Three: The Curtain Call

Continuing to navigate his way around the crowded house, the prickling sense of isolation, coupled with the knowledge of how far away everyone and everything he had ever known was, began to creep more and more toward the forefront of his mind. He quickly reminded himself that this was the choice he had made, and he knew what the situation was going to be like when you moved to a brand new place and wanted to start over. The loud music, non-stop pumping in his ears, and the overpowering smell of alcohol led Nico to seek some fresh air, even though he hadn't been inside the house for all that long. He found himself making his way towards the front door once again, a stark contrast to the parties he had been to in the past where he was usually lively and social. No more than a minute later, the summer night air of Brooklyn hit Nico's face softly, and he took it all in with a relaxed sigh. There were still some people standing on the porch, also seeking reprieve from the stifling heat and smell of booze, bodies, and weed inside. After taking a deep breath, he saw that down the flight of two steps, which led to a short footpath that intersected with the main sidewalk, there was a small group of people gathered on the curb. They were talking amongst each other, but Nico found the idea fond, and so he made his way over to the same curb, a bit of a distance away from the group who sat side by side with one another, engaged in their own quiet conversation. The sound of the city can be heard ever so slightly from this neighborhood, and Nico realized the peacefulness that this sidewalk curb held in this very moment, lost in his own thoughts. Laughter, voices, and occasional roars of exclamation or excitement could be heard coming from the house, and Nico's mind began to drift back to home, back to the life he had always known. He wondered how his parents, friends, and most heavily on his mind Miyoung, was doing. Was she experiencing the same type of loneliness he was at this very moment, or had she much more easily found her own group of people. Nico continued to stare into the now-pitch-black sky, cloudless and unalive at the current moment. Even though he sought solace from the crowd of sweaty and drunk party-goers, another part of him knew that he wished to fit in and have friends who he could find comfort in and be himself around–quickly, Nico had to remind himself that it was something that would come in time, especially if he continued to put in the effort to do so. Admists his rumination, Nico hadn't noticed that the group from a distance down the curb had gotten up and left, and that he was once again, even if it was just in physical vicinity, alone. Yet another pang of unfamiliarity tugged on his heart, gnawing at his consciousness. But when Nico glanced over, he saw that he wasn't completely by himself. There was someone else there–a girl who he hadn't seen before–sitting several feet away on the curb. She was brightened by the dim glow of the streetlight on the opposite side of the street, casting a shadow behind her onto the front yard of the house. Something about the way she sat there, lost in her own thoughts, struck a cord with him–it reminded him of himself–and the sense of imagined kinship that Nico felt all of a sudden filled him with an inspiration. Without a moment's hesitation, the black-haired boy decide to take the chance to strike up a conversation with a stranger potentially in the same boat."Hey," He said a little louder than he normally would have, trying to get his voice to reach her over the din of the party behind them, "Mind if I join you?" Seemingly surprised but not startled, the girl's head perked up from where she was staring at, which was the empty road in front of them. In a split second, Nico could feel her eyes, a striking shade of artic-blue illuminated by the lamppost, scan him ever so quickly before responding with a small smile and a soft yet warm voice, "Sure, yes." Nico glided across the curb in a swift motion, now only a few inches separating the two of them. A sense of relief washed over him at the prospect of having someone to chat with, and he introduced himself, "Out to get some fresh air?" That was when he realized the on her forehead, and Nico didn't realize it before, but in that moment, he could tell that every time he met another player, he would share a connection with them on a sociological basis that was unmatched by anything else, as players–though small in numbers compared to regular people–shared an extremely unique and niche reality. "Yeah, I just wanted to catch my breath. Sometimes, a moment of peace is much needed, you know?" The girl responded, the gleam in her eyes indicating that she realized Nico was a player too, though the two hadn't touched upon that topic, yet. Sometimes, it was nice to interact like normal people for a change, the underlying elephant in the room staying unaddressed for the time