by Rachel Jonas
Nick climbed in and we were on our way. I had no clue where the party was, but I knew I liked the ride there—a broad palm was flat against mine as he held my hand the entire way. We were getting close. It felt like we were bonded even tighter since the quake yesterday. With him, I felt safe, protected. He was so vigilant about making sure I was taken care of. I was almost arrogantly fearless when we were together.
I hadn’t forgotten how he made me feel as he carried me from that building, hadn’t forgotten that he saved my life. I owed him a huge thank you, one I only put off because I wanted to tell him in person. Not over text.
We turned off the main road and onto a path through the woods that had barely been cleared wide enough for a vehicle to fit. Any place this far off the grid probably meant we, technically, weren’t supposed to be here. My body shook and bounced as the tires weathered terrain way harsher than I believed Nick’s dad’s car was made to handle.
An offbeat baseline overpowered the lull of the song coming from the car speakers. I listened harder, feeling it rumble through my limbs long before the flashing lights came into view. The closer we got, the clearer it became just how big this party was. It was no small get-together like I assumed.
Bodies had poured out of the open garage-style doors of what looked like an abandoned warehouse. Purple, green, orange, and red lights flashed in every direction. Nick turned his music off as we parked; it’d been all but drowned out anyway.
There were so many people here. Many faces I recognized, several I didn’t. I even had a suspicion there were kids here from neighboring schools. There were others damaged in the quake, so they, too, were out for several days.
Snatching the key from the ignition, Nick tucked it into the front pocket of his jeans. “Ready?” he asked.
I nodded and he hopped out of the car, hurrying around to open my door. As natural as breathing, his hand found mine and we started toward the overflowing building.
There were hundreds of people here. Nick gently towed me behind him as we made our way through. Hair whipped across my face, hips bumped mine, and I caught a few elbows to the chest… none of which seemed to affect Nick when the same happened to him, but why would it? He was large in comparison to most, looking more like a man among boys—even the larger ones like those on his team.
A fist lifted into the air, bumping Nick’s. It was one of the other players, but I didn’t know his name. Nick took the time to introduce me but I heard nothing over the bass and screaming voices.
He mouthed something when his friend moved on.
“What?” I yelled, pointing at my ear to let him know I hadn’t caught even a syllable.
Laughing, he leaned in, his lips grazing the rim of my ear when he asked, “Drinks?”
Suddenly dazed, I shook my head. “No thanks, I’m good.”
Unaware of the hot flash he’d just given me, he pointed toward the beverage table a little ways away. I followed, excusing myself as we pierced the crowd again, although my words, undoubtedly, went unheard.
Pre-filled Solo cups with God-knows-what inside were being snatched up by others, but I was happy to see Nick go for a capped bottle of water instead. I don’t think that was what he originally had in mind, but he probably had the same thought I did; there was no telling who could’ve slipped something in those cups.
The building was intentionally dark even with the flashing lights. Ringed neon necklaces and bracelets bounced to the beat as everyone let loose, forgetting about earthquakes and whatever other strangeness they all noticed going on around them. Tonight was just about having fun.
Every so often, I caught one girl or another passing by with their eyes glued to Nick. Mostly, the looks came from the ones I believed to have been from neighboring schools, so they were bold, unaware of the budding… whatever this was… between Nick and I. While, in times past, I might have felt threatened by them, I felt only confident tonight as I stood beside him.
He was beautiful, yes—a statuesque figure in faded denim and a fitted, gray tee—but I knew that, as his gaze scanned this room, he wasn’t interested in anyone but me.
As if he, too, noticed the hateful glances coming my way, his grip tightened around my hand as he moved me in front of him, encircling his arms around me from behind, keeping me close.
I felt his heart beating against my back, felt his breath against my ear when he lowered his mouth to speak again.
“We should go dance.”
Heat spread across my cheeks at the mere mention of it. Yes, I had rhythm and all that, but…
Not bothering to give me a chance to answer, or deny his request, Nick pitched his empty bottle into the trash and we weaved through the crowd. Wedging ourselves in with the others, I didn’t mind being knocked around so much now that we found the beat and started moving with them, started moving with each other.
A purple, neon necklace was slipped over my head by a girl I’d never seen before and she smiled as she handed me a matching bracelet. A green set was given to Nick and he only paused long enough to put them on. After that, his eyes were on me again.
There was barely room to move my arms, but I didn’t care. I missed this. Fun. Parties—even ones thrown to celebrate something negative like an earthquake. But maybe I’d been wrong about that, too. Maybe it wasn’t a celebration of the tragedy as much as it was a celebration that we were all okay. An acknowledgement that life is too short to take ourselves too seriously.
Bass vibrated through my core as the music struck bone. Genre rarely mattered; I loved it all. My hands went into the air and my eyes closed as I took it all in—the beat, the atmosphere, the energy.
Heat from a set of large hands gripping my waist brought me back to consciousness. I opened my eyes, but had lost sight of Nick; however, I knew exactly where he was. I glanced over my shoulder where he danced behind me.
