Spoiler
Hey!I'm really sorry to everyone who has been waiting ages for this. I've just been a bit lazy recently and haven't been on here as much as I'd like to be. I hope this is worth the wait 
As for what happened in the last chapter; Sonny and Aiden picked Harriet up from dance class and Harriet resolved to be more fun to get Sonny's attention.
Thanks for reading!
As for what happened in the last chapter; Sonny and Aiden picked Harriet up from dance class and Harriet resolved to be more fun to get Sonny's attention.
Thanks for reading!
Arriving at ‘The Rooster', I suddenly remembered why I’d never been to a club before. I’d watched programs on the TV about what went on in them and as I scanned the crowds filling the pavements outside a building with flashing neon lights, I had doubts for the tenth time that night.
There were scantily dressed girls, who I assumed had come as pirates; they were wearing long stripy vest tops and little else. Standing behind them were a second group of girls all wearing cat ears. One turned to face me and I noticed that she had drawn whiskers on her face with eyeliner too. I probably looked over dressed in my coat, but I was warm, unlike the majority of the patrons outside the club. They all looked to be shivering with the cold, but I held back my smug smile. They’d all be warm once they were inside, but I had no intention of taking off my coat; I’d already decided on the way here that I’d rather sweat to death than show the world the outfit that Cassie had allowed - no, make that forced - me to wear.
The lacy tights were itchy against my legs and I really wanted to rip them off, but then everyone would be blinded by my lily white legs. I frowned as we took another step closer to the doors.
“I’m trying to do something nice for you,” Cassie said and I realised that she was staring at me from beneath a pair of stupidly long fake eyelashes. “The least you could do is look happy. You look like you’ve got a strop on.”
I bit my lip. “I don’t want to be here.”
“Harriet.” Cassie sighed, her eyes now on her compact. “We’re not going home.”
I pouted and folded my arms tight across my coat. “Fine, but don’t expect me to have fun.”
Cassie shrugged as she scrunched her hair with her hands. Her blonde mane had been coaxed into wild curls with hairspray and she’d backcombed it to give it even more volume. I just hoped no-one lit a cigarette beside her for fear that her hair would go up in flames.
I pawed a hand though my own hair. Cassie had wanted to curl it too, but the most ambitious I’d allowed her to be was to plait a small lock of hair on the left of my head. I fingered it anxiously as a gang of guys behind began laughing raucously. A couple of girls passed us, their heels clicking on the pavement, and the smell of cigarette smoke mingled with the already pungent smell of perfume that hung in the still night air. I felt suddenly sick.
“Won’t we need ID?” I asked as I spotted a guy twirling a card in his fingers. “We might as well go home now if we do. There’s no point trying to fake it.”
Cassie looked up from where she’d been reapplying her red lipstick in her compact. “No, H, we don’t need ID. You only get asked for it at the bar if you want alcohol.”
I nodded as if doing so would steady my heartbeat. The door was growing ever closer and I found it hard to move when it was our turn to take another step forward.
“Do I look okay?” Cassie asked.
I peeled my eyes away from where I’d been watching the burly bouncer and nodded. “You look hot.”
Cassie smiled smugly. “I’d say the same for you, but you’re wearing that ugly coat at the moment.”
I’m wearing it all night actually.
We seemed to be moving forwards at a snails pace but I wasn’t complaining. I was warm in my coat. Cassie, however, was now hanging onto my arm like her life depended on it. She only let go to check her phone or re-do her make-up. At this rate, I’d have no blood flow into my arm.
I took another tense step as the group in front stepped out of the queue. They were mumbling something about it taking ages and I had to agree with them. If it was up to me, I’d have left ages ago. I glanced down at my watch to see that it was nearing half nine. We’d got off the bus forty five minutes ago. A sudden gust of wind sent a shiver down my spine and I turned around to keep my hair out of my eyes. The queue was stretching far down the road and I pitied the people at the back. God knows how long they’d be waiting to get in.
I was about to face the front of the queue again when I felt Cassie’s grip on my arm tighten and hot breath in my ear.
“Oh my God,” she hissed. “You’ll never guess who’s standing just in front of us.”
My stomach knotted itself and I whirled around in the direction of the club, only to wish that I’d stayed facing the other way.
“Harriet? I didn’t know you came here!”
I screwed my eyes shut, but an elbow in the ribs from Cassie forced them back open again. “Hey, Brandon. How are you?”
