disconnected // l.h

[eleven]

As soon as the door opened, I was pulled into a sea of violet. 

The walls were lined with brick, and the strobe lights beamed down shades of blue and purple. The music pounded from the far end of the club, but I could barely see the DJ. In front of Luke and I, people were dancing along to the rhythm, bumping into one another. 

Along the sides, booths were set up for customers to sit and eat, and I strained my neck to search for our friends. A few seconds later, Luke turned towards me and pointed towards the back wall. I followed his gaze, spotting Mikey's hair first. 

He tells me something along the lines of, "Let's go," but I don't quite hear him over the noise. Luke gets a better grip on my hand, which makes my cheeks burn, and pulls me along through the crowd of dancers. 

We squeeze through the first layer of people, muttering apologizes nonstop. It wasn't long before a few girls started to notice Luke; their eyes darting up and down his body. They gawked at him; mouths turning up into smirks. Then, when their attention goes to me, they whisper to whoever is next to them. 

I look down at my outfit as we slowly move through the crowd. The girls whose eyes were still locked on Luke were beautiful, clad in colorful dresses and jewelry, and I was insecure in my jeans and t-shirt.

I stuck out like a sore thumb. 

I reached out and tapped Luke on the shoulder. He immediately turned to face me; his forehead creased, "Is everything okay?" I smiled at him and nodded, realizing we were standing in the middle of the sea of people.  

I turned to see a few girls staring at us, and I blush. I look down and pull at my jeans, nervously,  "I stick out in these." 

Luke tilts my head up with his finger, and leans in closer so I can hear him, "You look great, Leena." 

"But--" I sigh, looking over at the girls once again, and I find them to be glaring at us. More specifically, me. 

Luke follows my gaze, and meets one of the girls' eyes. The girl had dark brown curls that fell over her face, and a sun-kissed tan. She smiled at him, accentuating her bright red lips and cheekbones. She wore a loose, red dress that stopped mid-thigh, which made me even more conscious of my outfit. 

"Why is she--" Luke started, but then he stopped himself. Had he not noticed them before? How the hell did he miss it? 

He turned towards me again, but before he can speak, I blurt out, "I'm sorry. I just feel a little weird, you know?" 

"You don't need to," Luke shakes his head, and intertwines my fingers with his, and smirks, "but if you really do want to change, I know Ashton can make a very sexy trash-bag dress." 

I swat his arm, and he giggles, which is, by far, the cutest sound I'd ever heard. "Shut up, and keep moving, Hemmings." 

"Yes, sir." He nods, and turns again toward the direction of the booth. I glance back at the girls, who now watch Luke in awe, completely ignoring me. A pang of jealousy hits me, and I push it to the back of my mind.  

When we finally pull through the crowd, and reach the booth, I notice that Calum, Jenna, and the other strangers sit at a different booth than Ashton and Michael. 

Michael and Ash are seated at the tall, circular table a few feet to the right of the booth. My eyes dart back to the bar behind them, and I internally groan. As we reach, Calum shoots me a smile, and I wave, but he doesn't return the gesture. His attention is back to Jenna before I can even blink. 

Ashton smiles as Luke and I pull up chairs to the table, "What took you two so long?" I shrug just as he notices our intertwined hands, and smirks, "Ah, I see."