"You sure you're okay?" Finn asked when I got back, and I nodded. I took a seat beside him around our table. Mykela and Luke were standing ten yards away talking to a couple of friends, and I don't know where Holly is.
"Where's my sister?" I called over the music.
"She went outside with some guy," Finn shrugged and pursed his lips. "She said she'll be back to me."
"What was the guy like?" My heart pounded.
Finn gave a weird look, then smiled, "You're worried about your sister?"
"Finn, I'm serious," I yelled over the music. It was louder now that everyone was here so they turned the volume up until the floor was vibrating.
"Um, a blonde dude," he said. I sighed in relief and closed my eyes for a moment, leaning back against my chair. "Are you sure you're feeling better?"
"Grand." I nodded and shot him a smile to show that I really was okay. Just scared a little, but it's not like Ed will try anything in front of these people.
Finn cleared his throat and uncertainly looked up at me. "Then, do you maybe want to dance with me?"
I felt heat tickling my neck and smiled shyly. "I'm a terrible dancer," I admitted. "But, sure."
He was smiling again, and helped me stand. Finn locked his arm with mine and led me to the dance floor where people were panting and leaving to their seats while others were just making their way over as a slow song was just ending.
I felt myself blushing furiously and mentally cursed at myself. Half of the students weren't dancing but watching others dance, quiet murmurs between them. Plus, Finn was well-known, which made this situation worse. I tried to block them out as Finn put his hands on my waist and I wrapped my arms around his neck. I also felt worried that I'll trip in my heels in front of everyone.
"I know this song," Finn stated when a slow song boomed through the speakers. I smiled up at him as we began to move side to side. My heart was going berserk being in this position, but I remained calm on the outside.
The music quieted everyone down. Her balaclava is starting to chafe. I closed my eyes and rested my head on his shoulder. And when she gets his gun he's begging. "Babe, stay, stay...." I opened my eyes.
The music continued, I tried to no listen to the lyrics, but the music was so loud I couldn't block it out. Now if you'll never shoot, you'll never know. And if you never eat, you'll never grow. I sighed. Today just had to be the fucking day.
I saw Luke dancing with Mykela at the other end, Holly still not around. I silently prayed that she was okay.
I caught sight of Ed sitting at the table to my left, staring at me, emotionless. I held my gaze but tightened my arm around Finn slightly. Ed smirked and raised a glass in my direction. I turned my head away and felt Finn shift.
"Are you okay?" he asked loud enough for only me to hear over to music. I gave him a tight smile and nodded, looking at my shoes. I licked my lips and flickered my gaze to Ed for a moment, but he wasn't there. My breathing grew ragged.
Finn tilted my chin with his thumb. We stopped dancing. "Evelyn."
I looked up at him. "I'm just...paranoid." It wasn't the right thing to say to him right now because, one, he'll either ask why or, two, he'll feel bad because it was his party where the incident occurred--and he'll probably think I'm scarred or something (which I kinda kinda am)--, I tried to smile to reassure him but I'm pretty sure I look like someone who was about to cry.
Finn looked like he wanted to say something, but he just hugged me to his chest. "I'm so, so sorry, Evelyn. The last thing I ever wanted was for you t-to..."
"It's not your fault," I said and shook my head, but hugged him back. People were beginning to stare and I swear I was so close to telling them to turn the fuck around before I ripped Finn's bow tie off and threw it at someone.
I rested my head on his shoulder as we began to dance again. I think I liked Finn, but I liked Harry so much more. Like, I always despised it when a character from a story or movie or show would suddenly fall for someone when their heart belonged to someone else, always complaining to Holly about how someone can fall in love with someone else when you've got the other lover in you mind twenty four seven, making you fall deeper for them. But now I knew the feeling and I hated it. I hated myself for it. Clearly, any sane girl who'd be lucky enough--sarcasm--to be stuck in this situation would go after someone kind-hearted and loving as Finn Harries, rather than someone who enjoys slitting throats. Okay, maybe he doesn't like it but you get the point; Harry kills people, he's a fugitive, he robs banks, breaks windows with potatoes blah, blah, blah.
