Trust No Bitch: Part 2

Gemma Akintola

As they entered the club, the four were hit by a wall of musk, music, and bright lights, hundreds of bodies gyrating closely together like one giant, sweaty organism.

"Beatfreakz? What is it, 2006?" Gemma spluttered, upon registering the synthesised wails.

"Right now? Yes. Its throwback night." Said Alice in Gemma's ear, pointing at a poster on the wall to the left of them, her bandaged finger hovering pathetically in the air. Gemma couldn't look at it; she quickly wrapped her hand round Alice's wrist and tugged her into the horde, Lilly and Clara following behind, Clara's arms already above her head as swayed to the music. With her head moving from side to side, one hand running through her hair, she was so in time with the music it was as if the invisible hands of the beat itself were guiding her. Both men and woman around her were looking and she would stare right back at them, her gaze undeniably enticing everyone around her. Her movements came to an abrupt halt as the song finished and the infamous opening clangs of Justin Bieber's "Baby" blared out of the speakers. "Christ, if they're going to threaten the consistency of the whole "throwback" theme they could at least have done it with a good song!" Said Alice over the music, disgruntled. "Bieber? What year was this from? 2011? You've got to be joking me." A grinning Lilly weaved through the crowd to push Alice's arms into the air, Alice smiling back deprecatorily.

"You love it really." She teased.

"Well, I need at least one drink before I can pretend to enjoy this utter shit. They're on me." Alice replied, pulling both Gemma and Lilly towards the bar and gesturing for Clara to follow.

"You like Justin Bieber? So do you like it up the arse too? You absolute bender." Gemma overheard one man squawking to his friend as they passed by, Clara shoving into him as they did so. 

"Fuckwit." She spat at him along with the most virulent of glares over her shoulder.

"How's your finger?" Asked Gemma, quickening her pace to keep up with Alice, and glancing at it. She was thankful for the fleeting blaze of the lights above them, making it hard for her to really get a proper view. They were flickering from deep reds to a shocking blues and purples, their glare sweeping from one thing to another, never illuminating anything for longer than a second or two.

"I think I narrowly avoided amputation." Said Alice, rolling her eyes before shaking her head at Gemma. "It's fine! Don't worry about my finger for God's sake, enjoy yourself. We're here now and the Supplier, wherever they are, can go and fuck themselves." The word fuck not with a self-satisfied smile. Gemma raised her eyebrows, taking a seat at the bar.

"I think you'll find just go fuck yourself works a little better than go and fuck yourself. For emphasis, you know."

"Oh, yeah, you mean like if you try and correct my grammar again, you can go fuck yourself and buy your own drinks." Alice countered, the corner of her mouth twitching in amusement as Gemma laughed.

"I'll have a Malibu and diet coke, please." She said. "Clara?"

"Snakebite for me."

"You're sure about that?"

"Hell yes."

Sitting herself down in the seat next to Gemma, Lilly's mouth was already sloping to the side, her teeth bared in that "you're going to hate me but-" grimace. "Alice, can you just ask for lemonade or something for me?" She said.

"Who goes to a club and asks for lemonade?" Clara muttered. "We may as well go to Pizza Hut! Go and get a bottle of water from the corner shop down the road if you're thirsty."

"It's fine." Alice said, finally managing to catch the sole bartender's attention. He had been frantically up and down the bar for the previous 5 minutes, sweat twinkling on his large forehead as his arms whizzed from the fridge to the counter, bottles dangling perilously between his fingers. "Two Malibu with diet coke, one snakebite and..." she hesitated, "a lemonade."