It was all meaningless, Toby thought as he swung the blonde girl in his arms. He didn't even know her name, one of the girls had called her Florence, but he didn't want to risk it. Anyway, it was too late to ask the girls name now. She was staring up into his eyes smiling, and honestly, he was sick of it. This was how every girl acted around him, she was no different. The only girl who didn't was Lillia.
Toby looked around the crowd, searching for the dark-haired girl. He knew she would be sat somewhere on her own, away from all the loud music and dancing. She hated the noise. But the club wasn't that big, it had a bar on one side and a sitting area on the other. In the middle, there was a large dance floor, with a stage at one end. And then there were the toilets, but he doubted Lillia would be there. Why am I so worried, she can take care of herself.
"Toby," The girl in front of him whispered, pleading with him for his attention. This girl was so fake. He sighed pulling his gaze away from the crowd. She knows my name, but I don't know hers, that pretty much sums up our relationship.
"Yeah?" He asked looking down at the blonde girl. She was pretty, he had to admit that. Her face was smooth and innocent, with pastel pink lipstick. She bit her lip and smiled cheekily at him. Reaching up, she cupped his face with her hands, not once, losing eye contact. Oh god...
Gently, she pulled his face down and brought her lips to his, they were soft and gentle, he felt her pulling playfully at his bottom lip with her mouth. Lillia's face flashed back into his mind, he squirmed and pulled away. I can't do this...
"Excuse me," He said, taking a step back, freeing himself from the girl's grip. She looked down and sighed, fiddling it's her dress. He could see the sparkle in her blue eyes as he walked away from her. He knew she didn't actually care about him, to most girls he was just a prize to have won, bragging rights of how he 'chose' them. It wasn't like this with Lillia.
The crowd was filled with dark-haired girls, but none of which were the girl he wanted. He walked past the bar looking for her familiar tanned skin, small childish figure and long brown hair to her hips. The pounding in his heart grew as he reached the end of the bar tables. The sitting area was practically empty now.
She couldn't have left, her house was too far to walk, and she had no money or a phone to call a taxi. Stupidly he had forgotten to pick her bag up as they were leaving the house, he had convinced her to come and get ready with him and a group of friends. Ali had leant her the dress and carefully applied makeup to her face. She squirmed as she decorated her face with eyeshadows and thick red lipstick. When she was done Lillia just stared at herself in the mirror. He had never seen her wear makeup before, and she looked, well... Beautiful.
Gulping heavily he turned back to the bar and slumped himself of one of the black leather barstools. The pudding music made it hard for him to concentrate, at first, he had been listening to the slings, naming each one, but now they were all heavy beats and random words.
"What can I get for you birthday boy?" A soft melodic voice sang from behind him. Toby turned around in his chair to see a smiling girl, with frizzy black hair and dark honey skin. From the way she was dressed it looked like she was the bartender, her hair pulled out of her face and a little white apron around her waist. He already felt drunk, he knew the familiar dizzy, lighthearted feeling all too well. There was no chance he was drinking anymore tonight, he had to find Lillia.
"I'm looking for a friend," Toby sighed, he could feel the sweat lining his forehead, the dark shirt wasn't exactly keeping him cool either. His golden hair was pulled messily over his head, but a few blonde strands fell over his hazel eyes. "Long brown hair to her waist, olive skin, black dress... Probably on her own..."
The woman looked up for a second before shrugging her shoulders. "Maybe she went outside," she suggested, cutting her words off when the call from a man across the bar dragged her away from Toby. He watched as she started serving the boy across the table, she looked at him from the corner off her eye, before ducking under the bar to grab a clean bottle.
With his heart now hammering in his chest, Toby stood up and began walking towards the exit. It was worth a try, he had guessed Lillia would have wanted to get away from the crowd, she always did. Why didn't he think of this before?
Steeping out into the cold windy night he felt a gust of air scratch against his skin. Outside was a small courtyard, with piles of buns on one side and tall ominous buildings on the other. A tall streetlamp cast its glow down onto the dirty streets, the flickering hurt his eyes.
"Lillia?" He called out. He couldn't imagine how stupid he looked. She's not here, there's nobody around... Then, the nagging pain in his heart made his feet take a step forwards, he threw his head from side to side, looking around every corner and alleyway. This is stupid, she's not here...
He knew he should just go back inside. But for some reason, he kept walking.
Then Toby's foot stepped in something wet -the liquid splashed his ankle. The bottom of his shoes slid across the ground until he caught himself with the wall. Looking down he saw a dark puddle of a thick red liquid. It was dark, but it was all too clear what it was...
Blood.