Dancing Lights -Granger-

Too much. Again. Maybe the drink was bad, she couldn't get it from the regular sources. Maybe she drank too much. That was likely. She usually forgot how much she drank. Her body felt too hot, but she couldn't stop shivering. Her head was pounding, she remembered the music, the base pounding loud while they....

Helena was drunk. A bottle of whiskey down, and now she was working on a bottle of Jack. Most nights she was alright, but she felt sick. Alcohol poisoning maybe? Good. Maybe she'd die and not have to deal with the nightmares anymore. But then Landon would be alone. She couldn't leave her brother, not when he'd just promised to stay by her side. Her mind swam through the fog.

She wouldn't have to think about it much longer. She was on her hands and knees, and couldn't remember how she'd gotten there. With a few violent retches, all of the alcohol was emptied onto the sand, and her body shook. Tears streamed from her eyes as she retched again. She wasn't looking good.

Travis peered onto the beach, only to see a girl, hopelessly drunk, puking, and tears streaming down her face. He cautiously approached, not knowing what might await him. Travis hesitated, and lit a cigarette. As he walked up, he put down the cigarette, tossing it to the sand, and proceeded to rip the bottle from her hands.

"H-hey!" she shouted, but she couldn't fight him. It was taking all her energy to keep from collapsing into the puke-stained sand underneath her. Her eyes unfocused as she shook. "W-who do you think you are?! Give it back!" she tried to shout, but her body was glistening with sweat.

"I'm Travis Kilner, and I think you've had enough." He threw the bottle into the ocean,watching the liquor slosh out into the foamy waves. Travis stared at her. He knew she was drunk, but he didn't want to mention it. "Um, so?..."

Helena growled angrily. "Do you know how hard it is to get that?!" She tried to stand, her legs shaking underneath her. The black haired girl tried to lunge at the boy, but she could barely hold herself up. Her black eyeliner was smeared down her face, and she look miserable.

"Actually, I do.", he said. "Do you need to go to the infirmary, or your cabin or something?"Travis asked, unfamiliar with the girl. He took out a cigarette and lit it. Smoking always seemed to calm him down. He didn't know why, it just did.

"No! Just go away you useless piece of trash!" she shouted angrily, sitting down in some clean sand. "And get that nasty smoke away from me." she hissed at him, her eyes unfocused as she stared at the sea.

"Says the girl who's flat -out drunk!",he screamed. Fuming, Travis tossed the still-lit cigarette to the ground where it burst into a small flame. Stamping on the flame, he angrily kicked the cigarette in her direction. He growled, and turned away.

The cigarette would hit her, landing on her exposed leg. She wouldn't even bat it away, as it burned against her skin. Her eyes stared foward, unblinking, more tears streaming down her cheeks. Helena didn't like to cry in front of strangers, especially strangers who had kicked a cigarette at her. But the memories were drowning her. Covering her face, she began to sob.