The furthest thing from Zoe's mind was that she would be getting a phone call at two o'clock in the morning. She and Sean had been good friends for a long time, though being friends with a famous, YouTube gamer usually prevented her from ever keeping in touch with him. After a while, she just sort of gave up. She still watched his channel religiously; Jacksepticeye was comic relief when retail just became too much.
When she answered the phone, she hadn't recognized the number. Because of that, Zoe almost didn't answer it at all - but she was glad she did.
"Hello?"
She was so out of it.
"Hey, is this Zoe?"
The Irish accent was unmistakable. For a moment, she thought she must still be dreaming. Sitting up in the bed, she rubbed her eyes with her free hand, pulling the charger cord out of her smartphone.
"Sean?"
"Yeah!" the voice on the other end of the line confirmed. Then, there was a pause. "Shit... Sorry, I just realized what time it is where you are. Sorry, Zoe. Didn't mean to wake you up."
"No, no," she said, smiling tiredly. "It's great to hear from you." It had to have been months since she last talked to him, and even then, it was pretty brief. "What's up?"
"Well, thought I'd let you know I'm gonna be in town in a couple of weeks. Maybe we can take a day and do something."
Strange. She didn't recall seeing Phoenix on his tour schedule - was he coming by just because? Zoe didn't bother to ask questions. In fact, she was more than happy to ask a couple of days off to catch up with her old friend.
She hadn't seen him since his hair was blue. That's how long it had been. Last they spoke, he briefly confided in her about his breakup with a girl that he had been dating for a while. Zoe tried not to ask too many questions; after all, back when they both went to college together, they had actually dated, albeit rather briefly. While he was studying audio engineering, she was studying photography. She couldn't even remember why they had gone their separate ways - only that they decided to remain good friends, despite their differences.
It was easy enough getting a few days off from work - after all, she rarely asked for days off, let alone a vacation. It allowed her plenty of opportunity to see Sean, though they hadn't exactly decided on a specific day to see each other.
Finally, they picked an evening, and they both agreed to see an early showing of a scary movie - something that wasn't expected to be overly crowded. He never minded being recognized as a celebrity in public, but Zoe supposed he did it more for her sake, and that was totally fine by her.
Afterwards, they spent some time in the lobby eating pizza. He was still funny as all hell without his YouTube persona, but in the long run, it wasn't as if he was all that different from how he portrayed himself in his videos.
Zoe made mention of a dance event that was going on that she planned on going to later in the week.
"You still do ballroom dancing?" he asked. It was kind of amazing that even after all this time, Sean still remembered that it was one of her favorite electives in college.
"Not as often, but it's fun... without the chaos of those big, night clubs."
"Never did learn the Cha-Cha." He did a movement in his chair that suggested he might have been trying to dance, but Zoe always recalled him having his own sort of rhythm. He could dance - just...only on his own accord. And when he was mainly being goofy. "I think I'd be willing to learn now."
This surprised Zoe. She had tried to encourage him to go to these lessons with her back in college, but he always made an excuse not to. Now, he was practically inviting himself.
And she was more than happy to accept.
She wasn't sure why she was so excited about the upcoming night. She found herself dancing on impulse during the next day, practicing - as if she had someone to impress. The day after, she had a hard time deciding what to wear. Not that this was a formal event, but she usually wore her ballroom heels and something at least semi-casual.
Tonight, she decided on a red, ruffle-sleeved dress she had bought from Macy's ages ago. She had never found an opportunity where she was bold enough to wear it until tonight.
As she adjusted the collar so that it hugged around her shoulders as designed, she looked at herself in the bedroom mirror.
Isn't his favorite color red?
She probably looked like she was trying to impress Sean, but at this rate, why did it matter what kind of dress she wore? She could just pretend she always wore something like this.
After applying a little bit of make-up and throwing on her shoes, she grabbed her purse and car keys. Through text, they had already decided they would meet up at The Wave - a bar that morphed into a nightclub on most nights, but also held more private events such as these. Thursday nights such as this usually weren't very busy - in fact, they tended to consist of primarily regulars who might occasionally bring a friend with them to attend.
