One Hell Of A Life

chapter eighteen: caught red handed.

Em POV:

"Hey, JJ?" I stuck my arm up, trying to squeeze through socialising friends, cousins, and people dancing.

It had got to that point in the night that a few people were drunk off their nut, and one or two couples were making out in a dingy spot of the room.

Nice.

"Yo, Em!" JJ saw me trying to politely shout excuse me to the guests. He made his way over to me, ensuring that people saw him, and dispersed slightly due to his height and their knowledge of him. After all, he was the reason that everybody was there.
"I put my bag in the spare room earlier on, is that okay?" I asked.
"Of course!" He replied. "Have I seen you tonight?"
"Nah. I've been with Dej."
"Oh, cool. How is he? I haven't seen him for weeks." He questioned.
"He's fine. He's just went to go and find Duncan and-"

"Yeah, about that." Jide started. "I've been wanting to meet up with him and have a catch up for, like, two years now. He never answered my texts or anything - I didn't even know he was coming here!"
"But you gave him the invite, right?" I checked, my brows furrowed.
"Yeah."
"That's shady as fuck." I narrowed my eyes in confusion and question, as I peered over countless heads in an attempt to find my brother and Duncan.

"I know! I did actually end up speaking to him, though. He looks completely different." JJ brought up his Facebook profile, handing me the phone.
"Cheeze." I spectated. "And I thought you had a glow up!"
"Are you hitting on him?" Jide's head tilted slightly to the side.
"No! He's just not clapped anymore." I shook my head, slightly offended.
"Aite." He nodded slowly. I rolled my eyes in response to this action, and followed him towards Tobi, Freya and Josh who were in the kitchen.

"Oh my God! It's an angel!" Freya slapped her hands to her cheeks when she saw me.
"Aw, shush! You look penger than ever." I nudged her side.
"So you took my advice, huh?" She winked.
"Yes, indeed!" I laughed.
"You do look gorgeous, though. Look at them legs..." She wiggled her eyebrows. I smiled, elbowing her side.

"Have you seen Talia anywhere?" Freya questioned after a brief clothing conversation.
"I haven't seen her all day, Frey, I'm sorry." I shook my head apologetically.
"No, that's fine. I wonder where she is?" She wondered, following me to the fridge. I smiled at the sight of a few bottles of non-alcoholic Kopperberg that the boys bought for me. I shrugged in response to Freya's query, grabbing a bottle opener on the counter and then disposing of the lid - throwing it into the bin.

"Not a clue."
"Hey, do you have the time?" Tobi nudged me, a knowing expression on his face.
"You're wearing a watch, but okay..." I frowned. My face lit up when my eyes met the clock.

12:05am.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY EMMY!" Tobi brought me in for a tight hug.
"Oh my God! I didn't even realise!" I laughed, my hands covering my mouth as Freya walked back over to us from speaking to Emily and Ethan, bringing the two with her.
"Ahhh! Happy Birthday gorgeous!" Emily hugged me, and to the other side of me appeared Gee.
"YOU'RE 20!" She exclaimed, a grin as big as mine upon her face.
"Happy Birthday, kid." Ethan laughed at the commotion the girls were making.
"Happy Birthday to YOU, Ethan!!" I hugged him.

"WILL! EM ISN'T A BABY ANYMORE!" Gee yelled over to the man who was in the middle of a conversation with Callux.
"Oh my God - what the FUCK?" Cal bolted over to us. "HOW ARE YOU TWENTY? AND ETHAN MAN," Cal pointed to him, "YOU'RE GOING GREY AS WE SPEAK!"
"Behave, man." Ethan laughed.
"I wouldn't go as far to say that she isn't a baby anymore." Josh raised an eyebrow, a smile upon his face.
"Oof, alright grandpa." I responded, giving him a quick side hug.