Ashton's eyes trailed over the last question he was working on, looking back to his notes for the answer he acquired earlier in class. The area of his room stood quiet, and the workspace of his desk held nothing but a binder filled with notes, his laptop containing the practice quiz he pulled up earlier, and an iced french-vanilla latte. The laptop sitting on the nightstand near his bed illuminated the room enough with a perfect balance between light and darkness. It was quiet, and that's all he could ask for. It wouldn't stay that way for long though.
Without warning, his room door flew open. A loud thud resonated throughout the room, and Ashton found himself wincing from it. A groan slipped past his lips before turning his neck slowly, eyes glancing in the direction of his best friend who decided that barging into his room without warning was a good idea. That dumb smile on his face alerted him that something was, but the dead giveaway happened to be Saber's attire.
Black and red short-sleeve flannel unbuttoned to show off the black long-sleeve underneath it, dark grey pants, and black shoes with white heels. There was a red swirl going across the laces of his footwear, but the most important thing to take note of was the accessory attached to his arms. Last time I remember, watches in general don't look like that.
"Bro, why the hell are you still studying? You should've been getting dressed half an hour ago."
"I was finishing up this practice test for the notes. Also, I never agreed to get ready before eight." Ashton slowly rose from his chair, closing his laptop before doing the same for his binder.
"Well, it's eight o' three right now. Get dressed so we can get there before eight-thirty."
"Alright, alright. Just give me a few minutes."
"You got it brotha. I'll be waiting in the kitchen for you."
Before any more words could be said, Saber took hold of the handle to Ashton's door. He pulled back immediately, bringing the door to a close which left Ashton all alone to the peace and quiet of his room again. He wasn't excited for this party, but he already made a promise to attend. Going wouldn't kill him, but he knew what kind of people would be there, and he hoped his interactions with them would be little to none. That wasn't something he could dwell on for long though.
Instead, his feet began dragging across the floor, his destination marked for his wardrobe to pick out what would look good for the party. Fitting in was a must if you didn't wanna stand out, and he had no choice but to do so. Once he obtained all of what was needed, the next few minutes were spent freshening up. A shower to erase today's earlier activities that desperately clung to his form, deodorant with cologne to smell good, and a brush alongside a comb to take care of his hair. Can't just go outside looking like anything.
"Alright, this should be good." He looked himself over in the mirror, deeming his current appearance acceptable to step out.
Content with his attire, Ashton departed from the bathroom towards his room door. His hand extended and apprehended the doorknob, twisting it slowly before pulling back in one motion. On the other side, Saber's ears were drawn to the sound of food steps, his head rising up from his phone. A whistle escaped him the moment he spotted Ashton in his current attire, his lips curving upward until a smirk was on his face.
"Talk about man of the hour." Saber placed his phone, removing his keys from his pocket. "Ready to head out."
"Yeah, I got everything I need."
"Hell yeah. Now let's get to that party."
They walked to the door in unison, Saber being the first to reach the locks before turning each one to unlock their door. A twist of the knob with a pull of his arm made the door swing open, Saber allowing Ashton to step out first before the former walked out behind him. The last thing he took care of was locking their dorm room before they were already on the move to the party that was calling their name. Well, Saber's name.
______
House Lakewood at nightfall… If you've ever stepped foot in this frat house, you'd know what it's like from experience whenever you set foot on this property. Loud music, college students dancing, too much alcohol lying around—all signs of what kind of place Lakewood house is. Simply put, it's a party house.
A granite pathway led towards the stairs of the two-story cedar wood lodge that was Lakewood, lights littering the rails and windows. Music could be heard pouring out of doors and windows all around as people could be seen inside having the time of their lives. Drinks were being passed around like nobody's business, and hookups were at an all time high. The party animals were showcasing why they were the life of the party, and cheers could be heard from all around as men and women alike celebrated the crazy moments being witnessed.
Ashton couldn't get over it any faster.
Brown eyes gazed at the people in the area, watching the madness unfold. The guys were shooting shots at girls they deemed worth their time, and the girls were keeping to their circles, or taking a piece of the pie that was male attention. Colors of the outfits and party lights mixed in so efficiently that it was getting harder to maintain focus over time. He couldn't help but cringe at the display, seeing the party animals of the nightmare throw themselves into the mix of crazy challenges just to show off how good their alcohol tolerance was. Something he didn't want to be a part of.
So Ashton stood alone, leaning up against the wall with a cup in hand with enough distance from people. His eyes glanced down towards the foam cup, staring for an extended period of the beer inside. Then he looked away, not wanting to drink the liquid within. Ashton only held it to keep himself from looking too out of place, but found it becoming harder to do so when everyone here was engaged with someone.
"Where the hell is Saber?" The thought came to mind quickly, annoyance beginning to welcome itself on the doorstep of Ashton's features.