Zoe waited by the front entrance of the building for maybe only four minutes before he arrived by bus. She wasn't sure where it was he had been coming from, though didn't doubt he probably had other things he had wanted to do while he was in town. Arizona had its fair share of tourist spots, after all.
She managed to hide it well, but she swallowed a lump in her throat when she saw him. She couldn't say she ever recalled seeing Sean dressed in anything that wasn't denim. He made an effort to look nice, sporting black, skinny-fit slacks and a white, button-up shirt.
This isn't a date, she reminded herself firmly. Those days are long gone. Just a couple of friends hanging out, that's all.
"You look spiffy," Zoe said, grinning a little as she watched him walk over to her. "Feeling out of place yet?"
"You have nooo idea," he said, but he still seemed to be quite elated as they would head inside. Zoe paid the cover charge for both of them, and they took some time to mingle and have a drink to loosen up.
Eventually, at about eight o'clock, an attractive, dark-skinned man took the main floor. His name was Jon, and he was the usual instructor for these nights. Some people remained off the dance floor, for the time being, though he announced for any newcomers to come out.
The first hour of the night went by nicely. Each new person would take a partner - naturally, Sean was at Zoe's hip for the majority of the evening. He managed to learn the basics on the salsa steps, and before long, he was almost a natural that even the teacher was impressed. Perhaps it was just because as the guy, he was able to lead and improvise, and Zoe could tell he was having a blast with it.
The shot of whiskey probably only added to it.
Santana's "Smooth" played through the speakers, and it seemed that a familiar song pumped up the energy on the floor for just about everyone. Zoe laughed jovially as she was twirled and dipped, following Sean's lead. It almost felt rehearsed, though they had been doing some of this throughout the night. He was energetically singing the words beneath the music, showing no shame.
But what happened next... Zoe couldn't have predicted it. She thought at first that maybe he was drunk. She did taste the whiskey on his lips - but he wasn't stumbling around like a drunken fool. In fact, his steps were on point before they came to a sudden halt, and he pulled her into him. For a moment, the sudden kiss had her stunned, but she could only sink into it. She closed her eyes, succumbing to the feel of her face between his cool hands.
Then, as he pulled away by just an inch, Zoe felt a bit breathless. She hadn't felt this blown away even during their very temporary relationship in college. They had kissed before, but the spark had never been this intense.
"You okay?" he asked, as if testing the waters. She bit her bottom lip through a faint smile.
"Yeah," she said. No one else around them seemed to notice them, even when Sean pulled her off of the dance floor. He paid their tab at the bar, and though they really only had a couple of well-paced drinks through the night, they had other plans than to drive anywhere.
Just within walking distance was a hotel - though it soon became jogging distance when they came out to a rainstorm. They hurried across the street, and Zoe clutched to her purse as her other hand clung to his arm. They laughed the entire way to the main lobby, even as the thunder began to roll in the distance.
The receptionist, who seemed to vaguely detect the electricity between them, designated the two guests with a keycard to Room 410.
Once the elevator doors opened to them, they eagerly stepped inside. However, the moment they brushed passed a gentleman with a black suitcase, they were forced to keep their hands to themselves at least for a little longer. Zoe might have stuck her tongue down his throat by now, otherwise. From behind her, she could feel Sean's facial hair graze softly on her bare shoulder. "You're a little wet."
If the man had heard, he might have assumed he was referencing the weather, but Zoe knew better than that, and her face flushed a bright shade of cherry-red.
"Shut up," she whispered, nudging him in the gut with her elbow. She couldn't stop grinning, even as she brushed her dampened, auburn hair from her face.
The stranger, who had given no response whatsoever, left at the second floor, and the moment the doors closed behind him, she heard Sean snicker.
"I'm glad you thought that was funny," Zoe murmured, turning around and giving him a threatening, though faked glare.