being. He also realized that she had a slight accent, though he couldn't tell where it was from; judging from the locks of pale-blonde hair that flowed down her shoulders wavily, Nico guessed that she was of Scandinavian descent. If it was true, then that would mean she was even further from home than he was, a feeling of relatability filling him. "Definitely. I was just thinking about home. I just flew into New York today, and it's a lot take in." Nico said, his eyes fixed in front of him, feeling more at ease as the conversation went on. "I'm Nico, by the way." "It's nice to meet you–my name's Ingrid," With that, the letters replaced the ??? above her head. "I arrived yesterday from Stockholm." She informed, confirming Nico's guess. An international student wasn't someone he expected to be talking to at his first party in New York, but it was a welcome surprise. "Stockholm? That's even further from here than San Francisco–that's where I'm from–how are you finding the States?" He questioned, a small sense of understanding dawning on him; Nico was familiar with the culture shocks and continental differences that could discomfort a lot of people, especially when they're away from home. He felt it a multitude of times, and it took him several summers to fully learn the customs of how to act and behave when he was in Paris compared to back home. "It's... new. I've only been once before, to Chicago, last summer. San Francisco, though? You're also pretty far from home, like me. Is it a lot different here than there?" Ingrid asked, seeming genuinely interested in their conversation now. Nico took a slight pause to ponder before answering, wanting to give a proper reply."Yes and no–there's a lot of aspects that are the same that comes with being in any major city in America, but other than being under the same banner, I'd say it's quite different. Probably not as different when compared to Stockholm, though, right? I've always wanted to go–tell me more about it?" He inquired, his voice earnest; Nico was a passionate traveler, and though he spent many summers in Paris, he hadn't ventured to that many places outside of France as much as he had wished he did. "It's a beautiful city, especially good if you love parks nature, which I do. The weather in Sweden is quite poor throughout the year, but during the summer when the days are long and the sun is out, there are endless things to do." Ingrid replied, her tone portraying a vivid memory of the place she grew up in; it made Nico think of San Francisco, and if he could describe his own hometown in such a way. "That sounds incredible," He said with sincere admiration, "I'd love to visit one day–Scandinavia has such a rich history and culture. So what brings you here, of all places?" With such a sense of wanderlust, he could see why it wasn't hard for someone to want to go to New York City of all places; after all, it's one of the most famous destinations for tourists, alongside other businesses, foundations, and organizations alike. "Adventure," A soft smile spread on Ingrid's lips as she replied, "I wanted to see the world, experience a new culture, and get out of my comfort zone. Plus, Excelsior is an amazing school with a great international reputation–not to mention the massive player community on this side of the world." The last part shocked him for a moment before realizing that New York City's global distinction must've stretched beyond its economic and social influence. As one of the biggest cities not in just the United States but the world, people from all over must know and be drawn to the metropolis' abundance of players and player activity. It made him excited to get to know the world even further, especially since he was fairly unknowledgable about the player society. The conversation flowed on effortlessly, each exchange deepening the connection between the former strangers. Nico discovered that Ingrid was easy to talk to, and it didn't hurt that she was an obviously good-looking person, which coupled with an active mind made for someone he didn't want to stop talking to. They talked a little about each other's experiences in their respective hometowns, and how their time here has been so far–she told him that she had befriended some people earlier in the day, and that was how she was invited to the party; earlier, Ingrid had been inside the house, enjoying the festivities as much as anyone else, but she wanted a quick breath of fresh air, as most people would. Curious about one another, the pair of them continued talking, eyes occasionally meeting; as they sat together, he felt gratitude at the fact that there was someone he was finally talking to–his first friend outside of Kadin that he had found in New York, and he hoped that he would see her around school after tonight. It made him feel much more at ease and comfortable with the setting than before. He could tell instinctively that Ingrid was already a very sociable