I take a deep breath. This is it.

In and out was the main focus. Have some fun, make sure Carly wasn't entirely drunk enough not to get home on her own then rush home myself, sneak in through my window and pretend as if I had been asleep the entire time.

Instead, I was stuck being hauled around like a doll at the whim of a child despite the fact Carly was nowhere near the age of five though sometimes I found myself questioning whether or not she was.

"Where are you taking me?" I had asked at one point, growing tired of walking.

"Places," was all she said before she pulled me over to the other side of the party. I found myself glancing in every direction looking for him.

I had yet to discover the truth behind his tale and though part of my conscience, you know the idea of an angel standing on one side of your shoulder, tried to convince me that I'd be better off knowing nothing at all, the devil on the other side pressed the idea that I should be cautious enough to know something at least.

Snatching my hand from Carly's, I waited as she turned around. "I need to breathe Carly," I confessed. "I came here to have fun and if all we're going to do is run away from every group at this party then I'm going home."

Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, Carly let out a nervous chuckle. "Sorry," her cheeks reddened. "I didn't notice I was being too pushy,"

"It's not that you were being pushy. . ." I began before cutting myself short, finding another way to restate that sentence. "It's just that ever since he spoke to me, you've been acting weird and it's annoying."

"I'm sorry," she apologized again. "I just know enough to know that he's bad news," she tried to sound convincing, and I appreciate her trying to protect me, but there wasn't much to save me from.

"Carly, not everyone tells the truth. People overexaggerate all the time. It's what the people around here live for. You can't believe everything you hear just because someone swears they're not lying. You, especially, should know that first hand." 

She gave me a look, but she knew I was right.

Back in the ninth grade, a guy in our class, Danny Jergins, began a rumor that Carly slept with him just because she turned him down. From there it escalated and she was crushed.

It killed her inside because everyone believed it. Carly was known for enjoying herself, but she was always careful.

However, once people saw you a certain way, there's no changing their mind, and Carly had to deal with the consequences of someone else's spite.

"That's different," she reasoned.

"How?" I inquired rather sharply, disapproving of her ignorance. "Name one way on how it's different," I gestured openly towards her, "go ahead."

"Kelsey,"

"It doesn't matter who started it, Carly, the truth still remains the same; no one knows anything. The only person who does is him and when he admits it himself, then it's true. Until then, everything you hear is fake."

"Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you." She sighed with a defeated glance in my direction before linking our arms together and disappearing back into the crowd of people I didn't think I'd get the chance of seeing again.

Usually, I was never the one to bend the rules, but I was finally free and it was about time I started enjoying myself. Opening myself another can of beer, I began drinking it, laughing along with everybody.

Tim Montesano was sharing videos of him and his friends' skateboarding and falling, which being sober wouldn't have appeared to be so funny, but I'm a lightweight.

A couple of videos later and he was done, basking in his glory of everyone's laughter and asking if we wanted to see more.

I looked at the time. Crap.

Looking back up only to find Carly had disappeared, I realized I was screwed.

Sighing, I began searching for her, knowing she had to be close. Pushing past all the people dancing with each other and the people huddled around jocks turned upside down drinking from a gallon, I still couldn't find her anywhere.

Taking one last look around, I found a spot not too far from where I stood. Stretching my legs out once taking a seat on a beaten up piece of wood, I released a breath of air.

Basking in the cold air, I wrapped myself in my arms, letting the wind whisk through my hair as it flew in my face, the stars of the night blanketing across the sky. It was chilly, the course of the entire party shifting as the fire someone had started a few hours ago began to burn out.

Despite the change, no one stopped, no one took the chance to realize as the music only grew louder as more and more people began to show up.

"Come on, Carly," I muttered through clenched teeth, awkwardly glancing up to find someone approaching me with a drink in their hand.

"Hey," they greeted and immediately I recognized him as the guy in my Physics class, Timothy. He rarely ever spoke to him except when he needed a pencil and right now, I didn't have one.

"No, I don't have a pencil for you to borrow, Tim."

He chuckled, scratching the back of his neck. "Good one,"

Smiling, I shrugged, "thank you."

"Anytime," he flashed me a gentle smile before making a move to sit next to me in which I scooted over, not wanting to be rude. "So, you here with anyone?"

"Yeah, Carly. Have you seen her by any chance?"

"No, sorry." He looked at me, "I didn't know this was your type of scene."

"Didn't you learn never to judge a book by its cover, Tim?"

"Fair enough."

Standing, I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, stupidly sticking my hand out for him to shake.

Glancing at it, he reached over to do so, unsure of what was going on, and truth be told, I had no idea myself. I was just as lost as he was and with all the alcohol I had already consumed, it wasn't helping the situation.

Pulling my hand away, I took a few steps backward, "if you happen to see her, will you tell her to call me?"

"Yeah, sure," he muttered, taking the drink that was initially mine and dumping the contents down the back of his throat.

Standing with my hands on my hips, I decided to take the route leading down a huge valley of trees leading into the woods figuring she would be in the last place I'd check.

Shoving past a few branches sticking out, I stumbled against a few rocks, muttering incoherently to myself as I tried to gain my composure, leaning against the bark of a tree. 

The more time passed, the dizzier I began to feel. It was a weird combination, going in and out of consciousness yet focusing primarily on where I was going. The ruffling of leaves didn't help much either though luckily I had noticed a group of people not too far along the trail.

I opened my mouth to call out to them, hoping they'd be able to tell me something. No one seemed to know anything around here and it drove me crazy. Being on top of things my whole life, knowing where everything was as opposed to finding it on a whim, I wasn't expecting a world filled with chaos. The idea alone of not being able to remember anything was a scary thought and not one I wanted to fulfill anytime soon.

"Hey--" I began, taking another step closer, "hey, do you--" squinting, I cut myself off once I realized something was wrong.

In the distance, a gun burned against the moonlight being held tightly in the palm of the guy who seemingly enough turned out to be the one and only, whom I was told to avoid at all costs and suddenly I felt nauseous.

Perceiving the beat of my heart as it accelerated, I sensed the tension in the atmosphere, nearly suffocating enough to cut off all means of getting oxygen as if someone were holding me by the throat.

"You're in for a lot of shit, Parker." A dark voice came from the shadows as I felt my stomach flip, palms growing sweaty. 

"I'm sorry." Whoever he was talking to began to stutter as the tone in his voice burned inside my ears in a tone so fragile, I couldn't help but feel bad.

"Sorry doesn't cut it anymore. You had your chances--I gave you a lot of chances, didn't I?" he questioned roughly, demanding the answer he already knew the answer to.

"Yes, but I--"

"And still turned out with nothing. You know how that makes me look, how that makes me feel? " He held a palm to the center of his chest, an expression of faulty exasperation tinted in the features of his face before it transformed to anger, "are you trying to make me out to be the punk here, Jenkins?"

"No, of course not, please. It's not like that, man. I just need one more week,"

"Sounds like a personal problem to me," he countered. "We already gave you more than that. Three to be exact, the longest I've ever given my customers."

"Come on, man. Cut me some slack, I haven't fucked up a job before," he held his hands up in surrender, the perspiration forming at his hairline now glistening as he wiped it with the fabric of his shirt, "I just need a little more time--"

He shrugged carelessly, not an ounce of sympathy shown on his face, "yeah?" He nodded, "lucky for you, you don't have to worry about it anymore." 

"Wait--"

Pulling the trigger, a shot fired, echoing throughout the coppice as the body dropped to the ground along with my own.