"It was," he answered proudly. "And you know it."
She grinned slightly, her firm expression faltering unintentionally. "Always a comic." Her fingers played along his collar for a moment. "What am I going to do with you?"
"Anything you want." Sean glanced up as the elevator shaft came to a halt at their floor, and the doors began to pull open. "Let's at least get to our room, though."
Smiling, Zoe followed him to their assigned room, and once the door had closed and automatically locked behind them, she couldn't contain herself anymore. In all the times she had been with Sean in the past, she never felt this sort of desire for him like she did tonight. In an odd sort of way, it was as if he wasn't even the same person she once knew.
It was hard to explain, but she decided not to question it as she dropped her purse to the ground, boxed him into the door, and kissed him again. As she did, she all but tore open his shirt, far too impatient to pick at the buttons. She could sew those back on, if he wanted her to.
His hands found her waist, pale fingers giving her a squeeze before he would pull her in harder - a sure sign that he wasn't bothered by the destruction of his nice shirt. Her hands grazed over his torso, which was a bit more buff than she last remembered. He'd been working out since college, that was for damn sure. She felt her body being pushed backwards, and in time, he would step with her, guiding her towards the queen-sized bed. Once she landed on the edge of the white-clothed mattress, she watched him pull off the shredded shirt altogether before discarding it to the floor. As he did, she took to kicking off her heels. It was nice to finally get off of her feet, considering they were sore from all of the dancing - and she was beginning to envision a lot more being sore than just her feet.
She grabbed him by the belt, pulling him closer to the edge of the bed. As she unfastened it, Zoe teased his abdomen with her lips, adoring his body while she could. She heard him sound a groan of approval, though before she could unbutton his trousers, she was pushed onto her back. He smiled, sinking to his knees before she could fully recognize what his next move was.
"I missed you," he said before he would plant a kiss just above her knee, then a series more that would trail further up her thigh. Zoe gasped, her body tightening in sexual frustration.
"Sean..." she exhaled, though really had nothing to follow it with. She just...wanted to whisper his name, and it felt good to do it. Somehow, it helped her understand too that this wasn't just her imagination.
He gave her a quizzical look, and for a moment, he even seemed concerned. "Should I stop?"
Zoe bit her bottom lip. How could he even ask that? Her body felt pained just by the thought of him stopping. "No... please, don't..."
Once given solid validation that he was clear to continue, Sean teased with his mouth through the transparent lace. She stifled a moan through parted lips, anticipating as he pulled off her panties altogether. Her body gave a twitch, and she would have almost giggled when his trimmed beard tickled her, but his tongue...
Good god, talk about like a boss!
The small of her back left the sheets, and the whimpers and gasps of pleasure that sounded from her were only accompanied by the sound of her dress's zipper being undone. Soon, it would pool on the floor with the rest of their clothes. He would easily push her further up to the center of the bed, his cock standing at full attention as he would climb over her.
Zoe came undone from that point, and the only thing that kept her from sheer screams of delight was the persistent reminder that she was in a hotel room, not in her own, private house.
Room 410 didn't sleep until about an hour before the sun rose. Even still, the curtains were closed to keep the daylight out.
Even in slumber, Zoe couldn't get over the events of the last, few hours. Much of it replayed in her own mind. She loved how in control she felt when she rode him, and the ecstatic look on his face when he came inside of her...
In the dream, however, as their bodies came to a gradual, tired stop, there was a strange sound in her ears. She couldn't decipher it, only that it sounded distorted, almost like a static, though Sean hadn't seemed to notice it.
Then, there was the coolness and a brief sensation of pressure against her throat.
Zoe sat up in the bed with a start, heavy of breath and eyes wide. It was just a dream, of course, but for a moment, it felt so real...
A knife to her throat - that's what it was, wasn't it?
