It's Saturday night and music is blasting through our house. People are hanging out in our kitchen to talk about life, the world, and everything and somehow our living room has been changed into a nineties disco. One of my friends is screaming along with a song while she's doing the accompanying moves and one of my other friends can keep her barely from doing a backflip in the already cramped room.

It's my farewell party and Megan decorated the place with surgical masks, latex gloves, and, of course, the inevitable condoms. She also made a skeleton out of plastic forks, knives, and spoons and she dressed it in one of my old lab coats. This week was tense and I barely talked to Megan. I eventually put away my grudges, but I still don't like that she called the police.

I had to tell Dan what happened because of course the press picked something up and they made up some fantastical stories about what could have happened at my house. Dan freaked out when he heard about the heart. He was somewhere on the other side of the world and it was hard to calm him down. I'm not sure if I convinced him, he kept asking me about who could have sent it to me.

Several friends asked me if he would be here tonight, but the fact is, I don't have a clue. He told me that if he could make it, he would be here. I haven't seen him since the day after the premiere. He called me every day, though. And I can't help but wonder if this is how our future looks like.

Megan winks at me from the other side of the room. She's leaning against the wall, while a guy is talking to her and put his hand casually against the same wall, just above her shoulder. At least one of us is lucky tonight, I think, while I raise my glass to her.

I go back to the kitchen where some of my classmates are talking about all the stupid things we did in the last four years.

Ben, one of my friends, is telling his favorite story again, about professor Young and the tissue samples. I think it's one of the most hilarious stories ever, and he really has perfected telling it.

Professor Young was our pathology 101 professor and he told us the most gruesome story we heard in our first year. He had brought some of the samples to his home and kept them in his fridge. One day he had guests coming over for dinner. His wife finds these interesting pieces of meat and makes a lovely curry with them. The professor checked the fridge for his samples, found them gone and he found out his guests had eaten his samples. Soon the whole company was running to the toilet.

There's something in the way that Ben tells this story that makes it hilarious. I completely forgot about the punch line and I just took a sip of my drink when Ben dramatically waves his arms to indicate how everyone was fighting for a place around the toilet. I burst out in laughter and my drink leaves my body through my nose.

I know it looks gross. I try to cover up my accident and everyone grows quiet.

"I'm okay guys, nothing to worry about." I try to wipe away the last drops that hang under my nose with a napkin, but they keep staring at me in a funny way. I'm wondering if there's still something stuck on my face, and I look helplessly at the people around me, only to realize they're staring at something behind me.

When I turn around I see it's not something but actually someone. A strange man is standing behind me. He's wearing dirty sweat pants and a coat that is too warm for the time of year. I can see the dark stubble on his chin, the rest of his face is hidden behind the stained baseball cap that is pulled low over his eyes. He looks like a homeless man.

I walk towards him. We left the door unlocked, but only the people that were invited to my party knew about it. "Can I help you, sir?"

A grin appears on his face, but I still can't see his eyes. "I'm glad to see you too."

I immediately recognize his voice, and when he lifts the cap, his blue eyes lock with mine. I almost fall into his arms.

"Dan!" His arms envelop me and our lips meet in a small kiss. "Why are you looking this... er.. interesting?"

"To attract as little attention as possible. No one pays attention to a homeless man. I was doing pretty well until I walked in here." He smiles at my group of friends, who are all staring at him. I introduce him with a quick "Dan, everybody, everybody, Dan". Reassured by my behavior, they wave or greet him, and then they all continue what they were doing.

"Can I change my clothes somewhere?" He holds a plastic bag in the air.

I take his hand in mine and I take him to my room. It's filled with carton boxes. Most of my clothes and books are packed. You can still see where the pictures used to be that were on my wall. It already feels like it's not my room anymore.

Before I can leave, Dan closes the door behind him, locking out the sounds of my partying friends. He drops his coat on the floor and with one quick movement he pulls the stained shirt over his head. The room fills with his scent. It floats on the warm air and intoxicates me; the smell of his cologne, mixed with his sweat. He raises his arm and smells his armpit.

"Ugh. Sorry, I should have taken a shower. I just arrived at the airport and I couldn't wait to see you again." He searches the plastic bag and I can only stare at him. He's half-naked, his sweat pants hang dangerously low on his hips and I can only think how badly I want to touch him. His muscles role under his skin and I think if I stare for one more second, drool will drip from the corner of my mouth.

"Elise?" Dan looks expectantly at me as if he just asked me a question.

