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K A D E N

When I entered the Blitz, I felt like there were two saucepans attached to my eyelids. I rubbed at them, trying to rid the images flashing before them. Of the demons that clung to my memories and hoped a dose of caffeine would stop me from befalling the trap of descending into unconsciousness. It was safe to say that my bed would be empty tonight.

For most of my days, I found myself in Ms Johnson's backyard. Either planting roses or doing any other odd jobs like fixing the loose slate on her shed's roof. It was the safer option. Rather than confront my parents about my run in with Dante, Sam's grandma never questioned me about my bruises other than telling me to be more careful and a shake of her head. That meant any run ins with my mom or dad were kept to a minimum. Even though it had only been a couple of days, I'd made a habit of continuing my avoidance game. To the point where I would do anything just to get out of the house and rid myself of the feeling of being suffocated. It had begun to get quite exhausting.

The diner was almost empty tonight. The warm aroma of coffee lulling my eyes shut but I resisted and instead went up to the counter. The guy behind it gave me a strange look, "You alright, mate?"

I shot him a dark look and he backed away instantly. "Just asking." He muttered as he worked the coffee machine.

I watched him put the cap on the styrofoam cup and wondered why I hadn't just stayed at home and made my own coffee. It was a fairly easy task and would have saved me three bucks. Yet here I was.

With a stiff smile, the guy handed over my drink. I grabbed a handful of the sugar packets and turned around to leave when something caught my eye. For a second I hesitated, knowing I would be better off walking out the doors so I don't know what it was that made me slide into the booth where the lone figure was sat.

She didn't notice me at first, her head buried in her arms and her shaking shoulders an indication of something more than just a friendly drop in. She shrank into herself as if to bar herself from the rest of the world and it was working until I loudly ripped open a sugar packet and dumped the contents into my coffee.

"Hey," she looked up, hastily wiping a finger under her eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"Came for a midnight snack." I ripped open another packet.

"Coffee isn't a snack."

"Then neither is whatever you had." I said, gesturing towards her empty cup that had a lined rim of something green.

"It's green tea and I'll have you know that it's very healthy." She attempted a laugh but it got stuck somewhere along her throat. Her nose was a bright pink as she coughed. "Aren't going to ask me why I was crying?"

"No."

"That's different." She muttered under her breath before looking back up.

I scrutinised her for a couple of seconds. "You look like crap."

"Thanks, you look great too. Did you go back for seconds with Hampton?"

I inhaled sharply but quickly released the breath with a shake of my head, "No."

We fell into silence after that. A comfortable sort of silence, with me continuing to sweeten my beverage and her running her hands through her hair multiple times. "I don't know." She finally said. "I just felt like crying. There's not really any reason behind it. I know that sounds weird--"

"It's not." I reassured with a small smile.

"This is the part where you tell me boys cry too." I opened my mouth but she quickly cut in. "Actually, you probably would have said something cocky like 'I don't cry, it's just sweat from my eyes'."

"You know me so well." I chuckled.

She turned sombre at that. "I don't. Not really. You're still the mysterious guy that goes around getting into fights."

"It was one time."

"Clearly not." She raised a brow at my bruised jaw.

"Okay, fine. What do you want to know?" I laid out my palms in front of me.

Her eyes took on a challenging glint to them, removed was the glisten of her tears from earlier. "Why are you here?"

"In town? I told you, my dad got a new job--"

"No, not that. I meant why are you here tonight." She gestured around the small diner.

I was about to give the same response from before but decided against it with a sigh. "I had a nightmare." I admitted. "So I came here to not think about it."

She nodded slowly. "Your turn."

My mind went blank. "What's your favourite colour?"

"Orange." She laughed. "Is it really true that you had no friends at your old school?"

"Yes." I deadpanned.

"I can't imagine why."

"You're hilarious. Really, you are."

We carried on as we were. Her laughter filling in the silence and I found my own joining in eventually. It was nice. To forget about the previous events that had happened that night even if it was just for a little while. Elsa no longer seemed down in the dumps and her spirits were soon restored to their uplifting glory.

"I think I know what we need." She declared all of a sudden and stood up.

My eyes followed her curiously, then returned to my untouched drink. It took five packets of sugar and an exhausted brain for me to do something unexpected and let go of all and any doubts.

Just tonight.

-

"When you said you knew what we needed, I thought you meant getting a good night's rest—not this."

"Come on, it'll be fun!"

I glanced at the house with suspicion. The noise and lights made it stand out in contrast to the rest of the dark neighbourhood. The front lawn was already littered with multiple bits of rubbish and even some people, though they seemed too buzzed to take note of much.

"Who's house is this again?"

"Isabel. She works at the Blitz."

My mind recalled a foggy image of the redhead. "Parties aren't really my scene."

"I know, yes. Brooding on the back of a motorcycle is more your thing."

I opened my mouth to protest how wrong she was but didn't get the chance when she yanked on my hand, giving me barely enough time to stumble out of the car and lock the doors.

"Elsa—"

She silenced me with one sharp look in my direction. "You need to let loose. It's just a party. What could go wrong?"

She didn't know it yet but she was about to be proven wrong. So completely and utterly wrong.

At first, things went along fine. Once Elsa dragged me inside, I was instantly hit with the smell of beer and sweat. Not an entirely nice combination and one that made me want to retreat back out the doors had she not offered to get me a drink.