Sometime after they arrived, he lost the blonde to Yana and Kacey, leaving him all alone. Yana on one hand was quick to swoop in and take him away the moment she was alerted of their arrival. On the other hand Kacey at least spoke with him briefly, but mentioned before their departure that he was needed by someone in regards to the party. That being the reason why he (Saber) was invited here in the first place. With no one he willingly wanted to talk to, and the atmosphere being too far out of his comfort zone, Ashton remained to himself. However, those reasons were minor in comparison to why he intentionally avoided all the other students.
That being the devices locked onto their arms.
"No matter how many times I see it, I'll never get used to this many A.R.Ts being around in one place." The thought clouded his mind as he stared at the other students like him, disinterest practically oozing off his figure with each corner of the room that his eyes glanced over.
Artificial Reality Transmitter, otherwise known as A.R.T. Long story short, it's a device that makes this game and all its shenanigans possible. Now, you'd wonder why such a device was needed in the first place, right? Well…
"Yo Ash, I'm over here!"
Guess you'll find out once the magic happens huh?
"About time." Ashton grumbled, managing to hear the shout of his name over the craziness that was this room. Stepping off to his right, he immediately caught sight of Kacey, Saber, and Yana near a door leading to another area in the house. Once he closed the distance between the three, his only response was "What could they've possibly said to keep you long enough to trap me in this hell hole by myself?"
"Surely it wasn't that bad right?" Kacey closed her eyes, a nervous chuckle accompanying it.
"I'm holding a cup that I haven't drunk a hint of alcohol from in ten minutes since we arrived, neither have I tried to talk to anyone."
"Ah, so you socially stagnated." Yana's reply didn't come off as a question, and it didn't take a genius to realize it was an insult.
An imaginary spark of lightning flew between the two, heated glares being soft back and forth with Kacey growing more nervous by the development. On the other hand, Saber only shook his head from the usual of these two having any conversation with one another.
"Alright, that's enough you two." The blonde interrupted, forcing his arms in between the both of them. "Not arguing while we're here. Everyone's here for a good time, and we're not gonna ruin it. Instead, how about we focus on the good news about me participating in the duels happening on the decks of the lake behind Lakewood."
"Wait what?" The statement caught him by surprise, Ashton seeing the proudest smirk on Saber's face.
"That's right. Turns out that the surprise was me getting the chance to play C.R.E in front of the entire house with such a large crowd around. Thanks for not spoiling the surprise Kacey, Yana."
"You're welcome." The twins spoke in unison, glancing at each other before releasing a chuckle.
"Well, congrats on that. Not sure how much of an opportunity this is, but do your best."
"You know I will, but you should definitely come on now. They're setting up early, and they want all the players in the back. I don't want you to miss this."
"Alright. Just let me get rid of this cup in my hand, and I'll be back there."
Saber tilted his head down, giving a nod before turning on the heels of his shoes. He left through the door with Yana and Kacey in tow, leaving Ashton to walk towards the closest trashcan to throw his drink in. It didn't take long to find one, and he released the drink from his grip to watch it plummet into the garbage already filling up inside. With that done, Ashton began to move about towards the door leading to the back, yet couldn't help but gaze at the surrounding area one more time. The only thing coming to mind was how grateful he was to not be in this room anymore.
Then something caught his eyes the moment his eyes looked over to the right. More specifically, someone.
His body came to an abrupt pause, brown eyes landing on a woman sitting beside a guy on the couch who certain people out there would call "eye-candy." The girl in question had black hair reaching far down to her lower back, her wispy soft bangs offering a flirty but low-maintenance look. The white rose headband atop her head sat titled to the left, but it only served to match the white dress that her body was clad in which managed to reach her knees. Although, it was a strange pick of an outfit for this kind of gathering. Her fair skin served to work all this perfectly in tandem, but it wasn't her appearance that caught Ashton's attention.
It was the sight of her eyes. Beautiful red eyes that displayed a dead look in them with the corner of her lips curved downward. With how the lights were, it was impossible to do anything from her body language, but that look gave it away.
She seemed miserable.
"No, stop. That's none of your business." Ashton shook his head once the thought came, trying to clear his mind to the best of his ability.
Keeping his eyes away from where she was sitting, he feet dragged across the wooden floor of house Lakewood. Off instinct, he began leaning to the left and right to avoid colliding with anyone in the walkway between him and the door leading to the back. He wasn't too far of course, easily managing to approach the doorway with little trouble. Yet, he hesitated in leaving. Something he shouldn't be doing.
"It's none of your business Ashton." He told himself, but that look kept nagging at him. Why? She was someone he never, nor did he know anything about her. She wasn't important enough to give any thought or consideration beyond what he saw. So… Why was the face of some random person affecting him this badly? He sent a glance back to her, but his eyes widened upon taking a second look at her.
A smile—all he saw was the alluring smile of the woman he previously laid his eyes upon, seeing her engaged in conversation and hugging the guy she was with as if nothing was wrong. As if whatever he saw might've been just imagination. Everything seemed ok. However, he couldn't ignore what he saw previously. Those eyes and expression were—
"Not your business, Ashton. You don't know her."
Without even so much as a second thought, Ashton fled to the back of Lakewood house. He had somewhere else to be, and focusing on a girl he never met was the least of his worries.