Bitten

Ch 16: Illegal

Hazel POV

The music was impossibly loud.

I swore it shook the building as I walked in.

I didn't know much about what I liked in music. But, I knew I didn't like this, at all

It was loud and fast and basically the same words over and over again.

Sort of like something I imagine would come in handy for brainwashing.

Bodies withering against one another, there was a heady sort of atmosphere. One that, to be frank, made me uncomfortable.

They were all so... sexual.

I didn't get it. But at the same time, they had a lifetime of memories of crushes, hormones, and desire.

I... didn't.

I wasn't even sure I had ever been kissed much less had sex.

I knew about it, about the workings of it and the risks of it. But I wasn't sure I had ever seen a naked man.

I slowly pushed through the crowd, determined to find a place to take a picture for my parents.

If I didn't, Isabella would never let me hear the end of it.

Although I wasn't sure she would like the sexual setting.

She was a bit sensitive about certain things because of her past. Sexual situations involving young people make her nervous. I don't think she fully trusts people despite her sunny disposition.

So, somewhere less... intense at the least, quiet at the best.

I would take a picture and probably just leave.

This was too much.

So, slowly I crept up the stairs where the party was clearly still taking place, just less so.

People barely noticed as I walked by, a few eyes narrowing and I skirted around them.

But otherwise I was blissfully invisible as I snapped a quick photo, false smile painted on my face. Texting it to Isabella with several thumbs up emojis.

She seemed utterly elated as she texted back her joy, making me promise to call her later.

I put my phone back in my bag, looking around and suddenly feeling very alone.

Everyone around me was chatting or dancing, grouped off in what was probably familiar cliques.

And I didn't have a single friend in the world.

Suddenly the idea of just going back to my room was... sad.

Worse than being alone and invisible in a crowd.

I wondered through the halls, finding several more flights of stairs.

Going up, and up, and up In the large building, the music becoming a soft hum that vibrated the floors gently.