xxi stand for a while and waited for words,
xxseen but not heard and struggled to try.
xxmy tongue's turning black, but i'll take you back,
xxyou're still the best, more or less, I guess.
The appearance of Lokys brought a genuine smile to Max's face. Lokys was perhaps the one person in the room that Max had zero bad blood with. He'd just moved away after the argument, so he'd never really known what Max had become. And Lokys was so chill that Max wasn't even sure he'd care. "Yeah. It's good to see you again. What have you been up to? You went to some fancy school, right?" He asked with a grin as he took a bite of his pizza. The instruction from Barty not to eat all of it just made Max's stomach twist and sent his brain into a spiral of negative thoughts. Barty was going to hate him for eating this much pizza, he was having more than his fair share, everyone was going to hate him for it-
He took a long drink, wishing the alcohol would kick in faster. Had this all been a mistake? Was the alcohol even going to be enough? Would people start to notice if he didn't relax soon? Was it even worth him being here, did everyone hate him anyway? He wasn't even listening to Lokys, Lokys was going to start hating him too. He could feel another spiral coming on- and then he spotted somebody entering the party. Somebody that made it feel like his heart had momentarily stopped, like the swirling thoughts in his head went quiet. Artie. Max found himself smiling, despite the previously rushing thoughts. He definitely needed to talk to Artie at some point, it had been far too long.
xxi'll be right there,
xxbut you'll have to tie me down
xxand then break both my hands
xxif you need anyone,
xxi'll be right there.
The appearance of Gin made Raven burst into a huge smile and wrapped her arms around the shorter girl. "Oh my gosh, it's so good to see you! You look fab!" She gushed. Since deciding to give up on her negativity, she'd learned that opening with a compliment tended to make just about everyone feel better. Especially if it was genuine. "The flask makes you look totally badass by the way, and here's me with my stereotypical red solo cup. But look, it matches my shoes!" Perhaps the alcohol was a little stronger than she'd intended. She caught a glimpse of Amber, who then ended up in a conversation with Will. Will wasn't exactly her favourite person, so she decided against joining that conversation.
"So, how have you been? What are you up to these days?" She asked. She caught a glimpse of Grace, looking a little uncomfortable on the outskirts, and beckoned her over enthusiastically. "It's so weird having everyone back here, right? I thought when I'd graduated that, well, that was it, we're never gonna see each other again. I mean, I know things are a bit weird. But maybe things will improve a little, right?" She remarked, taking a sip from her own drink. Even Raven knew that was a little optimistic, and probably a little foolish. The tension was tangible, and Raven knew there'd have to be significantly more alcohol consumed before it even started to dissipate. More people were here now, and it hadn't even improved that much. She just prayed everyone would behave themselves and that it wouldn't turn messy. She'd been hoping for a chill few days, and didn't want it ruined on the first night because people couldn't hold their tongues.