"Oh man...my fucking head..."

Sun poured into the room, and I attempted to keep my eyes shut. My hand went straight to my head, which was throbbing. I hated hangovers, though I had to admit to myself, I had experienced worse hangovers in my life. I rolled on my side, trying to rid my face of the light, but it hadn't worked. Opening my eyes, I felt myself freezing up on the inside.

"Good morning."

The Valo guy was looking right at me, and he actually spoke to me. Suddenly, I felt very shy, but replied, "Morning."

"Bam, right?"

I nodded, and he asked, "What are you doing in here?"

"I...went to a party," I replied, after taking a moment to even remember. "I decided to pass out a little early."

"Why not go back to your own room? Or...?"

I looked at his face as he said that, and I could tell he was thinking. It took me a while to even process what he may have meant to say, but when it came to me, my eyes widened. Rolling my eyes into the back of my head a moment, I lay back down, and tried to create a reply within my head. Finally, I figured I had the right thing to say.

"No, no. I don't go here. I'm only in high school. And no, I'm not sleeping with Brand. He's really just a friend."

"How old are you?"

"Seventeen in two weeks or so."

"I'm Ville. Ville Valo."

Ville. Ville Valo. The name slipped off his tongue like perfect. It was not an English name, I could tell, but then again, he also spoke with a deep accent. It was clear that he was not American, although I had no idea where he was from. I felt it may be a little rude to ask, so I didn't bother to. I turned my head toward him again to feel pierced by those green eyes.

"Where are you from?" I asked anyway, mentally hitting myself for it.

"Finland."

I was about to ask something else when the door slammed open, the sound of it hitting the wall sending more pain to my head. In walked Brandon and Jess, both of whom looked relieved to see me laying in Brandon's bed. Brandon bent over to pick his key off the floor, where I'd left it, and Jess shook his head while grinning when he looked at me.

"There you are, Bam. Got a hangover, I'm guessing?"

I nodded, when Brandon began to push me off the bed. "Get up, come on. I want the chance to sleep, too."

"Where am I supposed to go?"

"Go home," Jess suggested. "Mom will be thrilled to see you."

"Not likely," I said, finally standing and feeling dizzy.

Ville was looking away when I looked at him next. He obviously didn't want anyone else to know we had been talking, as if it were some taboo to be talking to someone. I turned around to see Brandon already laying down on his bed, and Jess put his hand on my shoulder. He was directing me toward the door, and all I could do was look back at Ville, who still wasn't looking at me.

As I drove myself home in Phil's van, I took some time to think. They all said that Ville never spoke to anyone, and no one ever saw him. Not only did I see him, but he spoke to me, and we carried on a conversation. The entire time, I had felt myself desiring to get closer and speak about more private matters, but I was too scared. As well, we were interrupted.

Walking in the door, I was instantly bombarded by April, asking, "Where were you all night? Why didn't you answer your cell phone? Are you alright?"

I nodded, "I'm fine. I stayed at Jess' and I was sleeping, so I couldn't answer my cell phone."

"I called Jess. He didn't know where you were."

"I was in Brandon's room. Everything was too noisy in Jess'."

"They weren't having a party, were they?"

"Of course not, Ape. They were just being noisy."

Sensing by my tone of voice that I was agitated, April left me alone after that and I proceeded to my room. I checked my pockets for my cell phone, but then realized that it was in the jacket which I left in Jess' room. Sighing, I flopped down onto my own bed, pushing my school books off of it so that I could get comfortable. Drifting off, I realized that now I had a reason to return to the university, and perhaps next time I'd bring my camera.

"Bam! Phone!"

I was awoken a few hours later by Phil calling me, saying I had a phone call. I barely had time to say hello when I heard, "Hello Bam," in an accent.

"How did you get my number?"

"Your brother brought your cell phone to Brandon. It's in your addresses."

"Oh," I replied, figuring that Jess would pawn off my stuff to his friends before returning it to me first.

"I thought I'd let you know to come here to get it instead of there."