My lectures were five minutes apart and I had classes up until three that afternoon. After my last lecture, I gathered all my books and shoved them untidily into my backpack. I'm paging through my notes in search of the new assessment sheet we were given and would have walked into the large wooden doors if another student hadn't held it open for me.

"Watch where you're going or you're gonna hurt yourself" the fellow told me after I walked through the doors.

"Thanks" I say and walk off.

I jog down the steps trying to shove my book back into my bag when my legs get tangled on each other and I fall on the last step. If a strong arm hadn't caught mine, I would have fell flat on my face and that would have left some serious bruises.

"You are really having a clumsy day, love" a low voice tells me.

I look up to see Louis with a teasing smile on his face. I smile back at him embarrassed and stand up brushing myself off. My bag and notes are sprawled all around us and Louis bends down to help me pick them up.
He hands me the papers and I glance up nervously at him after I put everything away. I can't look him straight in the eye without thinking about last night's dream so I just smile at him.

"Sorry. I better go" I clutch the strap of my bag and start to walk around him.

"No, wait. I came to ask you if you would come with me to a party tonight" he asks looking straight at me, facial expression blank.

"I told you I hate those"

"And that's exactly why I want to take you to one." He grins at me

"No thank you"

"Come on, it'd be fun"

"They're loud, bright and stuffed with sweaty hormonal youngsters. I'd never go anywhere near that"

"Come with me, I'll show you how much fun it can be. Please" his tone is begging

"Which party is it?"

"Savannah's one"

"Who's Savannah?"

My question makes him laugh.

"Savannah's the same girl who invited you to her party and you said no"

Oh, he's talking about the Blonde Squad. I don't go to their parties because there's not a single virgin, non-alcoholic or drug-free person at her parties. I am all those things and being there would make me feel extremely uncomfortable.

"When is it?"

"Tonight"

"Well, it’s definitely a no since it’s a Monday"

"You don't have classes on Tuesday, Ella told me"

"I have homework"

"You'll have the entire day tomorrow."

"My grandmother will be worried; I can't just go off to a party"

"Then call and ask her"

"Fine"

I pull out my phone and dial her number while I walk away for privacy.

"Oh no. In front of me" he reaches out but doesn't touch me.

Nana answers on the first ring.

"Sam? What's wrong?" Her tone is worried again.

"Nothing. Nana, a friend invited me to a party. Do I have to go?"

"Um, do you have to? No, but it would be exciting. I say go, have fun. Who’s your friend?"

"Just a friend from campus. Thanks Nana, bye"

"Bye"

I hang up and am about to lie and say that she said no when I notice Louis looking innocently at me, his eyes are light and he looks so young and adorable. It would be like pouring soda on a little kid's candy floss.

"She said I can go" I relent

"Good, I'll take you home and we can leave from there" he extends his arm but I just walk next to him without taking it.

He is leading me across the parking lot when we pass the Blonde Squad surrounding the same red Mercedes in the same parking spot. They look up at us and completely disregard me but walk towards us when they see Louis.

"Hey, Louis!" The blonde one calls after us to which he sighs in annoyance but stops anyway, I stand next him but a few steps back.

"Savannah" he answers

"You coming to my party tonight, right?" The T in her 'right' was silent which made her sound only more stupid. I'm sure she doesn't even go to Oxford so why is she always here?

"Yeah, Sam's coming with me" he holds my arm and pulls me forward.

"Oh. Sam, didn't you say no to my invite on Friday?" She directs her question to me

"Yeah, I did" I shrug

"Anyway, see you both at my place. Don't forget your costume" she turns on her heel and heads back to her car but not without shaking her ass for the world to see. It makes me laugh.

"What's so funny?" Louis turns to me

"Nothing" I give him the most innocent look I can manage without bursting into laughter.

