Wild West of the Heart
THIRTY-TWO

The champagne shut in the air, gushing out of the bottle in DaSilva's hands. He let out a deep chuckle, bending it over into the sink. Mira shook her head from a distance, slouched on the chair.

He turned around to her, pouting his lips.

"Come on girl, no work tonight. Tonight's for us"

He poured the drink directly into his mouth as he walked towards her. You could hear the buzzing music of the fest from across the streets and he slowly bumped his head to it. Placing the bottle of champagne on the table, he sat and crossed his legs. "Now why are you being such a downer?"

Mira shook her head, her mind going back to how Obi had lied to her. "Is this about Obi?" He guessed and by the way she looked at him, he got his answer. "What is it now?" He gritted his teeth.

And Mira just let her arms fall to the table.

"I dont know. Must they grow up?" She asked.

"They grow up so fast. It's like they turn eighteen and then they make the decision to cut you out of their life forever. They make the decision for both of you that they no longer need you" She ranted. "They keep things from you, and fucking lie. All the fucking time" She outraged and DaSilva uncrossed his legs, asking the obvious question. "Obi?"

"Of course, Obi"

"Teenagers lie like half the time Mira. You know that because you were one. I know that because i was one" He said.

"Not Obi. He was different"

"We were different, i mean we used to tell each other everything after this pact we made when he was ten to never keep secrets. We were so close, i don't know what went wrong" Mira had tears in her eyes as she grabbed the champagne. DaSilva just mumbled a laughter. "He can't stay ten forever Mira"

"They grow, and they become independent. They have to be on their own to replace themselves in a very hard world. And you of all people should know that because you were just like him"

"I remember one time that you completely shut off the world because you were going through some phase i don't even know" He paused. "It's growing up Mira. And he doesn't hate you, he just needs some time for himself to maybe figure out things"

"So you don't have to hate him or blame yourself for him pulling away. It's just life" Mira passed the bottle back to him after a gulp. There were glasses in front of them but these uncultured beings chose not to use them. Rather, they gulped it directly.

"It's just life" He scrunched up his nose a bit.

"And eventually, he's going to grow and then he's going to come back to you and everything would be back to normal. But for now, just give him space to blossom" He let out a jestering laughter.

"As ridiculous as that sounds, allow him to grow"

"Well, can he not?" Mira whispered as DaSilva walked over to the stereo, putting on an ABBA song. He turned to Mira. "You're a clown for real"

She pouted her lips. "Your clown"

"My clown" DaSilva whispered, swinging his arms in the air as the song started playing. Mira lazily stood to meet him, and slowly she glided her waist to the side. She was entering her element to one of her best songs, and she was in the arms of Silver, one of her best friends. He reminded her much about the friendship between Obi and Ola.

They danced ridiculously around the poll as tears still fell from her eyes. Sniffing, she fell in a squat to the ground and looked back at DaSilva who burst out into laughting fits. He dropped to the ground as well and for more than a minute, they stared at each other deep into each other's souls-

-

allowing the alcohol to kick in their systems.

"You came?" Deborah squealed from a distance, and these two were operating on a dynamic that was weirdly rooted. Fiyin was like the only female friend Deb hung out with, that there were even some rumors that she was lesbian. Or maybe

emo.

Which was way worse, and that was because of the way she dressed. She pulled her in for a hug, with Fiyin giving the same excuse as Ola.

"I didn't have much a choice"

Though Debby had threatened to literally come to wherever she lived to pull her to the party, she still had a choice. Every human being has a choice.

And deep down in both her and Ola, they wanted to come to the most talked about party of the year. And it was why they were here.

There was color in everything, in the neon lights around the street light polls. Color in the mystical makeup of some, color in the atmosphere with soot falling from the skies. But the scent of alcohol and weed covered up any other. "Of course

Covered up all that color.

Deborah pulled her into the crowds and she stared at her hands for a moment and tried to pull them away but her Debby's were too tight around.

Fiyin was dressed in a lacy tinkerbell gown, with wings attached to her back. They were the white wings she'd worn during a school play back in junior school and she just recently found them.

