Author's note: I am terrible, I'm sorry! Getting ready for holidays really didn't help me think of anything to write for this chapter, but I finally got a good idea, and I now have internet on the laptop so updates will definitely be better. Thanks to sadlyhuman1997 for helping me with the outfit for this chapter, I want to wear it myself! Haha, and thanks to Flowerchild23, Emzy2k1, NinaVuelta93, sadlyhuman1997, Lostgirl4eva and Miss. Drake for their reviews and thanks for any new favourites and follows, anyway, enjoy and please review!
Lostgirl4eva: HEY! Of course I remember you! :) haha great to hear from you again and I'm sorry this reply took so long but I'm glad you're having a great summer, NEW YORK?! I have always wanted to go there! I hope you had a great time and I'm glad you like the story! The title comes from Ellie Goulding's song Starry Eyed because I could not stop listening to it a while ago lol anyway thanks for a totally awesome review and I hope you like the rest of the story :D
Disclaimer: I do not own The Lost Boys, just my OCs.
"Over here, Shorty!"
The shout caught my attention as I stood waiting around where the band was setting up to play, people were gathering around in preparation for the concert starting. I searched until I caught sight of Paul and the rest of the guys, Paul had been waving his arm to catch my attention. I walked over as quickly as I could in my boots without landing face-first on the ground, a triumphant smile graced my face as I came to stand in front of Paul, I was now a good few inches taller than normal in my boots.
"Whoah, not so short tonight." Paul corrected himself as he patted the top of my head and fiddled with the pink bow I had clipped in to keep my curls out of my face.
I had spent the most of the day being excited for tonight, anyone would think it was my first concert, it was just my first concert with Paul and his friends.
So the outfit I had eventually settled on was my demonia boots, a pink and blue printed shirt, a white crop top with my leather jacket and I added the bow once I curled my hair. After I got dressed and did my hair I had just enough time to do smokey eye make-up and add metallic nail varnish before I headed to the boardwalk.
"Nope, for once I remembered my boots when I was sure I'd bump into you." I told him, he grinned and I turned to the other guys.
"Hey." I greeted, choosing to keep my eyes mostly on David who was the closest to Paul and I, I resisted the urge to look at Dwayne for longer than necessary. David smirked and nodded to Paul towards the direction of the concert before walking off, the other guys following behind.
"You ready to rock, Shorty?"
I narrowed my eyes at Paul's question, "I'm not as short as I usually am."
Paul snickered, "You're still shorter than me. Come on, let's go!" He said, grabbing my hand and pulling me down to the concert.
By the time it got into full swing Paul and I had strayed from the higher stands the rest of the guys stuck around way down to the front near where the lead singer was dancing away, using the microphone as a partner most of the time. I had actually took my clip out of my hair and attached it to the collar of my jacket and shook my hair out, my curls moving with me as Paul and I danced and jumped at the front.
I laughed as Paul got into a tightly packed crowd of guys all jumping around waving their hair, I stood off to the sidelines shaking my head at his antics before a hand seized my arm and I almost fell over as someone started dragging me through the crowd.
"Nick!" I shouted as the head of red and black hair registered as he pulled me along, I strained against his hold and dug my feet into the ground to try and stop him pulling me out, but he can be very strong when he wants to be.
I growled and rubbed my arm when he finally let me go when we were away from the concert, I glared at him as he put his hands on his hips.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" He demanded, my eyes widened in disbelief.
"What am I doing? What the hell are you doing?!"
He pointed back down in the direction of the concert, "I thought I told you to stay away from those guys?"
"What? You dragged me away from the concert they were nice enough to invite me to because you don't like them?" He is nuts.
"No, Bryn! I dragged you away because I'm not going to watch you turn into one of those girls that follows these guys around then goes missing!"
I scoffed, "You are out of your mind, I can take care of myself and you have no right to tell me what to do. Excuse me." I said, turning to head back down to the concert.
"Bryn!" Nick said, catching my arm and pulling me back.
"Let me go!" I shouted as I wrenched my arm free, I glared at Nick but his glare wasn't directed at me, but behind me. I turned only to find myself inches away from another person, my eyes trailed up to their face.
Dwayne.
"Dwayne." I blurted out in surprise, his dark eyes went from meeting Nick's with a dangerous glint to meeting mine, I looked between him and Nick and sensed the tension, fixing my jacket and clearing my throat, "Dwayne this is my friend Nick, he was just-"
"Leaving. And so is she." Nick interrupted, I stepped back with a shake of my head closer to Dwayne and Nick stared at me in confusion and annoyance.
"I'm not going anywhere but back to the concert, Nick."
Nick's eyes flashed in slight hurt before they hardened as he shook his head, "Fine, do whatever the hell you want." He breathed before turning to walk off in the other direction.
"Nick!" I called, he kept walking without showing any signs of hearing me. Guilt welled up in my throat as I watched him walk away, and I turned to Dwayne and ran a hand through my hair.
"Sorry about that." I said with a slight laugh, but it came out sounding weird. Oh God, if I cry in front of this guy it'll be so embarrassing!
