EDITED VERSION: Chapter Eight

The next two weeks was hell. School was kicking me in the butt, Darian was gone all the time so he could see Justin, and I avoided Nathan at all costs. The only thing I was looking forward to was Samara's birthday party that would be happening this Friday.

Right now, Sam and I stood in the middle of some boutique she's obsessed with so we could shop for the special occasion.

She inspected each rack, her eyes narrowed in concentration as she was determined to find the perfect dress. One caught her eye and she held it up to her chest as she inspected it in the mirror. "I like it, but I don't know how I feel about the colour purple."

I crept up beside her and stared thoughtfully at her reflection in the mirror. "Why don't you try a red? A bright cherry red. I think it would go well with the lipstick you always wear."

Samara arched a perfectly shaped brow as she nodded her head. "I like the way you think."

Without saying anything more, she put the plum-coloured dress on the rack and searched intensely for a red dress that was the perfect shade. Meanwhile, I half-hearted looked for something for me to wear. The last party I went to was the one at Justin's nearly three weeks ago, I could simply wear the same dress that I wore to that, but I knew Sam would pester me about wearing something different to amp up my wardrobe.

Although I was looking forward to my friend's party this weekend, part of me was dreading it because it took me quite a few days to recover from the last one. I wasn't used to partying all that much. A party back at Trillium Creek was five people getting drunk off coolers in a basement, this was a whole other level.

I walked to a different rack and sifted through the dresses until I found one that I liked. It was honestly the simplest dress ever, but it was nice. Taking it from the rack, I went to the fitting room to see how it looked.

Quickly undressing out of my skinny jeans and my contrast cropped hoodie from Tommy Hilfiger, I slipped the dress on. I inspected myself in the mirror, it may be simple but it certainly hugged all the right areas. It was a black, short sleeve off-shoulder dress that cut off mid-thigh.

I stepped out of the fitting room so Samara could see it and she pointed at me with a stern look. "If you don't get it, I'm honestly going to kill you."

"Fine, I'll get it," I laughed and added, "But only because you asked me so kindly."

Samara rolled her eyes and pointed to the dress she had on. "Yay or nay?"

I tilted my head as I inspected her. It had a similar fit as mine, but it was a bright red, which she paired with golden strapped heels and a nice chunky metallic gold bracelet. I nodded my head in approval. "You look like a Goddess. If you don't get that whole ensemble, I'm going to kill you."

"No need to murder me, darling, I was going to get it whether you approved of it or not," Sam replied with a wink, turning back to her fitting room to get changed.

I rolled my eyes and went back to mine, silently hoping that this party would be different than the last.

***

When I got home, Nathan sat on the couch with someone I had never seen before, although, sitting wasn't the most appropriate term as the girl was straddling him in nothing but her lace bra and mini skirt. I stopped in my tracks at the sight and the apartment door slammed as the auto-lock kicked in. I winced as the girl stopped what she was doing to Nathan and snapped her eyes in my direction. She had long, unnaturally red hair and thick dark eyeliner, which made her penetrating gaze more intimidating.

"Who is this?" she demanded, turning to Nathan looking incredibly pissed.

"S-Sorry," I stuttered as I walked slowly to my room before Nathan could respond to the girl.

"Seriously, who is that?" she pressed further as I continued to walk, not wanting to be involved with this awkward situation any more than I already was.

I heard Nathan sigh softly. "She's my roommate."

Without waiting to hear her response, I shut my bedroom door and leaned against it. That was not a sight I could unsee, and with Nathan, I was probably going to see it often.

My phone chimed and I looked down to see it was a text from Darian saying that he wouldn't be home tonight.

Great.

***

Luckily, the week finished quickly, which I was thankful for. Not just for Samara's party but next week was reading week therefore we had no classes so we could study for our midterms, which was pointless for me because I was an English major. There really wasn't much to study for English aside from the reading material.

When I got home from my class, I went straight for my room, not bothering to look in the living room. Since my first incident with Nathan and the girl who still remains unknown, there have been two more. Now, I just developed a routine of; get home, go to my room, listen to see if there was anyone else present, if not, I'd roam freely. As I walked down the hall to my room, Nathan popped out of his. "Audrey, wait."