Overall her costume managed to cover most of her body, at the same time, leaving most of her arm out. It was why she wore a lavender glove on her left hand and why she wasn't bothered when Deb pulled on them. They pushed through the bodies of the people that danced to such worldy music.

"Where are you taking me to?" Fiyin yelled.

"Somewhere quiet" Was what she thought she heard, but then again with the amount of noise, it could have been anything. They made their way further away from the fest and passed the lounge where a couple people had their tongues in each other's throats and hands in unspeakable places.

It grossed Fiyin out actually.

Shit like that used to arouse her, the euphoria that came with sneaking and messing around behind the school bus on in the bushes. She used to love it, but after Collins, things had changed. And stuff like kissing or anything sexual in general grossed her out. She couldn't even watch porn, because her eyes might have opened to how unrealistic it was. She loved this new feeling, and she hated it.

It was a thing of mixed feelings.

They finally came out of the other end of the lounge and into another street. And Deb left her hands in the open. Fiyin was struck by a tree in front of her as she looked around.

"Careful" Deborah muttered, sliding her hands through a lock and opening some gate before them. Fiyin looked up to the lights above her and her eyes caught a sign plastered against the gate. KEEP AWAY.

"No" She muttered, reading what was beneath it and Deb swung the gates open. "Welcome" She gestured with her arms out wide.

"Somewhere quiet?" Fiyin shook her head. "This is the literal definition of quiet" She chuckled.

"I'm not going in there"

"Come on. Where's the fun in halloween?" Deb came forward to take her hands and she pulled her through the gates. "You brought me to a fucking cemetery on fucking halloween" She said. "Screw the party. May the day of the dead begin" Their feet dug into the sands, with several tombstones scattered around them. There was uniformity in the shadows under the streetlights. "Fuck this" Fiyin cussed.

-

The birds chirped loudly in the trees and Ola strode down the quiet streets. He too, had somehow managed to roam far with a can of origin in his hands. His third can the entire night.

He staggered slightly, finally remembering what had brought him here, he was looking for the restroom and someone had directed him down.

He just kept on walking, and walking. And the music kept on fading away with each step. Now, he was far from the party and even further from his friends. He scrunched up the can of alcohol and threw it into the shrubs, then he halted. Turning his back around, he walked closer to the bushes and managed to unzip his pant suit. He realized he was now further from the restroom than he initially was. So this was his best option. Pulling out his weenie, and peeing in the bush.

He turned his face to the dark skies, hearing some howling in the distance. It was a full moon again, and the thought of werewolves dashed through his mind. But he let out a laugh. "They're not real"

The splatters of his urine against the mulched leaves splashed back against his converse as he kept on for close to a minute. It's the side effect of taking three cans of origin in less than two hours.

When he was done, he pulled back his pants but something caught his attention in the bushes. He paused, narrowing his eyes in the distance.

It was a subtle sound coming from the shrub and then a shriek. The leaves wavered in the air, making a rustling sound. And Ola inched closer to it, having not learned any lesson from the american horror movies he watched. Never- Never go in the direction of a strange sound.

"They're not real" He muttered, now assuring himself as he got close. He stretched his arms to the bush and then all of a sudden, a snake fell into them. He gasped, letting a scream into the air. And he ran.

Attempting to hold his falling trousers by the waist, he fell to the ground with a thud. And he heard some laughters coming from the bushes.

He somehow managed to pick himself up, before he scrambled away, going in the opposite direction from where he came. His heart jackhammered against his chest as he kept running. He felt the lactic acid build up in him but he couldn't stop. "They're not real" He shook his head.

His intoxication certainly didn't help his senses, rather it heightened it. So there he was, spooked by the slightest of sounds. He just kept running, and the more he ran, the much further he went.

He pulled out his phone from his pockets, trying to focus his blurry eyes on the numbers. He dialed Obi as halted breathes escaped his lips.

God, this better not be another panic attack.

Because he didn't have his pills.

I mean, he'd learned his lessons but who brings his anxiety pills to a party. It was just meant to be a night where he'd have the most fun and then come back before ten, a promise he made to Mary. He finally halted, his hands falling to his knees as the phone rang in his ears. He squinted at how far he'd come and how close he was getting to those howling noises. Yet Obi wasn't picking his phone.

