Rise

Realize

Trish stirs in her sleep, awakening slowly, but surely - completely disoriented by the unfamiliar surroundings. In her lucid state, she assumed that everything that she had experienced the day before must have been part of a dream. Of course, finding herself in the club, one she could have sworn that she had dreamt up, is enough to get her on edge.

And if that isn't enough, Dez is nowhere to be seen.

She sits up on the couch, tossing the tablecloth, which she had used as a makeshift blanket, aside. She turns her head to the empty sofa chair that her friend had fallen asleep on last night. The impression on the place he sat still fresh, she figures that he must have gotten up just recently. He couldn't have gotten far, now could he?

She slides off the couch, onto her feet, stretching out her torso. She pushes at the bottom of her back with her palms, straightening out her spine. With a couple cricks and cracks, some slightly misaligned vertebrae are popped back into place. It's a wonder she was able to fall asleep at all last night, the couch feeling as rugged as a boulder, and just as stiff.

Wait a second, she pauses as she gathers her thoughts. Sleep. She had fallen asleep. Shit, she curses internally, recalling what she had promised her friend the night before.

_______________________________________

"Yeah, I'll keep watch now, Dez. You rest. I got this."

"Y-you sure, Trish? I-I...I don't know if I can even go to sleep. I'm scared."

"Just shut up and go to sleep, you doof!"

"Fine..."

_______________________________________

"DEZ!" she calls out to the boy, growing more and more perturbed by the eerie silence following the echo of her own voice. The very un-Dez-like silence. Certainly if he was scoping about, his clumsiness would lead to quite the cacophonous commotion, knowing just how he is. Especially when he's trying his darndest to stay quiet.

Her heart rate speeding up by the second, not just at the thought of her own self being all alone in an uncertain situation - but, frankly, fearful for Dez's sake. The poor boy, as much as he enjoys playing "superhero", would never fare well in an actual combative situation. His inability to fend for himself resulted in Trish taking on the burden of that responsibility. And she's already lost sight of him.

She calms her nerves by humming a tune; one of the songs her bestie had written for her when they were young. Ally's words always managed to somehow encourage her and help her feel at home.

Ally...Trish squints her eyes shut, praying internally for her best friend's safety. And for the safety of her friend, Austin, as well. Knowing them, they're probably looking after each other. Austin's strong enough, Ally's smart enough - they must be okay, she tries to reassure herself. And her family are the De La Rosas - as tough as she is. They'd be fine, as well, right?

"Dez!" she calls him once again. The continued silence sends sharp chills up her back. Where the heck did that whack-a-doodle run off to without telling me?!, she wonders, her mental raging on the verge of being released externally - her fear threatening to come alive as anger. It's the only way she would be able to deal with the situation, if she wishes to keep it together. Anger would save her.

"T-T-T-Trish?" her friend's quivering voice replies as he emerges from the men's room. "I-I was just in the b-b-b-bathroom." He wraps his arms around himself as he continues to shake. "The b-bathrooms here are really cold."