Beth felt sick.

Her hands shook slightly as she applied a lick of black mascara to her long, thick eyelashes.

She'd been dreading tonight.

Lori's bachelorette party.

The thought of a night of drinking, dancing and catching up with friends she hadn't seen in four years should've filled her with excitement but as the time to leave the safety of Lori's house got closer and closer, she felt more and more anxious.

"C'mon Beth, time's a wastin'..." Jamie yelled up the stairs to her. He was being an angel and dropping her and Lori off at the promenade where they were meeting a group of Lori's friends.

Beth shoved her I.D, lipstick, asprin and purse into her tiny glittery bag, and stared at herself hard in the mirror, trying to ignore the part of her that kind of hoped he'd be there.

"What are you doing" she whispered, rolling her eyes disappointedly at herself, yanking the string of the bathroom light as she left, her heels sinking into the thick pile of the carpet.

Beth fixed a perfect smile on her face as she descended the stairs, hoping her body would be tricked by her fake smile and follow suit.

"Wow" Jamie and Lori both exclaimed as she floated down the staircase, taking in her knockout of a strapless, short midnight blue dress, her long sun-kissed legs looked like they never ended and her hair fell in perfect silken waves over her bare shoulders, the slash of cherry pink lipstick making her lips look edible and her eyes were shining as bright as the stars.

"Not taking any prisoners tonight then eh, Beth?" Jamie teased, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively at her.

Beth blushed and rolled her eyes. "Shut up Jamie" she huffed, shoving him lightly on the shoulder.

Lori looked at her friend with a quirked eyebrow and a knowing look, a look that said she knew exactly why she'd pulled out all the stops for tonight's outing.

Beth's stomach flipped uncomfortably and she hoped Jamie or Lori didn't look too hard or they might see she was shaking like a leaf. She just wanted to get this night over with, with as little trouble as possible.

"C'mon then, let's go"! Lori squealed excitedly, linking arms with Beth as they and Jamie left the house. Beth thought she might pass out...

Jamie drove steadily to the prom, stealing glimpses of his bride-to-be in the passenger seat, his heart swelling with love as he watched her, excited and happy, so pleased that the storm that was forecast had yet to arrive, letting her have the perfect night for her party – it was dark by the time they pulled up on the prom, the stormy breeze that was gusting all day had softened gently and was now mild, cooling the sticky stormy air. The lights of the Boardwalk glistened against the cloudy sky and the sounds of everyone having a fun Friday seemed to thicken the atmosphere.

"See you later handsome" Lori said with a kilowatt smile, placing a firm kiss on Jamie's lips, leaving a trace of red lipstick behind and slipped out the car.

Beth inhaled deeply and steeled herself, forcing a smile onto her full pink lips "thanks Jamie" she said with a small smile.

"Don't go breaking any hearts now" Jamie teased again as Beth slid out the car.

As soon as her feet hit the sidewalk she felt lightheaded as a rush of nausea smacked her hard.

It was like nothing had changed.

The lights, the sounds, the smells...everything was the same and her heart ached painfully in her chest.

Before she could stop herself, she quickly grabbed Lori's hand and squeezed hard. Lori's head snapped back to her friend, her brow furrowed in worry – the two girls exchanged a look neither had to explain, and Lori smiled sympathetically at her friend.

"Even if he does turn up, we'll be too busy having a good time to notice, ok" Lori said, squeezing her friend's hands tightly.

Beth shook her head slightly, forcing the anxious bubble that was swelling in her chest all the way to her toes.

"Sorry, you're right, totally right – this is your night, your last wild night before becoming Mrs Green, no boys allowed!" Beth said, an apologetic smile gracing her lips and through sheer force of will she told herself that she would enjoy this night, if only for Lori's sake. She would not spend the whole night in her head, thinking of him, this was Lori's night only.

The two girls met up with the rest of the group and after a few minutes of hugging and squealing, sashayed their way through Santa Carla...

The club was hot, dark, loud and crowded, this was obviously the place to be seen on a Saturday night. The DJ blasted out heavy rock tunes on stage and the girls joined the fray of bodies on the dance floor.

After quite a few beers, Beth lost herself in the music and moved freely on the dance floor but her heart skipped a painful beat as she suddenly felt a strong arm encircle her waist.

"Well, hey there beautiful"

Beth looked up and was confronted with a mass of sandy blonde hair, a pair of blue-grey eyes and a charming, lopsided smile.

Beth felt the hot blush creeping into her cheeks.

"You look like you're looking for trouble" the guy said making the two other, also rather handsome, guys standing behind him smirk smugly but after a brief exchange of looks between the three of them, Beth watched as the one with tight golden curls shot the guy hassling her a warning look, which he ignored, turning back to Beth with a slow smile and a wild look in his eyes.

Her heart started beating furiously and her mind went blank rendering her speechless...all she knew was, these guys were trouble in a big way.

"Sorry guys..." Lori said, sidling up to Beth and guiding her away to the other side of the club "...girls night out, no guys allowed"

"Aww, com'on babe" the guy said, looking back toward the two girls with that charming smile, making Beth blush deeper.

"Com'on Paul, she's ditched you" the one with the curls said, hitting Paul on the arm.

"Hey, it's your loss beautiful" Paul said with a wink and the three boys stalked off toward the bar.

Lori linked arms with Beth as they walked over to the rest of their girls.

"Jamie was right, your breaking hearts already" she said with a smile, Beth rolled her eyes, despite the rosy blush on her cheeks.

The girls continued to dance wildly, as if they hadn't had a night out in years and Beth was once again overwhelmed by the pounding beat of the music and the alcohol that was now flowing freely.

She swayed her head and hips to the music and caught a glimpse of the tall guy she met earlier, he threw her a slow, sly smile and her heart raced inside her chest. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end and goosebumps formed on her arms...he was watching her, and not the kind of watching that most of the guys in the club were doing. This feeling...this was something different...

The white glow from the strobe lights mixed with the smoke from the fog machine, making her see in soft focus.

She blinked. He was gone.

Looking round wildly she saw him again on the crowded dancefloor, closer this time.

She blinked. He was gone.

Her body pumped itself with adrenaline and she recognized the "fight or flight" instinct bubbling and mixing inside her. Whipping her head round to find him again, she spotted him closer still but as she blinked again, he disappeared from sight.

Spinning around on the spot, her big brown eyes searched for him in the crowd, her breath became heavy and she felt suddenly claustrophobic in the humid, hot club, the music becoming faint in her ears...and that's when she felt cold breath on the back of her neck.

A chill ran all the way down her spine and she couldn't move, she felt paralyzed...and just as quickly, it was gone.

The music returned to her ears, pounding loudly in her brain and she had to get out.

"Going for some air" Beth yelled at Lori and the girl nodded quickly before returning her attention the rest of the girls.

Beth pushed her way through the hive of sweaty bodies in the club and as she finally opened the doors, she breathed a sigh of relief as the cool, night ocean breeze washed over her. but something tugged at the back of her mind, something she couldn't shake and before she knew what she was doing, she started walking away from the club, her movements not completely her own, a fog having again descended over her mind and before she knew it, she was walking out toward the prom.

Trouble soon found her...