A/N: Italic font is a flashback, which probably is evident and doesn't even need to be mentioned here, but I thought I'd let you know anyways! :P

Nova had arranged a Halloween party on our dorm's floor, making me wish more than anything that I lived somewhere else. I didn't want this party to happen. I didn't even want to dress up. I despised Halloween and wanted it to just pass us by like any other normal day. But Nova insisted that this party would be one to remember. Everyone would be coming to it, and dressing up is apparently a must, especially since we are the ones throwing the party.

I could never understand, at the age that we are, why everyone still thought it was important to dress up for a holiday that was meant for children. It was just an excuse for girls to parade around looking more whorish than normal and for boys to enjoy the sight before them, seeing as cleavage is practically a given on this particular night.

While Nova and Niall already had their costumes weeks in advance, Harry and I are rummaging through an old costume store that smells old and musty, and the dust flew around in the little light coming in from the front windows, leaving our costume search to the very last minute. Astrid and Blake met us here, in hopes of apparently finding the perfect couples costume to show off their newly formed relationship.

Harry wants us to do the same even though our relationship status hasn't changed. I don't think it's necessary for us to dress up at all, and I'm hating this search more and more as every second passes. He's picked out some really disturbing costumes for us to wear; One actually being a penis and a vagina, which I turned down faster than he could finish the sentence he began of what he wanted to do to my---yeah, I stopped him there. There's no way in hell I would ever dress up like a vagina even if he said it would make him the happiest man alive. It wasn't long before he picked out a bunny costume way too slutty for me to even imagine putting on, knowing it would leave little to the imagination, and the whole thing looked ridiculous because the costume to go with it, was a carrot. He, of course whined about my inability to want to take advantage of the apparent cleavage rule, but shut right up when I mentioned for the tenth time the slut rule would never apply to me, which he seemed to need reminding of every few minutes that I don't want to be looked at for all the wrong reasons. It finally sunk in though, because he finally agreed with me that he didn't want guys with the wrong intentions looking at his girl.

Astrid and Blake found their perfect costumes in no time. As they come out of the dressing room as Mario and The Princess, I gush over how cute they are together. I thoroughly enjoy seeing them as a couple. Aside from the fact that I thought Nova and Niall to be that perfect couple, Astrid and Blake are definitely at the top of the cute list. Blake is a genuine guy who I can tell thinks the world of my best friend. He looks at her with his big blue eyes with such adoration, it's hard not to watch them interact with each other like I'm watching a love story play out before my eyes.

After spending hours in the packed stuffy costume store, Harry and I found costumes we both could agree on. The Mad Hatter and Alice in Wonderland. The blue dress isn't as bad as some of the others he had picked out, deeming it presentable enough for me, and enough for him to like what he's looking at, seeing as the dress is short and the white tights go up past my knees which he apparently thinks is sexy.

I am more than enthusiastic to leave the store, but not so much about the fact we are headed to my dorm which will be inhabited by drunk idiots wearing next to nothing soon enough.

**

The music is blaring, college students packed throughout the floor of our dorm, the smell of alcohol swirling around and it's hot. Too hot. Halloween lights with pumpkins and witches have been strung down the hallways with strobe lights at the end of each corridor. A smoke machine has made the entire place smokey, giving off a spooky ambiance throughout the whole floor.

We've already made our rounds to almost everyone's dorm rooms, mingling with more people than I can say makes me comfortable. Nova's found herself dancing in one of the rooms down the hall, Niall and Harry have decided to stay in another room playing Rock Band or something of the sort and Astrid and Blake have left to get more ice for the over flowing amount of coolers for the daft amount of alcohol which is apparently free for the taking.

I've decided I needed a break from the whole party and I'm determined to get back to my room in hopes I can take a breather and be alone for a few minutes as the claustrophobic feeling has set in and the strobe lights have made my head start to pound. I'm happy when the door to my dorm comes into view through the crowded hallway, knowing that if I have to shove random people out of my room, I will gladly do so. But luckily there isn't anyone in here.

As I'm about to shut the door behind me, I feel someone put their hand on my shoulder. "Hey there, pretty girl," the voice says.

I'm instantly frozen on the spot, feeling my heart start to race, everything around me starts to get hazy and my mind automatically takes me away.

In light of my drunkenness, I feel the warmth of a hand rest on my shoulder. "Hey there, pretty girl," a voice says. I turn myself around on the bar stool I'm sitting on, to come face to face with the person who's caught my attention. An extremely good looking guy, a little rough along the edges, but good looking all the same. Tattoos are visible along his arms and the top of his chest that's bare above his white wife beater and a gold chain hangs from his neck. I smile drunkenly at the stranger who's now sat on the stool next to me, staring at me with his grey eyes with a smirk playing on his lips. I quite like how he's looking at me seeing as I'm drunk and he's attractive and maybe he's just what I need to feel just a little something. "You look like you could use a friend," he tells me. "How about I buy you a drink?"