"What?" I asked, though, it came out more annoyed than I had intended. I turned to Nathan, who stood by his door, wearing nothing but sweats and a necklace with some sort of symbol on it. I inspected his face, seeing something that resembled guilt. "What's wrong?"

He scratched the back of his head and wouldn't meet my gaze. "It wasn't right for me to bring those girls over here like that. This is your home, I don't want to make you uncomfortable."

"Oh," I answered awkwardly, quite frankly taken aback by Nathan's apology. "Well, um, thank you? I don't really know what to say."

Nathan leaned against the doorframe. "How about I buy you a drink at Samara's party tonight. It's at Luxe, right?"

"Yeah, her parents own it so they closed it for her party," I said, nodding my head as my mind started to wonder about how awesome it would be if my parents had owned a nightclub chain rather than law groups. I pushed those thoughts aside and looked up at Nathan. "But you don't have to. Honestly, Nathan, if the roles were reversed, it wouldn't bother you, so it doesn't bother me. Just maybe limit it to your bedroom."

"Alright," Nathan replied, sounding a bit distraught. "Well, I'm still buying you that drink."

I laughed as I began to walk to my room once more. "Sounds good Mr. Bartender, make it a good one."

I heard Nathan chuckle as I shut my bedroom door and made my way to the closet where my dress was being kept. I promised Samara I'd be the first one there, so I tried my hardest to get ready as fast as I could. Slipping on the dress, taking my hair out of my ponytail and letting the soft waves cascade down my back, and quickly apply eyeliner, mascara, and lipstick, I was ready. All I needed was to find my shoes. I looked under my bed and my closet with no luck. Rushing to my door, I threw it open. "Nat-"

I stopped when I ran into him and he caught me by the shoulders. "Woah," he said softly, looking me up and down. "You look... nice. Why the worried look?"

"I lost my shoes," I pouted. "Have you seen them?"

Nathan took a step back and I could see that changed into slim black jeans, with a white tee, and his usual leather jacket. He cleaned up quickly, and... nice. He tilted his head to the right and placed an index finger on his plump pink lips. "Are they black and strappy?"

"Yes."

Nathan shook his head. "No, haven't seen them."

"Nate!" I groaned, smacking him on the chest. "I know you have, where are they?"

His chuckle echoed throughout the apartment when he pointed in the direction of the front door. "You left them by the door so you could get ready and leave quickly, remember?"

"Right!" I exclaimed, pushing past him, grabbing my clutch by the door, and hopping as I attempt to strap on my heels.

Nathan held out an arm so I could hold on to it as I tried to thread the strap through the buckle properly. "Do you need a ride? I'm not drinking tonight, got stuck with an early shift tomorrow."

I successfully got my shoes on properly and nodded my head. "Sure, if that's okay."

Nathan put his hand on the small of my back as he led me out of our apartment and down the hall. "Are you excited for tonight?"

"Yeah," I grinned. "I've never been to a club before. The closest thing to a club in my hometown was Abigail's basement with disco lights."

Nathan chuckled as he pressed the down button on the elevator. "Who's Abigail?"

"She's my best friend, but I haven't really heard from her much since I moved," I said with a frown, thinking about the single phone call I received from her a month ago. Ever since it's been like radio silent even though I've tried texting and calling numerous times. I shook the thought away, changing the topic completely. "You know Sam is trying to convince me to go to Vegas for my birthday?"

"Oh, really?" Nathan cocked an eyebrow as we stepped into the elevator. "When's that?"

I pressed the parking button. "I'm turning twenty on the first of May. So, Vegas would be pointless because the drinking age in Las Vegas is twenty-one."

Nathan waved his hand dismissively. "You could do anything in Vegas. Anyway, you don't need to fly to the states to have a good time."

"True," I agree, following Nathan's lead as steps out of the elevator and makes his way to his bike.

He hands me the spare helmet and offers me a wicked smile. "Time to party."

The music was loud and pulsating in my ears, making me feel completely out of control. My eyes darted around the club to try and locate Nathan. I squirmed through the crowd, getting slightly irritated about the number of people that were here. I couldn't believe Samara managed to close an entire club for her party - not to mention being able to fill it.

