Chapter 1

Chapter 1
The moon shone down through the treetops, illuminating every dark corner. I sat underneath an old oak, gazing at everything around me. Then, for a moment, I was brought back to reality and checked the time on my phone. It was about midnight. My friends probably hadn't even noticed I'd left yet.
A few hours ago I had been at party, supposedly the biggest party of the year. But no one had noticed me, so i left. I liked it better here, it was calming here in the forest.
Of course, the party was only down the street. So I could still hear the pounding music. It didn't help that that wasn't the only party tonight. The other party was the biggest by far.
It was a party for all the Decaydance bands. Many kids tried to sneak in but there was very heavy security patrolling the area.
And so here I sat, alone and cut out of both parties.
I sighed, wasn't high school wonderful? At least I was graduating this year.
There was a rustle of the bushes in front of me. I sat completely still, waiting. A humanoid figure burst out and stumbled towards me. The person was clumsy and tripped often.
It was a man with chocolate, puppy-dog eyes. He had soft, brown hair that shone in the moonlight. I knew this man but what was he doing here?
His skin was slightly green and a thin sheen of sweat on his brow. The man looked at me warily and then his eyes rolled back into his head. There was a muffled thunk as he fell to the ground.
I sat dumbstruck for a moment, unsure of what to do. But he needed my help, something was wrong with him. I rose and approached him slowly.
I patted all his pockets until I found a sleek, black phone. I scrolled through the contacts until I found a promising number.
He picked up on the first ring.
"Brendon? Where are you? We've been looking everywhere!"
"Uh, this is Ella. I'm with Brendon now, in the forest next to the Decaydance party. I'm guessing you are there right now..."
"Yeah!" he shouted over the music. "Is Brendon okay?"
I examined Brendon quickly. He reeked of beer and when I checked his pulse, it felt a little slow.
"I think he had an alcohol overdose."
Ryan gasped. "We're on our way. Wait there, okay?"
"Yes," I said.
"Oh, and, Ella?"
"Hmm?" I mumbled.
"Thank you." The line disconnected.
I closed the cell and put it in my sweater's pocket. I watched Brendon adoringly. He was the lead singer of my favorite band. In fact, I was wearing their shirt now.
He groaned and his eyes fluttered open.
"Who are you?" he moaned.
"I-i..." I mumbled like an idiot. "I'm Ella. How are you feeling?"
Brendon watched me warily for a moment and then his hand shot to his mouth.
"Excuse me!" He jumped up and scrambled away. He put his hands on his knees and threw up. I politely looked away. He sat down again and leaned against the tree I had been sitting against moments ago. He took some deep breaths and wiped his mouth.
"Sorry," he said. I noticed his words were slurred. He hiccupped.
Man, how much did he drink?
"Your friends are coming for you," I told him.
"Who?"
"Your friends. I called Ryan and told him where you were."
"Who do you know me?"
I laughed under my breath. "You mean why? You're famous. A lot of people know you, Brendon."
He nodded slowly like he had forgotten and was letting it sink in. Then he moaned.
"I feel horrible!" he whined. "I wanna go!"
"We'll get you to a hospital soon. It's okay," I reassured him.
We sat quietly for a while. He threw up two more times before Ryan and everyone else came. He arrived with four other people. He didn't need to tell me their names. I knew them already: Spencer, Jon, William, and Gabe. They all rushed up to us. Spencer and Jon grabbed Brendon by his arms and legs and began to haul him out of the forest, towards the road.
I sat there speechlessly. This was a once in a lifetime chance but I couldn't ask for an autograph or anything, that would be wrong.
"Ella. Can you come with us?" Ryan asked me.
"Why should I?" It sounded wrong when it came out of my mouth. "I mean, I'd like to but I mean...why do you want me to?"
"I think Brendon would like to meet his savior once he's better," said William.
Once again, I couldn't speak. "Sure..." I managed.