Me, You, & The Party Rock Crew

Halloween 2009

“I thought I was a fool for no one, but oh baby I’m a fool for you.” – Muse, Supermassive Black Hole, 2008. 

Halloween at Aspen Brook High always had a certain electricity to it. Coming off the heels of Homecoming, it was the next best excuse to dress up, go out, and pretend the world was lighter than it actually was. It was chaotic, costume-filled, and slightly unhinged in the best way, of course. This year, Halloween fell on a Saturday, which meant parties weren’t just expected, but they were practically a civic duty. 

The night before, Odalys had hosted her annual “Old People Halloween Party”, as Izzie affectionately called it, where the adults in her family all pitched in to rent out a nightclub on the Northwest side of the city and relived their glory days in ridiculous matching getups. This year’s theme? Discoween. She’d helped her mom adjust her glittery sleeves and teased her curls into a Diana Ross-inspired halo before watching her vanish into her Suzuki XL7 like a disco ball on wheels.  

Izzie, meanwhile, had no ride to speak of. No date. No boyfriend. No real plans. That was the thing about fall–it always made her feel just a little too aware of what she didn’t have. Still, she managed to sneak out to a house party a few blocks down dressed as a skimpy, Converse-wearing Ghost face. Her mask stayed on for most of the night–anonymity was easier. Safer. 

However, the moment Simon, Ryan, and Sunwoo showed up, she couldn’t help herself. She blew her cover with a casual wave and a lifted mask, letting the grin slip through. Then, she lowered it back again, back behind the safety net. 

That was her pattern back then: a little braver, but never too exposed. Flirty, but guarded. She didn’t know it yet, but those early habits, hiding just enough to stay in control, would become something she’d carry well into adulthood. Even years later, as she sat next to Quinn in an airport Starbucks, she still felt that same tug. A young Izzie hides behind her mask to peek and wave before disappearing back behind it. 

“Yoooo! Iz, that’s a killer costume!” Ryan beamed, clearly proud of himself. 

Sunwoo let out a snort, right as Izzie doubled over laughing. 

“Oh, come on!” Ryan groaned, realizing too late. 

“You walked right into it,” Izzie shrugged, her Ghostface mask pushed up just enough to reveal a sly grin. 

Just then, Simon reappeared, balancing a red Solo cup in each hand. One of them was filled with a suspiciously dark liquid that looked like it had been scooped straight out of a cauldron. 

“What the hell is that?” Izzie asked, eyeing the drink like it might bite. 

“Witches’ Brew, apparently. Want some?” Simon offered, only half-smiling. 

“Nah, I’m good,” she said, scrunching her nose. 

Sunwoo leaned in dramatically, took a bold sip, and instantly recoiled with a cartoonishly loud gag. 

“Bro, if you wanted to off yourself, there are easier ways to do it,” he choked, wiping his mouth. 

“What’s even in that thing?” Ryan asked, peering into the cup like it might answer like a magic 8-ball. 

Simon just shrugged and raised it like a toast. “No idea. But mmm…so…good,” he lied, then immediately made a face as he forced another sip. 

Izzie laughed, but just for a second, something caught in her throat. 

She looked at Simon, really looked. His face was still boyish, goofy, familiar. The way he leaned into a joke, committed to a bit–even the dumb ones. He was a mess, but he had always made her feel like she wasn’t alone in hers. 

She blinked. The sound of Quinn’s voice echoed faintly in her head. 

I care. 

She hated that her heart skipped in the exact same way in present day as it did back then. 

“Hey, you good?” Sunwoo nudged her lightly with his elbow. 

Izzie nodded quickly, mask slipping back down to hide the quiet flicker in her eyes. 

“Duh. Just thinking about how you’re gonna survive your next sip.” 

Sunwoo grinned. “Puh-lease, I’ve trained for worse, Fizzie.” 

Just then, a loud screech echoed from the backyard speakers–a mic feedback whine that caught everyone’s attention. 

“There’s a band?” Sunwoo blinked. 