person, with an outgoing and charismatic personality that would probably net her a lot of friends no matter where she went. Nico stole a glance at her once more, a flicker of something in his chest that he hadn't expected to come forth. As they kept talking, they became more relaxed around each other, slight chuckles and laughter coming out of their dialogue. "...and the winters in Sweden are definitely just six months of dark, cloudy, freezing torture! Makes you appreicate the changing seasons here in New York–personally, I can't wait to see the changing fall leaves." She giggled, which sounded like the sound of wind chimes in the summer breeze to Nico. Captivated by the easiness of the conversation, Nico didn't even notice himself smile back, "I hadn't even thought of that. However, I think I'll miss the fog rolling over the Golden Gate Bridge in the morning from a viewpoint overlooking the city."That made Ingrid's face light up, her eyebrows creasing with a thoughtful expression, "I've always wanted to see that! I've seen pictures–it looks incredible." "It's quite beautiful, especially at sunset, when the entire bridge turns a sort of fiery orange color for a few special minutes. That doesn't happen that often, though." He said, feeling a pride for his birthplace like he had never felt before–he had plenty of conversations with his friends from Paris about San Francisco, but since he hadn't kept up with them as well as he should've, he had forgotten about the times he had talked up his city."That reminds me!" Ingrid's pale hue of blue eyes lit up with excitement, "If you want to see beautiful buildings at sunset, look no further than the Grand Square, Stortorget, in Stockholm's Old Town, Gamla Stan. It's like right out of a fairytale when the sky is all orange and pink and the buildings look like they're glowing–it's one of my favorite places in the city, I would always walk past there growing up." Nico felt excitement swell in his chest at meeting someone who, despite the vast differences between their upbringings, shared a similar appreciation for the aesthetics and architecture of life, "That sounds stunning. Maybe I can go there one day, and you can go see San Francisco, then we can see which sunset wins" The blonde's eyes sparkled, her smile widening, "Sounds like a plan! Though, I feel like I might be biased towards Stockholm." A chuckle came from the both of them, enjoying the conversation with a, up until a few minutes ago, complete stranger that neither of them thought they would be having that night. Only sounds of bursts of laughter or roars of excitement–most likely a result of drinking games–from the party behind them disturbed the peacefulness of the summer night. "So, what are you studying at Excelsior?" He finally asked, not wanting the conversation to end. It seemed as if she reciprocated the sentiment, as Ingrid launched into an explanation, clearly interested in the subject, "Bioinformatics–it's a mixture of biology and informatics, so it's pretty interdisciplinary. We use coding and computer science specifically to analyze, store, and merge biological data." "Unlocking the secrets of life on a whole new level, huh? Sounds fascinating, and it's definitely not something I know much about; you should definitely tell me more about it sometime. I'm guessing you really like nature?" Nico raised an eyebrow, impressed at her choice of major. "You'd be right. There are plenty of nature reserves around Stockholm, and those are my favorite places on Earth. It feels like walking through ancient forests and seeing pristine, undisturbed lakes." She continued, evidently passionate about the subject, which was something Nico found inspiring. "What about you, though, what are you majoring in?" "Political economy, so just as interdisciplinary as you. I've been interested in history, civics, and just social sciences in general all my life, so it felt like the perfect route to go down, you know?" He answered truthfully.As the two of them sat there beneath the glow of the streetlight and the moonless sky, he couldn't help but feel a small warmth in his chest. He was glad that he was here in this moment, having this chat with Ingrid, and felt like meeting her this night had to be a lucky stroke. She was clearly an intelligent and enthusiastic individual, which only further entranced Nico. But all good things had to come to an end, and the two of them were snapped out of their talk when all of a sudden, a loud yell could be heard coming from inside the house; at first, it was indistinguishable over the blaring tunes still blasting on the speakers and the people chatting, but the yells were sustained and grew louder as the music was suddenly paused and people began to hush, all of them trying to see what the commotion was all about. Nico and Ingrid both turned around and looked into the house, the differing LED colors still on rotation as they had been earlier that night. A feeling of