A New Life (River Phoenix)

10:00

The clock struck 10 pm, and I stood with my back to the door, folding my arms.

Piper walked in front of me, wearing baggy blue jeans, a cut off white tank top, and her favorite leather jacket of all time; she wore it everywhere. She examined me, and I knew she liked what she saw.

I dressed in her favorite outfit on me, my black jeans and oversized blue flannel with my dad's bulky light blue jacket.

"Amazing," she began, regarding our outfits.

I smiled at her and shoved my hands into my pockets, taking the deepest breath I'd taken in a long time. She noticed my uneasy look and leaned against the wall.

"What's up?" She asked me. I looked around and shrugged, feeling my upset look plaster on my face.

"I don't know, I just don't like parties," I began. "And I know you'll leave me." I told her.

It was true, Piper would leave me by myself in that club. I know she'd find Flea and go crazy. That's how she was.

She gave me an 'are you kidding' look with her eyebrows raised.

"You're insane if you think I'm doing to leave you, Carmen." She told me, pushing me aside and walking out of the room.

I sighed and followed her, knowing that once we stepped into that club, she'd be nowhere to be found.

We walked to the Viper Room, since it was only about 10 minutes away.

The streets of Hollywood were packed, and Nebraska was nothing compared to the crowded Sunset Boulevard.

Piper walked in front of me and didn't say a word.

I felt so awkward knowing that she was upset with me, and the closer I walked to her, the faster she walked away. Randomly she turned around and smiled.

"See that black awning down the street?" She asked, pointing in it's direction.  I glanced down the street, noticing the black awning that floated above a crowd of people. My stomach turned.

"That's it." She told me, beginning to sprint down the street.

My face lit up, not wanting to lose her, and I took off after her.

It wasn't long before I lost her in the swarm of people, but I kept running straight towards the Viper Room.

In a flash I found myself bumping into a man with very short blonde hair. I shouted an "I'm sorry!" to him as I continued my way down the street.

I finally found Piper, who grabbed my hand and dragged me past security, until they stopped us.

"Excuse me, Miss," The tall, brown haired man said.

"You're going to have to wait in line." He insisted, cocking his head towards the line that stretched down the street.

I looked uneasy at Piper, who rolled her eyes and began walking back out.

Quickly, camera flashes went off from each corner. Nobody turned their head besides Piper and I; we figured it must have been normal for paparazzi to come around.

We stood, squinting, until 2 tall men came walking in.

One was the man I had ran into earlier, the other walked next to him with his head down, his dirty blonde hair just barely covering his face.

More camera flashes followed the two men into the club, until one of them stopped. The blonde haired man spotted Piper and smiled.

"Flea!" she said, embracing him.

Flea smiled and let go of her, looking at me in shock.

"You ran into me earlier." He said to me. I laughed and nodded my head.

"Sorry about that." I replied.

The man next to him glanced around but quickly returned his gaze to the ground, holding his hands near his face to shield from the cameras.

"This is River." Flea said, patting him on the back.

River quickly glanced up again, flashing an uncomfortable smile at the both of us.

"Can we please go in, man?" He asked, grabbing Flea and entering the club.

Piper took my hand and began to lead me to the back of the line until the guard stopped us.

"Just go in." He insisted.

Piper and I exchanged glances, and with that I took my first step into The Viper Room.