The Girl I Met at the Beauty Salon
[PART 4: Don't Trust Me]
This love is toxic.
I'm covered in sweat. I'm drowning in anxiety. Where am I, how did I get here?
I'm so tired, I can't sleep. I'm a liar, and a thief.
My head is aching. I can feel the carpet, soaking into my skin. Please, anything, take me away from this place. And just like that, I black out.
The night before...
I pull up at Bridgette's house, just being casually late. I'm wearing a variation of my normal skull tee shirt (in blue instead of black), a gray Hopeless Records hoodie, and a black leather jacket on top for kicks. I'm also wearing rugged navy blue jeans, as well as Vans. I tried to dress to impress, but I'm not good with this whole clothes choosing shit, so I had to get my mom to help me pick out stuff. You tell anyone what I just told you, and you're dead. Got it? (Yeah, I'm talking to you, with the face, the eyes, and hopefully, fingers).
She is drop dead gorgeous. Nothing's changed about her appearance, just the clothes shes wearing. She comes dressed up in a ragged green tee-shirt, as well as blue jeggings, and a Northface jacket.
"What, am I breaking out, or something?" Bridgette asks, as she enters the car via the passengers side.
"Nah." I say, playing it cool. "You just look really good."
"Thanks, you're not to bad your self." she says, buckling herself in.
We drive the rest of the way there in silence.
We arrive just in time for the concert to start. The venue doesn't have assigned seating, so it's first come first serve, and when we get there it's already pretty crowded.
"Hey, over here!" Gwen says, as she calls us over.
Bridgette and I walk over. I notice all the older guys eyeing Bridgette, and especially Gwen. Scene girls are better targets as these parties, as they usually "opt to go farther", as opposed to preps, or in this case, an extremely hot surfer chick.
It actually sickens me, knowing that these people will drug innocent, younger girls, just to get them to have sex. There was this girl, a few years ago, named Tanoya who went to one of these raves, and she got drugged. They found her body 4 months later in a garbage bin. One of the people in my grades, LeShawna, was cousins with her. Ever since that happened, LeShawna has hardly been allowed to do anything socially, because her parents are scared it'll happen to her as well.
"How was the drive here?" Dawn asks, walking over to me.
"It was fine." I say, smiling at how cute she is.
She's wearing a black tang top, with a denim jacket, as well as her usual skirt with purple leggings. Focus Duncan, I'm a gentleman, not a rapist. Okay, maybe I'm lying about the gentleman part, but I am certainly no rapist.
"Where's Zoey and Mike?" I ask, looking around.
Gwen and Dawn both point to the back of the room, where the couple is making out.
"They need a room." Bridgette says, making fun of them.
"What was the point of them coming here if they aren't even going to pay attention to the music?" I ask, a little annoyed.
Music means allot to me. I'd never waste this chance, even if I could get with Dawn, Lindsay, Gwen, Courtney, and Bridgette, at once. Okay. That again is a lie. If I could only get with one of them, I'd rather go to this concert. Still a lie. Man, I've got to stop lying.
I guess sex ends up trumping everything else in life.
"That's what I said." Gwen says, bringing me out of my thought bubble. "But they insisted they come, since they already bought tickets."
"Well someone is certainly cumming tonight." I say, while the other three girls laugh.
The first band I've never heard of takes the stage, and the night officially begins
Present...
I wake up again, a little less dazed then last time. Instead of instantly passing out again, I have the decency to make the trip to the bathroom so I can puke in the toilet. It reeks of vodka and other related products. I don't remember drinking last night, but hell, I don't remember anything from last night.
I take a look around. Clearly, this isn't my room. It is way too girly. But it clearly isn't Gwen's, since I've spent so much time hanging out with her. That only leaves two options; I'm either at Dawn's, or Bridgette's, which means something happened last night. Before I even dare to check the bed in the room, I stumble back into the bathroom, and fall asleep in the bathtub.
Back to last night...
Finally the last local band finishes up there set, and it's time for the real show to start. I'm getting pumped, even though ADTR isn't the headliner. Rise Against is okay, but I'm really only here for other band. Anyway some band called "The Fight" goes first. I dig there style, though I don't personally think I'd ever listen to them.
"Have you seen Zoey and Mike?" Gwen asks, finding me amongst the crowd.
"I haven't seen them since I got here." I say, looking around.
"Shit, if I can't find them, I'm going to kill both of them." she says, continuing to look.
"I found them." Dawn says, coming over and finding us. "They're in the girls bathroom. I'm not exactly sure doing what, since they are in a stall, but trust me, you probably don't want to know."
