Thwump. Thwump. Thwump. The bass pounds in my ears, making my entire body vibrate with each step I take. I try to walk farther back into the crowd, stumbling and ducking to avoid the flailing limbs of people dancing and jumping to the beat. Between the bodies moving and the lights flashing, blinding me, it’s hard to see where I’m going. “Sorry” I mumble over again as I run into person after person, tripping and getting jabbed by the occasional elbow. I came here hoping I would have fun. That I could just let my problems disappear among the sea of people jumping and grinding, and be at peace. But nothing has helped me forget him and what we had together...



The sun bright and shining down on the world, making the trees seem to glow. It was almost picture perfect as I ran down the driveway to meet Jacob at his car, smiling and laughing the whole way. And at the time it had seemed “picture perfect”. His radio was playing loud, it was always loud, playing my favorite song. He always had the same CD in, “Why change something I like?” he used to say.I remember thinking later that I wished he’d felt that way about me.



I’m brought back to the present as I run face first into a strangers torso at the edge of the crowd. “Sorry.” I say removing myself from his personal space.



“No, it’s my fault. Hey wait.. are you okay? You look, sad.” I looked up at him, he’s tall with long hair, and looks like he’s been awake for days. His tired eyes, droop a bit as he looks me up and down.



“No problem. I’m here to forget my problems. And look, my problems are gone.” I say jokingly, smiling. This stranger is sort of cute, and I’m suddenly nervous. Is he really checking me out?



“Well, here, take one of these.” He reaches out his hand and and showed me the contents. There was a mini collage of multi-colored pills.



“What are they?” I ask tentatively, looking down at them.



“Dunno,” he shrugs, “I took ‘em from some guy in back. Go ahead, I figure it’ll at least loosen you up. It’ll be fine, I promise.” I know that taking these would be going down the ‘wrong path’ but I’ve never been against drugs in general, I was just expected to not do them. But tonight is different. Tonight I’m the new me, I’m being “fun” and “letting loose” just like Jacob had always wanted me to do.



I stare into the strangers eyes, catching him looking at me. They’re a beautiful blue, so vibrant I couldn’t imagine not trusting them.



“Sure,” I decide picking up two pills, one is red and oval, the other was a small white one. “Bottoms up,” I giggle as I pick up his beer, take a swig and wash the pills down. He smiles and nods as I hand his drink back and turn around toward the crowd.



“See you later!” he yelled after me. Would he? I wonder, as I shrug at him and work my way back to the front of the crowd, feeling more confident now, knowing that a cute stranger had definitely been checking me out. I start dancing wildly, moving and pushing, making myself one with the machine, I go every way it does. I can’t tell if the sweat I feel is mine or the girl’s next to me, and I don’t care.



It isn’t until the band plays its sixth song that I start to feel tired and dizzy. I feel as though I’m suffocating and soon the entire building is spinning and I’m at its merciless will. I try to run out of the crowd but just get jostled more and more. The flashing lights are no longer bright and fun, but disorienting and make me feel sick. I’m afraid I’m going to vomit when all of a sudden the crowd opens up just enough for me to see the exit and I am able to run straight through the people and out the door into the alley.



The air hits me, cold and crisp, stinging my lungs as I suck in huge breaths trying to regain my senses. I’m kneeling on the pavement, for what seems like hours but could only be minutes, when I hear breathing behind me and realize I’m not alone. I slowly start to remember that someone had grabbed me, and guided me through the mass of people; pulling on my arm.



“Th-thanks...” I turn to look back at whoever it is but it’s dark, too dark to tell who, “Why’re you standing in the dark...?” I begin to ask as I realize they’re still holding onto me, tight. My mind starts to race, the thoughts in my head coming together too late as my vision blurs and my knees weaken. Everything begins to go black as I feel myself fall farther backwards. The person takes a step forward, and as I fade out I think I see a pair of beautiful blue eyes.