Before her mind could fully begin to inquire whether any of last night's events were real or not, she looked to her left to see Sean sleeping beneath the cozy comforter. That was a sight she never would have expected to see. Zoe smiled faintly, and once her heart rate slowed to a more acceptable pace, she carefully climbed out of the bed and went to the bathroom. She never did clean up afterwards. She supposed it was a good thing she kept on top of her injection of contraceptives.
Though she was only going on a couple of hours of sleep, she helped herself to a hot shower. It was still a bit hard to believe, that she had shared anything like this with Sean after all of this time. Some might have thought her to have bragging rights now, but to be completely honest, Zoe couldn't imagine telling anyone about it, even if she wanted to. Her friends wouldn't believe she was friends with Jacksepticeye, let alone that she had sex with him.
She briefly wondered if it would be the last time. Seeing him at all was a rarity in and of itself. If he left Arizona today, Zoe supposed she would be perfectly fine with it, even if nothing serious came out of it. She would miss him, and maybe it would hurt a little to see him go, but she also understood he had a lot of important things going on in his life - his career, most of all.
Once she was cleaned, Zoe shut off the running water and grabbed a towel. She wrapped it around herself and stepped out. Steam had filled the bathroom, almost to the point that it was suffocating. She dragged the palm of her hand over the foggy mirror above the sink.
Suddenly, she jumped back, a gasp tearing into her lungs as she saw a face that was not her own looking back at her. It looked like Sean, but...somehow, it wasn't. His eyes were black, like something out of a horror movie.
And in the blink of an eye, her panicked reflection looked back at her, wide-eyed and pale.
"Fuck," she exhaled. Something about that dream must have made her paranoid. She stepped to the door. As she pulled on the knob, it turned only partially. The door acted as if it was locked. Her heart rate sped faster, hammering against her chest like a war drum.
"Sean?" she called out through the door.
Then, the bathroom fell into a humid darkness.
Shit... Please, wake up from this horrible nightmare...
"Sean, this isn't funny..." Her voice trembled, but instead of her friend's voice, something else answered her through the black space behind her.
Ä̵́̌͜ḷ̵̺̐w̵̟͗a̸̬̾̽y̶̜̌͝ş̸̖̑̓ ̴̫̓͝ā̸͇̕ ̴̹͗c̶̩̆o̷̼̤͊m̷̻͈̋̂î̶̥̯͠c̷̦̺͝.̷̨̬̽
Oh, my god...
She couldn't bring herself to turn around, as if she was paralyzed. It was that same sort of feeling a dreamer would get when they were trying to run from something, but their feet were anchored to the floor.
Z̷̥̍̀o̴̰̰̐ẹ̴͇̈́.̶̼̘̂̎ ̸͈̩̒M̸͇̉y̴̺̙͌͘ ̷̨̖̐̚f̴̖̀a̵̘̜̔v̵̝͕͝o̵͈̾͝r̵͍̈́ͅi̶̢͓̒ț̵̳̓e̴͚̅͠ ̵͖͒͘p̷̞͓̊ȕ̸̡ͅp̸͔̱̄p̴͒͜ȇ̷̱̀t̶̞̗͌.̵̛͇
"Get away from me!" she demanded, struggling harder with the doorknob. Still, it wouldn't give. Please, Zoe, fucking wake up...
