Love, Dance, Death

The bus was crowded. This was usual. Everyone smelled like booze, sweat and excitement. This street was the home to so many good nights. Home to where my soul would break free and be itself for one night. It's where I met him. I remember that night so clearly. I left a club to get some air. The air out on this boulevard was not exactly clear. It was suffocated with smoke, booze, and the slight aroma of fast food. This was clarity for me though. It was sweet yet thick, but it comforted me. If you walked further down this bright neon street you would reach the ocean. I decided to walk down. I walked past countless clubs each with the bass acting as the heart beat. You could see the club inhale and exhale each time the bass pumped more adrenaline through the walls. I smiled, this was the excitement I loved. When I got to the beach I sat down, laid back and looked up to the stars. I closed my eyes and could only hear the swells of the ocean. When I opened my eyes, he was there. This is when we met. I'm not going to go into detail about the conversation, but it went well enough that we are one in the same people now.
Now in the present I get off the bus and step into the same crowded and live street as I have done so many times before. The same bright lights and boom of the base filled my senses. I breathed in and could taste the bitter alcohol and smoke that steadily brought back the countless night him and I spent together here. Tonight though  I was not here to enjoy myself. A couple passed by me and drew my eye to his small compact, yellow Yugo parked outside of a club.  The sign of the club was bright neon pink , that shined brighter at night than at day. This simple beauty is what drew me to this place. I stared into the light and couldn't help but smile. This place was my way out of the hectic and busy life of work. It was my home away from home. As my gaze fixated on the sign, gunshots shrilled through the air. I spun around to look for the owner of the gun, but only saw people dropping to the ground and screaming. I heard someone yell, and people began to run past me to the source. I stood up and looked around me, people were piling out of the clubs to see what was going on. Security guards were running towards a large group of people. I was a deer in headlights, not knowing what was going on I just stood there, leaning against the Yugo trying to catch my breath understanding what had just happened. I staggered towards the large crowd of people, but was cut off by the shrieking of sirens. The ambulance pulled up and silenced the clubs within an instant. It's bright yellow and red flashing lights nearly blinded me as I moved closer to the crowd. The bulky doors to the ambulance opened like the red sea and the paramedics jumped out with a stretcher and a plastic yellow first aid box. I followed closely behind the paramedics. As I got closer to the centre of the crowd I could smell the horrifying scent of gunpowder slice through the air. As I pushed through I began to get this sick feeling. I didn't know what it was at the time, but now I know. I eventually got to the centre of the crowd, once I did my breath was taken away. There he was lying on the cold hard ground with a bullet wound on the left side of his stomach. He was sprawled on his back, a pool of blood slowly forming around him. His brown hair was drenched in sweat and his blue eyes were bigger and bluer than ever before. The clothes he was wearing yesterday were drenched in dark red blood, sagging off his weak body. In an instant I lunged forwards, quickly pushing past the strong paramedics, but they turned around and grabbed my should knocking me to the ground. I shot back up and yelled his name. I wiggled free and ran to him, dropping down to the floor beside him. His cold empty body lay in my hands.
" What the hell happened?" I whimpered.
Fat hot tears stung my cheeks as the mercilessly ran down my face.
"Please don't leave, everything will be alright" I pleaded.
He grunted like an animal. There was nothing left in him, all I wanted was to hear his smooth, soothing voice to comfort me, to assure that e was going to be alright. I leaned in and took in the sweat smell of his cologne I gave him for his birthday last week. He was only 21. I slowly kissed him and could immediately taste the booze and cigarettes, but past that I could taste him, his individuality, slowly flowing from his lips and into this muggy crowded street. His lips were sandpaper, they didn't feel wet and soft like they used to. His body grew heavier and his breathing shallower.
"No, please no!" I yelled.
The bitter taste of sorrow welled up in my throat. His body became cold and heavy. He looked right into my eyes. I could hear his voice.
"I love you,  I will always be here, don't worry. Be strong for me"
His eyes slowly began to lull away, then he fell back and was limp.
I leaned into him and whispered "I love you."
Tears streamed down my face while I cuddled his cold body and the perfectly round crowd dispersed and left me with him.