The beginning of a long life

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The current name is temporary until I can find a better one

And don't play the video till the end.

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Chapter 1: Always remember to stick the landing. 

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"I would rather live and love where death is king than have eternal life where love is not." 

- Robert Green Ingersoll 

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*Anthony's point of view* 

The techno dance music was pumping in the dimly lit club my cousin Mark had dragged me to since I had just turned twenty-one yesterday and it was legal for me to drink. I was against it but he somehow convinced me in the end and so there I was being dragged through the packed mass of moving, swaying bodies in the gloom with strobe lights and lasers flashing around and above me. Mark suddenly stoped and turned back to say something but I couldn't hear anything with how loud the music is and all I could see is his mouth moving. 

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?" I yell as I leaned next to his head. 

He nodded and turned to my ear and all but shouts. "I spotted a hot blonde over there. Go grab a drink or something and at least try to live a little. Now I have to go grab that girl before someone else does." And then squeezed through the swaying mass of bodies and disappeared. 

I rub my ear from how loud he was right next to my ear and did my best to make my way to the bar at the side of the room. 

After ten minutes of trying to be polite and getting nowhere I had given up on that approach and just started to shove people out of my way. That was working for me until around when I got close to the edge of the crowd. That's when I shoved the wrong person because he turned around, glared at me, and shoved me back...Really hard. I went stumbling out of the crowd, arms flailing to catch my balance, when I stepped on something and it sent me over. I landed on my back with a grunt of pain. I opened my eyes to see a Hispanic girl with light caramel brown skin, a slender figure, and raven black wavy hair that reaches down to the middle of her back sitting on a barstool looking down at me. I put a sheepish smile on my face and asked. "Do you think I should act the tough guy and play that off or should I milk this for some sympathy?" 

The blank face she wore suddenly laughed and when she was done she said. "You wouldn't get much sympathy if you milked that. In fact I think you would be laughed at for crying about falling over like a three-year old." 

I crossed my arms (while still on my back) and pretended to stroke my non-existent beard and said. "You may have a point there... So that settles it. I'm going to ignore the whole thing... By the way, I'm Anthony DeLane." 

She reached a hand down to me and I took it and gave it a shake. "I'm Ariana Cordona. It's nice to meet you." When she finished she pulled me up off the ground and reached around to dust off my back. "So why were you on the floor when I found you?" 

I was looking between the floor, my hand she was still holding, and her arm to try to put what just happened together. I looked at her face for a moment and she looked like she had just put her foot in her mouth and I'm not sure why it was there but from the slightly panicked look in her eye I assumed she either wanted to take her foot and shove it further in so she could die and end her embarrassment or pull it out and run. I wasn't sure what happened but I decided to play it off as nothing and said. "Wow, I really need to hit the gym. I knew I was scrawny but I didn't think it was that bad till now. Anyways, I was abandoned by my cousin so I decided to grab a drink but had trouble getting through that moving sardine can they call a dance floor. And well, push came to shove and by the end of it I shoved the wrong guy and he shoved back... And that's when you found me."