He raises his eyebrow but doesn't question me further. We walk past the Oxford campus parking lot onto the street and into another parking lot opposite the shopping complex. People are rushing around trying to get home with bags of groceries while they keep an eye on their kids. A few men who are beyond drunk are walking unsteadily on the sidewalks after they were kicked out of the pub. Louis is walking calmly beside me, as a small toddler bumps into me. They're up to my knee in height so I bend slightly to steady them.

"Hey, be careful" I say to them.

The child looks up at me and Louis stops walking. The child is a little boy.

"Sorry" he says but it sounds more like 'sowi'.

I smile and look around trying to find his parents and a spot a blonde skinny woman running towards us.

"I'm so sorry, he was right behind me but when I looked, he wasn't there" she says out of breath.

"Don't worry about it", I say to her and I bend down to talk to the boy, “Stay with your mom at all times, okay? It isn't safe"

"Okay" he whispers shyly

"What's your name?" I ask him

"Edward"

"Well, Edward, do you promise to stay with your mommy and not wander off?"

"Yes"

I remember that I have a chocolate bar in my bag so I open my bag and give it to him.

"Thank you" he says and goes to his mom. She smiles warmly at me and they walk off.

"You're good with kids" Louis comments as we continue to walk to his car.

"On the contrary, I'm always told that I can be quite mean to children" I tell him honestly. Whenever I visit my nieces I was warned not to be so literal because I make kids cry. I was never offended because I knew my people skills were at an all-time low.

"I don't believe that from what I just saw" his smile makes me blush.

We finally get to his car, a sleek black SUV with the windows tinted black. A normal person would be petrified to get into such a car with anyone but something made me trust Louis. Something deep down told me that he wouldn't harm me.
Louis unlocks the doors and opens the front passenger side for me to get in. I pull my bag onto my lap and buckle in while Louis gets into the driver’s side. He doesn't buckle in and reverses out of the parking spot.
The drive to my house was short and quiet. When we pulled up outside, I jumped out and walked around the vehicle to open the small gate. I heard Louis' car door close and I turn my head to see him leaning against the side of the car.

"Do you want to come in?" I ask him. I thought he would have just followed me in and I was grateful he didn't, earned him an invite.

"Sure" he grins at me and I can't help but join in.

I leave the small gate open and run up the steps to open the main door. Romeo and Juliet are in the backyard as they were this morning and they still had enough food. Cheeky, on the other hand, had eaten all his food and needed a refill. I give him another bowl of seeds but I only give him half, I don't plan on being at the party too long.

I leave Louis standing in the hallway as I rush around trying to complete every task. I decide just to switch my white shirt to a checkered navy blouse. My black jeans and boots remain the same. Louis is in the garden talking on the phone when I get downstairs. I leave him to continue as I grab my jacket from to closet and wait patiently for him to finish.


The house Louis drives up to is by far, one of the most massive mansions I have ever seen. White pillars hold up the balcony in the front and the large wooden door is open. Red soda cups are all over the trimmed lawn and bright lights are visible from the front yard. Louis locks the car when we're both out of the car.
Youngster’s laughs and shouts could be heard from where I was standing.

"Can I wait in the car? You go have fun, I'll live" I shout on top of the noise to Louis.
He walks toward me while shaking his head, he reaches his hand out to me and I grip his forearm instead. He laughs at my actions but doesn't argue. We walk up the steps and into the large entryway. The room has cups and glasses on every available surface, some empty and some topped up. Couples are pressed up against the staircase and passage walls making out or dancing. I feel more out of place than a human being ever could. My grip on Louis' arm tightens as we pass several drunk teenagers who whistle and shout at each other from across the room.

"Do you want something to drink?" Louis lowers his head so that I can hear him.

"No, I doubt anything here isn't spiked" I tell him

"You can't stay here all night without eating or drinking"

"A person can go up to a week without food and two days without water"

"Try to have fun, Sam"

"How can I when all I can see are body parts of youngsters that should be covered"

"Like you don't wear short dresses" he snorts at my comment

"I do but it stops at my knee and not my pelvic bone"

Louis can't stop his laughter from erupting out of him. His body begins to vibrate in his fit of laughter and I have to let go of his arm.

