Chains of Divinity

Melissa's house was already packed when Jacob arrived. Music thumped through open windows, and teenagers spilled onto the front lawn in laughing clusters. Tyler spotted him from the porch and waved him over, red cup in hand.

"Yo, finally!" Tyler yelled over the bass. "Was starting to think you ghosted us!"

"Nah, just homework," Jacob said. Which wasn't exactly true - he'd actually wasted an hour staring at his laptop, trying to figure out that stupid story character's name.

The party was going hard inside. Someone had hung up those cheap LED strip lights you get on Amazon, making weird shadows dance across everything. For a split second, the patterns seemed familiar, like they were trying to tell him something- but he pushed that thought away real quick.

He followed Tyler to the kitchen where Ryan was messing around with drinks.

"Look who decided to show up!" Ryan's grin was huge as he sloshed something into a red cup. "Made this one special, just for you bro."

Jacob eyed the cup Ryan handed him. "Do I even want to know what's in here?"

"Probably not," Ryan laughed, shooting him a wink.

The first few sips burned going down, but by the third one Jacob was feeling pretty good. The music didn't seem as loud, and those weird lights weren't bugging him as much. Maybe this was exactly what he needed - just a normal party to get out of his head.

That's when he saw Emma by the stairs, laughing at something on someone's phone. His heart did that stupid flutter thing it always did around her. Maybe it was Ryan's drink giving him an extra shot of courage, but he actually started walking over.

The LED lights flickered, just for a second. Jacob blinked, and suddenly Emma wasn't there anymore. Like, just straight up gone. He stood there for a moment, feeling weird and fuzzy, staring at the empty space where she'd been.

"Bruh, you good?" Tyler stumbled into him, spilling some of his drink. "You're staring at nothing."

"I swear Emma was right here," Jacob said, head fuzzy.

"Emma?" Tyler snorted. "She's at her grandma's or some shit. Been posting pics all day."

"No way, she was literally just-" Jacob stopped. His head was starting to spin a little.

"Damn, Ryan got you fucked up!" Tyler cackled, slapping his back. "What'd he put in that drink?"

The lights started doing that weird flickering thing again. For a second they looked like they were spelling something out, but Jacob's brain felt too scrambled to figure it out.

"Yeah... guess so," he mumbled. Something felt off, but the music was too loud and his thoughts were too fuzzy to piece it together.

He wandered back to the kitchen where Ryan was still playing bartender, mixing drinks that definitely weren't just soda.

"Ayy, need another one?" Ryan was already grabbing bottles, not really waiting for an answer. "This one's gonna hit different!"

Jacob took it without thinking, letting himself get lost in the bass and the lights and the general chaos of the party. Easier than trying to figure out why he'd seen someone who wasn't even there.

He ended up on the back porch, trying to clear his head. Music thumped behind him, muffled by walls and windows. The moon hung low and full, casting everything in silver light that made his eyes hurt a little.

His phone buzzed. New email from his English teacher:

From: [email protected] Subject: Creative Writing Project

Jacob,

Your draft shows promise. The character's journey feels authentic, though he seems to be missing something essential—a name, perhaps? Sometimes we have to let our stories tell themselves. Stop trying to force the name. Let it find you instead.

-Ms. Winters

Jacob stared at the email, then checked the time stamp. 11:47 PM on a Friday night. Why would his teacher be reading drafts and sending feedback now?

He looked back at the house, where those cheap LED lights were still doing their weird flicker thing through the windows. His head felt heavy and light at the same time, like he was dreaming but couldn't wake up.

Something was definitely up with him. But right now, he just wanted to be a normal kid at a party. The rest could wait.

He went back inside, trying not to look too hard at the shadows or think about girls who weren't really there.