Ann walked back to Jin with a smile.
"Hey, so I thought we could watch a movie tonight?" Said Jinjoo, her eyes plastered onto her phone.
"Sorry, I can't." She sat back on the couch, taking a sip of her water.
"Why?" Jin frowned looking at her.
"I'm going to a Jonas-exclusive party."
"What?" She frowned even more.
"What you heard." She shrugged with a smile. "It's time to teach him a lesson."
"Oh my god... I'm so tired of you guys." Jin shook her head. "I just hope you know what you're doing."
"Wanna help me get ready?" She smiled, ignoring her words.
"I guess." She sighed and they both got up, leaving to the bus.
Ann:
Hey, text me the address 😉 I didn't catch it.
Joe:
What are you doing?
Ann:
What do you mean?
Joe:
You know exactly what I mean...
Ann:
I really don't, though.
Joe:
...
The Top of The Standard. Highline 848.
Ann:
Thank you!
Ann settled for a gold loose top and a black leather skirt. She left her hair braided and put on some black tights and black heels. She only fixed a little her previous makeup and put on a little more sparkly eyeshadow.
Joe:
I sent a car over for you.
Ann:
I'm okay, called an uber
Joe:
He's already there.
Ann:
So? Tell him to go.
Joe:
Can you at least do this one thing for me?
Jesus fucking Christ
I don't want you to drive with a random guy at night
Ann:
Jealous much?
Joe:
Just get in the car, please.
Ann:
You're annoying
Joe:
Yeah, right back at ya.
She said her goodbyes with Jinjoo and quickly rushed outside. She saw a black SUV parked right outside of the entrance, a bald man in a black suit standing outside of it.
"Mrs. Hart?" He asked.
"That's me."
"Here you go." He opened the door with a smile, gesturing her to come in.
The drive wasn't long, as she didn't even manage to scroll through all her stories on Instagram. They stopped under a very high building. She read that the club is at the last floor of the building. She looked up, almost feeling dizzy when she realized how high it was. She saw the driver walk after her and she frowned at him.
"Oh, Joe asked me specifically to escort you to the club."
"Oh my god." Ann rolled her eyes. "I'm not a child."
"I'm just doing my work, Mrs. Hart." He shrugged.
"Fine." She sighed.
They walked inside of the building and straight to the elevator. The ride felt like forever, the floor being some insanely high number. It had glass walls, so Ann enjoyed the view of the colorful New York in silence.
The elevator door opened and they were filled with a blasting music and a dark room full of people, lightened from time to time with the laser lights.
"I've got it from now." She screamed to the driver, gaining a nod from him as he pressed the ground floor button and disappeared behind the doors. She sighed and started to walk in the direction of the bar, as it was the most visible place in the whole room. She squeezed through the groups of people, until she finally reached it. She was relieved to see a familiar face there.
"Hey." She tapped Sophie on the shoulder, making her quickly turn around.
"You're here!" She smiled widely and pulled her into a hug. "I'm just getting tequila shots for everybody, wait let me get you one as well!" She screamed and told the bartender to pour her one more shot.
"Oh no, thank you, I'm okay!" She tried to scream through the music.
"Girl, there's no way you're not doing shots with us!" She frowned playfully at her. "Come on, help me out."
They both carried a tray full of shots. The smell of alcohol hit Ann's nostrils and she felt as if she could puke any minute. How is she going to get away with not taking the shot with all of them?
They went into a more secluded and quieter area. It was some sort of VIP section as there were security guards standing outside of it.
"She's with me." Stated Sophie and they let them in. "Look who I found!" Cheered Sophie, placing her tray on the table, where everyone was sitting.
They all turned to Ann and waved, greeting her and encouraging her to sit with them. The only one not doing that was Joe, who looked her up and down and dove into his phone straight after. Ann placed her tray on the table as well and sat next to Kevin at the end of the couch.
"Everyone grab one, I wanna make a toast." Said Sophie, passing everyone their shots.
When she got to Ann, she tried to decline with a hand gesture, but Sophie didn't take no for an answer.
"You have to!"
"Thank you, but I'm really not feeling well today." She smiled weakly at her.
"Oh come on! Just one for the toast!"
"I'm okay, really."
"Come on! Thought you were more fun!" She said, trying to place the shot in Ann's hand.
"Sophie, leave her!" Joe screamed from across the table. Ann quickly turn to look at him and saw he had a big frown on his face. He looked and sounded furious. "If she doesn't want to drink, then she doesn't want to drink."
The room got incredibly quiet, only the indistinct sound of music heard in the background. Ann looked as Joe was giving Sophie a death stare and she was looking at him confused. The rest just sat quietly, scared to break the silence. Finally, Kevin cleared his throat.
"I wanna make a toast first!" He got up, grabbing his shot glass. "To my brothers, for giving me an opportunity to do what I love for a living. To my beautiful wife, for supporting me in everything that I do and to my beautiful girls at home for making me the happiest father alive." He said, gaining cheers and applause from the group. "I also wanted to toast to Ann, who is here in the name of the whole band."
Ann quickly looked up at him with wide eyes. She could feel herself blushing.
"Toast to you and the whole band for making this tour so special. You're doing an amazing job and we're so happy you're part of this journey." He smiled at her, gesturing for her to stand up. He pulled her into a hug, making everyone cheer for them.
"You're going to make me cry." Ann pouted her lips and chuckled at him. "Thank you."
