Disclaimer: Don't own, didn't happen.
It was another one of those nights. The full moon was out; the clouds were scattered throughout the sky hiding the stars away from Reid's eyes. A fog was formed a few feet below the cliff, and the sound of loud music could be heard playing faintly in the distance. Another beginning of the school year party. It was a Spenser tradition, so it seemed. Not that Reid minded. There was always that sea of girls he would swim in, looking for the right one to take back to his dorm room. Although, tonight he didn't feel like picking up any girls, like he normally would. Something in his stomach made him wish he had never even come along.
"Dude, you gonna come or what?" Tyler's voice interrupted his thoughts,
"Yeah, yeah," Reid replied.
He stepped off the edge of the cliff and fell into the misty fog below. Cold wind blew through his blond locks as he fell; his skin felt it would freeze as the temperature sailed under his clothes. When Reid's feet landed on the ground, he immediately broke out into a walk, filing in beside Pouge, a long-haired boy with a leather jacket.
"Is it me, or has it gotten colder?" Tyler asked as he came beside Reid,
"It's colder," Pouge answered, stuffing is hands in his jacket,
"No," Caleb, a muscled dark-haired boy, answered, "That cliff was just high up. Don't you realize how much warmer it is down here than up there?"
"Yeah, but it ain't much," said Pouge.
Reid nodded. His body did loosen its stiffness as it gained its warmth back. He looked ahead to see a large fire glowing. Shadowy figures, what he assumed were partygoers, took up most of the light from their dancing. The music was getting louder as he approached it.
When they arrived in the party, several people waved to him or called out his name as he passed by. Yes, this was his life. Going to an expensive school; having lots of friends; girls swooning over his charm, but yet, something inside Reid remained unsatisfied. Anyone else would have been fine with just the money and the girls. Reid, however, wanted something more. He did not want another night of finding someone he'd only like for one night, and then go back to ignoring them the next day. He wanted someone to hold; kiss, and feel gently the way they would want to be felt. Reid wanted someone to laugh with; talk to, and would be around him no matter what happened. He wanted, needed, someone to make him feel whole.
"Hey," Kate's voice was heard of the pumping music,
She, and Sarah, a pretty blond girl, walked towards them. Sarah came straight into Caleb's strong arms, while Kate wrapped herself around Pouge as he lifted her up. Reid watched them kiss. It wasn't fair. Why did they get to have good girls like them, while he got stuck with people who did not care about him? Reid thought he deserved a girl like them too. He had been through enough, hadn't he?
"We want you to meet someone," Kate told them, leaving the group for a moment,
"Who is she bringing?" Pouge asked Sarah,
"Our new friend."
Soon, Kate returned. This time, she had someone moving alongside her. Reid's heart stopped. His fists clutched; his jaw clenched; his entire body stood in one place. He felt an insufferable pain scorching his body. It was like he was being burned alive right where he stood. His eyebrows furred together as he tried to conceal his pain, but Pouge noticed.
"It's alright," He whispered, "I feel it too."
Reid looked up and saw her. She was small; her hair was a helmet of chestnut brown curls; her skin was pale, but had some color to it. Her outfit awed Reid slightly. A pink sweater with a black skirt that revealed his slender legs, while her boots crunched the grass she walked on. She reminded Reid of a little porcelain doll, like the ones his mother collected. As this girl came closer to him, the burning in his body worsened.
"Guys," Kate said, but Reid found it hard to concentrate on the dark-skinned girl, "This is Ellison Weber."
"Call me Ellie," She smiled.
How could she smile when she hurt him so much? Reid yearned for a chance to scream out in the smoldering stinging he was feeling. Tyler stood closer to him, leaning into his ear.
"What the hell is going on?" He said through gritted teeth,
"I don't know."
Reid kept his eyes on Ellie. Just looking at her hurt him. When their eyes locked, not only did he see an apologetic look, but a thin line of red on the inside of her green iris. He felt the searing pain die down very little when she looked away from him and at Caleb.
"It's nice to meet you, Ellie," Caleb said, grinning at her. Did this not affect him at all? "I'm Caleb. This is Pouge, Tyler and Reid."
Reid nodded to her. He could barely move his lips, let alone his head. The burning nearly paralyzed him. Everyone else began talking to her other than him and Tyler. He could tell Tyler was trying his best to look away from Ellie without being obvious. Maybe the two of them should leave to get away from this…this aura of fire the girl was giving off.
"Danvers," A voice called from not to far away.
Aaron Abbot and his two cronies walked up to them. He had a wicked grin on his face that completely predicted what he was bothering them for. Reid growled to himself. The pain alone was unbearable, why did he have to make it worse?
"What do you want, Aaron?" Caleb asked,
"I just wanted to introduce myself to your new friend," He turned to Ellie, a disgusting flirtation in his eyes, "Hi. I'm Aaron."
"Ellie,"
When Aaron walked closer to Ellie, Reid felt a degree of anger fester inside of him. He knew this game all too well, because he played it himself. Trying to be nice to the sweet, oh-so- naïve girl so she'll sleep with him. Reid was not sure why, but he felt like whipping up all his ability to fling Aaron halfway across the field away from Ellie. He did not want an egotistical, cocky scumbag like Aaron Abbot trying to taint something as pure as Ellie. As a matter of fact, he did not want Aaron around Ellie at all.
"You know," Aaron said to her, "You'll be much better off if you hung around a guy like me. People would respect you more if they saw you on my arm, and since you are pretty, I'll give you a shot. Whadda say?"
"Um, sorry,"Ellie said, backing away from him, "I'm not interested."
"Oh come on," Aaron pressed, "Don't be like that. I promise I'll be really nice."
"I'll be fine on my own, honestly."
"Well, maybe you shouldn't be-"
Reid stepped in between them as Aaron stepped to Ellie. He did not know what forced him to do it, especially with the sensation still filling his body, but he had. "She said she wasn't interested Aaron,"
"This ain't any of your business Garwin,"
"It is when you mistreat a girl you don't even know. She told you she doesn't want you, so get the fuck out of here." He gave the other boy a slight push, and Aaron's eyes filled with rage.
"Who the fuck do you think-"
With a simple flash of his eyes, Aaron's friend began spewing vomit right on Aaron's back. Reid moved back as the vomiting continued, seeing Ellie smile at him thankfully. His body twitched as his once subsided torture returned. The music was put to a halt and a voice came over the speakers. Once the words "Cops of Oakdale Road" came through, a flood of people began hurrying through the forest behind the clearing to their cars. The entire atmosphere of the party changed from carefree to panic. It did not bother Reid one minute.
The group began moving quickly with the crowd, talking about who was meeting with who in the dormitory later. Reid did not speak through this conversation. He was too focused on how the level of his suffering decreased the further Ellie was from him, and how it increased when she came closer. When he finally thought it was leaving him, the twinge shot back with a vengeance.
"Thank you," Ellie's voice said to him, "That guy was a creep."
"No problem," He grunted, not making eye contact with him.
They stopped by Tyler's Hummer, and planned to get away from Ellie as fast as he could, but her tiny hand pulled him back.
"Ah!" He let out softly.
"I'm so sorry," She whispered to him, letting go quickly, "It's just what I am. I can't help it."
He stared at her, completely confused. Ellie lifted her hand to touch his cheek, but then brought it back down. He watched her walk away from him to Sarah's car, counting the steps to see how far it would take for the pain to go away.
It took her fifteen steps and the metal of Sarah's car just to allow his body to move.