Here's the next chapter. I rewrote the last half a few times, and I hope it came out well enough. Reviews are much appreciated, and thank you to everyone who has been reading. Enjoy!
The doors to the lounge were open wide like the arms of an old lover, and I dove right in, relishing the warmth and love that followed. Pinky and the others cheered as I entered the room, all of them standing before the raging fire—except for Pinky of course, who was seated comfortably in the lap of a strong-looking blonde boy. I realized quickly that it was the clique's head, Derby Harrington himself, who had finally shown his face. I'd spent a fair amount of time with these rich kids and only heard stories about their wonderful leader. It was nice to finally put a face to the name.
A dark haired boy approached me with two glasses in hand. He held one out and I took the tumbler from his hand, swirling the amber liquid around the perfectly shaped cubes of ice. I took a sip. A really big sip.
The alcohol traveled its burning path down the back of my throat, erasing the chill in my bones along the way. A few more glasses and I was sure that if I ventured back outside, a coat would be unnecessary.
"Thanks." I said to him, staring at the half empty glass. "I don't think I've met you before. You aren't new, are you?"
"No, I've been here for quite a while. I guess I'm just not very good with people. Cute girls especially." He smiled.
"Well now, I think that may have been the first time anyone has complimented me." I said. "What a nice change, and an unexpected one at that. I was just getting used to being called a skank."
His brow furrowed. "People here can certainly be a bit crass, but surely you haven't done anything to deserve a title like that."
"Not yet anyway. I can only scratch my own itches for so long, you know." I winked and laughed while he choked on his drink.
"That…that was—"
"Inappropriate, I know, and I'm truly sorry for subjecting you to my twisted sense of humor. But I've had a long day and I figure, I can drown my sorrows in alcohol, or torture someone to make myself feel better." I finished the last of my drink. "The latter sounds like a much better option, don't you think?"
"I guess so." The boy shrugged. "You won't have a hangover that way at least."
"But you might from dealing with me." I pointed the empty glass in his direction. "So what's your name, rich boy?"
"Parker, and I already know your name. Pinky talked a lot about you when you first came here," Parker explained. He laughed quietly. "So don't think I stalked you or anything."
"Now I can't help but think that." I laughed. "I believe you though; Pinky did her fair share of parading me around here." I glanced back and Pinky, still planted firmly in Harrington's lap.
"Gross, isn't it? No one likes to say anything, but I can't stand to look at those two together." Parker said.
"Let me guess, you're lusting after Pinky? Or is it Derby you're after, and the sight of them together fills you with the pain of unrequited love."
His eyes widened. "What? No, I'm straight. But those two? They're cousins."
As if on cue, we both turned toward the couple in question, now sharing the same disgust, with a little morbid curiosity mixed in. Suddenly I hadn't felt so odd for claiming to smell Gary in my dorm room.
"You're joking." I said, studying the pair's features, looking for any sort of resemblance that would give credibility to his words. Beyond their matching sweater vests, I couldn't find one. "How did you even find that out?"
Parker motioned for me to follow him toward the bar and I did so eagerly, handing over my glass as he poured us both another drink. The boy leaned over the counter top while he spoke, raising his voice as someone turned up the music. His words were all but drowned out by the jazz blaring over the sound system.
"Ask around. Everyone knows, and they definitely don't do much to keep it a secret. They used to go on dates in the Vale before Crabblesnitch locked the gates." He said. "Imagine being their third wheel?"
"I'd rather not." I grimaced. "So, Parker, what's your story?"
The clock struck three and I had finally worked up enough energy to leave. I opened the front doors to Harrington House, stepping out from the warm, smoky air of the lounge into the courtyard. My companion for the better part of the night was close at my heels, insisting that I should be escorted back to the dorms. According the dark haired prep, a girl should never walk alone at night. For someone with a self-professed ineptitude with his female counterparts, he was gentleman. Even when he was wasted.
