You sit silently in a corner of the room, calmly assessing the party and it's contents. To your right, two people are making out. Or are they? They look like dogs. To your left, a row of random guys you don't know are talking and laughing. You would love to dump your drink right on their heads, if you had one. What would they do? Would they continue to laugh and drink like nothing had happened? Or would they assault you? One of them meets your eyes, and you quickly look down to your lap. Getting noticed is not what you're here for. You reach into your hoodie and pull out what looks like a lump of fabric. You slowly unravel the strips of fabric to reveal your camera, and you quickly uncap the lens. You push yourself further into the corner before settling the camera on your palm and raising the viewfinder to your eye. The world comes into focus as you slide the degrees around the lens. You look around once more. There has to be something worthy of the newspaper in this dump... Your eye catches on two boys sheepishly heading into the bathroom. You snap the picture and chuckle to yourself. These moments are ones you cherish. The snap of the camera, the blink of the lens... It's all fantastic. But the best part is the despair on their faces when they see the new headline, complete with HD images.
You don't know how long it's been, but you begin to feel cramps running down your arm and shoulder from holding up the camera. You slide the strap around your neck and re-wrap the camera, hiding it in your hoodie's inside pocket. You bed over to look under your chair for anything you may have left. You spot your camera lens and reach under the chair, trying to get ahold of the thin sheet of plastic. Your fingers slide over the edge, and it's almost in your grasp. You suddenly feel a strong hand land on your shoulder, and you jolt up, dropping the lens cap. You're met face to face with pale purple eyes.
"Hello!" The man smiles, but it doesn't make you think that he's happy.
"H-Hey." You want him to remove his hand. You know he feels your discomfort, but he refuses to move. If anything, it feels heavier on your arm than before.
"You've been here for a while, haven't you?" You nod, shifting a little. The cramp in your shoulder worsens.
"It's seems you are a photographer..." He holds up the lens cap, and you grasp for it. He willingly lets you take it.
"I am." You don't really want to spend too much time with him. You don't like socializing too much int he first place, and he's slightly creeping you out. You stand, making him drop his hand off your shoulder. You begin to walk away, to find a new place to capture your photos.
"I'm fascinated by photography!" You turn slowly.
"Really? Everyone I know is turned off by it. They think it's boring. Isn't that horrible?!" You can't stop your mouth from moving. Finally, after all this time, you find someone who understands!
"Pictures are... Are... They capture the beauty of the world! They fast freeze things that can't be remembered clearly, they stop time!" He nods as you rattle on and on about your wonderful photography, and occasionally he replies with "Yes of coarse." Or "I understand completely."
Your mouth is dry from talking so much, and you can barely breathe. You stop for a moment, assessing where you are for the first time in a while. You don't know how you've moved to a couch, nor how you have disassembled your camera and laid the pieces on your lap. You look up to meet the gaze of this mystery person, and for the first time, you look at him. His skin is very pale, but not thin enough to see his veins. His eyes are the deepest shade of lavender, which is complimented by his blush colored scarf. He is wearing a tan shirt and cargo pants. You look up to his face again, and he smiles his not-so-friendly smile.
"Would you like some water?" His words are in the form of a question, but the way he says it is a command.
"S-Sure..." You are weary as he stands up and disappears into the other room. Why didn't you notice the way that people flee when he is near? Although you are almost the same. If someone sees a camera in your hands, they had better run. He comes back with a cup filled with water, and you accept it gratefully. You take a sip and almost gag. This is water? You figure that maybe the place just has a really bad filtering system...
What are you talking about? Where are you? Who are you talking to? The room is blurred. You take another sip from your cup. The water might clear your mind. Instead, it makes you feel even more dizzy. You slump over, landing on the shoulder of whoever is in front of you. The almost empty cup is jerked out of your hands.
"More of this...Excuse me?...No, it's Vodka..." Your eyes widen. You sit up again, feeling light headed.
"Whatd id your jurst say?" Your speech is distorted. A new cup is forced into your hands.
"Please continue what you were saying about talking pictures." The man in front of you is leaning in your ear, whispering. You shiver and look into the cup. The substance is clear, but you know now that it isn't water.
"You... Yout trickeded moi!" You clumsily slam the cup onto the table.
"Hm?" The man looks at you innocently.
"Water? Thisis VODKA!" You try to stand, but fall onto the lap of the pale man.
"Oh dear. I was planning to do this later, but..." Your hands are forced behind your back and tied with something. You notice his scarf is gone.
"What..." He slings you over his shoulder and begins making his way upstairs. You punch his back multiple times, but his hold doesn't loosen. You enter an empty room, and you hear the door lock. You're thrown onto the floor. You try to stand, but to no avail.
"We can't have you moving around now, can we?" You are pulled up from the floor and tossed onto a bed. You're dragged backwards by your hands to the bedframe, and you feel a new knot forming. The mans hands pull away from you, and you wriggle around, trying to get away. Your hands are tied tightly around the bedpost, and there is nothing you can do about it. The protective sleeve for your camera is tied around your mouth, gagging you. Your eyes focus enough to see your camera in the hands of the man who is now crawling towards you.
"Let's take some pictures now, shall we?"