The song ended and for that I was grateful. I enjoyed dancing but all of these thoughts--and the fricken heels--would have made me fall in the middle of the dance floor, in front of everyone. Finn gently pulled away.
"Can we take a break?" I begged after another two songs.
"You must have been exhausted slow dancing." Finn smirked, and I slapped his arm.
"I need some water," I grumbled and pulled him with me to our table. Luke was sitting alone, panting.
"You do not want to dance with her." Luke pointed to Mykela, who twisted to look behind her. When she realized Luke was gesturing to her, she smiled and waved at us with one hand, the other clutching a red cup. Of course, some students must've snuck in some alcohol. I wonder how long until a teacher notices the sluggish movements of people and slurs of their words.
Finn and I sat down. "It was a slow song, Luke," Finn laughed.
"Then why are you tired?" the blonde haired boy dared to ask.
Finn motioned to me and raised a plastic cup to his lips.
"This song sounds stupid, anyway" was my excuse. Luke caught onto my lie and nodded mockingly.
"Is it just me, or is it hot in here?" Finn asked after downing down the contents in his cup, pulling his collar away from his neck.
"It is pretty warm," Luke admitted as half of the dancers were already making their way back to the tables.
"I guess it's just the-" Finn began to speak, but was cut off as all the light in the room suddenly dimmed and flickered back on.
"Um, what was that?" My voice shook.
"Power surge?" Luke suggested. People all over the room tipped their heads back to look at the lanterns on the walls and the lights on the ceilings, suddenly bright.
A voice screamed through the distance and Finn stood up from his chair just before the lights completely shut off, the room literally turning dark a pitch. I held my breath. Surprisingly, girls didn't scream or guys didn't curse. The room was quiet as hell--not literally.
"Wha-" I heard Luke from at least a yard away. "What the fuck just happened?"
A few tiny beams of light began to light up the room as people took out their phones. I swallowed the lump in my throat and reached for my purse on the table. I tapped my hand all around the table and even on the chair, but it seemed as if I misplaced my purse or someone took it. I began to panic again. "Finn?" I called out and clawed at the darkness, holding my hands out in front of me.
He didn't answer, didn't yell out over the murmurs getting louder and louder, and the teachers trying to calm people down, and the principle explaining how a power surge cut off the electricity for a while. I tried to call out to Luke but he must've went looking for his date or something because he wasn't sitting where I last saw him.
I bumped into a body as I was trying to manoeuver myself from the chairs and tables, and heard someone whisper my name.
"Finn," I whispered back, "is that you?"
"Shh," he whispered as the principle actually stood up on a chair and flailed his hands around to capture everyone's attention. Finn stood in front of me, blocking all of the light so he was just a dark silhouette. His hair was messier than before. I licked my lips as I realized how unattractive I must seem with sweaty palms, because he was holding my left hand. I stepped forward to stand beside him but he threw his arm out quickly behind himself to block me. I frowned as he continued to listen intensely to the principle's apologies and a few huffs and groans around the room.
"It might take a while to find the solution," the principle was saying, "so please be seated before one of you trip--the power surge was just a hypothesis, considering the fact that it was raining a moment ago." I hadn't even realized that it was raining. It must've been the thick concrete walls.
Finn entwined our fingers and pulled me towards the other side of the room. I whipped my head back and saw Luke and Mykela caught in somebody's phone light walking the other way.
"Finn," I said and tugged at his hand, following him nonetheless, "our table is that way."
He didn't respond.
"Earth to Finn? You're going the wrong waaaay." He chuckled but continued to walk. My heart began to accelerate but I ignored it. It was just paranoia.
"Finn, I'm serious," I screamed in frustration and dug my heels into the ground. Just then, I heard Finn's voice from ten meters away.
"Where are you?" he was saying, voice faint.
My blood ran cold as the boy in front of me turned, and though nothing was illuminating my way I could feel his eyes on me. I shook my head slowly. "You're not Finn," I blurted out, instead of screaming or running and punching him in the goddamn face, it's all I had the strength to do.
