Changes and Choices

Weakness.

          It's been an hour and a half of me and Hayley dancing, resting for a while and rehydrating to just go back and start dancing again.

We just couldn't help ourselves. We haven't danced like this in ages. It was so fun to not have a care in the world, for once. To just close my eyes, take in the music and let my body do it's thing. I wasn't even thinking about what anyone else thought of me. Joy filled my whole body, from head to toe, and I felt free.

My ribs are hurting me a little and I do have quite a headache. My feet are aching from all this dancing in heels but I'm having an amazing time.

"I'm going to get some water." I say loudly, hoping that Hayley can hear me over the music. When she nods, I know she's heard me. She doesn't stop dancing though, which makes me smile widely and shake my head.

The bar is located outside the house. Specifically, in the backyard. I guess they usually have parties outside but this time they decided to change it up
a little? I have no idea, and to be honest, I don't even care.

When I'm outside, I find out that no one else there and I'm kind of glad it's empty. I can have a little bit of quiet from all the noise inside, even if it is for five minutes. My ears are ringing and the silence is satisfying.

Taking a breath of fresh air, I make my way to the mini fridge and grab two water bottles for Hayley and I.

When I turn around, I see some guy blocking the door that leads back inside, giving me a weird creepy look. He makes his way over to me, standing right in front of me. My heartbeat quickens, worry replacing the joy I was feeling only a couple of seconds ago.

"Hey, sugarplum." He says. I can smell the alcohol on his breath and it makes my stomach twist.

"Move." I say, surprised that my voice is steady. The guy stays where he is. In fact, he moves a bit closer to me, and I'm not having it.

"You look like you could use some good time." He says, slurring his words. This whole idea is so repulsive that I feel like throwing up.

In a split second, his hand snakes around me, groping me from behind. Hell nah. I bring my knee forward, hitting him where it really hurts. His knees buckle and I proceed to kick him hard, sending him to the ground. My heart's still beating like crazy when I run back inside.

Let me tell you, running in heeled boots isn't fun. I wasn't thinking of that though, all I was thinking about is getting the hell out of there.

"You bitch!" His voice booms from behind me and I get more scared. He's following me. This pushes me to run faster since, if he catches up to me, I don't know what I'll do. Last time I took him by surprise, and I don't think I'm stronger than he is. In other words, if he catches up to me, I'm done for.

I look behind me to see if he's still following me when I no longer hear his footsteps. I suddenly run into someone, making me drop both water bottles on the ground. A pair of strong arms catch me before I fall, steading me. I almost let out a scream of frustration before I notice those hazel eyes. Trevor. Relief washes over me and I hug him.

"We gotta stop runnin' into each other like this, princess." He says, smiling. He pulls away to look at me and his smile fades. "What's wrong?" He asks, when he notices the alarm in my eyes.

"A guy, he-" I begin, out of breath. I'm out of breath because of my frantic state, not because of all the running.

"Take your time." He says, his hands on my shoulders. If it wasn't for him, I don't think I could still be standing up right now. I'm so glad he's here. I take back everything I was thinking about not wanting him to come to this party.

"A guy, he wanted to help me have 'a good time' and then he-" I stop
mid-sentence

"He what?" He asks, frowning.

"He... He grabbed me." I stutter, completely embarrassed.

"Grabbed you?" He repeats and I can see him visibly tense. I just nod, too humiliated to even say something. Tears threaten to pour down my cheeks but I refuse to be weak. I don't usually cry easily and I certainly won't start now.

"Where is he?" Trevor asks looking calm. How is he calm right now?

"I have no idea, I couldn't hear his footsteps anymore as soon as I ran into you. He must've noticed you before I have and decided it wouldn't be a good idea to keep following me." I say.

"Are you okay?" He questions, pulling me closer to him, as if he's trying to protect me. Somehow I feel safer when I'm close to him.

Right now, I don't really care about putting up my tough act. I just want someone to be there and I'm not about to ruin Hayley or Izzy's nights by telling them what happened.

"No." I say truthfully, and my voice quivers. I'm ashamed and embarrassed I want to say, but I just stay quiet. Me admitting I'm not fine will suffice for now. I've allowed myself a moment of weakness, but does that make me weak?

"Of course, you're not." He mumbles. "But like, are you hurt?" Trevor asks. I shake my head, not trusting my voice anymore and he nods. He drops his hands from my shoulders and tucks a strand of stay hair behind my ear.

"Let's get out of here. Do you want that?" He's treating me like I'm fragile, like I'm about to break any second now. I don't want to be fragile. I can't be. I take a long, deep breath and start getting myself together.

"No, no. I'm fine." I state, my voice even, and I'm proud of myself. I'm not weak. I can handle it.

"Riley-" He insists, but I interrupt him.

"Trevor, I promise you I'm okay." I say smiling at him. "Thank you." I add, smiling at him.

He bends down and grabs the two fallen water bottles from the floor, handing them back to me.

"Hayley is waiting for me." I say, shifting my weight from one foot to the other.

"Yeah, Aiden in waiting for me too." He says, running his hand through his hair. "We better get going then." His eyes look like they have so much more going on behind them, so much more they want to say yet he just stays quiet.

We make our way back towards the crowd of people, back towards our friends. While making our way back, I can feel him walking closer to me than he has when we made our way towards the nurse's office just a couple of hours ago.