Brandon’s face showed pure joy. He looked like he couldn’t believe his luck. “I’m great thanks,” he replied through a huge smile. “You?”
I nodded with a sideways glance at Cassie. “Yeah, I’m okay. Bit cold.”
“It’s freezing, isn’t it?” Cassie said.
“You should have worn a coat then,” I said, eyeing her thin cardigan.
Cassie frowned for a brief moment. “Yeah, I suppose. Still, we’ll be inside soon. Ooh! What have you come as Brandon?”
“I was going to come as a footballer, but then I thought why not come as a rugby player instead,” he replied. “You know, for a change.”
Very daring. My eyes fell on his navy blue shirt. A club logo was stitched on the sleeves that were barely concealing his bulky arms and most of his legs were exposed due to the fact that he was wearing a pair of ridiculously short shorts. I didn’t know much about sport, but I was sure that rugby players didn’t have that much on show. It was embarrassing and I could feel myself fighting back a blush.
“What have you come as, Harriet?” he asked.
I snapped my gaze up from staring at the massive amount of hair on his legs. “Myself,” I replied bluntly. “I don’t really do fancy dress.”
“She’s a spoil sport,” Cassie said. “I, however, have come as a rag doll.” She beamed and pointed at the short chequered dress she was wearing. She’d teamed it with knee length white socks and ballet shoes.
“Is that why you’re wearing so much blusher?” I quipped.
Cassie scowled at me before turning to Brandon. I wasn’t in a mood with Cassie. I just wished that Brandon would bugger off. He was making going home even more tempting.
“Who are you here with?” Cassie asked Brandon.
“A few of my team mates, actually, although they’ve already gone in,” he answered. “I’ll introduce you if you want?”
I rolled my eyes. “That’s alright,” I replied. “We’re here for a girly night out. Sorry.”
Brandon’s face fell. “Oh.”
“What she means, is that we’ll see how the night goes,” Cassie added. “Don’t you, Harriet?”
Feeling guilt seep into my thoughts, I nodded. “Sure.”
“Brill,” he said, just as he stepped up to the bouncer. “Well, I’ll see you both inside.”
“Will do,” Cassie replied.
I watched as he handed his entry fee to the bulky man dressed all in black before disappearing inside. The man had a walkie talkie in the front pocket of his jacket and he was wearing an ear piece.
“That’s a fiver each, girls,” the bouncer said.
I fiddled in my purse for my money and pulled out the right change. Cassie did the same.
“Have a nice night,” the man said, although he didn’t sound like he meant it.
***
I followed Cassie into the main bar area, making sure to stick close to her. She’d already put her cardigan in the cloakroom, but I’d declined. I still wasn’t sure about what I was wearing and I didn’t want anyone laughing at me.
“You want a coke?” Cassie asked.
I nodded and scooted closer to her at the bar as someone pushed past me. Their elbow knocked into mine and I felt drink splash onto my foot.
The place was filling up now. The music was getting louder and the hum of conversation was all around. There were groups of people dotted around the dance floor and all of the tables were already taken. The room seemed to have been decorated recently; the blue walls weren’t marked and the flooring wasn’t dirty but I guessed that by the end of the night, the dance floor would be covered in glasses and it would be sticky with spilt drink.
The more people that crowded into the room, the hotter it seemed to get. I could feel myself sweating under my coat, but refused to take it off. The majority of the girls, save the ones who had too much make-up and too little clothes, looked really nice. Some wore dresses and others wore tight fitting tops and floaty skirts. I gathered that floral prints were in fashion as those that hadn’t dressed up seemed to be wearing some sort of flowery design.
“Do you want to head for the dance floor?” Cassie asked and I turned to see her fighting her way past a couple of girls, the drinks she’d just brought swaying precariously in the glasses.
“Sure,” I replied, gazing over at the bright lights shining over those who were already dancing. The DJ was playing a dance song and people were moving in time with the rhythm blasting from the speakers. I could feel my body responding to the beat of the music but I tried to shut out the urge to dance; it would only make me sweat more. I took a sip of my drink to distract myself and immediately felt a little cooler, but the sensation didn’t last long.
“You look like you’re roasting alive,” Cassie said. “You look bright red under the fluorescent lights.”
I caught sight of my reflection in a row of mirrors along the wall we’d stopped at and grimaced.
