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-lana del rey

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♤♠︎C8♠︎♤

Nobody came back. I have been here for 20 minutes alone, by the drinks awkwardly avoiding people who came to get something to replenish themselves with.

I was already on my second soft drink while I watched two guys in a blue shark costume dance to the beat of Bad Bunny Safaera.

They were both competing with each other to see who had better dance moves while people cheered them on and recorded them.

It was entertaining to watch them have fun for a while.

Working up the courage to move from this safe spot, I began to search for anyone from my group of friends.

At first, I thought it wouldn't be so hard to find someone in this enormous place. But I played myself hard because everywhere I turned, it was filled with more students drinking, smoking, and dancing their hearts out like there's no tomorrow. No wonder why Romania was taking a while to find them and come back to me.

This feels like the end of the world, and we are enjoying our last moments before we're all gone.

Of course, I checked my phone to see if anyone had texted me, but to my disappointment, nobody did.

The colorful but dull lights cast down on the place weren't helping either, making my search for them any easier.

Wow, there must be other students from other schools here, because there were too many people inside this enormous place for it to be just students from my school alone.

William wasn't lying when he said that the birthday girl wouldn't know half of the people here.

This felt more like an enormous nightclub filled with strangers than a highschool party hosted by a single high schooler.

A few guys stopped me to offer me drinks, but I strongly refused and kept walking, not trying to give them time to get me cornered and peer pressure me to drink something that's probably spiked with something.

It was rude of me to do so, but I just didn't feel safe talking to strangers who may not even go to my school or have my safety in mind.

There were too many strangers here. And some guys looked too grown to be here anyways.

They're definitely red flags. Some of the people here look like they can be in college....

And oddly, I felt someone watching and following me for a while. I tried to ignore it but my mind and body refuse to ignore the danger that's lurking behind me.

It made me stop at random spots and observe my surroundings for a few seconds to see if anyone is actually following me or watching me from a distance, but the colorful, dim lights make everything harder to see. Why couldn't they just put normal lighting?

I feel chills run up my arms when I get this weird feeling that somebody's watching me, right now. This is not good. I need to quickly find them; that's the only way I can be safe and feel safe.

My eyes caught a glimpse of a pair of gray eyes that were hard to miss. He was speaking with a brunette who was dressed to the nines. A black dress hugged her curvaceous figure flawlessly, and some nice black high heels to match her sexy aesthetic tonight.

The majority of the girls here are dressed like her; some even added a touch of glitter to their skin, making this really feel like a nightclub.

And somehow I felt so underdressed. It seems like I didn't even try to look good today. And honestly, I went with security over style. It eased my mind a bit, by... hoping deep down in my heart that dressing like this would somehow keep me safe and probably even kill their desire to hurt me.

It was stupid to think that way because if anyone wanted to hurt me, they would do it regardless of what I wear.

By making it difficult to get their way between my legs, it gave me time to fight them off and save myself.

Sadly, this was my reality.

Next time, I'll try harder to be a little like them and be more confident in my own skin, and probably carry pepper spray or something sharp to defend myself.

I admire them for their high self-esteem and how they carry themselves with bravery, among others... waiting for anyone to try their luck with them tonight.

A painful sting hit my chest when he leaned into her more, whispering something for only her to hear, eliciting a giggle out of her.

A frown couldn't help but reach my face the more they flirted so openly with each other as if they were the only ones in this room filled with people.

Why is he with her? Does he like girls like her who are full of confidence and know what they want?

Why the hell do I care if he does?

And why the hell was I feeling this way?

It was like my heart was being squeezed with such force into a tiny box as my stomach turned in an uncomfortable manner, as if my stomach was filled with deadly poison.

Am I crazy for feeling this way about him? Him of all people... what the hell is wrong with me?

Plus, where is his girlfriend?

Is this how his girlfriend feels whenever she sees him doing this with another girl so openly?

Then a hint of pity filled my chest for his girlfriend once again. How could he be so heartless?

And then guilt settled in my chest for letting her boyfriend do whatever he wanted with me this past few weeks.

God, my emotions were all so entangled with each other that I didn't know which to focus on.

I stumbled a bit forward, when someone bumped into my left shoulder when they passed me, making it clear, I'm in the way.

My heart leaped out of my chest when his gray, captivating eyes connected with mine when my eyes went towards his direction.

The ends of his lips pulled into a knowing smile when he caught me staring at him so openly and without shame. Bastard.

The brunette pulled him down for a kiss, and he let her do as she wished.

He has the audacity to keep his hungry eyes connected with mine while kissing her so passionately, like two lost lovers that got reunited and are now catching up. His smile widened when my frown got deeper and deeper.

Fuck him.

A very ugly feeling accumulated in my chest, stronger this time, making me frown a little more and making me forget the creeped-out feeling I was feeling of being watched a few seconds ago by a stranger.

Why do I feel so hurt right now? as if a sharp knife pierced harshly right through my heart.

As if... I'm the one being cheated on so openly like this.

My eyes rolled as I turned my back on him. Going back to my search on finding my lost friends before whoever is watching me afar and secretly following me around gets the courage to approach me and do something bad to me.