I smile at his offer, knowing that I need to lose myself in a drunken bliss right now. Mom just died a week ago, her funeral was today and I want to forget the world around me. I down the rye and coke that was already sitting in front of me, sliding my now empty glass down the bar to him, silently telling him that I'll take his offer for another.

He seems to like that I've agreed for him to buy me another drink as his smile widens, baring his yellowish teeth to me. "I'm Ryan," he leans in to whisper in my ear.

Before long, he is calling out to the bartender for yet another round of drinks. My intoxicated state appreciating his willingness to pay my way to forgetting why I came here in the first place. I am enjoying his company far too much as the time passes. He looks at me in a way I have never been looked at before, with eager and hungry eyes, temptation written on his face and I can feel his need to lure me in.

As I stumble off the bar stool, I drag him by the hand to the dance floor in hopes of getting lost in the music with him. I can feel the sweat dripping down my forehead as we continue to move to the music, his hands clasped to my waist, pulling me closer to him with every beat.

"You're the most intriguing girl I've ever met," he tells me when he stops his movements. I stop dancing and stand still with him, our eyes on each other as the crowd around us keeps up its pace and turns into a blur of bodies surrounding us.

He puts his hand up to my face, to tuck the hair that was hanging in my eyes, behind my ear. "Why do you say that?" I ask.

"I just feel the need to get to know you more," he answers quickly. "You seem like the unhappy type. I want to make you forget everything that's ever caused you pain."

I can't seem to fully understand what he's saying in my drunken state, but for some reason, I keep my eyes on his, contemplating what to take from him words.

"I want you to come with me." He grabs my hand tightly as he pulls me off the dance floor and everything that's happening is a blur around me. Street lights pass quickly as I sit in the back of a cab that I don't really remember getting in, with my head leaning against the window, unaware of the destination ahead. I don't remember asking questions as to where we are going or why, I just know that I want to forget the pain. I want to disregard the fact that my suicide attempt didn't work, ignore the feeling of it being my fault that my mother is no longer with me, and do whatever I can for it all to no longer mean anything to me. And here I am, alone with a stranger who apparently wants to do all of that for me somehow.

We stand in the dark road together, as we watch the cab drive away from us. The fresh air slightly sobering me up and allowing me to take in my surroundings. We stand in front of a big, old, haggard looking brick house. The houses surrounding it all look to be in the same worn down shape. The light on the porch is the only light on.

As we make our way up the creaky and slightly broken steps to the front door, his grasp on my hand gets tighter. I look at him, realizing it's the first time I've looked at him since we got out of the cab and notice that the smile on his face that seemed to have been there the entire night at the bar, isn't present anymore. His eyes look dark, almost evil.

I start to panic as I come to my senses. Unsure of what I'm doing with this stranger. But I don't have time to react to the way my heart starts to race and feeling the goosebumps rise on my skin, because he's already pulled me into the house and slammed the door shut behind us.

He finally looks at me, giving me an evil grin. I'm unsure of what to say at this point, having no clue what's going on or why he looks at me the way he does, but I know I'm scared that something bad is about to happen.

He grabs my arm tightly, dragging me into the living room next to the front hallway, where I notice there are a few people sitting on the couches and chairs around the dark room, all who now have their eyes set on me. The only light comes from the tv that's placed in the corner and the florescent light shines in from the kitchen. Beer bottles inhabit the coffee table, over flowing ashtrays strewn about and it's only when an almost white haired boy leans over the table from his spot on the couch, that I realize cocaine is present and I watch him do a line in silence.

"Everyone, this is Paisley," Ryan says, pulling me to stand in front of him. "Paisley. Meet everyone."

No one says anything, or moves, as my eyes wander from person to person, taking them in slowly. There are three guys and two girls, and by the looks of them, they're definitely on something.

"I want everyone here to know that Paisley is off limits," Ryan speaks up. My mouth falls open at his words as I look at him, unsure of what he means again. But I'm definitely getting a bad vibe about all of this. "She's mine. And if any of you even think about touching her, until I say so, you know the consequences."

My eyes clench shut. I'm hoping this very moment, that none of this is actually happening and that I'll wake up from this nightmare when I open my eyes. I can feel the hair on the back of my neck rising, goosebumps line my skin and my palms are sweaty. I'm so afraid to open my eyes. Afraid that this is reality. Afraid that karma is once again haunting me with it's cruelty.

But when I open them again, my fears are deemed true. This is reality. Ryan stands before me with the evil grin upon his face again. "Welcome home," he says eerily.

