The Little Shop

The Party

"Wrong tux," I tell her, holding out Liam's for her to take. 

"Whoops. We should really stop marking both your stuff with just L..."

"Thanks," I tell her as she hands me a different coat-thing-a-ma-what's-it. 

Niall, Zayn, and I exit the bathroom in our party attire to see the lady just finishing up AJ's hair. I was a bit sad that her hair was down, seeing as I took lots of care with that bun. I shook it off, though, when I saw the huge grin on AJ's face. 

"You look great!" Niall said happily, jogging over to help her out of the chair. Harry and Liam were at the front, and I think Liam was purchasing some hair wax. Marcy and Tom were sat in chairs, flipping through magazines. There was another customer in here now, getting her hair washed to my left. She couldn't see us, only hear, because she was kinda forced to stare at the ceiling, but the moment Niall spoke, her body tensed up, so I figured we might be in the presence of a fan.

"Thank you," AJ says, hopping down from her chair. She walks right over to me, with her hands by her sides. She stood before me and motioned for me to kneel down to her level. "I'm sorry I didn't get a new bun. You can give me one before I go to bed, okay?" I nod my agreement and stand up straight, guiding her over to the front door by the back of her head. 

"All paid for. Shall we?" Harry asks. He's still in his jeans and Elmo t-shirt, so I'm not sure what his plan is there. 

"We shall," Niall agrees. He always has a different kind of hop in his step when he's dressed up like this. It makes me smile. 

"Looking sharp," Liam compliments Zayn. Zayn smirks in reply, so Liam rolls his eyes and tosses Marcy the receipt. She rolls her eyes at them both as Tom opens the door for us and we all file outside and back to the car.

Harry and Liam climb into the back and start stripping down as we begin to move, so Niall pulls AJ closer to him and covers her eyes. Liam chuckles as he pulls on his fancy trousers.

"You don't want to see that," he tells her. "It's really quite gross."

"Oi!" Harry protests.

"Calm down, Curly," I chuckle, flicking the back of his neck.

The party was packed, seemingly wall to wall with people. It was like a club, really, minus the wider range in the ages of the party-goers. There were spotlights all over, scanning the crowd, flashing different colours. They were the only light in the room, and they all seemed to be synced, so every few seconds, everything was completely black for a moment. My skin looked blue and green and purple as I tried to weave through the crowd, finding a spot with fewer people. 

With a sigh of relief, I noticed that the tables and chairs for dinner were just across the way on a loft sort of thing, almost like a stage, but too tall to be one. Most of the older people in attendance had taken a seat at their table and were talking to one another. I wasn't sure how fun getting elbowed in the ribs and jostled around was going to be for AJ, so I leaned over to her, where she was in Harry's arms and asked, "Little lady, do you want to go sit down at our table?"

"I wanna dance!" AJ announces, smiling at me. "I like this song!" 

"Me too!" Zayn agrees. He and Liam are dancing together, nodding to the beat. I listen for a second and note that the song is 'Scream and Shout' by Britney Spears and Will. I. Am, a song I've heard thousands of times. The lads and I love it. Such a tune. Perfect for dancing, I'd say.

"Alright. If you get tired, just say so," I tell her. She nods and wiggles out of Harry's arms. She's so small, especially around all the adolescent and older people that surround her. Niall begins to teach her how to do a dance move, and I watch, hands shoved awkwardly in my pockets.