Early Bird | ✓

13 | hummingbird

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           LIZZY listened closely for the source of the shrieks but they seemed to reverberate from every hallway and every room. She wasn't exactly sure why dread was clinging to her like a leech but it was. She questioned a couple lounging teens in the kitchen but they shrugged their shoulders and continued to attend to their conversation as if Lizzy hadn't even interrupted them. Her feet led her to the dancing multitude; there, the music was so earsplitting that she couldn't hear a single morsel of her own voice, let alone any ominous yells.

            She narrowly avoided collisions with girls and guys who had their eyes closed, their bodies swaying to the beat of the music. Lizzy soon broke the edge of the crowd, gasping for breath from the close proximity of the tightly-packed sardine-like crowd. Just as she jogged into the front entry way, she noticed a pack of people, gathering around something that couldn't be seen. Lizzy surged through the crowd, elbowing her way along. "Excuse me, sorry, pardon me," Lizzy apologized profusely, continuing onward in spite of the nasty glares she received from several teenagers.

           Finally, she reached the end of the mob who was watching a fight with sickly fascination. Two boys were wrestling on the ground, swinging punches and kicks to the other in rapid succession, each trying to secure a foothold over the other. Hollers from the bystanders joined in with the grunts and shouts from the two struggling boys whom Lizzy couldn't recognize try as she might. Lizzy gasped, her hands flying to her mouth. She despised brawls like this one because they always resulted in pain. And she hated seeing others get hurt.

           Lizzy realized that Teagan and Reece were attempting to camouflage as best they could into the bare wall as they stood very close to the fight. Lizzy inched her way toward them, ducking so that she wouldn't be the recipient of more disgusted looks. One of the boy's legs flung toward her and Lizzy tripped over it, crashing onto the floor. Luckily, she was positioned right next to Teagan and Reece and she rapidly dusted herself off, embarrassment flooding her veins. "That was awkward," Lizzy told Teagan and Reece, leaning close to their faces so that they would be able to hear her.

           "So, um," Lizzy commenced, grasping that each of their stares was glued to the fight and they had barely acknowledged Lizzy's presence, "what's going on here?"

           Reece's gaze finally met hers, an outlandish sort of awe coloring his eyes. "They're fighting," he said monotonously, pointing out the obvious.

           Lizzy impatiently crossed her arms. "I'm not an idiot. But who exactly are they?"

           Teagan stood frozen in between them and Lizzy gently shook her shoulder; however, Teagan prolonged her obliviousness of Lizzy. Fortunately, Reece's glazed expression was fading away and replaced with concern. "Can't you tell?" he asked her.

           Lizzy rotated her focus back to the brawling boys, a sense of urgency in her stare. One of the boys was much larger than the other; his bulkiness was apparent as was the striking mass of orange hair on his head. Lizzy recognized him as one of Mateo's friends, Lucas, the one that Teagan had been pestering almost all night. The other, thinner boy had a bleeding nose, his hands pounding relentlessly on Lucas's stomach before performing a quick jab to Lucas's throat. Lizzy could barely recognize him with all the blood but his curly, brunet hair seized her attention. Mateo.

           Wait, what? Lizzy's eyes dilated into saucers, her attention returning to Teagan and Reece. This time, Lizzy detected Teagan nursing a sore arm that was peppered with splashes of blue and black. Questions twirled in Lizzy's expression but Reece silently shook his head; Teagan still had not managed to give Lizzy a glance.