My heart raced. His gaze was intently focused on my body as he grinded against it. Lengthy fingers moved from my waist to my hips as he controlled our tempo. His grip was tight and goosebumps now dotted my arms. A wave of heat radiated through my back at the feel of his chest pressed against it—broad, solid.
I got lost in the music again, moving against him without feeling shy or worried that he’d get the wrong idea. My hands slipped behind my head, gripping his, my fingers finding their way through his short, silky strands. The warmth of his cheek touched my forehead when I leaned into him. This moment, the rawness of it, sent a blazing trail of heat creeping up my legs, climbing higher, higher until it reached my face.
So close, I felt like more than just some conquest to him. Once or twice, girls had intentionally spoken loudly about his reputation before I arrived, so I wasn’t in the dark about how many he’d been with. But none of that mattered to me, because none of them knew what I knew: I meant something to Nick, just like he meant something to me.
My stomach twisted and I struggled to ignore it, the pain. I wouldn’t let whatever was going on with me ruin this moment. I fought through it until the song ended, but then Nick asked if I minded stepping outside with him to get some air.
Sweat-soaked strands stuck to my forehead and I was sure they’d gone from straight to curly by this point. I fanned myself with my hands as Nick lifted the hem of his t-shirt to let air beneath it. It was impossible to keep my eyes to myself as the rigid outline of hard abs came into view, but luckily, I didn’t get caught staring.
His back rested against the aluminum siding of the building and I had to ask. “What is this place?”
He smiled, still billowing his shirt for ventilation. “It used to be a storage facility for the processing plant. When it closed down a few decades ago, they just left whatever was standing to rot away in the woods. So, on occasion, kids will borrow the space for things like this.”
I nodded, glancing back at the large structure we leaned on. “And the cops don’t mind?”
Nick shrugged. “Mostly, they look the other way, but, on the rare occasion that they do sho
w up, there are far too many of us for them to reprimand, so they usually just make us clear out.”
He stared off at nothing while I stared at him.
I couldn’t believe how I misjudged him, how I once pegged him as some egomaniacal jock. He was nothing like that. And, to think, if I hadn’t gotten out of my own way, I would’ve missed out on these little moments that highlighted this significant phase in my life—the transition from childhood to adulthood, leaving high school behind as I embarked on bigger and better things.
“I never got to thank you yesterday. I was too stunned,” I admitted, which was the truth. It took me a little while to even tell my parents everything. They were hesitant to let me come out tonight, but, considering it was all thanks to Nick that I was even breathing, they agreed.
He lowered his head, staring at his pristine, white sneakers instead of me, doing that shy thing he does from time to time; the one that makes me want to melt into a puddle.
“You don’t owe me anything,” he said humbly.
I shook my head, disagreeing with him. “Actually, I owe you everything. How’d you even know where to find me?” With all the empty classrooms in that building, him figuring it out was nothing short of a miracle.
His shoulders lifted with another casual shrug. “I just did.”
He just did.
I don’t know why, but… I had a feeling it was so much more than that. Nick was special, special in ways I hadn’t even figured out yet, but I knew better than to count him as ordinary. Knew better than to think he was just like all the other guys.
Yesterday, when he held me, there was a strength to him I’d never experienced, like there was nothing that could break him, nothing he couldn’t handle. It was… otherworldly. I wouldn’t bring it up, though. I’d seen him shy away from such comments when others made them, so I kept it inside when I turned to face him, lifting my body away from the building where I leaned. Our eyes locked, mine with those endlessly-deep blue ones of his. A surge of bravery coursed through my veins and, as I leaned in, intent on kissing his cheek, my mouth had other plans.
Lips and heat.
Strong hands and a warm chest.
There was so much to take in as these sensations took root in my soul the moment I tasted him. This beautiful boy had stolen my breath away the first time I saw him, and today, he’d done it again, convincing me with his kiss that I didn’t need air, that I didn’t need water, or sleep, or food, or anything.
All I needed was him.
There was no music. At least to us there wasn’t. The only thing that existed in this entire world was Nick and I. Heat from his touch seeped through my shirt where his hands held my back, bringing me closer until the smallest space between us disappeared. I welcomed it, all of it, with open arms. I wasn’t afraid to let Nick in because I knew he was filled with light and goodness. When I looked at him, every time, I saw it.
The rest of the world came flooding back in, bombarding my senses the moment his lips left mine. He kept me in his atmosphere, bracing me against him with one hand, while his thumb traced my jaw. This was the first time anyone ever stared, not at me, but through me. I felt him in places no one should be able to access with a simple glance, but… Nick wasn’t just anyone.
A look touched his eyes and gentle words came out in a whisper. “Evie, you’re burning up.”
Had he not said anything, I would’ve all but forgotten feeling under the weather. My mind was only on positive things. However, now that he’d mentioned it, I felt the heat coming from deep within, from the center of my chest outward.
“Do you feel okay?”
His hand stayed on my cheek and all I wanted to do was lean into it, relive the moment we just shared, but the heat burning its way out of my body was becoming harder and harder to ignore.
“I should get you home.”
I wanted to protest, but didn’t, knowing he was right to offer. If I looked as bad as I felt, a few days in bed was probably in my future. Especially if my mom had anything to do with it.
