#idbitc

Her black four inch heels clicked over the wood floors, drawing the eyes of the boys who were sat around the living room. As if all at once, they raked their wide eyes down her tight red dress that ended mid-thigh and was cut low down her chest. Her fuller chest finally filled out the top of her favourite old cocktail dress, hugging her soft post-childbirth curves beautifully. Her blonde hair was straightened over her shoulders and thick black eyeliner coated her blue eyes, the look completed with vibrant red lipstick.

“Hey.” Florence said to the boys in the room who still sat in stunned silence. She didn’t seem to notice their gawking. It was still proof of the slight innocence that pumped through her veins.

They all mumbled a greeting. Daniel, who avoided looking at her as she came in, finally looked up, his eyes almost popping out of his head. Sure, he’d seen her dressed up before, but nothing like this. Instinctively, his tongue ran over his lips, a blush rising to his cheeks at only looking at the girl in front of him.

Emilio coming up behind her and wrapping an arm around her waist made Daniel sigh and look back to the ground.

“Ok.” Aidan clapped his hands once to snap the room back to reality. Florence was almost like a sister to him and having his friends next to drooling over her made him slightly uncomfortable.

The boys in the room all started talking innocently, getting up and gathering their few things they needed to take with them. Zach walked up to Florence and held out a small card.

“What’s this?” she took it from him and looked it over. It was his drivers license.

“Jack helped me get it.” Zach pointed to the birthday line which read as if he were 19.

“Oh my God!” Florence gaped. “It looks so real!”

“I know!” Zach beamed, taking the card back from her and smiled down at it proudly.

“If you act so excited about it, they’ll catch on.” Jonah told his friend. “And I’m not bailing anyone out of jail today.”

“No getting arrested on my birthday!” Corbyn said.

“Even though it was four days ago.” Florence chuckled, pulling him in for a hug. “Happy belated birthday.”

“Thanks.” Corbyn smiled.

“Hurry up! The subway will leave without us!” Zach shouted as he walked towards the door.

“Don’t make me put you in one of those kid leashes.” Aidan taunted. Zach frowned up at him. The group filed out of the house and headed towards the subway. Florence and Emilio walked hand in hand behind Aidan and Jonah who led the way. Jack, Zach, and Corbyn talked loudly from behind them, pushing each other over people’s lawns and into the street. Florence looked behind her, past the wild group of three, to where Daniel trailed behind them, alone. His hands were stuffed in the pockets of his denim jacket and he stared at the ground, kicking pebbles in his path. Emilio brought her hand up to his lips and he kissed it softly, making her turn her attention away from Daniel.

“He’s fine.” Emilio whispered. “Just give him time.”

Florence wanted to protest to that statement, wanting to do nothing less than turning and screaming at her so-called best friend to just love her again. She missed his warm presence, his lively smile, and how he was always there for her when she felt her worst. She felt empty without him next to her.

The trip through the subway earned Florence plenty of stares from guys and girls alike. Emilio held her hand proudly, not failing to pull the unaware girl against his chest if an older man stared at her for too long. They were the same height, Florence able to lean her head on his shoulder comfortably. Of course her height and her heels only accentuated her long legs, some of the boys from their group who were sitting on their way trying desperately to look anywhere but at her as she stood in front of them. Daniel was facing away from them, his head against the window. When they arrived into the downtown core, Jonah had to nudge him to get off the subway.

The night was young and the city was bustling, thousand of lights from the skyscrapers lighting up the invisibly starry sky. Their group walked excitedly, Corbyn taking the lead with his birthday-excitement. Daniel found a spot next to him, Corbyn’s bubbly personality easily working on brightening his spirits.

“We’ll get some strong alcohol in your system and music in your ears you’ll forget about everything.” Corbyn whispered to Daniel, draping his arm over his best friend’s shoulders.

Florence heard it from her spot behind them and she frowned, her gaze falling to the sidewalk. Emilio was right there with a comforting squeeze to her hand and a gentle kiss to her cheek.

The club was a hole-in-the-wall joint, past an old, crumbling Toronto brick exterior lead into a revamped and modern interior. The neon sign above the door flashed brightly. Florence stood admits her friends in the line-up, sandwiched against the wall between Emilio and Aidan. They talked excitedly amongst themselves for the duration of the wait, the cool nighttime air starting to send chills over the group. The front of the line came a long 45 minutes later, each member of their party flashing their IDs to the bouncer on their way in and tossing a two dollar coin into the collection box at the entry. Once headed up the stairs, Zach gave a little hoot and took off ahead.