They all took the shot glasses and downed them fast. They all started to get into lively conversations with each other as Ann just sat there awkwardly. She knew it was a bad idea to come here. She saw how she didn't belong with them.
"Hey." Sophie crouched next to her. "Sorry if I've been too... persistent."
"It's okay, really." Ann smiled warmly at her.
"I shouldn't have done that. I should've respected that you don't want to drink. It was stupid."
"It's fine, Soph, really." Ann chuckled.
"Wanna dance?" She smiled back at her.
"Sure." She laughed and Soph grabbed her hand, telling everyone they were going on the dance floor. Priyanka quickly got up, wanting to join them, while the others decided to stay.
They left the VIP section and went into the main area and into the crowd of people. They started dancing, but Ann felt her heart starting to race. She felt everything differently while pregnant. She used to drink a lot and now she was getting sick even thinking about alcohol. She used to love clubs and parties and now being there in that tight crowd made her head spin.
After a while, she saw the boys coming down and heading their direction. She locked eyes with Joe and quickly turned to the girls, screaming that she's going to get herself something to drink. But really she just wanted to get out of that tight space and away from Joe.
She ran to the bar and ordered herself a virgin mojito. She sat on the bar stool and closed her eyes, trying to calm down her heartbeat.
"Is it available?" She quickly turned to look at the guy standing next to her.
It was a dark haired man, wearing a black turtle neck sweater and a pair of grey chinos. He was gesturing towards the empty bar stool next to her. Ann quickly blinked her eyes, trying to get herself together.
"Yes, yes of course." She chuckled nervously.
He sat down, leaning onto the table as he looked at her with a grin. Ann couldn't deny the fact that he was very handsome and intimidating.
"So... Why is a beautiful girl like you sitting alone at the bar?" He said, calling over the bartender. "Whiskey on rocks."
"Oh, I'm not alone. My friends are somewhere there." She smiled nervously, looking over at the crowd. She saw Sophie dancing with Joe, but his gaze was plastered into her and the man sitting next to her.
"I'm Josh." He reached out his hand with a smile.
"Ann." She smiled back, as he took her hand a placed a soft kiss on top of it. Ann blushed and looked away, taking a sip of her drink.
"Are you from around here?" He asked, taking a sip of his whiskey.
"No, living in LA at the moment."
"So how did you end up here on the other side of the country?"
"My work." She shrugged, trying to avoid eye contact with him.
"May I ask what the job is?"
"I'm a backup singer. We're on a tour." She said, finally getting the courage to look up at him. He nodded in approval.
"Wow. Beautiful and talented." He winked at her.
"Are you going to just sit there interviewing me while I know nothing except your name?" She smirked at him.
He chuckled. "I own a real estate agency."
"Okay..." Ann laughed. "Imma need more than that."
He laughed back and started to introduce himself. Ann felt very comfortable around him. He was easy to talk to, funny and good looking. Almost like...
"Hey." Ann didn't even need to look to her side to see whose voice it was. She knew it very well and in that moment she was strangling him to death in her mind. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but Imma need to steal my friend back."
"Oh, sure, no problem." He nodded. "Can I at least get your number?"
"Sure, let me just-" Ann tried to take out her phone when Joe cut her off.
"I'm sorry, due to our work protocol we can't give away our numbers." He smiled at Josh and then at Ann, who was about to rip out his heart with her eyes. "We gotta go, but it was really nice meeting you...?"
"Josh." He smiled at him, but Ann could see he was annoyed with Joe.
"Nice to meet you, Josh. Joe." He shook his hand. "I'm sure we'll see you somewhere around."
He placed a hand on Ann's back and guided her to the elevator.
"Where are we going?" Ann said, with a frustrated voice.
"To get some air."
They entered the elevator and Ann sighed, pushing her head against one of the glass walls.
"What was that?" She frowned at Joe. "You're a fucking control freak."
"I see what you're trying to do, Ann. I'm not stupid." He scoffed, pushing his hands into his pockets.
"What do you mean?" She said confused.
"Ever since Sophie invited you. You decided this would be a great way to make me jealous, teach me 'a lesson' or whatever and just basically fuck with my feelings."
"No, Joe. I was trying to give you a taste of what it feels like for me. What it's like for me to see you with Sophie everyday."
The elevator opened and Ann quickly got out, Joe following behind her. They got outside and Ann took a few deep breaths, finally having something to breathe with.
"What do you mean?" Joe said, catching up to her.
"Oh my god.. Joe, I'm done with having this conversation over and over again." She threw her hands in the air. "Can you just take me home?"
"You don't want to go back?" He frowned, worried.
"No, I don't feel good there."
Joe smirked. "I knew you wouldn't. That's why I didn't want you to come. You're in no place to be in such an environment."
"Joe, I'm not disabled due to this baby. I can live like a lived before. Just without alcohol." She rolled her eyes as he typed away to his driver.
"And yet, you want to leave."
"I just don't feel good today, okay?" She said frustrated.
"Okay." He said, smirking, knowing he was right.
They stood in an awkward silence, waiting for the car to arrive. Ann jumped from one leg to another, trying to somehow make the time pass quicker. Finally the car arrived and she ran to it, jumping in the backseat. She was about to scream her goodbye to Joe, when she saw him sliding into the car with her.
"What are you doing?" She frowned.
"Taking you home." He smiled at her.
"That's... not what I meant."
"Nate, to my apartment please."