WARMING: Blood/violence, and swear words



Leah POV

It was two hours before the party.

And I was nowhere near ready.

"Come on, Leah, we gotta get going soon," Mary groaned, hanging her head back. I turned away from the clothes hanging in my wardrobe to the two who sat on my bed, all dressed and ready to go.

"I know, but I don't know what I should choose to wear!" I reached for some dresses that hang from the rack. "Should I wear something simple or something fancy?"

Theo sighed disappointedly, covering his eyes with his hand. "Honey, honey, honey. I know that you are stressed out right now, but you need to calm down."

"You're being too loud..." I narrowed my eyes at Mary before paying my attention back to Theo.

"What you need..." He trailed off, looking at all of the options in the wardrobe. He pointed at the clothes, moving slowly to the right before he suddenly stopped and reached for a dress. "Is this."

Theo was right. The dress was gorgeous.

It was a silky dark green dress that wasn't short but wasn't long either. It would probably stop just above my knees. It had spaghetti straps and the top part of the dress wasn't skin tight, but the lower half was to accentuate the wearer's curves.

"Damn Theo, you have good taste!" Mary complimented. Theo blinked at her with a sarcastic look.

"Not just good taste, sweetie - great taste." He snapped his fingers at the last couple of words, earning an eye roll and a small laugh from both of us.

"Alright, you two get out so I can get ready." I ushered them out of my room quickly.

"Ok, but let us see so we can get your hair and make-up done in time!" Mary said quickly.

"Yeah, let us know so we can paint our nails and gossip! Oh my god, did you know that I saw this cute girl-" I slammed the door before Theo could finish, his girlish talking now muffled by the closed door. I rolled my eyes but couldn't take the smile off my face, and I quickly got ready.

* * * * * * * *

"Damn, Leah!" Mary grinned when I walked out of my room. I immediately smiled. "You look hot!" I did a small twirl, letting my hair cascade over my shoulders. I managed to keep my balance on the gold heels I had on, matching the same coloured jewellery I wore.

"Yeah, Leah! If I didn't have a date tonight, I would take you so the other guys didn't drool all over you," Theo commented. He wore a black jacket and pants with a white shirt underneath. He stood next to Mary, who wore a slightly similar dress to mine but in a nice, dark shade of red.

I tilted my head with a crooked smile. "You have a date?"

Theo scratched the back of his neck and looked off into the distance. "Yeah, I met a girl at the club a couple of nights ago, and we really hit it off, so I invited her to be my date. She surprisingly agreed, and...yeah. The end."

"Wow, what a lovely story," I said, slightly sarcastically, but it was an interesting way to meet someone.

"Yes, it is, isn't it?" He agreed. I mentally rolled my eyes, biting back the smile that fought to stretch across my face.

"Alright then. We better get going then," Mary said, stopping the conversation and bringing us back into focus.

"Right, forgot about that." I breathed out. "Well, let's go then."

Theo nodded and we all headed to the party. I could hear the beat of the music even though we were far away from the room. It took us a little while to get there, thanks to Theo and Mary stopping every now and then to make a point about their conversation. I didn't even know what they were talking about at this point, I had lost track when their conversation about food had somehow turned into aliens and whether or not they existed.

Eventually, we got to the party, and it was full of people. Not to the brim, but a lot more than I saw on a daily basis.

I walked with Mary and Theo for a little bit, until Theo left to go somewhere - probably to look for his date. I continued to walk around with Mary for a bit longer until she spotted Clarke and went over to her.

Damn. Love really changed people. Should I feel betrayed?

Chuckling lightly at Mary's giddy behaviour as she rushed over to Clarke, I walked around the giant room by myself. I would say that I didn't know what I was doing, but I did. I was trying to look for Vlado. I just wasn't sure if I should or not, because I'm pretty sure he told me that this was for some business colleagues, so should I look for him or not? I wouldn't want to disturb him if he's in the middle of an important conversation. But then again, he asked me to be his date, so did that mean that I had to look for him? Ugh, why was this so difficult?

"There you are, Leah!" I turned around and saw the man I was just thinking about walking towards me with two other men trailing behind him. Vlado wore the same style of clothes as Theo, but with a more formal touch. "I was looking for you! I wasn't sure if you wanted to be alone or not."

I smiled as he neared. "No, I was just looking for you too." He stopped next to me and planted a kiss on my cheek, making my face heat up. I turned my attention to the men Vlado brought with him.

"Ah, sorry, I should have introduced you all," Vlado said. He pointed to the one on the left, then the one on the right. "This is Jamie, and this is Tyler." They both gave me a wave which I returned. I subconsciously leaned closer to Vlado in an attempt to avoid any more attention than I needed or had already received.

"Hi, Leah. We're business associates of Vlado's, and he told us that you planned this party." The one on the left spoke.

I nodded my head. "Yes - well, I helped plan it. But the real people who did well were Giorgia and Clarke."

"You've got yourself a humble one, Vlado," Tyler gestured to me. "Not very often in people these days." I tensed slightly. I don't know why I did, I just wasn't a big fan of meeting new people.