"̵̛͍͙̘͈̻̜̜͈̱̣̘͓͍͂̅̽̇̀̈́̆̆͐̀I̷̧̨̢̼̟̘̦̜̦͔͎̰͌̆̂̇͛͆͋̍̈́̎̒͠͠'̷̨̙͚̼̜̭̪͙̺̘͗͊̀̈́̋v̸̹̭́͆̋̓̓̄̀̈̚͠ͅę̸̛̮͍̭̲̬͛̀̂͋̽̊̂́́̚ ̷͔̎̽̐̐̿͝b̵̘̲͚̻͍̋̈́́̉̓̈́̕̚̚ę̴̨̡̺̟̳̤̭̪̤̲̭̲̗̀̎͌̅̉͆̽̎͒͆͊́͋͛̕e̸̺̳̜̻͎̿́̃̀́̈̾ͅñ̶̨̜̙̗͓͍͇̬͓͐͛̏̈́̚͜͠͠ ̶̨̻͕͌̉́̈̒̏̀̆̈́͒̔̓̄̕͘w̸̨̦̗̝͒̈́̽̆å̵͈̦͋͂̾͐̈̊͑̿̅͠i̶̜̮͉̪̪̘̙͍͚̦̖̒̿̋͆͂̉̋͂̉͒̚͝t̴̛͓̠̖̪̼͈̄͌̈́͠į̶̛̲̗̺͚̝̦̉̍̈́̋̈́͊͑̾̂͌̓͊̇͊ņ̷̡̠͖̱̩͖̼̰̙̺̯̪̀̑͒̅̋͂̈́̐̿͌̋ģ̸̨̥͚̬̼͚̪͉̘̤̭̹̊̐͐͆̾̕ ̵̫̼̮͆͛̉͗͒̐̈́̕̕̚f̵̢̨̡̛̭̰̞̠̣̳͇̹̀́͋o̴̻̠̼̪͔͎̲͍̥̼̤̟̟͐̂̋̎̆͌͊̏̊́͘͘͘͝r̷̨̦̹̰̟̱͚̲̺̗͋͑̍̇̑̈́͆̕̚ͅ ̸͔̞͇͗̆̈̉y̶̰̫̺̯͇͍̤̞͊̆̂̇̒o̴̡̬̤͍̘̖̗̠͔̙̰̣̐͗̆̃͘u̴̢̞͖̮̗̤̯͈̳͖͆́̈́͐̅̓̕͝͠ ̷̛̹̠̬̲̘̃͒̎̐̀̐̏̑f̶͚̯̐̅̃o̸̩̞̲͍̊̊̓̂̂̾̍̅̄̏͝r̸̛͍͇͎͖̪͚͂͛͂͝ ̶̛̛͖̣̖͇̯̝̇͊͜a̴̢͎̼̭̱̲̠͚̥̹̗͈̾̈́̈̋͋̅͒́̉͝ ̵̠͖͈̟̹̬̰̺̀̋̋̔̃̑́̎̅̋̇̚̕͝͠l̸͙̯̘͍̜̫͒̔͋͐̈́̂͝ȯ̵̧̫͈̻̜̤̠̫̝̳̻̹̺̈́̀̾͘͜ñ̸̢̟̘̗̠͕̝̜̓̏͐͂̂͑̈͜g̷̖̼̞͇̞͖̻͋̔̀́,̴̮͍̘͐͝ ̴̦̲̗̦̹̭͚͖̗̖̍̂̍̾̉̌͗̕͠l̵̩̦͗̈́̃͋̽͐͠o̵̰̰̼̜̦̝͆̒̊̈̈́̀̈́̄̄̀ñ̸͔͎̬͖̣̣̣̹̝̲̐͐̍̌̆̋̄͌̋̆͆̎͒͜͝g̴̡̮͖̲͗͑̅̃̓̂ ̴̬̳̻̮͈̻͒̆̊̎̓̈́̌̊́̉͠ṫ̵̛͕͙̺͍̠͖͖̼̙͈̭̹̾͋̿ͅi̵̦̗͋͘m̷̝̠̳͖̖̰̗̼̤̌̌̓̀̋̑ē̴̢̨̹͚͙̬̜͓̹̬̹̠̜̆̆̃͆̓͗̀̌͑͝.̸͉̠̻̰̼̣̫̜̮̀.̴̩̯̬̆͗̀̄̈́̐͝͠.̴̧̡̹̉͛̍"̵͈̹̙̬̃̈́͊̓̀̈́̕͝
Slowly, though her body wanted anything but not to, Zoe turned around. She saw a shape in the darkness, and the sound of metal dragging into the wall was almost shattering against her ears. The knife...
Then, there came the familiar chill against her neck. No pain... just...
