Baby, This is Paradise

•6•

Claire's POV

"You did NOT just get Vic Fuentes' number."

"Keep telling yourself that, honey."

"You did NOT."

"Fine. I'll prove it. Let's call him."

Alex stood there gaping. The concert had just ended and people were filing out of the confetti-covered venue. Smoke hung in the rafters and the stage was dark and quiet.

I pulled out my phone and dialed the numbers on the paper- well, actually the numbers were written on a streamer-like piece of confetti. Very crafty, Vic Fuentes. Very crafty.

It rung for about 30 seconds, and just when I was about to give up hope, an adorable, sleepy-sounding voice picked up.
"Hey there. I hope this is the babe I called up on stage tonight."

"Um. Hahah." I felt my face redden. "My name is Claire, for your information."

"Claire. Cute."

The voice didn't seem like it was coming from the phone anymore. It seemed fuller, nearer. Vic hung up the phone.

"Uh, rude..." I said, pulling my phone away from my ear. We were the only ones left in the auditorium at this point.

"Ouch", said a sarcastic voice behind us.

Alex and I wheeled around to face a very real and very close Vic Fuentes sitting on the edge of the stage. Alex nearly passed out, and I was pretty stunned.

"Hello beautiful ladies. I was wondering if maybe you two wanted to hit up a nightclub with us tonight?"

I was too stunned to reply, but Alex had apparently snapped out of it.

"Hell yes we would!", she screeched.

"Awesome. I'd love to give you ladies a ride-"

"Hold on a second. I have classes tomorrow- besides, I don't really drink..."

"My colleague here is denying herself a good time. I will not stand for this behavior. Mr. Fuentes, we would love to go clubbing with you."

Vic smirked and laughed a little.

"Alright then. Let's go!"

I took his hand and he pulled me into the stage. For just a second, our faces were kind of close, and I could feel his breath on my cheeks. I gave him a small smile and he returned the favor. He then turned to pull Alex up. We walked around the stage to a black van. I was a little turned off... This was kind of sketchy. But oh well, I'm doing this. Guess it's part of having a fun night? Black vans and alleys with people you just met...

Vic opened the door for us. The rest of the band sat in the back, laughing and shouting at each other like little kids. I climbed in the back, sandwiched between Vic and Alex.

Vic introduced us to the band. "Hey guys- JAIME STOP HITTING TONY! JAIME- thank you. This is Claire, and Alex. They're coming clubbing with us tonight."

His comment was met with a few shrieks and drunken cries of agreement from the backseat.

"They usually don't get this wasted BEFORE we get to the bar." Vic said, turning to me. "I'm usually the designated driver, because I don't drink as much as they do." He joked, motioning to the backseat.

"Okay fuckers, let's get this party going!" Said the one called Tony, climbing into the front seat. He wasn't as drunk as the other boys in the back.
He started the van, and we were in our way to the club.

Tony flipped on the radio. Surprisingly, I'd heard the song before. I think it was by blink-182?

The boys sang along obnoxiously. At some point, Vic's arm slid around my waist. I was too preoccupied laughing at the boys dramatically singing the song to notice.

We pulled up to the nightclub and Alex pulled some black heels out of her bag. (She always carried emergency shoes for some odd reason) How convenient. She handed me the "emergency" pumps and I slid them on. I let my hair down and lost the glasses. Actually, I looked pretty hot.

The last thing I remember was taking an immense number of shots (totally unlike me) and then everything went black.