Re: Near the food: Hugh & Dietre
When Dietre left Quiet Home for the second time he never would have expected that he’d be as ‘social’ as he had been lately. He thought he was just going to crawl into his little house at the carnival and disappear. Yet, here he was at his second party in a month, and it was at the home of a girl he had spoken to face to face with for less than five minutes. But Audrey struck him as a very nice person, and she was friends with both Noah and Hugh, so who was he to shun her invitation?
He arrived around 8:30, wearing nothing particularly special, just his own everyday clothes. For the life of him he could not think of a ‘hero’ he’d want to dress as, but luckily there were masks set out for anyone who needed one. He chose a simple black domino mask, which he wore as he drifted through the party, quietly greeting the very few people he knew while otherwise keeping out of the way. The fairy lights all over were charming, and what little food he ate was delicious. The only downside to the refreshments offered was that there was no alcohol to stifle his nerves.
As tame of a celebration as this was, it still put Dietre on edge somewhat. It wasn’t long before he began to think of escaping, but he didn’t want to offend Audrey by leaving too early, and he hadn’t seen Hugh though he thought the man would definitely be here. He wouldn’t admit it to himself, but Hugh was the main reason he continued to linger despite the passing of hours.
He was leaning against a wall in the living room, positioned that he could see who came and went from a safe distance. His waiting was eventually rewarded, Dietre easily recognized Hugh through his costume, and a smile was just forming on his lips when he saw that the man was not alone. Entering with him was. a woman. A beautiful woman. And the smile died as Dietre jumped to certain conclusions that left him feeling hollow and aching with disappointment.
Quickly, Dietre turned away before he could be seen. His only thought was to get away, but leaving by the front door would be impossible, thus he found himself slinking miserably through the house and stumbling out the back. He just stood in the cold dark for a few minutes, breathing deeply, trying to will away the sick feeling in his gut. Of course. Wasn’t this the way things always went? It was stupid of him to hope for anything different. He knew better.
Spending the night in Audrey’s backyard berating himself wasn’t exactly an option. There were two ways out of his situation. One was not going back inside but sneaking off like a thief in the night. That was the coward’s way. The other was to go and say goodbye to Audrey and thank her for her hospitality properly. He could only keep his fingers crossed that he could avoid Hugh and his date. If he managed it without being seen, then he could make it home to lament his loss with dignity intact.
Peeking inside, the path looked clear. So, biting his lip, Dietre crept back into the house, head down, and made his way toward the front, listening for Audrey’s voice so that he could find her, say what he had to say, and make his get away as quickly as possible.