All rights go to their rightful owners; characters belong to Stephenie Meyer whilst the title of the FanFic belongs to Demi Lovato. This chapter contains time skips. Sorry that I haven't posted in a small while; I've been busy with coursework and what not and shall be posting a surprise present to you all before Christmas. Happy holidays to those that have celebrated it. Thanks to everyone that's reviewed, added and shared. Sending love.
Celebrating summer
Last month's big party had been Elena's 21st. using the diner as a venue she had chosen to celebrate the 60's. The place had been packed with movie characters from Dreamgirls, Hairspray and West Side Story along with the odd '54 Grease costume. The six of us were thinking outside the box; outside movie characters.
Kenzie and I had set up the apartment as a costume shop filled with vintage outfits. Razor and Gina were working with us. Gina and her mad hair skills was able to tease, twist and hairspray out hair to perfection while Razor had a field day with raiding the Mac counter with his staff discount. The vintage clothes had been given to us by Razor's 'other half' a very loud African American women named Aaliyah who owned a store on Upper East side which had very specific clientele.
We must have fit into this clientele as at exactly 1pm she strides into our apartment announcing that our fairy god mother had arrived. At this point the six of us were sat in our pj's watching reruns of Friends. Clearly the first impression was a little awkward. At the clap of her incredibly manicured hands she had us all in line; assessing what would suit us the best. She was an Alpha female and we all knew it. No one was to mess with her.
She stalks round is in her pointy expensive shoes, straightening our back out of the slouch and getting us to stand properly barking instructions to us about posture and appearances and etiquette from the '60s, "Ladylike manners last a life time."
Luckily Razor and Gina's appearance let us out of her glare, giving us a chance to escape and get dressed while they sorted out the clothes and products. The next time we see Aaliyah her sleek ponytail had been let down and in its place was an afro, teased to perfection by Gina whose hair was constantly tied into a loose chignon. It was once Razor removed his hat that we noticed how much his hair had changed. Gone was the electric blue Mohawk and in its place was a black gelled quiff; we all stare at him in severe disappointment. Razor was known for the hawk.
"Chill darling's. The hawk shall be back soon. This…" he motions to the sleek inky hair smoothed down the centre of his head. "Is strictly for Elena's birthday party; come tomorrow afternoon the hawk will be back." We all relax breathing a sigh of relief.
After trying on a million different outfit combinations Aaliyah had pulled out all the stops; after Gina and Razor had done our hair and makeup we get her seal of approval.
Elena as the birthday girl was the first one done. Her long brown hair was side parted into a sleek ponytail that was thrown over her right shoulder. She had a printed long sleeved purple mini dress on with white go-go boots; Aaliyah had slung a white disk belt low on her hips and head love heart earrings in which was sectioned off into shades of purple with the hippy peace sign. Razor had kept her makeup natural; lining her eyes with a little liner and giving her a soft pink blush and a glossy pout.
Bonnie had a more flowing mini dress on with a swirly vibrant flame coloured print and bell shaped sleeves. A gold ring cut belt broke the pattern up. Red go-go boots were the highlight of her outfit. Gina had put her hair into a half beehive, curling the lower half before teasing them out a little. Razor had given her a similar look to Elena but gave her a lashing of cat flick eyeliner. Around her neck was a black plastic hippie sign similar to that in Elena's earrings.
Caroline had gone all Jackie O on us in a pink skirt suit, black pillar box hat black suede heeled pumps along with black satin gloves. Razor had liner her eyes in a light brown liner and had pasted her pout in a bubble gum pink matte stick and a rosy blush. Gina had given her a smooth curl at the base of her hair with a sleek top half. Pearl emblazed in her ears and around her neck.
Jen had a mini dress on with white go-go boots, the boots helped balance the vibrant colours in the paisley print with bell sleeves. Gina and Razor had given her the twiggy look all doe eyes and flat sleek short Teddy boy inspired hair with pale pink lips.
