~* Bad decisions make great stories *~
A Harry Styles dark romance that explores the intricacies of mental health, morality and sexual attraction. Enter a world of sin, opulence and crime.
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It started and ended with the wind.
She was a hurrican...
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"Don't try to be the one Person who has stayed Just to say they never left me." Orchids - Stone Sour.
Sensory overload. There is no other way to properly describe Fantasia.
A combination of noise, lights and smells assault my senses and leave me with an overwhelming urge to run - to find some dark, secluded corner, curl up and hide.
Eli's presence is enough to cause the crowd to part in front of him - as though everyone instinctually knows to move out of his way thanks to some primitive sense of self preservation; a biological push strong enough to cut through the alcohol and drug induced euphoria. Predator vs prey. Parting a sea of people worshipping false Gods - Biblical style.
So why am I not afraid of him?
He guides me with sure steps towards the bar. I can see several staff rushing back and forth serving the never ending line of customers but one girl stands out. At a glance; she's everything I wish I could be. Confident, beautiful and definitively in charge. Her red hair matches her painted lips and she carries herself with a self-assuredness I have never been able to achieve. She notices Eli approaching but ignores him until he is in front of her and gives her no other choice but to acknowledge him.
"Got another one for you Tink." Eli sounds amused and the woman, Tink, looks exasperated and rolls her eyes dramatically. She turns her critical gaze to me and assesses me with a withering stare. I feel exposed and instantly revert to my self preservation tactic of being small.
"Any use on the floor or does she need to be trained from the ground up too?" Hands on her hips and a sour expression on her pretty face; she sounds annoyed but I suspect, for once, it is not necessarily at me. Perhaps she has had to take in one too many strays in similar positions to my own. The way they're speaking about me like I am an object is starting to annoy me though - however I keep my mouth shut and simply observe.
Eli glances at me, a quick look, but I see something akin to compassion in his eyes before he turns back to reply to Tink. I'm still trying to figure him out and I am no closer to understanding him than I was back in the bathroom.
"She'd do better running stock and serving smaller parties to start. She's a bit shy." Tink scoffs loud enough to be heard over the music and rolls her eyes again for added effect. Her piercing gaze pins me in place as she turns to address me for the first time.
"This ain't the place for shy, love. You got a name?" She has an accent that I can't quite place and I find myself fixating on that until her hand waving in my face reminds me she asked me a question. I can feel my cheeks flush with embarassment and I will myself to answer before I make things worse for myself.
