Hot. Cold. My body could not understand what it felt. I painfully opened my eyes, my head was throbbing. The room I was in was dark. I felt the surface of what I was on and felt a soft mattress. The dimly lit room allowed my eyes to open easier.
"Good, you're awake," said the same disembodied voice I'd heard earlier.
I groaned. "Darcy?"
"That's right."
I tried to get up, as I was lying flat on my back.
"No no, stay down. You're going to get even dizzier if you get up."
I obeyed. Still, I couldn't resist moving my head. I looked to my right and saw another body beside mine sitting criss-cross on the bed. I couldn't see her face, only her silhouette.
Wait- why were we on a bed? In the dark... alone?
"Darcy- what am I doing here?" I said cooly, trying to keep the rising fear out of my voice.
"You were on a little trip. I hope you learned something from it."
The fuck? "What are you talking about?"
I felt her shift a little. "A trip. You drank a lot. And by a lot, I mean a LOT."
"I thought you only go on trips when you take drugs."
"Oh did I say trips? Haha, I meant to say that you were drunk. Really drunk. Maybe the effects haven't worn off."
I don't remember drinking... Come to think of it, I don't even remember what I poured into my drink!
"What happened after I drank?" I stared at the ceiling instead, memories becoming fuzzy.
"Well, let's see. I took you by the hand and we went out by the pool to dance. After that, you rushed into the house for some weird reason. I saw a girl with pink hair. Not like mine though, she had full on pink. She looked mad. You must be a killer with the ladies huh?
I snuck inside, not wanting you to see me following you. But you must understand, I was worried! I lost sight of you. And of the pink-haired girl. I asked people in the room if they'd seen you, but they were all too focused on sucking faces to notice you.
I decided to look upstairs. Before I even got to the first step, I found you laying right there! You were all passed out so I dragged you into the closest bedroom. Since then, I'd been waiting for you to wake up. And now you have."
What the hell? I could have sworn I got up to the second story. Does that mean... everything Anne May said... WAS a dream? Have I even seen her yet?
"Tanner..." Darcy's voice sounded distorted. "Tanner..." It switched between its pertaining high pitch to a lower pitch- back and forth and in between.
The room began to swirl with 20 shades of darkness. Black, grey, navy blue, ash grey, pepper black. The figure next to me began to contort.
"TaNnEr..."
I squeezed my eyes shut and gripped the covers. A drop of sweat dripped down my forehead.
A new sound intruded the already terrifying surrounding. I heard faint opera music playing somewhere in the distance. The voice was singing louder and louder, holding a single note and rising octaves quickly.
Glass shattered close to me.
•••
"Tanner!"
I violently opened my eyes to find Anne May's sorrowful face hovering above mine. A tear fell from her eyes and landed softly on my cheek, leaving a warm mark.
"Oh gosh you're awake!" She hastily wiped away her tears with her wrists.
"Wha-" I didn't have time to finish a single word, for it got lost and muffled in her jean jacket when she leaned down to embrace me.
I raised a hand and touched her back.
"I'm ok," I finally said when she let go.
She kneeled and helped lift me back to my feet.
That's when I saw a small crowd pressed tightly in the hallway, all trying to see what had happened.
"Anne May... what happened to me?"
"You were standing in front of a door. I guess the couple in that room got in a fight, because a girl came out and opened the door hard."
Oh... that would explain it.
"He's ok! Let's go back," a random voice from the crowd commanded. The mob returned downstairs, while some scattered into rooms.
"How awkward..." I muttered.
"Why?" Anne May asked.
"I confess, and immediately a door slams open behind me and I pass out. It couldn't have been better timing," I rolled my eyes.
Anne May attempted to hide a chuckle. Suddenly, she couldn't hold it back. A fountain of the most precious giggles I'd ever heard escaped her mouth.
Crossing my arms and furrowing my eyebrows, I tried to look mad. The gesture only made her laugh harder. I smirked and before I knew it, her laughter had contaminated me. We were both howling with laughter.
I looked at Anne May, who was already crying from laughing so hard. She grabbed my hand, and together we ran to the door at the end of the hall.