"Alright, at least they are alive." Gwen says.
"You look really pretty Dawn." I say, out of no where.
"Oh, thanks." she says, her face all red. "I'm going to um, get a drink. You guys want anything?"
"I'll take whatever." Gwen says, and I nod in agreement. Dawn skips off, and it's just me and Gwen.
"Smooth." Gwen says, rolling her eyes. "What happened to blonde surfer bombshell?"
"I haven't seen her at all, haha." I say, scratching the back of my head.
"Hey guys!" Bridgette says, magically reappearing.
I can smell by her breath that she's been drinking.
"Where have you been?" Gwen asks.
"Well mom, I was hanging out with Alejandro and his girlfriend Heather." Bridgette says.
"Weird, this isn't some event Alejandro would be into really." I say, thinking out loud.
"It's there anniversary or something, so Heather bought the tickets here, and Alejandro bought her a necklace." Bridgette says in one sentence, before taking a huge breath in. "There just adorable together.
"Heather and adorable don't exactly mix." Gwen says, sounding bitter.
Remember when I said Gwen and Lindsay don't like Heather? To be honest, it's more like hate.
I see Alejandro and Heather walk up the dance floor. I wave to Alejandro, while Heather gives Gwen a death stare. He waves back, while making a thrusting motion, while Gwen just smiles back at Heather. Yep. These are what my night's are like.
"Alright, I got a Vodka and coke for Duncan, and a beer for you Gwen." Dawn says, bringing everything back.
"How'd you get this stuff from the bar?" I ask, confused.
Dawn smiles, and holds up a fake I.D.
"You seem way too innocent to have one of those." I say, shaking my head.
"And that's why it works so well for her." Gwen says, pinching Dawn's face. "Who could deny someone as cute as this."
Clearly, Gwen is implying something there, but I pretend I don't notice.
"Cheers guys, to an incredible night." I say, as we all clink are drinks together (Bridgette joins in as well, with her bottle of Gin).
I don't remember much from the rest of The Fight's set list. All I remember is dancing with Dawn for a little bit. We got pretty close, but then her and Gwen danced with some seniors from our school. The Fight ended, and ADTR took the stage, and opened with "All I Want".
"Pretty crazy, right?" Bridgette says, coming over.
Before I can answer, one of my favorite songs starts.
I wonder if you'll notice,
If they lock me up and throw away the key
Try to be open minded,
You've got a lot to learn in the ways of me
You always got to say something,
I'm none of your concern but you won't listen at all
You know I'd rather say nothing,
And just be proud of myself for tearing down these walls.
"Well, you seem to like this song." She says, laughing at me.
"How you can you tell?" I ask.
"You're mouthing it word for word."
I end up singing the chorus out loud of the song, which goes like this;
"When you fall I'll be the only one who looks away
When you call I'll be the first to tell you I can't stay
It's all over, I found a better way to help keep you from me
I'm better off this way
Woah-oh, woah-oh
I'm better off this way
Woah-oh, woah-oh."
"I didn't know you could sing." Bridgette says.
"Being drummer, I don't. My voice isn't that good." I say.
"I think you've got a talent." she says, putting her bottle on the ground. "Anyway, what is this song called?"
"Better Off This Way."
"Is this a song you dedicate to someone you know?" Bridgette asks, curious.
"We both know her." I say, hinting that it was me and Courtney's break up song.
Silence.
"Wanna dance?" Bridgette asks.
"Sure."
The song ends, and ADTR continues there set. They get to there last song, which is personally one of my favorites.
"Wanna slow dance?" I ask, holding out my hand.
"This isn't exactly a kind of band that slow dancing works for." Bridgette says, giggling.
"Trust me, for this song, it will."
And hey darling
I hope you're good tonight
And I know you don't feel right when I'm leaving
Yeah I want it but no I don't need it
Tell me something sweet to get me by
'Cause I can't come back home till they're singing.
"Hey, you're right, this song is pretty good for slow dancing. It's also pretty good in general."
La, la la la la la la
'Til everyone is singing.
"I wouldn't lie to pretty eyes like yours." I say, smiling.
I start to feel a little dizzy and have a bad feeling in my stomach, but I ignore it, cause nothing is ruining this night.
If you can wait till I get home
Then I swear to you
That we can make this last
(La la la)
If you can wait till I get home
Then I swear come tomorrow
This will all be in our past
Well it might be for the best.
