PARTIES
She woke up with the terrible thoughts that the big day had loomed, well it was only yesterday it was decided upon, so it hardly meant anything. On the bright side, Grim had given her a cheap mobile phone to replace her old one, just until she found Kensuke, kicked his ass and took it back. She looked forward to that day.
The day progressed in a very strange way, strange in terms of what her life had been lately. It felt like ages since she had spent the whole morning cycling through old movies, not having a decent meal but rather just snacking on small things they had in the fridge. Her parents would occasionally come in to ask if she was planning on doing anything productive, to which she replied, “unlikely”. In a way, she enjoyed it. The normality of it all, but as time ticked by she felt a longing for thrills, for magic, for Grim.
Yesterday she had gone into a hotel full of freakish monsters, before that she was putting on a magical disguise and walking into a banana factory full of bad guys, and now she was sat consecutively watching the James Bond films. The only action she saw was through a screen, and even she could now tell that it was fake.
Eventually, it was time. Her mum came into her room and presented her with a long purple dress.
Dresses really weren’t her thing, or makeup. It restricted her movement too much. So, it was only too easy to imagine her reaction as her mum unpacked a pair of high heeled shoes.
Her face lit up with a fake joy. “Oh, mum, you shouldn’t have.” She really shouldn’t. “They’re lovely.”
“Anything for my little girl,” she said, her smile tearing across her face like she was aware of the fact that the girl she called her little girl had spent the last week fighting bad guys and travelling to spirit realms. “Why don’t you try them on?” Patience had to strain not to look angry, instead she gave a small nod and slipped them on. They fit perfectly, as well as high-heels ever fit at least. “Alright, get ready. We leave in ten minutes.”
Seems her mum did remember how different she was. Normal girls her age would never be able to get fully ready in that time, but Patience wasn’t a normal girl.
She was ready in five, and sat in the car before everyone else. To those who didn’t know her, they might have been mistaken into thinking that she was keen. Her parents joined her shortly afterwards.
“You look lovely,” said her dad, “I can see where you get your good looks from.” Her mum smiled and tapped his leg with her hand before he finished. “You’ve got my genes in you for sure.”
He didn’t leave enough time to see her mum’s reactions, before speeding off down the road. She described it as speeding for the sake of his dignity. In reality, it felt like they were crawling at a snail pace, compared to Grim he was so slow. Her dad drove, Grim raced.
They arrived outside the booked hall a little late, everything was in full swing. Not that it was much of a party. She had seen parties, there was dancing and crowds and loud music. This was not a party.
Everyone wore smart clothes, like suits and long dresses in a variety of bright colours, as they sipped their drink and pretended to laugh at each other’s jokes. The only music was this boring classical piece that sounded like the type of whale song you might play to relax yourself. Which, while Patience admitted was what she needed (to calm down), she in no way appreciated this ‘old person gathering’ they called a party.
“This looks nice,” said her mum, looking unsurely into the sea of people whom she didn’t know. Her dad was more keen, hopping out the car and leading his wife and Patience forwards into the thick of things.
Her dad grabbed their hands and pulled them into a small gap, where a man was stood alone with his hands wrapped around a small glass of a clear drink. He was wearing a sharp suit and had soft eyes, with a smile full of white dazzling teeth. She couldn’t help but feel he was finely crafted, and incredibly handsome.
“This is Terry,” introduced her dad, “and this is my wife Glenda, and my daughter Patience.”
Terry’s eyes were fixed on her, his deep, penetrating eyes that looked like jewels within his sockets.
She suppressed an embarrassing giggle and smiled out the corner of her mouth. Realising how stupid she looked, her cheeks turned a shade of red and she glanced away, avoiding those beautiful eyes.
“Nice to meet you,” he said, a slight Irish accent in his voice, a soft voice. “Kurt has told me so much about you.” Which meant they’d never been mentioned. “You seem like such a lovely family, it warms my heart. I never was so lucky, but maybe one day.” What an odd thing to say, but her mind brushed over it because it was said in that amazing voice with those handsome thin lips. “Anyway, enjoy the party, I’ve got to go and help with some of the boring logistics of the event, see ya.”
