Chapter 8: Darkness

I finally came to the conclusion that the drink Shane gave me earlier was drugged. That’s the only possible conclusion! The thought had to be forcefully shoved out of my mind; I realized that the thought itself was inane! How could I, Audrey Peters, like Grayson Carter? I laughed at the mere thought.

I was awkwardly pushing and shoving my way through the crowd, trying to get people to move but it was proved to be harder than it seemed. Once I reached the kitchen, I grabbed a can of soda that I stored in the back of the fridge, away from drunken people’s sloppy hands. I seated myself on the counter while people wandered around the house, some dancing in the living room while others wander about upstairs.

“What are you doing in here, Audrey?” I looked up to see Carson standing there with a bag of chips attached to his hand.

I shrugged. “I’m not much of a dancer.” I motioned in the direction of the living room, where everyone was dancing.

Carson nodded slowly, looking at me. “You’re not a good liar either.”

I furrowed my eyebrows as I looked at him. “What?”

“You’re jealous, aren’t you?” he suggested.

I furrowed my eyebrows. “Of what?”

He grabbed my arm and yanked me off of the counter. He leaned out of the kitchen, taking me with him. He nodded his head towards Grayson who was dancing with the girl from earlier. I snorted. “No, not really.”

“So you wouldn’t be jealous if he started intensely making out with her right there?” Carson questioned.

“Jealous? No. Mentally disturbed? Yes,” I replied as I got back onto the counter.

Carson laughed. “So…is he a good kisser?”

I glared at him. He and his brother have been harassing me about my kiss with Grayson all night. “I don’t know, why don’t you go find out yourself?”

He laughed. “I would but…I’m not into guys.”

“You had me fooled,” I muttered.

Carson laughed again. “You know, you’re really funny.”

“I’m not sure if that was sarcastic or not…so I’ll just say thanks anyway,” I replied as I rested my back against the orange walls of the kitchen. He smiled in response.

“I don’t know…am I being sarcastic?” he inquired, wiggling his eyebrows. I rolled my eyes.

“I don’t know what Sandra-paper, sandpaper towels,” I quickly attempted to cover up my mistake. I didn’t say it was a good cover up.

“Come again?” he asked me. “Did you say something about…Sandra?”

I shook my head. “Psh, no… I said sandpaper.”

Carson nodded. “Nice save.”

“I’d like to think so,” I muttered.

“Why don’t you come out there?” he asked. His voice was cheerful as he smiled at me convincingly.

I frowned and shrugged. “I don’t think I should.”

“Why not?” he questioned before smirking. “You’ll burn with jealousy?”

I groaned. “I’m not jealous!”

He nodded his head. “Yelling about not being jealous is totally helping your case.”

I quickly got off of the counter and walked out of the kitchen, Carson slowly following after me. I reached Sandra, who was casually seated on the couch, watching Kyle and Lola dance. I slumped down beside her, a smile on my face. “How are things?”

She frowned. “Bad, Carson didn’t ask me to dance.”

“Why don’t you ask him to dance?” I asked her and she shrugged.

“He’ll say no," she frowned.

I snorted. “I doubt it, just try.”

I yanked her up and pushed her in his direction. She stumbled slightly causing him to turn to look at her due to the sudden movement. I didn’t hear what she was saying; all I saw was her motion towards the dance floor with her head. Carson stood up and grabbed her by her shoulders and walked behind her towards the dance floor. I laughed at that before I realized that I was alone in a crowded room.

I stared at the dancing people, my eyes drifting from couple to couple, finally landing on Grayson and the random girl. I have yet to learn her name. It’s probably Brittany or Hilary. Maybe even Beth. I tried not to make it obvious that I was staring at her but I probably failed so I eventually decided to just look away altogether.

I was staring at my phone and playing a game when I felt the couch sink in due to a sudden weight. I turned to see Lola sitting next to me, watching me with an excited look on her face. I blinked a few times and looked around. “What?”

She squealed, making me wince. “Let’s go dance!”

Instead of waiting for my reply, she grabbed my hand, nearly causing me to drop my phone if I hadn’t tucked it into my pocket. When we reached the dance floor, I realized how awkward I was. I don’t like to dance. I didn’t lie when I told Carson I wasn’t much of a dancer. Lola didn’t care and she was nodding her head to the Drake song playing loudly.

