“Your smoothies always taste so good, Akira.” Eve moaned, taking another sip of the cup of smoothies.

Nancy and Josh both nodded in agreement.

“Buuuuuuut, her Nana’s cookies are the best! Can I get that?” Josh countered, his green eyes fluttering cutely.

I nodded, a smile on my face as I quickly wrote down his order. It was a Friday afternoon and my friends decided to visit my Nana’s little cake shop, where Ama and I helped out.

“By the way, have you thought about it yet?” Josh suddenly raised and they all turned to look at me expectantly.

I placed the little notepad in my front pockets and lay my hands on the flat surface of the wooden table, before giving Eve my full attention. “Thought about...what?”

Eve looked at me like I was crazy. “Don’t tell me you forgot!”

“If you don’t want to go to the party, all you have to do is say no, Akira.” Nancy snapped, drawing in the last bit of smoothies through her straw.

My face quickly flushed at her accusatory tone.

Eve gave her a warning look before glancing back at me with a pitiful look on her face. “The party, Akira. The one where all the cool kids will be attending.”

I loved Eve to death but these days all she wanted to do was be with the cool kids. Although Nancy has a hand in her sudden change of heart.

She had always been the most outspoken one out of the both of us, I was the meek and timid one. Eve was a blonde with beautiful blue eyes and an outstanding slim figure, she was breathtaking. She usually had guys flocking all over her anytime we were out together, which was usually a good thing since I never really liked any form of attraction and had always loved living in her shadow.

“I don’t think I will be able to make it, Eve. My Nana had warned me about how young girls and guys of our age are mysteriously going missing. I d-don’t think I can take that risk, guys.” My hands instinctively went to the edge of my apron, and I suddenly began to feel little.

They all looked at me dumbfounded.

“I told you she wouldn’t go.” Nancy grinned maliciously. “After all, she is nothing but a scared little virgin.”

Unshed tears filled my eyes at her words. This was exactly how I envisioned this conversation to play out and I was so not prepared.

Eve tugged my hands down, clasping in tight in her palms. “Come on, Eve! It’ll be fun, I promise. Besides, Josh and I will be there to protect you.”

Nancy quietly snickered at her last sentence. My palms suddenly became sweaty and all I wanted to do then was run to the back room and cry.

I swallowed the huge lump lodged in my throat before replying with a phoney smile. “Alright then. I’ll go. What time is it?”

Eve gave me a large grin, showcasing her straight, pearly whites. “Not like you had a choice, I would’ve dragged you there myself if you said no. I’ll pick you up by 7.”

I gave her a curt nod, right when I turned to walk away, Nancy harshly gripped my wrist.

“And please, for the love of God, Akira, dress sexy. No more grandma gowns.” She sneered looking at the length of my gown with distaste.

I frowned as she released my wrist, listening to Eve chastising her as I walked away from their table to the counter.

“What happened?” Ama asked immediately she saw my face.

She looked down at my left hand cradling my right wrist. Her eyes flashed with anger at the red and angry bruise looking right back at her. My skin was pale so it was easy to bruise.

“Don’t tell me that bitch did that to you.”

Ama and Nancy had never really liked themselves ever since Nancy became friends with us, or Eve rather.

“I don’t think she meant it,” I answered softly. Looking down at my gown, tears filled my eyes again. I had always had a thing for Victoria Era vintage gowns which I always got from the thrift store a few blocks away. This particular gown wasn’t even as long as she made it up to be.

Ama gave me an unbelievable look. “Oh, please! That girl hates your guts and you know it.”

I gave her a reassuring smile. “I know. I can take care of it, I promise.”

“I have to go. Duty calls,” I announced, nodding towards the older couple that just stepped in, brushing off the unsure look she gave me.

Soon, it was six pm, Ama and I locked up the shop and headed home. Occasionally talking about everything and nothing as we took the short trek to our home.

“I have about forty minutes to get ready for the party.”

