Days later, I was awoken to the sound of Piper's cheerful scream and heavy footsteps.
Confused, I sat up in my bed examining the clock.
7:15. It was early.
Before I could get up, my bedroom door bursted open.
River.
He looked different than I remembered; his hair had been cut short for the film and his face looked rougher. It was like he'd aged numerous years since I 'd last seen him.
Regardless, he was still the River that I loved so dearly.
My eyes widened as he ran to me, tackling me against my bed and planting multiple wet kisses all over my face.
"I'm home!" He yelled. "For now, anyway."
I couldn't help but laugh out of sheer happiness. I was so surprised to see him again.
When his energy finally died down, we got up and entered the living room.
I forgot how much I missed the smile on Piper and Flea's face as they held each other, closely.
"Carmen!" Flea yelled, ripping himself from Piper and pasting to me like a magnet. "You haven't grown at all!" He joked.
"What am I? Five?" I sassed. "You can't expect me to grow that much."
He laughed and returned back to Piper as I did to River.
"Well, there's no time to waste! Let's go!" River yelled as he tugged me towards the door.
"I'm not even dressed," I protested, releasing from his grip. Before he could refuse, I ran off.
"I'll be quick, I swear!" I yelled from my room.
-
"So what did you have planned for us?" I questioned, raising my eyebrow at him.
He laughed and threw his arm around my shoulder, stuffing his other hand in his pocket.
"Who needs plans?" He wondered. "Let's just do whatever our impulse tells us too, hm?"
I nodded in approval to him as we walked down the Strip.
We walked aimlessly for a while, talking and observing the other pedestrians, until a young girl came up to River.
She roughly grabbed his shirt and looked adoringly to him.
"Oh my god," she started, clearly flustered. I took a step back from them.
"Are you River Phoenix?" She asked, earning them both quick glances from few bystanders.
Gently, River guided her to the edge of the sidewalk.
"Yes, I am." His voice sounded gentle and harmless.
"I'm a really big fan," she started, and I could tell by her rosy face that she was. "I love all of your movies and I have so many posters of you in my room. And now I've met you, and I can't tell anyone. If I do, my parents might think that I'm crazy."
River laughed and held her shoulder lightly.
"Don't worry about that," he insisted, smiling to her. "Why don't you give me your home phone number, and tomorrow I'll call and talk to your parents."
I couldn't help but feel my heart sink as she recorded her number and gave it to him.
Before walking off, they quickly embraced and she left with few tears in her eyes. Clearly, star struck.
After the encounter, River barely acknowledged it. Rather we continued down the street in silence, though I couldn't seem to shake the feeling that came over me as he so willingly made a stranger feel like a friend.
We ended up at an unfamiliar park, miles away from home.
Tiredly, I sat against the wooden bench, though River seemed as lively as ever.
It was like a scene out of a movie. The park was full with children flying colorful kites, families on swings, and dogs running freely amongst them.
"I'll be back." River insisted as he darted towards the playground.
I watched as he approached a small, brown haired boy who had been fixing a broken string on his kite.
They talked for a brief second before River knelt down near him and began to adjust something on the boy's kite.
Minutes later, they rose.
I examined the boy as he ran through the empty grass, admiring the kite that River had fixed for him.
"Thank you!" I heard the little boy yell to River, who had been watching him in awe the whole time.
And for the third time that day, my heart sank again.
-
After lots of fan encounters, nature walks, and just complete foolery, we headed back down the Strip.
"Flea wanted me to meet him at the Viper in an hour, do you want to come?" He wondered.
Sleep was all my body could crave, but I remembered River's change of habits.
And who could forget my promise to Rain?
"Sure," I said, trying to sound as excited as I could.
-
By the time we reached the Viper Room, it was late at night.
I headed for the booth in the back corner and crawled into it, avoiding all of the people who crowded around River.
"I'm just going to wait here," I told him. "For Piper."
"Are you sure?" He half talked, half yelled over the Guns and Roses that blared throughout the club.
"I'm sure." I insisted, and with that, he was gone.
I examined the crowd that was occupying the Viper Room tonight.
Something felt different, and I couldn't help but wonder what it was.
The crowd was louder tonight; rowdier. It seemed as if I could barely hear my own thoughts over the noise that paraded every inch of the room.
In a fit of frustration, I put my head down against the table and let my mind go blank.
It was then that I realized how tired I truly was.
-
"Carmen!"
My head shot up; my eyes feeling heavy and my body feeling weak.
No way I just fell asleep at the Viper Room.
To my surprise, Piper and Flea sat across from me. In front of them were two beers, but I could tell they weren't drunk yet.
"Sleepy, are ya?" Flea questioned.
I laughed and sat up, stretching.
"River wore me out," I started, earning me a smirk from both of them.
"Not like that." I defended.
They both laughed and sipped their beers.
"Well, we're going to go dance around," Piper started. "Need anything while I'm up?" She wondered.
"A joint, maybe?" I questioned, thinking of every possible way to wake myself up.
Almost instantly, an unfamiliar hand reached out to me; a joint already rolled in the finger tips.
"I got you covered," the man said, offering it to me with a smile.
I sent him an uncomfortable smile as I took it and sparked it up between my lips.
As normal, I smoked it all. But strangely enough, my heart started racing.
-
Truthfully, I'm scared.
Whatever was given to me was not pot; pot does not make you feel as sweaty as this.
I lazily removed my jacket and threw it on the ground, getting up to find River.
The only person I needed right now was him, because something isn't right.
I shoved multiple people out of my way as I got up and tumbled through the crowded room.
All perceptions of vision were completely distorted and my hearing was mushy and sloppy.
The frustration of my mental state spiraled me into a frenzy. I tried my hardest not to freak out in the middle of everyone, but as time went on it only got worse.
My heart pumped as I finally found River, talking with Keanu and a blonde woman in the middle of the club.
The moment his eyes found me his face dropped. They all looked like they had seen a ghost.
"I don't feel good," I told him, wondering if I'd actually spoken or not.
He put his hands on my face but I couldn't help but flinch at his touch.
"What did you do?" He asked, catching the attention of Keanu and his friend.
"Some guy just gave me a joint," In the middle of my explaining, Connor rushed to me and examined my face.
"Oh fuck," he started, "I'm so sorry. I was trying to get to you faster."
I could see the fear radiating off of his eyes.
We all shot him confused looks as River pulled him aside, allowing Connor to whisper something into his ear.
After they pulled away, they both looked at me.
River wrapped his arm around me and leaned over to Keanu, saying something.
"We're going home, okay?" River asked, beginning to lead me out of the club.
I was too stunned to even answer. Helplessly, I let him lead me outside into the cold air.
The moment it hit me, my stomach began to burn. And in a moment of weakness I leaned over, hurling onto the street.
My head turned and felt as if it was falling off my body.
The last thing I felt were River's arms catching me before every sense I had shut off.
-
ohhhhh shit!! wanted to make this chapter longer since the last few had been quite short. I wrote this in a rush, so im sorry for any misspellings, or if the writing is just bad in general!