The place was bright and busy, neon lights flashing and the dance floor bustling full of people under bright white strobe lights. The granite top bar lined an entire wall, the black stools mostly filled with patrons awaiting another round. Various couches, chairs, and small dining tables encircled the large dance floor, the dark furniture blending into the background. The raised DJ booth was set up opposite the bar and huge speakers framed it, the man working the table looking small in comparison.

“We got a room upstairs.” Corbyn yelled over the music, gesturing for his friends to follow him. Next to the DJ booth, a curtain was hung over a thin doorway and upon further inspection, it opened to reveal a staircase that was only lit from tiny LED lights along the treads. At the top, the security guard looked at Corbyn’s ID and then down to his clipboard before leading them to a section of the loft. Each room was divided by black walls and had frosted glass doors to enter through. On the inside, the group found a two white leather sectional sofas, a small buffet, a spacious coffee table, and a single black bean bag chair.

“Oh sweet!” Zach cheered, plopping himself down on the bean bag, draping his hands behind his head.

“This is sick.” Aidan smiled, grabbing a few crackers from the buffet table.

“I have some connections.” Corbyn shrugged, sitting down on the couch. The music from the main area of the club pumped through the walls, the sound muffled enough that they could have a conversation but loud enough that it drew them back downstairs.

Shots were poured down the bar and the group clinked glasses to celebrate Corbyn’s birthday before they tossed one back each. After that, the group broke off to do their own thing, most of them finding their way to mingle in the main area of the club.

Daniel stayed at the bar at the stool in the far corner, sipping his drink slowly, his eyes taking in the surroundings of the unfamiliar place.

Florence and Emilio were on the dance floor. He was trying to get her to dance but she insisted she had to drink more before she did any sort of dancing. As if on cue, a server pushed two more shots into their hands before being swallowed back into the crowd.

Zach, his excitement high now diminishing, stood at the side of the room and watched the people around him, trying to figure out what to do next. He finally joined Daniel, the two looking like the most pathetic duo in the building.

“Why aren’t you out there with everyone?” Zach asked, nodding towards Corbyn and Aidan and Jack who were dancing stupidly near the speakers, freshly opened drinks in hand.

“I’m not feeling it tonight.” Daniel shrugged.

“Are you ever feeling it? This is not really our go-to scene.” Zach said.

“Fair point.” Daniel chuckled, looking down at the bar top. He took a sip of his fruity cocktail.

“Nice manly drink there, bro.” Zach snorted. Daniel stuck his tongue out at him.

“Don’t know why Corbyn wanted to come here even.” Zach continued. “We all know he’d rather be at home spewing off space facts to his bedroom ceiling.”

Daniel laughed at that, hiding his face in his hands as if it was wrong of him to have fun.

“What? No one else is gonna listen.” Zach shrugged playfully.

Daniel forced his smile back to a straight line and scuffed the toe of his sneaker against the wall.

“Hey, stop that. Stop whining like a little bitch.” Zach said to his best friend. “Drink more of your girly drink and get out there.”

“You’re one to talk.” Daniel scoffed.

“Then tell me what I should order and lets get a move on.” Zach clapped his hands.

The first hour went by in a blur, drink after drink being downed by the group. As fancy as the loft room was, no one used it; everyone seemed to find their place in the main hub of the building. Jonah had found a girl at the bar who was there with her friends and he put on his usual charmer persona to win her over and they retired to a table in the back to talk and drink. Zach and Jack had found each other and were joking around messily by the huge speakers, barely hearing a word the other was saying but laughing nonetheless. Corbyn’s girlfriend had shown up and they had disappeared into the crowd. Daniel was still at his spot at the bar where Zach had left him after not being able to get him up. Multiple drinks had been had and Daniel was starting to feel wobbly on the bar stool. Now joined by Aidan, the boys spoke in whispers. Florence and Emilio were still on the dance floor, after having a few drink breaks. Emilio never left her side, fearing the worst under the prying stare of other male club-goers. The tight red dress turned to be more of a curse than a blessing as not only did it attract too much attention but Florence found herself having to pull it farther down her legs more often than not. A few drinks in, the slight lightweight of a girl forgot about it which made the dress adjusting more of Emilio’s responsibility. It was getting increasingly difficult as she was stumbling around and clinging onto his neck like a koala and sooner than later both simply let it go.