Patience waved without saying anything, and when out of earshot her mum spoke. “He seemed nice.”
Her dad nodded. “He’s a top bloke,” he laughed, “such a lad.”
“Do you even realise the words that are coming out of your mouth?” Patience laughed, and then wondered off on her own. She never was the type to stick with her parents, she actually tried to avoid them as much as possible most of the time. Not because she didn’t love them. They were family, just not a very cool family.
Her first destination, naturally, was the food table. She picked up a few cheese and pineapple sticks and shoved the food down her throat. She then picked up an orange drink which was held in a wine glass, and then begun to sip gently on the edges to make herself look posh. Probably just made her look stupid in reality though.
As she stared out into the crowd, her eyes began to blur as she could only see large amounts of movement. There were so many people that she could no longer focus on them as individuals, but rather just one giant wall of colours. It made her feel a little dizzy, which wasn’t good considering her (mum’s) choice of clothes.
Her phone vibrated in her pocket, at least that was something different. She hated dresses without pockets, which was almost all of them, but this one did. She flipped it open and stared at the message, it was from Grim.
Get out of there
Her eyes focused on the words and an aurora of confusion set in. She replied, asking why. For the next few minutes she stood there anxiously tapping her foot and glancing around the room. Damn it. Why was he taking so long? It buzzed again.
He’s coming, get out of there NOW
Was Grim playing the pronoun game? Couldn’t he just tell her who was coming, he made everything so difficult. Her mind thought of Mr Big, maybe it was him who was coming. She felt a hot flush flood over her at the thought. She had to get out the crowd, and according to Grim she had to get away.
Her mind wasn’t working properly, she needed space to make a decision. Her eyes found a door on the other side of the room, so she pushed through the crowd and fell into a side room which was empty apart from the stacked tables which had been moved there to accommodate a larger space in the main hall.
Okay, now she had the space to think. If Mr Big was coming then she had no chance and would have to escape. No doubt he was after her. But what if he got here and she was gone, he might take it out on her parents and the rest of the people there. She couldn’t let that happen.
The door opened to her side, she thought it was her dad, but then she looked up and realised it was Terry. His eyes met with hers as he got closer.
“Are you alright?” he asked, “I saw you come in and was worried, you look very hot.”
“Thank you,” she said, damn, embarrassing herself again. He meant she looked sweaty, why was she swooning at a man three times her own age. “I’m fine, really.”
“Okay,” he said, seemingly not noticing her previous mistake, “it’s Patience, right?”
She managed a nervous smile, though she carried on pacing. “That’s me, always has been and always will be.”
“As is the nature of names.” He leaned against one of the tables, his fingers locking in the middle as he swivelled his
thumbs. “You know, you look tired.”
She fingered the bags that were still under her eyes, it appeared that even makeup wasn’t enough to conceal it. What she really needed was a glamour. “I know, I’ve not been sleeping that well lately.”
Terry smiled broadly. “No doubt it’s those adventures you’ve been having.”
“Excuse me?” Her heart began to beat faster.
“Life as a teenager always is eventful,” he said, “I had quite a quiet one, though I know others who’ve had anything but.”
Patience sighed with relief. “Yeah, it’s certainly eventful. Anyway, I better be going.” She stood up and made a move for the door, and then stopped. Not on her own accord, but because his hand had closed around her wrist and restrained her.
“Terry?” she said nervously, “please let go.”
“What are you gonna do, Patience?” he muttered, “run off to Grim.” Those beautiful eyes of his turned a blackened colour, and then his mouth opened showing huge teeth that could hardly fit in his mouth.
She broke free of his grasp and took a step back. He advanced slowly.
“Why don’t I step into the room over there?” he said, struggling to talk due to the size of his fangs, “I could slaughter everyone in the room, including those lovely parents of yours.” Anger flared up inside her, while a fire flared on her palm. She tossed it at him, though he beat it aside and rushed