Warning: Alcohol, underage drinking and mild harassment. 

Kim POV

"I'll-" hick "I'll go get drinks!!"

My friend swayed on her feet, almost spilling the drink she already had.

"You don’t have to, we already have drinks remember?" I replied.

She had already offered to go get drinks three times and I didn't like the idea of being left alone here.

"Are you sure we have to stay here? Haven't you already had enough to drink?"

"You haven't had ANY!" she giggled, waving her cup around in danger of spilling it.

I forced myself to laugh back, "yeah, cause I'm underage remember?"

"But I'm drinking alcohol!"

"That's cause- you-... argh. Can we go? Please?"

I curled my arms around myself, wishing I was anywhere but here. An overstuffed room coated in the smell of alcohol. Perfect.

I pleaded, making puppy eyes at my friend, but her attention had already drifted.

"I'm gonna go get drinks!" she pushed past me and I turned to see her heading towards some guys I didn't know but looked equally as drunk as my friend.

Trying (and failing) to hold back a groan I began to follow her.

She bobbed in and out of the crowd, making it hard for me to keep up.

She left me to squeeze past people and apologize if I bumped them.

I felt my heart pinch from anxiety.

I didn't like being here.

The only reason I was here is because when my friend told me she was going to this party I couldn't let her go alone.

It was dark here. It was dark, loud, sweaty and stuffy from all the bodies packed in together.

One of the popular rich kids from the local collage had thrown an end of the year party.

So, naturally, everyone from high school kids like me to university students had shown up for the unsupervised fun and alcohol.

This wasn’t my idea of a fun celebration.

I wanted to go home to a warm meal that my mum and dad cooked together while singing terrible 70’s duets.

I wanted to curl up on the couch with my cat Mr. King and go to sleep.

I wanted to play boardgames with my younger brother and see my baby brother's sweet smile.

Not look after someone two years older than me at a party full of creeps and liars.

                 ---------

Something grabbed me by the waist and ripped me from thoughts.

"Hey there beautiful, you looking for some company?"

Speaking of creeps, my heart dived into my shoes as I realised that since I hadn't been paying attention a man had snuck up behind me and grabbed me.

"U-um... sorry, but I have to find my friend."

"Aww. C’mon, a pretty lady like you should have some fun!"

He wrapped one arm around my waist and used the other to slosh around a glass of wine.

He was obviously drunk, the smell of alcohol burning the side of my face as he breathed.

I swallowed down irritation and tried to push the man’s arm away.

"Sorry. Could you let me go please?"

"Nah, lemme get you a drink first!"

I mentally cursed, looking around to see if my friend had noticed I needed help.

I tried making eye contact with a few of the people around but they all averted their gazes and pretended they couldn't see me.

Suddenly, the man started to walk towards the bar, dragging me beside him.

"Uh.. I don’t actually drink. Please, let me go!"

I began to panic, an acidic lump rose in my throat. I tried twisting around to push against his chest, the man responded by tightening his arm around my waist.

"Now, now gorgeous. No need to be shy."

By now we were next to the bar, so the man sat his glass on the counter. He wrapped his free arm around my shoulders and tugged me closer.

His sticky breath clung to my face when he talked, making me shudder.

"Let's get to know each other, yeah?" His tone told me it wasn't a question.

I felt like someone had tied impossibly tight ropes around my whole body, wrapping me from head to toe.

I felt every stinking breath on my skin cling there, so even if I rubbed my skin raw, it would never disappear.

I felt all the people at this party turn their eyes and their minds away from me, because who would want to deal with something so bothersome?

I felt myself flinch as the man's face leaned closer to mine, but the feeling was so far away.

I felt like a fog coated my senses, I was so far away from everything.

I welcomed the distance, hiding until I was safe.

I closed my eyes, held my breath and waited.

I waited.

                 ---------

The man suddenly bellowed a string of curses and slackened his arms around me.

I blinked, numbly the information registered; I could move.

I took a tentative step back, the man completely released me and he turned to yell at someone behind the counter.

He was angry, apparently the bar tender had spilt a drink all down his back.

Taking several more steps back, my breath hitched and I spun on my heel to run.

I was met by the startled face of someone my own age.

"Uh, security is here-" the boy started, his eyes widened as he looked at me.

He reached out slowly, his hand hesitated just above my shoulder.

"Are you okay? uh.. There's a quiet room in the back of the kitchen..." he trailed off.

Tears filled my eyes, I rubbed at them trying to make them go away. My breathing was ragged and uneven.

