The Darkness

In a body-length mirror stood the most beautiful girl you would ever have seen. Blond hair curled by her hair-dresser, red foot-length shimmering dress, and under, barely visible, a pair of silver shoes. She looked at herself in the mirror for a long time, and she was nervous, so so nervous. It was her prom-night. One of the most important nights of a girls life, and a night she had been planning since she was nine. The only thing more important than this night was her wedding, and if there was one thing she knew, it was that if in order to get her perfect wedding she'd have to be Bridezilla, so be it. Perfect was the only way to go. She looked at her reflection and smiled a little, trying to convince herself that it was all good, but she simply couldn't. She felt goosebumps on her arms for no apparent reason – the bathroom was always heated. She shook off the uneasy feeling, and left the room slowly. Her date was waiting downstairs (always keep them waiting was her motto), and she had to be ready for her great descendant down the stairs. Her family would be there to admire the beauty, and, of course, Christopher would be there. It was an important night in many aspects.

As she took the first steps down the stairs, she heard the obligatory gasps from her audience, her doting little sister and her over-protective father. Even her mother smiled widely at her, and she thought she might have glimpsed a little shiny tear in her eye. "Oh my God," Christopher said as she finally reached the bottom. "You look gorgeous."
"Thanks," she replied, and smiled shyly at him. "You're quite the handsome guy as well."
He grinned, and kissed her on the cheek.
"Picture time!" her mother suddenly screamed, and whipped out a little digital camera from her pocket.

Eliza sat in the limousine with four other people; her best friend Carlie and her date Max, and his best friend Alex with his date Andrea. Eliza never liked Andrea, but she kept her mouth closed. She was very good at keeping a friendly face, all the while gathering dirt to gossip with Carlie after they had left. "Where's the stud?" Carlie asked, as Eliza had entered the limo alone. "Oh, you know," she answered casually. "Dad wanted a few words with him. The whole "if you hurt my daughter, I'm gonna slice you in two and feed you to the dogs"-thing."
All four heads turned towards her, and they all held the same odd expression. Eliza laughed. "You know dad. Super over-protective. Wouldn't hurt a fly, though. Unless the fly hurt me."
She noticed to her annoyance that no one laughed at her joke, but just in time came Christopher. "Right," he said, as he slumped down next to Eliza. "Your dad's a right psycho."
The limo was completely silence for a second, before everyone burst into screams of laughter, leaving Chris to look at them, bewildered. "Right. Fun times."

Eliza was the first to exit the limousine. She was the first to feel the cold air against her skin, and she was the first to notice that the darkness had come swiftly. She shuddered. Something felt off.
Chris left the limo next, and held her hand in his. They were all aware that everyone was looking at them. Had it been up to Eliza would she and Chris be the last to leave the limo, to make an exit everyone would see, but Andrea (the bitch) and Alex had strategically chosen the seats furthest away from the door. "So, Liz," whispered Chris into her ear as they walked, "nervous?"
Eliza smiled at him, but the dark didn't allow him to see her face clearly. "Of course not. It's all good."
But it wasn't all good. She was feeling weird. Something was wrong. So wrong. It was cold and dark, which was not only strange because it was only six o'clock, but also because it was never cold where they lived. It was never cold.
She tried to shake these strange feelings off her, tried to tell herself that it was all butterflies in the stomach. She'd be the centre of attention (she was always the centre of attention, but this was different), and she would hopefully be elected queen. No, she would be elected queen. There was no doubt about that. "Liz?" Chris said to her abruptly. "Liz, why aren't you moving?"
And suddenly she realized that she was, in fact, not moving, that she had been standing still for quite some time now. She tried to snap out of it, to force her legs to continue – this was starting to look strange - but nothing happened. She cleared her throat. "What?" she heard herself say, far far away. She blinked her eyes.
"Liz, are you all right?" Chris said again, and shook her slightly. She could see the fright in his eyes, but no matter how hard she tried, her legs would not work the way she wanted them to. "I'm stellar," she said faintly, and, without knowing why she did so, she added "Did you check on the refrigerator before we left? It does get so lonely some times."
She blinked once more, and placed a hand on her head. Things were spinning now. And darkening. Why was everything so dark?
"The darkness," she whispered. "It's taking me."
And the darkness did take her. It picked her up and carried her far, far away.
And she would not go to prom that night.