out loud. “Kid, $16 doesn’t even pay for sterilized materials…” Max considers the request anyways. “Buuuut seeing as they are already out anyways, I suppose I can take it.
What do you want and how much are you willing to spend when all is said and done?”
“Fuck, I don't know. Depends if I can find enough cash around-”
“Ugh- look, the damn needle practically wants to jump out of my hands. Just tell me what you want, you can figure out paying me the debt later. I don’t mind collecting in 3-4 years when you have a real job, Daun has ways, you know? You couldn’t screw me if you wanted to”
“Sure, only if you tell me what you know. Right?”
“Yeah sure kid, now what do you want for the tattoo?”
Kenny flips to a page in his notebook, staring at the blank page trying to think of something to draw. Then, a vision. An eye. Like the one he saw between the sky, when he first fell into Castle Roe. He’s not sure why or what it means, but he draws it out and hands it to Max.
Max takes the scrap paper. “Oh sick, that’s super cool actually. Got a good drawing hand on you kid.”
Kenny sits on a toilet seat and positions his notebook on his leg, with his pen in his opposite hand and his other hand outstretched for the tattoo soon to be on his forearm.
“So yeah uh, not much to tell kid.”
“Who did you go with? Did you see anything strange happen, or any strange individuals?”
“I didn’t go with no one, Kirby. Lone wolf, Awooo and all, ya get me, kid?”
“Hey why do you keep calling me kid? Aren't we the same age?”
“Cause you’re a kid, kid.”
“Anyway, we spent like- the rest of the evening trying to treat the sprained wrist you know? And I guess I must’ve kept drinking because I was seeing double for a second there, and then someone pushed me, or I fell, or whatever because next thing I know I’m in the flood water in the basement and it’s dark and everyone’s gone. And that’s all there is to it.”
“Saw double- what do you mean by that?”
“I was just super drunk, so I saw two of Casey. I mean fuck I might have fallen on my own. I really don’t know, it was kinda a mess.”
He knew it. There’s some kind of doppelganger. Or maybe a shapeshifter? “Did they look identical? No differences between them? Any other unusual things you noticed?”
“It’s hard to remember after the shock of being in the cold water sobered me up. Dude, I'm pretty sure that I was just drunk and confused. The two Casey’s looked exactly the same.” Max leans back. “Anyway, your tattoo is done.”
“Is there any way I can get in contact with Casey?”
Kenny eyes Max’s arm. He sets down his pen and turns it over, revealing Casey’s pristine handwriting. “Mind if I write it down?”
Max slaps his hand away. “Back off kid, I said no.” He pulls his sleeve back over his arm. “I told you what I know about that night. That was the deal. Casey has nothing to do with it. Now, here is Daun’s business card.”
Kenny takes it and pockets it.
“She’ll be getting into touch with you about the invoice.”
Max: new tattoo, standard detail, 2 inch square area, kids name is Kirby, you know the invoice stuff
Daun: Fuck yeah. New customer. Great job, needle! I’ll get in touch with him later.
Max: Gonna go attend my classes, talk later
Max starts to pack up. “Tell anyone who wants a tattoo where you got yours.”
“Read the business card kid, she has a special phrase she likes to use.”
The business card shows a small icon of a bathroom stall with graffiti. In big letters “Inking Emporium.” And under that “Where you can get inked or buy ink in the form of a signature! Wink!” Along with two phone numbers.
Kenny gives Max a nod and leaves the bathroom, trying to put together everything that just happened. He looks at the tattoo. It blinks. At least, Kenny could have sworn it did. But then again he hasn’t slept in 32 hours. He can feel his heart quicken. He pulls down the sleeve of his jacket and puts up his hood, stepping outside to get some fresh air.
