"DO YOU WANT me to go get you something to drink?"

I couldn't help but huff and roll my eyes, my arms already crossed. I looked over to the boy who I had stupidly agreed to going to this stupid high school dance with. Chad Thomas--Lord have mercy, even his name was boring as hell and not unique in the slightest--was the worst date I had ever been with at a school dance.

Senior year was supposed to be the best year of my life, filled with amazing boys with six packs and glorious partying. Yet, here I was in a dress too small and too pink, with a boy too bland and not interesting in the slightest.

"Chad," I spoke in a low voice, carefully placing my hand on his shoulder, "This is the fifth time you've asked me that."

The socially awkward brunet visibly gulped, his eyes flickering from my hand on his shoulder, to my cleavege, and then finally meeting my annoyed look.

"So does that mean you're thirsty now?" He asked slowly. I swear to God he was sweating from nerves. I narrowed my eyes at him, making my smile more sarcastic and smoothing out the wrinkles in his jacket. I purposely avoided his eyes.

"It means if you ask again I'm going to stab myself in the eye with my heel," I finally looked up at him. I only had to look up slightly, as I was both tall and in heels. This time Chad nodded and hesitantly eyed the dimly lit dance floor.

"Well, uh, do you wanna dance?" He blurted out, his cheeks going red. The pigment was highlighted with the weird lights.

"Finally," I scoffed, grabbing his hand and tugging him in that direction. I stopped and turned to him with a smirk, "Touch my ass and I'll feed you your own dick."

After that he seemed to understand and we managed to dance without any issues. He was extremely awkward and borderline embarrassing, but I sucked it up and tried my best to look like I was having fun.

Then he started to get a little ballsy.

At first I didn't mind the hands on my hips, or the slight suggestive grind he was starting up. However, once he started to shift his hands from being too high, and being too low, I had to stop him.

"I think I hear someone calling my name," I aimed my pointer finger in a random direction, pulling away from him.

"I didn't hear anybody," he looked so purely confused.

I shrugged, "Neither did I but pretending to walk over to someone calling my name seems a lot more fun at the moment."

I didn't really give him a chance to respond before I walked away, approaching the table where I had left my bag with a couple two grades below me and hadn't moved since they got here.

"Having fun?" I asked sarcastically and without interest as I grabbed my purse and slung it on my shoulder. The girl rolled her eyes while the boy huffed and shrugged. I smiled and winked at them before turning around and walking away.

I pulled out my flip phone as I exited the gymnasium, heading towards the exit. I saw a missed call from my little brother. I couldn't help the worry that settled in the put of my stomach. Quickly, I called him back.

"Julia?"

"Isaac," I said in a panicked tone, picking up my pace as I left the school, "Is everything okay? I just saw you called."

"It's okay now. Dad just had a little fit about you going to the formal," he explained through the phone. He sounded okay, just his normal shy self.

"Did he do anything to you?" I all but interrogated him.

"No. But he did break a plate and glass," Isaac sighed. I frowned slightly, keeping my eyes trained on my feet as I walked.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled, rubbing my forehead, "I'm on my way home now."

"But the dance shouldn't be over yet."

"Chad is kind of an ass," I rolled my eyes.

"Called it!" He giggled slightly. I couldn't help but smile at the adorable noise that only Isaac could make.

"Yeah, well--"

"Excuse me," I flinched as I turned my head to see an unfamiliar man standing there. I hesitantly paused my walking.

"One second, Isaac," I said into the phone before lowering it slightly to look at the man, raising a brow. He looked the same age as my dad (but less ugly) and had an awful haircut. He wore a black coat and a creepy ass smile, "Can I help you?"

"I was hoping you could," he strolled closer to me, his hands clasped behind his back, "Would happen to know where Jackson Whittemore is?"

I couldn't suppress my annoyed look at the name of the kid. He was in my brother's grade and had asked me out on numerous occasions. Obviously I would never say yes, partly due to him bullying Isaac.

"Look, I know you're not his dad and any other reason you need to see him probably isn't legal," I gave him a once over before shooting him a sarcastic grin, "Plus you look like a serial killer."

He chuckled, taking more steps towards me. I scoffed and took a step back.

"I have pepper spray on me," I stated confidently, though it was a lie. He tilted his head to the side with a smirk.

"No you don't."

I wouldn't lie, his words scared me a little. I suddenly felt a wave of terror wash over me. I was far out into the school's parking lot, to the point where nobody could see me. Plus I was in an itty bitty dress with literally nothing I could use as a weapon against a dude twice my size apart from my heels.

