Chapter 3

Past tense:

My tears slowly came to a stop as my breathing started to become more regulated. I looked up at this stranger, and she looked back at me. I was expecting judgment and pity in her eyes, but I found the complete opposite.

"Thank you. I'm sorry you had to see that." I croaked out my voice, a little raw from crying. Wiping the remains of my tears away on my sleeves. She had a slight smile on her lips.

"Don't be sorry at all." I smiled a little back at her and drew in a deep breath as silence started to engulf us.

I hadn't realized how long we stayed up there till I noticed we were both shaking from the cold. Both of us dressed in summer clothing; however, the warm summer nights hadn't made their presence known just yet. My buzz had completely worn off. I sighed, watching my breath come to life in the cooling air.

"Hey, I have a great idea!" I got startled again as this stranger has once again broken silence out of nowhere, reminding me again that I wasn't alone. I looked up at her waiting for her to finish. When she didn't, I decided to ask.

"And what is this great idea?" I asked the Mystery woman. Her smile grew, and her eyes lit up like Christmas trees.

"Let's go downstairs and enjoy the rest of this party." She said, making it sound more like I didn't have a choice in the matter. I lightly chuckled.

"Do I have a choice?" She shook her head, no giving me a huge smile.

I genuinely smiled for the first time in a while as she gripped my hand, pulling me back downstairs.

Once we got down to the main level, you could feel the temperature start to rise. It got even hotter as we got closer to where everyone was dancing. We stop by the kitchen to get more drinks.

"What can I get you, two beautiful ladies, to drink?" the guy said with a wink. We both looked at each other and laughed.

"Something strong," I said bluntly. He looked at the Mystery woman beside me, and she nodded as well.

"I know just the thing!" He said with a huge smirk. He handed us a couple of shots to do while he made our drinks. We both took them back with somewhat ease and disgusted faces.

"Alright, here you both go. It's my special concoction. I highly suggest drinking slowly."

"Thanks again," I say, and we both turn to make our way to the dance floor when the bartender spoke up again.

"Do both of you want to try something fun?" His eyes lit up mischievously. I quirked a brow.

"Is this 'really fun' really illegal?" I said with my own smirk. I looked over to see the Mystery woman observing me intently and winked at her before looking back at this guy. I don't know where this newfound confidence came from, probably the liquor, but it was worth it seeing her blush out of the corner of my eyes.

"The only question you need to be asking right now is, do you both want to have fun?" He shrugged with a smile.

I look back at the girl and lean in to whisper in her ear.

"What do you think? Do you want to have some fun?" She stiffened up. I don't think she was planning on our proximity. Slowly she nodded her head yes. I leaned away and looked at the guy.

"Sure. We want to have fun." His smile widened as he brought out a tin can from his pocket. He opened it up to reveal some whitish looking rocks. He gave each of us one.

"Alright, now just swallow those back and give it about 30-45 minutes to kick in."

The mystery girl and I looked at each other, shrugged then swallowed the rock back with our drinks. Giving the guy a final thanks and goodbye, we made our way to the room everyone was dancing in.

It had speakers all around the room blasting music, with lights flashing everywhere. The DJ was set up on some kind of make-shift stage. It honestly looked like a mini rave. We found our way towards a less populated corner, kind of swaying to the music and slowly finishing off our drinks.

We didn't say much to each other, just mainly hummed to songs and swayed a bit. A bit later, out of nowhere, Mystery Woman's eyes get huge, and she breaks out into a huge grin. She then looks at me.

"Come on! This is one of my favorite songs. We have to dance to it!" She practically screams in my ear. I jerked away just a bit but let out a laugh myself.

"Okay, let's do this!" We made our way to the middle of the crowd as everyone in the group was getting hyped up. The place's energy was starting to completely change, and just I don't know, even the air around me felt so peaceful. The colors lighting all around me danced beautifully. I looked at the Mystery Woman, realizing that she was feeling it too. The bass bumping through rehabilitating even the most broken of hearts and people. (The song is called Broken by Cash Cash)

"I like that you're broken, broken like me.

Maybe that makes me a fool!" Everyone shouted around me.

"I like that you're lonely, lonely like me.

I could be lonely with you!!" I shouted with the crowd.

"Well, these aren't people,

These aren't my friends."

I locked eyes with the Mystery woman, literally one of the most beautiful girls I've ever seen in my life, and I couldn't look away. I was caught, and I felt myself gravitating closer to her.

"She grabbed my face, and that's when she said,"

She pulled me by face to where there was barely any space between us and whispered the next lyrics in my ear beautifully, making me shiver.

"I like that you're broken,

Broken like me

Maybe that makes me a fool.

I like that you're lonely.

Lonely like me

I could be lonely with you."

She pulled me into a kiss as the beat started to drop. Everything around me except that beat, her lips, and this euphoric feeling ceased to exist. She pulled back, breaking the kiss with sparkling eyes. She blushed a little and pulled me closer as we danced together to the song, with her hot breath still fanning over my neck as she sang the lyrics to me.

"There's something tragic,

But almost pure

Think I could love you,

But I'm not sure."

She pulled back a little to look me in the eyes again.

"There's somethin' wholesome

There's somethin' sweet

Tucked in your eyes

That I'd love to meet."

She unhooked her arms around my neck as she threw up her arms, gesturing around us.

"These aren't my people,

These aren't my friends!"

She brought me closer again and gently put her hand on the side of my face caressing my jaw with her thumb. Kissing me quickly on the lips and putting our foreheads together as we swayed together, and she continued to sing to me.

"I like that you're broken,

Broken like me

Maybe that makes me a fool.

I like that you're lonely.

Lonely like me

I could be lonely with you."

She pulled away from me again as I felt the energy rise in the crowd to an electrifying level. I started to feel my body become supercharged. I looked up at her, smiling so big as everyone in the room was screaming the lyrics at the top of their lungs as we all jumped up and down, dancing like fools.

Everything around me was moving slowly, and I could see everything perfectly at the same time. I haven't seen life this vibrant before in such a long time. I made eye contact with her captivating green eyes, and this time I made the first step. I pulled her into a breathtaking kiss—my heart beating out of my chest. For the first time, I feel like I'm actually alive. Opposite to how I felt earlier, this person might be my temporary savior. I pulled away to catch my breath and made my way to her ear, kissing across her jaw.

"What's your name?" I asked, kind of breathlessly.

"Hope." I smiled at this. Hope. What a beautiful, ironic name.