"Fine, I'm going to get a drink. Do you want to come with me or you want to explore?" He asks me

"I'm afraid I'll discover a new species if I explore this mansion. I'll come with you"

We walk to a large modern kitchen and Louis takes a beer bottle out of the fridge.

"Can you do that?" I ask him

"What?" He takes a swig of the drink

"Just take out something from another person's fridge"

"You really have not been to a party"

"If only I had a penny for every time someone told me that"

He drapes his arm around my shoulder and I remove it to drop it at his side.

"Don't do that, I'm not your person" I tell him

"Person?" He takes another sip and raises his eyebrow at me

"Well, I feel that girlfriends, sisters or any other female you have a relation to should not be held that way, always hated it"

"So you're saying you're my girlfriend?" His smile was wicked but harmless.

"Did you not hear the 'any other female' part?"

"I have selective hearing sometimes"

"Are you drunk already?"

"Not yet"

"I'm driving when we're leaving"

"No you're not"

"You just said 'yet' which implied that you want to get drunk and the last time I checked DUI was illegal"

"Fine you can drive"

I smile at him and look around. The atmosphere at this party is very, very intoxicated. I can't spot a single sober person anywhere.

"LOUIS! How are you??!!" A squeaky voice that hurts my ears echoes through the kitchen.
Louis' head moves around me and looks at someone behind me which is none other than Savannah. I turn to see her walking up to us wearing a golden bikini and no shoes. Her bust is being pushed up by the bra piece and I bet that is very tight, it would make it difficult for me to breathe with my sinusitis and my allergies. As a kid my windpipe would tighten, making it hard to breathe whenever I would inhale dust or if I wore constricting clothing.

"Hey, Savannah" his annoyed tone is clear.

I turn and wink at him before leaving him and Savannah to chat.

"Where are you going?" He asks me

"To discover a new species"

I exit the kitchen as I hear Savannah's loud voice get louder when she nears Louis. I enter the passage way looking left and right trying to figure out which way I should go. I see a pool outside and I decide to get some fresh air. Teenagers in bikinis are all around the pool and some are floating in it. My feet manoeuvre around hundreds of bottles and cups as I make my way to the edge of the garden where the view is amazing. I feel a little hungry but I ignore it. My phone buzzes in my pocket, its Ella.

"Hey" I say into the phone

"Hey, where are you? You aren't answering the home phone"

"Yeah, sorry about that. I'm at Savannah's party"

"Woah, Savannah? Busty blonde Savannah?"

"Yup"

"Why?"

"A friend forced me into coming"

"Okay, I love you but I know that you don't have any friends at the college other than me"
"I am not offended by that at all, I do have friends”

“Oh yeah, who?”

“Mrs Barnes likes me”

“The librarian. I’m coming to that party, to see which friend actually got you to listen to them”

I smile into the phone and pick up my head to look around me. Not much is different, teenagers are still drunk and pushing each other into the pool but something catches my attention across the pool from where I am standing. I cant see it clearly so I rotate my body to get a better look. It’s a clown, with red hair and the scariest make up I have ever seen. My pulse speeds up in panic and it becomes difficult to breathe. I have had coulrophobia for as long as I can remember, my palms become sweaty and it seems as if the clown is looking especially for me as it wades through the teenagers around the pool while picking them up and dropping them into the pool.

“Sam, are you there?” Ella’s voice breaks through

“Y-yeah, please come quickly” I urge her. Ella knows about my fear of the evil clowns and she would be able to take me home, I don’t want to stay here an longer.

“I’m in my car. Why, what’s wrong?”

“T-there’s a-a c-clown. Ella, the have a clown” my voice is cracking in the panic

“Stay away from it, I’m down the street”
I hang up and take deep breaths in an effort to slow my heart rate. The screaming has died down and my subconscious fears the worst. Clutching my cellphone tightly as if it were my life line, I around me.
A loud scream escapes exits my mouth as the first thing I see is the very same clown running towards me.