Burned {h.s. / n.h.}

Chapter 19

-- Georgia --

Niall has his arm draped around my shoulders, and, on some level, I almost believe that this would make Harry a little jealous, but he and Cara are still chatting away. I'm not being excluded from the conversation, but I also don't feel like I'm very welcome in it.

Just then, Niall leans his head down to rest just at my ear. "What's wrong?" he asks me.

I turn slightly so that I'm facing him, and my mouth is near his ear.

"Am I that obvious?" I ask. Leaning back, I watch the smile grow wide upon his lips.

"I have an idea," Niall interrupts loudly, slamming a fist on the table. "We should all go out. Do something fun."

"Niall wants to go out?" Cara asks almost mockingly. I want to punch her in the throat even more so now that she's practically making fun of Niall. However, he can definitely hold his own.

Niall looks at Cara with a deadpan expression on his face. I have to stifle my laugh by biting the insides of my cheeks. Her expression fades from delighted playfulness to an uncomfortable smile. He turns his head from Cara to Harry with a slight roll of his eyes. "So, Harold? Whaddya say?"

Harry looks back at Niall first, then Cara briefly before locking eyes with me. I stare back at him impassively.

"Where are we off to?" he asks without breaking eye contact with me.

***

I invite Charlie and Kallie along with us, and they both agree to join all of us. I'm relieved that they decided to tag along because I feel a little on the outside of things. Charlie gives me confidence and a bit of security, whereas Kallie makes me feel involved. I know Niall is trying to help, but I'm not one to go to clubs. I actually kind of hate them. I'm one of those people who likes the idea of a club more than actually being at one. But I know that somehow this is apart of a game, and Harry is testing me. Once again, he's awaiting my move on the chessboard.

The loud thrumming of the bass pulsates against my eardrums as soon as we get out of the car. We wait in line anxiously as we approach the entrance slowly. Something about the environment just flips a switch in your head, I guess; you can't help but feel energized as the noise and lights begin calling you to them.

Niall is standing beside me in the front of the line, Harry and Cara are behind me, Liam and Kallie are talking quietly (and flirtatiously?) to one another, leaving Charlie by herself at the end of our group. I make eye contact with her and wave my hand, signaling her to come join me. She looks at Niall who looks back at her before her feet begin to move. I take her hand when she reaches me and rest my head on her shoulder. She doesn't resist me at all, but she feels rigid, as if something is causing her great stress.

When I cast my eyes upward at her face, she and Niall are holding intense eye contact as if in a numb trance. Neither of them hold any expression on their faces.

We make it in after standing in line for almost twenty minutes, and, immediately, we are bombarded with sound and bodies. Somehow, they're all in sync even when it appears chaotic.

Integrating ourselves into the crowd, we split up into little groups. Niall and Harry disappear to the bar because no real New Orleans' club ever actually cards anyone once they're through the door. Liam and Kallie walk off, and I lose them in the crowd. Cara, however, stays with Charlie and me. I contemplated attempting to lose her in the crowd by delving my way further into the pulsating bodies, but I'm too nice for my own good. I honestly can't make myself be mean to anyone. Not like Charlie.

We make our way into the dancing bodies, enveloped by them. Our point of entrance becomes unknown to us. Dancing with the beat of the music, our bodies soon join in perfect rhythm with the mass of undulating bodies surrounding us in waves of heat and lust. Not a carnal lust, but a lust for life, energy, and passionate music.