"She isn't mine, but she is quite considerate of other people, isn't she?" I didn't miss the look Vlado gave me when he spoke, but I ignored it and fiddled with my dress. I tried to ignore the rest of the conversation between the three, but it was hard when I heard my name come up every so often.

"Is everything ok, Leah? You seem tense." Vlado pointed out quietly once the two men had gone into their own conversation.

"Sorry, I just feel kinda uncomfortable," I whispered.

"It's alright, and don't worry - I'll stay with you for the night so you can avoid any unwanted conversations." I gave him a smile in thanks, and we returned to the conversation, in a much better mood now.

* * * * * * * *

It was a few hours into the party, and it was fun so far. I chatted with Vlado and a few more people. I also got introduced to Theo's date, Lana. She seemed very nice, and we got into an easy conversation. We easily messed with Theo, and it turned out she was really fun. But it was cute to see Theo talk to somebody he was interested in and not just a normal person. He acted really differently.

After one or two more hours, everybody decided that they wanted a change in location. So that's what we were doing.

Everybody was standing outside and hopping in the cars that were parked out front.

"I'm so sorry, Leah - I know I said that I would stay with you the whole night, but I have to be with the new partners, otherwise they might change their minds." Vlado frowned. I waved him off. There weren't enough cars or space for all of us, so that meant one person had to either stay behind or go in the other car by themselves.

And that was going to be me, apparently.

"It's fine, I get it. I'll just go in the extra car behind you. I'll meet you all there." Something unfamiliar flashed in Vlado's eyes, and he nodded.

"Alright, if you're sure. Thank you again, Leah. See you there." Vlado gave me a quick kiss on the cheek as he had done earlier, and rushed off to the car where Tyler and Jamie were. I brushed off the butterflies the small gesture had given me and headed to the last car in the driveway. Everybody must've really wanted to get going.

I slid into the car and clicked in my seatbelt before looking up at the driver. The driver was a man with a goatee and greying hairs, mostly covered by the hat he wore. I don't understand why drivers wore those things, but I don't mind what they wear.

He looked at me through the mirror and gave me a warm smile. "Hello, miss. Do you need anything before we leave?"

I smiled back at him. "No, thank you." He nodded before he took the car out of 'park' and pulled out of the driveway. I just stared out of the window, watching as the trees passed by in an instant. I didn't wonder where we were going. It was probably some club or another person's house or something like that. I didn't really care as long as I could stay out of any drama that wasn't necessary and almost bound to happen.

"My apologies if I'm disturbing you, miss, but what is your name?" I pulled myself out of my thoughts and looked at the driver's eyes already looking at me through the mirror.

"Sorry?"

"I just don't want to keep calling you miss. People have names for a reason." I chuckled lightly.

"Leah," I answered with a smile. I didn't get this feeling often, especially with a person I had met less than twenty minutes ago, but this man seemed like a really nice person.

"A very pretty name." I embraced the warm feeling at the compliment and smiled at the man.

"What's yours?"

"A-" He was cut off by a strong impact hitting the side of the car. My head banged against the window on my left, immediately giving me a splitting headache. I could only imagine how the driver was feeling right now. If only I could think right now.

Everything happened so fast.

The car spun enough times for my head to spin as well, and to get a queasy feeling in my stomach. Fortunately, it stopped. But unfortunately, it was because of the tree that stopped us. It only hit the very back of the car, but it was a hard enough impact for me to get whiplash. All I could smell was smoke coming from the car.

I tried to open my eyes, but my vision fuzzed and hurt to try to look at anything, so I closed them again. Only for a moment though. I blinked a couple of times before just keeping them open and looking around slowly.

Everything looked dark. There were no lights in the car, but there was a light from outside. Probably the moon. I ignored the pains in my body as I lifted myself up to get a better view of everything. It was then that I took in the driver's beaten and bloodied form. My heart picked up its pace and I went over to him.

He looked still, and I thought for a second that he wasn't breathing, but just at that moment, there was a sudden rise in his chest. I let out a breath I didn't know I was even holding when he lifted his head up with a groan.

"Sir?! Sir?! Are you ok?!" I asked quickly, unable to shake the fear in my voice. The man looked around wearily before his gaze was set on me. He tried giving me a smile, but it came out looking more like a grimace.

"I'm fine - a little worn around the edges, but-" He was cut off again, but this time by the bullet that went through his head. His face immediately turned blank and his body slumped forward, leaning on my leg with all of its weight.

I couldn't scream. It was like I had forgotten how to speak entirely.

Without wasting another second, I pushed his body off of me. I couldn't even call him by his name. Just him.

His face was emotionless as his blood dripped down his face. I looked down and saw blood all over me. His blood. I wanted to scream so badly, but I couldn't. It was like my voice had been taken away from me.

There was a shadow in the car for a split second before it disappeared. I looked outside, hoping to see somebody coming over to help us.

But boy, was I wrong.

