Re: the lake -> inside to the bar
The concept of someone digging in - into him? - sounded awful. He already knew what it was like to have pieces of himself that were no longer his own, and he wasn't looking to give away any more of them. And if there was someone at the party that would do that, he wanted to stay far from them. He'd come for a change, true, because he'd heard about it and seen lights in the distance and thought maybe it would be enjoyable. But he wasn't at the party to be someone else, and he wasn't there to try to lose the tenuous hold he had on his life.
He wasn't one to voluntarily suck down something that would hold its power over him. It had never been high on his to-do list, and he'd become even less likely to do so at the present.
"Different, like throwing up into a lake?" His voice had taken on a stonier tone, though his face stayed exactly the same. "You're not helping. I didn't ask you to. But whether that's supposed to be some self-deprecating realization or a warning to me about not receiving aid, either way, you're right." He set his drink down on the bar (liquid-empty with only ice and fruit remaining), and nodded. "Hope your night gets better."
He turned and slipped between two party-goers, seeming to almost vanish after only a few steps.