“You’re not dancing!” Lola stated once the song changed. I shrugged.

“I don’t like to dance,” I replied with another shrug.

She frowned. “Dancing is easy! Just…well, dance!”

I smiled at her instructions. “Very informative and clear instructions.”

She rolled her eyes but continued dancing. I felt someone tap my shoulder and I turned around to see Grayson standing there, the girl was nowhere in sight, thankfully. That thought surprised me. Why was I thankful? “Yes?”

“You’re not dancing,” he repeated Lola’s previous statement. I shrugged.

“I can’t dance.” I replied, resisting the urge to reply with a sarcastic quip. Like I expected, he smirked.

“I assumed as much. It’s easy,” he explained.

I nodded. “So I’ve heard.”

I heard a familiar song come on and I nearly squealed in excitement. “I’m guessing you like this song.”

I nodded my head as OneRepublic played loudly. Counting Stars had been one of my obsessions since it came out. I listened to it day and night. Grayson stared at me. “Well, aren’t you going to dance?”

I frowned. “What point of not being able to dance don’t you understand? The only dance moves that I know are the ‘I’m a little teapot’ and the chicken dance.”

Grayson snorted. “I’d pay to see that.”

The song continued playing as I nodded along to it awkwardly. “You know, you can always dance like them.”

I looked at the people Grayson was pointing to. The girl was dancing on the guy as she sang along to the song and I wrinkled my nose. “No thank you.”

Grayson laughed. I narrowed my eyes at him, giving him a quick once over. “Wait…I don’t see you dancing.”

He shrugged. “You’re not ready for these dance moves.”

I laughed loudly. “I’m not; I’m really not.”

He smirked at me and was about to say something when ‘My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light ‘em Up)’ by Fall Out Boy started playing. His smirk turned into a genuine grin and he looked as if he wanted to clap. The intro played loudly.

“I’m guessing you like this song,” I muttered as I stifled a laugh.

He nodded before raising a challenging eyebrow. “Do you want to dance?”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “I can’t dance.”

He rolled his eyes. “I know; I’ll teach you. I just really want to dance with someone.”

I rolled my eyes before shrugging. What I really wanted to do was ask where that stupid brown haired girl went. “Anything to ruin your favorite song.”

He took a step forward quickly and placed his hands on my waist. I awkwardly raised my hands and placed them on his chest. We swayed sideways quickly and moved around and soon enough, it wasn’t so awkward. Dancing came natural to him and I guess, in that moment, it came naturally to me. Eventually, the song ended but we didn’t stop dancing. At least for another five songs, we didn’t stop.

We danced through Paramore, Panic! At the Disco, Florida Georgia Line, and Gym Class Heroes. When we stopped dancing, we were both breathing heavily. His hands were still on my waist until I took a step back. “See? You’re not that bad of a dancer.”

I rolled my eyes before pointing behind me. I had a craving for Coca Cola and nothing will stop me from getting it. “I’m going to go get something to drink.”

“Want to get me something, too?” he asked.

I smirked as I backed away. “Nope.”

I quickly exited the large mass of people who were still dancing and walked towards the kitchen. “I thought you weren’t much of a dancer.”

Instead of looking at him to reply, I just kept walking. “Shut up, Carson.”

I heard his laughter as I entered the kitchen and dipped my hand into the fridge to grab a soda. I felt a presence behind me and I whipped around to see Grayson standing there. I went to hit him for being an idiot but he just took the soda out of my hands. I was too shocked to do anything, not at the fact that he took my soda, but at the fact that we’d actually danced together. That was the first time I danced with someone…other than my dog, but does he count?

“Any reason why you’re smiling at me?” Grayson asked as he brought my soda can up to his lips and gulped down about one fourth of the can.

I automatically scowled at him as I reached into the fridge and grabbed another can. “I wasn’t smiling at you.”

I opened the can as he snorted. “Yeah, you were just staring into my eyes as you grinned at me, totally not smiling at me though.”

I glared at him, the urge to soak him with my soda was strong and he took a step back. “What? Are you scared of a little soda?”

He narrowed his eyes at me. “No, I’m not.”

I giggled, I actually giggled as I swished the more than halfway filled can. The brown liquid sloshed over the sides slightly, dripping down the side of the can. I groaned as I turned on the sink, Grayson’s laughter filled my ears while I washed my hand off.

