Underground

29

Estelle
We stand at the banister, overlooking the party. My eyes search for a familiar face. Then, I find August, staring up at us. 
He gives me a toothy grin when our eyes meet. 
Kathryn leads the party, walking down the stairs into the foyer. 
We all follow her into the foyer, the rest of the girls blending into the crowd of people. 
The first thing my brain does is scold myself for being so stupid. 
A hand touches the small of my back, then lips touch my ear. "Don't panic, it's not as threatening as it looks." 
"Aug." I smile, turning to him. 
He gives me the same toothy grin as he did either, obviously a little tipsy. "Hi lovely." 
I look around at the chattering people. "Do you know these people?" 
"Every single one, my mom basically invited the whole town." He answers. 
I point at a middle-aged woman. "Who's that?" 
"Penelope Fillings, she was my first band teacher." He smiles. "Did you know I play the guitar?" 
"No, I did not." I say, reaching down for his hand. "Shall we go find someone you're a little more friendly with?" 
"We could look for Teddy, but I doubt he came." He huffs. 
I tilt my head. "Who's Teddy?" 
"He was my elementary best friend, he made it big in Broadway and all of a sudden he's too good for us." He rants. 
I start pulling August through the crowd of people into the kitchen, where everything was more chilled. "I'm sorry he thinks that." 
"D'ya want a drink?" He asks, wandering to the fridge. 
I nod. "I'll take a coke." 
He tosses me a can. "There ya go." 
I catch it and tap the side. "Thank you." I crack open the can and take a swig, setting it on the counter next to me. 
"Have I told you how pretty you look?" He asks, giving me a closed mouth smile. 
"No you didn't, thank you." I respond, feeling my cheeks heat up. 
"Do you wanna dance?" He asks, closing the fridge. 
I shrug. "I've never, like properly danced." 
"I'll show you." He says, leading me out of the kitchen and into the dining room, where all the tables and chairs were pushed to the side of the room to create a perfect dance floor. 
People were dancing to the peppy song playing over the speakers. 
"Little secret." August says near my ear so I could hear. "I can't really dance to this type of music either." 
Then, He pulls me onto the dance floor, and starts dancing quite frantically. 
I laugh, and start doing some awkward shimmy to the upbeat song. 
A few songs past until a familiar song starts playing, I remember listening to it with August.
It was Perfect by Ed Sheeran. 
Everyone starts grabbing a partner around us. 
August grabs my waist almost faster than the speed of light. 
I wrap my hands around his neck.
He starts swaying while I stand there like some awkward board. 
Effortlessly, he lifts me so I stand on his feet. "Thank God you're not wearing heels tonight." He murmurs. 
We were so close our chests were touching and I could feel his breath on my face. 
There was a pink tint on his cheeks, and a heat spreading on mine. 
We sway together, just immersed in each other. 
Even at the last bar of the song, when the partners are breaking up, I'm still standing there on his feet staring into his eyes. 
'Oh crap I love this idiot.' I think, actually scaring myself.
Reluctantly, I step off his feet, pulling myself out of his grasp. "I think I need a drink." I say, fleeing to the kitchen. 
Thankfully, Kathryn was there getting a drink from the fridge. 
"Oh my lord." I say leaning my head against the wall. 
I could feel her confused stare on my back. "You okay?" 
"Not in the slightest." I sigh turning to look at her. 
"What happened?" she asks. 
I don't respond, just stare at the wall in fear. 
"Estelle?" She walks over and touches my arm soothingly. 
I furrow my eyebrows. "Is August like a good guy?" 
"Well, he's a good guy, but he's not good at chess." Kathryn jokes trying to lighten the mood. 
"What's chess?" I ask, then shake my head. "What I mean is, is he gonna leave me?" 
"I doubt it, the kid loves you!" She says, loudly for emphasis. 
I sigh. "I guess I'm just having doubts." 
"Do you not love him?" Kathryn asks. 
"I don't know, I would just say it back because it made him feel good, but I think I actually love him now and I don't know how to express it!" I rant, burying my face in my hands. 
"So you love him?" She asks, once again. 
I hesitantly nod, exhaling the shakiest breath.
"Good." She says, before continuing. "Break my little brother's heart again, I'll break your face." And with that, Kathryn leaves the kitchen.
Then Sam comes in. "Geez. That was intense."
"Tell me about it." I chuckle.
"Don't worry, Kathryn's an angry drunk." Sam says. "And a really wise and discreet drunk."
"So you heard all of that?" I ask.
She nods. "If you guys get up after me, I'm going to praise you with the chant: Blitzy's got a lover, Blitzy's got a lover."
"Wow. Artsy." I joke.
"Yep." She smirks, walking out, taking her mystery with her.
I smile to myself, then walk out of the kitchen to look for August.
The rest of the night was a blur of a good time, filled to the brim with dancing and singing to cheesy Christmas songs, watching August fail drinking games, and chatting the night away with the fellow party goers, making a few new acquaintances along the way, but really it was a lot of fun.
//This was kind of a filler chapter, action coming soon. *evilly taps finger together*//