The later the night got, the closer the two got. Florence couldn’t keep her hands off of the boy in front of her, staining his jaw and neck in red lipstick prints, fingernails digging into his leather jacket to keep him close. She could feel his hands on her hips, holding her against his warm body, each movement sending tingles down her intoxicated limbs. The space between them was almost non-existent, Emilio’s hot breath on her neck making her turn to kiss him. He groaned lowly into her mouth, tugging her in by the limited material at her waist.

Daniel and Aidan could see the smudges of her red dress through the crowd from where they sat at the bar.

“Still think I’m an idiot?” Daniel hiccupped, ruffling a hand through his hair, messing it up.

“Yeah.” Aidan sighed, slapping a hand to his best friend’s shoulder. “But you’re clearly hurt so...I can’t blame you.”

“And I absolutely destroyed her in the process to mask my tiny bit of jealousy.” Daniel frowned, slumping into his arms onto the bar top.

“The DiCaprio twins are a force to be reckoned with, Dan.” Aidan mumbled, taking a long sip of his beer, his old memories of dating Callum back in 12th grade flashing through his mind. “They bring with them nothing but bad luck and fucking heartbreak.”

Daniel hummed in response, watching as Emilio left for the bathroom, leaving Florence to her own devices in the club. Prying eyes from around the room fell to the single girl in the short dress. Daniel looked back to Aidan as he continued,

“They lure you in with their good looks and shy-kid-next-door charm and then destroy every piece of your already fragile heart and leave it to rot after you give them everything you had.” Aidan said through his teeth.

Daniel sat back up straight in his chair and took a deep breath. He rubbed his eye with his fist.

“Either you go chase them down and convince yourself that their broken, money disguised childhood is a solid excuse for their lack of emotional availability or, you do what I did, and watch them leave and try to let it all go to only be met with constant regret and a hole in your chest for the rest of your life.”

Daniel simply blinked at his distraught friend. Aidan sighed, taking a long sip from his can again. The two boys fell into silence.

“Fuck this.” Daniel breathed, downing the last sip of his drink before getting up from the bar. The room spun as soon as he stood up but he forced himself to walk away from Aidan’s depressive spiral.

Florence kept herself swaying to the music during Emilio’s short absence; whether it was from her drunk state or the actual music, it didn’t matter.

The hands sliding around her waist made her smile, leaning back into the familiar touch. In any other state of mind, she would have noticed the difference in body type but she was drunk and full of bliss that it didn’t come to mind. His hair was just as soft to her fingers as her arms raised behind her, finally falling to his wrists as her body moved by itself to the music blasting loudly through the club. The rough denim jacket was no where close to the feeling of Emilio’s high end leather but she was focused on bringing his hands to her hips, pushing back into his body. Florence let the messy beat of the music move her ungracefully, the alcohol in her system pushing his hand to her inner thigh under the material of her short skirt, leaning her head back to his shoulder, her eyes closed. Her hand raised to the side of his face, fingers tangling themselves gently in his soft hair before pulling him in for a messy kiss. The angle was terrible as her back was to his front but the two drunk teenagers kissed like their life depended on it. Her tongue forced its way into his mouth, tasting the bitter taste of alcohol on his breath. It wasn’t until Florence turned around, pulled him into her by the collar of his jacket, and brought his bottom lip between her two that she sensed the difference.

Her eyes opened slowly and she pulled back to be met with Daniel’s stunned gaze, his cheeks pink from the alcohol and his blue eyes filled with desire. For some reason, whether it was the emotion of him even wanting to go near her for the first time in a while, or the serious amount of alcohol in her veins, she grabbed the back of his neck and kissed him hungrily again. Her arms fell around his shoulders, holding him against her. Daniel’s mind could hardly keep up with what was happening, the loud music fuzzy to his ears and the movements of the girl in front of him fast and clumsy. The moment was broken by some stranger stumbling into them, pouring their entire drink over the two. Florence shrieked at the cold liquid hitting her warm skin before bursting into giggles. Daniel gave the guy a shove away before looking down at the mess over the two of them.

Florence grabbed the open edge of Daniel’s denim jacket and pulled him through the crowd. The room spun behind them as the two drunk teenagers stumbled through the crowd to the stairs. Stairs posed a new challenge but they made it to the top unharmed, pushing past the security guard, and into the private room. Daniel was pushed backwards onto one of the couches and Florence fell on top of him, her mouth meeting his again. She sat over his lap, one leg on either side, making her short dress ride up dangerously high.

