Disclaimer: I don't own the song or the lyrics "Good Time" by Owl City and Carly Rae Jepsen. I just needed to find a duet song that people could dance to, and this was the only one I could find.
Chapter Seven
Nike
"Where are we going?" I asked once again.
Remus grinned widely. "You'll see."
"So why did I have to dress…like this?" I asked, gesturing at myself. I was wearing an outfit that Molly had picked out for me a couple months ago; a tight-fitting deep purple tanktop that had a low v-cut neckline and tight dark blue jeans, all of which flattered me. Half of my hair was put back into a ponytail while the rest was loose, a style that Lily had put my hair in once or twice when I wasn't in a fighting mood. I had on makeup (something Lily and Tonks had introduced me to during the school year, also in a non-fighting day) that really showed off my eyes.
"I look hideous."
"No you don't Nik. You look beautiful. You'll most definitely beat all the other girls when it comes to looks."
I blushed. "You look pretty good yourself." It was true. He was dressed like any other normal teenage boy, but the way his shirt fit him…yeah, it was really good. You could definitely tell that he was a Beater for our Quidditch team, which in all honesty had done him a lot of good. I quit staring at him (for one because he was soon-to-be-Tonks'-man, and for two it was making him uncomfortable) and then grinned and said,
"Is Tonks gonna be there?"
It was his turn to turn red. "I dunno. Probably not."
"Oh. So we're going someplace that has more people?"
"Yeah."
"Where?"
"Do you know how to dance?"
"Huh?"
"Dancing. Do you know how?"
"Umm…yeah…maybe…I don't really know…?"
"Good," he said, making us turn right. It was dark out, but we could still easily see. Shops lined the street and light flooded out from inside, and some signs were lit up, too.
To me, it looked like he was leading us towards a building that was lit up in bright, neon colors. There was this rhythmic noise that could be heard coming from inside the building, and it was catchy. I was sure that there were words to it, but I couldn't make out what was being said. There were a couple of teenagers loitering about outside the doors, one of them with bright, fiery red hair that I would recognize anywhere. And if she was there, the other must've been close by.
"I thought you said she wasn't here!" I told Remus, grinning.
He looked like he became very self-conscious. "I didn't think they would be…"
"Hey, don't worry 'bout it," I said, elbowing him. "Just have fun and be you."
"Fine. And I want you to mingle, okay?" he said, smiling slightly. "They're muggles, so be careful. But nevertheless, they're fun people."
"Right," I said as we came to a stop behind the two girls, one really tall, and the other average height.
The tall one was a teal-blue-eyed, free spirited-girl, probably about 5'6". She was wearing a blue jean skirt and a dark red tanktop, her hair short and it's usual bubblegum pink. The shorter one was about 5'3" and she had the most beautiful, vivid green eyes I'd ever seen. She was wearing an emerald green blouse and jean shorts, her long bright red hair falling loose to the middle of her back in flowing waves. She of the two was more modestly dressed, which was expected, considering she had a boyfriend who wasn't there and would be offended if he found out since he wasn't invited. Any guesses who that was? Yeah, none other than my good friend, James Potter.
"Lily! Tonks!" I yelled, making them jump. I threw my arms around them in a hug.
"Nike!" Tonks squealed, grabbing my arms and jumping up and down. "What're you doing here?"
"Tonks," Lily chided. "Be nice."
"I wasn't—"
"I meant share her with me. I haven't seen her either," Lily said, pulling me away from Tonks and hugging me.
"Reeemus!" Tonks yelled, engulfing him in a hug. "Fancy seeing you here! You look good." She said this all very fast.
"Hullo Tonks," Remus muttered, clearly taken aback by her behavior. "You look stunning." Tonks beamed. "Who are you meeting?"
She laughed. "No one. I'm all alone. Except now I'm not!"
Lily and I exchanged grins.
"Yeah…she had a little too much coffee before we came here," Lily said.
"Coffee?" I asked.
"It's a muggle drink I'll have you try tomorrow," Remus said, although I wasn't sure if I had his full attention.
Lily sighed. "My date just left me for yours, Nik."
I shook my head sadly. "Guess that leaves me and you, Lily-flower," I said in a deep voice.
