New Beginnings {ACM}

Chapter 44

I rolled my eyes and smiled as he got to work. Turns out, he was actually pretty good. "Wow, I'm impressed," I said.

"I'm kind of a natural."

"You should have been a hairdresser instead of a rock star," I teased.

"No way! I only do this for you."

"Awe, you're sweet," I said. "Think you could twist my hair into a braided and curly fancy bun?"

"Don't push your luck."

I laughed. "I'm kidding."

"Don't move!"

"Sorry."

He quietly hummed to himself as he started the other side of my head and he finished a few minutes later. "So how did I do?"

"You did awesome," I said, shocked. "Damn, babe, those are better than what I can do," I added as I leaned closer to the mirror to inspect my hair.

Austin grinned proudly. "I'm just awesome, that's all there is to it."

"Don't get cocky," I smirked, lightly punching him on the shoulder as I passed him to the dresser to grab my clear lip gloss. I smeared it on and smacked my lips. "There, finally done."

"You look perfect."

"Stop, you're making me blush," I smiled.

"Oh, am I? Well in that case, you look perfect with your flowing glossy curls and your perfect makeup with your big hazel eyes and gorgeous smile-"

"Okay!" I laughed. "Come on, let's go."

Austin grabbed my hand and dragged me down the stairs. "Woah there, slow down, babe, I'm not exactly wearing flat shoes," I told him.

"Sorry," he said sheepishly. "I forgot. I guess I really shouldn't forget, considering you're almost my height now."

"Ha ha," I deadpanned. I stopped. "Wait a minute. Who's the designated driver for tonight?"

"I can do it."

"You? Seriously? It should be Quinn or something, she's the only one underage."

"We'll figure it out when everyone else gets here." There was a knock on the door. "Which is apparently now."

"Good thing we're ready, they're early," I said as Austin went into the hallway to get the door. I grabbed a glass of water and a minute later, everyone walked into the kitchen, all dressed to impress.

"Hey!" Taylor said, giving me a hug. "You look hot! And congratulations on the video!"

I laughed. "So do you. And thanks, T!" She was wearing a zebra print dress and black heels, her naturally curly hair hanging around her shoulders.

Everyone said their congrats to me before Quinn tackled me in a hug. "Hey Emily, long time no see," she joked.

"Oh, I know," I grinned. "You look so pretty!" She was wearing a hot pink strapless dress with black wedge boots, her long bleached hair straightened to perfection, her bangs nicely styled over her forehead.

"Thank you," she smiled. "I feel bad leaving Leah, but she made me come out. She actually yelled at me when I tried to protest. She said I need to have fun."

"Which you do. Leah is fine, she's almost one hundred percent better," Taylor said. "Don't worry."

"Now that you girls are done fangirling over each other's outfits, how do we look?" Jesse joked.

We said they all looked nice. The guys were dressed similarly, just different colors. Alex was wearing some vibrant pattern of colors; I don't even know how to explain it.

"Everyone got their ID's?" I asked. We all nodded.

"Come on, let's go party!" Taylor exclaimed, dragging Alex out the door, everyone else following. We all got into Austin's car and made our way to the club. Taylor and Alex were in the very back, Jesse and Quinn were in the back, and Austin and I were in the front.

"Who wants to DD tonight?" I asked.

"I'll do it," Quinn said. "I can't drink anyways."

"You rock," Austin said to her. "You know how to work my vehicle, right?"

"Yep."

"Awesome." We all made small talk on the way to the club and before we knew it, we were there. There was already a line outside.

"Oh, joy," Taylor muttered.

"What, did you not think there was going to be a line?" Alex asked her as we got out.

"No, but I was hoping it wouldn't be this long," she replied.

While we waited, I called my mom to tell her what we were doing and the line slowly progressed. We made it to the front half an hour later. "Finally," Taylor exclaimed as the guy checked all of our ID's.

The dance floor was already packed, the lights were flashing everywhere, the music was blaring full blast, and the bartenders were already handing out drinks by the second. "Awesome, this is going to rock!" Austin said happily.

I smiled. "Come on, pretty boy, let's go dance." My dancing had improved, with help from Austin and Quinn, who turned out to be a very good dancer, even as good as Austin. But I still wasn't all that great.

Austin grabbed us drinks and we danced to the loud beats that were making the floor shake, having a great time together. After a while, I decided to take a break and get a drink, so Jesse came with me.

"I'll have a Bud," I told the bartender.

"Same," Jesse said.

"ID," the bartender said. To me only. Jesse snorted with laughter.

"Shut up, it's not my fault I don't look of age," I snapped at him as I dug through my wallet and pulled out my ID to show the bartender. He looked at it before nodding and going to get our drinks.

"So how's life? I haven't talked to you in a while," Jesse said.

"It's good. Hectic with Austin's tour coming up but it's not really anything new. How are you doing?"

"Pretty good, thanks. Relieved to see Quinn happy again after they found Leah," Jesse said. We got our drinks and sat on the barstools. "I'm glad she's okay."

I nodded. "I know. I was really worried."

"You're telling me. By the way, congratulations on the video again. That's really amazing."

"Thanks," I smiled.

"Hey, did you figure out why your mom was acting so weird around me?"

I took a sip of my drink. "I didn't ask, to be honest," I admitted. "But she's been normal and everything, hasn't said anything about it, so I think she's fine."

Jesse nodded. "Okay, good, because I have no idea what I did."

"You didn't do anything," I promised. "My parents are just odd."

He laughed. "Well if you're sure."

"I am," I smiled.