Dark Eyes

Chapter Two: Iron Deficiency

I slowly came to my senses and realized I was laying on a leather couch in a smokey room.

"Where.. Where am I?" I stammered.

"Hey Rem! She's awake!" yelled an unfamiliar voice.

My head was pounding. I raised my hand to apply pressure to where the pain was coming from, but soon realized that everything hurt.

"Hey, take it easy. You hit the floor pretty hard."

I look up to see the same brown eyes as before looking down at me, along with a kind smile. His outstretched hand held a glass of water, which I took.

"Thanks." I said. "What happened?"

"We don't know, you tell us. We were singing the last song and then you passed out and fell to the ground." Remington said with a concerned look on his face.

"Oh yeah. I think I had an anxiety attack. There were so many people, and I think I lost my hearing for a minute. That must have freaked me out and pushed me over the edge." I confess, taking a sip of the water and then placing it on the coffee table in front of me.

"You're lucky Rem was there to pick you up. You could have been trampled." Said a voice coming from the corner of the room. I look up to see Emerson, his sketchbook sprawled across his lap.

"Yeah, I'm sorry I couldn't get to you before you hit the ground. There were people in the way. They cleared out once they saw what was going on, and I picked you up and carried you here. You've been sleeping for about an hour." Remington reached out and touched my knee. "How're you feeling?"

I shivered at his touch. He was so cold. I looked at him, and unable to form a sentence that didn't make me sound stupid, I said: "Um, You're hands are so cold.."

He looked worried and quickly removed his hand. "Uhh.. yeah.. iron deficiency" he mumbled. He immediately got up and raced out of the room.

I watched him go and looked at Emerson, trying to see if he thought that was as strange as I did. Apparently, he didn't find it strange at all. After a few awkward minutes of silence, Emerson spoke.

"Why don't we get out of this smelly room? Some fresh air might do you good." He stood up and offered his hand. I took it and followed him outside.

We exited through the back of the venue, into a parking lot surrounded by a tall fence. The only vehicle in the lot was a large black bus, with Sebastian standing at the door.

"Hey! Glad to see you're okay! Sorry to hear you had an anxiety attack. That must have been terrifying!" Sebastian said as we approached.

"Well I don't remember much of anything. I blacked out." I told him.

"Yeah, I saw you hit the floor." He made an apologetic sort of face. "I'm Sebastian. It's very nice to meet you." He outstretched his hand for me to shake. I shook his hand and replied "I'm Harper. It's nice to meet you too." It seemed so formal and polite. I guess that's why they call him the gentleman.

"Harper is a beautiful name." Said Emerson. He also offered his hand to shake. "They call me Emerson."

I shook his hand. "Thank you." I blushed at all of the attention. I didn't like all eyes on me, so I changed the subject.

"Where is Remington?" I asked, looking around to see if I could spot him. "I would like to thank him for pulling me out of the crowd."

"Oh he went inside. He's probably in the kitchen." Sebastian laughed.

"I'll take you inside and help you find him." Emerson offered.

He opened the door to the bus and stepped aside to let me go in first. I climbed the 3 or 4 steps it took to get into the bus and looked around. When you step inside, you're in what I would call the "living area". There was a couch and a small table. To the right of the living area was a small kitchen, equipped with a dorm sized refrigerator and microwave. To the left of the door was a small hallway that had bunks stacked 2 high on either side. At the end of the hall was a closed door which I assumed to be the bathroom. When we both climbed onto the bus, Emerson shut the door behind us. The door at the end of the hallway opened up and Remington exited the bathroom. He must have just showered because he had no makeup on and his hair was still damp. He was wearing grey sweatpants and had a towel draped around his neck that hung down on his bare chest.

"Rem I don't think you have properly met our guest. This is Harper. Harper, this is Remington." Emerson introduced us.

"Hey." Said Remington using the towel to dry his hair.

"Um.." I stammered. "Uh. Hi. I just.. uhm.. wanted to say thank you for pulling me from the crowd." My cheeks flushed with embarrassment, and I looked down at my feet.

"It's no problem Harper. I was worried about you. When a beautiful girl passes out right next to you, you don't just let her lay there." He laughed.

I could feel the heat coming off of my cheeks. I continued looking at the floor. "Well I should probably get going. I just wanted to say thank you.." I edged toward the door.

"You don't have to go. The after party is just getting started." He smiled. "Why don't you stay?"

"Yes! Please stay!" Emerson interjected.

Just then the door opened and Sebastian entered with an armful of alcohol and a couple people trailing behind him. "Let's get this party started!" He exclaimed.