"Oh James! How nice of you! I'd be honored to be your partner this lovely evening!" We both burst out in uncontrollable laughter.
"Nik, I'm sorry. I wasn't going to just abandon you—" Remus started to say.
"Shush Moony," I interrupted. "It's alright. Besides, you just might get lucky tonight." I winked at him, and then Lily led us into the building.
The music was deafening. The beat flowed through your body; you could feel every sound of the instruments vibrate your bones. There was nobody singing at the moment, but when I looked up on the stage, I saw about seven people, five of them around instruments that I had no clue what they were, playing. People were everywhere, either dancing by themselves, in a group, or with a single partner. Some were extremely good, letting the rhythm flow through their bodies, and others were not so good, but were having fun all the same.
"They have a live band tonight," Lily said in my ear. "And from the turnout they've got, they must be good."
I nodded, signaling that I heard her. I leaned down to her ear and asked, "What is this place?"
"It's called a club. It's were people come to have fun. You mainly dance, but if you look around, you'll see that you can do more than that. This particular club is for teenagers, sixteen and older."
"But we're not—"
"They don't know that," she said in a very un-Lily-like way. She had a mischievous glint in her bright green eyes. "To them we look like a bunch of kids who've just turned sixteen and are out celebrating."
"Who are you and what have you done with Lily Evans?" I demanded.
She grinned. "James is wearing off on me, I guess. C'mon, let's go dance!"
"But Lily…"
"I'm not gonna dance with other guys, if that's what you mean. Maybe Remus if I can steal him away from Tonks, but nobody else. We should take James here sometime, though."
"Yeah, I think he'd like it," I agreed.
"What I am going to do, however, is get you dancing with some guys. And the best way to do that is not to have you go to them, but for them come to you. And to do that, we must dance."
I tried not to roll my eyes, but failed miserably.
Lily, who never missed anything, frowned and said, "What? You don't want to dance? Or do you have two left feet?"
"Two left feet?—never mind. No. I was laughing at you. Let's go." Lily led us up close to the stage, easily parting the crowds. How she did it was beyond me, but I guess nobody was really paying attention to how close they were to the people performing, rather how close they were to the person they were dancing with. Lily stopped walking when we were close to the stage, but not too close so as to give us enough room to move. She started to move with the beat, smiling, and then looked over at me.
"C'mon Nik. Move."
I glared at her, then felt the beat and moved my hips rhythmically, feeling the music vibrate through my body.
"There you go!" Lily said. "Just move with it! Don't be so uptight! Have fun!"
This time I smiled, and started to dance, and as I did so, Lily picked up her pace too, so we were doing a different dance, but it somehow would look good to any watching eyes.
In no time we were drawing a crowd. Some of the dancers had stopped to watch us, or to dance alongside with us. I glimpsed Remus and Tonks nearby, looking like they were having a good time. Lily moved closer to me and muttered,
"I think you've got an onstage admirer."
I looked up and saw a good-looking blonde haired boy who seemed to be about seventeen. He was holding a strange looking black thing and was looking at me with curious bluish-grey eyes. When he saw me looking at him, he smiled, showing perfect white teeth.
"What's that thing he's holding?" I asked Lily before she moved over.
"It's a microphone. It's what you sing in so you can be heard over everything else," she muttered. "He's the singer. Why don't you show him what you've got?"
The boy hooked the microphone to a black pole and hopped down from the stage, and walked over to Lily and me. "Mind if I cut in?" he asked. His voice was deep-ish yet kind.
Lily shrugged and I said, "Sure," and he began to dance with us, and man could he move. He had perfect rhythm, his body moved in perfect sync with the time of the band. Lily moved a little bit farther back, staying true to what she said about not being here to get too close to any other guy, even though this guy by all means was not trying to get close. He was actually very polite. He kept his distance and respected personal space, yet you could definitely tell that it was me he was dancing with.
Too soon, it seemed, the song ended.
He gave me a wide smile and said, "You're a damn good dancer. So is your friend." He looked over his shoulder at Lily, who winked at me and left to go get a drink.
"Thanks. You're pretty good yourself," I said, smiling crookedly.
"I'm Aric."
"Nike."
"How old are you Nike? I've never seen you here before."