“Just take it off,” Cassie said. “You look amazing.”
I wanted to stamp my foot like a disobedient child. “No, I don’t. I look like I don’t fit in. I look…” I hesitated. “Serious.”
“No you don’t. But you will look like an idiot if you keep that coat on for much longer. Harriet, your make-up’s already started to sweat off and you don’t want wet patches under your arms, do you?”
I raised my eyebrows in alarm. “No.”
“Well go and take your coat off then. Here, I’ll hold your drink.”
I attempted a smile as I handed her my glass.
“I’ll wait here,” she said. “Just go, before the queue gets giant.”
I nodded and backed out of the room. As the heavy doors swung shut behind me, the sound of the pounding music died away and I realised just how loud it had been in there. My ears were ringing and I’d only been in the club for ten minutes.
Following the neon signs directing me to the cloakroom, I kept an eye out for Brandon. I didn’t want to run into him, or any of his friends. I didn’t even want to be here. I had college tomorrow morning, and I’d told my mum I was staying at Cassie’s so we could study for a History test. They’d believed me, although Mum had seemed a bit suspicious when I’d used Cassie’s name and ‘studying’ in the same sentence.
I rounded a corner and to my relief, it appeared virtually empty. It was now or never. I slipped off my coat and instantly felt cooler. I strode forwards and quickly glanced down to see if I had any sweat patches, but thankfully I didn’t. Smiling properly for what felt like the first time all night, I joined the small queue for the cloakroom. They had different music playing from speakers above the staff door that led into where they kept all of the coats. I recognised the tune and realising that it was a song I’d heard Leanne play loads of times before, I began tapping my foot to the beat.
“‘Kill silence,’ by Geoffrey Gold,” a voice said from behind me and my knees almost buckled. “I didn’t think I’d ever see you here, Harriet.”
I turned around slowly to face Sonny. “It was my friends idea,” I said. Then, realising I sounded like I didn’t want to be here, I added, “But I was well up for it. What are you doing here?”
Sonny smiled and lowered his gaze to the jacket in his hand. I wanted to die.
“Cloakroom, yeah,” I said, knowing that I sounded lame.
“Is that your friends dress?” he asked, nodding towards my outfit.
My cheeks burned and I flapped a hand wildly as I gestured towards the black dress Cassie had leant me. It had pink sequins along the seams and was strapless. “Yeah,” I replied. “I couldn’t find anything to wear and I didn’t really want to dress up.”
“Me either,” Sonny replied.
I felt a little let down that he hadn’t complimented me but I tried to hide my disappointment by looking his outfit over. He was wearing a pair of faded blue skinny jeans with a green and white striped t-shirt. I could see more of his tattoo today and I found my eyes lingering on the top half of his right arm for a little too long. Looking up, I realised Sonny had noticed me staring.
“Your parents weren’t too pleased at Leanne’s tattoo then?” he said. “She told me your dad went ballistic.”
I shrugged. “They just wanted her to be one hundred percent happy with it.”
“And she is,” Sonny replied.
I stepped up to the counter and handed the girl my coat and fee before taking the ticket and stepping out of the queue. I watched as Sonny did the same and my gut wrenched as he offered the girl behind the counter a cheeky smile.
“Well, do you like it?”
His question caught me off guard and pulled me out of my jealous musings.
“The tattoo? Yeah, it’s nice.”
Sonny smiled and my jealously disappeared. His smile was aimed right at me, not the woman this time. I suddenly felt brave.
“I think the colours are great. The violet really looks amazing.” I shot him a grin and ran my hand through my hair, just like Cassie had told me to do.
“Really? My favourite colour’s violet.”
I know. “Cool,” I replied.
“Yeah,” he added. “My tattoo’s got violet in it too. Look, here.”
My eyes almost bulged out of their sockets as I marvelled at the chance to stare openly at his muscular arms. My gaze brushed over the tattoo with awe. I’d looked at it before, but only from a distance. Close up, the colours were even more vibrant. I smiled and pointed at a lone star that was next to a skull, my finger inches from his skin. “That’s brilliant.”
I couldn’t help noticing Sonny watching me with a strange expression. My heart pounded as he scanned my face.
“Well, I better go and find Warren. I left him at the bar. He’s probably drunk it dry by now.”
I giggled. “Okay.”
“See you later, Harriet.”