He hated to be that person but his throat was sore, he needed water. And he needed his meds. It took all within him to not collapse on the ground.

"One" He began counting, an attempt to slow his breathes through concentrated exercises. "Two-" "One"

He started all over, involving his fingers this time.

"Two" He joined his index and his pinky together before he looked to his phone. He hung up the call, but the truth was Obi too was doing his own thing and he needed all the courage he could get to walk to Abdul who was by the bridge. It wasn't essentially third mainland, it was just a twine made bridge to the other side of the street. And a part of it was used for games like thug of war.

There were some benches around a particular tree where Abdul he sat. And Obi straddled closer to him, slipping his muted phone into his pockets.

"I can do this" He encouraged himself as he stepped closer, hoping he was invincible to the few people that were making out across from him.

Not that their minds focused on anything other than the tastebuds which they explored. It was calmer here, which kind of made sense why he was here. You could still hear the music but from a safe distance and Abdul had a book in his hands. "Who does this?" Obi stepped forward.

Abdul looked up from the book, recognizing that voice. "What?" He asked, shock subtle in his voice as he looked at Obi from head to toe.

"In a good way or bad way?" Obi enquired. His eyes squinted with nervousness as Abdul tossed the book aside. "In a—"

"In an alot way" He raised his eyebrows and Obi took it as his queue to sit beside him. "I am alot" He said, and Abdul turned to face him. The corner of his lips morphed into his signature smirk that somehow set butterflies free in Obi's stomach.

"I know"

There was silence for a while before he asked.

"Who does what?" His brows arched, and Obi stared the book's very hard cover. "Who brings a book to a halloween party?" He completed.

He raised his two thumbs up and reverted them back to himself. "This guy" He whispered and Obi let out a slight chuckle. Shit, he blushed. Shit, he couldn't do this. What was he thinking?

"Abdul Faruq does" Even his name was attractive as Obi bit his lower lip. It was his turn to give him an assessing gaze and he didn't hold back.

"Who are you meant to be?" He asked, picking at his costume which was a sleeveless grey top, that Obi could mistaken for a sleepwear. The only good thing about it however, was how well it revealed his biceps. It was impressive for a person his size. Abdul had a much slender bod and you could see the outline of his torso through the shirt.

The ends lifted a bit when he raised his hands to yawn. He'd been reading that book in the same position for a while. And then his eyes met Obi's.

"A lazy Nigerian youth" He said, letting his arms fall but his clothes remained wrinkled. Obi saw a flash of a belly button around his slightly hairy torso and he turned away embarrassingly. It was too much, it really was. "Obi" He called. And he cleared his throat. "What?"

"You missed the joke" He said, disappointingly.

"I got it. Lazy Nigerian youth, you couldn't be much clearer with the gym top and sweatpants"

"So original" Obi said, not holding back his sarcasm. Abdul let out an odd laugh as he turned away. He had a drink in his left hand while his right made it's way to his hair. "And you are?"

"I don't know. Just someone fun and i just saw it as a chance to experiment with some things" He clenched his jacket closer to him. "You like it?"

"Of course i do❞ Abdul stared intensely. And his eyes wavered to Obi's lips. It was deliberate. Like he intentionally knew what he was doing. Obi was restive in his heated seat as he parted his lips.

"You remind of someone. How i pictured someone in this book" He raised the book from his laps to the table. And Obi looked at the graphic cover, of what seemed to be two boys with their backs against each other but their hands intertwined.

"Oh really?" He didn't have a definite reaction. It just shocked him that he was in Abdul's mind.

"How so?" His eyes read below the title.

GHOSTS FROM OUR PAST.

And he let out a calm chuckle. "Well, there's this guy" He took the book, pointing to the one on the left. He had chiseled facial structure and dark glasses to shield his eyes. He had a septum ring and his left ear was pierced. Obi had none of that.

"And he's free. And wild. He's vibrant, and has like so much youth. He's the kind of guy that doesn't care much about expectations and society"

"Except i do care about expectations" Obi teased, rolling his eyes. "You get what i mean" Abdul said.

"Is it because i'm here in a skirt?"

"It's a lot of things Obi. It's who you are"

To be continued...