Before she could process it, Simon grabbed her arm and pulled her toward the sound. Instinctively, she reached back for Sunwoo, who grabbed Ryan, and suddenly they were a four-person chain snaking toward the backyard stage. 

And then she saw him. 

Marcos Delatorre. 

Her childhood best friend. 

Before she and Simon had become the dynamic duo, there was Izzie and Marcos. They’d been inseparable since kindergarten–back when recess meant everything and pinky swears still held weight. 

Their friendship had always been easy. Effortless. Safe. Marcos had always had a soft spot for Majestad “Maggie” Rodriguez, Izzie’s best friend since preschool, and by some miracle, Maggie had eventually liked him back. They’d started dating in middle school, fell apart spectacularly, and then found their way back together earlier that freshman year. 

It was the kind of romance you rooted for. Secret glances, hidden texts, feuding parents–they were practically Romeo and Juliet, minus the double death. Izzie was the glue in the middle. Their excuse. Their distraction. The one who made sure they had time and space to exist together. 

And she didn’t mind. Not really. 

At Maggie’s quince, when Marcos had shown up hand-in-hand with her, Izzie felt a burst of secondhand pride. He’d stepped up. Taken the risk. There was hope, even if Maggie’s dad still politely escorted him out. 

Their love lasted through the blazing summer of ‘09, but now it was fall, and something felt…different. 

Marcos had been texting Izzie more. Sitting closer. Laughing longer. It wasn’t anything obvious, at least, not yet. But there were moments. Moments that lingered. 

And then came in Catalina. 

Maggie had rolled her eyes the first time she saw her. “She looks like your twin–only whiter,” she’d whisper to Izzie. “And if she had a botched dye job and joined choir.” 

They’d laugh about it at the time. 

Izzie couldn’t ignore the tension creeping in. She wasn’t sure when it started, only that it was there. Unspoken. Growing. 

This party would be the beginning of everything. 

Simon instantly scowled. 

“The hell is he doing here?”

“He’s in a band, remember?” Izzie nudged him with her elbow. 

“So basically we’re listening to noise?” Ryan muttered, backing up Simon with a dramatic sigh.

“Okay, bros, as if we all haven’t dabbled in the world of screamo so far this year,” Sunwoo cut in. “How bad could it be?” 

As much as Izzie wanted to be supportive, she winced internally. The band was…not great. In fact, they were barely hanging on to the same key. Or rhythm. Or genre. 

Still, Marcos had a good voice, a really good voice. And she held out hope that (maybe, just maybe) it would be one of those rare moments where he got to carry the set instead of the chaos. 

Izzie lucked out. 

Marcos took the stage, dressed like Jacob Black from Twilight–pre-werewolf haircut, of course. His long hair was tied back, russet skin glowing beneath the strobe lights, and that familiar, effortless confidence of his radiated like stage fog. Izzie was grateful her mask hid the starry-eyed look blooming across her face. 

The first few guitar chords rang out, and the crowd erupted. Either the band had seriously improved…or they’d hired a new guitarist. Whatever the case, everyone immediately recognized the opening to Escape the Fate’s “Something”. 

People started jumping and swaying in rhythm–and then Marcos’ honey-rasped voice poured out of the speakers like warm smoke. 

So now you’re running. It’s hard to see clearly, when I make you angry. You’re stuck in the past…

Izzie froze. It was like a siren song–hypnotic, magnetic. Sure, she’d heard Marcos sing everything from Taylor Swift to Atreyu in the past, but this? This was next level. This was frontman energy. 

Sometimes I wonder why I’m still waiting. Sometimes I’m shaking, that’s how you make me…

Simon clenched his jaw. The worst part wasn’t the screamo. It was the lyrics. The way they hit a little too close to home. The way Izzie looked like she’d been personally bewitched. What was so damn cool about this Marcos guy anyway? 

Can you help me understand? 

And now you wish that you meant something, and now you wish that you meant something to somebody else. 

“Okay,” Simon muttered, teeth gritted, “he’s got an…okay voice.” 