"I don't understand why you're panicking," Ed's voice slithered through the dark, and he squeezed my hand, reminding me that he was holding my hand. He's, like, the second murderer to be holding my hand. With that I remembered a stupid fact where people walk past at least 7 psychopaths every day and remembered how that was absolute bullshit, but now, if you told me again, I'd probably believe you. "I'm not going to hurt you."
I screamed again and turned to dart away. Through the darkness that was thick as ink I just barely saw Ed's face harden a moment before his hand released me for only a split second. I could've sighed in relief but it was that small of a moment before he clamped down on my arm, where it stung more than usual, and slammed me into the wall. My head struck the concrete wall and tiny flecks of white crowded my vision. I closed my eyes and shook the nausea away as he leaned in and whispered softly, "You shouldn't have done that."
My stomach twisted and I felt like throwing up the second time that night. "What do you want?" I asked with a strangely confident tone. Ed took a step back.
"Just wanted to warn you," he whispered as people began to shine their flashlights and phone screens towards us, wondering what the scream was for. It took a moment for them to realize that nothing was wrong with the new student and the kidnapped girl to be having a conversation, so they turned away.
"About you?" I spat. "I'm not scared of you." Biggest lie I told myself.
Ed shook his head, his face completely serious, making me nervous. "Trust me--it's not me you should fear."
My breathing slowed down. "Trust you? What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
Ed sighed and gave me hard look. "There's.....something here," he whispered, lowering his head so we were eye to eye. "Listen to me; you need to get whoever you want alive out of here."
I tensed up. "No, you listen, asshole, if this is another-"
"There you are." Finn approached us quickly and grabbed my hand. He ignored Ed for a moment as he asked if I was okay. "We need to get back," Finn demanded and began to pull me through the dark swarm of people.
"Finn, wait," I called. I turned my head. Ed was already several meters away, standing still and frowning.
"I was so worried," Finn said loudly once we reached our table. "Do you even understand how coincidental this is?"
I sat on a chair. "What?"
He huffed and raked his fingers through his hair. "I know it's stupid," he said slowly, "but, I mean, it's a party and there was no light to see where you went. I just- panicked."
"I'm sorry," I said as realization hit me--he would blame himself again--and finally found my purse sitting in someone's chair. I rummaged through it, grabbed my phone just as the lights flickered on and my vision went blurry, and everyone cheered.
(8) Missed calls from:
Mum
"Something wrong?" Finn asked with a blank expression, probably sick of all the drama ever since I entered his life; like calm waves of a black ocean.
"My mum called me," I frowned, "heaps of times." I dialed her number and held the phone to my ear.
"So something is wrong," Finn blurted, eyes going wide. "I'm sorry, I didn-"
I held up my hand as the phone made small bleeping sounds, and Finn shut up. On the third ring, my mum picked up. There was shuffling on the other end and low murmurs, as if my mum was covering the phone with her palm or whatever.
"Honey," she greeted.
"Is something wrong?" I asked, slightly annoyed that she called so many times. "I'm pretty sure that you're aware-"
"You weren't answering your phone," she hissed from the other line. Someone spoke up from the back, making me frown. The voice was very very faint, and my mum excused herself politely to the person. She's not that polite with my brother or my dad.
"I'm at the dance, mum." I groaned when I realized the music wasn't doing our conversation any good. "As if I can hear my phone ringing."
"Do you even know what time it is?" she shrieked from the other end. I peered up at my phone, 7:21 PM. "You need to come home right now, Evelyn, do you understand me?" I felt a flicker of fear at the pit of my stomach but I pushed it aside, without asking if anything was wrong, of course. "Not yet, just come home, please?" My mum was practically whining.
Suddenly the phone was taken out of my hands, and I snapped my head up. "Hey!"
"What was I just telling you earlier?" Green eyes glared at me. My heart ricocheted in my chest as voices chanted in my head, Harry, Harry, Harry even though I knew it wasn't him. The eyes faded into a darker, brown color, and it took me a moment to realize Ed was standing in front of me, clutching my phone in his right hand. "You need to leave."
