I took a deep breath and leaned back against the pillows as I held my tea close to me in one hand and the first Twilight book in the other. I actually felt relaxed and peaceful for one of the first nights since, well, ever.
Naturally my ease was short-lived. I was surprised I had even gotten as far as I did before my phone started shrieking at me and I was forced to set aside my tea and book to see, of course, Shane's name and picture flash across the screen. I shook my head as I answered the phone.
"What is it this time?" I asked monotonously.
"Hiiiiii," Shane replied on the other line. I could hear music playing loudly in the background and the sound of people being loud and obnoxious. I could just envision Shane standing in the midst of too-close bodies whilst on the phone to me.
"What, Shane?" I grumbled, even though I already knew the answer.
"I need you to come get meee," he slurred into the phone.
"You do realize that it's one in the morning and I have work tomorrow, correct?" I ranted at him. "And that you're all the way across town, and I'm already in bed with my tea and everything?"
"I'm not across town," he replied, picking just one thing out of my little rant. "I'm only a few blocks away."
I frowned. "Not the usual place then?"
"Got boring," he mumbled. "Just come get meeee. I'm tired!"
"Nope, not this time," I said defiantly. "You can have fun walking home."
"Aw, come on, Alice!" he whined. "I'm not that far away! And you don't even have to take me back home. I'll spend the night at your house!"
"Fine, I'll be there in ten minutes," I finally broke down. "You better be out front when I get there."
Shane could always seem to sway me to come and get him, no matter what time it was, from a club after he decided to get too drunk to barely stand up straight. It was really very irritating, especially since he actually had a reputation to protect with his job, and I happened to have a job of my own.
I climbed out of bed and pulled a sweatshirt over my pajamas, not even bothering to get dressed, as I pulled on my Ugg boots and headed out to my car.
I never liked club environments very much. They were fun, I guess, but I never went with anyone that it would be fun with. I loved Shane of course, he's my best friend, but he usually had a few drinks with me and then wandered off to dance, leaving me to get hit on by creepy old guys. Yeah, it was the best time. Definitely.
I pulled up outside Velvet, a nightclub that Shane had dragged me to only on a few occasions as he preferred one closer to his flat, and searched the sidewalk for any sign of him. Oh, of course not. He had one job. One damn job.
I shut off my car and stepped out into the cold air angrily, quickly wrapping my arms around myself as I stepped up onto the sidewalk.
"You lost, sweetheart?" the man at the entrance called to me. I shook my head quickly and he frowned at me.
"You sure about that? You don't exactly look like someone who would be around here at this time of night. If I were you, I'd head on home," he told me. "This isn't a safe part of town for someone like you."
I scoffed. So because I was a female in pajamas at one in the morning in a dangerous neighborhood near a nightclub... I'm not going to even finish that. He was right. I just wished Shane would have listened to my one request.
I pulled my cellphone out of my pocket and dialed his number, sighing in relief when he picked up almost immediately.
"Hellooo?"
"Shane, get your ass outside," I said. "I'm freezing to death out here."
He laughed. "Alright, see ya soon babes!"
I angrily hung up, hoping that he wasn't lost in some crowd of random people right now. I seriously wanted to get out of here now.
This isn't a safe part of town for someone like you. That thought made me feel uneasy, because it was so true. I tried my best to avoid really going out at night. Sure, most of the time I was running around town picking up a drunk Shane from wherever, but I always stayed in the car and he was usually waiting outside with some friends or something. Plus, I knew the other club. This one, not so much.
I decided I'd play some Temple Run to hopefully soothe my nerves while I waited. Strangely enough, it kind of worked. It almost put me in a trance, really, distracting me from everything else. That is, until I heard someone shout in anger and pain.
My head immediately snapped up. The guy from before was MIA and no one else was there, but I could hear fighting somewhere close.
I slipped my phone back into my pocket and headed toward the sound of the noise, near the entrance of an alleyway on the left side of the club. I could hear the bass pulsing inside as I slowly walked down the alleyway, unsure and afraid but also curious.
I stopped abruptly, froze really, when I saw two dark figures there. One was pressed against the wall, being held there by the other with a knife at his throat. He was struggling, debating what to do. If he barely even moved an inch he was as good as dead.
So, because I'm impulsive and stupid, I did something. Or said something rather.
"NO!"
It was the best I could come up with.
The figure holding the knife looked up abruptly and the knife wavered in the air, pulling slightly away from the one against the wall. It gave him the opportunity to seize control.