Keeping a polite tone was as difficult as keeping my eyes from crossing, not to mention remaining upright. I declined his offer and promised to allow him to accompany me another time—hoping what had come out of my mouth was as eloquent as what swam through my mind—and left the frat house.
The short walk down the few steps was like descending a rocky mountain, and I found myself clutching at the railing to keep from tumbling down. I cursed myself for drinking as much as I did, but as nice as Parker was, hearing about someone's trust fund wasn't nearly as fun sober as it was piss drunk.
As I neared the fountain it felt as though something had taken control over my feet, no longer carrying me toward the dorms, but the football field. I quietly followed the new path set for myself through the slush and passed through the darkened path between the gym and pool. At the top of the staircase I looked out over the football field, illuminated by the moon.
Dozens of weaving tracks stretched out over the length of the field, no doubt created by the smaller children playing in the snow. I longed to be that age again, without the troubles that come with being a teen, and the ability to find joy in the little things. Not much seemed to rouse any excitement lately, but the idea of having an entire field to myself to roll around in was enough to make me move a little faster and smile a little wider.
Wobbly legs sprinted down the steps with the clumsiest of gaits and bound into the hip-high snow piles. I climbed atop the hardened snow and tread across the field, until my pant legs were soaked and my ankles reddened and numb.
"Maybe…maybe I should've brought Parker." I mumbled, kicking clumps of snow into the air.
A breeze came from the right, blowing the snow I had launched upward back into my face. Following the snow was the smell that had tormented me since finding its possible source. I slumped onto the ground, burying my face into my hands to shield my nose from the odor.
"Not again." I groaned.
The scent came in waves, each crash more powerful than the last until I was drenched, unable to sense anything but him. Not the crisp air or the alcohol on my breath, the pine trees that hid behind the fence; only Gary, and the intangible beacon he left behind for me.
I climbed out of the well I'd made in the ice and followed the odor to the observatory, treading the same path we had taken to get into town. This time around the sun wasn't up, and the only thing that kept me from bouncing off the rocks was the moon, its light peeking over the tops of the trees.
Something in the air changed as I came to one of the more open areas on the path. My skin crawled; Gary was close, I could feel it in my gut. What I felt even more was eyes, all around me. Watching while I stumbled around in the snow, sober enough to know this was a bad idea, and drunk enough not to turn back.
The cold began to overpower the liquor's warmth. I shivered in place, searching around me for the predator that would inevitably devour me.
"Where are you?" I whispered.
He isn't here, idiot, the voice in my head berated me. I knew I should have listened to it and gone back home. The smart thing to do would have been letting that prep walk me to the dorms. Maybe then my inebriated self wouldn't have gone off into the woods in search of nothing.
Ice crunched behind me, rivalling the deafening sound of my pounding heart. The steps were agonizingly slow and steady in the deep snow, never faltering, and close enough that I could feel the heat from the body behind me. I willed myself to move, all but lifting my own legs in the direction I wanted to go. My body was as frozen as the earth beneath my feet.
"Even drunk you've got a good nose, Kastner. I'm surprised." He said.
"Why…are you everywhere?" I asked. "Always, I find you somehow."
"You know why."
I shook my head. "No, I don't. I can't even sleep in my own bed without smelling you."
"Oh, poor you, Erin. The big victim." Gary seethed. "Do you think it's any easier for me, knowing what you are? And you're completely clueless. I almost pity you."
"I don't know what you mean." I said. "What am I?"
"Only half as good as you could be."
A white hot pain tore through my back, from the base of my spine to the bottom of my skull. I could feel my flesh bloom, the blood spill out from the opened skin and seep into my clothes. Unable to stand, I pitched forward onto the ground, struggling to hold myself up. Gary walked around me while I attempted to crawl away, but could only get so far before falling.
Through the haze that had settled over my eyes, I saw his face, only a foot away from my own.
"Jimmy, Petey—they can rot in a ditch for all I care. You mean nothing to me and I think I might actually feel bad for hurting you." Gary glared at me. "That makes me want to do it even more. But I won't. You might be useful."