I reached for my can but I found that it was empty. I turned to see Grayson’s mouth full of soda as he struggled to swallow it. The soda was leaking out of the corner of his mouths as his cheeks puffed out like a blow-fish. I moved to the side of him and roughly poked his cheek, causing the soda to spew out of his mouth and all over his shirt. The red shirt quickly absorbed the soda while I let out wild fits of laughter.

He glared at me as he swallowed the remaining Coca Cola in his mouth. “Come with me to get a new shirt.”

I stopped laughing and looked at him. “What?”

He gave me a flat look as he spoke slowly. “Come with me upstairs so I can go into the bathroom and you can go into Shane’s room and grab me a shirt.”

I narrowed me eyes at him. “Why can’t you do both yourself?”

“The longer I sit with this shirt on, the longer it’ll take me to rinse off, the longer I’ll be away from you, my love," he reached out and gently touched my face; I smacked his hand away.

“Just go upstairs yourself,” I snapped and he frowned.

“Please,” I shook my head and reached into the fridge for another soda, only to come up empty.

“Where are all of the sodas?” I asked curiously, to nobody in specific.

“I know where the sodas are,” Grayson admitted as he leaned against the counter, the red shirt sticking to his body. I avoided looking at him.

I casually searched the fridge. “Then why don’t you go get them?”

“Why don’t you go? They’re only in the basement…of this big, dark, loud house…where no one will hear your screams,” he told me and I instantly froze. Basements are scary, no matter how tough you are. Anyone who goes into a basement alone is asking to be killed. Plus, it’s dark. I’m not a big fan of the dark. Of course I would never let Grayson know about my fear of the dark but I’m not going to go all superhero and dive into the darkness and save people from dehydration. I don’t plan on facing my fears today.

"There's water," I shrugged, looking towards the cabinets.

"Shane packed all of the cups and plates away. Last time, he had to buy his parents all new dishes and glasses," Grayson snorted. I closed to the cabinets and my shoulders slumped. “You know, we could always go and get my shirt first and then take a trip down to the basement to get the sodas.” He stated as he played with the hem of his shirt. I watched him out of the corner of my eye.

“Okay, deal.”

~~~

We walked upstairs, Grayson leading the way towards the bathroom nearest to Shane’s room. “His room is right there; just open his dresser and you’ll see the shirts.”

I nodded as I walked towards the room Grayson was pointing at. The moment I opened the door, I quickly shut it, my face warming rapidly. “What happened?”

Grayson sounded amused as he stared at me. I shook my head. “His room is…occupied.”

Grayson groaned and yanked the t-shirt away from his body before letting it go again, only to have it fall back onto his skin. He quickly walked to Shane’s room and entered without hesitation. I noticed that Shane and the girl didn’t stop kissing each other. They ignored Grayson’s presence altogether. I stared at him in shock once he exited with a shirt in his hand. He just winked at me before entering the bathroom.

I waited outside of the bathroom, growing impatient as I heard the water running. I should’ve just left when I opened the door on Shane instead of sticking around. I would’ve but I need something to drink, a soda would be amazing. I only had two sips of the soda before Grayson gulped down the entire can. I gave the bathroom door a flat look as I stood outside of it. I went to pound on the door before it swung open to reveal Grayson standing there.

He raised an eyebrow at my fist that I forgot to retract. I awkwardly placed it beside me before I stood up straighter. “Can we go get the soda?”

“There’s a slight problem,” he told me and I glared at him.

“Which is?”

“Well, the door in the basement is faulty, so one of us has to hold it open,” he explained.

“I can hold it open,” I offered. That would be great! I wouldn’t have to go into the dark and my enemy would!

He shook his head. “The door is really, really heavy.”

“Well, I don’t know where the soda is,” I excused and he shook his head.

“I can tell you where it is, you just have to listen to me,” he told me as he led me down the stairs. I felt a sense of fear creep up my spine; my breathing became heavier and rapid. It's for the soda.

~~~

Once we reached the basement, he opened the door and I looked at him. I felt my hands start to shake. The dark is scary, especially when it’s a darkness you’re not used to. I’m used to my bedroom’s darkness and even Sandra and Lola’s home’s darkness…but I’m definitely not used to Shane’s basement’s darkness. And I don't want to be.

