Party time

"Let's get this party started!" My best friend whooped and all my other classmates joined in unison. The lights suddenly went dark and little pinpoints of colorful light danced around the room while fog encircled our legs. I turned to face the DJ's Booth, grinning from ear to ear as the music blared around us. I'd never been to a party before and so far, I've had the best time of my life! Sure, I've been invited to multiple parties but I've always turned them down because of my commitment to academics and I normally went back to my dorm to study, but this time was different.

"Not so bad, huh?" My friend nudged me with his shoulder and I laughed.

"Alright, you got me. Is it a crime to have fun?" I teased and he smirked down at me. He was a good foot taller than me, but rather than being intimidating, it was my sense of comfort.

"That's not the problem, Shorty. The problem is that I had to basically drag you here just to force you to have a bit of fun in light of your boring life." He teased. I punched him in the arm and he laughed at my lack of strength. He wasn't wrong, he did basically have to drag me here. Even though I had nothing to study for today, I had lied and said I had to babysit my cousin today. I didn't have a cousin. It was stupid of me to think that he'd fall for it. After all, he knew everything about me. He knew my family, by habits, my hobbies, where I lived, my class schedule...everything. Then again, I knew all that stuff about him too. After 15 years, we'd better know at least that much about each other.

"If you hang around me much longer, everyone will think we're dating," I grumbled. At that, he swung a muscled arm around me and leaned in close to my ear and chided,

"If that's the worst people say, I'd say we're in good shape." I shrugged his arm off of me and grinned up at him.

"Aiden, you only say that cause you wish it were true." I retorted playfully. My smile faltered as Aiden tensed up. I knew I had struck a nerve.

I'd known that Aiden's crush me still hadn't faded and my rejection was probably a touchy subject, but now my idiocy ruined everything.

"Aiden, I'm-"

"No, don't. It's okay, Thea. Just...enjoy the party." Then he walked away, leaving me in the middle of the room alone. I watched his retreating back until someone ran into me and I fell to the floor, my glasses skidding across the room.

"Ohmygosh, I'm so sorry!" the stranger said but didn't stop and help me up. I felt around for my glasses, everything around me colorful blurs until someone stepped on my hand.

"OUCH!" I cried out, tears welling in my eyes as I held my hand close to my chest. No one heard. No one stopped to help. This is why I hated parties.

I gave up on trying to find my glasses, I had contacts at home. I struggled to my feet and head towards the blur that looked most like a door. As I got closer, I could make out the handle and knew I was in the right place. I opened the door to a blast of cold air from outside. I looked back at the warehouse I had just left, promising myself to never come back. The dorms were pretty far and Aiden was my ride. I started walking.

"THEA!" Aiden's voice called from behind me. I turned around, watching as an Aiden sized blur ran towards me.

"Thea! Thank goodness you're okay! When I couldn't find you I thought...um...where are your glasses?" Aiden asked worriedly.

"Someone knocked me over and I lost them, but it's fine. I have contacts back in my dorm." Aiden chuckled airly and asked,

"And how were planning on getting to your dorm, blind as you are? Were you planning on walking?" I opened my mouth to answer, but stopped myself, realizing how dumb I was being and looked at the ground and nodded.

"Christ, Thea. You really know how to scare the crap out of someone. Come on, let's head back to the campus." Aiden threw an arm around me and guided me back to his car. Until he had put his arm around me, I hadn't noticed I was shivering. HIs warmth stopped my shaking and I allowed myself to be guided back to his pickup truck.

Aiden helped me into the passenger's seat and I settled into the safety of his truck. Aiden got in and started the truck, the low rumbling calming my nerves.

"Thea?" Aiden asked.

"Hmm?"

"You really can't see, can you?" Well, that was a weird question.

"Aiden, you've known for 15 years that I'm as blind as a bat. What kind of question is that?" Aiden didn't respond and instead, started pulling out of the warehouse. With that one question, the mood in the truck had shifted from a sense of security to uneasiness.

We sat in silence for a few minutes as I looked out the window. It was night and I was difficult to see, but we should've been at the campus by now. I didn't see any of the campus lights through the window, and my uneasiness was growing by the second.

"Aiden, I-"

"I love you, Thea." That caught me off guard. The seriousness of which he said it set off a warning in my head.

"Aiden, what's going on? Why aren't we going to the campus?" I heard Aiden curse under his breath.

"I guess even without your glasses, your smarts would figure it out eventually," He said, more to himself than to me. My face hardened and glared at the blur that was Aiden.

"Let me out," I commanded. My forcefullness caught Aiden off guard and I felt the truck slow. When my safety was on the line, I wouldn't be friendly. Not even with Aiden.

"I can't do that, Thea. If I let you out, I'll never have you again." He sounded pathetic, like a puppy. I didn't care.

"You never had me to begin with! Just let me out, and I'll forget this ever happened. We can just be friends again, we can-"

"NO!" Aiden snarled and slammed the accelerator. I was thrown back against my seat as we flew down the road. I screamed and I knew my stomach had been left behind. Then, he slammed on the brakes and I was thrown forward, the seatbelt strangling me as the tires skidded on the pavement. When we came to a stop, I was left gasping for breath, my neck burning and my mind even more disoriented than it was without my glasses.

I felt Aiden's gentle touch on my face and I shrunk away from him, but he grabbed my face between his massive fingers and pulled me towards him. I tried to get away, but Aiden was determined.

"Thea, I never want to just be friends. I want you to be mine." And then his lips crashed into mine. I didn't kiss back. As he tried to slip his tongue between my closed lips, I bit down as hard as I could, tasting his blood burst into my mouth. Aiden howled and retreated, letting my face go. I scrambled in my seat, unbuckling my seatbelt while searching for the door opener with my frantic hands. When I found it, adrenaline coursed through my body and I threw open the door and tumbled out of the truck.

I heard Aiden screaming my name but I didn't turn back. I ran into the darkness, blurs I couldn't make out flying past me. I was shaking all over, but fear kept my legs pumping. I didn't know if he was following me or how far away I was from home, I just wanted to get away from him. My best friend turned kidnapper. I didn't want to know what would happen if he found me. I felt hot tears roll down my face as I ran. I made so many twists and turns, praying that it would be enough to throw him off my trail. Eventually, I came to an open area, a big car-shaped blur to one side. I shuffled towards it and saw it was a pickup truck with a tarp over the bed of it. I almost cried with joy as I lifted the tarp and found the bed empty. I crawled into it and covered it back with the tarp and waited for my heart rate and breathing to return to normal. Then I heard footsteps approaching the truck and I held my breath.

"Thea?" Aiden's voice called out. I felt the tears come back. I was so close to freedom...so close...

"Funny that you should run away from me, only to come right back to me so unknowingly." Aiden taunted. Then it hit me. This was Aiden's truck. Aiden always had a tarp on the back. I was hiding in plain sight. I was balling now as Aiden pulled back the tarp to reveal my shaking form. I looked up at his blurred face, my eyes pleaded. Aiden chuckled and hissed,

"Let's get this party started!"