"What is going on here?" Finn weaved between the two of us and shielded me from the other boy. I admitted my slight crush for Finn ten minutes ago, to myself, but right now I was pissed at my mum, Finn's protection, concern, and Ed. Confusion was eating me alive, and Finn was preventing the situation from clearing up, my mum wanted me home when she knew I was at a party, and Ed wouldn't finish.
"I need to have a word with her," Ed spoke coldly and gestured me to follow after he began to walk away.
"What does he want?" Finn grimaced and pointed his thumb over his shoulder.
"Just give me a minute," I huffed and slid past him.
Ed and I stood by the exit doors. "Did you hear a word I said?" His jaw tightened and his eyes were dark, they reminded me of Harry's.
"I beg your pardon?" I shot back.
"I told you to leave. Get out of here, it's not safe," he insisted. "I said you can trust me."
"No," I yelled in disbelief, "are you fucked in the head? You're not telling me what's going on, plus you were with that psycho that stabbed my friend!" It wasn't the psycho guy that stabbed Liam, but he knew Melissa and that's all I needed to hate him. I dabbed my nail into his shoulder. He didn't flinch nor say anything, so I continued. "So, please, oh psycho, tell me why I should leave so I have a reason not to."
"Well, for one; your mother needs you back at the house," he said. I was about to ask how the hell he knew such a thing but he butt in. "And it's. Not. Safe."
"Not safe because you're here," I barked, planning on asking him something like Are you here to shoot everyone for no particular reason? when he broke me off, again.
"No, because someone else is here." His eyes darkened. Lights bounced over his stern features, making his eyes glow. "I told you. I'm not going to hurt you."
My phone buzzed in his hand and Ed accepted the call, passing it over to me. "Don't take your time."
"Hello?" I spoke numbly, waiting for a response. Something buzzed on the other line, then there was a crackle and I was sure I heard a voice. "Hello?" I paced to the right, and the buzzing grew louder, like the beating of a huge moth's wings, or the howls of the wind; it wasn't clear. "....can't hear-" the phone buzzed. I moved up until I heard another crackle, then turned to the left by a corner.
"Can you hear me?" I called into the phone as the shuffling sounds from the end of the line was clear, but no voices rang out. I was getting annoyed and was planning to hang up. "Hello? Are you there?"
"Right here."
The phone slipped out of my hand as someone grabbed my arms from behind and yanked me back, another hand slapping over my mouth. I thrashed in the person's grip as they pulled me into a room that smelled like chemicals and something else and pushed me against the wall, surprisingly gentle. I began to cry again, anyway, as flashbacks hit me like a car. When I was afraid of everything, so actually being kidnapped was something. I heard the person going Shhhh, it's just me but I was trying to push them back with my hands. Feeling disgruntled for showing the remaining weak side of me. I snapped open my eyes to glare at my attacker, the agitator within urging to fight back. But when I opened my eyes, clearly I wasn't expecting to see Harry standing right in front of me.
I literally screamed into his palm and he smiled, showing bright teeth. His hand slipped away and I lunged into his chest so quickly that he stumbled and hit the wall with his back. Karma's a bitch.
"Harry!" I screamed and hugged him tightly.
"Evelyn," he whispered into my ear and touched the side of my face. "Oh, Evelyn," he was repeating, repeating louder and louder, like the sounds of wheels rolling over a road that grew bumpier by every meter, or just a smooth road but the vehicle was driving closer and closer until reality finally hit me-
"Evelyn."
I looked up. Harry's face twisted and faded until Finn's came back into my vision. The edges of my sight clouded as I felt anger burst in my gut. It felt as if my blood was literally boiling, making my body shake and sweat and radiate so much heat it could melt snow. I'm sick of all the dreams and images and fantasies that made me feel happy for only a minute. I wanted to see him, really. I wanted the voices in my head to get the fuck out--I feel like I'm losing myself; my mind. My sanity is low, and it's only a matter of time until I snap at someone and call them Harry Styles, and they'll stare at me like I'm the killer, find me suspicious or something. The images of the dead body on the floor in the basement of the school and the gun in my hands appeared so suddenly I began to shake.
