A Dream, a Song, and Some Awkward Moments: X Factor Fanfiction

Chapter 8: The Shindig

Within the hour, Arriana and I are putting the final touches on our party outfits.  I've donned a black dress and a jean jacket to go with my black converse, and Arriana has her own ensemble which is basically a collage of pink and flowers.  It wouldn't work for most people, but somehow, she's able to pull it off.

We scamper down the stairs at 8:30 to meet Chase in the lobby, and when we arrive, his eyes are immediately on Arriana, which causes a knowing smirk to creep onto my face. 

He smiles at her and says, "The bar's just a couple blocks away, so we can walk."

"Let's go!" I shout excitedly.  I'm ready for this party.  It's been awhile since I've celebrated something with a party, so I figured I might as well be excited for it. It might be just the thing to get my mind off of a certain someone who shall not be named. 

Arriana's bright laughter rings through the air as she pulls Chase along behind her, following in my footsteps out the front door of the hotel.  The air is a tad cooler than it was earlier today, so I'm glad I decided to wear a jacket.  Luckily the sidewalk is wide, so the three of us can walk side-by-side on our way to the party, and no one has to be that awkward person walking behind the other two. 

"Is this where you two went last night?" I ask them.

"Yep.  Only tonight, it's supposed to be more of a shindig." Arriana says.

"Where are you from exactly?" I ask her, curious to her choice of words.  "Shindig?"

She laughs. "Tennessee."

"I'm from Kentucky," Chase says.

"I'm a Missouri girl!" I say.

Soon enough we're in front of the bar, which bears the name, A Mid Summer's Night Club. (Like the Shakespearean Play)

Chase decides to be a respectable gentleman, and he swiftly opens the door for the two of us. Arriana giggles, and I roll my eyes, but I manage a polite, "Thank you very much," before I take a step inside, only to be met with quite the "shindig."

It doesn't resemble a full-blown nightclub, but there's a DJ, and groups of people have taken to dancing in the middle of  the room.  I see a bar to the left side of the room where an attractive young gentleman is wiping down the counter, only to be interrupted in his task by a tipsy woman requesting what was probably her third margarita in the past half hour. 

Precious.

Chase and Arriana escort me over to a table in the opposite corner of the room where some familiar faces are laughing and chit-chatting the night away.  Everyone is dressed nicely, and they all seem like a friendly bunch, so I hop right in and say hello.

"Hi!, I'm Cass," I offer.

One boy quickly stands up and offers his hand to me.

"Mark.  Mark Matthews.  You can call me M & M, and I'm a member of Breakeven." He points off to the side where another guy and a girl are sitting and chatting. 

I shake his hand tentatively, "Nice name," I comment.

"He's just kidding," a girl interjects from the table before us.  "He's an idiot, and if someone were to actually call him M&M, he'd probably slap them upside the head."  She stands up and introduces herself as well.  "Samantha Marlin."  Then she gestures to two other girls who are seated at the table.

She introduces them as Kayla Simpson and Jane Morris, "And we're Lightning."

"Nice to meet you!" I say.

Then the night goes into full swing.  It's a lot of fun, and It gets my mind off Nate for a few hours.  Mark asks me to dance, and he swings me around and twirls me on the dance floor.  I have fun, and the night flies away in the blink of an eye. 

Soon, I'm leading a very tired Chase to my and Arriana's room. He's carrying her in his arms like a giant baby becase she decided to sneak a little something to drink.  Hopefully she'll be alright tomorrow.

I unlock the door to the room, and step aside to let Chase and Arriana in.  He lays her on her bed, and I grab the ice bucket to go and get some ice before I turn in for the night.  I let Chase know before I step out into the hallway.  When I'm at the ice machine, I'm humming a random tune under my breath. 

The machine is acting up a bit, so I give it a solid kick so it starts up again. 

"Don't kill it!" someone says behind me. I turn and see Mark walking up holding his own ice bucket.  "What'd it do to you?"

"It decided to stop working," I say, chuckling. The ice bucket's full now, so I let him through to the machine, where he proceeds to have about as much trouble as I did. 

"Just kick it, Mark." I say.  He does, and it immediately starts working.  He shakes his head laughing.

"I'd better get going. Arriana's not in a very good state right now," I say. "Thanks for dancing with me tonight. I had fun," I smile.

"It was fun," He says with a smile.  "Now go take care of your intoxicated roomate."

I head back to the room swinging the bucket at my side. I walk in the door, and what I see both surprises me and doesn't.  It's an interesting sight.