Nightmare

I stood in the middle of my closet with my towel wrapped tightly around me, staring at all the clothes in front of me, but without having the slightest idea of what to wear. I wanted to look hot. I needed to look beautiful. I needed to look pretty enough to be able to stand next to the gorgeous guy that I was going out with tonight to a club.

I let out a frustrated sigh, not knowing what to choose. This was why I needed more friends that were girls, and I mean a real friend—not one of those bitchy little sluts that pretend to be your friend, the stab you behind the back.

Firstly, I had to decide on what I wanted to wear. A dress? A skirt? Jeans? There were way too many choices, for one person. It was ridiculous. I decided that since I was going to a nightclub, I should wear a dress and heels. That seemed most appropriate.

Looking at all the party-style dresses that hung in my closet made me sigh once more—they were separated by colour. I looked at the black and purple dresses, since those were the colours that caught my eye at the moment, narrowing my colour choice down to those two.

Now the hard part was to actually find the right dress.

After a good fifteen minutes of searching and debating, I finally settled on one dress that I thought would look good enough for my evening with Zacky: a cute little black dress. Classic.

It reached me mid-thigh, was tighter fitting, meaning it hugged all of my curves, flattering them. It was sweetheart cut, with silver studs decorating it, with spaghetti straps that tied in a halter style behind my neck. I found a pair of heels that I liked, which were in black denim, with a peep toe front. It was zippered on the side, with cuffs having silver studs around it, matching the dress.

Next was hair and make up, but I wanted to keep things simple, so I just brushed my hair out, letting it fall in layers around my face and down my back, then put a thin line of black eyeliner on, a sweep of silvery eye shadow, and a garnet lip stain.

Glancing at my reflection in the mirror, I could only think one thing: damn, I looked good.
I went over to my desk, about to reach for my wallet, when I realized that I didn’t have my wallet, or any money. I shrugged, dismissing the thought, going over towards the door.
Opening it, I gasped, coming face to face with Brian.

“Starr, you didn’t have to get all dressed up just for me,” he said with a smirk. “You could have just been waiting on the bed in some lingerie.”

“I’m going out with Zacky tonight, Brian,” I clarified.

He rolled his eyes like that was no big deal. “Yeah, yeah… I swear, Zacky gets all the fun.”

It was my time to roll my eyes. “What’s up Bri?”

He shrugged. “Nothing. Just wanted to say hi.”

I smiled. “Hi Brian.”

A small smile graced his lips, but I couldn’t help but notice that he also looked a little bit sad.

“Are you sure that’s all you came to say?” I asked.

He nodded, the happiness returning to his face. “Yeah… yeah, and I also wanted to let you know that Zacky is waiting for you.”

I nodded, not wanting to push it any farther, knowing there was no way that I could ever make Brian talk to me about what ever it was that was bothering him. I took Brian’s outstretched hand, with a smile, allowing him to lead me down the halls and stairs to where Zacky was waiting.

And sure enough, Zacky was waiting for me.

I stopped with a few steps still ahead of me when I saw Zacky standing at the foot of the stairs. He was wearing all black, just as I had imagined him in, wearing jeans and a T-shirt with a jacket over it for added style. His hair was hanging in his face as usual, accenting his gorgeous eyes even more.

He looked up seeing me, and the moment his gaze met mine, I could have sworn that my heart stopped.

“Hey Starr,” he said smoothly.

“Hey Zacky,” I said softly.

He gazed at me for a moment before holding out his hand to me. I looked at his outstretched hand before taking it. He helped me down the last few steps until I was standing right before him, only inches away form him, still staring into his eyes.

“So you ready go?” He asked.

“Where exactly would that be?” I asked cautiously.

Zacky only smirked. “You’ll see.”

“Miami Beach?” I asked in surprise, looking around at the city I was now standing in. “Are you serious?”

“Yeah,” Zacky shrugged. “You like it?”

I nodded. “Yeah. This is awesome!”

Zacky smirked. “Good. Now come on.”

I took Zacky’s hand, following him down the street absorbing the vibe of Miami with a smile on my face. The weather was warm and the streets were alive with people and different forms of nightlife, making this the ultimate spot to be.

I soon found myself walking towards the entrance of the Mansion Nightclub, one of the hottest clubs known to Miami Beach. Zacky nodded at the bouncers that were at the door, who allowed us in, while I noticed the numerous glares from the other girls who were on the wait list, once they saw me on Zacky’s arm.

Zacky led me inside, and I couldn’t believe the set up of this club. It was absolutely gorgeous, with chandeliers in the lobby, giving it an elegant grace, resembling the glamour of another time.

I immediately took Zacky onto the dance floor, pulling him close as we began to move to the tunes the DJ was spinning. After spending ten minutes there, I suddenly realized how much I had missed going out to a club to dance as I used to with my friends.

A pang of guilt went through me as I realized that I hadn’t had any sort of contact with anyone from the real world since I had arrived in the underworld. I hadn’t talked to any of my friends or co-workers, nor my dad. It was as if I had just completely cut them off.

I also began to realize that I missed them a bit, wondering why I had even agreed to stay in the underworld like I had, when I had my life and friends that I had left behind so suddenly. But one look at Zacky suddenly made these feeling disappear; I no longer felt bad or guilty for leaving behind my life in Chicago.

I felt happy again, thinking how I had left my life behind to start a new one, which should have been my life all along, in the underworld, living in a house full of hot guys, where I was important, and my own protectors. I had Zacky in the underworld. And somehow, he was worth it.

