Taken // h.s

its my party

I was getting tired of this.

Once again, Ava and Laney were being ridiculous and making complete fools of themselves, shaking their butts like dancers in a cheaply made music video. But according to them, guys ate every bit of that up. I sighed as I wondered for the thousandth time why I had let them drag me to this party.

Even though we were just juniors, Ava had managed to get us into a senior party. Of course, every guy she spoke to couldn’t quit staring at her chest long enough to pay attention to what she was saying. So naturally, every hormonal boy who knew of my friends welcomed us to the party of the year.

I sat in the corner all night like I usually do when we came to these types of things, while Ava and Laney attracted the attention of every male in sight. Later, being the amazing best friend that I was, I would drag their drunken selves out of the party before any of the drooling boys could take advantage of them.

The house reeked of sweat and alcohol. I hated the fact that my friends were acting like idiots to have fun when we could’ve just stayed at home. I mean, come on, where was the fun of getting drunk and facing the consequence of a hangover later?

The voluminous techno music was getting to me, causing a pounding headache to form in my temples. To calm myself, I tried to block out all the sounds around me, failing epically. The loud music kept penetrating my imaginary shield. Glancing around the dimly lit room I was in, I spotted a boy standing in the corner. He was wearing a plain white V-neck t-shirt with dark wash jeans. His eyes were locked on me and he had a strange look in them, as though he wanted something from me. No one had ever looked at me with such an intense gaze before and I had the sudden urge to run away.

Ava and Laney plopped down on the seats next to mine and I looked away from the mysterious boy. “You should totes come dance with us, Ronnie,” Ava said, catching her breath from jumping around too much. “It’s so fun!”

“I’m having fun right here,” I retorted, looking back to the corner. To my surprise, the boy was gone.

“Oh come on! Don’t be a killjoy,” Laney pleaded, her auburn hair bouncing over her bare shoulders. Like Ava, she wore a skimpy spaghetti strap tank top and skirts that were, in my opinion, way too short to be worn in public. They always dressed in revealing clothing for every party. Ava claimed it was to attract boys, but both of them didn’t need to try that hard. Boys drooled over them like a dog with its bone.

I always wondered why two beautiful, thin girls wanted to be friends with me, basking in all of my pudgy and dull glory. Maybe they kept me around to feel better about themselves. After all, I was the ugly friend. Every group had one and I just so happened to be it. I would like to say that that didn’t bother me, but it did and I learned to live with it. No guy ever approached me; they always went for my friends. But I was okay with it. Tonight, somehow, they had made me wear a form fitting, sleeveless black dress that came up my leg about mid-thigh. I was already becoming uncomfortable and we hadn’t been here thirty minutes.

“Yeah, we came so that we could have fun together, Ronnie. Right Laney?”
Laney nodded, eyeing some senior boy who was refilling his cup at the huge keg that sat on a table filled with other junk foods. These people really needed to work on their hospitality.

“I’m fine,” I lied. Really, I was bored out of my mind. “Go have fun. Talk to some guys. That’s what you came for right?”

Ava narrowed her green eyes at me. “You sure?”

I nodded. My friends sighed and skipped back onto the dance floor. Already, I could see guys watching them, preparing to ask them to dance.

Deciding to do something about my boredom, I made my way to the food table. Hopefully they would have something else to drink besides beer. That dreadful stuff just didn’t sit well with me. When I arrived, I was surprised to find an unopened bag of Chex Mix, my favorite snack, and Dr. Pepper, my favorite soda.

Being the food lover I was, I snagged the bag and a can and took off in the opposite direction. I headed down a hallway, searching for an empty room so I could enjoy myself in peace.

After opening the door on two couples having a heated make-out session, I decided to take my chances elsewhere. Maybe if I went outside things would be calmer.

The muggy summer air enveloped me as I opened the back door of the house. The heat almost made me glad that I had worn this skimpy dress.

I placed myself between two bushes, shielding myself from sight, and opened the bag of Chex Mix. The crunch of the bag was a little louder than I expected and I hoped I didn’t attract any unwanted attention.

Silence followed my little incident and a wave of relief washed over me. My head was no longer pounding from the loud music and I could finally enjoy myself in some much-needed peace. I sighed aloud, smiling as I leaned my head against the brick house and closed my eyes. No matter what Laney or Ava thought, this was my type of fun.

The ruffling of grass sounded seconds later and my eyes shot open. I scanned the area and noticed nothing in my surroundings. I must’ve been hearing things. It was probably due to the loud music inside busting my eardrums.

I sat my bag of Chex Mix and Dr. Pepper down when the ruffle came again. This time, I rose from my spot and inspected the secluded area carefully. I tip toed to the edge of the house and peered around, hoping nobody would be there. I sighed when I realized that I was becoming paranoid so my body lost its tension.

As I went to return to my spot, a strong hand gripped my arm tightly. I was pushed forward, falling to the ground. A body was on top of mine and their arms were securely around my waist, holding me down. My dress was riding up and I tried my best to adjust it in my struggle.

I didn’t have time to scream before their hands clamped over my mouth. Muffled sounds managed to escape, though I doubt anybody heard them from the loud music. It always goes back to that damn music.

The person, I assumed was a man, removed one of his hands to get something out of his pocket. I couldn’t see anything because it was so dark outside. My mind was screaming to fight back, but I just couldn’t move as he placed something over my nose and mouth.

“Breath,” he whispered in my ear.

I disobeyed his command and a tear slid down my cheek. This couldn’t be happening. Stuff like this only occurred in movies, right?

My lungs began to burn from oxygen deprivation and I tried yet again to wiggle out of the death hold, but failed. I couldn’t take the burning sensation any longer, so I inhaled deeply.

“That’s it,” they whispered again, pushing hair out of my face.

My vision began to blur and the world around me was swirls of darkness. It didn’t take long for me pass out.