Gray Area (sequel to White Noise)

Ch 20 - Karaoke

It wasn't long before both Tori and I became bored of our current situation. There's only so much dancing and drinking you can take before it starts to get old. Luckily, Tori and I were both on the same page when it came to what we wanted to do next.

"Ashton!" Tori yelled, probably way too loudly, waving our friend over. When he reached our side, she put on her sweetest face. "We're bored, Ashy. Let's go somewhere else." She threw her arms around the tall boy and almost lost her balance, causing me to erupt into a fit of giggles. Let's be honest; everything is way more funny when you're drunk.

"Like where, Tor? It's your night, so just say the word, and we're there."

At his words, Tori's face lit up like a Christmas tree. "Let's do karaoke!"

I nodded along enthusiastically beside her. It never failed; whenever Tori and I got really drunk, we always ended up doing karaoke. Apparently, alcohol made us think we were Mariah Carey or something.

"Really?" Ashton laughed. "That's how you want to spend one of your last nights as a single woman? Singing karaoke?"

"Yes! Please, Ashy? Pleeeeeeease?" She was laying it on thick now, sticking out her bottom lip into an exaggerated pout. It wasn't necessary, though. Ashton could never say no to Tori.

"Okay, okay," he told her with a smile. "No need to beg."

She jumped into his arms for a hug, and he laughed as he caught her. "You're the best, Ash! The best!"

"Yeah, yeah. I know. Let me go round up the rest of the crew, okay? Stay put." She answered him with a salute, which caused me to burst into laughter again.

It didn't take long for him to convince the group that it was time to move on. I'm not sure that anyone even asked where we were going next when Ashton told them we were leaving. They were just ready to keep the party going. Surprisingly, there were only a few groans of disappointment when we made it to our destination.

"Come on, you guys!" Tori told the crowd as we entered the bar. "Karaoke is amazing!"

"But this is a bachelor/bachelorette party!" one of the boys' friends mumbled. I couldn't really remember his name in my altered state. "Let's go to a strip club or something!"

At that, Tori spun on her heel and grabbed the whiner by his shirt. "Listen here, Josh." Josh! That was his name. "There will be no more strip clubs as far as Calum Hood is concerned. He's mine now, not some stripper's. Got it?"

"Y-yes, ma'am. Got it."

"Good," Tori giggled, letting go of the poor boy's shirt and reaching for my hand. "Come on, Lex. Let's go sign up to sing!"

We started off light, doing a perfect rendition of Baby Got Back. After that, Luke and Calum treated the crowd to a performance of Livin' On A Prayer, followed by an amazing Oops, I Did It Again by Michael. Ashton slowed it down then and serenaded Tori with his version of I Will Always Love You. Tori and I were up again after that, and we planned on putting on a show.

"You ready for this, Lex?" she asked me with a grin as we stood to take the stage.

"Hell yeah, I'm ready. I don't think they are, though." I motioned towards the boys sitting in the crowd.

Our next song was a classic as far as we were concerned. Tori would obviously be performing it for Calum, and it looked like my victim would be Luke. He was sitting next to Cal right in front of the stage, casually sipping his beer and laughing at a comment from one of the other boys. He had no idea what was coming.

As the opening chords of Buttons by the Pussycat Dolls started playing and we started moving to the music, I could already tell that we had the boys' full attention. We sang the chorus together before Tori began the first verse, walking towards Calum seductively and sitting on his lap.

Typical

Hardly the type I fall for

I like when the physical

Don't leave me asking for more

I'm a sexy mama

Who knows just how to get what I wanna

What I want to do is spring this on you

Back up all of the things that I told you

Calum was mesmerized, as he should have been. I don't even think he noticed when I started my verse, dancing my way towards Luke. When I sat on his lap and gave him the same treatment that Calum was getting, I thought he was going to faint.

You've been saying all the right things all night long

But I can't seem to get you over here to help take this off

Baby, can't you see?

How these clothes are fitting on me

And the heat coming from this beat

I'm about to blow

I don't think you know

We finished the rest of the song together, lavishing the two boys in attention and sexy dance moves. When we were finally finished, there was a brief moment of silence from the group before they all stood simultaneously and burst into applause. Well, everyone except Michael. He looked like someone had just kicked his dog or something. Whatever.

"Holy fuck, babe," Calum gasped, grabbing Tori by her hips. "That was... fuck. I don't even know what to say about that."

She just laughed as she wrapped her hands around his neck. "I'm guessing you liked it?"

"I fucking loved it!" By the way he was looking at her, I fully expected him to take her right there in front of everybody.

"I agree with Calum," Luke told me, grinning. "That was... something else."

I smirked back at him. "You told me I could use you anytime, so I thought I'd take you up on that offer."

"I'm thrilled that you did. And it's a standing offer: Anytime, any place."

There were so many things I could have responded with. But I kept my mouth shut before I got myself into trouble. I had to remind myself our relationship wasn't like that. It couldn't be.

We stayed at the bar a little while longer before they announced that they were closing. It was probably for the best, though. The group was slowly starting to wind down, and it was obvious that Tori and Calum were ready to get back to the hotel. Michael was still pouting in the corner, not having said a word since our performance.

Ashton had called trusty Jared, our driver for the night, and told him we were ready to be picked up, so we all headed outside to wait for him. We said goodbye to the boys' friends as they piled into a separate cab, and I stepped away from the group to prop myself against a nearby light pole. It wasn't long, however, before I was interrupted by an angry voice.

"What the fuck was that?"