“Yup, you’re lucky you have me as a sister,” Ama smirked as she unlocked the door, my legs already wishing for a break after a long day.

Immediately we stepped into our home, a familiar sense of comfortability washed over me, making me release a huge breath.

“Come on! Go freshen up so I can dress you up.” Ama shouted, snapping me out of my thoughts.

I pouted, “ I don’t want any of your short dresses, Ama.”

She quickly gave me the stink eye. “You don’t have a choice. You have to prove to fancy Nancy that you’re not stuck-up.”

Although I wanted to tell her that I didn’t have to prove anything to anyone, I ran to the bathroom to shower as fast as possible.

When I was done, I called Ama and we both started raiding my closet for an outfit worth wearing to a college party going to be filled with frat boys.

Ama groaned some minutes later, clearly frustrated at the clothes in my closet. “Where the hell did you get all these dresses from?”

I looked at the lumps of clothes on my bed and smiled. “From Loki’s thrift.”

She shook her head at my response before dragging me to her room right opposite mine.

I slowly stepped towards her closet filled with sparkly dresses, mini skirts, and crop tops. Although they were pretty, I didn’t have enough confidence like Ama to put them on.

Shuffling through the hanging clothes, she brought out a short black silk gown, with a dropping neckline. She had a huge smile on her face as she looked between me and the dress.

I quickly shook my head, stepping back. “Nope. I’m not wearing this.”

Ama scoffed, pointing at the towel wrapped around my body. “Get that off and put this on. This gown is at knee-length, Akira. It’s the longest thing I own.”

With a sigh, I dropped the towel to the floor and begrudgingly put the dress on. Of course, it was a bit of a hassle since I was a lot curvaceous than Ama. The gown hugged my torso and hips tightly, making me look slim, but at least I could breathe. The black colour made me appreciate my pale skin for the first time and the contrast between my pale skin and the black dress was indeed beautiful.

Ama lowly whistled, looking at me from head to toe. “You don’t even have makeup on yet and you already look so damn hot.”

I narrowed my eyes at her, with a huff I tug the gown down to my knees a little.

“Don’t you think it’s too short?” I pouted, walking to her closet to find something longer.

But Ama wasn’t having it, she dragged me to sit on the pink chair in front of her bright pink vanity dressing mirror.

She did my makeup as quickly as possible, making me shut my eyes close while at it. Seeing as we had not much time left, we both opted for something simple.

I opened my eyes when she was done and I almost didn’t recognize myself. The mascara and the smoky black eyeshadow made my dull blue eyes pop and the pink strawberry lipgloss made my lips look fuller. My red hair was curled and it flowed down my neck in thick vibrant waves.

I released a huge breathe when I stood up, turning to face Ama who looked astonished.

“You look beautiful.” She simply said, an adoring smile on her face.

I gave her an air kiss, turning to go find some shoes to put on. But Ama stopped me with a tug on my wrist, a look on her face as she stared at my small feet.

“I have just the right shoes for you.” She said, bending at the foot of her closet to search for something.

She came out with a pair of black strappy sandals.

“I don’t want to hear a word from you. You’re wearing this and it’s final.” She snapped immediately she saw the look of disagreement written all over my face.

I quickly put the shoes on, briefly admiring my small feet as they fit perfectly. I rushed to my room to pick up a small black purse before walking down the stairs with Ama.

“There’s spaghetti in the oven. I’ll be back before ten.” I told her.

She snickered. “Sure.”

Right as I was about to ask her what she meant, a knock resounded on the door.

“That’s them, I have to go.” I promptly said to her, leaning to kiss her on her cheeks.

“Love you!”

I dashed out the door, and I was met with the face of Eve. She looked stunning, with a short black leather skirt, pink crop top, and black heeled boots.

“Wow, Akira.” She breathed out, looking short of words for some seconds. “You look fucking hot.”