"Huh?" I got a degree, finished my studies in time and the only thing I manage to say is a monosyllable that's not even a proper word? Brilliant.

"I asked you if you already knew who sent you the heart." He puts on a white T-shirt. Thank god, a little less distraction.

"Nobody seems to know anything." I drop down on my bed and he kicks off his sneakers. "But I haven't asked everybody yet."

His sweatpants drop to the floor and I turn my gaze away. No need to get lost in my fantasy world again.

"Did you hear anything from the police?" Dan puts on some old jeans. They look extremely hot on him.

"No, but I don't really expect anything from them. I told them it was probably a joke."

He takes my hand and pulls me up from the bed. "Come here."

He embraces me and I indulge the grip of his strong arms."I can't believe you're so calm about it. You think that it is a joke, but what if it isn't? It might be someone who wants to hurt you and the sooner we find out who sent it to you, the better we can take precautions."

I smile. "What do you want to do about it?"

"Did you ask all your friends who are here?" His eyebrow is raised questioningly.

"No, how should I have done that? Interrogate them as soon as they came in?" All this talking about the heart is starting to annoy me.

"Okay, then I will." He's looking determined.

"Don't be silly. They don't know you, why would they tell you anything?"

"I can be very... persuasive." His lips almost touch mine, but just before I kiss him he pulls back, leaving me longing for his touch. "And I always can play the dumb actor."

He makes his eyes all big, opens his lips slightly.

"Yeah, I think that might work." I laugh. "But I don't think this is a good idea."

"You'll see." He smiles mysteriously.

What is it about him that makes me feel this way? His gaze makes me feel all giddy and I'm forgetting everything around me as I stare into his eyes.

"I've got something for you." In his hand rests a small black box.

I have no clue where he got it that fast. "You shouldn't have done that."

He grins. "But I did, so you better open it."

I know a lot of girls would be jealous but I can only think Please, don't let it be a ring. I don't know why I loathe rings, but I just do. Maybe because I can never wear them, at least not at work.

He pushes the little box into my hands.

"Just open it and then you may tell me that you love it." His smile is almost cocky.

Carefully I flip the box open. It's not a ring and it's not some flashy jewel.

In the box is a delicate gold necklace with a very small golden pendant in the form of a heart. An anatomically correct golden heart. It's almost as big as the nail of my little finger.

I'm completely dumbstruck. I do love it, but I'm unable to say anything. My eyes go back and forth between his eyes and the necklace.

"Elise?" Dan looks suddenly worried.

I can see the aorta of the small pendant. It's amazing how detailed the little heart is. "I love it."

"You don't say that just to please me, do you?" My silence has unnerved him.

I don't say anything. I just lay my free hand in his neck, in the other I still have the box, and I pull him close. My mouth finds his lips and for the first time tonight, I kiss him passionately. His hands glide over my back and I know I have to end this before we don't leave this room anymore. I take a step back and I hand him the box.

"Would you please be so kind and fasten it for me?" I turn around and hold my hair up. He fumbles with the lock and when he hangs it around my neck, his fingers brush my skin. It sends shivers down my spine and I can't wait until we're really alone, without my friends partying in the living room.

When he's done I kiss him one more time. "Thank you."

He puts his sneakers back on and then we go back to the party. I introduce Dan to my friends. Of course, they know about us, most of them found out by the gossip page. They're curious. I leave him with a small group of people to grab him a beer. When I come back, I see that he's sandwiched between two of my friends. I hear them ask him the most awkward questions, but he seems to handle it pretty well.

"Don't be too hard on him, guys," I say when I hand Dan a beer.

He winks at me and seeing him talking to my friends and enjoying himself, I go torture someone else with my presence.

I see Megan stand at the other side of the room, a big grin lies on her face. I walk to her and embrace her.

"Thanks for all of this."

"You're welcome, sweetie." Her arms are wrapped around me. Sometimes she works on my nerves, but she is my best friend, who organized the best farewell party ever. I don't know how long we stand there, but it feels good. The music flows through the room, the babbling and laughing of my friends sound like a gurgling stream. Everything seems as normal as it can be and I feel the joy of perfect bliss.

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AN: Thanks for reading this! Please, vote/comment if you liked it. Elise seems like the only one not making a fuss about that heart. One of my friends who used to work in a hospital told me the story about the professor and the tissue samples. She wasn't sure if it was true, but she thought it was hilarious.

 I finished my 50K words for NaNo, so I will start update this story more regularly. Not sure when I will post the NaNo story, it's still a big mess and I'm going to edit it soon.