"I finally did it!"
"Ahhh! My own cute little dress!"
I yanked my shirt over my head and tossed it on the floor. Now I was standing there—completely naked—holding the black gothic dress like it was a holy relic. I dashed to the mirror by my wardrobe.
'I need to wear it. Now.'
The fabric slid over my skin, hugging my curves. A little tight, but perfect.
'God, it's perfect.'
My phone buzzed on the bed. Lily. Of course. My bestie had decided tonight was for drinking in the graveyard. I wanted to say no, but she used her dreaded Five-Minute Rule. I had to go.
I slipped on my canvas shoes, gave the mirror a final glance, and saw… me. Average build, nothing special—except maybe boobs slightly bigger than most girls. Black wolf-cut hair brushing my shoulders. Face? Pretty, I guess, but I've stared at it all my life. Green-hazel eyes, freckles dusted under my eyes and across my nose.
But the dress—oh, the dress. Black with rose patterns, sleeves down to my elbows, hem brushing my upper thighs. Gorgeous. The only crime? My shoes didn't match. Red, black, and white canvas sneakers with little playing card designs. My "gambling shoes." Boys always noticed them.
I grinned, grabbed my phone, and bolted out the door. Rain slapped against the pavement. Great. I scanned the street, spotted Lily's boyfriend's car, and dove into the back seat.
The first thing I saw was him. Tall. Handsome. A little pale. Sitting in the driver's seat like a damn vampire. Lily was riding shotgun, of course—blonde hair with dark pink tips bouncing as she turned to look at me.
"Girl, you're late. Two minutes. You broke the Five-Minute Rule," she said, smirking.
"Sorry, I was finishing the dress," I said, trying not to sound breathless.
Her eyes widened. "Ohhh, you finally completed it? Mmm." She gave me a slow look, then whistled. "Okay… maybe worth the wait. Three months for this dress! What do you think, babe?"
Lucius glanced at me in the mirror. "Pretty."
Lily rolled her eyes. "Ehh, babe, that's all? Skye spent months making this dress and you say pretty?"
"Uh—yeah, sorry. I meant… beautiful."
She smirked. "Better. And how do I look?"
"You look beautiful too, Lily," he said quickly.
"Ha! You just say that because—"
I tuned them out, hiding a smile. 'Forgot about me already, huh?' I settled back, watching their little lovers' spat like it was a movie.
The car hummed down the rainy road. The world outside blurred until we pulled up at the graveyard gates. This place was… odd. Hardly anyone ever came here, and for good reason. The graveyard sat like an island in the middle of nowhere, wrapped in a river that split into two arms, circled the land, and rejoined on the other side. From above, it would look like the world had drawn a perfect loop just to keep this place apart.
Lucius popped the trunk, grabbed beer and liquor, and we stepped into the shadows of the tombstones.
The rain was coming down harder now, a steady drumming against the trees. Lily popped open a tiny, childish umbrella—pink with cartoon bunnies—and handed it to Lucius. He stood in the middle, umbrella in one hand and a six-pack of beer in the other, while Lily and I squeezed close on either side, clinging to bottles of liquor.
"Skye, your dress is gonna get filthy because of me. Sorry," Lily said with a sheepish grin.
"Ah, it's nothing," I shrugged. "I decided to wear it anyway. I was way too excited not to."
Lucius tilted his head, water dripping from his pale hair onto his leather jacket. "Lily, maybe we should just drink in the car. Doesn't look like the weather's letting up."
"Nooo, babe," Lily groaned dramatically, leaning into him. "Skye and I have been drinking at that spot for four years. I am not letting some stupid rain ruin tradition."
Lucius sighed. "Whatever you say, babe."
We trudged through the wet grass, puddles splashing under our shoes. After a while, Lucius glanced over at me.
"So, Skye," he said, voice casual but curious, "why'd you guys start drinking here, of all places?"
I smirked. "Ah, that's a secret. Hehe."
"Okay then," he said with a small smile, letting it go for now.
Finally, we reached the spot—a weathered tombstone nestled between two twisted trees, a lonely bench sitting in the middle like some gothic art piece.
We sat, cracking open beers, the sound sharp against the soft roar of the rain. That's when Lily suddenly jumped up, patting her pockets like a madwoman.
"Oh shit—I forgot something!" she blurted, then turned to Lucius. "Babe, give me the keys."
He frowned but handed them over.
