With a gasp Joan leapt to her feet and wildly ran backwards against a cold cement wall. Her breathing was heavy as fear explored her veins, eccentric and perverse thoughts running terrified through her head as she frantically looked around. An odd white light shone around her, but she couldn't exactly make out what it was and honestly didn't care. Directly across from her a petit figure laid on an old and slightly distorted futon. With thoughts of murderous vengeance, the brunette approached. Her fists were clenched, and her mind set on escape. She knew that her captors wouldn't just let her go, and therefore she knew she had to beat them at their own game. Whether that meant full out killing them or keeping them unconscious, she had no idea, but she knew that she'd do whatever it took to return to her life.
Quietly the eighteen year old drew near the- what seemed like- sleeping form. A blanket covered its entire body, and she couldn't help but notice how tiny it was. She was surprised at the fact for just a brief moment, but didn't stop her mission. She wanted to put a face to whomever stole her that night. Wanted an image to engrave in her brain so she could watch the ass hole suffer for all he'd done. Wanted to know who would kidnap a lower middle class citizen like herself for a few bucks. In a swift moment, Joan tore the blanket from the figure, screaming as her green eyes caught the pale face.
Shade woke with a start. His heart raced and he quickly looked over at his companion. Tamara, his soul mate, stirred awake and furrowed her brow. "What's wrong?" She asked, pulling herself up with one arm to look down at him. "Where's hamster?" He asked her, and she blinked sleepily at him before grabbing her phone. 3:57am it read. "Asleep probably, why?" He shook his head, running a hand through his tousled long black-brown hair. "Nightmare, never mind," He sighed and she lowered herself onto his large chest, cuddling into his collar bone before setting a kiss in there. He shivered at the touch. "Don't go starting that now," he growled, and she grinned. "It's almost four, you'd better head home, dad's going to wake up soon." That growl of his turned into a groan and he buried himself into her neck. "I don't wanna," he pouted, then bit down on her. With her breath and heart rate increasing, all thoughts of Joan escaped as his mind let way to primal instinct.
Caleb sat in the far back row of the theater when she finally walked onstage. His heart skipped a beat when he caught sight of the brunette, her waist length dark brown hair held in a long braid over her shoulder. He couldn't help but stare, and slightly wondered if the other guys in the audience were feeling the same way. That thought struck a nerve in his chest and a low rumble escaped his throat. The girl beside him glanced, slightly scared, and Caleb re-adjusted himself, feeling a bit awkward. She was Asian, long black hair and petit features. She was too skinny and blend in far too well with the parents and other students that went to her school. He mentally noted that there were way too many, and being from Tampa, he didn't see that many in his area. Frankly there were too many here for his taste. Not that he was racist, but the stereotype that claimed they couldn't drive proved true in Garden Grove, California. Taking a breath he turned back to the stage, watching his tiny girl perform a monologue from "The Labyrinth." He smiled. She was nervous as she started, he could tell, but as she continued with the script, she suddenly blossomed in a way he hadn't seen before. She shocked him to say the least.
By the time the show was over, somewhere around 9:15pm, he'd managed to climb by the door he knew she'd come out of. He held his breath. It'd a little over a year since he'd seen her and he'd never had a chance to actually ask her out on a date. They'd been talking for about six months now, however, and she knew how he felt and he knew she felt the same. In a fit of giggles he heard her fly out the door, being loud as always with a tall blonde, Goth looking girl. Taking a breath, Caleb snuck up behind her and wrapped her in a tight bear hug. She screamed, of course, but as he set her down she spun and her bright green eyes lit up with surprise with a giant smile. "Caleb!" She screamed and launched herself back into his arms. He laughed, squeezing her tight in his arms and lifting her feet off the ground. "What're you doing here?" She asked as he set her back upon her feet. "You think I'd miss the day Joan Chedester became legal?" He asked with a mischievous grin, and she rolled her eyes, throwing a playful punch in his large and muscular chest. "You're off by two days," She sneered, and he shrugged. "Edie and Jason kept arguing about the roads, so we got stuck in traffic-" Her face lit up. "Jason and Edie are here too?" She squealed, looking left and right frantically to see if she could find them. He laughed. She was so quirky. "They're all at the hotel sleeping. We just got in this morning, Jason, Edie, Sam, Athena, and I drove here. It was a long trip," She looked like she was going to explode with excitement when another cry broke through the night and captured her attention.
A large American Indian boy had literally tackle-hugged Joans Goth friend beside them, and as a natural instinct Caleb pulled her into a protective stance, just to make her laugh even harder. "Caleb. Can't. Breath!" She giggled, and he released her. The large guy, although just as muscularly proportional as himself, stood around six inches taller than the paler boy. "Babe," She lit up with the word, "This is Tara and Shade," The blonde smiled at him knowingly, and he figured Joan had spoken about him a bit to her, and her companion just nodded with a "Sup?"
Pulling him behind her, Joan wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned back, closing her eyes as she laid her head against his muscled pectorals. "We're gonna head out, kay?" Tara said and Joan smiled, "Alright, I'll see you tomorrow love, see ya shade." "Bye hamster," He replied and the pair intertwined their fingers together before disappearing into the dark. As the crowd began to dissipate, Caleb turned so that Joans chest pressed against his. "I missed you," She whispered, eyes still closed as her energy seemed to fade away. She was half asleep on him and although to him she seemed to weigh as much as a feather, he noticed how she was seemingly finding it hard to stay stable. "Are you okay?" he asked, pulling away just a bit so he could look at her. Lifting her head up she nodded. "Yeah, just having a dizzy spell's all." He furrowed his brow. "Didn't you go to the doctor for that?" "Nah, it's just stress-" A small vibration erupted from her jean pocket, and she withdrew it, ending the conversation as she answered the phone.
"Hey momma, yeah we're done. You here? Okay, bye." Putting the phone away Joan wrapped him in another hug. "My moms here, I've got to go." He wouldn't look the short girl in the eyes, just sort of let his head fall on top of hers and closed his eyes. She smelled like cream and strawberries- with hints of vanilla and coconut. "Caleb, I really have to go," She said softly and pulled away. "I'll walk you to the parking lot," She smiled at his offer, and readily gripped his arm for balance. She was experiencing a particularly nasty dizzy spell, but she wouldn't admit it to him as they walked. "So what time do you get out of school tomorrow?" He asked her. "I don't have a sixth period so I get out around two-ish," She paused and swung out in front of him, gripping both his wrists. "Why? Are you gonna come pick me up?" She smirked, and he smiled softly. "Maybe, depends," "Depends on what?" She furrowed. "Depends on whether or not we're awake!" With that he scooped her up over his shoulder and began to run.
Half screaming half laughing, the adrenaline pushed out the woozy feeling in Joan's head as her companion raced off towards the parking lot. She'd missed this. She'd missed Caleb picking her up like a rag doll and running around the school with her. It almost felt as if she were back in Tampa, and that some idiot freshman had just flicked the light switched off. That thought escaped however, drawing her back into reality as she looked into the California night sky. The school parking lot was empty except for a few cars that lay forgotten by their drivers until the morn. She sighed as a pair of headlights broke through the night, and gave him a hug as he set her down. "Remember, two, ok?" She smiled. She wanted to kiss him, but with her mom just a few yards away and pulling in fast, the eighteen year old simply abandoned him with a hug.