We've been here for a total of an hour and the party was in full swing. Soon after it began, Sam got swept up by some of her friends in her program, which I didn't mind, it was her birthday and I didn't want her to feel inclined to talk to me the whole night just because I have a total of two friends aside from her. So, I decided, if Sam was occupied with her friends and Darian was off with Justin most likely, that I would attempt to find Nathan so he could get me that drink he had promised me.

My eyes continue to search through the swarm of people, Darian is talking animatedly to his boyfriend, Justin, Samara was enjoying her time as the birthday girl, dancing on the countertop of the bar, and Nathan was dancing with a girl I recognized, her name was Rose, she was in the same class Darian and I were in together. Nathan and I locked eyes briefly, and I felt a pang of something I wasn't quite sure of in my chest, I only knew that I wanted to look away.

"Excuse me?" someone tapped on my shoulder and my attention snapped from Nathan to the person behind me. He was tall with a slim build, his dark hair swept over his eyes, but when he moved it to the side, I could see his bright blue eyes, that even the darkness of the club couldn't hide. "You're Audrey, right?"

"Uh," I drawled out. When I realized how stupid I must have sounded, I nodded my head. "Yeah, I am. I'm sorry, but I don't know your name."

The guy chuckled. "That's okay, I don't really talk much in class. I'm in your Intro to Psych class. My name is Jude."

"Well," I say with a smile, trying to be friendly as I felt incredibly guilty for not recognizing Jude whatsoever. "It's nice to meet yo-"

"Hey man, do you mind excusing us for one moment?"

Both mine and Jude's gaze fell onto Nathan, who no longer was dancing with Rose, but instead right behind me, his hand on the small of my back already leading me away from Jude. When we got to the corner of the club, where the music wasn't as loud nor was it as crowded, I shot Nathan a confused look. "Is there something wrong?"

Nathan shook his head but matched my confused look with one of his own. "I was going to ask you the same thing."

"What are you talking about?" I laughed, looking back at Jude, who stared down at the drink in his hand. At that moment, everything clicked. "You thought there was something wrong with Jude and me talking?" When Nathan didn't answer, I laughed once again. "Nate, everything was fine, he was just introducing himself. Apparently, he's in my psych class, but I didn't realize. You can go back to dancing with Rose."

Now it was Nathan's turn to chuckle. "Are you jealous, princess?" He paused for a moment. "You know what? Don't answer that. How about I get you that drink I owe you?"

When we walked up to the bar that Samara was dancing on, hopped off the counter, grabbed two shots, and came up to me. "You look like you could use one."

"Yeah, no kidding." I sighed as I took the shot, jerking my head back as I swallowed.

Nathan walked over to the bar and placed his order, what he got me, I had no clue, but a few seconds later he came back with two drinks, one with just water and the other was the colour of tinted green water, with some mint leaves and ice.

I cocked an eyebrow as I took the drink. "A mojito?"

"Hemingway made it famous for a reason, princess," Nathan said as he took a sip of his water.

I took a large sip of my mojito and shot Nathan a look of disbelief. "You know Hemingway?"

"I can't stand it to think my life is going so fast and I'm not really living it," Nathan quoted with a cheeky grin.

"Nobody ever lives their life all the way up except bullfighters," I replied with an impressed nod. "The Sun Also Rises. I'm surprised."

Nathan scratched his head with a slight smirk. "I'm not just a pretty face, you know."

Samara laughed from the countertop that she returned to after handing me the shot. "Audrey, get your butt up here!" I shook my head but Samara held out her hand with a sly grin. "C'mon, you know you want to."

Rolling my eyes, I handed Nathan the mojito and accepted Sam's hand as I climbed onto the countertop.

"You have got it going on, girls!" Darian hollered from the floor of the club, appearing out of nowhere as we began to dance.

The music continued to roar in my ears, making me feel livelier. Samara was singing along to the words as she danced. Throwing my head back, I let out a laugh.

This was the first night since my parents had died that I felt alive, the first time I didn't feel like I was carrying this huge weight on my chest. I never wanted this moment to end.