"I'll be right back!" And with that, Lily sprinted off through the rain.
I watched her go, then smirked at Lucius. "And there she goes. Imagine if she just drives off and leaves us here."
He chuckled. "Nah, never. She wouldn't leave you here. If it was just me… maybe."
We both laughed.
"So, what'd she forget?" I asked, leaning back against the cold, wet bench.
Lucius gave me a sly grin. "It's a secret."
"Oh, come on, really?" I teased.
"Only if you tell me why you drink here of all places."
"Fine. Look at the tombstone." I pointed my finger at the grave, on ancient tombstone was engraved Lily Jura with little dancing skeleton in-between.
Lucius blinked couple times "Your last name and Lily first name?"
"Yea we just stumbled into it. Lily said, 'From now on, this is our spot.' And that was that."
Lucius raised a brow. "Huh. I thought it was your idea—y'know, because of the whole goth aesthetic."
I snorted. "Just because I'm goth doesn't mean I bathe in goat blood… at least, yet."
That got a real laugh out of him, deep and warm.
We popped our beers and took a sip, sitting in the rain like idiots while the storm grew angrier. Five minutes passed. Then ten. Then fifteen. Lily still wasn't back.
Lucius checked his watch, frowning. "The car's only five minutes away. Why hasn't she returned?"
I looked toward the path, unease creeping in. "Maybe we should go look for her. Plus, this rain's unbearable. I don't think we'll be able to drink normally like this."
"Yeah. Agreed."
We stood and headed back, Lucius walking faster than before, shoulders tense. He might have been trying to play it cool, but I could tell he was worried. So was I.
When we reached the car, a figure was bent over inside, rummaging through bags. For a split second, my stomach dropped—then Lily popped out, grinning triumphantly.
"Got it! Let's go!" she chirped.
I stared at her like she'd lost her mind. "Don't be ridiculous, Lily. It's basically a storm out here. We can't drink."
"Skye, please," she said, clasping her hands dramatically. "For me?" Her eyes went big and pleading—classic puppy-dog eyes.
"They don't work on me, Lily," I said flatly.
She just smirked and turned those same eyes on Lucius. "Babe… please. Let's go back there."
He sighed. "Lily, look, we can't. This rain is insane."
"Please, baby?" She batted her lashes in the most exaggerated way possible.
Lucius froze, then gave the tiniest nod. "Fine."
I groaned. "Oh, mayb—" But I already knew it didn't matter what I said. Those two were going to drag me right back into the storm.
On the way back, I shot Lily a look. "So… what exactly did you grab from the car?"
She grinned mischievously. "It's a present. For you. But I'm not giving it yet."
I narrowed my eyes. "That sounds suspicious."
"Good. It's supposed to." She winked while waving red tiny box with her hand.
By the time we reached the graveyard again, the rain had gone completely feral. Sheets of water hammered down, wind whipping the little umbrella like it was about to snap in two. My dress clung to me like a second skin, cold and heavy.
"I bet you two are regretting this brilliant idea now," I said, glaring at Lily, who was absolutely drenched, water dripping down her pink-tipped hair.
"Noooo," she said, grinning like a devil. "Everything is perfect."
"Perfectly insane," I muttered.
"Let's get drinking!" Lily cheered like the rain was a rave and not an actual storm.
She pulled out a dark bottle, handed it to Lucius. He popped the cork, sniffed it, and immediately winced before taking a swig anyway. His jaw tightened, face scrunching like he'd just bitten into a lemon dipped in battery acid. He passed it to Lily without a word.
Lily took a sip and smiled like it was fine. Then she shoved it at me.
I took a cautious mouthful. Big mistake.
'Oh my god. This tastes like poison. Like actual poison.'
"Bleeegh! Where did you get this garbage? It's horrible!" I gagged, wiping my tongue with my sleeve.
Lily laughed. "My uncle's basement. Found it under some old boxes."
I stared at her. "Under… some boxes? Lily, is this even safe to drink? It's probably older than we are."
She turned to Lucius like he was the authority on sketchy booze. "Babe, does alcohol go bad?"
"Yup," Lucius said without hesitation. "That's definitely bad. If I take another sip, I'm dead."
"Then why did you tell us?!" I demanded.
He smirked. "Because I suffered. You all had to suffer too. Fair's fair."
"You're a monster," I muttered.
"And yet, you still took a drink," he teased, the corner of his mouth twitching like he was fighting a smile.