Instead of a saviour, I saw a black van standing in front of our car. Its headlights burned my eyes, forcing me to cover them. So it wasn't the moon. It was that car.

As if things weren't bad enough, the van doors slid open, and out came four figures. I couldn't see them properly because of the blinding light, but I knew that they weren't here to help.

Another two exited the van, but only one walked over to us. They were holding something, but I didn't get to see it clearly. They were already at the car door.

Just as they were about to open it, my body suddenly jerked over and locked the door. And although the door was battered, it didn't let the person in. The person outside got angry and tried opening it with more force, but it didn't budge. I was about to have a small victory, but another loud bang cut me short. My hands instinctively went to my ears and I squinted my eyes shut as the car door caved in, giving the person access to the inside.

Where I was.

I dropped my hands as I opened my eyes, trying to see the person who stood just outside the car. Although it wasn't clear, I could see their face. Or rather their mask.

Instead of a face, the person wore a cartoonish bunny mask with fully black clothes. my breathing quickened and I cowered away from the person as they moved to come into the car. But I was stopped short when I felt the back of the door, stopping my escape. Bunny Mask stopped moving when half of his body was in the car and just stared at me. I couldn't even tell if they were smiling or not because of the mask, and that scared me even more.

"Oh, my darling," Bunny Mask started. Although their voice was muffled from the mask, it was deep enough to be a man's.

"You have been a very naughty girl." My heart jumped when he laughed sinisterly.

"You made me worried sick!" There was a fake sadness in his voice, and it made me even more scared. "Making me have to look for you all over the place, and then needing to ram into your car and..." He trailed off, looking over at his body. "Making me have to kill him."

He looked back at me. "How selfish you've been."

"W-Who are you?" I would normally curse myself out for stuttering but now wasn't the time.

Bunny Mask snickered. "Oh, come on, my love." He moved closer to me, and I tried moving further back but he grabbed my chin forcefully and pulled me closer to him. "Don't tell me you don't remember your first."

My stomach dropped.

No, there's no way.

He chuckled again. "I can see you're very confused." His free hand moved to his mask. "Well, let me make it easier for you." I didn't want him to. I really didn't want him to. I didn't want my nightmares to become a reality.

But it didn't matter what I wanted, because it happened anyway.

There he was. Right in front of me.

"Oh, come on, darling - I thought you would be happier to see me." Lucas smiled evilly. I felt like my heart was going to beat out of my chest. Is this really happening? Or is it just some sick nightmare?

"No?" He sighed disappointedly. "Well, we'll have to change that."

In a moment of desperation, I whipped around and yanked on the door handle, the door flying open.

My chance of escape from this monster.

I rushed to get out of the car. But Lucas wouldn't have that.

"Oh, no you don't, you little bitch." He got a hold of my arm and yanked me back. I let out a yelp, but all he did was hold on tighter. He sneered as he moved his face closer to mine.

"You aren't ever escaping me again."

And I fully believed him.

How could I not? No matter how hard I tried, he would always find me again. I learned things very quickly, and I didn't need to do this again to figure out if he would bother yet again.

But that didn't mean I was going to go without a fight.

I struggled to get out of his grasp, and he just held on tighter. I knew that it was going to leave bruises, but I couldn't focus on that. If I did, I would be giving up everything.

Everyone I had met. A safe place. A happy place. Mary.

Vlado.

"There's no point in fighting, you little slut - I'm never letting you out of my sight again." Just at that moment, another set of lights came by. I would've thought it was any person who was now at the wrong place, at the wrong time.

But at the speed it was going, I didn't think I was right.

And what do you know? The very fast car rammed into the van, and I heard a commotion from inside. I whipped back at Lucas, and he was distracted as well. I quickly yanked my arm out of his grasp and bolted out of the door. I heard him curse and get out of the car, but I didn't look back.

If I did, I was going to get caught, and then I would be stuck in hell forever. No, hell is an understatement. So, I kept running. Thankfully the other car had stopped and I placed myself in front of it before it could move again.

"Please! Please help me!" I pleaded, ignoring the way my vision blurred from the tears that threatened to fall.

As if my prayer had been heard by God or the universe or literally anybody, the car doors flew open and my favourite people came out. Well, only three of them.

Mary, Clarke, and Theo.

"Leah, get the fuck in the car," Mary growled, and I immediately obeyed. I had never heard her speak with such anger before, and I did not want to find out what would happen if I didn't listen. I got in the car and Mary followed, leaving Theo and Clarke outside.

"But-but they have guns!" I quickly explained, thinking of what could happen to the two if they got any further. Mary opened her mouth to respond, but the screeching of tyres against the road stopped her. Everybody looked at the late arrivals, and when I realised who it was, I didn't know whether to feel safer or more worried.

Vlado slammed his door shut and stormed over to where the action was, but he was too late. Even though the van had taken a hard hit, it was already driving off.

I wanted to take a big breath of relief as I saw it get further into the distance, but I couldn't. Not when I knew what it meant if Lucas was here.

It meant that he was looking for me.

And he wasn't going to stop until I was 'his' again.