Dance to This [kth]

s e v e n

I can't stop my awe from becoming verbal, "this is beautiful."

The music stops and the three of us look over towards the speaker. Hana is standing there with her phone in hand, indicating that we should take heed of the time.

"We should go," she says.

"I've never been to one of these," Jimin whispers to me.

The four of us are now trudging along the quiet and dim lit sidewalk. The houses are suburban, filled with families who have better things to do than to be awake at 11pm. I shove my hands into my jean jacket pockets at the small gusts of wind that happen every so often. My hair is blowing behind me, and the air seems to be traveling directly through my thin, white tank top.

"I've only been to one," I whisper back.

My camera bag is a nuisance over my shoulder but I figure if I'm not drinking tonight, I should try to take some pictures to get ahead on my school work at least.

"You're going to take pictures of me all night?"

"I don't know," I reply. "I'm a sucky photographer. I shouldn't even have the camera with me."

"This means we'll continue practicing on Monday, right?"

I hesitate to answer him. After all I have gone through to try and get out of this class, it's become apparent that there is no way out. I don't think I can handle the stress of missing more classes. I just wish I could erase everything I've done, but I can't.

"Um. . . y-yes," I assure him.

The faint music has already filled the air. There are so many people at the basketball house this time that it is overflowing with college students. Students are hanging all around the grass, the street, and funneling in through a tiny doorway. I smell only what I can assume to be weed, because I've never smelled it before.

Jimin and I are following behind Jungkook and Hana, who seem to be in a pretty involved conversation. I can only hear bits and pieces of it, but the word "parents" had been thrown around a few times. Hana is upset with him about something.

Their conversation soon comes to an end once we make our way inside the house. The music is blasting again, my ear drums are shocked and I'm frazzled easily by the mass of people. I'm looking down at Hana's shoes as I get pulled along inside the house; people are towering over me, jostling my body slightly as I attempt to squeeze by. I can feel Jimin following tightly behind me. There is no release from the crowd, and the kitchen is just as crowded.

The moment we arrive at the kitchen counter, Hana storms off angrily into the void of drunk partiers. Jungkook is irritated, but loses the expression the moment we make eye contact. I can't hear his deep exhale, but I can see his chest move and his stance change.

"Do you want a drink?" Jungkook yells over the music at me.

"Just to hold," I reply.

Jungkook looks at me in puzzles. He doesn't know what I said.

"Sure," I shout instead.

"I do too," Jimin screams over my shoulder.

Jungkook crouches down and sticks his hand into a large cooler. The ice is partly melted, and beers are floating around behind a glossy coating. I see blue, white, silver and yellow labels. He grabs two at random and the cooler snaps closed afterwards. Water is dripping down his arm as Jimin reaches over to grab it. It hits my shoulder and chills my spine. I shutter at the icey feeling— it is so hot in this house.