The Party
I genuinely don't know what to think or what to do about this.
Almost two month ago, one of my "friends" sent me a weird message. She suggested that we go to a party. But she made it clear that this wasn't going to be a normal party like the ones we usually go to with our mutual friends. Those parties include both guys and girls, they're downtown, which is our hangout spot, and there's normally a DJ or something more modern playing, like techno.
This time, she said there was going to be a live band. I didn't know them, but from the way she talked about them, they were apparently getting pretty popular in our area. I thought, okay, that actually sounds interesting, so I asked for the details. How much it cost, what time it started, who was going, etc.
She told me not to worry about any of that because both of our tickets were already paid for, and that all I had to do was show up. I then asked her if anyone else was going, because up until then, the two of us had never really hung out alone.
She said no, it would just be the two of us. Honestly, I didn't think much of it. I figured maybe she wanted to get to know me better since, out of the whole group, we talked to each other the least.
The party started at 11 PM. First there was supposed to be the concert, and afterward there would be drinks, games, and another performance from the band. The day has come, I told my parents where I was going and who I was going with. Because even as an young adult, I always tell my parents everything. For safety matters.
My friend also offered to pick me up from my apartment. She had a car, while I only have a driver's license but don't own one, because, well I didn't have the money to buy one. And still don't.
So during the drive, which was almost an HOUR, yes, weirdly far away, she kept trying to make conversation. She asked me about my family, my childhood, things like that. Nothing invasive or anything. I asked her the same kind of questions, but for some reason, she always seemed eager to change the subject whenever I asked her anything about herself. I didn't push it.
So at one point, I finally asked: "So why didn't the others come with us? This actually seems like a pretty fun event for the guys."
She just smiled and shrugged, like it was no big deal. I was like, okay don't answer then.
When we arrived, the place honestly looked creepy as hell.
It wasn't exactly isolated, but there were barely any houses around. It was almost like the city was right next to us, all lit up, while we were standing in these dark little roads that everyone seemed to avoid. Still, I tried not to let it get to me. The place itself was kind of a bar? It was made mostly of dark wood, and there were all kinds of young people and adults inside, but they all seemed to have the same kind of style, dark, alternative. They were drinking, laughing, talking, whatever. But the air was really stuffy, and there was this very specific smell that really bothered me. It was like sweat, a mix of different perfumes, cigarette smoke and old wood.
The instruments were already set up on the stage. Some time passed, and we had a shot to get ourselves in the mood. Then the band came out. Like she had said, they were young, around our age or maybe a little older. There were four guys, all wearing dark clothes with this very early 2000s kind of style. My friend standing next to me looked insanely excited. She was smiling so much that I actually wondered if her face hurt.
Anyway, they started playing. Their music was kind of soft rock/indie, I guess? The lyrics were questionable. I remember hearing words like "soul" and "life" and a whole bunch of weird words.
It definitely wasn't my kind of music. And this definitely wasn't my kind of place. The band left after playing maybe four or five songs. So I started turning toward the bar, thinking my friend would follow me, but suddenly she grabbed my arm and shouted over the noise.
"Hey, if you want, we can go meet the guys from the band."
I was confused. Like, what do you mean "meet the guys"? I didn't really care about them.
So I told her no, it wasn't necessary, and suggested we just get another drink. She stared at me for a few seconds, almost like she was studying my face, and then nodded without saying anything. We got another shot. We talked for a little while until my friend suddenly said she desperately needed to use the bathroom.
I said okay, let's go together because its a bar, full of unknown people. But she kind of pushed me against the bar and said:
"No, stay here. I'll be right back."
I was honestly a little surprised by that. I didn't really want to be left alone there, but I nodded anyway and watched her disappear into the crowd, smiling at basically everyone who looked at her.
I was alone for maybe 10 to 20 minutes, replaying my decisions in my head.
Why did I agree to come here? Something was clearly off.
Then I got a message from her.
"Hey, come here. I want to show you something."
That immediately made me suspicious, so I asked: "What happened?"
