You are at a fun and gay house party. It's loud and crowded, but god willingly, there are no overhead lights on. Ambient lighting only. You can't seem to find your friend that you came with, but you aren't worried. Everyone you have made eye contact with has not only been hot, but also presumably sweet and nice, as almost everyone has smiled back at you. A song you dislike starts playing loudly, and you decide to make your way out to the porch to destimulate.
[[Exit to porch]]
[[Get a drink from the kitchen first]]
As you let the screendoor close behind you, the smell of Weed and Cigarettes hits your nose. You spot a few people you made eye contact and exchanged smiles with earlier, but you haven't formally met them yet. One of them is holding an unlit joint and laughing loudly.
[[Ask what's funny]]
[[Stay silent]]As you make your way towards the back of the house, you walk past the long line to the bathroom and enter the less crowded kitchen. You spend a second glancing around for your drink options and see an underwhelming selection.
[[Grab a glass of water]]
[[Pour yourself a vodka soda]]"What are you laughing about?" You ask boldly.
The group of 4 people that were laughing shoot you sideways glances, and their laughter fades out quickly. After a moment of glances between the group, one of them says, "Don't worry about it, it was a kind of, you had to be there, thing."
You feel embarassed and start to flush.
[[Give up socializing and go home->End 1]]
[[Persist in an unannoying way]]The friendly person holding an unlit joint notices you and smiles.
"Heyyy!" she says. "I saw you earlier, and wanted to compliment your outfit, but you were across the room. I meannn, the color coordination! You really ate that!"
You smile back at her and blush a little before replying. "Thank you, omg!! You also are eating, I lovee that bag." You notice her three friends around her have tuned into your conversation as well.
"It's my favorite," she says. "I take it everywhere, but I swear the contents of it changes every. damn. day..... Like I seriously haven't cleaned it out in months, but I can NEVERRR find what I need. You would think me not cleaning it out would lend itself to like, having all my stuff in there?! But I guess not..." You laugh along with her and her friends, as she makes a show of fumbling with her purse.
"I'm August, by the way." She introduces herself with a dazzling smile, and you introduce yourself in return.
[[Offer to light her joint]]
[[Don't say anything]]You spy a stack of unused solo cups to fix yourself a glass of water. You grab one and fill it from the tap.
[[Exit to porch]] You walk towards the counter and spy a stack of unused red solo cups. You grab one to pour yourself a drink. You pour a shot of Tito's into your cup before carefully emptying a LaCroix into your cup as well, pouring slowly to make sure it doesn't overfow.
[[Exit to porch]]
You chuckle nervously, looking around. "Right, haha, sorry..."
[[You rub your arms to self soothe ->Stay silent]]
"Anyway," August sighs once the moment has passed, "Cory, did you find your lighter?"
One of the other people in the conversation shakes their head exasperatedly. He has mid-length, straight shaggy hair, a septum ring, and an amicable smile.
"She's gone..." they say in an unserious way. "I think I must have given it to Ellis earlier... I know Josie has one, though. We could go look for her inside."
August shakes her head quickly, "Nooo, someone out here //has//to have one we can use, for sure. It's so crowded in there..." She looks around at the few other people smoking and standing on the small wooden porch.
A pair of people notices her glancing at them, and August smiles sweetly at them before asking, "Do either of you cuties have a lighter we could borrow for a sec?"
One of them hands over a blue lighter effortlessly and with a grin. "Of course," they say.
August sticks the joint in her mouth before lighting the end of it and taking a puff.
"Thank you," she says earnestly as she hands the lighter back to them.
[[Ask for a hit->She doesn't hear you]]
[[Say nothing->Pass, but with an attitude]]
[[Quit socializing and go home->End 1]]
You exit the porch, returning to the kitchen. It is more crowded than it was before, and you see the long line for the bathroom has gotten longer. You find the random bedroom your stashed your jacket in before making your way as hastily as you could through the crowd of drunk and hot gay people toward the door you came in.
You finally make it through the crowd and the door, and down the front steps before pulling your phone out of your back pocket.
You see a text from the friend you came with informing you that they've left the party and are going to stay at their bae's house tonight.
You heart the message, text a response, and call yourself an uber.
[[THE END.->Start]]"Do you need a light for that, by the way?" You ask once the moment has passed, already pulling the lighter out of your front pocket.
August's eyes light up. "Yess, thank you!!" You flick the lighter and hold the flame to the tip of the joint that she has put in her mouth. She takes a few puffs before passing it your way.
[[Hit the joint]]
[[Politely pass]]
[[Pass, but with an attitude->Bitch about weed]]You carefully grab the joint from her fingertips, smiling as you do so. You hold the rolled paper to your mouth before inhaling and feeling the familiar smoke fill your lungs. You take another hit before passing it to the person on your other side.
"I'm Cory, by the way," They share, smiling through their exhale of smoke. "It's really nice to meet you." They are wearing a dark blue tanktop underneath a unbuttoned sheer dress shirt, and you can spy tattoos freckling their body.
You echo the sentiment, and make eye contact with the other two people you have yet to introduce yourself to.
"I'm Ellis," the taller one says as he holds out his hand for a relaxed handshake. He wears glasses, an ironic T-Shirt, and has his curly hair pulled back by a bandana. He smiles at you warmly.
"Krista," the woman next to him pronounces, with a little wave in your direction. She has shoulder length dark blonde hair and a shy but sweet smile.
You introduce yourself in return, and smile broadly at them. You feel a generalized warmth come over you as your high sets in. You make an off handed comment about the night breeze feeling good, which surprisingly sparks a silly conversation filled with riffing and laughs.
[[Continue hanging with this group->End 2]]
August hands the joint to the person to your right and they take it before taking a couple hits.
As the group keeps passing the joint between them, their conversation gets more animated. They laugh without restraint and clearly all seem very comfortable with one another.
After a few minutes, you realize you haven't spoken, and are on the outside of their conversations.
[[Quietly excuse yourself with a wave->End 1]]You glance around at the other people populating the porch. There are a few pairs of people smoking, but they all seem very close to one another.
As the group in front of you keeps passing the joint between themselves, they continue to shoot a sideways glance your way. One of them even steps in front of you a bit, effectively cutting you out of the circle.
You can't hear anything they are saying anymore, and realize you are alone on the porch.
[[Head inside->End 1]]"Could I-," You begin to say, before one of August's actual friends pulls her attention with an exciting anecdote about someone they both know.
Safe to say she didn't hear you. You feel embarassed.
[[Shake it off and stay put->Politely pass]]
[[Quit socializing and go home->End 1]]Your stomach hurts from laughing at the end of the night. You feel grateful to have met and shared some time with such wonderful strangers. You hope to see them again sometime.
[[THE END.->Start]]"Nah, I'm good. I don't smoke that stuff, it's so awful..." You say.
The group gives you lethal sideye glances. August laughs, almost //at// you.
[[Avert your eyes->Pass, but with an attitude]]