“Where the fuck is my red halter dress?” I screamed as I threw clothes out of my luggage and all over the spare bedroom of Poppy’s house. I was not in the mood for any of this shit; I had to see my mother in less than 12 hours and I needed to be wasted out of my fucking mind in order to even imagine dealing with her. Last night Matt and I had a good time at the gay bar, which I had no idea was full of such amazing people. I got to be a total slut without the worry of someone drugging my drink. We wound up there after Matt was mistaken about Fever. The party was actually supposed to be tonight -- which I could not fucking wait for. I pre-bought two bags of Molly but needed to find my fucking outfit before the fun could begin.

“Found it,” Poppy threw my skimpy dress at me from the open door of the bedroom.

“What? Is it ‘search through Toni’s shit for something good’ day? Fuck, I must have forgotten to mark it on my calendar.” I threw on the halter dress over my lace bra and underwear, inspecting it for any bodily fluids of Poppy’s many suitors.

“Shit, Toni, I just found it in Rusty’s bag! You guys packed in such a hurry I thought things could have gotten mixed up.” She did her bitchy look-to-the-side snarl but I ignored it and brushed past her to get to the bathroom.

“Rust, are you done?” I asked knocking, “I need you to put on my falsies.” She opened the door and I gasped. She looked absolutely amazing in a gold mini-dress she had bought earlier.

“You like?” She twirled then grabbed my hand and plopped me on the toilet seat.

“I love! You better get it in tonight or I have no faith in humanity anymore.” Rusty giggled as she blew on the glue of my false eyelashes.

“What time is Matt coming?” She carefully placed the line of false hair on my eyelid and pressed it down with the smooth edge of a bobby pin.

“He said around ten.” I kept both of my eyes shut to make sure the glue would dry and I wouldn’t end up looking like Cruella Deville by the end of the night.

“Fuck, it’s 9:50! I’ll grab your shoes but you don’t move. We can’t risk an eyelash emergency.” I chuckled as she tittered away in her heels.

At 10:00 o’clock on the dot I was ready. With Matt a little tardy, Rusty and I blew two bumps each of the Molly. We were about to do a third before I heard a knock at the door. I opened it and threw my arms around Matt, who looked hot as fuck in a silk button-down and dark denim trousers.

“Matty!” I breathed in his signature Ralph Lauren Polo cologne and squeezed him tight.

“I guess the party has already started?” He laughed as he walked over to give Rusty a hug. He stuffed the bags in his pocket and looked at me. “Ready to go? Is Poppy coming?”

“Yes and no. She’s going out with some bloke she met last week. It’s just us, the three amigos!” I hollered and Rusty joined in on my cheers as we raised our hands in the air. Matt shook his head with amusement and led us outside to the cab he had already called for us.

The outside of Fever looked wild, and there were a ton of flashing lights as countless members of Britain’s A-List posed for pictures. Rusty growled at the sight of them all – she never was a fan of famous people. “They’re all fake, Toni,” she used to tell me when we’d see someone on the street hounded by paparazzi. “They put up a front for the cameras but underneath it all they’re just as dirty and bad as you and me.” Matt paid for the cab and escorted Rusty and me out of the backseat. We slipped past all the popular people and got into the club without a scratch.

“I couldn’t get us a booth or anything with all the celebrity money pits expected to show up. But find a table on the balcony and I’ll come to you. Three gin and tonics sound good?” I nodded and Rusty I shoved our way through people to find the staircase. I was used to this many people partying with me, but what I wasn’t used to were the fame-hungry wankers who flocked to wherever their kind of people went. Rusty was right – they all seemed fake and we were only nice to you until they realized you were a nobody. Once we made our way upstairs and found a table overlooking the dance floor, I caught my breath. I felt as though I should be remembering something important about these people, but I couldn’t bloody concentrate on what exactly that was with all the drugs in my veins.

“Spliff?” Rusty asked as she lit one. She handed it over to me and I took three huge inhales, hoping being doped out would help me not only deal with the fact that I had to see my mother, but that I was surrounded by a sea of idiots. A shot girl walked towards us so I bought one for Rusty and myself, disgusted with the fact that I had to shove the quid down the girl’s tits. We toasted to a fucked up night and downed the alcohol, which tasted a lot like tequila mixed with rubber. I spotted Matt by the stairs and waved him over.

“Here we are ladies,” he passed a drink to each of us and sat down. He then reached into his pocket and took out the Molly, the three of us finishing one of the bags. “Here,” he said handing me the other one, “save this for later. Your visiting your mother tomorrow, aren’t you?” I laughed and gave him a peck on the lips. This whole having a gay best friend thing was so much fun. I finished off my drink and stumbled to stand up.