"Just piss off, dude," I snapped, "I don't fuck with Whittemore and I have no clue where he is."

The man hummed and nodded, giving me a once over, "Well, thank you for nothing."

I watched, confused, as he turned around and started walking away. I shook my head and turned around to keep walking, lifting the phone to my ear.

"What the hell was that? Are you okay?" Isaac asked immedietly. I glanced over my shoulder, not seeing him, before responding.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Some dude just stopped me and was looking for Jackson Whittemore of all people," I replied.

"Did you recognize him?"

"No. He looked old and creepy as shit," I shivered slightly, both from the cold and thought of his general weirdness.

"Okay. Just stay on phone with me until you get home just in case," Isaac suggested.

"It's going to be a while, you do know that, right? I have to walk all the way from the school to home."

"Just hurry up, please."

* * * * *

"It's about damn time you got home."

I jumped at the sudden voice of my father the second I got through the door. I placed one hand over my racing heart as I sighed. I had been on edge the whole way home, even though I was on call with Isaac.

"I'm sorry," I said right away. Something I learned was the apologizing right away sometimes helped, "I got here as quick as I could."

He rolled his eyes, placing his hands on his hips as he scrutinized me, "For some reason I don't believe that."

I tensed nervously as he took two harsh steps closer, now looking at my dress in disgrace.

"And what the hell kind of dress is this?" He gestured towards the material. I tried to subtly pull it down more without increasing the cleavege.

"It's the only dress I had and I didn't want to buy a new one," I spoke in a small voice.

He chuckled in a way that caused fear, not happiness, "You could've just not gone. Isaac didn't go and he seems happy."

I bowed my head, upset.

"Look at me when I am talking!" He shouted out of nowhere, grabbing my hair and yanking it, forcing us to lock eyes. My eyes watered as I nodded shakily.

"I'm sorry," my voice wavered.

"Sorry doesn't cut it," he snapped, continuing to pull me into the kitchen. On the floor was the broken plate and cup, "Now clean this shit up."

He shoved me towards the mess. I fell to my knees, barely catching myself as I landed on the shards. I could hear him grumbling as he walked away and upstairs, probably to his bedroom.

My lip shook as I had to fight off tears, hastily wiping at my eyes and pushing off little glass shards. I stood up and winced in pain. I carefully removed the pieces stuck on my knees.

"Julia."

I turned around to look at Isaac, giving him my best smile.

"Isaac, why don't you head to bed? It's getting late," I spoke sincerely.

"Are you okay?" He walked closer, softly grabbing my forearm and moving it examine my hands.

"I'm fine," I eased my arms out of his grip and moved it so he couldn't see, "You don't have to worry."

"Let me help you," he tried to get around me and start cleaning.

"Isaac," I said sternly before softening my voice, "Thank you, but I've got it. Go to bed."

Isaac stared at me for a few seconds, like he was waiting for me to start crying or something. I didn't and eventually he sighed and nodded.

"Night."

"Night, Isaac," I smiled at him. He returned a small smile before turning around and walking away.

Once he was gone, I ran a hand through my hair with a stressed sigh. Then, I got to work on cleaning up the mess.

By the time I finished it was pretty late and I was exhausted. I silently slipped up the stairs with my heels in my hands, entering my bedroom. It was small and kind of bland, but I guess I liked it.

I changed into a pair of cotton shorts and an oversized hoodie I stole from Isaac a while ago. I doubted it'd even fit him anymore.

After that I worked on putting just a bit of disinfectant on my cuts and bandaged my knees only a little bit. Once I was done, I finally hopped into my bed and wrapped myself up in my comforter. It was easy for me to fall asleep from there.

* * * * *

"Julia. Wake up. Julia. Come on."

I murmered nonsense as I felt myself being shaken, and soft whispers speaking to me. I shot up in bed, startled suddenly. I could just barely see Isaac in the darkness of my room.

"Isaac?" I reached out to place a hand on his shoulder. I heard him sniffle and lower his head slightly.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. It shattered my heart, "I can't sleep. I keep dreaming about. . . about--"

I cut him off by shushing him quietly, leaning forwards so that I could wrap my arms around his shoulders. In my arms he started to cry, little sobs mingling in. I carefully rocked back and forth as I ran my fingers through his hair, beginning to whisper to him.

"You're okay. You're okay. I promise, I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere. You're okay," I cycled through similar phrases until he slowly stopped crying. It didn't take a genius to realize he had fallen asleep.