When the hand that touched my shoulder seems to be shaking me, I am brought back to reality, seeing Liam standing before me. He has a concerned look on his face. "Paisley! Paisley! Are you alright?" I hear him say. It takes me a moment to realize where I am, remembering that it's the halloween party and it now makes sense why he's wearing a military uniform.

I back away from him quickly to get out of his grasp on my shoulders. My heart feels like it's going to explode in my chest and I feel sick. I know the look on my face is making it obvious that I'm terrified but I can't seem to compose myself to straighten it out.

"What's going on?" I hear Harry's voice. "What are you doing?"

"She---" Liam starts, giving Harry a panicked look.

"Get the fuck out of here!" Harry yells. "What the hell did you do to her?"

Harry moves towards me to put his arms around me in a comforting embrace, but I move from his touch, feeling every inch of my body trembling.

"Get out!" He looks back at Liam, who is looking at the two of us confused. The sound of Harry's voice comes out angry and raspy and I know with the way he is looking at Liam that I have to step in and say something or things might get out of hand.

"He didn't do anything," I say quietly. I know that he didn't and I can only hope that I sound convincing. Although with the weakness in my voice, I know I don't sound certain.

"How can you say that?" He asks, putting his hands on my shoulders and looking me in the eyes. "Look at you, you're shaking." He turns to Liam again and as he does, I sit down on my bed, watching as he walks towards the door. "Did you not hear me? I said get out!"

When Liam leaves without a word, Harry closes the door and turns on the overhead light, allowing the spookiness of Halloween to drown out on the other side of the door.

When he sits down next to me, I close my eyes and suck in a deep breath, doing everything I can to slow my heartbeat and not show that I'm scared of his closeness to me. Everything feels so fresh in my mind all over again. The fears from seeing Ryan's face and reliving the first night I met him. The night my life changed.

"Look at me," he says just above a whisper. He places his hands gently on each of my shoulders and turns my body to face him. He waits until I open my eyes to speak again, making sure to keep his eyes locked with mine. "Trust me, Paisley."

I don't say anything as I quickly lean into him and hold onto him tightly. I had been afraid to be close to him again. But these words he always speaks, 'Trust Me, Paisley,' always seem to be exactly what I need. The reminder of who he is to me, and who I am to him, and who we are as a whole. I need for him to say these words to me, especially in this moment.

"You're safe with me," Harry says, quietly. "You're alright."

When I look at him, he has a sympathetic look in his eyes. I know that I can't tell him what happened. I don't want that part of my life known and there's no way I'm going to talk about it with anyone. Not now. Not ever. I hate that Harry is looking at me the way he is, knowing something just happened, but I wont be able to explain.

The feeling overwhelms me. I thought I was passed all of this. The nightmares had stopped and everything about Ryan had almost disappeared. But in this moment, everything came back to me. I want to cry and run away. I want to scream and get every ounce of pain and anger out of me. But I can't. I can't because Harry is here, trying to show me that I can trust him. That he's all I need to take away all of the misery I've been through. So far, he's done that for me. He's been everything that I ever needed and I need to continue to allow him to be that for me.

When he places his hand on my face, my eyes shut tightly and my heart starts racing. I hate that I am feeling this way again after all we've been through. We've kissed so many times since the first time in his room, with no hesitation, but here, right now, everything in me tenses up as I can feel him inch towards me and press his lips against mine.

When he realizes I'm not going to kiss him back, he looks at me with sad eyes. "Can you tell me what happened?"

"Nothing happened," I tell him. "I just---I don't know. I'm sorry, Harry. Can we go back to the party? I think maybe I should get a round of Rock Band in. Louis said he wanted to battle me."

I know that I don't want to go back to the party, but I want more than anything to get out of this conversation before he has a chance to ask me any more questions.

He sighs in defeat as he stands up from the bed and reaches out his hand for me to take. He knows exactly what I'm doing and although I know somehow it hurts him that I've decided not to trust him with whatever it is that's just happened to me, he doesn't fight me on it.

He allows me to pull him through the crowded noisy hallway to the room where a bunch of people are playing Rock Band. As we enter, I take a deep breath before putting on a fake smile and pretending that everything inside of me is perfectly fine.

A/N: I'm not very happy with how this chapter turned out, other than the flashback, which is the whole reason for this chapter to begin with, so I hope it was still well worth the wait. I'm happy that I finally got to introduce Ryan to you and give you insight to how Paisley met him since he plays a huge role in her life, which I'm assuming you figured in chapter 1.

2K reads!! OMG! Thank you so so much!! Karma is now one month old! It's definitely been a great month for me, thanks to all of you who read this book, and comment and vote for each chapter! It all means so much to me, so thank you!! I love you!

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xo