Death Boy [Revised Edition]

Three

I had barely been in Warren's house fifteen minutes before I was starting to get a headache and Callie had completely disappeared from my line of sight. I knew how excited Callie was to come to this party, especially since Warren had invited her personally. I was really rooting for them to get together.

Weaving my way in and out of the crowd, I searched for a beverage that didn't have any alcohol or other intoxicating drugs in it.

Honestly, there wasn't a single red cup that didn't reak of booze and with the recent legalization of marijuana, almost everyone was smoking it. I scrunched up my nose and redirected my search to find a door that would lead out into the backyard.

I was relieved to find that the walls of the three-story house muffled the bass of the music.  I took in the peaceful looking backyard with jars of lights leading out to a rather spacious pond with a freshly built gazebo next to it.

Glad that I wasn't wearing stilettoes, I followed the path to the gazebo, where the music was so much quieter.  I had already decided that I would spend a couple of hours there before going to find Callie. I figured that Callie would enjoy her alone time with Warren.

I looked around before pulling a notebook out of the black purse I had brought to the party with me. Clicking a pen, I started writing about the idea for a book that I had.

Writing stories was my favourite pass time. It was soothing and distracted me from the stress and pressure that my family was under from my dad's position in the town. I had planned on attending school as an English major, but I wasn't completely convinced it's what I wanted in life.

My other passion was learning about criminology. I loved spending days at the police station with the deputy, learning about different crimes that have been committed in Sunnybrook throughout the history of the town.

I've spent countless hours binging whatever crime show I happen to be obsessing over at the time.  Criminal Minds was a key show that has taken many hours of sleep away from me.

I shook my head, trying to rid myself of the woozy feeling that had suddenly hit me.

"What's that you're writing?" an unfamiliar voice asked.

I turned to see the most handsome man I had ever seen.

That's saying something considering I'm alive at the same time as Chris Evans, Tom Holland, and Robert Downey Jr.

"I didn't think they were inviting alumni to this party," I said, trying to come up with a logical reason as to why I didn't recognize this beautiful man in front of me.

"Oh, I'm not a graduate. I just moved here. This week," he said.

I took in his flawless pale skin, dark hair and his eyes were so dark that I was convinced they were black. Despite the leather jacket and black clothes, there was something angelic about him. He almost appeared to be glowing.

"You're Devon," I said.

"And you must be the troublemaker that will be giving me the tour of the school tomorrow," he laughed.

"Is that the word the school administration used to describe me?" I asked with an eyebrow raised.

"No, but based on the tone that Mr Carly used, he isn't overly impressed with you," he smiled.

"He is impossible to impress," I shrugged.

I took the moment of silence to place my notebook down on the edge of the gazebo railing and steady myself.

As time passed, the unnormal feeling in my stomach only grew.

"Are you okay? You don't look so well," Devon asked, taking a step towards me.

"I don't feel so good," I admitted.

"Too much alcohol?" he asked.

"No. I haven't had anything to drink," I replied.

"You should take a seat," he said, taking another few steps towards me and guiding me towards the bench that faced the pond.

The hand that was placed on my shoulder stunned me momentarily.

His hand was so cold it felt as though I was being touched by ice. Despite the cold, I felt relaxed.

Once we were both seated, I impulsively took his hand from my shoulder and pressed it up against my forehead to try and sooth the queasy feeling.

However, as soon as I had realized what I had done, I dropped his hand and turned away, trying to hide the fact that I was turning the colour of a tomato.

"Sorry," I muttered, pushing my hair out of my face.

"You look like you're about to pass out. Do you need me to call someone for you?" Devon asked, forcing me to look at him.

"No. I'm fine, really. I get lightheaded all the time," I lied, stumbling over my words.

I could tell that he was concerned, but I didn't know why. 

Why would this stranger give a damn about my well-being? Not even Callie or my parents would be this concerned about my health.

Honestly, it's not like I was neglected, but my parents probably wouldn't know if I bought a whole cake and ate it in front of them if the television was on.

"You're clearly not okay. Who did you come here with?" Devon insisted.

In an attempt to show Devon just how fine I was, I stood up quickly.

I must've stood up a little too quickly since everything soon faded into darkness.