Reliving the Nightmare

♡LOLA'S POV♡

My initial feelings of anxiety and reluctance had melted into an apprehensive excitement as we all tumbled into a taxi. I wedged myself in beside Brian and El, although there was plenty room for the five of us in the huge Glasgow taxi. Matt gave directions to the driver and then we were off!

My thoughts strayed to the upcoming party and I pondered what antics we would all get up to. El would most likely make out with Arin the whole time and Brian would try it on with me. Not that I had a problem with that, though. I hoped that the people Matt had invited were all nice people and not too wild; I didn't want to be a kill joy but I also didn't want people getting hurt.

I was yanked back to the present when Brian's hand accidentally brushed my bare thigh as he reached to fix his hair in the wing mirror. He didn't appear to notice me flinch or the goosebumps that rose on my skin in reaction to his burning touch. He stared into the mirror and fidgeted with his hair, trying to get one inky strand out of his face whilst I attempted to compose my ragged breathing. Damn, what was the matter with me? It's not like Brian hadn't touched me before. I smoothed out my dress and looked out of the window, ignoring the hard body that was pressed against me. I swore I could feel each of Brian's individual stomach muscles through his shirt, we were sitting that close. He didn't seem to be affected though, which irritated me. Surely it wasn't just me that was turned on by our closeness?

I huffed and crossed my arms, inching away from Brian slightly. He finished messing his hair up, then sat back in his seat to relax. His legs took up most of the space and he sprawled them out in that way that only men can do. His knee came to rest against my leg casually, and I took the largest gulp of air into my lungs. I turned it into a sly cough, glad that El was making such a large amount of noise talking to Matt and Arin. I peeked a glance from under my eyelashes at Brian and sighed angrily when I saw he had closed his eyes and was resting against the window. Was he really not bothered that I was practically sitting on top of him in a really short and slaggy dress?

But why was I bothered that he wasn't? I remembered his face when he told me that I looked beautiful back at the Hydro; a perfect blend of surprise and awe. All aimed at me. That's what was probably making me hot for him and what bothered me about the fact he wasn't more interested; he had displayed such reverence for me in the Hydro and now he was ignoring me? This had to stop now. I would get him to notice me again even if I had to strip in front of Matt and Arin to make him jealous.

I pretended to inspect my dress and then faked a gasp. Brian turned his head and gave me a questioning look. I pouted and peered down the front of my dress as if deeply saddened.

"I think I have a mark on my new dress," I whined unhappily. I turned to El and thrust out my chest, pointing to a supposedly "marked" patch on my dress, just above my boob.

"El, is this bit here marked? I swear it's got something on it," I asked El, giving her a meaningful look.

She frowned in confusion when she couldn't see anything on the dress, but when I slyly gestured to where Brian was regarding us with vague interest, she perked up in understanding.

"Oh yes! Oh Lola, that's not good," El practically shouted in mock sadness, her voice a tad on the melodramatic side. "Hey, Arin, do you think that looks bad?" she grabbed me and twisted me so that Arin could get a look.

He flushed and stammered an excuse but El insisted that he look very closely at my dress to see the mark. He inspected my dress but gave up after a couple of seconds, claiming that it was spotless. Matt's interest had been spiked at this point and he leaned in, peering at my dress and scanning for some kind of stain. He came up clueless as well, and my shoulders began to shake with barely contained laughter.

"I don't know, Lola. Has it seeped through to your bra?" El asked, then yanked down the dress so that my very sexy bra was exposed, right in Matt and Arin's faces. I screeched in protest and tried to cover up, but El had my dress in her hands and was pushing me towards Arin and Matt, asking if they saw anything.

"El, let go of me," I hissed at her, but a bubble of laughter broke through so she knew I wasn't mad at her.

"Hey Matt, could you maybe reach forward and feel Lola's bra to see if it's ok?" El said to Matt, and I finally felt stirrings beside me.

Brian had come out of his little daze and had shifted so that he was facing our mental situation. We all paused; El's hands and the guys' eyes were all focused on my boobs, so naturally that's where Brian's attention was drawn to.