Not paying any more attention to Kevin's mind games that he's trying to trap me into until I go completely insane.

Right now, I have better things to do than watch them make out.

Unfortunately, I bumped into someone in my search for my friends.

"You made it.

And here, I thought that you stayed home." It was Hansol with a big smile on his face. He was dressed in all light colors today. A white t-shirt hugged his well-built form, light blue jeans, and white sneakers to match.

"Come, let's go over there. I want to introduce you to some of my good friends." He wraps an arm around my shoulder securely and gently tags me towards a group of friends of his.

They were all guys.

It made my nerves spike a bit as fear accumulated in my chest. This is not good.

Why do they all have to be all guys? Couldn't there be a few girls in the group to ease down my nerves?

Don't worry, they won't do anything... Don't judge them so harshly, Emma. Maybe, they are nice like William. Maybe, if William was here I'll feel more at ease.

One of his friends caught my eye instantly. For some reason, he looked so familiar. But where do I know him from?

The way he softly smiles and his dark eyes light up are just so familiar.

That... my whole focus stayed on him throughout Hansol's detailed introduction of his other friends.

Goosebumps scattered across my skin as this eerie feeling captured my chest in its tight hold when those familiar eyes stayed on me. This stranger was also staring at me like I was staring at him.

Why do I have a bad feeling about this? It was like my body was feeling something my mind couldn't decipher on the spot.

"And this is the leader of the football team's older brother, Lucas. He could be a jerk sometimes. so don't take anything he says seriously."

I knew he looked familiar to someone. The hair, the eyes-it just was the same person with a different front.

"Today must be my lucky day to meet Ms. Little Flower." Lucas smiled, his blue eyes checking me out boldly with no shame."You seemed healthier since the last time I saw you. It's good to see you're not so fragile and weak anymore."

When he said that, my mind realized why he looked so damn familiar-not just because he looked a lot like Mike but also because... This guy was the one who helped me in the hospital parking lot when Kevin threw me out of my wheelchair and left me stranded on the floor.

Mr. Conflicted... The one who left me a little puzzled in the end when he told me to be careful with sociopaths and to never put myself in situations where I'll need a complete stranger to help me.

He pats my head like he's petting a dog, and I let him, not knowing how to respond to this odd gesture of his.

"You two know each other?" Hansol's voice lingered with curiosity. He gazed between us, waiting for any of us to respond and kill his curiosity that seemed to burn inside those dark eyes.

"Yeah, kind of.

But to meet her again like this must be destiny. "He smiled wide, yet that smile didn't reach his vibrant blue eyes. Why do I feel so uneasy right now? It makes me subconsciously take a step back. Warning bells were warning me to run far away from here.

"And how do you guys meet? If you don't mind me asking," Hansol's curious stare kept getting stronger the more he looked between us.

"At a parking lot, funneling so. Right, Ms. Little Flower?"

"Yeah," I kept my response short and sweet. As my mind looked for a way out of here, without seeming rude, I didn't want anyone to question me about that day.

Especially asking me why was I in a wheelchair in the first place? I'm trying to get over that chapter of my life; I don't want people to even know that vulnerable part of me.

For my good fortune, a pretty girl with wavy light blonde hair enters the conversation and begins talking; her friend, who was following her, enters it too, straying the guys' focus off of me and onto them.

Making the breath that was held tightly within my chest release at a calm, smooth pace.

Lucas' smile slightly dropped a little with her bold, almost rude interruption. He seemed to hate how she interjected herself into the conversation so easily and then steered it to another topic that he seemed not to be interested in at all. If looks could kill, that girl would have been dead.

He then covers it with a bigger smile, but this time it seems faker than before. His eyes didn't hold any interest in what she was saying.

Is it because I see Leo do that so much that I can distinguish a fake smile from a real one? Or am I being too paranoid again?

"I think I need to go back searching for my friends; they must be worried sick," I told Hansol while everyone in the group got distracted by the girls that joined the small group.

"Then let me accompany you."

"No, no don't. I'll come back when I find them... Plus, some of them seem like they want to talk to you. "I shake my head from side to side not wanting him to leave his friends and the blonde, who seemed to want to talk to him.

Plus, I did not want him to bombard me with questions when we were alone about things, I would struggle to answer him honestly about.

"Fine. Come back when you find them, okay?" I'll text you. If you don't. " Hansol unwrapped his heavy arm from my shoulders as he softly smiled at me.

"Okay." I threw him a small smile back as I quickly separated from the group in quick steps.

Five minutes into the search, I bump into another person. This time I grabbed into their abdominal area to not fall back on my ass on the floor as it was filled with sparkles and colorful confetti.

My eyes gradually raised up, scared to see the person I just pissed off. And what I saw left me speechless, as my breath got stuck in my throat in fright.

Those brown eyes that seemed glossed over were way too familiar to mistake them for someone else's. It made me freeze on the spot noticing who those pairs of glossy, dark eyes belonged to.

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Merry Christmas Everyone and Happy New Year☆(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ* ☃𐂂𖠰☄❆❄ Hope everyone is having a good time and staying warm and safe at home.

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