“You promise you’re not going to lead me into a sink hole or something?” I asked him, trying to lighten the mood as I nervously looked at the set of stairs that led down to the basement. It was pitch black and I could only see the first four stairs.

“I promise," he replied as he placed his hand on my back and shoved me in the direction of the stairs.

“Is there a light, at least?” I asked him and he shook his head. I frowned before stepping onto the first step.

“Go all the way down the steps," he told me.

I stopped and turned slightly, still in his line of vision. I gave him a sardonic smile. “Oh no, I was going to dive off of the railing, thank you for the instructions.”

“Do you want to get the soda or not?” he snapped and I glared at him before continuing down the steps. I was too nervous to tell him that I was scared of the dark; I knew he’d make fun of me. I reached the bottom and I’m guessing he heard my shoes hit the concrete. “Now turn slightly to your left.”

I did as I was told while I took my phone out of my pocket and lit the way. I noticed the cement floor was dark and dusty. Pillars surrounded me and I winced at the idea of ghosts, demons, and any other things that could be lurking in the darkness. “Now what?”

“Walk about thirty steps forward," he replied and I did so, counting the steps I took.

“I’m here," I stood there for a minute, my voice shaky, expecting for further instructions from Grayson but none came. I was relying on his voice for some sense of comfort to know that I’m not completely alone down here. My phone was shaking because of my hands. I was worried I’d drop my phone, too, my hands were sweating so much. “Grayson?” I was silent, listening hard. I turned around, using my phone for light.

“Grayson?” I asked, panicky. I felt my heart start to beat even faster. I didn’t even know it was possible for my heart to beat faster than it was before. Here I am, in complete darkness, in an unknown area, my hands shaking and sweating and my tears threatening to spill over. I suddenly felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. “Grayson, this isn’t funny!”

I felt someone grab my shoulders as I dropped my phone. I let out a blood curdling scream but it was muffled by a hand covering my mouth. I tried to move away, anything to gain distance from whatever it was that was holding me but I realized that they had their arm wrapped around my torso, not allowing me to move any further.

I tried to scream again but it was muffled by the person’s hand. I quickly bit down onto the person’s fingers and they swore quietly, quickly releasing me. I turned and tried to run but their hand found my wrist. I screamed and this time, it wasn’t muffled, but it was shaky. “Shut up!”

“Don’t tell me what to do! Let me go or I’ll kill you!” I shouted, my voice shakier than I’d want it to be while threatening someone that could easily take my life. I snatched my wrist from their grip, which loosened surprisingly.

“It’s me, Grayson,” Grayson’s familiar voice muttered. I felt my anger rising and I reached out and swung my fist, feeling it connect with skin. I heard him groan and he swore again. “What are you doing!? It’s me, Grayson!”

“I know, you idiot. You scared the life out of me, why would you do that?!” I snapped, squeezing my eyes shut to avoid tears that were threatening to escape. I quickly reached up and wiped my eyes, only to feel the tears were already streaming down my face.

“I think you broke the skin on my finger," Grayson muttered. He must’ve been struggling to inspect his finger in the pitch black. I struggled to hold down a sob. It finally escaped my throat when I placed my fist into my mouth. It was silent for a moment and I prayed that Grayson didn’t hear it or he’d let it slide but that’s not how Grayson is. “Are y-... are you crying?”

I sniffled and quickly wiped my eyes again. “No.”

Before he could reply, the sound of a door slamming caused me to jump and squeal. “What was that?”

“The door closed,” Grayson stated casually.

“Open it!” I demanded, struggling to locate him. It was too dark to even see figures, even if I could- the amount of tears pouring out of my eyes were blinding me.

I heard footsteps leading away from me and I struggled to walk, holding my hands out in front of me. “Grayson, wait!”

I heard the footsteps stop and I quickly felt around, trying to avoid walking into anything. I walked into a pillar, my hands slamming against it as I tried to run. “Where are you?”

Grayson was silent and I frowned even deeper, my panicking starting to pick up again. Did he leave? Am I alone down here? The thought itself sent shivers racing down my spine and I increased my speed. My hands landed on something that wasn’t exactly a pillar. Before I could even scream, Grayson spoke. “Don’t scream, it’s only me.”

“Why didn’t you reply before?” I snapped angrily. I think he ignored my voice cracking because he didn’t say anything.