"El, why are you asking Matt to feel up Lola?" he asked, though his tone was flat and he didn't look too fussed about anything.

"He looked as if he wanted to so I gave him the opportunity," she beamed at Brian. Matt snorted and I glared at her, although I knew that she was trying go bait Brian to see if he got jealous. She knew I needed him to come back to me.

"You guys are insane," he forced a laugh then went back to staring mindlessly out the window.

My jaw dropped. I was siting half naked in front of two other guys and he didn't even care! I know I hadn't known Brian long, but it was obvious to anyone that he was possessive over a lot of things, including his women. Something was up.

I fixed my dress and turned back around, sitting somberly in silence as I brooded over what could be wrong. Before I got too weighed down with worries, I felt a tap on my wrist. I looked up to see Brian's hand trying to clasp mine. He was still looking out the window but I allowed him to clutch my hand in his own. I decided to just let him be; it was obvious he was in his own wee world and he wasn't coming out of it any time soon so I would let him stay there until he was ready. I don't know whether it was because he was tired or something else but I figured he would come back to me when we reached the house. I stroked my thumb soothingly over his hand as the city of Glasgow passed us by.



I knew I would hate the party.
We had arrived at the house two hours ago and the party had started half an hour ago and already I hated it. Brian had left me with El as soon as it started, saying that he had some friends he was going to catch up with and I hadn't seen him since. If I was being honest, I was kind of mad at him for leaving me but I hadn't said anything because I didn't want to kill the mood of the party.

Anyone else would say that this party was amazing. The living room had been cleared so people could dance and two large speakers pounded out thumping songs. A swarm of bodies twisted and writhed to the beat and I made sure to stay clear of the imminent orgy that would happen after they were done dancing. Zacky and Johnny had gone full out in the shops, buying every kind of drink known to man. People were propped on surfaces in the kitchen, chatting whilst filling up on a medley of beverages. Unfortunately, after all the drink they had purchased, the boys hadn't had enough money to buy any food, so I was absolutely ravenous. The open plan kitchen led into a huge garden with a reasonably sized pool, where beautiful girls lounged gracefully, sporting only their bras and pants since nobody had known there would be a pool. I had no idea where Matt had conjured all of these people out of but I didn't know a single person asides from the band and El, and I hated it.

I turned to say something to El, only to find her in the middle of sticking her tongue down Arin's throat. I scrunched my nose in disgust and pulled them apart.

"I'm going to get some fresh air outside," I told El dejectedly, and she nodded before returning to playing tonsil tennis with Arin.

I made my way through a sea of bodies to reach outside, where I breathed a lungful of sweat and alcohol free air. I shook off my aching feet and sighed. I studied the myriad of people gracing the pool and garden and wondered why they were having fun and I wasn't. The red cups scattered on the ground quickly answered my question. I forlornly gazed at a group of people clutching their drinks and having a merry conversation as the alcohol flowed through their bloodstream, lowering their inhibitions and increasing their bravery. I had never drank any alcohol in my life; it wasn't that I was a prude. It was probably because of the people I had been brought up with; none of my friends at school drank and I had never really had the opportunity to. I had always wondered what it felt like to lose all humility and just do whatever you felt like at the time.

A bump on the shoulder brought me out of my thoughts and alerted me to the fact that Zacky was standing next to me.

"Oh hey Zack, I didn't see you there," I apologised, laughing at how sneaky he had been. He was holding a beer in one hand which he took heavy glugs from, and a cigarette in the other. I waved away the putrid smoke coming from it and subtly held my breath so I didn't inhale it.

"Yeah I was pretty quiet!" he shouted with a huge happy grin plastered on his face. I stepped back at his enthusiasm and took a closer look at him to see if he was ok.

"You alright there Zack?" I asked him lightly, and he nodded vigorously in response, taking a deep draw of his fag.

As he lowered his hand from his face, I noticed he was trembling violently, so much that he nearly dropped his fag. I frowned and studied his face. His skin was deathly pale, contrasting the dark night and making him seen more ghoulish than human. He stared into my face as he began a line of conversation that made no sense in the slightest, and I saw that his pupils were enlarged, nearly covering all of his brilliant green iris. He seemed really sick, but I didn't know what had brought it on.

