I should be asleep, but this idea popped into my head and wouldn't leave me alone, so I just had to write it down.
Well, here's the prologue. I hope you like it.
Christine stands at the counter in a movie theater's restroom, looking at her reflection in the mirror. She looks good, she observes. Her makeup is natural, but makes her bright blue eyes pop, and her auburn hair is silky and has a bit of a wave to it. She's dressed in comfortable black jeans, a black t-shirt with a sequined zebra printed on it, and a leather jacket. She's got on black, strappy sandals and her toes are painted lime green. "Do you really think he was looking at me?" She asks her best friend, Brittany, when she emerges from a stall.
"Totally." Brittany, who's wearing white flip-flops, tight indigo-wash jeans and a white, loose-fitting tank top with a wide Aztec printed stripe in the center, runs her right hand under the automatic soap dispenser, cocking her head to look at her friend. "Kai was totally checking you out, Tine."
Christine smiles and turns around, leaning back against the edge of the counter, crossing her arms over her chest. "There are a lot of people in this place, Brit. Are you sure he was looking at me and not someone else? The mistake is understandable."
"You can really be clueless sometimes, you know that?" Brittany laughs, drying her hands with a paper towel.
"Even if he was looking at me, it's not like I'd even have a chance with him. I mean, I'm a junior and he's a sophomore…in college."
Brittany rolls her eyes, tucks her straight, blonde hair behind her ears, and fixes her bangs. "School's out for the summer, so we're seniors now." She pulls out a tube of mascara from her purse and proceeds to touch up her makeup. "If I had a guy looking at me like that, he'd be naked before he even knew my name."
"You're exaggerating."
"Not by much," Brittany mutters, coating her lips with another layer of clear, shimmery gloss.
Christine pulls her cell phone out of her purse, remembering that she never turned it back on after the movie. "Crap. It's already 11:15. I've got an 11:30 curfew. If I'm even five minutes late, my dad's gonna have a search and rescue team out looking for me. He's got them on speed dial."
Brittany lets out a howling laugh. "That's funny because I know you're not kidding."
Christine leads the way out of the bathroom and chances a quick glimpse at Kai, who works at the concession stand. She admires his dark brown hair, broad shoulders, and muscular arms, but quickly looks away when he catches her staring. She smiles down at her feet, her cheeks burning and taking on a rosy hue
Brittany just shakes her head and tugs on her best friend's arm. "C'mon, Tine. We gotta get you home."
"Right." Christine recovers and follows Brittany out of the theater.
"Wait!"
Both teenagers turn their heads at the sudden, desperate voice behind them, and Brittany nudges her best friend in the ribs when she sees it's Kai.
"You dropped this." Kai grins, showing off his nearly perfectly straight teeth, and hands Christine a box of gummy bears.
Christine looks down at the candy, which happens to be her favorite, and then up at Kai, who at 6'3, stands a good five inches taller. "I didn't drop this."
Kai runs his hand through his hair and then walks back over to the concession counter.
Christine looks back down at the candy, noticing for the first time the phone number scribbled on the box. She blinks and turns to Brittany, who's just smirking at her. "Okay, so maybe he was looking at me." She slips the box into her purse and grabs her phone, muttering another curse as she realizes how late it is. "I need to get home."
"Maybe next time you'll believe me when I tell you stuff."
Christine rolls her eyes and the two of them leave the theater and climb into Brittany's blue Volkswagen Beetle.
Two Weeks Later
Christine's sitting on the couch in some girl from her AP English class' living room. She rests her elbow on the arm of the couch and props her head on her hand. She sighs. Brittany dragged her to this damn party and then quickly disappeared somewhere in the mansion of a house. She has a physics test on Monday, but instead of studying, she's here, not having fun.
She feels the couch dip with added weight, but she doesn't acknowledge the person's presence. She just continues watching everyone else dance like fools to music that is playing at a volume way past what's considered healthy.
"Not having fun?"
Christine lifts her head and turns towards the familiar voice. Her breath catches in her throat. She can smell Kai's aftershave and see herself reflected in his blue-green eyes. She swallows and clears her throat, subtly wiping her palms against her black and grey dress. "Hi," she says, her voice shaking. You're seventeen, not twelve. Stop being so nervous. He's just a guy.
