It was not a dark and stormy night.

Although it was night, the sun seemed hesitant to say its goodbye's to the earth and the sky was clear, stars twinkling like small bits of crystal found in granite.

Amber Roth stalked along a rooftop, as you do, making her way in a dark hoodie to the open window of her bedroom. Amber was on the last leg of her journey, only a few rooftops away, but she paused, shelling on the ridge of a roof and surveying the city.

The light still shone in some windows but the number got slowly lesser as businessmen finished their work and mothers finally put their screaming children to bed. Or perhaps fathers but children to bed and businesswomen finished their work. Amber guessed a bit of both.

She wondered where Paolo's family was. Did they know he had snuck out at midnight to meet a girl? When did they expect their son to come back?

In that moment, Amber nearly felt sorry for what she had done, but the moment passed.

Before Amber began making her rooftop climb back to her house she walked along the river with Paolo Davidson, his arm around her shoulder. They were both sweaty from dancing and full of energy, the music still pulsing from behind them. Paolo was telling some story about the first concert he had been to. Amber was half listening, half still with the music of a few moments ago, wildly dancing next to a beautiful boy.

It was almost like a movie. As Amber and Paolo approached a street lamp, he swivelled her around so she was facing him. There was an awkward moment of silence before Paolo bent his head down and kissed her.

And the moment was good until it wasn't, and Paolo's hands were travelling under Amber's shirt. She pushed them away, but looking at his drunk, lust filled eyes, Amber knew there was no hope. As Paolo pushed her against the lamp post, his lips warm, too warm, on her neck, Amber grabbed his arm and wrenched it behind his back, escaping his grasp.

"What the...?" Paolo gasped but Amber was bashing his head against the lamppost, again and again.

Heat and anger took Amber over until Paolo went still in her arms and she saw blood trickling down his forehead.

She listened to his heartbeat, but there was none, so, in a moment of inspiration she threw his body into the river.

After that Amber stole clean clothes from a store with bad security, dumped her bloody ones and made her way back home.

A little while before Paolo kissed her, Amber was dancing with him, the band up on stage singing and playing their hearts out. When a cute guy had asked Amber to a secret midnight concert, she hadn't been able to refuse and here they were, dancing like they hadn't a care in the world.

"Want a drink?" Paolo shouted over the noise. 

"Sure!" Amber shouted back. She didn't care either way. She was lost in the rhythm, her body swirling and moving in time with the music, her heart beating in time with the drums. 

She danced for a while before Paolo came back holding two paper cups. He handed Amber one and she took a sip but it was bitter and alcoholic and Amber didn't like it all. Nevertheless, Amber smiled a thank you to Paolo and continued to dance, "accidentally" spilling the rest of her drink. Paolo went to her himself a refill and she carried on dancing. 

This time, when her date came back he shouted: "Wanna go somewhere?" 

"What?" Amber replied, the music too loud to properly hear his voice. 

"Do you wanna, I dunno, go for a walk by the river. We can come back." Paolo offered his arm. She didn't want to leave but Amber took his arm anyway.

"Sure." She said, letting him take her away from the music and onto the riverside. 

Back on the rooftop, looking back on the night's events, Amber's only regret was not buying an album from the band that had been playing.