dedicated to @sleepyluke bc her stories are literal goals and her writing is goals and basicALLY EVERYTHING ABOUT HER ACC IS GOALS OK ok ily

Somehow, Isla managed to find herself behind steel bars, Calum pacing quickly in front of her - annoyance plastered on his face.

The police had decided to take them into custody for distributing illegal substances.

It was outrageous, of course, because they both swore on their lives that they had nothing to do with the Ecstasy that had been smuggled inside the club. Isla would have made no move to drink anything if she knew what people could've put into it.

When the police dragged them out of the supply closet, the entire club had been emptied out - the whole atmosphere changed so dramatically that it didn't even look like the same place. In a moment of panic, she completely forgot to notify her friends in the ten seconds she had before they took everything she had on her. Calum had yelled and tried to shake the cops off of him, but they wouldn't budge.

Once they'd been brought in, they were asked for their names and Isla subtly told them her real name while Calum was being dragged off to the cell first. She thanked God for not putting her into even more of a sticky situation.

Isla was a good kid, and to be in the position she was in now, still with Calum, she couldn't believe it. The girl felt horrible when a teacher yelled at her to be quiet, for goodness sakes, so being behind bars with the boy who hated her was far from what she imagined would happen tonight. Everything just seemed so surreal.

"This is all your fault." she mumbled, momentarily releasing her anger into air. But shortly after her words were said, she covered her mouth quickly, realizing that she'd forgotten to pitch her voice differently.

Calum, thankfully, made no move that showed he recognized it. He turned to her, his black shirt and black jeans desperately needing to be ironed. "My fault?" He scoffed, "If it wasn't for me, you would've been in this place much earlier."

Her eyes narrowed, frustration and annoyance bubbling inside. "I didn't ask for your help." She spat, knowing that that was one of the worst comebacks anyone could ever respond with.

He just rolled his eyes and continued to pace back and forth next to the steel bars.

She sat on the small, metal bench in the corner, and sighed. "Don't we get one call, or something?"

He stopped and stared back at her, aware that she had a point, then looked away to the desk occupied with an old policeman. "Hey!" He called out, getting his attention. "Aren't we allowed to call someone?"

The old man slid his glasses down and glanced at the two teenagers with a menacing gaze. "Yes, but we're still working on the paper work. Randy should be in here soon to bring you to the phone."

Calum nodded his head and continue with his pacing, his steps slowly getting speedier with each second that ticked by.

"Can you please stop? You walking back and forth is making me nervous." Isla spoke, her demanding tone surprising to herself.

"I can do whatever the fück I want, Isabelle." He retorted, stopping for a moment while he responded. His hands were balled up into fists at his sides, signifying how he was just as frustrated as she was.

"You just stopped." She pointed out bluntly, gulping at his harsh words to come.

He realized that he was, indeed, standing in place now, and scowled. "Stop being such a smartáss."

"Stop being such an ásshole." She fired back, her hands gripping tightly on her bare knees. Her newfound confidence was beginning to exhaust her.

"I wouldn't have to be an âsshole if I didn't have to drag you into the supply closet to save you, when I could've just ran away as easily as everyone else did!" He shouted, throwing his hands up in frustration.

His venomous tone caused Isla to retreat a bit, her brows furrowing at his jarring expression. Her head wasn't clear; so much had occurred in one day - the makeover, the party, and Calum. Isla wasn't used to her life being so dramatic, like she was living in some sort of reality TV show. Inside, she desperately wanted to blame her actions tonight on the alcohol, but her gut knew better. On the outside, she was just a shy, misunderstood girl trying to survive amongst the rude population of people. However, on the inside she was fighting for everything she believed, and Calum seemed to bring that side out of her.

Beneath the surface of her skin, she was heartless character who had been tainted by her memories.

"Why did you do it then, huh? Why didn't you just leave me alone?" She said quietly, but she knew it intimidated him.

"I'm not the type of person to leave a damsel in distress, alright? I may seem like a dîck right now, but that's not how I always am." He stood, staring at her, his dark eyes consuming her own, and the longer he stared at her, the more she began to panic.

Immediately, she turned her head, breaking the contact and silently praying he didn't notice anything about her.

"Wait," he began, his voice lowering. "Do I know you?"

Unbeknownst to Calum, her heart was hammering through her rib cage. She steadied her uneven breaths, trying to calm her body and envelop the alarm that screamed out from her. Suddenly, she was Isabelle, and her second persona took over with confidence. She narrowed her eyes, demonstrating her best innocent look. "Well you've been with me for the last hour or so, so I guess you could say that."

Calum blinked a few times in confusion before he shook his head, clearing his thoughts. "Yeah, sorry. You just looked really familiar for a second."

She shrugged nonchalantly, an unfazed gleam in her eyes. He stood still, and bit his lip awkwardly, both of them soaking in the tense atmosphere their minor quarrel had caused.

Isla's attention immediately rested upon a uniformed man who walked into the room. Calum seemed to notice; because he turned his body so that he was facing the officer. His name tag read Gates, and his burly beard and small green eyes stared with amusement at the two miserable teens in the cell.

"Who wants to go first?"

☏ ☏ ☏

Every night was the same for Michael.

He would stay up as late as he could, fighting his heavy eyelids. Because he knew that once they fell closed, he would be trapped inside himself once more. There wouldn't be a chance for him to hide nor pretend, for his conscience would simply slip away.