The second verse and chorus go by, and to be honest, I don't notice. I'm starting to feel dizzier as the song goes on, and the feeling in my stomach is starting to hurt.
"Duncan?"
"Yes Bridgette?"
You know you can't give me what I need
And even though you mean so much to me
"Be honest. Do you think I'm pretty?" Bridgette asks, looking straight into my eyes.
"You are one of the hottest girls I've ever met."
"No, not hot. I mean like pretty. Inside and out." she says.
"Of course, you are like, beautiful." I say, saying what ever comes to mind.
I can't wait through everything
...
Is this really happening?
"Would you date me?" she asks.
"Absolutely."
"Would you kiss me?"
"I would love to, if I could."
I swear I'll never be happy again
And don't you dare say we can just be friends
I'm not some boy that you can sway
We knew it'd happen eventually.
"Duncan?" she says, leaning in.
"Yes?" I say, breathing hard.
"Will you kiss me?"
"I will, if you let me." I say, going in for the score.
La, la la la la la la
Now Everybody's singing
All of the sudden, the pain in my stomach reaches a maximum, and I can't feel anything. My head becomes heavier, and just as I'm about to make contact with her lips, I feel the world slipping away under my feet.
"Duncan!" I hear Bridgette scream, as I fall down.
La, la la la la la la.
I hit the ground on impact, and that's the last thing I remember.
"Thank you Cleveland, it's been real!" I hear Jeremy, the lead singer, says, before the band leaves the stage.
Back in the present...
"Duncan, you alive?" I hear a male voice say.
"He will be fine, just let him sleep. Come on Mike, cut it out." I hear a female voice say.
I open my eyes and see Zoey and Mike standing over me.
"Look who's alive." Zoey says, as her and Mike help me stand up.
"What the fuck happened last night?" I ask.
"We have no idea, we were... occupied with other matters, when Dawn got us and told us you passed out." Mike says, explaining what he saw. "We left, and since Zoey's house is the closest, we just left you here for the night."
"Well, thank you guys for letting me stay here, and sorry for ruining your moment." I say.
"Don't worry, that's what friends are for dude." Zoey says, smiling.
"Anyway, I'll be leaving." I say, looking at the couple, who seem to want some alone time. "Where's my car?"
"Well, this guy Alejandro was nice enough to drop it off for you, so it's out front." Mike says.
"Sweet, thanks for everything."
I head out and leave Zoey's house, feeling much better. I drive straight to Lindsay's, and spend most of my Saturday there.
"Here, drink this." Lindsay says, handing me some herbal tea shit.
I'm sitting down in her room on one of her super comfortable chairs
"This tastes gross." I say, spitting it up.
I check my phone for the first time. I have a a call from Gwen, a call from my parents, and like 10 texts from Bridgette.
"Yeah, well, if what Gwen told me is correct, you probably got slipped something in you're drink." Lindsay says, being an expert in this line of work, if that's what you would call it . "You also are lucky you have a penis, and not a vagina, because otherwise you probably would have gotten raped, dude."
"So you think it was roofies?" I ask, a little bit scared now.
"Yeah, but you'll be fine. Trust me." Lindsay says, working on her hair now.
I call my parents and Gwen, and tell them the same message, about how I'm fine and just crashed at a friends for the night. I call Bridgette, but her phones off, so I just send her a text saying I'm fine.
"Duncan, as I'm friend, I'm just warning you, that Bridgette can be trouble." Lindsay says, out of the blue.
"What makes you say that?" I ask.
"Remember my ex, Tyler?" she says, still concentrated on her hair.
Tyler is in my grade, and he also plays on the football team. He plays every sport, pretty much. He's our best wide-out, he catches like everything. He's a pretty cool guy, nothing bad to say about him.
"Why?"
"I heard they've been hooking up for months." Lindsay says.
"What a dick." I say out loud. "What ever, it's not like I really liked Bridgette anyway."
"Duncan, don't bull shit me. You're probably falling in love with her by the minute.
I don't say anything, but in my head I'm thinking; You know my heart too well Lindsay.
Epilogue:
This is a story of boy meet's girl.
Now, this might be a love story, but not every story has a happy ending. And not every happy ending is happy for everyone.
You have been warned.
A/N: That's the end of ACT 1. The way this story works as there will be FIVE acts, with a different number of parts. This being the first part, it was much shorter then the rest. These last four chapters were pretty much all introductions, so it'll get better. Please review :) It makes me loves the art of writing.
P.S.S. I know I don't have perfect grammar, or spelling, so if there are mistakes, please help point them out to me :)