"Are you alright?" He asked, I met his eyes and the automatic answer of yes didn't seem like it would fool him.
"No. I need a drink, I'm sorry for taking you away from the concert. You can head back down and I'll follow you in a few minutes." I said as I caught sight of the bar off to the side, maybe if I got a drink it would help. I felt bad for leaving Dwayne after he came to see if I was okay, but I hated fighting with anyone never mind the guy that had been my friend this long, I needed a breather before I could go down to the concert again and try to forget about it.
I retreated into the bar and hoped Dwayne didn't think I was awfully rude. I headed for the bar and waved to the bartender, who didn't even blink as he took in my no-doubt underage appearance. With so many kids my age in here, they didn't seem like the kind of place to ask for ID.
"Coke." I told him, he raised an eyebrow at my request, probably expecting me to choose something alcoholic. He set the drink down and I went for my pocket to get the money out when someone slid some bills across the countertop towards the bartender who took it without a word and went to service other customers.
"You want to sit down?" Dwayne asked from beside me, had it been anyone else it would have annoyed me to have been followed, but for some reason I was grateful he had decided to come in.
I nodded and took my drink to head for a small table for two near the back, away from the chatter at the front.
"Thanks." I told him as I sat down and took a drink.
He waved it off and smirked down at my drink, "I thought when you said drink it would be something more…"
"Alcoholic?" I finished the sentence for him and he nodded, "I don't drink." I added, waiting for him to raise an eyebrow in amusement, make a snide comment about me looking like a girl who could hold her liquor or just generally make a comment. Instead he stared evenly back, not even questioning it.
"So you thought you'd come in here to make sure I wouldn't throw back some shots and puke in the bathroom?"
Dwayne shook his head with a smile playing on his lips, "You looked upset." Damn, I probably looked like a kicked puppy
I sighed and sat back in the chair, deciding at least some sort of an explanation was due.
"I'm sorry about that whole thing with Nick, he's just being overprotective."
Dwayne smirked as he fiddled with the coaster in front of him, "He doesn't like us." He stated, I shook my head.
"It's not that, I mean- what I mean is-"
"It's alright." He cut me off, his eyes met mine and they shone with slight amusement, "Not many people like us."
"I like you." I said before I could even stop myself, my face flamed up as the amusement faded from his eyes to something else, he probably wanted to make a run for it, I sure did! "I mean… I like hanging out with all you guys."
He nodded slightly and my heartrate calmed now that we had moved on, "I would never drag him away from his friends, then again I would love to. It's not like they're the best role models given that they're…" I trailed off and lifted my drink to my lips, Nick hated the name given to the group he hung around with so I always avoided saying it even when he wasn't around.
"Surf Nazis?" Dwayne finished, I didn't know if it was the blunt tone or the casual way he said it, maybe it was just the fact that it was him saying it but it made me laugh suddenly, and laughing when you're half way through swallowing coke is not the best thing to do.
I coughed when I finally got the coke to go down and clapped a hand on my chest to calm myself down. I waved Dwayne off when he went to stand presumably to clap me on the back to help, and he reluctantly sat again with a raised eyebrow.
"Sorry." I managed to say before I dissolved into giggles at the fact I almost choked on coke, I wiped the tears from my eyes that gathered during the coughing and had spilled over as I laughed. i finally calmed down and met Dwayne's eyes, he had a small smile on his face and my giddiness faded until we sat in silence.
I cleared my throat and finished the rest of my drink- slowly I might add- and Dwayne and I stood up to head back to the concert.
I tried to tidy around my eyes as we headed back down the boardwalk, unfortunately whatever way I turned my head I met Zach's eyes who sneered as his gaze flicked between Dwayne and I.
I shrunk into Dwayne's side as a reflex, he was so lucky to not be intimidated by idiots like Zach. I could feel Dwayne's eyes flick down to me wondering why I had closed the space between us, his gaze followed mine over to Zach. His arm went tight around my shoulder in a protective manner and he pulled me even closer to his side, I dropped my eyes to our feet and sped up as we finally passed Zach.
"Thank you." I said as we neared the concert, I could see David and Marko in the same place I had left them, Paul was probably still down jumping about.
"No problem." Dwayne answered, his hand slipped from my shoulder to the small of my back as he let me walk in front of him up towards the guys, his touch swept below the material of my jacket down to my bones and I tried not to lean back into it. God I need to get a grip.
"And where have you two been?" David asked mischievously as we stood beside him.
"Ran into some trouble with a friend of mine, Dwayne helped." I explained simply, David's eyebrow rose and his gaze slid from me to Dwayne.
"Is that right?" He asked curiously, I couldn't see Dwayne but I assumed he nodded as David turned to look back at the concert, I turned to do the same and smiled as a familiar blonde head of hair started making their way back up towards us.
"Hey! So this is where my little dance partner got to?" Paul asked as he joined us once again and nudged my shoulder with his.
"More or less." I grinned, "Looks like they'll be wrapping it up soon." I said with a nod to the stage.
"Well he night's still young, think you can hang out a little longer?" Paul asked with a pinch at my cheek, I thought for a second and grabbed his hand away from my cheek.