Sober Daniel was a shy boy, soft spoken and a polite sweetheart. Drunk Daniel, although completely inexperienced of anything they were doing, let his hands rest under the fabric of her dress, pushing it up more. It was clear that her underwear was on show to whoever might have walked in, but neither cared. Florence switched to peppering sloppy drunk kisses down to his neck before sucking a red mark into his milky skin. Daniel’s shaky groan filling the empty room, fingers pressing into the flesh of her lower hips. Florence slid off his lap to sit beside him, one arm around his shoulders and her other hand holding his face close to hers, meeting their lips again. His hands fell to her thighs innocently.

The sound of the door handle turning made the two separate quickly, dropping their hands from each other. The simple action turned their questionable position into simply friendly.

Emilio smiled at them from the doorway, “Are you guys making up finally?”

Florence discreetly wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, smudging her worn lipstick more than it already was. She let out a small giggle.

Daniel’s mind spun dangerously fast, like the room was on an axis. His drunk mind tried to piece together what Emilio’s simple sentence meant, pressing a hand to his temple. He felt his stomach turn and he bent over the side of the couch and vomited onto the carpet.

“Fucking hell.” Emilio sighed, holding himself up against the doorframe. He turned to find someone who could help somehow.

Daniel sat back and wiped his mouth with his hand, the remanence of Florence’s red lipstick transferring to his palm.

“I’m bleeding!” Daniel gasped.

“Shh.” Florence giggled, pointing to her lips. Daniel blinked at her before he burped lightly and bent over to throw up again onto the floor.

“Fuck, Daniel!” Corbyn came bursting into the room, setting his drink on the buffet table before grabbing his best friend by the arm, pulling him to his feet. The boy stumbled, falling weakly against Corbyn, dragging his arm over his mouth again. The boy looked like an absolute mess with the beer stain down the front of his jacket and his hair sticking up in all sorts of random directions.

Zach and Jack came into the room as Corbyn was pulling Daniel out and towards the bathroom. His heaving could be heard down the hall.

“He can never handle his alcohol.” Jack tisked.

“What a loser.” Zach set his hands dramatically on his waist and the two burst into laughter.

Aidan appeared in the doorway too, “We have to go. They’re kicking us out thanks to Daniel.”

“He ruins everything.” Florence slurred, falling backwards onto the couch, her dress still up around her bellybutton.

“Woah!” Zach, Jack, and Aidan smacked their hands over their eyes and turned away.

Emilio, who was sober enough to be aware of their surroundings, walked over to tug her dress back into place and then scooped her up.

The group reassembled on the sidewalk outside the club, all minus Jonah who had gone off with the girl he had met earlier. Daniel was leaning helplessly against Corbyn’s shoulder, barely able to even keep himself upright. It was nearing 1am when their two taxis pulled up to the curb. Florence, Emilio, Zach, and Jack got into one, leaving Aidan and Corbyn to watch Daniel in the other.

Arriving back at the house, Florence and Zach were asleep on Jack’s shoulders, their arms wrapped around his middle. Emilio paid the driver and helped Jack get the two half asleep drunks into the house. Zach laughed to himself the entire way up to the loft, Jack grumbling the entire way behind him. Corbyn and Aidan got Daniel to bed after the boy had thrown up again on the front lawn. Aidan set a glass of water on his nightstand for him when he woke up.

Florence and Emilio were directed to Jonah’s room for the night since he was gone. Florence spread herself out on the queen size bed, mumbling something about Jonah which sounded more like ‘Jehovah’ and sleeping on a cloud. Emilio got her out of her dress and into a t-shirt and pyjama pants that Corbyn lent them before getting her to finally stay on one side of the bed. Emilio passed out fast, gentle snores filling the now quiet house. 

Florence, still extremely buzzed, slid out of bed and started down the hallway, the floorboards creaking beneath her feet and her hand gliding over the wall to keep her balanced. She hummed to herself as she opened the door to Daniel’s room and closed it again behind her. 

His form was curled up under the sheets at the far side of the bed from the door. Florence climbed up next to him, resting her hands on his arm, making the half asleep boy flinch tiredly. He smelt of old beer and mint toothpaste, wearing only his underwear and the black t-shirt he had on under his jacket.