“Bro should be on American Idol or that one British spin-off,” Sunwoo mumbled beside him, eyes still on the stage. 

Simon shot him a glare and jabbed an elbow into his side. 

 “Talent is talent,” Sunwoo said with a shrug. “Hating on it won’t make him suck.” 

Simon sulked. Meanwhile, Izzie was still completely entranced. 

“Earth to Isabella!” Simon waved a hand in front of her face. 

She blinked, suddenly pulled out of her trance. “Commander Izzie reporting for duty,” she said dryly, side-eyeing him. 

“Let’s go get some drinks. I’m dying over here,” Simon practically whined. 

Izzie raised a brow. He couldn’t see it behind her mask, but he felt it. He always did. 

“Actually,” Sunwoo threw an arm around both of them. “I could use a beer. Something cold. Something that doesn’t taste like teenage angst.” 

“God,” Izzie groaned as the two of them started herding her away. “You guys are like babysitting my little cousins.” 

And just like that, they peeled her away from the music–and from Marcos’ gaze. 

There were bottles upon bottles crowding the kitchen–it looked like a frat house.

“Christ on a kite, there’s so much beer…” Izzie muttered under her breath. 

“Yo! Joey!” Sunwoo shouted, scanning the crowd for Ryan, who had disappeared moments earlier. “Get me a Blue Moon and three Coronas for my spooky hoes!” 

He was calling to Joey Lopez–“Megaton”, as Sunwoo had lovingly dubbed him once. The nickname stuck after Joey clocked in at a whopping six-foot-six, 280 pounds, and had NFL draft energy oozing from every muscle. Not that Sunwoo was bitter or anything.. Okay, maybe a little. Joey got varsity running back. Sunwoo just missed the cut. 

“Wow, you finally dropped the nickname for the night,” Joey grinned. 

“Just making sure you don’t whip out the micro-peen and piss in my friends’ drinks,” Sunwoo shot back with a dazzling smile. 

A collective groan echoed from the group. 

“Come on, Sun,” Simon sighed. 

“I’m adding this to the shenanigans jar, McKinnon-Lee,” Izzie shook her head. 

“Oh, shit, Fizzie!” Joey’s voice lit up with recognition. “Siiiick costume!” he beamed. 

Izzie hit a little dramatic pose. The boys all groaned again.

“Anyways,” she said, all business. “About those drinks?” 

“Right, right, Blue Moon and Coronas coming right up,” Joey laughed, getting to work. 

Once drinks were in hand, the crew clinked bottles and took a unified sip. The faces that followed–sour, cringing–told the truth, but none of them dared to admit it. They were sophomores, after all. Cool was currency. 

“Izzie?” 

There it was again: that voice. 

Her mask slipped back into place just in time. “Marcos!” she chirped. 

Simon’s scowl was immediate. Ryan and Sunwoo exchanged quick glances. This was unexpected. 

“It’s so great to see you! Wow, I love the costume. Definitely a switch-up from the one you showed me,” Marcos chuckled. 

Fantastic, Izzie thought, grateful her flushed face was hidden.

Simon, on the other hand, felt the jealousy creep up his spine like an itch he couldn’t scratch. She showed him a costume? Before me?

“Was she like, a slutty priest?” Sunwoo asked, fully grinning. 

“Jesus, Sunwoo!” Izzie snapped, mortified.

“Worse,” Marcos said. “Powerpuff Girl. Blossom, to be exact.” 

That set Ryan and Sunwoo off again–they burst into howling laughter and fist bumped Marcos. 

Simon did not find it funny. 

“Huh,” he muttered, trying to sound casual. “What changed?” 

“Daisy bailed, and Caroline’s grounded,” Izzie replied with a shrug.

“Double D has the worst bail streak,” Ryan groaned. Like, damn, we’re only young once!” 

Sunwoo nodded solemnly. They exchanged their chaotic secret handshake while Izzie rolled her eyes. 

Deep down, however, she was giddy. Her two worlds were colliding–and even if she’d never admit her crush on Marcos out loud, something about seeing them all together, vibing? It just felt…right.