Stay By Me (A NERVE Sequel)

Perfection's Reflection

Please note this is a part 2 of the book nerve, not the movie. Thank you xx all credit goes to the author.

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I take everything in around me. The beautiful sunset, lush green plants and best of all, my hot as hell boyfriend, Ian. I kiss him passionately, running my finger along his jawline. Our lives would be so perfect without NERVE, we wouldn't have obsessed watchers stalking our every move.
               It has made us braver though, and given us plenty of adrenaline fuelled, dangerous memories. Every morning I log onto NERVE and check that no one is being harmed. I don't want to be a part of it but I feel addicted to stopping  whatever or whoever is behind it.
                "Vee, has Tommy managed to get into the system?" Ian asks quietly. His toned arms are wrapped around me, as if someone may come out of the bushes any minute. I sigh. I hadn't talked to Tommy for days. I didn't trust him to help us with shutting down nerve.
"I don't know, I haven't talked to him." I whisper into his chest.
               "You haven't forgiven him, have you?" He questions, gazing at me with his ocean-blue eyes. His eyes that convinced me to trust him. Tommy was selfish, he could be using me for his own gain. He could just be finding out my weaknesses so he could drag me into another nerve game to humiliate me.
                 "I don't know Ian, he isn't the guy I thought he was." He would never be the polite, smart friend I once viewed him as. Since nerve, everyone had seemed like they were out to get me. Tommy was a traitor and he had almost killed me. Even if I had never played NERVE, we were never going to be more than just friends.
                I nuzzle into Ian's neck, feeling his heartbeat up against my body. I wish I could capture this moment and live in it forever. But I couldn't. There were still the stalkers, the mental watchers who couldn't get enough of the dares we had already risked our dignity and lives for. I thought it would end when we escaped, but everyday I'm reminded of the pain, humiliation and terror I was put through. We were put through. Me and Ian are a team.
                Sydney and I have become closer friends and my relationship with my parents has become stronger.They were worried sick after Ty's phone call to say I'd been involved in an accident, especially after I was late for my curfew, but I explained what happened with NERVE and now they believe that I want to live, so they're trying their best to trust me. I never got my college tuition paid, so I'm saving every penny.
             Suddenly my phone buzzes. The chanting of a spoiled child. I take a deep breath. My hands, slippery with sweat, grip my phone. I can hear the tone play over and over in my head. I thought the package yesterday was just a crazy watcher wanting me to sign up to be a player again. But the message from nerve totally made me lose confidence in myself. I deleted it before reading it and lay awake in bed all night.
            I wouldn't be able to cope if nerve lured me back. They know my weaknesses. They know what i would risk everything for. They know Ian. He didn't get his freedom, but he sure as hell wants it. He knows how evil and manipulative NERVE is, but would they tempt him with something he couldn't refuse?
              My phone still faced down in my hand, it was a Samsung from a few years ago. No wonder I had completed the dare for a new phone. Ian's hands wrap protectively around my waist. Is this some insane prank?
                " Vee...?!" He says on the verge of crying. This game messed him up. They hit him when he was down and manipulated him. They broke him more than he was already broken from his past. They promised him freedom, and imprisoned him to something else.
                I couldn't read the message. Something in my brain told me that if I ignored it, it would go away. But I knew it wouldn't. These people knew everything about me, they were watching me. 
                 The phone slid out of my sweaty hands. I didn't stop it from falling to the concrete. The screen smashed. I couldn't care less. I stared blankly at my feet. NERVE stole my own control of my life. Never again would I be lured into their sick game of deadly dares.
"Vee." He said again blankly, grabbing my hand as if his life depended on it. His fingernails dug into my skin but it didn't matter. The wooden bench gave me splinters as he pulled me to my feet. I understood. In the bush next to the bench was a man who looked about 40 and was missing an eye. His one, dark green eye bore into my mind. He had a shaved head and tattoos curling up his neck and around his ears. In one hand, he had a gun. In the other, a camera.
I had no time to hesitate; Ian grabbed my arm and we sprinted away. I didn't dare to look back. Luckily Ian and I had been going running together these past few weeks so I had plenty of practise.
We ran and ran in the dark until Ian dragged me into a poor estate with badly looked after houses. Weeds grew everywhere, and most of the windows were boarded up. It was disgusting. "Just around the corner sweetheart" said Ian, out of breath.
And there it was. A dirty White House with a green door. As I went closer I saw the paint on the door was cracking and there were several cobwebs on the door frame. It was probably one of the nicer houses on the street. Ian rang the doorbell, which played a rendition of "jingle bells" . It seemed like a strange choice in the middle of July.
After several long moments a muscular guy answered. As soon as he saw Ian his fave cracked into a smile. "Bro! Ian! It's been ages!" He laughed.
"Luke, we need your help. Let us in?" Ian asked.
"Of course bro, come right through." Luke said, holding the door open. I stepped through, with my hand still linked with Ian's. The house was surprisingly nice inside with wooden flooring and light blue walls. It was tidy and everything seemed well looked after.
"Sit down guys, I'll go get drinks." Proposed Luke, gesturing to a nude colour fabric sofa. Ian made himself at home and I perched on the sofa next to him, him arm linked around my waist. Slumped on the sofa, Ian turned the flatscreen tv on the wall.
Midsomer murders, BBC news, keeping up with the Kardashians, were all gone. All the programmes were gone. All the channels were gone. There was one new channel. Called NERVE. The TV couldn't hurt us, right? Curiously, Ian selected the channel and a message flashed up in bold font.