"Ugh. Never again."
We stood there under the collapsing umbrella, talking and laughing like idiots, rain soaking through every layer of clothing, and for a moment… it actually felt fun.
The three of us stood there in the storm, huddled under the umbrella that was barely holding on for dear life. Rainwater streamed down my face, and my dress clung like wet paper. My canvas shoes squelched every time I moved.
"This is ridiculous," I said, laughing despite myself. "We're all gonna catch pneumonia."
"Nah," Lily grinned, flipping her soaked hair like it was nothing. "This is tradition. We'll look back on this and laugh."
Lucius gave her a look. "I'm laughing now. Out of pain." He shook his sleeve; water poured out like a faucet.
We all cracked up. For a moment, it felt good—just stupid and reckless and good.
But then a loud crack split the air. A tree branch snapped somewhere behind us and slammed into the mud with a heavy thud. All three of us jumped.
Lily forced a laugh. "Okay… maybe that's a sign we should head back to the car."
"Finally," I said, hugging myself against the cold.
We started moving, squishing through the mud toward the path. The rain didn't let up. If anything, it got heavier, like the sky was dumping buckets on us just out of spite. Umbrella—our one pathetic shield—buckled in the wind, and Lucius cursed, tossing it aside.
"Whatever," he muttered. "We're soaked anyway."
But then something weird happened.
The path wasn't there.
I mean, it was—at least, it should've been—but when we looked ahead, all I saw was more trees. Just endless rows of black trunks fading into sheets of rain.
"Uh… Lily?" I said slowly. "Which way did we come from?"
"This way," she said, pointing. Her voice didn't sound so confident anymore.
We kept walking, but the more we did, the less it felt right. The mud sucked at my shoes like it wanted to swallow me whole. The wind howled louder, pushing against us. The graveyard behind us should've been in sight, but when I turned, there was nothing. No bench. No tombstone. Just trees and rain and shadows.
"This… doesn't make sense," Lucius muttered. He ran a hand through his soaked hair, his sharp features tense.
"Maybe we got turned around," Lily said, her voice too bright, too fake. "It's fine. We just need to—"
Her words cut off when another tree cracked and fell somewhere in the distance. The ground shook under our feet.
I hugged myself tighter. My teeth were chattering now. "This isn't fine. We need to find the car. Like now."
Lucius looked at me, then at Lily. His jaw clenched. "We'll figure it out. Just stick together."
So we walked. And walked. The rain didn't stop. My shoes were filled with water. My hair stuck to my face. I couldn't tell if my legs were numb from the cold or just tired from trudging through mud.
Then—finally—I saw something glimmering through the trees. Water.
"A river," I breathed out. Relief washed over me. "Maybe it leads to the road!"
We pushed through the last line of trees and stumbled onto a riverbank. The water churned violently, swollen from the storm, but right now, it looked like hope.
"We can follow it," Lucius said. His voice was steady, but his eyes… they were sharp, scanning the trees like something might leap out.
I took a step closer to the edge—and that's when the ground gave out.
One second, I was standing there. The next, the earth slid from under my feet, and I was falling.
"LUC—!" I didn't even get to finish saying his name before icy water swallowed me whole.
It was everywhere—filling my mouth, crushing my chest, dragging me down like an anchor. I kicked, clawed, anything, but the current was too strong. The storm above was just a blur of dark shapes and silver flashes.
I broke the surface once—just long enough to suck in air and hear Lily scream my name—before the river ripped me under again.
And then… silence.
The current wasn't rough anymore. The pressure eased. My body drifted instead of fought. I opened my eyes underwater, expecting darkness—but it wasn't dark. It was blue. Soft, endless blue, glowing faintly like moonlight.
I kicked and felt… nothing. No riverbank. No mud. Just water and light and something that sounded like distant bells.
When my head broke the surface again, the rain was gone.
The storm was gone.
The air smelled different. Warmer. Sweeter. The sky above wasn't storm-black—it was pale violet, like the edge of dusk.
I gasped and spun around. No riverbank. No Lucius. No Lily. Just calm water stretching into mist.
My fingers shook as I dragged myself onto the nearest thing I saw—a flat stone rising out of the water like an island. I sat there, dripping and coughing, my heart slamming against my ribs.
'Lily? Lucius?'
Nothing. Just the sound of water lapping gently against the stone.
And faintly—so faint I thought I imagined it—the sound of music drifting through the mist.