We reached our spot around four in the afternoon. The lake house was gorgeous. Mari gave me the tour, saying that it was her mother's, passed down from the family with constant renovations to keep it nice. I picked a room across from Mari's and set my things down and changed as she settled in.

I looked at the photos on the wall, landscapes delicately place. They all were beautiful. I turned to my bag and pulled out some clothes, changing into a bathing suit, and then throwing on some jeans and a t-shirt that Soul had given me. It was some Thrasher brand or something. He said it was cool.

I flopped down onto the bed and sighed at how comfortable it was. I was definitely happy. Happy to be away from Death City as well. I opened my eyes, looking at the sealing. I could take a short nap. I turned over and snuggled into the comforter. I let out a sigh.

I woke up and stood, feeling disoriented for a second. I looked at my phone, it buzzing with the alarm that I should take my medication. I rubbed my eyes and got up.

A few minutes later I walked down to the kitchen, hearing Mari bumping around down there, some music playing. She was singing to it and I smiled at her being happy.

"You're in a good mood." I said, sitting down at the counter.

She turned and slid a plate in front of me, a kind of pizza-thing that was made with what looked like a tortilla instead of dough. I lifted a slice and bit into it, my taste buds singing happily. Mari grinned. "In case the food at the party sucks. And my stomach is telling me it will." She turned and slid her own pizza onto a plate, walking and sitting next to me.

She was wearing a white top that ending at her ribs, her black swimsuit top underneath. The sleeves were longer and flowing. She also wore jeans like I did. "What time is it?" I asked, devouring the pizza.

She laughed. "Seven."

"Why didn't you wake me up?" I asked, smiling and taking a second to drink some water from Mari's cup.

She chuckled, eating her food. "You looked like you needed some sleep." She said. "And anyways, now you'll have more energy for the party." She said.

I nodded, dusting my hands off and getting up to wash my plate. The water was warm, and I felt excitement run through me. A day without the three guys all over me making the day more complicated, no school hassle, no nothing but some fun with Mari.

"You ready?" Mari asked as I took her plate, now empty, and washed it. I grinned and nodded.

We went to the door and I put my phone in Mari's bag so we would only have to take one. We slipped our shoes on, and then ran down the steps of the house once she'd locked it. I opened the passenger door and got in.

"It's just around the lake." She said, starting the engine. "One of my friends who lives around here told me about it. She'll be there." She pulled out of the parking spot and zipped down the driveway of the house. I tapped the edge of the car window that was down, the wind blowing my braids around. Mari had done them over lunch.

We arrived, the tells being all the lights strung up in the trees and down by what looked like a doc. There had to be at least a hundred, two hundred people there, all our age or so. I got out of the car and Mari left her bag in the back seat. "The back is open if you need to get your things. No one around here is really the type to steal a phone." She said.

I followed her, taking her arm when I realized she knew almost everyone and I knew practically no one. I supposed if she used to spend her summers here, she'd know a lot of people. That's right. It was summer now, wasn't it? I guess that explained the longer weekends and less school.

"Mari!" A guy said and Mari pulled away from me and hugged someone.

"Sam! It's been a while!" She said, the two pulling apart and laughing.

He held her at arm's length, looking her up and down. "You're looking good as always. You've been slaying all the guys I suppose?"

Mari laughed out loud and shook her head. "I have a boyfriend now. A British guy named James. He's actually (Y/n) here's partner."

The guy Sam turned to me and shook my hand. "Nice to meet you, (Y/n). Meister I suppose?" He said, smiling.

"You too. And yes." I smiled.

Sam turned. "Drinks! That's right!" He pulled two red cups off of a table right by and handed them to us. I looked at what was in it. Some kind of lemonade? I took a sip. It was really sweet and tasted like the hint of something else, but everyone else seemed to be enjoying it, so I continued to drink it as Mari and Sam caught up. I looked around, lots of people smiling at me and a few winking. I smiled at them, taking a step closer to Mari.

An hour or so later, I was much better. Someone had turned up the music, the speakers by the lake, and Mari and I were dancing in the water with other people too. My body felt warm and like it was buzzing. I grinned at Mari, and she smiled back.

At some point, Mari said something like she was going to get some water for us. I stayed on the doc, holding our dancing spots as she pushed her way to the edge, and then did a flip into the water, much to the excitement of the crowd. She swam to the bank and got out, her white shirt sticking to her arms. She untied it as she walked, letting it hand open and show her bathing suit. She turned and waved at me.

After a couple of minutes, a guy started talking to me, but I couldn't hear him over all of the music and people. I turned away from him after smiling awkwardly. After a minutes or so, I felt someone wrap their arm around me, grabbing me.

I turned sharply and saw the guy, an ugly grin on his face. "Fuck off." I said, shoving him away. His face turned red and he grabbed me again, but I punched his, causing him to fall into a few people who just pushed him away.

I began to shove myself out of the group, wanting to find Mari. It had been at least a half our since she'd left. It had been fully dark for a little while now and I was ready to go home, the small incident with the guy making my stomach twist. I saw Sam standing with his arms over two pretty girls. Lady's man?

"Hey Sam," I said, pulling my shirt that had been stuck into my back pocket while we had been dancing on the doc. "have you seen Mari?" I asked.

He shrugged. "There's a lot of people here. I think I saw her a few minutes ago by the drink table. Why? Thinking about leaving?"

I nodded, saying thank you even though the information was basically useless. I walked to where the drinks were and looked around. I didn't see her. I ignored a few thirsty guys standing around, pushing past some people. I walked to the car to see if she was there, but she wasn't.

"Looking for Mari?" Someone said, and I turned to see a guy—he was very, very tall—standing there. He had black hair, his shirt clinging to him and showing his muscles. Gross. Why did guys think that was attractive?

I looked up, and then up some more before I met his eyes. One of them was paler different color, as if he was blind in it, but the part that I found odd was that he had some kind of tattoo around it. "NO FUTURE". Maybe he was a part of some gang?

"Have you seen her?" I asked.

He nodded, smiling. His teeth were sharper, kind of in the way that Soul's were. "The name's Free." He said.

I found the statement out of place. "Nice to meet you..." I said hesitantly, finding his behavior odd. "So Mari is—"

He cut me off. "This way." He said, starting to walk off.

I followed him, watching his back suspiciously. My meister abilities sensed that he had a great amount of power, but I didn't have the special eyes like Maka or Kid to see his soul. We reached a small clearing and I walked into it when Free, or whatever his name was, stopped.

"Where is she?" I asked.

"Just wait a moment. I'll take you to her." He said.

A shiver went down my spine as my brain finally put it together through whatever drinks we'd had that I wasn't in a good situation. Free. The name was starting to sound familiar. Had I seen him somewhere in the DWMA? "NO FUTURE"... it seemed familiar now.

Oh.

My eyes widened as I put it together and turned, seeing his grinning face shifting and changing. He'd grown taller and more animal-like, looking like a wolf. He smiled, raising his claws. I raised my hands as he brought his fists down toward me, unable to react fast enough to evoke any meister abilities.

His fist slammed into my skull and the force knocked me out. 

-----

Dun dun dunnnn

cliffhanger. You're welcome. 

-Writer-chann