"Right on schedule."
                          
She mischievously smiles at me as she slides back on her pants. Her legs are weak, so I quickly pick her up and make my way out. "Thank you," she chuckles. "No, thank you," I say, referring back to the events. She smiles as I place her into the passenger seat. 
                          
We're on our way to a small party Louis is throwing. I'm a little bit nervous because there will be people there that we negotiate deals with and I really don't want Blair to be around this stuff. I know she's nowhere near innocent, but in this matter, she's a saint. 
                          
We arrive at the sketchy, exclusive venue that's just on the outskirts of Chicago. There are two men dressed in all black suits guarding the doors. "Your names?" they ask in a deep tone. 
                          
"Niall Horan and Blair Collins," I respond back as they step out of the way and let us in. Immediately we're swarmed by the boys and strangers who are high. 
                          
Figures. 
                          
"Hey Niall," Louis greets us with a hug. The rest of the boys follow as we catch up on some small talk. "Where's your little girlfriend?" Liam asks Harry, referring to Delaney. He blushes and shakes his head. "Uh- she's not my girlfriend," he awkwardly chuckles. 
                          
"Not yet," Niall adds. We all laugh it off and make our way over to the bar. "I'm not drinking," I tell Blair. "Neither am I," she replies back. Sobriety is fun sometimes—only when I'm with people I like, though. 
                          
We break away from the group to a more secluded area. At the table to our right, a group of girls are snorting lines of cocaine. Everyone to our left has a joint pressed either in between their fingers or lips, taking long drags. It's odd just observing since I'm always participating in these activities. I shift my focus onto Blair where I see her body tensed up. 
                          
"Are you okay?" I express my concern. "If you're uncomfortable we can go home." She shakes her head and smiles. "No, I'm okay. Thank you, though." I furrow my eyebrows, still curious about what's bothering her. I decide not to say anything about it anymore.
                          
"This reminds me of high school," I chuckle. "Wild people not giving a damn if they live or die." She stares at me and shakes her head in agreement. "Yeah, pretty much sums it up," she laughs. 
                          
"I'm so used to this shit now that I don't even think twice when someone snorts a line," I add. "I'm not," she nervously chuckles. I quickly notice and realize we have to get away from everything. "Let's move," I say as I lead her away from everyone. We sit in a corner at a table with two little chairs and observe. 
                          
Time quickly flies by as more people fill the room. "I thought this was exclusive?" she laughs. "It's supposed to be," I ignore her concern. 
                          
A loud noise suddenly fills the room as screams swirl around in fear. "Everyone shut the fuck up!" A man with a ski mask on fires a gun in the air as everyone breaks out into chaos.
                          
You've got to be fucking joking. 
                          
I forcefully grip up her wrist and lead her behind the closed bar counter. "Blair, whatever you do, stay here," I command in a low tone. I pull a pistol out of my pants and hand it to her. 
                          
"Just in case." 
                          
Her eyes go wide with fear as her breathing rapidly picks up—she's terrified. "It'll be alright, I promise. I won't let anything happen to you," I plant a quick kiss on her cheek. "Do you know how to use this?" She frantically nods and slides further into the shadows. "Be safe, babe."