He wrapped his hand around the handle of the knife and jerked it backward so that it flew out of the other's hand. It clattered to the ground somewhere in the darkness, and I followed it's movements, watching it stop just a few feet away from me.
When I looked back up only the one who had been pinned against the wall stood there. I couldn't make out any facial features in the darkness. The only thing I could pinpoint about him was the curls on his head and how he was tall and lean. He would surely tower over me.
He began to walk towards me slowly, and fear struck through me. Just because he wasn't the one pinning someone against a wall meant nothing. He could be just as dangerous, if not worse, than the other person.
I lunged forward toward the knife on the ground, hoping to use it as a defense mechanism if I had to, but he was quicker. My hand landed on nothing but concrete, which immediately sent pain searing through my wrist. I sucked in a sharp breath and looked up.
He was holding the knife now, spinning it between my hands right above me. I slowly moved backward until I was sitting on my knees and then I finally rose to my feet. We were only about a foot apart now, and I could see more of his features.
His dark curly hair framed a pale face set with bright green eyes and a set of plump, pink lips. He had a deadly expression on his face, and his eyes darkened noticeably as he stared at me.
I wasn't sure what he was looking for in my face, but finally he took a step backward, still spinning the knife between his fingers. I wasn't sure why I wasn't bolting. I mean, I was sure he would catch me in an instant with those long legs, but I could at least try. At my funeral they could say that I didn't just die standing still. I would die fighting. It was a horribly morbid thought, but it seemed appropriate considering my situation.
I thought over how stupid I was. I acted on impulse, something I did more often than anything else, and sure, I had saved someone's life, but this someone seemed dangerous. He was definitely not someone I would normally involve myself with if not for the fact that he could have been killed just then.
"I would get out of here if I were you," he finally spoke in a low, deep voice. My eyes widened. The man outside the club had said something very similar to me, and granted, it did rattle a few nerves for me, but coming from this stranger with a knife, I felt like now was definitely a good time to run. He said it himself.
But for some reason, I stayed frozen in my place.
He smirked. "Defiant? Or stupid?"
"I'm not stupid," I snapped defensively.
The boy raised his eyebrows. "I wouldn't speak to me that way, princess."
"Princess?" I repeated, my tone much quieter and calmer than before.
He didn't answer, just regarded me with cold, dark eyes. I glanced down at the knife between us that was now still. For the first time, I noticed the gash that ran from the back of his hand up to the middle of his forearm.
His hand immediately tightened around the knife when he saw my eyes avert downward.
"I'm not going to try anything," I murmured. I raised my hand up and reached slowly forward. His knuckles were white from the grip he had on the handle, and I wondered why. I was hardly capable of barely using a knife, let alone wrestling one out of someone's grip.
When my fingers landed on the back of his hand, just inches from the cut, he tensed in surprise but I traced the space on his arm right beside the gash anyway, careful not to touch it.
"You're hurt," I said, still staring at the wound. It didn't look very deep, but it definitely looked painful. I wasn't sure if it was from the knife or maybe the other man's nails, but there was no blood on the knife that gave any sign that it had actually come in contact with his skin.
I looked back up to find him watching me curiously, his green eyes not as dark as before, but definitely guarded.
"Why aren't you running?" he asked, his voice slightly confused but mostly just curious.
I frowned. Why wasn't I running? I didn't even know. I should have ran the second he spoke a word to me. I should have ran the second he even moved toward me. I shouldn't have even come near the alleyway, but my curiosity always seemed to get the best of me.
"I don't know," I answered truthfully.
He let out a low chuckle before pulling his hand and the knife away from me. My hand stayed frozen in midair for a few more seconds before I let it swing back down to my side.
"Are you hurt anywhere else?" I asked, my eyes scanning his body for anymore visible wounds.
"I'm fine," he said shortly. "But you, princess, aren't. You need to go home, back to your safe, warm bed, and forget you ever even met me. You need to get out of here. This isn't a place for someone like you. People here are dangerous."
"You don't seem too bad," I said quietly. His eyes flashed darker for a moment as he tried to decipher my words. Were they sarcastic or truthful? He seemed to decide on the latter.
"If that's what you think, you really shouldn't be here," he shook his head slowly and then leaned forward so that his mouth was right by my ear. "I'm the worst thing there ever is or was in this town."
I shivered at his words as his hot breath hit my neck and he pulled away, a slight smirk on his lips as he turned and walked away from me, not bothering to look back. I stood there until he turned into a mere dark silhouette in the alleyway, and then he disappeared altogether.