I watched in satisfaction as he disappeared back to the main room. I’d give it a second before I returned to Cassie. She wasn’t going to believe this.
***
I spotted Cassie over by the bar and as I fought my past sweaty bodies, I noticed that she was talking to two guys. My heart stuttered at the prospect of one of them being Brandon, but as I drew closer, I sighed in relief. The taller of the two guys was laughing at something Cassie had just said, but the second guy looked bored. Cassie didn’t appear to have noticed though; she was too occupied with smiling and twirling her hair in her fingers.
Too busy flirting, she didn’t realise I’d arrived next to her until I’d prodded her with my elbow.
“Hey, Harriet. I’d like you to meet Dean and Rich.” Cassie pointed first to the guy who was staring at the dance floor with a wistful expression and secondly to the taller guy who appeared to be into her. He smiled back at me and nudged his mate. Dean turned around slowly before shrugging at me.
“Hi,” I offered, feeling suddenly self conscious again, standing in front of two total strangers. I turned to Cassie and jerked a finger behind me. “Can I have a word, in private?”
“Is it important?” She handed me my drink and I swigged the last of it.
I nodded. “Sonny’s here,” I hissed. “And I think I managed to flirt with him.”
The plastic looking smile that Cassie had just been wearing, suddenly became a lot more genuine. “For real?” she asked, gripping my wrist.
I nodded again and my heart started pounding at the thought of reliving what had just happened in the cloakroom.
“Okay, sure. Hang on,” Cassie muttered before turning back to face Dean and Rich. “Sorry guys. Girl emergency.”
Dean grimaced and Rich’s face fell; he looked disappointed that I was dragging Cassie away. Cassie, however, didn’t seem to care that I’d ruined her chance with him. She was already dragging me off into the direction of the toilets.
Giving me just enough time to adjust to the levels of perfume in the air, she crammed me into a toilet cubical and shoved the door shut behind her.
“Well?” she asked, leaning back against the graffiti covered door. “Tell me everything.”
I lowered the lid of the toilet seat and sat down, losing the fight to stop myself from outright beaming. “We had a moment in the cloakroom,” I said.
“A moment?” Cassie looked interested. She bit her lip and stared at me. “What sort of a moment?”
“He gave me this look,” I said, slipping one of my shoes off so that I could massage my heel; I hated wearing heels but Cassie had banned me from wearing flats. “It was… almost as if he was looking straight into me.” I shivered and put my shoe back on.
“It’s the dress,” Cassie announced. “I told you you look hot. I bet he finally saw you as a girl for the first time.”
I frowned. “What did he see me as before then? A guy?”
Cassie rolled her eyes and fiddled around in her bag. She pulled out some perfume and sprayed some onto her wrists. “No. I mean, you’re all dressed up, compared to your everyday outfit of jeans and a hoody. You look well different.”
I looked down at myself and shrugged. “So he’ll find me attractive if I wear this everywhere?”
Cassie laughed. “No, he’ll think you don’t wash. You just need to update your wardrobe a bit. And get a hair cut.”
“You’re not going to drop this whole hair cut thing, are you?” I asked, getting up from the toilet.
“Nope,” she said with a smile while spritzing me with perfume.
I coughed on the scent of summer berries and gestured for her to open the door.
“Well at least you’ve made sort of a break through,” Cassie said. “Phase one is complete.”
I cocked an eyebrow and followed her out into the main toilet area. The space was crammed with giggling girls; some more giggly than others, probably down to alcohol. Hands were flying everywhere, frantically applying mascara and lip gloss in an attempt to impress the opposite sex. I smiled to myself, glad that I’d managed to get Sonny’s attention without the help of layers of fakery; the orange look so wasn’t on my list of things to achieve. Sonny’s heart, however, was.
“Phase one?” I asked once we were back in the club.
Cassie smiled. “He knows you exist. It kinda helps when you like someone, for them to know that you’re ready for them to sweep you off of your feet.”
I nodded. “Good thinking.”
“I’m the master of love,” Cassie said.
“Oh, yeah?” I asked. “Then what’s phase two, oh knowledgeable one?”
Cassie winked and grabbed my arm. “Dance.”
I laughed and let Cassie pull me towards the crowded dance floor. “And how does this help me gain Sonny’s affections?”
“It doesn’t,” she replied. “I just want to get my groove on.”
