I screamed excitedly as I stood on the bar, overlooking the many couples dancing and hooting at me. Grinning, I popped open the medium-sized bottle of cherry vodka and glanced at my audience.

"Chug, chug, chug" the audience was chanting, clapping and cheering me on, so I laughed and downed the contents of the bottle in seconds. The crowd screamed approvingly and I raised my hands in victory, earning an even louder cheer; this party was awesome, and I had Justin to thank for that.

"Shay"

I glanced down at my best friend Angel, who was holding out her hand for me to take. I laughed, shook my head, and leaned closer to her.

"I haven't done my dance routine yet"

Angel smiled and took my hand, slowly helping me off the counter. She put her arms on my waist and I slung my right arm over her shoulders. She walked me over to the living room, helping me to one of the many sofas. The sofa was extremely soft, as though I was sitting on an actual fur bed, so I glanced up at Angel.

"The sofa is squishy" I said in excitement, spreading out on the couch as the softness radiated through me. Angel smiled and nodded her head knowingly as she removed my heels.

"I know"

I burst out laughing then, mostly because she had sounded like a wolf for some reason. I ran my hands through my hair and buried my face in the sofa.

"Wait here; I'll go get Alex or Rain"

Angel was gone by the time I sat back up, so I glanced around me lazily, wondering why I felt so thirsty all of a sudden. Pus.h.i.+ng myself off of the couch, I stumbled back to the bar and grabbed a bottle of beer.

"So you're the birthday girl"

I turned to my right then to see a guy I was sure I had never met before; he had curly dirty blonde hair and watery brown eyes. I smiled and raised my gla.s.s of beer toward him.

"Cheers"

He laughed, taking a bottle of beer for himself and downing half of its contents in one swig. I watched as he placed the bottle on the table I turned to look at me. I smiled and turned back to my beer.

"I'm Robert"

I smiled seductively and dragged my gaze back to him.

"I'm Shay"

He nodded, smirking handsomely before he took another swig of his beer.

"So, seventeen huh?"

"The pristine age" I said with a smile, taking a sip of my beer again. He chuckled, and leaned closer to whisper in my ear.

"What happens when you turn eighteen?"

Was he flirting?

I smiled and shrugged innocently.

"Then I'll be legal" I whispered, turning my head to look at him. Our faces were so close that our noses were almost touching, and as I stared at him, my subconscious was screaming at me. In truth, I had a boyfriend but he was probably drunk off his a.s.s somewhere with his best friend, and hadn't paid me any attention all night, so right now I didn't give a s.h.i.+t.

Robert smirked at me and glanced toward my lips.

"Shay!" Lolita screeched, and I turned my head to look at her, a smile stretching across my lips. Lolita sauntered over to me and I placed my hand on her hip, before turning back to Robert.

"Lolita, meet my new friend Robert"

Lolita said nothing, just glanced from me to Robert. He smiled and turned to Lolita, extending a hand.

"Please," he flashed Lolita a smile "call me Robby"

I smiled at him and glanced up at Lolita; she was staring at him stiffly and made no move to shake his hand.

I frowned.

Why was Lolita acting like such a sa.s.sy princess?

"We're leaving Shay," Lolita glanced from Robert to look at me; I gave her a sour look as she dragged my hand and pulled me off the barstool.

"It was nice meeting you" I yelled at Robert, who smiled and stared at Lolita dragging me away. I huffed and turned to glare at Lolita "he was just being nice"

"Yeah, totally" she said sarcastically, rolling her eyes as she dragged me out of the house. There were a couple of people on the lawn, drinking beers, and sitting on the gra.s.s talking. It was a cool windy night; the swaying of trees and rustling of leaves could be heard but not seen as the night had blotted out all but the lights coming from the party. The vast inky blackness that was the sky, however, was lit up with dozens of twinkling stars; the sun's rays had long since disappeared over the horizon.

"Wait here," Lolita said, sitting me down on the lawn as she ran back into the house. I lay back and stared up at the sky, wondering what it would be like to be a star, when I heard footsteps approaching.

"Back so soon?" I muttered, sitting up and glancing at the figure walking up to me. It wasn't Lolita, but a smirking Robert as he extended his hand. I took it gingerly and he pulled me off the lawn, immediately placing an arm on my waist when I stumbled.

"Steady"

We both chuckled, and I ran my hands through my hair before looking at him. He pulled me along as we walked towards the street, the music a bit quieter when we reached the fence of the house.

Robert smirked then, and pushed me against the wall; he put his hands on my waist to steady me and glanced into my eyes.

"You're beautiful"

I blushed, pus.h.i.+ng my bangs out of my face as I averted my gaze. He took that as an opening, and placed his lips on my neck, slowly trailing them up behind my ear and back down toward my chest. He sighed softly then, his breath sending light tingles throughout my body, before sniffing the scent of my perfume.

"You have a boyfriend!" my subconscious yelled at me, trying to jolt me awake but I couldn't give a d.a.m.n anymore. The only thoughts running through my head were how good his lips felt on my skin at that moment "What are you doing?"

What was I doing?

Robert picked up my arms and placed them above my head, before reaching his hands slowly into his pocket. I closed my eyes then, waiting to feel his lips on my skin once more. Instead, I felt something cold pressed up against my neck.

My eyes snapped open

"What are you doing?" my voice cracked slightly as I stared in shock at the knife he was holding on me. He smirked evilly and ran the knife down the middle of my chest. Laughing, he glanced back up to look at me.

"I will tell you, but then, I'd have to kill you"

What?

It was as though I had been paralyzed; like my entire body had grown numb and all I could think was that I was going to die tonight.

I couldn't die! I had barely even lived; yet as I stood frozen, it felt like I had no choice. He smiled at me then, before kissing my neck greedily, the knife still pointed towards me.

Something sparked inside me, and I snapped. How dare he? What did he think I was, some sort of chew toy? I wasn't going to die tonight; not if I could help it.

I summed up my courage then and sent my knee flying up with all the force I could muster. Robert froze in shock; and as the pain seeped in, he grunted and doubled over, gasping for air. I pushed him off me then and ran as fast as I could. I was halfway back to the house when Lolita appeared looking extremely p.i.s.sed off. She glared at me and grabbed my hand.

"Where have you been?"

"We have to go, right now" I said quickly to Lolita and she stared at me weirdly, probably wondering what had gotten into me. She didn't have time to respond, because of what we both heard next.

"You're dead Shay Hunter, you hear?"

Lolita stared in shock, evidently recognizing the voice as she placed her hands on her mouth. We heard his footsteps and crouched down, slightly out of sight.

"I'm going to hammer you so hard, and then I'll slit your throat"

I gasped then and Lolita stared at me, her eyes widening as she placed her hand over my mouth. We heard his footsteps walk away from where we were hidden, so Lolita leaned forward and placed her forehead on mine.

"We're going to be fine okay?"

I nodded shakily, and it seemed as though all the alcohol I have consumed that night was now playing up; my head was swimming and I felt slightly dizzy. When we didn't hear the footsteps again, Lolita leaned in and whispered in my ear.

"Run"