"I have to find Eva," was the only thing running through his mind. He maneuvered past a couple dry humping against the doorframe and looked around. Nothing. A girl sitting with her friends waved to him and shouted, "Chris! Chris! Come here!" Only a second afterwards she bent over and threw up. Wasted. He turned to the left and continued walking. Jonas, Mahdi, Isak and Even were sitting on another couch, seemingly talking.
"Hey guys," He said as he arrived.
"Hey," Jonas groaned.
"Have you guys seen Eva anywhere? I left with William for a second and she got away...I'm worried." Jonas giggled.
"Naaaah. Sorry. Wait. Here. EVA! EVA!" Jonas cupped his hand around his mouth and started shouting. Chris shook his head and gestured for him to stop.
"It's fine. Thanks." And he turned and walked away. They were too high to help. There was people everywhere; grinding, kissing, drinking, crying, and somehow, none of them were Eva. He sighed and looked to his left where he saw Eva hanging on some stranger.
"Oh thank God," Chris muttered under his breath. He picked up his pace and walked over to them. "Um, hi. I'm so sorry." Chris apologized to the stranger and started to pick Eva off of them.
"Oh no, its fine. I was just trying to get her to the bathroom," the stranger laughed. Chris nodded.
"Thanks," He grimaced. The stranger helped Eva into Chris's arms.
"Got her?" They asked. Chris nodded agin.
"Yeah, thank you."
"Of course!" They shouted as they walked away. Eva pulled away from Chris.
"Noooooo. I liked them! Noooo," She cried after the stranger.
"I'm sorry Eva, we have to go. How much have you had to drink?" Chris bent his head down and looked in her eyes. He tightened his grip on her arms as she went limp. "Eva. Eva. How much have you had to drink?" Chris held her up and tried to make eye contact. Eva flailed her arms open.
"This much!" She laughed. "Oh wait. No. No. That's wrong. Only... this much." She closed her arms and showed an inch with her fingers.
"Oh dear." He whispered. "Okay. Eva? Evaaaa?" He swiveled his head around to try to catch her eye. She wasn't having it. Instead she lunged forward, kissing him. He kissed her back before remembering why he had found her. "No, Eva. We need to go home." She frowned and threw her head back.
"Noooo. I wanna make out. You're my boyfriend. Kiss me!" She whined. Someone behind him called his name and he turned on instinct. Eva wriggled out of his hands and ran in the other direction. His hands felt suddenly empty and he whipped around. He scanned the area in front of him: no Eva. "Damnit." He took off running, squeezing through people and trying to find Eva as he ran. About 3 minutes later, he found her. Flirting with a man with a beer in her hand. Chris made his way to them. "I'm so sorry about her," he said to the man. "I'll just grab her. Come on Eva." Chris bent down and started to lift her up when the guy spoke.
"Now now now, we were having a perfectly good time." He put his hand over Eva's on the couch. Eva murmured something incoherent. Chris clenched his jaw.
"No. We're going." He put his hand under her arm again.
"No. We were talking. No need to bother us." He put his other hand up and gestured Chris to go away. Chris didn't.
"Guysssssss. Ssssssstoooooop." Eva moaned.
"You heard her. Go away." The man stood up.
"She was talking to you." He pushed the guy back onto the couch. The man cocked his head and ground his teeth.
"No. She wasn't," He growled. Chris took a deep breath. He was determined not to start anything. Not when Eva was about to black out. And especially not with this guy. Who even was this guy? And why couldn't he leave her alone?
"Stop. Just leave her us alone. I'm her boyfriend. I don't want this to get ugly." Chris's fist clenched on its own accord, and the man saw it as a threat.
"It already is." He stood back up, planted his hands on Chris's shoulders and shoved him back. Chris stumbled back but caught himself before punching the guy square in the face. The stranger grabbed Chris's waist and shoved his shoulder right into Chris, taking him back a good few feet. Eva stood up and tried to stop them, to no avail. The fight had drawn a couple spectators but no huge crowd. Chris reciprocated his shove so they were back near Eva. Eva was standing watching them now, hopelessly trying to stop them. Chris and the stranger were full out fighting and wrestling now, arms flying. Suddenly a hand yanked Chris away from the stranger. He looked up to find William.
"What the hell?" William asked in an accusatory tone. Chris looked to the ground and adjusted his shirt, furious. The stranger grunted and walked away. William glared suspiciously at Chris. "You good, man?" Chris nodded in response and continued to Eva. She was back on the couch.
"What was that about?" She slurred.
"Nothing. You don't need to worry about it," He murmured as he perched himself on the edge of the couch. "Eva? Let's play a game, yeah?" Eva smiled. "Okay? Um...repeat these numbers back to me, okay? Three...seven...one...and, nine, okay? Repeat them back to me." Eva nodded.
"Three," She paused, shook her head, and continued, "seven...one, and nine." Chris smiled.
"Perfect."
"Okay now what?"
"That's it, for right now."
"What? What game was it? That's a weird game." Chris hummed.
"Yes. Very weird." He sat back into the couch. "Now..."
"You ever seen the movie The Little Mermaid, Chris?" He shook his head.
"No, babe. What's it about?"
"Well there's this little mermaid, right?" She laughed, "That's probably why they called it that, yeah?" She laughed again. "Well anyways, she's in love with a human! Can you believe that?" She leaned forward, "A human! And well, her dad hates humans," She paused, "probably because they're mermaids." She looked away and widened her eyes. Chris smiled.
"Eva?" He said.
"Yeah." She turned back to him, smiling again.
"Remember that game we were playing five minutes ago? Can you repeat those numbers back to me? Yeah?" She narrowed her eyes.
"Mmmmmmm. I don't remember a game." Chris took a deep breath. She was blacked out, and it was time to go home. He shook his head.
"Yeah, that's okay. Come on, it's time to go home." He stood up and grabbed her hand. She peeled herself off the couch but stumbled as she tried to regain her balance. Chris caught her and stood her back up. Hooking his left arm under her right shoulder, he swung her right arm around his shoulders. After taking a few cautious steps, he knew they were good and started walking normally, helping Eva along the way.