“I’m sick of this. Let’s go dance and hang around the bar so I don’t have to keep feeling up the shot girl.” Matt questioned my words but none the less followed Rusty and I as we shimmied our way downstairs. The DJ spinned a sick club tune just as we hit the floor, and Rusty and I went wild. There was nothing we loved more than drugs and dancing. Two songs and three shots later, I went to the loo as a hottie asked Rusty to dance. I looked to find Matt talking to some guy at the bar and was happy that my friends were having a good time. Having never been to Fever before, I was having a hard time finding the bathroom. I made it into three dead corners before finally seeing a small sign a few feet away from me. My head was getting dizzy so I decided looking at the ground was a good idea. I watched my feet walk until I felt my head run into something.

“Sorry,” I said to the grey shirt that I had just run into. I looked up to find Harry staring down at me with a smirk on his face.

“No problem, babe,” he said as he pushed me into the bathroom and threw me on top of one of the sinks.

As he kissed down my neck a thought finally occurred to me – he was who I knew I’d see among all these people. Wherever there were paparazzi there was usually Harry Styles. I lifted my arms so he could take off my dress. Why did Harry and I always wind up in a bathroom? They weren’t very sanitary and I doubted that the owners cleaned them at all while the club was open. I let Harry play with my boobs as I stared at a poster on the wall. It said something about a concert but my vision was still hazy. I squinted and leaned closer, holding Harry’s head so he wouldn’t know I wasn’t paying attention to anything he was doing. I read “concert,” “Sunday,” “7:00 PM,” and “Billy Joel.”

“Ooh!” I exclaimed as Harry continued doing whatever it was he was doing.

“Aw yeah, you like that babe?” He spoke into my boob as he tugged down on my underwear.

“No, Harry, I mean ooh at this poster on the wall! It says Billy Joel will be in town Sunday and my mum just adores him. Maybe if I get her tickets it will make up for the flat and everything.” He removed his face from my chest and gave me a blank stare. “Oops! I forgot to tell you that my mum bought a flat for me and Rusty and blah blah blah. Anyway, do you think that would work as a sort of compensation?” I hopped off the sink and walked over to the bathroom bulletin board in my underwear.

“Um, yeah sure. Except those tickets are sold out as far as I know. It’s a small venue so they sold fast.” He ruffled his hair and looked at me with his green eyes.

“Fuck.” My voice was faint as I tried to think of another way to pay my mom back. This would have been so perfect. I stared at the flyer in my hands while I tried to think of another strategy.

“Maybe I can work something out for you. I might be able to get her meet and greets or something.” He started to approach me and shoved his hand in his pockets.

“Oh, no. I couldn’t ask you to do that for me.” I shook my head and crumbled up the flyer.


“But Toni it’s not a big deal. I’ll make a few calls tomorrow. It couldn’t hurt to ask, right?” I looked at him and he seemed like he genuinely wanted to help.

“Thanks, Harry. But enough of all this shit… how about we have some fun?” I gave him a devilish smile and yanked him towards me by his belt.

“I like fun.” He smiled back and pushed me into one of the stalls, not bothering to lock it behind us.

----

I was still trying to tie my dress back on my neck as I walked out of the bathroom. My limbs felt too heavy as I tried to secure the fabric in a nice knot. I felt Harry come up from behind me and tie it, then squeezed my shoulders to let me know he was finished.

“I have someone I want you to meet. Follow me.” I did as I was told and followed Harry to one of the VIP booths where a cutesy blond sat drinking a pint. There were also a few empty shot glasses next to him, and I found it funny how he was staring at his phone in frustration.

“Fuck, Harry, can you reply back to her and say ‘I’ll call you when we leave’ because every time I type it the damn thing says ‘I’ll call you when we kebab.’ What the actual fuck?” His Irish accent was thick and I saw his bloodshot blue eyes move onto mine. “And who do we have here?” He smiled a perfect-teeth smile and I shyly looked away.

“Niall, meet Toni. Toni this is one of my other band mates Niall. He’s a blast.” I extended my hand and the Irishman kissed it.

“Pleasure to meet you, Toni.” I smiled and took my hand back.

“Same, Neil. Hey, where’s Zenji?”

“Who the fuck is Zenji?” Harry asked as he gave me a quizzical look and handed Mr. Leprechaun a cigarette.

“Nevermind. Want to dance?” I was moving back and forth because just standing there seemed so boring. What was the point of being on drugs if I wasn’t getting any fun out of it?

“Well I was going to go outside with Niall as he smoked. I don’t trust him with a lighter when he’s this fucked. You can join us, though.” I pondered the thought for only a second before shaking my head.

“Nah, I’m going to go find the people I came with. Look for me later, yeah?” I smiled and walked back to the dance floor to try and find Rusty. When I did find her I saw she was still dancing with the same guy from before, so I let her be. I then walked over to the bar to find Matt drinking alone.