"Hi." He smiles at her, which only serves to make the knot in her stomach tighten and grow larger. "Wanna dance?"
She eyes him skeptically. "Wait, what are you doing here? I wouldn't think a high school party would be your thing."
"Yeah, well, I don't have a choice. It's my house."
"Oh. You're Molly's older brother."
"Bingo Bango."
"Even so, why are you here instead of, you know, out with your friends?"
"I was supposed to work tonight, but I switched with someone last minute. All my friends had plans already." He pauses. "So, do you wanna dance?" He asks again, flashing her a smile.
"I'm only seventeen."
"So? It's just a dance. I mean, if you don't want to, that's cool." He starts to get up, but Christine grabs his hand and stands up.
"Let's dance." Suddenly, her lousy night just got a whole lot better.
An hour later, Christine stumbles and collapses onto the couch. She giggles and shifts, getting into a more comfortable position. "Whew. Dancing is fun."
Kai sits down beside her. "How many cups of punch did you drink?"
She shrugs. "I dunno. Three or four or five. It's good punch Really fruity." She hits him playfully on the arm and laughs. "You wan some?"
"No, I'm not thirsty."
"It's good punch, though. You're missin' out."
"Did you drive here?"
She shakes her head. "Whoa, dizzy. No, my friend drove me. She's, she's somewhere." She waves her hand around and slumps her shoulders.
"Maybe you should go find her and have her take you home. I mean, if she's not totally sloshed."
"But I'm having fun." She brushes her hair out of her face and looks at him. "You have pretty eyes. So pretty." She leans into him and kisses him.
He grabs her shoulders and pushes her back.
She touches his cheek, sliding her finger down to trace his jaw. "Such a strong jaw. So masculine. Me likey," she whispers. "I'm thirsty." She goes to stand up, but loses her balance and falls back down on the couch. "I don't feel so good." She holds her stomach as her face pales.
He quickly reaches for the garbage can by the side table and thrusts it in her direction.
She hugs it and dips her head. She burps and vomit spews from her mouth and clings to the plastic trash bag. She coughs and continues to expel her stomach contents into the can.
He holds her hair back and rubs her back.
A couple minutes later, she leans back and rests her head on the small, square couch pillow, closing her eyes. She groans and swallows, coughing again. Suddenly she sits up and looks around. "Where's Brittany?"
He shrugs. "Do you want me to go find her?"
She nods. "Yeah, go find her, good." She lays back again, her eyes falling shut.
He stands up and sets out to find Brittany.
Kai searches the group of teenagers congregating in the main living area of the house and then searches the other rooms in the house. Coming up empty inside, he goes outside and turns his head quickly when he hears a horrifying shriek. He runs over, pushing his way through the crowd. He looks down and realizes he's standing in brain matter. Looking more closely at the person laid out on the concrete, he gasps. He kneels down beside the teenage girl and checks for a pulse, knowing full well he isn't going to find one. He looks up and sees a few people glancing down from the balcony above. "Shit," he mutters. He gets up and rushes back into the house, grabbing the phone off the kitchen counter and dialing 9-1-1. He's probably going to be in a boatload of trouble when the police get here, but he doesn't have a choice.
He walks into the living room and sits down on the couch.
Feeling the couch dip again, Christine opens her eyes. Her head is pounding, but her mind is tad bit less hazy. "Hey, did you find Brittany?"
He nods. "Uh, Christine, your friend, she—I think she jumped or fell off my parents' balcony."
"Is she okay?"
He shakes his head. "No. She landed on the concrete. She slammed her head hard. She—she had no pulse. I'm sorry."
She rubs her aching head, staring wide-eyed at him. "No pulse," she repeats under her breath. "You sure it's her? There are lots of people here."
"Yeah, pretty sure." He grabs her hand and gives it a squeeze. "I'm sorry."
Tears spring to her eyes, but she stands up. "Show me."
He shakes his head. "I don't think that's a good idea. It's pretty gross."
"Show me. I don't believe you."
"If you're sure—."
"Show me."
"Okay, okay." He stands and guides her outside.
She collapses onto her knees beside her best friend's life-less, broken body, and grabs her hand. She stays there, tears streaming down her cheeks, for a while, she's not sure how long. The next thing she realizes, she's being picked up and guided through the living room once again, but this time by her mom and dad.