I continued rocking and whispering for a few minutes to try and keep the positive thoughts in his dreams. I carefully laid him down on my bed, grabbing my favorite stuffed animal. Even though I was a senior, I still loved stuffed animals and found them adorable. My favorite was a stuffed rabbit that had a little pocket of lavender in it.

Reaching over, I lifted his arm, placed the rabbit down, and then lowered his arm. He sighed in his sleep and cuddled closer to the rabbit, making me smile.

I looked over at my alarm clock to see it was three in the morning, almost four. It made me slightly nervous, seeing as I had work the next day. I laid down beside Isaac and pulled the blankets over us, wrapping my arms around a stuffed dog. I sighed as I rolled over so that my back was to Isaac's back, closing my eyes and trying desperately to fall asleep again.

* * * * *

My alarm was the last thing I wanted to hear the next morning, signalling it was noon and that I'd slept in as much as I could afford. The monotonic beeping was a noise that had to have been created by the devil himself. I groaned as I quickly reached to shut it off, knowing that if it went on for too long, dad would get mad.

I rolled over to see that Isaac was gone and that my stuffed animals were neatly organized. Only Isaac would do that. I laughed a little as I sat up and ran my hands through my hair.

Bones and joints popped as I stretched, standing up and approaching my dresser. I opened the top drawer and pulled out the ungodly outfit I was forced to wear. It was a mustard yellow skirt and a white t-shirt with yellow stripes. On my feet were a simple pair of sneakers.

I tried to walk diligently as I slipped into the bathroom, shutting the door behind me. I washed my face before brushing my hair and putting a bit of makeup on. Since I was only going to work, I didn't go overboard. Plus my makeup was shitty.

"Julia!" My dad shouted. I suppressed an eye roll as I bolted out of the bathroom and downstairs to where he was.

"Yes?" I asked while playing with my hands.

"Get to work," he said blandly. I nodded and swiftly turned around. I grabbed my purse and coat on the way out, making sure not to slam the front door.

I was forced to ride Isaac's bike to school. Dad needed the car and mine had a flat tire. Though I was in a skirt, I always made sure to wear spandex shorts underneath so that I didn't flash anyone.

I sighed as I went around the back of Hittos, the diner I worked at. I leaned Isaac's bike against the brick wall and began pulling my hair up into a ponytail.

"Julia."

I turned my gaze to see Richie, one of my coworkers, smoking a cigarette. Richie was well past sixty and had quite the belly. He had a funny little gotee and his voice was rugged. Though many people assumed he was a bad guy based on his looks, he was really a sweetheart. The real demon was our boss.

"Hey, Richie," I smiled as I made a final adjustment to my hair and approached the back entrance.

"Heads up, place is packed an' Chuck is on the prowl," Richie rasped, shaking his head in slight disgust. I sighed and nodded at him, opening the door.

"Thanks."

Imedietly I was inside the kitchen, walking over to where our coatrack was. I hung up my jacket over my purse and grabbed my apron.

"Hurry up, Lahey," Olivia Mills snapped. Olivia was, to put it lightly, a bitch. I never said it to her face due to the pity I felt for her, but I hated her with everything in me. I respected her for working to support her crippled mother and five year old brother, but she could've been nicer, "I'm sick of covering your damn row."

I didn't respond as I tied on my apron and emerged from the kitchen, notepad and pen in hand. I put on a happy face as I spotted a younger couple sitting in a booth.

"Hello, I'm Julia and I'll be your waiter today. What drinks can I get you started with?" I asked cheerily. I cringed a bit when I realized the duo went to my school. The guy sat behind me in English.

"I'll have a water," the guy nodded.

"Raspberry tea, please," the girl smiled. I returned the gesture before turning around to go fetch the drinks. I rung up another group before I grabbed two glasses and approached the soft drink fountain.

"Think you can get me a glass of tea, too?" I tensed up at the feeling of a hand gripping my ass painfully. I grit my teeth as I grabbed a third cup.

"Raspberry or sweet tea?" I fought to keep my tone neutral.

"Raspberry, sweetheart," I hated the feeling of my boss' hands on me, feeling me up. I quickly filled his glass and held it out at my side, "Atta girl."

I received a quick kiss on the cheek before he was gone. I gripped the table in front of me as I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to push away the wave of nausea that fell over me.

"Could you hurry up? You're not the only one who has tables waiting on drinks," Olivia snapped behind me.

I blinked back any moisture in my eyes before curtly turning and walking away, drinks in my hands.

I hated work.