Rough Night - A Julie Molina / Luke Patterson Story *COMPLETED*

Chapter 8 -The Band Party (Part 2)

The loud music, the smell of sweat, the voices talking over one another. Julie looked over to see a large tarp hanging on the wall that read "MOMENTUM" in black jagged font. There was no furniture in the house, except for a dirty rug that had the remnants of instruments outlined in the fabric. They must use this building to practice and cleared all of their equipment out for the party.

Momentum was perhaps their biggest rival at the showcase event that night. Julie had seen another management company approach the group after their performance.

The same guy from earlier came up to the group, patting Alex on the back and Alex jumped in surprise.

"Hey guys! Glad you could make it." He smiled, a can of beer in his right hand.

He gestured for Julie and the boys to follow him, and they trailed behind as he led them to the kitchen.

There were at least thirty bottles of various alcohols, along with stacks upon stacks of red solo cups and shot glasses littering the kitchen counters. In the corner of the kitchen, there was a large canister full of red liquid.

"Let's take a group shot to celebrate your arrival. GROUP SHOT EVERYONE!" The band teen announced, holding a shot glass up as he gathered the attention of everyone around them.

Julie and the boys stood there with their eyes wide, unsure if they should accept the offer. Julie looked to Luke, and their eyes met for a second before he grabbed a shot glass and the others followed.

They all clinked their glasses together before tapping the glass to the counter and taking the shot. Luke didn't break eye contact with her as he did so and Julie forgot how to swallow properly. Julie grimaced as the liquid burned down her throat, coughing lightly.

He flashed her a cocky smile as he set his glass down, and she was thankful it was dark so that he couldn't see the blush on her face, though she's sure he already knew.

Flynn suddenly linked arms with her as she tugged her over to the dance floor. Julie danced with her friend who leaned over to whisper in her ear.

"It looked like you needed an out." Flynn said, and Julie nodded when she pulled away, mouthing "thank you".

Julie swayed her hips to the music, her hands in Flynn's as they moved in sync with one another. Julie happened to glance over to where the boys were standing in the kitchen and her eyes found Luke.

He was leaning up against the wall, his grip on the beer can in his hand tightening as he watched her. She was reminded of his reaction to her dancing on the stage earlier that night.

"Let's give him a show." Julie whispered to Flynn who smiled mischievously.

Flynn spun Julie so that her back was to Flynn, and Julie pressed into her as they swiveled their hips together. Julie ran her hands up her body, just like she had earlier.

There it was, the murderous look from their performance. Julie smirked as Luke glared at her.

Her hands then tangled themselves in her hair as she bit her lip as she and Flynn switched spots, Flynn grinding into her as she rolled her body.

Julie closed her eyes, as she lost herself in the moment.

It was then that she felt someone's hands on her hips. She assumed that it was Luke and she moved to look back at him when she saw a stranger. Julie attempted to move away from him but his grip on her hips was tight. Flynn was too invested in showing off for the band teen that she didn't notice her friend's insistent taps on her waist to get her attention.

The stranger pressed into her and Julie yelped, struggling to get out of his grip before the guy was shoved off of her.

"Don't fucking touch her!" Luke yelled as the guy scrambled back to his feet.

Luke was closing in on him, about to tackle him when Julie moved in front of him.

"Hey, I'm okay! Luke, please, just let it go..." Julie pleaded with him, looking up at him but his eyes were focused on her offender.

His brows were furrowed, his nose scrunched as he stared down the guy who was now cowering away.

She took his face in her hands, and he finally looked at her.

"Come on, let's go check on Alex and Reggie. We don't need another video of someone in the band getting in a fight." Julie said, poking fun at the fight she had gotten in with Carrie just the night before, hoping to distract him.

After a moment of staring at her intensely, he gave her a forced smile and nodded.

"You're right. Sorry." He pressed out and she quickly turned him away from the other guy, leading him back to Alex and Reggie.

"Julie!!" Reggie giggled, pulling her into an unbalanced hug.

"Hi Reg, you feeling okay?" Julie smiled as she put her arms around her friend to steady him.

Given how much she had already drunk that night, she wasn't sure how much longer she would retain her own balance.

"Me? Oh I'm great. Believe it or not, it's been so long since I've had alcohol!" He announced as if it would be some big surprise.

"No wayyy." Julie played along, smiling fondly at her obviously drunk friend.

"Let's go play a game!" Reggie pleaded, tugging on Julie's arm and leading her outside.

Luke got roped into a conversation with the band teen as they left, Julie looking back at him before disappearing into the sea of people.

Once they were outside, Julie saw a band playing live for a crowd of party-goers. There were beer cans scattered across the floor, and they crunched under Julie's heels as she walked over them. There was also a bonfire and a beer pong table set up in the backyard, and Reggie ran excitedly to the table.

He announced to the existing players that we had the next game, and they rolled their eyes and nodded. Unaffected, Reggie spun around to where Julie was standing and he started bouncing.

"This music is so good, isn't it?" Reggie asked, starting to rock out and Julie laughed.

"It's great, Reggie." She responded and he took her hands and made her dance with him.

He swung their arms back and forth, shuffling his feet as he banged his head to the music. Julie let herself go, continuing their silly dance as they giggled together.

She felt dizzy, but in a good way, and that's when she knew that she had officially reached her limit for the night. She didn't want to ruin whatever Luke had planned for later.

She wasn't sure how long they were dancing when she heard Alex approaching them.

"There you guys are! We've been looking all over for you." Alex said, clearly out of breath and slightly annoyed with Luke was standing at his side.