Fan Fiction ❯ Fade to Black ❯ The Party: Night Two ( Chapter 5 )

Chapter 5: The Party(Night Two)

At nine o'clock, John and I repeated the previous night's routine and found ourselves back in my office with the same people, minus the abusive drunk guy. We were in my office, just like last night, getting boozed up and most people were also smoking. Ah, the cigarette. It was my best friend at times. So small, yet so powerful and able to heal all problems. I actually think I like them more than booze. I puffed away on my Salem and sipped my beer. This was a very relaxing evening for me. Sarah walked across the room to the CD player and put a CD in. The room was soon filled with Kittie singing their song Brackish. Sarah walked over to me and sat down next to me. She leaned her head on my shoulder.

"Finally, I can just relax," She said. I put my arm around her and ran my fingers along her arm.

"You still stressed from earlier today?" I asked. She played with the big pocket on the leg of my black cargo pants. I almost died.

"Yeah, I guess. I mean, it's happened before, but....no one's ever been there to help. People know about it....people in my family, but they don't try to stop it. I'm glad I have you now," She said, looking up at me. Hmm, there must be something wrong with my heart. It's beating so fast...

"Uh, thanks. I'm glad I can be here," I replied. Tonight really kicked ass. I looked across the smokey room into the reception area where John talked with Jaime. All of a sudden, the stereo kicked in with Marilyn Manson's I Want To Disappear. The room instantly converted to one big mosh pit. Sarah and I jumped up to join the fray. With in seconds I was flung up into the air, flying horizontally. Whoever picked me up had to be big, cause I'm not a little person. A bunch of people grabbed me and I kind of did a crowd-surfing thing. I didn't find it funny when they dropped me on my back. Son of a bitch, my fucking ribs!, I thought painfully. They weren't broken, but damn, they hurt! I laboriously climbed to my feet and moved back through the crow to my couch and sat down heavily. The song ended about a minute and a half later and Sarah walked over holding two bottle of Heineken. She handed me one frosty bottle and I twisted the top off and took a long gulp from the bottle. I dug out my cigarettes and lit one, inhaling deeply. I winced at the slight pain in my ribs when I inhaled.

"What's wrong?" Sarah asked, eyes on me.

"Just fell in the mosh pit, fucking landed on my ribs, but they're not broken. I'm fine, though, I guess," I replied.

"Oh, ok," She said, reaching for my Zippo and smokes. She lit a cigarette and handed the pack and the lighter back to me. I exhaled smoke and looked over at Sarah. She was so beautiful. I decided right there and then I wanted her in my life. And I wanted to tell her that tonight. When, though? Last time I tried shit like this, it blew up in my face like a landmine and I lost proverbial limbs over it. I can still remember the pain. Since then, I've been very cautious about who I confess my feelings to.

" Um, I have something to show you, Sarah," I said, suddenly getting an idea.

"Ok, let's go see it," Sarah said, smiling at me while snubbing out her cigarette in an ashtray nearby. I put me hand out to pull her off the couch. She grabbed my hand and pulled herself up, but didn't let go. Instead, she locked her fingers between mine and squeeze. I pulled her through the crowd, and out into the hallway. I followed the hallway out to the stairs and went up to the top floor. Jesus Christ, that's loud, I thought, hearing the music from two floors below. We really had it cranked. The top floor was very dilapedated and rundown.

"Ok, here's where you close your eyes," I said.

"What are you going to do? Knock me out and take my money?" Sarah giggled.

"You'll see," I replied. She closed her eyes. I took Sarah to the largest room on the floor, an old office right above where my office would be. I pushed open the door and the room before us was lit with a pale light. I led Sarah to the middle of the room. Moonlight bathed Sarah's skin in pale, almost holy light. She looked so beautiful. Her long black skirt almost hit the ground. I positioned her with both my hands and stood behind her, putting my chin on her shoulder and putting my hands, palms up, into her, locking our fingers tightly together.

"Ok, open your eyes and look up," I whispered to her. She did, and gasped when she looked up. Apparently, weathering had cause this roof to cave in or get blown away or something. Whatever happened, there was still a hole large enough to drive a truck through in the ceiling. I never thought this room would be so useful except for the very occasional stargazing I did. Sarah and I stared up at the billions of stars above us. I was so close to Sarah that I felt her breath catch in her lungs and, once it resumed, quicken.

"Oh my God...look at the stars. There are so many of them. This is beautiful, Jo," Sarah whispered breathlessly, barely audible.

"I though you might like it," was my whispered reply. It was hard to fight back the grin that kept trying to make itself known. I heard the music downstairs. Someone had put in k's Choice's Virgin State of Mind. I slowly spun Sarah around to face me.

"Would you like to dance?" I asked, looking into her sparkling eyes. They looked like they were filled with tears. Sarah swallowed hard and nodded her head slowly. I put my hands around her hips and she placed her hand so she gripped my shoulders, her forearms braced against my own arms. We started dancing and she layed her head on the right side of my upper chest. I had to tell her now. It was too perfect to pass up. I took a deep breath as she lifted her head off my chest.

"Sarah, I need to tell you something. I've been struggling with whether or not I should tell you this for some time. Sarah....I...I really like you. A lot. And I just wanted to know if um, I had a chance, any chance at all, with you. And if you want to stay friends or whatever, I'll do whatever you want. It's your decision and I just had to tell you this. But if I don't have a chance," at this point I swallowed hard and tried to hide my shaking," just tell me now." It suddenly hit me that this seemed pretty romantic. Where the hell did this come from? I'm not usually like this. I looked into Sarah's eyes and saw they had tears welling in them. A lone tear spilled silent across the brink and spilled down here cheek. I saw the tear in slow motion hit her sweater as I waited for my answer.

"This....this has happened s..so fast, but," Sarah trailed off. I looked back into her eyes as Sarah's face moved closer to mine. I closed my eyes. "I can't finish that sentence any other way that this," Sarah whispered and then I felt her cool lips touching mine. I put my hand on her cheek and her own hand found it's way to cradle the back of my head as we kissed in the pale light of the moon.

--------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------

We walked slowly back down to the party, holding hands. We re-entered my office and kicked a couple making out off of the couch and sat down. John came over and tossed me a beer, then handed one to Sarah. I opened the bottle and took a gulp out of it. It felt cool running down my throat. Thank God for ice. Mudvayne came on the radio; I think it was the song Internal Primates Forever. I looked over at Sarah and she was smiling and looking at me. This was great, I was at a kickass party having a surreal time with a beautiful girl who I cared about and who reciprocated the feeling....it was just...great. Sarah leaned against my shoulder and all I could think about was her and how I could feel her breathing against me.