But it was human nature for a being to wake up, fall asleep, then repeat that cycle until the day they died. There was nothing he could do to escape his body's natural process.

Michael fended off the feeling because he knew that once his brain had control over his body - instead of his heart - it would go haywire. Life had it's vicissitudes, yet all he noticed was the constant downwards spiral he was tumbling through. He wished at this point that he was indefatigable, that way he wouldn't have to face the nightmares.

Tonight, he lost against the battle once again, his body and mind exhausted from his senescent insanity. Drifting into another world all on his own scared him, even though it was exactly as he was when he was awake.

Amidst the darkness, visions appeared once more - the first one was always the same. A dark forest came into view and he tiptoed carefully through the fallen leaves and twigs littered all over the ground. The night sky was heavy, and the air was pleasantly warm, despite it being the climax of nighttime. His visions weren't lucid; and every time he was in this setting, it was like a new experience.

His breathing was steady and slow, small huffs being the only sound besides the echo of evening wildlife. The dark t-shirt stuck against his skin and his dark jeans chaffed ever so slightly. Michael's eyes traveled down at his bare feet as they skillfully dodged the prickly objects on the dirt.

A breeze flew by; causing him to raise his hands up to his bare arms, rubbing up and down to create friction and heat. He blinked, unaware of what was going on - despite having relived this moment hundreds of times.

He's gone.

A whisper breathed into the air, almost nonexistent.

He's gone.

It repeated once more, with a hint of venom.

He's gone.

This time it was screamed. Michael stumbled backwards, the force of the vocals created a peril look in his eyes. He looked around frantically, searching for the perpetrator of sound, but was met with just the emptiness of the forest.

And it's all your fault.

That was the last thing he heard before his head shot up, breaking the vision and spiraling him back into his bed.

♆ ♆ ♆

Luke was sitting in his car, anxiously waiting for any sign of Calum. The cops had come to bust the place for druggies, and he had managed to get out as did the majority.

He had texted Calum multiple times, however to no prevail. Luke was on the verge of panicking though his heart screamed at him to settle down. Calum would be okay, he was a smart guy.

His leg bounced up and down relentlessly, it had been approximately half an hour since the huge evacuation, and he still wasn't here. Realizing that he probably wasn't going to come anytime soon, Luke mustered up the courage to reenter the club and see what was going on.

He opened the car door and felt a buzz in his pocket. Immediately, his hand reached inside, already knowing who it was.

"Calum, where the héll are you?" He screeched into his phone, the car door still hanging open.

"Sorry, mate," he apologized, something Luke wasn't so used to. "I kind of, um, got arrested."

Luke's eyes widened, "You what?"

He could just picture Calum standing awkwardly with his phone in his hand, embarrassed for even putting himself in this situation. "I got arrested for some shït that I didn't even do, and I need you to bail me out. Please."

Luke groaned, wondering how his normally smooth friend, managed to get tangled up in such a stupid situation. Usually it was Calum who had to help Luke out in these unfortunate misunderstandings, and now their positions were flipped. "Fine." He responded flatly. "I'll be there in a few minutes."

Luke ended the call, his face still feeling a bit flustered at his friend. Strangely enough, however, he didn't feel angry, just a tad bit frustrated that he had to go through the extra trouble.

In some ways, the fact that Calum had called him, despite the fact that they'd been friends nearly their whole life, pertained to signify a symbol of closeness. Maybe he was just overthinking things, but it made him glad that Calum still trusted him over anyone else.

He pulled into the LA police departments' parking lot a few minutes later, noticing that there were a few cars besides the patrol ones parked there. Taking his wallet and his keys, he headed into the building.

He flattened his clothes a bit, not wanting to look like a complete mess in front of the police. No matter how much he used to joke that he was punk rock, he believed that he would never be able to act that badàss.

Luke explained what he was doing to the officer in the front desk and handed him a large some of money, not even wincing at how much was being emptied from his own pocket. Another officer led him into the cells, and he suddenly felt a tingle of fear. He was in a police department next to jail cells, and he felt extremely unsettled.

They rounded the corner revealing a slightly bigger cell that enclosed a tall, dark-haired boy, and a slightly familiar brunette. When they both turned their heads, the brunettes' green eyes ruined any misconception he had. She didn't seem like the type to be smuggling drugs at all; she, along with Calum, must've been  excessively unlucky.

"Luke!" Calum exclaimed, running to the bars. "You came."

He rolled his eyes. "Of course I did, now let's get the héll out of here."  The officer who had came with Luke unlocked the cell and Calum slipped out hastily. He made the motion to leave when Luke stopped him, "Wait," he turned back to the girl who sat staring at her fingers. "Is anyone going to help you out?"

Her head perked up, the blueness of her eyes darting so that they wouldn't connect with his. "Yeah, I'll be fine. My friend's coming to get me."

"You sure?" Luke cocked his eyebrow and he felt a jab to his side.

Calum looked at him with impatience, "Why are you worrying about her? Let's just go, please." He hissed, tugging him away from the cell.

"Okay, okay." He agreed, not giving one more look to Isla who sat patiently and let out the breath she didn't realize she was holding.

❃ ❃ ❃

wow the ending is awk af again but I told someone I wouldn't end in a cliffhanger again so !!

thanks for being patient, school just started and uGH

ily all if ur still reading this story :)))