"I- um- I-I don't.." I choked. Internally angry at myself for crying in front of a stranger, but the tears wouldn't stop.

I hunched my shoulders, pulled my arms into my chest and squeezed my eyes shut. I could still hear the man's shouts behind me.

"Hey..." His hand landed on my shoulder so lightly I could hardly feel it.

I shuddered down a breath then looked up into his eyes. A deep green you'd only find in the darkest leaves of a tree centuries old in the middle of an untouched forest. His eyes stared at me with concern, searching my own eyes.

A shout louder than the others and the shattering of glass made me jump violently, the moment broken.

The boy looked behind me, frowned, and his hand gripped my shoulder softly.

"There's a room in the back of the kitchen. It's probably not a good idea to stay here," he looked back at me "want to go sit in there for a bit?"

I didn’t trust my voice to work properly, so I nodded.

He guided me away from the man, who was now being herded towards the exit by security members.

I glanced at the boy who had his arm around me to protect me from the crowd. He had a uniform and a badge that said Atlas with Security Guard underneath it on his chest.

He, Atlas, noticed me look and gave me a smile.

"A friend asked me to fill in today cause one of the other guards was sick. Bet you didn't think someone as young as me could be a security guard?"

My face went a little pink because I had been thinking that, and he chuckled.

"My Grandpa taught me self-defence, that's the only reason they let me work."

He opened a door and we walked inside. I hadn't noticed that we had already gone through the kitchen.

The room we were in was small, but cosy. There was a couch against the right wall that had a rug and a coffee table in front of it. Opposite the door a window, with bookshelves next to and underneath it, let a view of the stars shine onto an armchair in the corner.

"I'm gonna go get some tea, make yourself comfortable." Atlas grinned at me from the doorway.

I nodded, then whispered "Thank you" just loud enough for him to hear.

His gaze softened and he replied "No problem. I'll be right back."

He closed the door behind him and left me alone.

                  ---------

I looked around the room, taking in the bookshelf and the stars shining in the window.

I slowly walked over to the couch and sat down on the soft pillows.

Taking off my shoes so I could run my feet over the fluffy rug, my emotions caught up to me.

Tears cascaded down my face, slowly at first then getting quicker, and landed on my legs.

I shivered, not from the cold, and wrapped my arms around myself. I could still feel that man’s gaze leering at me.

I closed my eyes and shuddered, I tried to forget everything about him. His face. His eyes. His filthy grin.

Most of all, I tried to block out the memory of the people who looked away and did nothing. That hurt the most.

They saw what was happening but pretended that I was fine. Pretended that I didn't need help. Pretended that that man wasn't obviously planning to-

Something dug into my hands and I glanced down at them. They were clenched into fists, my nails biting into my palms.

I stared at them for a moment, then I sighed and relaxed them.

I wiped my eyes and leaned back, suddenly overwhelmed with tiredness. I closed my heavy eyes and huffed. 

"I'm so tired." I breathed out.

"I bet."

I jumped, heart pounding, and whipped my head around to stare at Atlas who smiled sheepishly at me.

He closed the door with his foot and placed two cups of tea on the coffee table.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“S’okay..” I mumbled, eyeing the tea then glancing up at him.

He smiled and sat down next to me.

His eyes searched my face, obviously seeing that I had cried again, but didn’t say anything.

He reached for a cup and handed it to me. “I put a spoonful of honey in, figured you could use something sweet.”

“Thankyou.”

I lifted the cup to my mouth, letting the sweet smell calm me down. I took a sip and relished the warmth that filled me up.

Atlas, seemingly satisfied with my reaction, lifted his own cup and sipped.

“I’m Atlas, by the way. Though I suppose you can tell by the badge.” He spoke, making me glance up at him.

Now that things had calmed down, I had a chance to take in the boy who saved me. He had tanned skin, green eyes and dark, dark brown hair. He almost looked like a tree that had taken on human form, or maybe a mountain.

Those green eyes were curiously waiting for me to respond, so I hurriedly replied.

“Oh, um, my names.. Kim. I go by Kim.”

“Well, Kim. It’s nice to meet you, but what’s a fifteen-year-old doing in a place like this all alone?” Atlas paused, then eyes wide, added “Oh! Um, unless you’re not fifteen then I’m sorry that was disrespectful I’m sorry uh-“

I cut off his rambling with a burst of laughter.

“No I, heh, I am fifteen.” I got out between giggles, enjoying the look on his face.

Atlas flushed with embarrassment and puffed out his cheeks, which only made me laugh harder.