"Punch or beer?"

"You do know the punch could be spiked."

"Beer it is." She shoved one into my hand and clinked her own with it. "Cheers."

I sighed, setting the bottle down and preparing myself to tell her it would be better if I left when I saw something-- an all too familiar something past her shoulder. It's like when you see a spider crawling along the wall, you think of two things: go ahead and crush the arachnid or run screaming out of the room.

I was about to go with the latter, albeit without the screaming, then remembered I had company. Praying that they didn't already see me, I changed my position so that my back was to them.

Noticing my sudden actions, Elsa veered to the side to see what had caught my attention but I gripped her arm, blocking her view. "You know Zach?"

"Who?"

"That's Zach and," She tried to look past me once again but reclined after the warning glare I shot at her. "Do you know the other guy with him?"

"No." I deadpanned.

"What happened to being honest?"

With a grunt, I caught hold of her elbow and steered us further into the mass of bodies and away from the drinks table. Once I was sure we were far away enough I turned back to a now puzzled Elsa. "Don't make me lie to you."

Her eyes widened and she pointed to my bruise. "Is he the one that gave you this?"

I sighed again but didn't offer any confirmation. "He's dangerous so promise me you'll steer clear of him."

"Okay." She said slowly.

"Good." I breathed out in relief and only then realised that I was gripping both of her shoulders tightly.

Even though I knew it was a bad idea, I looked back at where Dante was. Just seeing him here made chills run down my spine. But now there was a new addition to the group and that just happened to be a certain fiery bird.

I watched with caution as Phoenix joined the duo, looking casual standing there but I knew better. They were too far away to hear any bits of conversation. I was about to take a step forward when someone intruded into my line of my sight, blocking my view of them.

"Are you okay?" Elsa asked, concern lining her features.

Instead of answering her, I veered from my original path and towards an exit which happened to be a door leading to the garden rather than the front. There were still people out here though it had thinned out considerably and was enough for me to clear my head.

"Kaden?" I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"I'm fine." I said, though my voice was strained.

"Let me help." Elsa offered.

"Look, it's nothing. I should really get going home." I chanced one more look inside, not wanting to go back the way I'd come.

"Hold on." She pulled my arm to keep me at bay.

"I think I saw Phoenix somewhere." I cut in before she decided to offer her help again.

"Really? Where?"

I motioned my head towards the way we'd come out and before I knew it Elsa plunged back into the crowd. Running an aggravated hand through my hair I debated on leaving her but then thought about how much of an ass that would make me. And as bad as I was at making friends, this one didn't seem so bad.

"Damnit." I sighed.

Back inside I craned my head to catch a glimpse of her blonde head. I saw multiple couples making out and more than a few people who'd gone over their drinking limit but no Elsa. I searched but to no avail.

Just as I was about to give up, I spotted a dark auburn head in the crowd and there was only one person I knew that possessed such a hair colour. It was a long shot but I followed it anyway until I came to face Phoenix giggling at something the guy she was with had said.

"Move." I told the guy, placing myself in between him and Phoenix.

"Look mate, there are plenty of girls here. Go find another." He quickly dismissed my word and nudged me aside to get to Phoenix. "Babe, let's go somewhere quieter."

I placed a palm on his chest and nudged him back with a bit more force than necessary. "Are you really going to take advantage of a drunk girl?"

"I'm not drunk." Phoenix defended even though her words came out slurred.

"You see?" The guy paid no attention to what I said.

She made a move to step forward but stumbled over her own feet instead. At the last minute, I quickly caught onto her arm to steady her.

"Thanks for that, man. I can take it from here."

I straightened up to my full height, beginning to get pissed at this guy. He just couldn't take a hint. "You're going to walk away now." I enunciated each word slowly.

The guy glared at me and then at Phoenix. I stared him down until he got the message and finally backed away.

"Jesus, fine."

Once I was sure he wasn't coming back, I turned to the drunk girl in my arms. Phoenix was unbelievably close, so much so that she was pressed against me and her nose poked through the open buttons on my shirt. It felt unusually cold against my otherwise warm chest.

"Phoenix?" I felt the heat rise to my ears when she inhaled deeply.

"You smell pretty." She mumbled.

When I felt her droop I fastened my grip around her waist. "Hey, come on. Stay awake."

She blinked rapidly before giving up completely and closing her eyes. I thought about asking her what was on my mind but then realised that maybe I didn't have to. Maybe the answer was right in front of me.

For now, I focused on manoeuvring us both out of the masses. It took a while but I managed it eventually and this time, I located the right door. Once we were on the path, I held my arms behind her knees and back, making it much easier and quicker to get to my car.

Phoenix mumbled something so I leaned in closer to hear better. "What was that?" There was no response on her end and I wondered if I had made it up.

"There you are!" The voice hadn't come from Phoenix. I turned to see Elsa with a worried expression. She glanced back and forth between the two of us. "Okay, you were right. This was a bad idea." She admitted.

"I'd hate to say I told you so." I said as she helped me get Phoenix into the passenger seat. The look of concern for her friend made my guts twist a little.

"No, you wouldn't. And I don't blame you. Could we just call a truce?"

I nodded even though I knew this wouldn't be the end of the night for me. "Let's go home."

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