Roger followed John out of the hall. They had decided to leave early since neither of them was really enjoying the party.
John came to a halt and Roger collided with his back, groaning in pain when his nose hit John's shoulder blade. John turned around and spoke: "I'm going to find Freddie to tell him we're leaving. Wait here!"
Roger crossed his arms on his chest and shifted his weight from foot to foot. He observed the people around him, shortly spotting someone familiar looking: Brian. The corners of Roger's mouth turned up, forming a small smile. He started walking up to Brian, thinking he could have a conversation with him while waiting for John, but stopped dead in his tracks. Brian wasn't alone.
Standing next to him was some woman Roger had never seen before. She was tall, had honey blonde hair and from what Roger could see from that distance, she was very attractive. Her hand was on Brian's arm and she was laughing, probably at something he had said. Brian was smiling.
All of a sudden, Roger felt inexplicably sad. But why did he feel that way when Brian seemed so happy? It didn't make sense to him.
Roger turned to face the other direction when a wave of nausea swept over him. The lights were too bright and the place was too crowded; he felt like he couldn't breathe.
He frantically searched for an escape route, knowing he needed to get out as fast as possible. Any promise he'd made to John about waiting for him had completely vanished from his mind.
To his delight, Roger saw the door only about ten feet away from him. He practically sprinted towards it, not stopping to apologise when he knocked someone over in his hurry. He heard someone shouting angrily at him when he yanked open the door, but he didn't care.
***
It was cold outside, something Roger was happy about. He was standing with his back against the wall of the building he had just fled from. The breeze touching his face felt nice. It calmed him down and helped him clear his mind.
He was startled when someone tapped his shoulder. He turned around, relieved to see it was only John, not a potential murdered.
"You were supposed to wait for me," said John accusingly.
Roger looked at him with an apologetic smile. "I know. I'm sorry. It's just that there were so many people there and I started panicking."
John had a puzzled look on his face. Roger knew it was because he'd never before had any problems with being around lots of people. He was thankful when John didn't question it further.
"It's okay," John reassured. "Shall we go now?"