I blushed, thanking her as we both walked to her father’s Jeep.

“Wow, Akira, I never thought you would brush up this good,” Nancy said immediately I slipped into the back seat right next to Josh.

I didn’t know if what she said was a compliment or an insult but as soon as she sent me a nasty look, I figured out it was the latter.

“You look beautiful tonight, Akira. I mean, really beautiful.” Josh whispered right next to my ear.

I shivered uncomfortably at our proximity and I gave him a grateful smile before looking out the window, taking in the trees and cool breeze.

“We’re here!” Nancy shrieked almost an hour later as Eve parked in front of a huge house. The huge building was right outside the border of our small town.

We walked into the building, the loud bass of music made the entire floor vibrate as a sensual song blasted from the speakers.

The strong stench of alcohol assaulted my nostrils and I fruitlessly tried to avoid brushing against the bodies gyrating on the dance floor, while the lustful gazes coming from the frat guys made my skin crawl.

Eve dragged me to a corner of the room and asked me to stay put like I was going to go ahead and introduce myself to people.

I nodded and watched her walk to what looked like a makeshift bar, my legs tapping the ground and following the beat.

A hand tapped my shoulder, scaring the living daylight out of me. I sighed in relief when I realized it was Josh. He already had a cup in his hand which he took a sip from.

“Hey!” I smiled, shouting over the loud music. “Where’s Nancy?”

Josh shrugged with a grin on his lips. “I don’t know. Probably in a room with a guy.”

I laughed, knowing he was telling the truth.

Eve suddenly appeared with two red solo cups in both hands, she abruptly shoved a cup in hand and the alcohol spilled a little.

“Come on, Akira!” She screamed. “Dance, fuck the rules, and live wild!” She was already sounding like she was on the verge of getting drunk.

I shook my head at her tipsy words, taking a small sip of the alcohol and immediately, I winced at the bitter taste.

I looked back at Josh to find his gaze on my cleavage. I quickly cleared my throat, snapping him out of his daze.

“Do you wanna dance?” He suddenly announced, looking around the crowded room.

I took a rather large sip this time around before I nodded, needing a little boost of confidence from the alcohol. I didn’t know why I suddenly needed to prove something to myself.

I followed him into the hot dance floor and we found the perfect spot. Josh and I spent the next thirty minutes, laughing, dancing, and grinding on each other, our bodies were drenched with exertion as I took in our environment.

With his arms wrapped around my torso, Josh leaned in to whisper against my ear.

“Wanna go get some air?”

I nodded desperately, blindly taking his hand I let him lead me upstairs before we walked through a balcony door.

“You have no idea how much I needed this. Thanks.” I breathed out to him when I felt the cool breeze against my warm skin.

I turned to look at him, wondering why he suddenly became quiet, but I was, once again, shocked to find his gaze on me.

My confusion heightened when he unexpectedly laughed, leaning his hands against the metal railing as he looked at the forest ahead of us.

He abruptly turned to face me, and his fingers began to reach for my hair. I watched as he twirled a single strand of my hair before he tugged, hard.

I gasped, my eyes brimned with tears at the intense pain.

“W-What are you doing, Josh?”

He used his other hand to grip my arm tightly, making me stand still.

“Isn’t this what you want?” He sneered, jerking me closer to him.

I whimpered, all efforts to tug my arm out of his grip turned futile. I looked at the doors, desperately hoping and praying for someone else to step in.

“I d-don’t understand you, Josh. Please don’t do this.” I begged, my tears were already pouring freely.

“Shut it!” He seethed, his other hand snaked up to harshly tug my hair.

“You know, I’ve had this huge crush on you ever since I set my eyes on you. But you were always the naive Akira, I had to keep my feelings hidden.” He violently yanked the strap of my gown down.

“But I just realized that our naive Akira isn’t as naive as we thought. I just had you grinding all over my cock some minutes ago. What does that make you?” He taunted and his hand moved to squeeze my breast roughly.