“Careful, or you’re going to spill your drink.” He huffed, taking my tea out of my hands and placing both cups on the table.

“At least I know you’re feeling better.” He said once my giggles had calmed down.

“Yeah, thanks again for helping me.” I smiled at him.

His response was cut off by a voice from the door saying “He’d better have helped you, or he ain’t get’n paid. Or dinner, for that matter.”

I turned my head and saw a tall, red haired woman standing in the doorway.

“Chloe.” Atlas supplied a name. He stood up as she walked over to us.

“You don’t mean that, I need your cooking to exist.” He half pouted, half pleaded, looking up at her. Even though Atlas was at least half a head taller than me, Chloe still towered over him.

She waved him off. “Your cooking is way better than mine, you just say that because you don’t have to share with your siblings when you eat at mine.”

She turned her gaze towards me and I met deep brown eyes layered with concern.

“Are you okay sweetheart?” She sat next to me and cupped my face with her hand.

“That nasty old man didn’t scare you too badly?”

I shook my head. “No, Atlas got me away from him as soon as he was distracted.” A thought crossed my mind and quickly added, “he started yelling at someone behind the counter though, are they all right?”

She smiled and pulled me into a hug.

“Aww, aren’t you a sweetie. I’m fine, the brute didn’t hurt me and security managed to get him to leave. Unfortunately, I did get scolded for spilling wine on a guest.” She scowled. “He deserved it though.”

“Wait, that was you?” both me and Atlas exclaimed at the same time, making Chloe laugh.

“Of course! I couldn’t leave someone alone in that situation, it just wouldn’t be right!”

Her words made my heart clench. I felt a wave of gratitude towards her.

“While we’re on the topic,” Chloe pondered, “how’d you get stuck like that anyway hun? You don’t look the type to talk to guys like that.”

“Oh, he grabbed me. I wasn’t paying enough attention while I was looking for my friend…”

Then I remembered, I’d left my friend out in the party by herself.

“Damn! I left her all alone! I’ve gotta go find her.” I stood up, only to find Chloe’s hand resting on my arm.

“Don’t worry sweetie, I’ll go get her in a sec. But I think that you should head home for now, it’s been a rough night for you.” She soothed.

I hesitated. “But-“

“Hun.” Her eyes met mine. She wasn’t going to take no for an answer.

“I agree.” Atlas spoke up. As I looked at him, he continued.

“You’ve been through a lot. Do you have someone you can call to pick you up?”

He spoke softly, meeting my eyes and smiling.

“I can wait with you until they get here.”

Suddenly a wave of longing swept over me. I want go home.

“I… Um, yeah. I can call my Dad.”

“That’s settled then. I’ll go find your friend, and Atlas will wait with you.” Chloe pulled me into a hug, squeezing me before letting go.

She left after I told her what my friend looked like and her name, closing the door behind her.

I pulled my phone out and scrolled until I found my dad’s number. I hesitated and glanced at Atlas, words on the tip of my tongue.

He tilted his head. “What is it?”

“Well, I uh, I thought…” I cringed in embarrassment, “I want to thank you for helping me so I wondered if you’d want to go to a café sometime maybe…? I was wondering if I could have your phone number.” I rushed the words, hopping to get past the embarrassing moment.

He blinked a couple of times before grinning and saying “Sure! But you don’t have to thank me. Like Chloe, I couldn’t just leave you alone.”

He took my phone and typed in his number. He passed it back to me and chuckled. “You really should call your dad now.”

“Yeah, okay.”

As I called my dad, reassuring him over and over again that I was fine but I really wanted to go home, Atlas finished off his tea.

We sat in comfortable silence, listening to the wind and night creatures outside the window.

After a while, Chloe came back with my friend. She was decidedly drunk but apologised again and again until I suspected that Chloe must have said something to her. 

After a while, my dad texted me that he was waiting outside. So Atlas, Chloe, my friend and I walked out into the cool air of the front yard.

My friend ran over to my Dad's car, waving and nearly falling over.

I huffed in amusement and turned to the two standing next to me.

"Thanks again, I really mean it." I smiled at them both.

Chloe pulled us into a hug. "Anytime, darling!"

I hugged them back, squeezing tightly, before I stepped back and waved.

"Bye!!" I called, running over to my Dad's car.

"Seeya!" and "Bye honey!" followed me as I climbed into the car.

I waved a final goodbye as we pulled out of the driveway.

"Looks like you had a good time?" My dad asks.

I started, staring at him, then smiled to myself as I realised.

"Yeah, I guess I did."