1
Soundtrack
Prologue
CLK
The beat flows constantly, like a train. It never stops, and it only slows or speeds up as the songs change. It's dependable and exciting all at once, and that's how she likes it.
She likes the way the beat courses through her body, the way the bass pulses and she can feel it. She likes the way the crowd looks in the flashing ice blue lights, and the way the air here was steamy hot and smoky. But most of all, she liked that no one knew her.
-X-
"Hey, guys," She greeted, walking over to the people she'd known since age four.
"Em... hi," Manny said, glancing around. JT nodded at her, for once staying silent.
"What's going on?" Emma asked, confused. Manny and JT shared a look.
"Well, there are some... rumors... going around, and you won't be happy about them," Manny told her, choosing her words carefully.
"What rumors?" Emma questioned. This time, JT spoke.
"You, and Jay, the ravine, and a little blue bracelet," He explained. Her two friends watched her closely.
"Oh, God," Emma breathed. She felt sick... more than she had after she realized what she'd done. It's funny how she always felt more regret after she'd been found out.
"Emma!" Manny exclaimed.
"No one was supposed to find out about that," She declared, leaning against the blue lockers.
"You... did that?" Manny demanded. Emma swallowed, then nodded, not looking at the two.
"What? Why?" The girl interrogated.
"Because... I don't know. It was something I needed to get out of my system, I guess. It is, for real," She told them, firmly. She had no interest in Jay any longer. He'd just... been there. When she'd needed him.
Glancing up, she saw Manny shaking her head in disbelief, disgust, disappointment. JT looked amazed, but not impressed at all.
"What?" Emma asked.
"I just... can't believe it. He had a girlfriend, and you weren't even dating him. Besides, he's your ex's best friend. You are so hypocritical! I mean, look what you said to me, before!" Manny shouted.
"Oh, shut up, Manny! Alex does the same thing, not that it's any of your business. And I'm not all that hypocritical. At least I didn't sleep with him, and I'm not the one that got pregnant," Emma retaliated. Manny opened her mouth, then snapped it shut and walked off angrily.
-X-
That night, Emma had been upset. Her mother was harassing her about her problem, Jack was screaming, and Emma had needed to get away. She'd pulled on some clothes and started walking, and she hadn't cared where she'd been going. She'd run into someone that had seen her at a few raves the year before, and the guy invited her to some whole-in-the-wall club she'd never heard of.
She'd been a regular here ever since. Nearly every night, after her parents went to bed at ten, she came, and she danced. Sometimes alone, occasionally with guys or other girls, or in a big group. It was liberating to be herself, with no strings attached.
She did hook up with guys every now and then. Nothing that huge, never past second base. It was kind of inevitable. When people are around you, making out and grinding away on the dance floor, it rubs off on you. She never saw the boys again, most of the time, and never talked to the same one twice.
Tonight, the place was packed. There was no two square inches left to squeeze into on the dance floor. Most of the people being high, the music was blasting, and the owner ended up laying liquor out on the bar because there were too many customers desperate for a drink. Couples, some dating and others having just met, were hooking up everywhere, up against the walls, on the dance floor, on the catwalk, in the balcony... It was complete anarchy.
She had come again, her light blonde hair untamed, thick and curly with small pieces straightened at uneven intervals. Her eyeliner was a harsh kohl, with her lashes long and thick, and her lips were slicked with an enticing, shiny pink gloss. A new, sequined plum colored halter top displayed her flat, tan abdomen, and a fair amount of cleavage. Her black mini-skirt was tiny, riding low on her hips, the hem hitting inches before mid thigh. Her black ankle wrap stiletto heels made her long, long bronzed legs seem to stretch for miles.
A silver chain dropped a diamond, hitting just above the neckline of her shirt. Silver bangles adorned her left wrist, and a rhinestone glittered in her navel. She had touched her neck and wrists with Britney's Curious before she left, and stuck a few dollars and a tube of MAC Lip Glass in her skirt. She was prepared to be here for a while.
Emma sauntered through the crowds like a pro, coming to a halt near the center of the floor, where there was scarcely room to breathe and always someone to dance with. The speakers were banging out some remixed, candy pop song by a burned out one hit wonder, the kind that no one ever listened to at home. The tempo and low, sultry tone of the tune made it perfect to dance to, and Emma swayed her hips along with the music until someone slipped their arms around her waist.
She didn't look. She never did. But he was different. His tan, muscular arms held her tightly as she grinded into him, and his breath on her long, graceful neck was warm. She felt... content, even though she was in the middle of a rundown dive full of wild teens and twenty-somethings, dancing with a stranger. So she leaned her head back just a little, enough to see his face.
Emma's heart pounded, and she felt like someone had punched her in the stomach. The tall, built guy behind her had sandy, curly hair, and blue green eyes that were focused on the bar for a fraction of a second. He began to look in her direction once again, and she pulled away from him and set off at a jog.
Sean Cameron. Out of all the people that she knew, Sean Cameron was the one she had danced with.