Kenzie was decked in green patchwork flares emblazed with flat fabric flowers on the right hip and a peace sign on the left leg; both legs of the flares were expanded with bright coloured fabric from the knee down which would open as she walked. The fabric matched that of her cropped tank which was cropped to just above her navel. Her gray eyes were lined in a forest green liner and had green ribbon tied around her shoulder length hair waved dark hair with a pale pink glossy pout. The large fabric flower around her wrist matched the one on her thigh. Silver ankle platform boots poked out from under the flares.
My own costume was incredibly bright and psychedelic. I had hipster flares in a neon swirly pattern. My top matched the fabric. The long sleeves tapered out a little at the wrist it was cropped under the bust and tied into a secure knot. I had boots which matched Kenzie's on my feet. Gina had straightened my hair and had made it curl at the ends; a band of pink ribbon had been tied around my head. Razor had kept my eye makeup neutral and had accentuated my lips in a creamy pink gloss. After saying goodbye to Aaliah, Razor and Gina we open a bottle of bubbly and toast to Elena.
At half past seven the retro music can be heard from outside; nearing it becomes clearer. Inside her cake is sat on the bar. A circular four tier cake covered in purple frosting each tier having a different icing shape on it. From each of the four tiers of the cake were silver sparkler candles. The cake was topped a large sparkly silver 21. The lowest largest tier had the circular hippy sign on; the second had yellow smiley face, the third the ying yang symbols and the smallest top tier had a flower power thing going on.
In seeing it she becomes completely awestruck; Joe bringing out a cupcake with a single candle for her to blow out as a chorus of happy birthday is sang out of tune. As she wipes tears away from her eyes the five of us engulf her in a hug before handing her a drink. Another toast; to Elena.
As the Beatles play from the jukebox she receives more happy birthdays from everyone, navigating around the room before hitting the space cleared out for the dance floor where cheesy moves were busted.
That was the last thing that I can remember clearly, yes alcohol didn't affect me but nonstop dancing and lots of cake makes things fuzzy on a sugar high. Alex had woken up in my bed the morning after.
Our July party was to celebrate Bonnie's birthday; she had chosen ABBA as the theme so everything in the 70's was on par with it. Big hair, dramatic make up and lots of sparkles would need to be worn.
Bonnie had planned this party down to minute detail; Caroline double checking to make sure that it was done properly. Since summer was so close she had decided to have it on the roof of their apartment block. Her party was smaller than Elena's but would still consist of our friendship circle; the six of us plus our extended; razor and Gina, Alex, Freddie and Kyle, Joe and a few others that would be seen around with us.
ABBA to me was something of a puzzle. 70's Swedish cheesy pop sprung to mind. Caroline had helped Kenzie; who was just as clueless to ABBA as I was, and I to choose costumes for the party. She had said nothing about her costume to us but knowing Caroline it would have to have an effect on people, a reaction, namely guys, namely Tyler.
Two hours before the party Kenzie and I get ABBA'd up. Caroline had put Kenzie in a clingy blue silk waterloo costume. Blue silk pants which from the knee to mid calf went puffy, a fitted blue silk ¾ sleeved blazer with serious shoulder pad and silver embellishments. A blue fitted silk hat was adorned to her dark shoulder length hair, which for once, was down. Platform boots were big during this era too; a silver pair was slipped onto her feet, the glittery heel sending small rainbows every time she walked.
Caroline had chosen for me to wear the 'legendary' snakeskin jumpsuit and ankle platforms. The split was a sharp V down to my navel and had the biggest collar I had ever seen; the only thing that would cover me up a bit was a plate across my breastbone which held me in, covering what little modesty I had. Adorned around my wrists were matching snake print cuffs about 15cm long.
A block away you could hear the music drifting from the roof top. Caroline welcomes us from the door in a very short leotard looking thing in caramel brown and baby pink stripes with pink ruffles around her small fish net clad thighs. Her blonde hair was held with a large pink feather attached to a band around her forehead. She had plain brown small heeled, mid calf, laced riding boots on her usually heeled feet.