“I’m sorry,” I said with a weak breath. “I hate for you to have to leave early. I know your friends are here.”
He dismissed my apology right away. “To be honest with you, I didn’t really want to come in the first place,” he smiled. “And I haven’t seen many of my friends. Chris and Lucas texted that they weren’t feeling well. Probably coming down with whatever you have,” he explained.
I palmed my forehead, feeling so stupid all of a sudden. “And… I probably just gave it to you. I’m such an idiot. I should’ve told you I was coming down with something.”
A casual laugh rolled off his lips. “Trust me. I’ll be fine.”
He seemed really sure about that, but I still felt bad.
Nick patted his front pocket and his eyes slammed shut. He breathed deep. “My keys. They must’ve slipped out when we were dancing.” He eyed me, that look of concern growing by the second, which meant I probably looked terrible.
“Wait here. I’ll be right back,” he promised, hesitating before running back inside.
The metal siding cooled my back when I fell against it. I swear I felt like an egg in a frying pan. Never once could I remember feeling so miserable. And to think, such a tender moment between Nick and I was interrupted by whatever this was. It sucked. However, I was comforted by the fact that we were now obligated to try again at a later date.
A pain in the center of my palm radiated to my fingers and I gripped it, balling it into a fist as I held it close to my body. It ached like I slammed it in a door or something, but I definitely hadn’t. It seemed things were going wrong all over my body. From head to toe today. Mom’s suggestion that this might be related to the building collapse ran through my mind again and I wondered if I should ask her to take me to the doctor in the morning.
But that didn’t make sense. Nick’s best friends were ill, too, and I didn’t remember seeing either of them in the courtyard after we fled, meaning they weren’t in C-Building. This had to be something else.
Now I was confused again. Confused and hot. Confused, hot, and my hand ached like crazy. I held it tighter, shaking it when nothing else helped. At the feel of tears stinging my eyes, I slinked around the corner, out of anyone’s line of sight. I didn’t need anyone seeing me cry. I stayed near the edge so, every so often, I could glance back to see if Nick had come out yet.
What was happening to me?
The pain spread. The heat spread. I continued to shake my fingers, hoping to find some relief. Relief that never came. Flexing them was my next attempt, bringing my fingers into a fist and then releasing them again; constricting and releasing, constricting and releasing.
However, when I stretched my fingers that final time, a bright flash of light startled me to the ground. I fell, digging my heels in as I pushed back, dragging my palm through the soil in an attempt to put out a white flame burning at its center. It came out of nowhere, manifested out of thin air. And this flame, it slowly but surely consumed my hand.
I screamed out for help, forgetting that my voice would be drowned out by the loud music. No one came running because no one heard.
Frantic, I patted my hand against the damp soil again, but the flame only grew, spreading toward my wrist, and then upward. The sound of my name being called suddenly brought my eyes to the edge of the wall and I recognized Nick’s voice right away. My lips parted, but the sound sputtered in my throat, his name lodging itself there.
I needed help, but could no longer call out for it. Fear filled me to the brim, fear that whatever was happening would be my end.
“Evie!” he called out again, his deep voice somehow ringing out above everything else.
I tried to respond, realizing quickly that my effort was in vain when my throat seized. I felt dazed, dizzy, like my body had begun to act on its own, disobeying each of my brain’s commands. Somehow, I managed to stumble to my feet, confused, desperate, intending to run in Nick’s direction. However, despite my thoughts be
ing linear, set on getting to him, my head darted in every direction but his, searching for… something else.
A mental tug-of-war between logic and instinct began to rage inside my head. A large part of my being was pulled toward Nick, because he was close, because he could help—logic.
The other part of me, the part not governed by right or wrong or what made sense, pulled the opposite way. Toward the nothingness of the woods. The darkness.
Instinct.
This sensation, it filled me, urging me to run from Nick instead of toward him. I didn’t fear him. That wasn’t it. There was simply a clear, inexplicable understanding that, someplace off in the distance, I’d find what I needed.
So, my feet moved where this gut-feeling told them to.
It was as though, within me, some internal compass had honed in on a destination. And now, as I fumbled through the night, I was desperately seeking after it. I searched for cover and it took a moment to admit that, in essence, I was hiding from Nick. Suddenly, my concern was that, if he found me, he’d stop me from finding… my someplace. That was the phrase that fluttered into my brain while I ran, while I hid, while I wheezed, while I burned.
My someplace.
Massive, towering trees surrounded me. They hid my body, but did little to conceal the light I emitted, so I kept moving.
Fingertips to forearm, I was now covered in dancing flames I couldn’t control. Memory told me to stop, drop, and roll like I’d been taught all through school. But that other part of me, the part that wanted me as far away from Nick as possible, forced different thoughts into my head:
Run.
Hide.
Fast.
I didn’t do much thinking after that, just sprinted where I felt led. My feet moved swiftly as I held my arm far away from my body, fearing what would happen if my clothes caught fire. Adrenaline had taken away the pain because I felt nothing, only panic. This was nothing like the time I spilled hot tea in my lap or the countless times I dropped the curling iron on my shoulder. No, with these flames, I was invulnerable.