Lightweight

Chapter Seven

Paul drove the same van from the interview to the club that Gabby had suggested, being a local to the area she knew the best places to go to and Annie just had to take her word for it no matter how much she resisted the idea of giving even an ounce of control to that beast. The boys were buzzing with excitement as they anticipated the night which was to ensue. Annie was not in the same boat as them. Although she decided on just letting go tonight and having fun, she couldn't figure out how to do that exactly. She was counting on the alcohol doing most of the work in this situation.

Annie focused on Paul in the driver's seat and tried to picture him in the club. He was so big and muscular; he would stick out among the young intoxicated crowd that was sure to inhabit the joint. She began to wonder what he was like when he wasn't acting as the boys babysitter, was he always this stressed or was it simply because of the 24/7 job of making sure these five idiots didn't get killed.

"Aren't you excited to get out of that hotel?" Niall leaned over and asked her over the shouting of Louis and Zayn who were arguing over some trivial topic.

"I guess," Annie said and wrung her hands over and over again, trying to shake off the feeling of panic, "The club scene just isn't really for me."

"I would have never guessed that," Niall joked and nudged her side playfully.

"Shut up," she laughed and shoved him back.

"Just follow my lead," Niall told her.

"Can you promise me something?" Annie asked nervously.

"Anything," Niall replied, not even caring what her request was.

"Just don't leave me by myself tonight," Annie told him, nervous of what would happen if she got ditched by the group and left to panic in a corner until somebody came to rescue her.

"I wouldn't let you out of my sight tonight even if you begged me," he smiled down at her and Annie fought off the urge to kiss him in front of all of the people in the van.

They pulled up to the curb in front of the brightly lit club called "The Mad Hatter" were quickly ushered into the building full of dancing drunks and loud music that Annie had never heard before. The bright neon lights that swirled around the club from lasers on the ceiling danced on Annie's bare chest and called attention to her tan skin, something that did not go unnoticed by Niall and quite a few other males who eyed her with hunger.

"Let's get a booth before all of them are taken," Liam shouted over the chorus of an especially fast paced song that Annie vaguely recognized as a remix of a top forty song.

Annie, along with the rest of the group, squeezed through the packed dance floor in search of an empty booth, finally finding one in the back of the club. It was secluded enough to make Annie feel a bit more comfortable, maybe it would be a good place to hide if she needed. Almost immediately, shots of brightly colored liquids were brought to their table and passed around.

"Come on, Annie," Louis urged when she hesitated to take the shot, "Don't be a wimp."

A wimp was something Annie surely wasn't and she took the shot from him with determination, hoping to get her credit of a badass back. Louis held his glass in the air, everybody following his example moments later. "To a fucking crazy night!" he shouted and everybody joined in and downed their shot at the same time, even Paul joined in with the first shot to Annie's surprise. Annie could feel the liquid travel down her throat, leaving a burning feeling in its wake and she held back the urge to cough like Gabby did at the feeling. Luckily, Annie wasn't a complete virgin in the alcohol department thanks to Natasha and the couple times she and Annie would spend the night watching boxing matches on pay per view and get drunk. Thanks to that she could identify the feeling of being buzzed, which she could feel happening after Louis handed her another shot and she downed it almost immediately.