Chapter Fifteen
Saturday
Ruby:
By midnight, I’ve lost count of how many boys Abi has declared “the one,” how many times Brooke has disappeared into Ewan and resurfaced looking thoroughly kissed, and how many rounds of the stupid chant currently rattling through The Shed has happened.
My feet hurt, the waistband of my jeans is digging into my stomach, and I’m fairly sure the glitter on my collarbone has fused with my skin permanently. The bunny ears keep falling off, and I think I might be too hungover from drinking a bottle of wine with Brooke last night to fully enjoy tonight.
“NA—NA—NA—NANANANANA—WE’RE COMPLETELY FUCKED—COMPLETELY FUCKED. WE’RE COMPLETELY FUCKED!”
Abi physically jolts as another wave of football boys barrels through the doors. “Jesus Christ,” she shouts. “Again?”
“They never stop,” Brooke yells, smiling into her drink, which is a dramatic turnaround from the first night here when she looked ready to call the police because someone danced too close to her.
I recognise Oscar’s voice before I see him. Deep, loud, and committing to the chant with an enthusiasm that would embarrass our entire bloodline if we had any shame left.
Cam is beside him, one arm in the air, leading the rest of the team as they tumble in behind him, pissed, sweaty and taking up approximately ninety percent more room than necessary.
Men really do expand in groups.
Oscar spots us and he starts shoving through the crowd in our direction with Cam close behind, both of them managing to make a packed club part for them without asking a single soul to move.
“RUBES!” Cam bellows from about ten feet away, arms already opening.
“Oh, God.” I groan. Having two boys who act like overbearing big brothers is not for the weak. Especially since Cam isn’t related to me and Oscar is only older by one minute and forty-three seconds. Cam reaches me first and folds me into a hug so enthusiastic my feet leave the floor.
“CAM!” I laugh, grabbing at his shoulders. “Put me down!”
“No.”
“I mean it!”
“No.”
Oscar catches up and smacks him hard between the shoulder blades. “Get off my sister, you fucking lunatic.”
“Piss off, you grumpy prick.” Cam puts me back on my feet, keeping one arm hooked around my shoulders. “She’s as much my sister as she is yours.”
Oscar looks him up and down. “I don’t remember Mum pushing that fat head out of her.”
“My head is a perfectly normal size,” Cam shoots back. “The doctors measured it.”
I turn to stare at him, his blonde hair is a complete mess and he’s sweating so much there’s little beads on his forehead. “Why did the doctors measure your head?”
“It was abnormally large as a baby.”
Oscar snorts, looking a hell of a lot less dishevelled. “Was?”
Cam looks between us, visibly affronted. “You two are horrible to me, do you know that?”
“It’s only because we love you,” I ruffle his hair.
He bats my hand away. “Hmph. I’m beginning to question it.”
Oscar reaches over and flicks the side of his head with two fingers. “Plenty of room in there to think it over.”
Cam slaps his hand away. “Keep touching me and I’ll tell Emma what you said earlier.”
Oscar’s whole face changes. His hand drops back to his side. “What did I say earlier?”
Cam grins, highly amused. “You know, not all of us are ashamed of the things we say when we’re drunk.”
Oscar narrows his eyes. “You should be ashamed of most things you say sober.”
Cam opens his mouth to retaliate, but something catches his attention. His grin fades as his eyes move past me, scanning the crowd once, then again, more deliberately this time. “Where are your friends, Rubes?”
The change in his voice causes me to focus on him. “What?”
“Your friends.” His arm is still around my shoulders, but it tightens slightly, pulling me closer to his side while he searches behind me. “Aren’t you supposed to be here with people?”
“I am.”
“Where are they, then?” His brow furrows. “You weren’t standing here on your own waiting for us, were you?”
“No.” I twist beneath his arm and glance over my shoulder. Brooke is where I expect her to be, tucked into Ewan’s side with one hand curled into the front of his shirt while he bends to whisper sweet somethings against her ear.
Abi is a little further over, dancing with two girls I’ve never seen before, her blonde hair bouncing around her shoulders and a huge smile stretched across her pretty face. She appears to have acquired an entirely new friendship group in the time it took Cam to crush my ribs.
I wave a hand towards them. “They’re over there.”
“Good.” Some of the manic energy floods straight back into him, though his arm stays looped around my shoulders for another second before he finally lets me go. “Right. Shall I get some drinks in?”
Oscar’s eyes catch mine before Cam can drag him away. “You good?”
“I’m good, O.” I give him my biggest, brightest smile. “Promise.”
