The Last Animega

Dance the Night Away

When Amber pushed open the doors to the old storage building, I was blinded. Christmas lights lined every corner and crack. Wreaths and garlands lined the tables and walls. Christmas ornaments hung from the light fixtures and from the large pine tree that sat in the very center. Music blared from the stage that was placed against the wall opposite us. A group of kids, about my age, sang and played their instruments like they didn't have a care in the world. The cold was replaced with hot stuffy air as we stepped inside.

"Whoa." Amber gasped. Almost immediately, I felt eyes staring at me. Girls glared and guys goggled. And let me tell you, it was the most embarrassing thing I have ever encountered. "Quit slouching!" Amber hissed. "You'll only draw more attention to yourself." Taking a shaky breath, I tried to walk normally. Another thing your should know, that is really hard to do with tiny little pencils holding you up.

Richard, Dillon and Serena were all standing near a long table that held a various amount of snacks and drinks. "Wow, Sam is that you?" Richard ogled.

I nodded, keeping a bit of distance between him and me. If Alex was right, then I had to be careful around him. But at the same time, "Richard" couldn't know I suspected him. If he was the remaining Guardian, then it would be very bad if I got him angry.

We grabbed some food and sat down at a table. I nibbled on some potato chips, trying to resist the urge to bolt. "Sam, you've been edgy ever since we got here." Dillon observed. "What's bugging you?" I kept my eyes on the plate of food in front of me. I had promised myself to ditch these guys in the next town. And this was that next town. Just a bit longer, and they would be safe from harm. I would be gone, running on my own from Richard. That is, if he was the Guardian.

"Sam." Dillon pressed.

"Sorry." I smiled. "It's nothing, really. I just...don't do well in big crowds."

Before he could push me any farther, two girls popped up beside us. One had blonde hair and the other brown. They both wore frilly dresses with many layers of sparkly ruffles. The blonde's dress was a salmon pink. The brunette's was an blueish green. Both had so much makeup plastered on their faces that it shouldn't be legal. Almost instantly, I recognized them. These were the bimbos that made me lose sight of Erik and Thomas.

"Um, my friend and I wanted to know if you two would like to dance." The blonde smiled. Her teeth sparkled with an unnatural whiteness. My eyes narrowed at them.

"Sam, is that okay with you?" Richard asked. No, not this time. The last time I let these Barbie dolls drag away my friends...

I waved my hand. "Go ahead, have fun." DANG IT! Why was my life repeating itself? I'm making the same mistakes even though I know what the outcome will be. 3 of the 5 musketeers remained. Just like last time. My gaze snapped back to the small paper plate of food. What was going on?

Someone poked my arm and I looked up. Serena leaned in close to me. "That girl over there is looking at us." She whispered. I followed her gaze to a table that was practically hidden in shadow. All I could make out was blonde hair and two bright blue orbs.

Someone tapped my shoulder before I could make out any more. I turned around to see who the culprit was.

A guy with short dark brown hair stood behind me. He was wearing a black tuxedo and white tie. His eyes were a bright hazel shade. The guy's cheeks turned a bit pink when I faced him. "Um, er..." He shifted his gaze to the ground. "Would you mind...dancing with me?" He muttered. I could hear Amber quietly screaming to herself.

"I don't...I don't really dance." I smiled weakly. Amber elbowed me in the ribs.

"When a cute guy asks you to dance, you dance." She hissed in my ear.

"Yes, mother!" I snapped.

The guy looked at me hopefully. Sighing, I leaned over to Serena. "If something goes the slightest bit wrong, find me or Dillon. And I don't mind if it's a false alarm." I stood up and faced the guy. "I guess one dance won't hurt anybody." His expression brightened and he practically dragged me onto the dance floor.

Awkwardly, I followed his lead to the beat of "Open Arms" by Journey. Even though this song was almost 300 years old, it was still well known. Mostly because no one really made up new songs these days. In a way, we were still recovering from the war. It had occurred over 200 years ago and had destroyed most of the world. Right now, I was in Nidus, the remaining land of the USA.

"You should be prepared to dance a lot more tonight," the boy said. Even with my heals, he was a couple of inches taller than me.

"Don't act so cocky," I commented. "I said one dance and I meant it to be the last one as well."

He brushed a lock of curly red hair out of my face. My cheeks began to warm. Wasn't he acting shy just seconds ago? Suddenly, I felt a strong yearning for freedom. The guy winked and tightened his grip.

"One dance, right?" He asked. Pursing my lips, I stayed. "What I meant to say was almost every guy here has their eyes on you."

"That didn't happen last time I was here." I stated.

The song ended and the mysterious boy released me. "Maybe it did and you didn't notice." He smiled. The boy grabbed my arm as I began to walk away. "Can I show you something?" He asked. Groaning, I followed him out of the storage building and into the bitter cold.

The thick snowflakes came down lazily. The crystallized water droplets stuck onto my eyelashes, making it a bit hard to see. He lead me into an alley not far from the building from which we had come. At first, I saw nothing of significance. Then, two bodies formed. One was hunched over on the ground, the other was standing in front of the other. As we got closer, I recognized the bodies.

Dillon's shirt was torn at the shoulder. He was clutching his ribcage as if he couldn't breath. Richard stood above him, a wicked smile on his face. Richard's icy blue eyes flickered over to me. I was pushed from behind and I landed into the freezing snow. Someone sat on my spine and bound my hands tightly behind my back.

"Nice job, Natalie." He praised. The pressure on my back lessened as the body seemed to shrink. A little girl with long, dark brown hair jumped off of me and next to Richard. She hugged his arm and smiled.

"Thanks, Aiden." She chirped.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Sam: Oh wow, Erik took longer than this in showing he was a traitor.

Aiden: Uh, actually that took 7 chapters. We are 7 chapters into the book...

Sam: THAT DOESN'T COUNT! He was brainwashed. You are not! It wasn't till the very very end that the viewers figured out that he was trying to kill me!

Aiden: He stabbed you. Which caused you to die later on. Still counts.

Aridis: Wow, thanks for telling everyone about ANOTHER freaking repeat in my story, Aiden!

Aiden: Well, you're the author. If you don't like it, then change the story.

Aridis: Okay, I will. Sam, how do you feel about a new enemy? One maybe more suave and less of a cocky jerk?

Sam: Fine with me.

Aiden: OKAY, I GET IT. Continue on with your story, oh Great Aridis.

Aridis: MWHAHAHAHA. Don't forget to Vote and Comment and Breath and stuff. TILL NEXT TIME!