STATIC (LGBT)

Chapter 6

After a few more seconds of total self-consciousness I reached the DJ and I waited for him to stop moving his hands around the mixer.

God, I’m really not up to this, I thought to myself among many other frantic and panicked thoughts.

I opened and closed my fists, breathed and exhaled, blinked many times until I felt brave enough to step up on the platform where only this guy was. He had blond hair with brown streaks and really dark eyebrows. I even wondered if that mixture of colors was natural but when I realized my courage levels were decreasing I tapped his shoulder to get his attention.

The DJ glanced at me once, ignoring me, and then again as he seemed to realize something. He looked at my eyes with his blue one and smiled. “Yes? What can I do for you?” He screamed at me taking one of the headphones off.

I stared at him for a few seconds surprised by the sudden attention I got from him. I decided to erase that thought from my head instantaneously because I realized it was better to get this over with as quickly as possible than to stand there doing nothing.

“You know, Zoë?” I asked him loudly.

His eyebrows went up in a surprised expression. “Of course! Who doesn’t know who the new school’s beauty is?”

I smiled after hearing that. I don’t know why, maybe it was because I knew she was a beautiful girl from the start. “Well, she said to me to tell you to put Gangsomething Style on and that if you said no, to tell you that people will like it as long as you mix everything other than the chorus…. Or something like that.”

“Gangnam Style?” He verified. I nodded at him and he quickly turned around and came back with a CD in hand. “I see what she’s talking about. Cool. Will do.”

He took out one of the CDs he was using but continued to use the other one as he put the Gangnam Style CD in place. Suddenly the music started playing and everyone started cheering. The DJ used his fingers to change the volume, the bass and many other things I could identify with since electronic music isn’t really my forte.

“Party looking good.” He said jumping up and down. “Say Hi I to Zoë from me…. Um… Sorry, but what’s your name?”

I looked up at his excited eyes. At that moment I saw a sparkle in them. It was strange because it was the same glittering in the iris and pupil that every music lover got when they heard or played something they loved. Here, this guy was doing both.

Maybe that recognition made me smile at him and actually respond back with my real name. “Alex.”

“Nice to meet you Alex.” He said, “I’m Matt. Now. Go on and have fun!”

He looked down on the people on the dance floor and I made note that what he just told me probably meant to go away already. Not that I was disturbing him but I had done what I needed to do.

I stepped off the platform and my leg wobbled making me almost bend over. Darn… NOW I was shaking? Honestly, that had taken everything from me and I was supposed to do that the whole night? I shook my head and breathed in deeply, taking in the smells from the party. I was getting used to the sounds, smells, sights of the party little by little but it was still overwhelming. God, I really was going to have a hard time today especially when knowing not everyone is going to be as easy-going as… Matt? Was that his name? Yeah, maybe.

I pushed yet again through the dancing teenagers as the song continued and made my way to the outskirts of the crowd into the kitchen. There were a few people there talking so I took a bet on it and decided to get in there. For some reason, when I stepped into it I realized I had done something I hadn’t meant to do back there. That I WASN’T supposed to do. I told the DJ my real name. My abbreviated name. Oh God… was he from school? I had no way of knowing it!