He holds my gaze for a second longer, my word is no longer good enough. Not when Oscar can inspect my face for himself. Ever so slowly his shoulders loosen. “You’re having a good time?”
I nod. “I am.”
“Okay.” He steps back. “I’m gonna go find Emma. And maybe stop Cam before he does something batshit.”
“When have you ever been able to stop him?”
Oscar shrugs. “There’s a first time for everything.”
He presses a quick kiss to the top of my head, something he’s done for as long as I can remember, before he chases down Cam.
I watch them go with a teeny, tiny smile on my face.
Oscar only makes it halfway across the room before he spots Emma sitting at one of the high tables with Lily and Katie, and I see the change in him as he cuts through the crowd towards her, moving with purpose and at a quick pace.
It’s actually quite disgusting.
Emma gets to her feet before he even reaches the table, smiling in that way she only ever seems to smile at him, and then his hands are on her waist and hers are around his neck and they’re kissing like they haven’t seen each other in months instead of however long it’s been since this afternoon.
“Okay,” Brooke appears beside me, following my gaze. “That’s actually really cute.”
“They’re revolting,” I tell her, though even I can hear the fondness in my voice. “He’s completely obsessed with her.”
I don’t say that I love seeing him this happy, or that there’s still a stupid little part of me that wonders whether anybody will ever look across a room and have their whole face change because they’ve seen me.
I’ve done enough thinking about that for a lifetime.
Cam gives Oscar and Emma approximately half a second of his attention before apparently deciding romance is boring and heading for the bar.
Ain’t Nobody starts playing and Abi lets out a scream loud enough to permanently damage whatever hearing I have left before dragging me and Brooke towards the dancefloor.
The bass is so loud it makes everything feel slightly underwater, the floor vibrating beneath my shoes while Brooke sings directly into my face even though she very obviously doesn’t know the words.
Abi knows even fewer of them, but that doesn’t stop her from throwing both arms into the air and belting out whatever she thinks Chaka Khan might be saying.
Then I realise I’m dancing.
Not shifting my weight from foot to foot because standing still looks awkward, or smiling whenever somebody looks my way so they know I’m having a perfectly fine time.
I’m actually dancing, laughing when Abi nearly elbows me in the face and screaming the chorus with Brooke even though none of us can hear one another properly.
I’m having fun.
Ewan appears behind Brooke halfway through the song, winding an arm around her waist and pressing a kiss to the side of her head. “There you are.”
She melts backwards into him. "That blonde boy is about to be arrested," Brooke tells him, nodding towards the far side of the room.
“Ah, shit.” Ewan looks out. “What’s he doing?”
“He’s going to crowd surf.” A deep voice announces from behind Ewan and my heart literally skips a beat. Which can’t be healthy or sane. Maybe instead of Dr. H discussing my contingency plan on Wednesdays, he could start discussing my full-bodied reactions to this boy.
Josh is standing with one hand wrapped around a beer bottle, his t-shirt clinging to his broad chest, and green eyes slightly less guarded as he looks the same place Ewan is.
I follow their gaze.
Sure enough, Cam is halfway onto a table, one knee already planted on the top while several football boys grab at the back of his shirt in an attempt to haul him down. Security are pushing through the crowd towards him and Oscar is standing directly beneath the table, looking furious.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake.” I grind out. “It’s always Cam. He’s always up to no good.”
“I’ve gathered that,” Josh says beside me.
“He’s a good guy.” I feel the need to defend my childhood friend.
“I gathered that first.”
I glance at Josh, but he’s still watching Cam. “Quick judge of character, are you?”
“Sometimes.”
“HART!” Oscar bellows across the room just as Cam manages to get both feet onto the table.
“I’M GONNA FLY, MOTHER FUCKERS!”
“You're about to be fucking barred!"
The table erupts into laughter as two security guards reach them.
Josh shakes his head, a quiet laugh escaping him. "He really is batshit."
I snort. "Don't let O know you think that. He'll love having someone on his side for once."
Josh watches as Oscar grabs the back of Cam's shirt and hauls him off the table. "Can you blame him?"
“Not really."
He glances back at me, and his smile widens, satisfaction written all over his face. "You wore them."
Startled by the change in conversation, I blink. "Wore what?"
He points at the top of my head. "The bunny ears."
Oh.
Nervously, I lift a hand to feel them. They're perched on top of my head. "Yeah." I drop my hand. "I did. You told me they suited me."
"And I was telling the truth."
I laugh softly, instantly fascinated by the condensation running down his beer bottle. "Were you?"
"Yeah." I can feel his gaze on my face even though I refuse to look up. "I'm just disappointed the glow sticks weren't for blowjobs after all."