"Zacky, honey are you sure you're ok?" I interrupted his thoughts on the evolution of turtles, as I noticed he was swaying on his feet.

"Awesome! Perfect! Never been better," he assured me, the words spilling out of his mouth like water from a tap. He restarted his speech but this time his words were more slurred and his eyes were darting back and forth maniacally.

Just as I was about to suggest that he take it easy, he stopped speaking and stood silently. I watched him worriedly, grasping the sleeve of his shirt in my hand to steady him as he continued to sway. He raised his hand as if to make a point, but before he could speak, I watched in abject horror as his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he stumbled forward then collapsed.
Right into the bloody pool.

"Oh my god!" I exclaimed, before leaping after him.

The water hit me with a cold shock, and although it wasn't deep, I found myself sputtering to get to the surface. Once I was above the water, I hooked an arm around Zacky's limp form and dragged him slowly to the edge of the pool. He wasn't a small guy and the water made it so difficult to move, so I was exhausted by the time I reached the edge. I gave a pitiful cry when I realised I would have to somehow get him out of the pool. I floundered in the water, desperately trying to keep us both afloat. Suddenly, two muscular, tattooed arms reached down and hauled Zacky onto dry land. I looked up and nearly sobbed with relief when I saw Matt's sober face looking down at me. He held out his arms again and I grabbed onto them so he could pull me up. Water cascaded off of me in a fountain of droplets and I stood shivering for a moment. Zacky lay, unmoving on the ground and I dropped onto my knees and pressed my fingers against his throat, searching for a pulse. Nothing.

I took a deep breath and remembered what I had been taught at all of my swimming and lifesaving lessons over the years. I needed to do compressions.

I lay my hands on his still chest and pressed down hard. Again and again. I counted out loud, my voice the only noise in the garden as everyone else watched me in tense silence. I pinched his nose and pressed my mouth to his, blowing air into his drowned lungs whilst ignoring the bitter taste of alcohol on his lips. I switched back to compressions, my teeth chattering as I started to worry that I wasn't doing it right and he wouldn't wake up.

"C'mon Zack," I begged him.

Just as I finished blowing another bout of air into his mouth, he came to life, coughing up water and retching onto the ground. I sighed in relief and fell back, watching as he coughed up all of the pool water in his lungs.

He lay still when he was finished, his head resting on the cold patio. We were both drenched, but I was worse off because my white tight dress had become see through with the water, exposing my skimpy thong and bra. I clasped my hands around myself and went bright red, praying that nobody noticed.

Zacky leaped up to his feet and screamed "Round two, motherfuckers!"

I watched as he sprinted back into the house, seeming no worse for wear after his ordeal. I chuckled at his insanity although a hint of worry for him still gripped my chest. I hoped he was ok.

I wanted to get back inside to warm up but I couldn't move incase I showed any more flesh than I already was. I shivered on the floor, wondering what I was going to do. I looked up and saw Matt unbuttoning his shirt. He slipped it off, revealing a hard set of abs decorated with intricate tattoos. I thanked him profusely when he gently put it over my ruined dress and helped me up.

I stared at him, confused as to why he was helping me. I thought he hated me? He lifted his gaze to meet mine and I saw the beginnings of respect forming in his eyes. Respect for me.

"That was really brave," he told me, wrapping a huge arm round my shoulders to lead me inside. I stumbled forward hastily, eager to be warm again.

"It was nothing," I shrugged off the praise through chattering teeth.

"No," he stated, turning his head so he could look in my eyes as we walked. "It was brave. Brian's lucky to have you, " he said this as if it was a revelation to him, something he hadn't realised before.

I huffed in annoyance. If Brian didn't show his face very soon, he wouldn't think he was lucky anymore.

Notes

Three guesses as to what Zacky and Brian were doing!:0
Half an hour into the party and already someone's drowned.... Who knows what the rest of the night will bring?!:)

Please leave comments guys!!! Tell me what you think about Brian during the car ride, and what about Lola saving Zack? Brave or what?:)
Thanks for reading, it means a lot!!:)

L xxx