Prologue

Sixty miles away from home with no ride back. Not that it mattered, considering I was too drunk to drive, anyway. This was not how I had planned to spend my nineteenth Halloween. I was supposed to be haunted house hunting with my family, despite it being childish and tacky. That was how I liked my holidays.

All around me, people are laughing and generally having a good time, while I, on the other hand, keep curled up into a tight ball in a corner. I wasn't too sure why I was even there. I didn't go to this college, and had Lexi not forced me to come I probably would be back home right now.

I scrunched my eyes shut and tried to block out the pounding music. Either Lexi or Kira would find me and bring me back to their safe dorm room. They had to. There was no way I would be able to go on like this for very much longer.

"That's not how you enjoy a good party."

Reluctantly, I raise my head at the slightly familiar voice. Standing right above me is a boy with bleached blonde hair, pierced ears and sea green eyes. He must have had gone to high school with me, but obviously the closest thing to any sort of conversation we ever had was maybe meeting eyes in the hall. Not that that didn't surprise me much.

"I shouldn't be here." I grumbled, ducking my head back into my knees.

The boy sighed, his thoughts probably running along the same lines. "Which dorm do you live in?"

"I don't go here," I sighed into my legs. "I live down in Sioux Falls."

There was silence for a long moment, to the point where I almost thought he had actually left, but then his voice came raining over me again. "Alright, get up. I'll drive you home."

"You're drunk," I slurred, my head falling back to look at him again. "And a stranger. There's no way I'm going home with you."

"Girl, have you looked in the mirror? You're drunk. I'm just fine." he kneeled down so that we were eye to eye. "And I'm sure we're not strangers. You're Belle Quinn, right?"

"How do you know my name?" I asked, frowning deeply. The boy sighed and shot me a look as if to say "really?" "And why should I trust someone who is willing to drive an hour out of his way to bring some girl home?"

The boy frowned before shaking his head and pushing himself back to his feet. "You stay right here. I'll be back."

He disappeared back into the crowd, allowing me to drop my head back into my knees. That was so stupid. I should've taken him up on his offer. He couldn't be creepy. We went to the same school, after all!

"Belle?" I raise my head again, this time to see a girl with crazy curly black hair and tanned skin standing over me.

"You found me." I smiled cheekily. I knew she would. She wouldn't leave me to suffer by myself.

Kira sighed before grabbing my elbow and yanking me to my feet. "I told Lexi this was a bad idea. You're not a socialite like she is."

"Are we going home?" I asked, leaning heavily against her.

She smiled softly before nodding. "Yeah, we're going home."