Chapter one
"Down, down, down, down, down!" crowds of pupils gathered around a small table in the kitchen of a random girls house whose name was unnecessary. Two boys were sat at the table, one on each end. A bottle of vodka sat in the middle of the table with twenty shot glasses, ten for each boy. The boy at the far end was large and muscular. His years of rugby training helping his body cope with the burning sensation of his ninth shot. But on the other side of the table sat a smaller boy, at least a few feet shorter than this bigger guy. He was only on his fifth shot. Still five more to go and he was struggling. The alcohol was flowing through his veins filling his blood with a sensation he wasn't used to.
"I can't, I can't," the smaller boy said holding his hands up in defeat.
His upper body became heavier than normal and the struggle to hold himself up was increasing by the minute. The bigger boy now finished his tenth shot and was passed out on the floor next to his chair. A bunch of his so-called friends came and picked him up laughing at the stream of sliver trickling down his chin. The friends dragged him outside and chucked him into the back of their jeep.
"This place is total shit!" slurred one of the friends.
"Yeah let's get outta here," echoed the one behind him.
The group of boys slammed the passenger door and drove away. Not a single thought floating through their drunk brains, not a single worry in their mind.
Meanwhile back in the kitchen of the house the smaller boy was still holding onto consciousness. He watched through his blurred and watering eyes as the party continued. The world on fast forward as groups of drunk girls danced on top of counter tops. They would catch the odd boy's attention who would stop and stare for a few seconds, a look of entrancement sprawled across their faces. But it never lasted long. After a few seconds something else would distract the mind of a teenage boy. Whether it was a new girl to flirt with, drinks or some other stupid idea their friends came up with, their attention never lasted long.
"Hey Carter what's up?"
Carter looked up from his chair. His head weighing an absolute ton. Unable to get his mouth to function with his brain he looked up and made eye contact with the guy whose name he couldn't quite remember.
"Saw you just got thrashed by Theo ey? Oh well mate not your night" said the same guy who failed to capture Carter's full attention the first time.
Carter remained on the kitchen chair for the rest of the night. Hours ticked by as he watched both boys and girls dance the night away. He was stuck in some sort of trance. A weird world in-between being awake and passing out. It was this state of mind that was hard to get out of. Not quite drunk enough to pass out but still drunk enough to not want to move. Before he was even aware of what was happening he had fallen into a blurry sleep. A sleep where sounds of the music could just about be heard and voices of people could vaguely be recognised.
At least half an hour went by without anyone taking another glance in Carters direction. Gradually the night went on and the crowds began to fade leaving only a few drunk people behind wondering how long it would take before their friend would give up and go home. Carter was slumped back in the wooden kitchen chair, his mind gradually leaving the world into a deep, peaceful sleep. As his mind slipped away from the world, the party and the people he knew his mind began to focus on something a lot more blissful...
There was a horse. A white stallion with a long, cascading mane. On top of this stallion was a man. Not a boy, a man. But not any man, it was Carter. Carter how he dreamed himself being in ten years' time. He was strong and handsome, but not the obvious type of handsome, he was a more thoughtful kind of handsome. You would look at him and slide your gaze past him for the first time, but the second time. The second time you looked at him you would notice what was under the average surface, you would see him for more than he was probably worth giving credit for. But when you did truly notice him, it was not worth missing.
