CONSUME

[00] prologue

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"I'm going to grab another drink! You sure you don't want anything?" I felt a tapping on my shoulder, and I turned around to my best friend Noah shouting at me over the music. 

"I need water!" I yelled back, the both of us squeezing and pushing through the groups of drunk teenagers, shuffling through the crowded room and eventually stumbling to the drink table. We told the guy who looked a little older than the rest of us what we wanted. 

I felt the beads of sweat trickling down my neck and now forming onto my face. I swiped the perspiration off of my forehead with the back of my hand. It was a New Year's Eve party, and spending the new year with my friends was what made this year already feel better than those in the past. The pounding music, the walls spinning, my thighs burning as a side effect of jumping up and down to the music-- these were all things that made the adrenaline rushing through my body so extremely elevating.

"Thanks!" I nodded at him with the smile that was already glued to my lips and grabbed the plastic cup from his hands that were wet with alcohol. Noah and I walked back, on our way back to continue pushing through the crowd and back to the center of the dance floor (which was just the living room of some poor kid's house). As I took a step forward, I felt someone shove my shoulder and spill my water along with whatever they were drinking, all over the top half of my body.

The icy cold liquids drenched the tips of my hair and made my white tank top sticky and wet. My body that was damp with sweat, was now soaked in water and what smelt like beer. A throaty gasp left my lips as I felt the spilled beverages trickle down my neck and onto my chest. 

"Hey, what the hell?!" I groaned, loudly speaking over the thumping music. I looked down at my shirt, seeing my red laced bra peak through my now transparent top. I rolled my eyes and looked up to see just who it was that was responsible for staining my clothes with alcohol, the smell already wafting up into my nose. 

"My bad-" a male voice began to apologize. I looked up and saw the one and only Axel Conynghim throw his hands up in defense, scanning my body. My gaze remained on his as I watched his eyes make their way up to my face, and I could see the realization of who I was wash over his expression. 

"You," I scrunched my nose up in disgust, looking over to my left seeing Noah already far into the group of people swaying to the music. "You ruined my shirt!" 

He curled his lips up into a smile, and just the mere sight of his face made my blood boil, "I don't know if it's ruined. Honestly, I think it looks better this way." I scoffed as I saw him eye my chest. I shoved my cup to him and forced him to hold it, before pushing past his tall body and forcefully scurrying away in search for the nearest bathroom in the house. Once I accidentally opened one too many bedrooms, I finally found a dark bathroom. 

Flicking the light on and shutting the door, the sound of the music became muffled, and the only thing I could hear was the sound of my heart beating in my ears. I placed my palms onto the sink and gripped the cold granite, looking at my flushed reflection in the mirror. My cheeks were red and my brown skin was glossed with sweat, the mascara on my eyelashes a little smudged. The only thing still in-tact was my straightened hair. Well, except for the wet ends of it that were now already beginning to curl up and reform to their natural state. 

"Ugh," I rolled my eyes at the frustration of my good time being blown by him. I snatched a few paper towels that were sitting in a roll on the side of the sink and wet them with water, scrubbing down my shirt and attempting to wash the stench of alcohol from my hair. 

This was his fault. If it were any one else, perhaps I wouldn't let the incident anger me as much, maybe even not at all. However, Axel Conynghim was enough to ruin my mood no matter where I was or what I was doing. Honestly, he just pissed me off. He always has.