Daredevil

11. Dirty

"Dancing queen, young and sweet, only seventeen!" I sang at the top of my lungs, all previous worries and troubles forgotten as Greg drove down the freeway with the ABBA classics blasting on the radio.

I had almost forgotten where we were going until we pulled up to the vaguely familiar warehouse. I sighed as Greg got out of the car. He stopped in front of the van and watched me from outside as I opened my door and excited warily.

"C'mon princess," he tried, walking beside me, "it won't be that bad. Plus, Dare isn't even here right now, he just wants you here for when he gets here. He just thought it'd take me longer to get you here. Always underestimating me," he muttered the last part.

I was kind of relieved that Darren wouldn't be there, but as we entered the building and the overwhelming stench of sweat filled my nose, I nearly gagged. Well, at least if I threw up, it wouldn't be on Greg's shirt this time.

"I have to go change my shirt," Greg grumbled from beside me as he started walking away.

"Wait, you're leaving me here?" I asked, trailing behind him.

"You're a big girl, you can handle yourself," he said before disappearing into the sea of black clothing.

"Doesn't mean I want to," I muttered, looking around. The music was blasting and people were packed into every corner of the room. Suddenly, someone bumped into me and nearly knocked me over.

"Hey! Watch it you under-grown toma—" the girl paused as she looked at me. "Oh, you're the new girl! I remember you!"

I squinted at her just as a pink strobe light lit up her face. Faintly, I recognized her under the heavy eyeliner.

"Dora!" I exclaimed, happy to find someone I kind of knew.

"It's cool to see you again! Let's go dance!" She cried over the music as the lights flew over the crowd. She grabbed my arm and didn't give me a chance to reply as she dragged me through the crowd of people. Soon, with a lot of pushing and shoving on Dora's part (and extensive apologizing on mine), we made it near the front of the warehouse where the biggest speakers were.

"Is there always a part here?" I asked, shouting so that she could hear me.

"Pretty much every night," she replied, shaking her head and jumping to the beat of the song. It was so distorted and mixed that I couldn't even make out the original song. "You want a drink?"

"No thanks," I answered, moving my body a little, but stopping once I realized any movement would result in immediate grinding with the person behind me.

"Your loss," she commented before turning around and leaving me there. I looked so out of place in my bright orange t-shirt and grey sweats. Especially because everyone else was wearing black.

I waited there for a few minutes and Dora didn't return. I huffed and started making my way towards the side of the warehouse but someone fell into me and knocked me off my feet. I fought to catch my breath as I landed on my back, but didn't get the chance as I started to get trampled by the crowd. I covered my head and tried to get up, but I kept getting shoved back down. Suddenly, a hand was in front of me.

I grabbed it immediately and they pulled me up. "Thank— oh, hey," I said to Greg as I dusted myself off.

"Dare's here, he wants to see you." Was all he said before turning around and most likely expecting me to follow. I groaned quietly as I dragged myself through the crowd, trying to keep up with Greg. I followed him up the stairs and into the room above the chaos with tinted windows. This time, when Greg shut the door, he stayed outside. It made me nervous to be alone in a room with Darren for whatever reason. Still, the room was essentially entirely black except for the odd white piece of decor around the room. I caught Darren lying on one of the couches in his office, a Rubix Cube in his hands.

"You know, I can never figure these things out," he said, his tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth, his lips parted in concentration.

"Me neither," I replied casually, looking around the room calmly. The room was obviously soundproofed because I could hardly hear anything from outside. It also made me think that whatever happened inside couldn't be heard from outside. Not that anyone would be able to hear anything over the music.

Then, Dare put the Rubix Cube on the glass table beside him and stood up. "Welcome back," he commented with a sly smirk on his face. I sighed, but said nothing.

"You wanted to talk?" I inquired, standing with my arms crossed.

"Oh, straight to the point. I like that in a woman," he said, smirking at me as he walked behind his desk and took a seat. I huffed, looking at him exasperatedly.

"Look, either you say what you wanted to say, or I'm leaving," I told him, looking towards the door, getting ready to bolt.

"You're right, you're right," he paused for a moment, bringing his fingers to his lips, his green eyes calculating. "I wanted to excuse my actions from the other day. They were unacceptable and disregarding. I hope they will be overlooked."

I squinted at him, unsure what I was hearing. "Are you... trying to apologize?" I questioned, not knowing what was happening.

"Well, yes and no. I'm not apologizing per se. Rather—" I cut him off.

"—Rather using big words to confuse me," I said, smiling to myself a little. "Well, Darren, I have in fact taken more than one English class in my life and I know what those words mean. While I can appreciate that you've acknowledged that your actions were rude and disrespectful, they will not be overlooked until you ask for forgiveness. Good-bye." I turned around and headed for the door. He didn't come after me as I turned the handle. The door shut behind me and Greg looked at me quizzically.

"Could I have a ride home, please?" I asked, looking up at him, smiling wholeheartedly. There was something about this bulky bald man that made me happy. I didn't quite understand it though I'm pretty sure it's just the way he looks in comparison to his personality.

"Sure, princess," he replied, ruffling my hair.