alarm filled Nico's head, and he could discern that something was probably wrong. That was when he heard another loud yell, this time Nico's eyes widened suddenly as he recognized the voice.It was coming from... Kadin? Surprised, Nico shot up, taking one regretful glance at Ingrid, knowing that he couldn't continue the conversation anymore; he had to check out what was happening, and his brain was telling him that he had to be there."I'm really sorry, but that's my roommate. It was really lovely talking to you, though." He managed to get out, seeing the bewildered look on Ingrid's face, before bolting up the few steps and onto the porch. People by now could hear the altercation going on, and they were crowding around to see what was happening; therefore, the doorway was blocked. Nico rushed in, his mind urgently telling him to see what was going on.For some reason, he felt an inclination to see the situation, and so Nico's body simply acted. He pushed through the crowd, easily being able to force himself past the sea of bodies by drawing on just a sliver of the enhanced strength he had as a physical-type player. As he got closer, the whispers of the surrounding crowd weren't loud enough to overshadow the sound of what was clearly a public argument, with his roommate's voice reverberating through the space. Nico finally pushed through the circle of onlookers that formed around the alcove leading into the kitchen that Nico had previously passed during his exploration of the house prior to stepping outside once again. He saw a sight that made him grimace.A chaotic ensemble of people stood inside the circle, clearly where the altercation was going down. There was Kadin, whose voice was laced with a distinct edge of anger, and Gracelyn, an annoyed and slightly fearful look on her face, being loomed over by an individual whose back was turned to Nico. He was slightly taller than Nico from the looks of it, with slicked-back chocolate-colored hair, and Kadin was standing close to the guy, seemingly in the middle of coming in between him and Gracelyn. In the stranger's hand was a half-empty beer bottle, and his voice confirmed Nico's suspicion, "Come on, beautiful," He slurred, "One dance won't hurt, right?" His voice was thick with intoxication, and he could tell Kadin and Gracelyn both weren't sober, either. Before anything else could happen, Kadin's hand reached out and grabbed the shorter boy's shoulder, physically escalating the situation by pulling him out of Gracelyn's immediate proximity, taking the stranger's place and acting as a wall between the redhead girl and the brunette boy. Nico could see Kadin's fists clenched as he growled, "Back off, I said. She said no, Francisco." Francisco, apparently the name of the aggravator, immediately scowled, "Relax, dude, what are you, her boyfriend?" He sneered, and Nico noticed that a sign he had gotten familiar with was above his head; it meant that Francisco was also a player, meaning that he was potentially dangerous to the situation. Nico was unsure of what happened between players when situations escalated in public, since there were also non-players around them, too. Kadin and Gracelyn had only recently met, so he didn't have any claim to be her boyfriend, but anyone could tell that the taller boy made Gracelyn much more comfortable when he stepped in between them, especially because of her petite stature. Francisco smirked, gesturing towards Gracelyn with his empty hand. Kadin reached out and swatted the hand away, clearly drunk but trying to stay as level-headed s possible–Nico didn't know if there was any prior animosity between the two, but it wouldn't be surprising to him if there was, especially considering what was happening now. Behind Francisco in the circle were two other people that Nico didn't recognize, but upon closer inspection, they were all players as well. "Don't touch me!" Francisco suddenly yelled due to the prior contact, his voice filled with rage. By now, every bystander was quiet and watching the situation unfold, and Nico's fingers twitched with anticipation–he would move in a heartbeat if something were to happen. "Or what?" Kadin barked back, infuriated; both of them were clearly riled up now, and though there was an obvious side who was in the wrong and side who was in the right, things could get ugly if both of them were to do something unwise. Before anything else could happen, Nico shot forward, the air crackling with palpable tension. Fueled by a mixture of anger and alcohol, he knew that neither side were in the right headspace, and a violent confrontation was the last thing anyone needed right now, especially between two players who could wreak havoc in the house. "Kadin, it's not worth it." Nico found himself in between the two college students, one hand in front of Kadin; though they had just met earlier in the day, Nico knew he would regret it if he hadn't stepped in and done something. And still, he