“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry, Josh!” I sobbed, trying to calm him. “Let me go and we can talk about this maturely.”

“That makes you a slut, Akira. A fucking slut!” He mocked tugging my hair harder as he dismissed my cries of pleas.

His words struck me like lightning, I suddenly realized that if I didn’t get myself out of this situation, Josh was going to do something terrible.

Using all of my strength, I shoved him off me and slapped him on his cheek, hard. So hard, my palm began to throb.

“I fucking hate you!” I cried out, quickly running out of the balcony.

I ran downstairs, my mind a mess as I tried to find Eve. The looks I received from other people weren’t unexpected, my hair was strewed, I had black streaks of mascara running down my cheeks, the strap of my gown was not in place and my boob was almost hanging out of my gown.

“Akira!” I heard Eve shout behind me, I turned back to see her looking at me with wild eyes, beside her was Nancy, who – perpetually– looked bored.

Eve quickly ran to me.

“Are you okay? What happened?!” She asked frantically, her eyes searching my body for any form of injury.

“I’m fine. Josh tried to –“ I sobbed, unable to complete the sentence. Instead, I appreciated the comfort of Eve’s warm hug.

“I’m so sorry, Akira. This is all my fault.” She whispered as her hands rubbed my back in soothing motions.

“It’s fine. I have to get out of here, can you give me a ride home?” I asked.

Before she could reply, Nancy raised her hand. “But we just got here.”

“She was almost raped, Nancy!” Eve shrieked, looking at her with hatred. “If you wanna stay here, stay. But I am not a bitch like you.”

“Let’s get out of here, Akira.” Eve tugged on my hand and we started walking out of the house, with Nancy storming behind us.

We reached Eve’s car and as she brought the key out, Nancy snatched it away from her hand and threw it into the bushes.

“Let’s see how you get home now.” She smirked before she strutted off, leaving Eve and I standing with our mouths opened.

“That fucking bitch!” Eve gasped. “I can’t believe she just did that.”

Eve walked to the path where the keys may have landed with her phone torch.

“It’s not here. And I can’t risk it, this place might be full with things I can’t begin to imagine.” She said, walking back to me, typing furiously on her phone. “I’ll call Henry to come get us.”

After a few tries, Henry finally picked up the call. Eve rambled off the address and I gave her a look when she mentioned a gas station before ending the call.

“It’s a gas station I saw while driving us here.” She stated, answering my unasked question as she started walking.

“Where are you going?!” I shrieked as she continued to walk into the dark street, her heeled boots clicking loudly on the concrete floor.

She turned to give me a dry look. “To the gas station, Akira.”

I gave her a ridiculous one. “We’re two beautiful young girls walking in the middle of a dark and deserted street. What do you think is going to happen?”

Eve giggled. “Stop getting scared, Akira. It’s just a three minutes walk.”

With a defeated sigh I walked after her, rubbing my arms as the wind became harsher.

“I left my purse in your car, earlier.” I suddenly said, walking faster to meet up with her quick pace.

“I know. Nancy is a grade-A bitch, I can’t –“

Quick movement behind the thick bushes beside caught my attention and I interrupted her.

“Did you see that?” I whispered, stopping to look into the forest.

“See what?” Eve asked. “Akira, I understand your fear but we have to keep moving.”

“We have to call the cops, Eve. There’s someone here.” I declared, turning to face her.

When I looked behind her, there was someone there, a huge male figure, looming behind her and something glinted in the moonlight when he raised his hand.

“Eve, duck!” I screamed, but before she could make any attempt to duck, he harshly grabbed her and pierced something against her neck, a dangerous smile on his face as she became limp.

“Help! Someone please, help!” I screamed into the darkness just as a rough palm clamped over my mouth and I felt something prick the skin of my neck.

As I slipped into unconsciousness, I realized two things; it wasn’t just one man and they weren’t humans.