'No please.. Please don't. Wh... Why are you doing this? ' 

I was crying and my clothes were torn. I was in a room without windows. It was dark and I just realized that I had a big bleeding wound on my arm and my forehead throbbed like hell. 

The person in front of me, came closer and closer, closer and closer... 

I woke up with a jerk. I was sweating all over and my trembling hands were clutching tightly to the sheets, as if my life depended on them. 

I got this dream- I mean nightmare after quite a long time. This nightmare was the reason I used to sleep as little as I possibly could. Now I don’t get it so often. Whenever the terrifying nightmare came, I couldn't get it out of my head for the next week or so. I feared the terror that came with remembering. It was not like I could forget about it, believe me I had tried to. When I dreamt, it was like reliving it all over again. I just tried to think of other things and kept my mind occupied. 

I didn't go to work yesterday as I remained for quite some time in school doing the project. And also 'cause my head was hurting. 

That nightmare... I really hated it. 

I tried to forget about it, as I was getting ready for school. Finally, as the events of yesterday came flooding back, the dream began to fade away. Thoughts of Caleb filled my mind and I couldn't be happier. I was finally getting a chance to be friends with him. I really didn't want this to end. I was on cloud nine. 

The sky seemed pretty dark. I hoped it wouldn't rain before I reached school. I wasn't carrying an umbrella and I would be drenched if I walked from my car to the school building without one. 

The moment I reached school, I soon felt at ease. I was getting excited to meet Caleb And it didn't rain which felt like a good sign. The moment I entered the school, I met Vi at the entrance and Nicole came up to us looking very excited.

'I'm having a party at my place tomorrow. My parents are both gonna be away. This party is gonna definitely be twice as great as the last. Spread the word. I want as many people to come as possible. ' she said, excitedly. 

That was all I heard 'cause then she started rambling on about what she was gonna have and the apparently "important" people she was gonna call. We walked to class and she yelled about her party in every corridor and every classroom we passed. 

‘Wow!’ said Vi sarcastically with a sigh. I guess this is another thing we had a similar opinion on. 

I was not insinuating that I hated parties. On the contrary, I actually liked them. Who didn't love drinking and just letting go? The thing was, working at a bar was like attending a party and not really working. The only sober people in a bar were the bartenders and some of the waiters. But working 'round drunk people was like working in an asylum. The amount of crazy I saw could not be defined. 

Anyway, the thing was I didn't like getting drunk 'cause I always liked to be the one in control. And since I, like any other person my age, could not completely resist the temptation of a drink, I avoided situations that would lead to it. 

School ended quicker than usual. Not really, it just felt like it. I went to the library later to meet up with K for the day's work on the project. 

As I walked into the library I saw Caleb already seated at a table, writing something. He seemed different in the past week. He seemed to be constantly worried about whatever was going on between him and Stacey and kept spacing out, even during classes he liked attending. 

So I went and sat next to him saying, 'hi. ' He just nodded and continued on with his work. While doing my own work, I was stealing glances towards him. He was trying very hard to concentrate, as if he was trying to think about two different things at the same time. 

After about half an hour of that, I thought that I should say something, so I did. 

'Hey K, did you hear about Nicole's party tomorrow? You should come. ' I said.

'Umm.. I think I'll pass. Got a lot of work to do, ' he mumbled. 

I sighed. 

'You need a break once in a while. You work too much. Try and relax for once. ' I advised him. 

'I dunno. I'll see, I suppose. But I'll try to come. ' he said, making me feel a little hopeful. 

I smiled. 

'Good. See you there then. ' I said. 

After that we just talked now and then as we completed our work and as soon as I finished I rushed to the bar for my job. I had to work extra time since I was taking the day off tomorrow. 

------

The day of the party. Yay! 

Not. 

I spent most of yesterday night working and hardly got any sleep. Now I am completely exhausted. Today's day was gonna suck because I would have to cancel our library time this afternoon due to my early cafe duty. Well, when duty calls, one has to go. 

After the bell rang I dashed out of my seat and headed for the door. I almost made it, when I heard my name being called out. I stopped running and turned towards the voice.

'Yeah?' I said.

It was Caleb. 

'Um... I happen to have a game in the last week of the month. The team will be heading north in about two weeks. So, we need to get the project done quicker.' He explained. 

'That's ok. We should be able to finish it. ' I reassured him. 

Just then Stacey came to Caleb's side and avoided looking at me. She was one of the people who completely ignored me, probably hoping I wouldn’t speak to her. I wasn’t intending to anyways. 

‘Can we talk?’ she asked Caleb.

She pulled Caleb out of the classroom and out of sight before either of us could say another word. 

Anyways, I continued to rush out of the school and got to the cafe as fast as I could. 

As my shift got over I headed home for a quick change of clothes, met up with the guys at Nicole’s street and reached her house at about 9:30. Her house was already full of people. In the living room people were dancing and drinking and some were grinding against their partners against the wall. 

‘Where’s the booze?’ Drake was already going around asking random people to direct him to the booze. 

‘Wait up.’ Preston went after him, dodging people trying not not to lose him. Luka had already disappeared. There seemed to be no point in coming together. 

While looking around, I happened to enter the kitchen and Nicole and Vi were chatting together in the corner so I went over to them.

'Hey. ' I said. 

'Hey you. ' said Nicole while Vi just gave me a nod and continued sipping her drink.

'Great party. '

'Yeah. Except for the fact that Nora and Stacey are here. And Tom's trying to devour my fridge and Sophie is all over Aiden. I should probably go and dump her with the rest of the trash I have to collect. '

Woah, she seemed pretty worked up. I looked over at Vi and she shrugged.

With that she dashed off towards them. Nora was here? Wow. I really didn't want to enter her line of vision. I wished she took the hint already. That woman really knew how to creep me out.

‘You should grab a drink while there’s still some left.’ 

‘Right. Be right back.’

I went to look for something to drink and grabbed some snacks on the way. I noticed that even though it could rain at any moment the pool was full of people. They probably didn't mind getting sick. 

One really good thing about parties though, was the free food. That was definitely to my advantage. It was a golden opportunity to save money! 

When I went back to the kitchen, Vi was grinding against some random dude so I went back out in search of company. Out in the living room, Luka was dancing like crazy on top of a table and I could see Drake having an arm wrestling match with some dudes and Preston watching over them with a stressed out look on his face. I just settled for drinking in a dark corner. I needed a break from physical contact once in a while. Hopefully my drunk ass would not get me into trouble tomorrow.

------

‘Come to me… Follow my voice…’ A voice whispered.

I was standing in the middle of darkness and I could see nothing ahead. 

‘Come on…’ The voice was softer this time and suddenly I was falling—

My alarm started blaring early in the morning and I seriously wished that I could blast it out of the planet. Better yet, the galaxy. Damn it my head was throbbing so much. I was finding it difficult to open my eyes. I flung the sheets off of me and got ready to go to school. I felt like I had a dream but I just couldn’t remember what it was. I don’t think it was that one though. It just left me with a really strange feeling. Anyways I had no time right now to decipher dreams. I was fucking late.

The previous day wasn't so much fun. Well, nothing new there. I left early too. I really couldn't help but have a few more drinks than I originally anticipated. I really regret it now. I was suffering from a minor hangover (minor for me) right now and I didn't like it one bit. I also needed to hurry up or I wouldn’t make it to school. Life was good! No, great! 

Note the sarcasm. 

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