"Maybe." I said, holding my hand out for a high-five. Paul grinned and clapped his hand against mine.
"Let's go then." David said, turning to weave out through the crowd with the guys in tow. Paul took my hand to pull me after them.
I hooted in exhilaration as Paul drove the bike he and I were on over bumps through the woods away from the boardwalk. Part of his plan to keep me out late was to show me where he and the guys lived.
I guessed it was far from the boardwalk, far from anywhere actually, as we got further out into the isolated parts of Santa Carla towards Hudson's Bluff.
"Hold on!" Paul teased as he sped up as we got onto rough road, I tightened my grip around his waist as we sped up, all of us were now in a line going at insane speed.
I had been watching the ground we raced across, getting a bit edgy, we must be near a cliff. I looked to my left to see David smirking at my expression, sensing apprehension.
"Scared, Bryn?"
I made a show of laughing as my hair flew around my face, "No way, this is great!"
David simply laughed as I turned my head in the other direction to see Dwayne and Marko on our other side, both grinning as we headed further out. My gaze lingered on Dwayne, his dark hair flowed out behind him and across his face which was lit with an amazing smile, his deep laugh carried over the wind whistling past my ears and I smiled before turning back to see a beam ahead of us. What the hell?
"Is that the lighthouse?" I asked, the brightness could only be the result of one thing. Only problem was there was definitely a cliff around here, "Paul?" I prompted when he didn't answer.
"Come on, Bryn, it's fun!" He shouted back to me, I tightened my grip even further as the path in front of us cut off a few feet ahead. He wouldn't go over the edge, he wasn't that crazy.
The thought made me grit my teeth and force my eyes to stay open, I wanted to shut them until it was all over.
Finally we reached the very edge and all the guys skidded to a stop at the last minute, I breathed a sigh of relief and looked over the edge to see waved crash down below us a good hundred feet.
"She's still on the bike! David bet you'd have jumped off by now!" Marko announced and I turned to David with a raised eyebrow and triumphant grin.
"Takes a little more to scare me." I told him.
"You haven't seen anything yet, Bryn."
With that announcement we headed down to where the guys lived. I stumbled down the steep rocky slope into the cave the boys called home and stared around in wonder. I was vaguely listening to David explain the history of how what was once an old resort that fell down here after an earthquake.
"What do you think?" Paul asked from beside me when David had finished, I turned to smile at Paul.
"It looks awesome! Like an old palace filled with buried treasure." I said as I took in the assorted decorations and candles around the caves. Graffiti and a huge poster of Jim Morrison definitely made it look like teenagers lived here.
I walked up to a four-poster bed with different blankets and curtains covering it, I ran my hand up the intricate woodwork before looking to see four pairs of eyes watching me from various places around the room.
"Sorry." I apologised in embarrassment and continued to explore the cave, I finally stood on the edge of the fountain and held my arms out.
"I love it, it must be a blast to live here." I guessed, I spotted a boombox sitting on the ground and guessed it was Paul's.
"Got any good tunes?" I asked as I passed Paul and picked through a box with different tapes inside.
"It's all good, babe." He grinned and picked one from the box at random, I bobbed my head to the song and sat beside Marko who rested on the edge of the fountain with a pigeon in his grasp which sat happily as he petted it. I watched for a few minutes and petted it once or twice myself, it seemed perfectly comfortable. My gaze shifted around again to land on Dwayne who was sitting on the small couch a few feet away.
I crossed over to the couch and sat down beside him, the action went unnoticed by any of the other guys who amused themselves walking around the cave.
"Thanks again… For tonight." I said in a low voice, meeting Dwayne's eyes hesitantly.
"Don't give it another thought." He told me, not likely. I made a note to at least do something to say thank you, before I decided I had probably stayed long enough, my parents would flip if they knew I had went out this far from town to remote caves with four teenage boys.
"Listen, I better get going." I told Paul as I came up to nudge his shoulder, he stopped dancing along to the music to frown in disappointment.
"You just got here!" He protested.
I laughed and lightly punched his shoulder, "I know but I want to get back home. But I will definitely come back here real soon, this place is too awesome to stay away from for long."
"Alright, the next time we bring you here, you have to stay for some food?"
I held my pinkie out to signal a promise and then Paul linked his through it, "Alright I'm gonna leave Bryn home." Paul announced.
"See you soon, Bryn." David said from where he sat in an old wheelchair. I smiled before waving to Dwayne and Marko as I followed Paul out, giving Dwayne one more nod of thanks before I left.
"Sorry I had to leave so soon." I apologised as I got off Paul's bike, which was really a challenge when wearing a skirt.
Paul shrugged and leant on his handlebars, "It's cool, we'll get you to stay longer the next time. If you'd have heard some of my awesome music you'd have never wanted to leave." Paul boasted.
I shot him a grin, "You got some pretty good taste but we need to get you new music. I suggest a trip to the store as soon as possible."
"Tomorrow night?"
"You're on." I said, giving him a hug before I turned to go inside as he disappeared down the street and out into the night.