Girl please excuse me if I’m coming too strong
But tonight is the night we can really let go

I screamed along with all the other people in the club as Enrique Iglesias’ new song ‘I Like It’ came blasting through the speakers. Zacky held onto my hips as we continued moving to the music, my back pressed against his chest in the packed club. The chorus came up, and everyone began singing along to it, full of energy.

Baby I like it
The way you move on the floor
Baby I like it
Come on and give me some more
Oh yes I like it
Screaming like never before
Baby I like it
I, I like it

Zacky was actually a really good dancer, which surprised me, because he really didn’t appear to be the dancing kind, with his style and appearance. Then again, he really didn’t look like the type to cook, and he often cooked me incredible meals. I guess Zacky was a guy that was just full of surprises.

I see you watching me, you see me watching you
I love the way you move, I like them things you do

Dancing the night away is one thing with your friends in Chicago, but it is entirely another thing when you’re in the arms of Zacky in Miami Beach on a ‘date’, and I learned that quite quickly. I loved the feeling of being against Zacky as we danced together in the
crowded club, the way that our bodies moved together in rhythm.

Zacky showered me with all the attention in the world, never allowing me to be more than an inch away from him, always making sure that he was touching me in some way, sending the bolts of electricity through me.

I had to stop a few times through the night, needing something to drink, but making sure I stuck to water, not wanting to damage my memory making with alcohol, especially when I was on a date with Zacky.

“Hey, can I get a water?” I shouted to the bartender as I leaned against the bar.

“Hey gorgeous, why don’t you let me get you a real drink?”

I turned my attention to my right, noticing that a guy that looked to be about my age was smirking at me. I studied him, seeing that he wasn’t bad looking, but knew he was no way near as hot as Zacky.

“Uhm, no thank you,” I said politely, cracking open the bottle of water the bartender set in front of me.

“Aw, come on baby,” he said, trying to sound smooth. “Just one drink.”

“I said no thank you,” I replied, again, trying to be polite, starting to walk away.

“Don’t act like that,” the guy grabbed my arm, puling me back a bit roughly.

I stared up at him, seeing that he was one of those aggressive guys that didn’t take no for an answer, then looked down at his hand that was around my arm, squeezing it a bit too tightly for my comfort.

“Now let me buy you a drink,” he said.

“You do that, and it will be the last thing you do,” a dangerous voice sounded.

I smiled inwardly, knowing it was Zacky that was behind me. The guy looked away from my face over my shoulder, to Zacky.

“Who the hell are you?” He asked.

Zacky ripped the guy’s hand from around my arm, shoving him back lightly, getting into his face. Zacky spoke to him, his words too quiet for me to hear, but I could tell the guy was hearing them just perfectly. I could also tell that by whatever as being said, Zacky was getting into the guy’s mind, because he looked terrified, his macho stance gone.

The guy mumbled something before turning around a walking away quickly. Zacky turned back around, his arms instantly going around my waist, pulling me closer to him, as if to shield me from the rest of the world.

“You okay?” He asked concerned.

I smiled. “Zacky, I’m fine. Thank you.”

Zacky put his arm around my shoulder, keeping me against him. “Come on.”

Around two in the morning, Zacky and I stumbled out of the club after we had been thrown out, laughing the entire way. That same guy that had tried to buy me a drink earlier ended up confronting Zacky again with a few of his buddies, and they ended up in a fight.

That was what we had been thrown out for: fighting.

“Can you believe those guys faces?” Zacky laughed as we walked down the street, our arms around each other.

“I still can’t believe that happened!” I giggled. “What would possess them for them to think they could even get a scratch on you? You just kicked their ass in there!”

We continued laughing about how Zacky beat the hell out of those guys as we made our way down the beach, walking along the sand.

“Wow, Miami is awesome at night,” I sighed as I leaned against Zacky’s side, staring at all the twinkling lights of the buildings as they shone in the dark.

Zacky pulled me completely against him, wrapping his arms around my waist, holding me closely. He stared into my eyes with that same look on his face that I couldn’t truly read.

“Did you have fun tonight?” he asked.

I nodded. “Of course I did,” I said with a smile. “Why would you even ask that?”

Zacky shrugged. “Well, we did get kicked out of the club…”

I shook my head. “I’ve never had that happen, I will admit, but then again, I’ve never had a guy fight someone because he was protecting me…so that was added awesomeness to the night.”

“Awesomeness?” Zacky’s eyes sparkled with amusement.

“Yes, awesomeness,” I nodded again. “I tend to make up words, in case you didn’t know. But if you think that’s weird, then fine, think what you will.”

Zacky shook his head lightly. “No… no, I don’t think that’s weird at all,” he bit down on his lips ring slightly. “That’s sexy.”

I looked down to hide the blush that was crawling onto my face, but Zacky reached up, holding my face to make me look at him.

“Don’t do this,” I whispered.

“Don’t do what?” he asked, his eyes still sparkling.

“This,” I pulled away, standing a good twelve inches away from him. “Every time this happens, someone comes in, needing me, making me have to leave.”

“Well no one is here this time,” Zacky said pulling me back to him, securing my body against his with his strong arms. “It’s just you and me.”

The thought of just Zacky and me somehow made a shiver run through me. Zacky reached up to hold the side of my face once more, bring our faces closer. I felt his nose brushing against mine, making my breath cut short at the thought that I would actually be able to kiss Zacky.

Zacky brought his lips closer to mine, and just as they were about to touch, there was a loud crack of lightning that lit up the sky, followed by the rain suddenly starting to pour. I squeaked in surprise as Zacky and I pulled away at the sudden change in weather.

I began laughing. “I told you there would be an interruption.”

Zacky only smiled with me, starting to laugh too. He took my hand and we began running up the beach, towards the boardwalk, to find some sort of shelter from the rain.