^ September 13 ^
"I don't want to go to any party. Plus, it's Niall's," I sat frowning, eating with El and Beth.
"Come on, let's go. We'll have a drink, have some fun," El urged.
"With a leg in a cast?" I raised an eyebrow. "Besides, I have this bad feeling that something bad is going to happen."
"Nothing bad will happen. We'll just go, have a little fun, say happy birthday, and leave," Beth whined.
"Fine, but I'm not giving him anything," I pouted.
"You can contribute to mine," El shrugged. "Now, let's start getting ready!" she shrieked and jumped off her bed.
^ 1 Hour Later ^
El spent a whole hour getting us, including herself, ready. She picked out our outfits, did our hair, and applied makeup. I can't say we looked bad. Finally, after finishing everything, we left for some fraternity house where the party was taking place. I kept feeling that something bad was about to happen, but I tried to ignore it.
When we arrived, the house was already blasting loud music, and the inside was packed with people. As soon as we entered, Niall approached us.
"Happy Birthday, Niall!" El started. "To your second decade! You're twenty and—" I cut her off.
"Blah blah, happy birthday. I'm going for the drinks," I mumbled, turned around, and headed toward the drinks table. I downed two cups, grabbed another one in my hand, and managed to hobble to the sofa a meter away from the table.
The party wasn't bad, but I really didn't like it because I couldn't friggin' move from this sofa. My leg started to hurt, it was boring here, and watching what others were doing was strange. I felt like some kind of detective. Ha ha!
I asked some guy to hand me another drink, and thank goodness he agreed and didn't hit on me. I don't even know how long I'd been sitting here. I felt slightly tipsy, but it wasn't the level I was comfortable with.
I didn't even realize how someone managed to press something resembling a rag to my mouth. Darkness.
I woke up tied to a chair. My leg hurt like hell, and I won't even mention my head. The room was dark and empty.
"Hey! I want food!" I yelled as loudly as I could. "And I need painkillers!"
"Who's awake," a guy giggled as he entered through the door. Too bad I couldn't make out his face.
"I want food!" I yelled at him. "And painkillers!"
"Stop screaming, I can hear you," he presumably frowned.
"Then give me what I asked for!"
"You do realize that I kidnapped you, not the other way around."
"Then why the hell did you kidnap me in the first place?" I rolled my eyes, even though he couldn't see it.
"Because you're a friend of Niall and his crew," he explained.
"The Tubby's?" I snorted. "A friend?" I started laughing.
"The Tubby's?" he sounded confused. "You mean Niall?"
"That tub of lard is not my friend. My friend is Jake, for example, and Niall and his buddies keep trying to worm their way in with me. I don't even know why, but they are annoying sometimes," I deliberately didn't mention El or Beth so he wouldn't think of kidnapping them. They are my best friends, but Jake would survive.
"It doesn't really look that way," he replied, and I couldn't even tell where he was anymore.
"Maybe, but believe me, they can be irritating sometimes. Anyway, where are you? I can't figure out which part of the darkness to talk to," you could clearly hear the sarcasm in my voice.
"Aren't you even a little scared? You've been kidnapped, you know," he asked.
"Well, it would help if you gave me food and medication," I growled.
"Bring her what she wants! I'm tired of this!" he yelled, and I heard quick footsteps receding.
"So why am I here?" I asked.
"Well, I thought you were their friend and this would be revenge, but, as you can see, it didn't really work out," the guy said and dragged a chair in front of me from somewhere.
"Well, you can't be sure. Maybe they think I'm their friend," I pretended to be calm, even though this was genuinely scary. No one had ever kidnapped me before.
"We'll find out soon enough," he sighed.
"So why do you want revenge, if I may ask?"
"It's from a while back, Niall and I were heavily involved in fighting with gangs," he explained. My eyes widened—GANGS?!?!—and it was a good thing he couldn't see it. "He messed me up really bad and eventually quit everything, leaving me in trouble," he recounted.
"Niall knows how to get revenge for the past," I chuckled.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, we used to be old acquaintances, but now he doesn't remember me," I replied.
"Tell me," he said simply, like a friend to a friend.
"Well, six years ago..." I started telling the same story.
"Wow, I thought we got along badly," he sounded surprised. "Well, come to think of it, I didn't even have such big problems," he mused. "I was left without a lot of money and one friend, but getting involved in the mafia, I should have known something like that could easily happen," it seemed my story plunged him into deep thought. "Oh well. I'll manage without revenge," he said, stood up, and started untying me.
"What's happening?" I was confused.
"Get up, then. I'm taking you back," he chuckled, putting my arm over his shoulder to help me walk. "By the way, I'm Noah."
"Luanna, nice to meet you," I said, and we stepped into the light. "How long was I unconscious?" I frowned.
"Well, it's evening now," he giggled, as did I, and we finally reached the car, which even had my crutches inside. I sat in the back and stretched out my leg, and Noah sat at the wheel.
We drove for about ten minutes until we reached the college. "Here's my number. If you ever need help or a friend, call," he handed me a card.
"I definitely will. Thank you for the ride," I smiled.
"No, thank you for helping me see sense," he laughed. "Bye," We hugged, and he finally drove away.
I hobbled toward the room with my crutches. Even though I had "slept" for so long, I felt very tired. Finally reaching the room door, I knocked hard.
"We're busy with serious stuff!" Niall shouted with Louis.
"Blockheads, let me in!" I yelled, and the door instantly opened.
I was immediately enveloped in El's and Beth's arms.
"Where were you? We thought you were kidnapped or something!" El was on the verge of tears.
"I was kidnapped, actually," I replied, and everyone in the room's eyes widened. The girls finally stepped back, and I started walking toward my bed. I went up to Niall first. "Your parties suck," I mumbled to him and lay down in bed. "And seriously, the mafia?" I muttered into the pillow, but I didn't get an answer because I fell into darkness again.
Eleanor's POV:
We froze and turned to the guys, who were pale.
"What did she mean?!" I whispered loudly so as not to wake Lu.
"Um, well, how should we put it, you know, that," Louis stammered.
"Well, it happened, and um," Harry chimed in.
"We were involved with the mafia a few years ago, but we quit everything," Niall explained. "But the enemies remained, and I still can't figure out how Luanna returned here safe and untouched."
"You should be happy, otherwise I would have tormented you about it for the rest of your life!" I hissed.
"You're not the only one," he muttered softly.