ABBA mania had struck the roof; fairly lights, sequins and disco balls adorned every surface and person. ABBA classics were being played from an iPod attached to four large speakers in each corner.
Elena and Bonnie can be spotted a mile off; bringing the stage production of Mamma Mia to life. The birthday girl glowed in vibrant orange silk. The orange trousers were tucked into silver platform boots that matched Kenzie's while the top had massive floaty sleeves which tapered to giant cuffs around her wrists. The top extended slightly longer than normal and was ruffled, a large silver belt was slung low on her hips.
Elena had the green silk costume on; a jumpsuit similar to my own but more eccentric. From foot to knee there were three large ruffles cascading around her leg, her belt matched Bonnie's and had a deep V cut to her navel which was laced to make it less revealing. Her arms were clad in more material, from elbow to wrist the material fanned out in a concertina effect. If she would lift her arms out parallel to the ground it would fan out as it flowed when she moved her arm.
Both Elena and Bonnie had collars that matched mine in size; Bonnie's was flat against her shoulders similar to mine while Elena's stood upright then softened back to her collar bone. Silver platforms were clad to their feet; Bonnie had the full knee high version while Elena had the ankle boot.
Half an hour into the party Jen turns up with Joe in a large white t-shirt dress with a large ginger cat motif emblazed on the front, her waist tapered with a white fabric belt and white platform go-go boots on her feet. No sparkles but still a statement with the large cat.
The guys hadn't gotten out of the silk and snake skin thing either as most of them had it on in some form, silk shirts with the flares or shoes, or variations of this. It seemed incredibly camp but it was the trend back then and kept the birthday girl happy.
The sunrise doesn't even stop the party; but the city heat does as does running at 109 degrees. Mixing the two factors made NYC summer heat unbearable. Getting a cab through the city I really just wanted out of the skin tight snakeskin. Showering was a relief although the jumpsuit was incredibly difficult to remove.
Independence Day celebrations brought my group of friends closer; ale invited everyone over to Brooklyn to celebrate for 6pm. It gave everyone a chance to chill during the day then an excuse to party at night. Most people hit the beach for the day; we even did back on the Rez, but it was my first July 4th in the Big Apple so I had it decided for me by everyone else that I had to stay in the sweltering city.
Central park was the place to be on this warm day off; we set up a large picnic blanket with plenty of food courtesy of Joe but were within access of the apartment if we needed it. Finding a space of grass at 10.30 sounds easy enough but NYC always gets busy early on no matter what the day. Freddie and Kyle had brought a Frisbee and a soccer ball which instantly had people in various games. We may be in our twenties but that never stops us all from having fun.
As time passes into the afternoon people start to disperse to get ready for Alex's party, by 4pm Kenzie and I were back in the apartment getting ready.
As the cab pull up outside Alex's terraced house on Brooklyn that he shared with Kyle and Freddie I smooth down the violet shorts of my DVF playsuit. Ringing the doorbell Suzanna opens the door complimenting us both. She was dressed down in a gray strappy dress with cute button detail and pockets on her hips; it skims just above her knee, her bare legs starching for miles for someone so small. Her silver flip flops add a shine to such a simple outfit.
The rest of our circle was already partying it up; Caroline squeaking and Tyler as she sees my effort of colour blocking. The yellow tank and violet shorts of the playsuit were toned down with a neutral brown belt and Chloe wedges on my feet. "OMG Leeeah!" she squeals, grabbing my hand and making me twirl. "Latest DVF violet and mustard silk-crepe playsuit, Chloe strappy 4 inch camel wedges and a vintage belt. I'm so proud." Give the girl an Oscar; she pulls off OTT performances well.
Music thumps. Boys BBQ. Friends chat. People party. Life was easy. Food and patriotism brings people closer. Hours fly by after everyone over eats and alcohol flows. Darkened hours dawn. Fireworks light up the sky; released from across the city as an act of freedom and togetherness. America stands still; broken but not defeated. We have come far but still have far to go.
Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more!
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
As always, much love. Lorna x