ALL THE STRINGS ATTACHED | COMPLETED

02.

THEODORE.

I looked at myself in the mirror. Clean-shaven, hair gelled up nicely. For the sake of tonight, I put on a nice pair of jeans and a plain t-shirt.

You might ask, how is that dressing up? Well, I wasn't going to put on anything else that's nicer than this, so don't even try to getting me to.

One last check, and I think I'm good to go. My hands went over my face and traced my neck to make sure I didn't miss any spots before stopping at the base.

A little fun fact about me: I always wore this dark red elastic rubber necklace band on my neck. Don't ask me why, because I can't really give you an explanation either.

I just wear it.

It was with me ever since I woke up in the hospital bed. Slight concussion, nothing serious. The nurses removed all my accessories when I was knocked out.

This necklace, however, was the one thing I never wanted to take off. I put it right back on when I saw it.

A honk from the streets reminded me of my unwilling plans tonight as I grabbed my things and dashed out of the apartment.

Opening the car door, I made myself comfortable in the backseat.

"Finally ready?" Alex teased.

I waved him off and gave Nathan a pat on the shoulder. "Thanks for the ride."

"I don't plan on drinking tonight, so it's fine. Have a important meeting first thing in the morning." He kick started the engine and started to drive off.

Being a multimillionaire must be good, I thought to myself.

This guy literally has the world at his fingertips, having business deals in every field possible. If you tell me he was becoming president tomorrow, I'd believe it.

The ride to the club was filled with chatters and small talk, mainly just Alex telling me to step and and man up. Even after me repeating like a broken recorder that I wasn't up for dates, he stubbornly insisted I'd find one.

I had to say yes just to shut him up.

We parked, got screened and stepped foot into the place.

At close to midnight, the club was starting to get packed. Alex and Nathan have disappeared to god knows where, leaving me all alone at the bar.

Thank goodness they're gone. I don't want to see them with their hands all over each other. Not something I want etched into my brain.

The music was deafening loud and there was smoke being released every now and then to get the atmosphere going.

I understood everything else, but the smoke? Why do you need to fog up the place? As if have a crowd of a hundred or two to snag all the oxygen isn't suffocating enough.

I ordered myself a beer and stood leaning backwards against the bar. Glancing around, I looked at all the people who were way younger than me dancing their butts off.

It was amusing to see them dance like their life depended on it, while here I was. Avoiding the crowd of flying hormones like my own life depended on it. I'm telling you, it's literally chest pumping, dicks grinding, butts twerking, hands waving. Just your typical club scene.

But fuck was the dance floor tempting.

"It can't hurt to dance for a little while, right?" the thought came into my head.

I downed my drink and walked away from the bar, deciding to step on the dance. Just for a little bit. You know what they say; If you can't beat them, join them.

With the party in full swing, even a pessimistic wet blanket like me can't help but get swayed by the beat. Ten minutes into party mode and I was starting to sweat. Not that I really cared anyways.

The flashing lights were blinding, the music loud. You could feel the vibrations of the bass all over and it was intoxicating. Dancing like this made me lose track of reality.

Pretty sure I was lost so badly into the rhythm, grinding up the people that were throwing themselves at me. At this rate, will I really be taking someone home tonight?

Bump!

"Hey sorry man!" I shouted over the music. Nobody ever says 'sorry' for bumping into someone on the dance floor. I'm nobody.

I turned around, only to find this breathtakingly handsome person standing next to me.

Words were caught in my throat. I didn't know what to say. My whole body felt like it was being rooted to the ground. In that instant, the music stopped, the lights stopped flashing. You may think I'm crazy, but I felt this unexplainable pull towards him.

I wanted to know this man.

A few good moments of creepily staring at him did I come to realise that he was staring back at me, through me even. His hazel-brown eyes reflected the lights and it might just be the most mesmerising pair of eyes I have ever seen.

His look was anything but anger or frustration that I was being too rowdy on the dance floor. Instead, he seemed more shocked, aghast even.

Was he scared of me?

The one and only freeze frame in my life stopped and the world continued moving as he brushed past me, his shoulders hitting mine.

"Wait!" I called out as I reached out to grab his arm. He stopped in his tracks, turned his head and looked at my with furrowed brows.

Me grabbing his arm was enough to reveal some skin that was not hidden under his collared shirt. I caught sight of a necklace that he was wearing under his shirt and the colour was striking.

Red.

He yanked his arm free from my grasp and pushed his way into the crowd, leaving me behind in the sea of people.

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A/N: In all seriousness, is the fog really needed in a club to hype up the place? 🤔 That's how the club scene in my country looks like. Tell me how does your party scene look like!

Theo can be such a pessimist sometimes but there are still stories untold. What do you think is going to happen from here?

Please leave a comment on the story! I appreciate it very much!

See you all in the next part!

Stay safe everyone! 💕

-edited-