I watched the three dots appear, disappear, appear again, disappear again.
I kept waiting. Eventually she texted:
"Nevermind. I'll be right there."
I remember letting out this huge breath and thinking, what the fuck is going on?
Then she came back. And I swear to God, I barely recognized her.
Her curly red hair was completely messed up. The red lipstick she had been wearing was gone from her lips. Her black dress was all wrinkled. Her pupils were huge, and her mascara was smeared around her eyes.
The second I saw her, my heart basically dropped. She was smiling at me, incredibly happy, almost euphoric, with her eyes wide open. Then she started mumbling things I could barely understand, almost like she was talking to me but didn't want anyone else to hear. But I managed to catch one thing.
"You should've gone when I called you. It was so much fun."
I asked her: "What was fun?"
She just waved her hand like it was nothing and said we should wait for the band's next performance, so she could hear "the hot one play the guitar again"
I was already feeling incredibly weird and uneasy, so I told her no, I didn't want to stay and was feeling sick .She rolled her eyes, mumbled something else, and eventually said something like:
"Boring but ugh fine, we can go".
Before we walked out through the huge, heavy door, which for some reason was closed, I heard the band getting back on stage. I looked behind me, and I swear those four idiots were staring directly at me and my friend leaving. They were smiling in the most terrifying way I had ever seen, especially the guitar guy. A huge chill went through my entire body and I almost froze in place. Then they started their performance like nothing happend.
I got my friend, who was already completely limp and barely able to stand, into the car, grabbed the keys from her purse, and drove as far away from that place as I possibly could. Thank God she was still coherent enough to tell me where to go and when to turn. I was literally sweating. My hands were shaking, and I was trying my best not to let her notice. She was just sitting there, smiling and staring at nothing. Then, out of nowhere, she started laughing.
The only thing I heard her say was:
"You really should've gone when I called you. It was so much fun."
That was the second time she had said it. At that point, I had no idea what to think.
What happened when she left? What was so much fun? What the fuck was going on?
I took her back to my apartment. It's small, and by then she was half asleep. She kept smiling and mumbling things to herself. I laid her down on the couch in the living room and decided to take a shower, hoping to wash off the whole bizarre night somehow. When I came back to check on her, SHE WASN'T ON THE COUCH ANYMORE. I looked everywhere for her. I was worried because she was obviously not in a state to be going out alone at night. I went downstairs in my pajamas, still half wet from the shower, to check the parking lot.
Her car was gone too. She had left without saying a word. I texted her asking if she was okay and if she had made it home, because I didn't understand why she had suddenly left like that. She read the message. She didn't reply.
I was completely shocked. I went to my apartment and started crying my eyes out. I was so scared and uncomfortable. I couldn't stop wondering what had happened, how it had happened, or when.
The next morning, I woke up with a headache, swollen red eyes, and a message from my friend saying:
"Good morning, I'm home. Last night was fun."
I thought: "there is no way".
Something happened. She just doesn't want to tell me. I called her. She didn't answer. I texted her. She stopped responding. Eventually, I decided to leave it alone. Then, a few days later, I saw the stories of another mutual friend. They were together at a restaurant or café, smiling like everything was completely normal. I thought, there is no fucking way she can be acting this normal while I'm sitting here eating myself alive with fear and guilt. So I blocked her on everything.
When our group made plans to go out like we usually do, I made up an excuse and didn't go. One of the girls in the group, not the same friend from the story, asked me if something had happened between me and this girl. I kind of left out what actually happened because I didn't want her to think I was crazy. She just said, "Oh well, because she's been asking why you blocked her and why you've been avoiding her."
I didn't want to lie, so I admitted that yes, I was avoiding her and that I planned to keep doing so. She didn't seem too concerned about it and didn't ask any more questions.
And now I'm here. I haven't talked to any of them or gone out with the group since then. That whole situation genuinely messed me up. The atmosphere of that bar, the band, the way those guys looked at me, everything about that night keeps coming back to me in these weird little flashbacks.
I still have no idea what the hell happened that night.