was the type of person to take action after a fast yet deliberate assessment of a scenario–standing around after already knowing what must be done felt like a waste to him. "Who are you?" Francisco's head snapped towards Nico, and the Witchblade could suddenly feel a myriad of eyes shift their focus from Francisco and Kadin to himself, as a newcomer who just burst into the circle. Gracelyn grabbed onto Kadin's arm at that moment, and the look on her face told Nico that she didn't want anything to happen either. "Answer me!" Francisco shouted in Nico's face, and the boy could feel the unease of the situation as the malicious intent in the brown-haired boy's voice was clear. Nico felt a muscle in his jaw twitch, thinking about how much of an idiot this guy had to be to start something like this right before classes started; wouldn't everyone know who he was after this? "Just back off, dude," Nico stated firmly, finding a strength in his voice he didn't know he had, "Nothing good comes from this." For a brief moment, Nico's eyes locked with Francisco, and they stared each other down; Nico was prepared in case the provoker made any sudden moves, and it was like they were daring each other to do something first; the tension in the air was thick, as Nico held his breath, not wanting to miss if anything split-second were to happen. For a moment, it seemed like Francisco was going to do something, his hands curled up in a fist and his face contorted with fury that some stranger would dare interrupt his moment. Unsurprisingly, Franciso didn't back down, either. Luckily, someone else came out of the woodwork, one of the people who seemed to be part of his entourage, a girl with umber-brown hair, emerged and put a hand on his shoulder.It was a confident-looking girl, with a look on her face that displayed boredom and nonchalance, not particularly convincing of someone trying to defuse the situation; she said, "Francisco, not the time." And the boy actually seemed to hesitate for a moment. She, another player, whispered something into his ear that no one else could hear, and after another few seconds passed, Francisco opened his mouth once more."You're lucky, kid; I'll remember you." He snarled, his voice dripping with resentment and ire, "Not worth my time anyway." Francisco, with that, turned on his heel and stormed off as the girl followed him silently, the other person in their posse right behind them. For a moment, no one said anything as the circle remained completely quiet, but after a tense second had passed, the circle of onlookers began to disperse like a deck of cards tumbling downward as they began to murmur to themselves, whispers of astonishment and gossip spread like wildfire throughout the house.Nico didn't pay attention to that though, and turned to face Gracelyn and Kadin, "You guys alright?" Gracelyn nodded, her face less fearful and more irritated than anyone–Nico was glad for that, as it would've been a real shame if this guy ruined their night in such a way. Kadin, on the other hand, still held a pissed off expression on his face, to which no one could blame him for. "Yeah, I'm fine. I was this close to calling my bow on him." The taller boy's voice was gruff and peeved, his words slightly slurred, though Nico guessed that the situation would've sobered them up somewhat, especially if they weren't too drunk to begin with. "Thanks, Nico, by the way.""I'm just glad I could help." Nico swelled with empathy for them–he wasn't used to confrontation or anything, but had seen his fair share of situations defused which could've gone much worse if they hadn't been, so he only felt as if it were his duty to aid wherever he could. After that, the situation smoothed itself out–Kadin and Gracelyn were still somewhat ruffled, but it became fine quickly; but because of that incident, the party was pretty much over. A little while later, less and less people were apparent in the crowd. Nico stayed with Kadin and Gracelyn temporarily, making sure that everything was fine and that they were good to get home; Gracelyn wasn't drinking that night, so she would be driving the two of them as well as Saniya back to their dormitories, the latter of which was among the crowd during the time of the altercation.Soon after that, the house became emptier and emptier, and the four of them who arrived at the party together went home, too, joining the crowd of people who exited in droves. Regrettably, he couldn't find Ingrid anywhere among the partygoers who were leaving the neighborhood, and even though he tried looking for a moment, she was nowhere to be found. He could only hope to see her around in the near future and talk to her then in a more civil environment, especially not with how their last conversation ended. What started out as a regular party turned out to have its ups and downs, as Nico couldn't shake the feeling that this wasn't the last time he was going to be seeing Francisco again.