"Hey, Alan," I greeted the guy. "Sorry I'm late. I got held up a bit."
"Don't worry about it, I have to be here anyway," he laughed.
Another guy quickly approached us. "Luanna, this is my friend and coworker, Alex. Alex, this is Luanna."
"Hi," he shook my hand. "Aren't you that girl from the internet?"
"The one and only," I chuckled.
"Word about you is all over the island. Unbelievable," he admitted.
"What I can do, I can do. So, do you two work here together or do you swap shifts?"
"I sometimes come in after Alan on Mondays and Wednesdays, and on other days, I work at a different club. But mostly, I come here a little early, and we hang out, and so on."
"That's nice for you. Me? It's college and football," I sighed, relaxing in the chair.
"You play?" he looked surprised.
"Team captain," Alan answered for me.
We kept talking until Ryan came up to us.
"Hello, guys. How's work?" he asked.
"Everything's fine," they replied, immediately looking more serious.
"Are you finished?" he turned to me.
"Um, I think so," I smiled. "I'll text you later, bye," I said goodbye to Alan and Alex.
They waved, and Ryan and I walked into the club. The inside was impressive. There was a huge bar packed with people, just like the dance floor. I squeezed into a space at the bar between two guys. They looked at me, and it was obvious they recognized me, but they didn't say anything.
"What's the strongest thing you've got for me?" I asked the bartender, trying to shout over the music. He was already starting to mix something, and I added, "-Make it two."
"Are you sure? Nobody has had these cocktails for a long time because they're too strong," he sounded concerned.
"Completely sure," I firmly replied.
After shaking and pouring the liquid into the glasses, he dropped dry ice into the cocktails, which started sending smoke rolling across the bar. People who saw it turned to me, their eyes wide. I felt very short, so I decided to sit on the bar stool and immediately downed one glass, then the other. The drink was strong, I'll admit, but I didn't feel drunk.
"Two more," I told the bartender, and the guy next to me gaped.
I was the center of attention, swaying to the music. As soon as the cocktails were ready, everyone started clapping and shouting, "Drink!" over and over. I downed both glasses once more, and this time, when I asked for another, I stood on the bar and started dancing. Some filmed me, others cheered, and a third group yelled and whistled. They were mostly guys. I didn't even know where Ryan was, but I didn't care. After drinking more, I felt sufficiently intoxicated and got down to the floor with some help. I went to the dance floor and was now dancing right in the center, surrounded by guys dancing around me. This really reminds me of Ohio.
Niall's POV:
"I have a bad feeling," Jake muttered when it was three in the morning and Luanna still wasn't back.
"Why?" I tried to stay calm.
"Wait…" he drawled, and we all waited for what he was going to say. "-And now, the proof of my bad feeling," he announced and turned the computer screen toward us.
He played a video, and there was Luanna sitting on the bar. Then, she was handed drinks, and from the sounds and visuals, I understood they were special, rare, or very strong. She drinks them and gets up to dance on the table. Finally, after drinking more, she climbs down and goes to the dance floor. The headline next to the video read: "Luanna Perez. This girl is amazing. If you meet her, you'll want to be her friend."
"The good news is, we are her friends," Josh said.
"The bad news is, she's God knows where," Liam finished.
"How does she manage to do that?" I muttered to myself.
"I don't know, Niall, I don't know," Jake responded in astonishment.
After waiting ten more minutes, we heard a knock.
"I left my keys again," Luanna giggled.
I quickly ran to open the door, and the redhead staggered, wobbling through the entrance.
"What are you guys up to?" she asked, sitting down between Liam and Jake on the sofa.
"Nothing," Jake simply answered.
"Then get off my bed!" she shouted, and they instantly jumped off the couch.
Finally, we just left her to sleep, and we did the same.
Luanna's POV:
"My head!" I groaned the moment I woke up from the splitting headache.
"No way!" someone scoffed.
"Shut up!" I yelled.
"Revenge!" Josh screamed right next to my ear.
"I'm going to kill you!" I shrieked.
"No, I'm going to have more fun!" he laughed loudly.
"Somebody! Jake, Niall, Liam! Kill him!" I screamed for help. The pain was excruciating. Why did I drink so much?
"Josh, what's going on here?" Niall came in from the other room.
"Revenge!" he said loudly. "This is for the hair!" and he let out a loud, villainous laugh.
"Kill him, for the sake of my life," I moaned. It felt like someone wanted to tear my head in half.
"Josh, that's enough," Niall said quietly.
"Oh, no," he laughed.
"Look at my hair," he hissed. "It's f**king pink!"
While they were talking, I rolled out of bed and went outside. I walked to the reception desk, where the same woman was.
"Do you happen to have any headache medicine?" I asked quietly.
"I'll check right away, Miss Perez," she said pleasantly and quietly.
I was confused that she knew my name. "Here," she handed me the tablets.
"Thank you. How do you know my name?" I frowned.
"I think everyone here knows your name after last night," she chuckled.
"Oh God," I muttered. "I don't even want to know."
I quickly swallowed the tablet and slowly started walking back toward the room. By the time I got back inside, the pain was almost gone.
"Luanna!" Josh yelled.
"What do you want?" I asked him.
"You got medicine? How?" he frowned.
"Not all of us are as stupid as you," I retorted. "What time is it anyway?"
"Lunchtime has already passed," Niall informed me.
"Well, I'm going to the beach," I ran to change and grabbed the same things again. "And I'm taking these chips," I said and ran out the door.
I desperately needed to cool off in the water. I tore open the bag on the way and ate. I received a lot of attention. Some people kept looking at me; others even asked to take a photo together. What did I do last night? I don't remember anything from when Ryan and I left Alan and Alex. Well... nothing can be changed now. I lay down on the same sunbed, which seemed to have been left for me, as people were all around. Most of them were young guys. And there definitely are sixteen-year-olds here. Leaving my belongings and clothes in place, I went straight into the water. I plunged in completely and felt much better. Since I didn't have much energy or strength to swim, I had to get out of the water. I lay back down on the sunbed and tried to relax, but I was slightly annoyed by the persistent stares. Still, I tried not to pay attention to it.
After a peaceful fifteen minutes, someone stood behind me and blocked the sun, casting a shadow, which annoyed me even more.
"I see you're not sleeping, Luanna Perez," a seemingly familiar voice laughed. "Aren't you, Per?"
When he said that, I immediately jumped up and rushed into his arms.
"Oh God," I murmured, feeling tears welling up. "It can't be." I pulled back to see if it was real.
"I'm real, Per," he giggled. "Real."
"How I missed you!" I shouted and hugged him again. "What are you doing here?! What are you even doing with your life?! Jacob, thirteen years have passed!" Tears ran down my cheeks. Tears of happiness.
"I know, Per. I missed you too. A lot. You were my best friend," he was still holding me close. I even felt a small drop land on my forehead.