“Where’s that guy you were talking to earlier? He seemed really interested!” I sat down on the stool next to him and ordered a Mojito.

“Eh, he was boring. I need excitement in my life. That’s why I hag, I mean hang out with you.” I punched his shoulder at the hag joke and drank my drink.

“Harry’s here.” I blurted out before thinking. I had told Matt all about my unknown relation/friendship with Harry but I still felt weird talking about it.

“Oh is he? Is that why you’re makeup is smudged and your dress seems shorter?” He teased as he wiped some mascara off my face.

“Shut up! I can’t help it. But he offered to help me get a gift for my mum so she won’t call me every god damn day milking how she bought me a fucking flat.”

“Sounds like a keeper to me.” He winked at me and finished his beer. We sat there people watching for awhile, ordering more drinks than we should have.

“I love this shirt,” I slurred as I held Matt’s silk shirt in my hand. “It’s so smooth.” He smiled and I saw a glint in his eye.

“Oh, you do? Well fuck me aren’t I just the happiest knob in the fucking world!” He started to give me raspberries all over my neck and face. “Toni Reine likes my clothes I’ve finally made it!” He then proceeded to tickle me and my stomach was aching from laughing so hard.

“Stop it! I can’t breathe!” I laughed but soon felt nothing as Matt was yanked off of me.

“She told you to fucking stop. Back the fuck off, mate.” Harry had a tight grip on Matt’s collar and I saw the anger in his eyes. Blondie was standing tough behind him, but he was too drunk to seem threatening.

“We were just having some fun, man.” I saw the sweat start to form on Matt’s neck.

“Yeah well she only has fun with me, got it?” He gripped the shirt tighter and I felt a rage inside me. Who the fuck did this jealous prick think he was?

“Get the fuck off of him, Harry!” I yelled as I slapped his hold on Matt away. “He’s fucking gay, you asshole, so it’s not like he was hitting on me. Get your head out of your ass and stop trying to act like my hero!” I gave him a disgusted look and grabbed Matt’s hand. Harry was speechless as Lucky the Leprechaun stifled a laugh. “Have a good night, Norman,” I said to him before leaving for the door with Matt.

As we were pushing past people, a good-looking guy in white stopped me with his hand. “Excuse me, love, but does heaven know you’re missing?” I was about to tell this prick to fuck off before an idea sprang into my head. I looked back towards Harry, and his eyes were on me – perfect. I grabbed this guy’s face and shoved my tongue down his throat. He seemed to enjoy it as he gripped my ass through my dress. Once I felt as though I tortured Harry enough, I pulled away.

“Come back to my place with me, yeah?” He smiled and made a path for Matt and me to follow him. I didn’t even bother to look back at Harry as I walked behind.

“Is a cab fine, love?” I nodded as the master of corny pick-up lines hailed us a taxi. We all got in, me in the middle of the two men. I gave the cab driver Poppy’s address and we drove away from the club.

“I’m Cameron by the way, but you can call me Fish. That’s what all my friends call me.” He grinned and I noticed he had a gold tooth.

“I’ll call you Cameron, thanks. I’m Toni.” I looked out the window and hoped this drive didn’t take too long. Cameron shut up for awhile and scratched at his arm, which is where I noticed his skull tattoo. I took a huge gulp and tried not to freak out. A skull tattoo, wearing white to a club, a nickname like Fish…he was a member of the Bones. Oh fuck me. Of course I would pick up a fucking gang banger. Cameron noticed I was breathing heavier and took my hand.

“Are you okay?” He rubbed at my knuckles and I wanted to vomit.

“Um, I just remembered I left my friend at the club. I need to go back and get her.” It wasn’t a lie, but it did make a good excuse.

He grinned again and leaned closer to me, “I think that can wait, don’t you?” He pressed his lips up against mine and I pushed him off of me. “What the fuck?” He yelled, and again started to lean into me. I noticed we were at a red light and decided to take a chance on life. I closed my fist and socked Cameron right in the nose, blood going everywhere. The cab driver looked back and started to yell, but I pushed Matt out of the car and we ran. We ran into a park and took a back-alley way to hide inside a McDonald’s.

“Holy shit, Toni! What the Hell was that?” Matt asked me as he tried to catch his breath. He was flushed from all the running.

“He was a member of the Bones,” I whispered in case anyone was listening. “Even I don’t fuck with that.” A look of shock spread across his face before he closed his eyes and nodded.

“Well where are we going now? My house is only a few blocks from here.” I thought for a bit. The taxi driver probably kicked Cameron out of his car due to all the commotion, and Cameron definitely needed some medical attention, so he would most likely go to a doctor or the hospital.

“We’ll go home the back way to make sure the cab isn’t there, and then we are moving all my suitcases into my car so I can spend the night in the parking lot of my new flat. Sound like a plan?” Matt nodded and we started our journey back home.