"That's it, you can't stay here," Finn shook his head and placed his hand on my back, urging me along. I resisted for a moment so I can take off my shoes, ignoring how thick the floor was coated in dust or dry sweat. All I felt was numbness, other than that I felt nothing. Maybe a little bit angry, but I didn't show it. I stared at Finn as we walked to our table and felt terrible for thinking he could make me happy when Harry wasn't around. Harry could be screwing another girl in another bloody country for all I knew, killing someone in another city, robbing a bank just for entertainment and adrenaline or the need for money to buy coke, but I couldn't control my love for him even if I wanted to. I just...wanted to see him again.
"Are you taking me home?" I whispered.
"Do you want to go home?" he asked quietly but loud enough for me to hear over the vibrations coming from the huge speakers and cries of--surprisingly--sober teenagers. It reeked of sweat in here, and some people were even smoking at the back of the room. The teachers were oblivious, only, like two female teachers cringing at the moves that the students were pulling on the dance floor (and they weren't even grinding or sucking each other's faces off, they were just flailing around like chickens).
Without thinking if Holly will be okay or Luke will be pissed or Ed probably wanted this, I nodded. I was looking forward to this and I've been out of the house for two hours--max--and needed sleep. It was the only "medication" to the voices in my head. But a tiny part of me knew I wouldn't be able to sleep.
"Sorry if you wanted to stay" was all I said until we actually reached my house. Finn didn't turn the radio on, didn't rush to get me back to the party and ditch me, didn't bother me by sparking up conversation, and for even the little things I was grateful. I wasn't even sure what was wrong with me. I guess I just wanted to sleep before all the voices hit me and get my hopes up, because they seem so real I literally fall for each and every one.
"Thank you, Finn." I said and clicked my seatbelt off. I spoke softly, afraid that I'll scare him or something, as if this moment was as fragile as covering something really special. "For everything. I'm sorry for all the trouble I've put you through."
"It's okay." His smile was back but it didn't reach his eyes. "I'll bring Holly when she's ready to leave."
"Shit, I forgot about her. Sorry," I apologized for cursing, feeling blood rush to my cheeks.
"You want me to walk with you?" he asked, constantly blinking.
I rubbed my eyes lightly, careful not to smudge my makeup. I probably looked like shit anyway, I didn't need anything to worsen the situation--I basically ditched my date, if you want to put it that way.
"No, no, I just need to...lay down for a while." I pushed the door and stepped out into the cold. "Thanks, and sorry, again."
"See you Mond-" Finn stopped abruptly. "When is school over?"
"I have no idea," I mumbled and waved him goodbye. The heels were back on my aching feet, making me stumble. Finn waited until I got to the door when he began to reverse out of the driveway.
As soon as I got to the front door. I began to check through my purse for the spare key I kept in the zipper pocket when the door swung open and my mother yanked me inside. I stumbled and almost fell against her as she gripped my arm exactly where Ed did, making me skin throb. I gasped and glared at her hastily.
"Mother, I. Am. In. Heels." I scowled.
"Manners, Evelyn," she said sweetly, smiling fakely, and I immediately knew we had visitors.
So I turned around lazily, all emotions swirling in me negative and annoyed that the people were here at the same time. But all of it changed when I saw a man in a tux, my dad and Jackson sitting in the living room.
"Go to your room, hun, you look tired," she murmured, tilting my head up to look at me. I nodded, giving the stranger an impolite, strange look. I threw my heels to the side and climbed up the stairs as slow as a slug. When I finally pushed open the door to my room I planned on collapsing on my bed and sleeping just like that--okay, maybe I'll change into my PJ's and brush my teeth or whatever--but my plans were fucked again by none other than Harry Styles, sitting on the edge of my bed with a single red rose beside his thigh, and a tiny black box in his palm.
-:-:-:-