She knew getting ready for this party would be no easy task, a plethora of clothes piled onto the bed.

Tonight would be the night she finally gave herself “a name”, so the outfit needed to be stunning.

They had never invited her to parties before, she’d always been the odd one out. Made fun of for being 18 and a virgin, was that really a crime now?

She shuffled through 23 different outfits before finally settling on this little red dress she bought 2 years ago for a date. Tag still attached so that says how that went, before her make up was finished the guy had already found an excuse as to why he couldn’t make it.

“Well, tonight”, she said quietly to herself “everyone will notice me”. Before this afternoon, when Madison Moreno walked up and invited her to this end of the year party, no one even blinked an eye at her.

She went to school with these people for years and they were always so cold to her, she started to second guess going “why, now” a anxious voice whispered in her head. Was there another motive? Were they going to play some evil end of the year joke on her?

A million miserable thoughts ran through her mind now, anything could happen. Then she stopped, this is what had been stopping her, her entire life, withholding her from moments she would never get back and she didn’t even know it until it was too late.

She was going to that party, in the little red dress & nothing was going to stop her.

When she arrived, the entire street was filled with cars she could barely find a spot to park that wasn’t a hike and a half away. While walking down that street, to get to the party, the feeling entered her stomach again.

That kind of feeling you get when you’re about to go to a haunted house or you’re watching a scary movie and you don’t know what’s going to happen next.

You know, the scary butterflies, where you feel like your about to throw up from how much your stomachs turning. She couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off about this invite.

She didn’t want it to ruin her night so she pushed the thoughts to the back of her head and walked straight up to the door to knock. Before she could reach the door, it swung open and a drunk Madison came stumbling out to meet her.

“I’m so happy you could make it nel, really” slurring her words as she spoke and giving her the kindest smile followed by a hug. For a moment, nel stiffened up she wasn’t expecting that from her.

They walked into the party and it felt like entering a whole different world. The strobe lights flashed with bright neon lights, people running around with glow in the dark paint splattered all over them, some had nothing but paint on.

I guess this was to be expected at a party, something nel was fairly new to. She stayed next to Madison though, that seemed to be the only person to acknowledge her anyway. No one spoke to her but it felt like everyone was watching her.

Quick glances, that she’d barely catch. Was it just her mind playing games with her, she didn’t want her anxiety to get the best of her here.

She could tell Madison could sense her discomfort, they locked eyes and it was like they were speaking to each-other. She watched as Madison made her way to the drinks, grabbing 4 shots and walking back her way.

Madison handed nel two shots, one Hennessy she could tell by the smell. She scrunched her nose and went to smell the next. It had a fruity scent to it, she never smelt it before and she couldn’t smell the alcohol.

Nel had never drank before she hated being out of her element, it made her uncomfortable. But tonight, she just wanted to let loose and have fun. She tossed the first shot back, it was the Hennessy, figured she might as well save the best for last.

She drank the second shit with no hesitation, praying it would subside the burn and taste of the Hennessy. When it hit her mouth it was a weird texture, it went down wet but when it settled in her mouth it left a slimy layer.

When Nel looked over at Madison, she was already staring at her, smiling. It made Nel uncomfortable at first, then Madison came prancing over with another set of drinks and her mind wandered off to other things.

Before Nel knew it, she was plastered. She didn’t know how many shots she took, but it must’ve been plenty. She was stumbling through the party, grabbing onto anyone for support. Something felt weird now, and she knew it wasn’t just in her head.

She could feel herself fading away, the darkness was consuming her. She wanted so badly to stay awake, the music wasn’t blasting anymore and the silence was soothing to her yearn to shut her eyes.

Nel had placed her back up against a wall, in hopes to keep herself standing and awake. Her body was weak though, she could barely hold herself up. She slid to the floor and laid down.

Still conscious but to a blur she could see everyone surrounding her. She heard a familiar voice say “she’s exactly where we want her now”. Then her mind faded to a blackness and she was soon fast asleep.

When she woke, her arms and legs were strapped to the table. She was fighting and pulling, hoping to break but those knots were secure. The lights were on, but dim now and everyone was still surrounding her.

Nel had no clue what was going or why they were doing this to her. She felt like she was in a nightmare, her stomach hurt and twirled so bad from all the fear and anxiety. She closed her eyes, wanting to open them and see that this was all just a bad dream. But she heard footsteps approaching so she snapped back in and turned to meet her doom.

Madison walked up, with that same kind smile she greeted her at the door with. She looked at Nel, deep into her eyes as if she was trying to decipher a code. Then spoke, “I’ve always wanted to live forever” .. she paused and rubbed Nels face.

“They said it was impossible and that we were put here to live and then die” … “but I don’t believe that, I never did. So I found a way Nel” … “A way to be eternal”

Nel was nervous now, the way Madison was talking it was scary. She sounded infatuated with the thought of being immortal.. the thought of being eternal. Like she would do just about anything to retrieve such a curse.

“I had to go to the ends of the earth for this magic trick” … Madison swipes the blade out she had hidden in her skirt. “and they said all I need is the blood of the pure and untouched”.. she wiped the blade across Nels lip, as she began to cry.

Her life was truly flashing before eyes, every moment she ever had and missed. She was scared beyond belief, Madison’s eyes looked craze. She was ready to gut Nel, if it meant living through many lifetimes.

Nel closed her eyes, she felt the blade slide down from her lips to the center of her neck. She could feel the pressure of the cold metal sitting on her throat, she couldn’t move a muscle, everything was restricted.

She took a deep breath, in this moment she was completely helpless. If only she’d listened to her gut in the beginning and never came. She would never have been in this situation.

But it was too late for that now, she was here and this was happening. The blade pierced her skin and all she could do was gasp, a scream wasn’t even possible. The pain was so unbearable, it was torturous. She could see the others, moving towards her and it only brought more fear to heart, she knew that wasn’t the end of this horrific night.