Y̸̢̰̭͇̭̩̦͖͋̄̈́͛̋̀͗̕ͅó̶̢̨̫̰͓̗͇̻͕̦̰̈́̿͌̉̃̄̕ú̴̧̦̗͎̪̱̼̮̣͇̺̪̀.̸̨̝͍̩̣͙̪̹̗͉͇͔̽͜.̵̧̛̙̲̤͕͎̣̺̄̂͑͒̇̔͗̉͜.̵̡̯͎̟̖̰̰̪͚̺͖̏̑̋́͑̀̄̔̓̇͑͘ͅ ̶̨̜̐̾̇a̸̛͍̲̦͔̪̲͛̿̔́̃̒͝r̴̢̙̰̖̤̖͖̻̦̈́̽̂̑̿͂͑e̸̛͔̫̻͔̜̗͍̫͉̩͕̗͎͋̃̔̑͛͝ ̴͔̪̺̯͖̲̤̭̱̒͗̓͋̈̾̒̄̄̽̿̕̚m̷̟͙̹͇͕̯̬̐̇ị̵̛̺̣̃͐͒̂̍͛̀̎͐̓̇̚͝ņ̵̼̯̹́́̐̉͐̌̕͠ḛ̶̼͑̈́̈́̓̈́.̶̼̠̹̹̰̬̭̟̯̘͕͙͚̊̂͂̏̒̓̉͗͋͊͝ ̷̨̢̺̼̗͚̬̼̞͔̃͑̀͜Ą̸̛͖̤̙̲̥̖́̑n̴̞̖̖̈͐̇̀́̏͑̌̒̌̕d̴̡̰̱́̇͝ ̵͉̞̌̈́̓͐̑̒͂̍͑͗̚͜ĥ̶̝̻͊͛̀͊̕͝ḗ̸̺̠͕͓̤̺̟̣̂̃͛̌̓ ̸͕̬͉̱̭͝ć̸̗̇̄͆̂̉͑̈̈́͆̔͒̕͠a̸̝̹͒̊͝n̵̨̜̫͈͕̯̣̦̞̥̮̾͊̇̽̍͝ͅ ̴̦̙͉̲͚̻̔̂̈́̃ȏ̶̝̙͕̲̭̬͖͕̈̒̈́̓̍͑͐̏͋̒͊͌̓n̷͓͆̿l̷͕͎̠̄͆̌̏̏̂̈͘̚y̵̝̗̹̲̱̹̮̺͖͍̳̖͑̈́̃̓̓̓̂̅̌͝ ̵̡̧̯̻͍̻̲̫͔̯̲͚̮̖́̾̃̏k̵̛̩̗͙̅̓͊̈͑̿̐͘͜͝n̵̛̫͓͔͍̩̹̙͖̹̼͂̉̔̉́̈́͆͂͠ǫ̶͚̱̝̫̭̺̭̝͓̬̥̥̅̋̊̚͠ͅw̶̨̘͇̰̪̙̍̾͆̌̂͋̍̐̎͆̈́̋̚͜͝ ̵̧̡̛̱̤̹͍͎̙̈́̏̂̄͗̎̎̉̾̇̀͝͝s̷̞̮̠̤̈́̐́̀̓̍̈́̊͐̄͌̾͘͜ͅu̵̢̘̥̾͑̈̆̽̊̀̏̈́̈f̷̛̤̳̯̭̫͙̯̲̣̗̤̔̈́́̀͌͊́͘ḟ̴̨̡̪̱͉̭̱̰̘͔͙̼̗́̔͐̐̔̊͆̎̏̍̚̚͝ę̴̛̱͔̮̩̩̗̪͍͇̔͐͜͠r̷͖̪̻̖̖̭̈́̍͒̈́͑̈͂̄̒̎́̔͝ͅi̷̦̰̼̰̟̒́̈́̾̈́̀͘n̵̢̜̪̦̿̈͋̋̈́̂ͅǵ̴̡̛̼̺͕̈́̐͆̈̿̆̿͊͗.̵͉̘̀̄̈́͋͂̚͝