By Chance

Sneak Peek to "Unexpected" - chapter one- Amber

 "I don't think I can do this," I say nervously, tugging on a piece of my long, brown hair.

"Yes you can, Amber. Come on, you'll have fun. I know it," my older sister, Livvy says, beckoning me to follow her into the large crowd of people making their way into the most popular club in downtown London.

I instantly feel awkward, trying to fit in with the crowd of usual party-goers. I am wearing a simple black dress, the bottom coming to just above my knee. Everyone else is decked out in glamorous glitzy dresses and suits, or stylish shirts and pants, looking like they know what they are doing. I, however, have no clue. I am not the type of person you can find dancing in a club. I am more the type of person to be sitting at home, watching a TV show about people dancing in clubs. I just don't have the courage to put myself out there like everyone else does. I've always wanted a boyfriend, though, so maybe if I actually try to put myself out there tonight, I could get lucky. When I was in high school all the guys I went to school with were either too young, too old, or too creepy. So I have never even gotten the chance to have a boyfriend, but oh well.

I'm not really one to get excited about going to clubs or parties, so I rarely dress up to do anything. I only have one dress at home, and the rest I have to borrow from my sister when the situation arises. Once we go into the club, I am blinded by all the flashing lights and lasers dancing around the room. The whole club is filled from wall to wall with dancing people, all of them smiling and having a great time. I, on the other hand, am feeling very awkward, and want to get out of here fast. I wander off towards the edge of the room, abandoning my sister who I know can handle the crowd way better than I can.

There are some tables towards the corner of the room, surrounded by around four chairs each. Not very many people are sitting at the chairs, so I decide to go sit at an empty table and watch the people around me, to see if I can at least try to fit in. But all the things that everyone is doing, it seemed unreal for me to do it. Dancing like that, socializing so well, that had never been my strong suit. I am always the girl that showed up to things but never fit in well.

I scan the table in front of me, noticing the empty wine glasses that have been used and left for some poor employee to clean up after close. I glance back out into the crowd and see my sister standing in a large group, laughing. I smile weakly, wishing I could have friends like that. All my life I never really had any good friends. Sure I had some acquaintances here and there, but they never really meant as much to me as they should have.

I let my eyes move around the room, scanning the faces of everyone. They look like they're having so much fun. So what is stopping me?

My eyes stop on a fairly tall boy with thick, curly brown hair and from what I could tell, also dark brown eyes. I look at him for longer than I should have, and before I know it, I'm standing up and making my way over to him. No Amber, I think. What are you doing? Stop walking! Stopppp ittttttttttt!

But there I am standing near the brown haired boy, looking up at him and wishing he would turn around. But, no he did not. He kept talking to two other boys surrounding him, and I had a feeling that a girl is far from his mind. So I wandered back towards the table and sat down again, pulling out my phone and checking my bare Instagram feed. I'm following 12 people, so what showed up is just photoshoots from friend groups or movie stars flaunting their Tesla's and million dollar mansions. It is fun to look at nonetheless, and I stared at my screen for almost an hour. Once I glanced up at the time I inwardly reprimanded myself for being on my phone for that long. I turned it off and put my phone in my bag and stood up, looking at everyone around me, curious as to what I could do to keep myself busy until my sister decided to leave.

I stood near the center of the room, looking down at my hands, awkwardly picking at my various hangnails that were stuck to my fingers. I decided I am done with trying to dance so, without looking up, I started walking towards where I had been sitting before. Because I am too preoccupied pulling off my hangnails, I ran into someone I didn't know was there before. I looked up, shocked, right into the eyes of the dark-haired boy I had noticed earlier. Flustered, I back up quickly, apologizing. Laughing, he says it's alright. "Name's Sam. You?" he asked after.

"Uhh, Amber. Sorry again," I say, feeling my face explode in embarrassment.

"Don't worry about it," he says with a smile. "You seem lonely," he adds after a minute. "Want to come and dance with my brothers and I?"

I hesitate at first, not entirely sure if this is a wise choice, since I didn't know these people. But, what else am I going to do? I nodded and followed him to where his brothers were standing, and he introduced me to them.

"So, you're Tom," I say, pointing to the shortest one out of the three, "and you're Harry?" I asked, pointing to the curly-haired boy.

"Yep! So, from how you're, er, acting, I would assume this is your first time at a club?" Harry asks, seeming slightly embarrassed at his remark.

I laugh quietly and say, "Yes, it is. I'm more of a stay at home person, really. But this night has definitely been unforgettable."

They all laugh and pull me into their little dancing group, all of us moving to the beat.