"Sixteen."
"No really. I won't rat you out. More than half the people in here are under-aged. No one ever checks, so it's not like you're in any danger."
"Fourteen." It wasn't technically a lie. I'd be fourteen soon.
He smiled widely. "I'm glad you came tonight. This is probably the most fun I've had in a long time."
I nodded in the direction of the stage. "You going to sing tonight?"
"Sure am. You interested?"
"I'm sorry, what?"
"Do you sing? If you're as good at singing as you are at dancing I'd love your company on the stage."
I looked down at my feet, feeling uncomfortable. "Well…I dunno. I don't know any songs."
Surprising me, he laughed. "That's perfectly fine. Here, follow me while the band's getting ready and I'll show you how you'll learn the words." He held out his hand, and after a moment's hesitation, I took it and followed him onto the stage. I wouldn't admit that his hand was nice and warm and that I happened to like the contact. I wasn't really the type to want to go hold hands and date every guy I ever met. Yeah…not me. I thought I was fine just the way I was, thank you very much.
"See this thing here?" he said, pointing to the floor. "That screen will show you the words to the song that we're currently playing, like karaoke."
I didn't bother to ask what karaoke was. I was sure that all muggles were supposed to know what that word meant. So instead I said, "Well that sure is convenient."
"Every time we perform we try to pick at least one person from the audience that's willing to be brave and come play with us. It's why our band is so well liked."
"Oh. And if I'm terrible?"
"Don't worry about it. Last time we were here we had someone that I'm sure made all the dogs in the neighborhood start howling. You can't be worse than she was." He held out another microphone to me.
I laughed and then grudgingly took it from him. "Alright. But I warned you."
"You'll do great. Just watch the screen and you should be fine."
"Should be."
He smiled at me again, and then turned to the others in his band, talking to them real quick before it was time to get the show on the road.
I looked around the room, taking in everything there was to see from the on-stage perspective. It made me seem taller than everything, for one. But it also made me feel in control, and I could see almost everything that was going on. People were taking breaks to get a drink or whatever, but after they were through they were coming back towards the stage, interested in, well, modesty would forbid me to say it, but me. I noticed almost immediately that my three friends were right up close. I bent down so I could talk to them.
"What's karaoke?"
Lily blinked at me, then grinned. "Oh. Of course. Now I know how you're going to know what to sing."
Remus patted my hand reassuringly. "All it is is seeing words on a screen and those words are what you sing. Follow along with the shading and you'll get the timing right."
"You're going to rock!" Tonks said enthusiastically, jumping up and down, extremely hyper. "Unless, of course, you suck, but that'll be okay too! We'll still looove you!"
I looked at Lily with an eyebrow raised. "I dare you to feed her huge amounts of this coffee drink before we step in Professor Damant's class at the start of term."
"Deal," she said, grinning evilly. And with that I stood up and backed away, kinda freaked by the way Lily was acting. I blamed James.
"You ready?" Aric asked, giving me a nice, inviting smile. Mmm…I think I was starting to like muggle boys better than the ones we have at Hogwarts.
"Are you?"
"Born for it."
"Then let's do it." The band started up, playing a nice, fast beat that was sure to get you on your feet and at least move your feet back and forth. Tonks, I could see, was still jumping up and down, but this time in circles, doing some kind of dance while she was hopping and spinning. I think she'd had an overdose on the coffee.
"Whoa-oh-oh-oh. It's always a good time." The music paused, then picked up, and Aric sang, "Woke up on the right side of the bed. What's up with this Prince song inside my head? Hands up if you're down to get down tonight. 'Cause it's always a good time. Slept in all my clothes like I didn't care. Hopped into a cab, take me anywhere. I'm in if you're down to get down tonight. 'Cause it's always a good time." I happened to look down at the screen by my feet and saw words appearing, and, remembering what Remus had told me, I took a deep breath and joined in.
"Good morning and good night. I'll wake up at twilight." I glanced over at Aric hesitantly, expecting him to be wincing in pain and wishing I would go away, but he was grinning from ear to ear and seemed shocked.
"It's gonna be alright." Aric joined in with me at this part, then he went to sing by himself, "We don't even have to try, it's always a good time." And together, as well as the audience, who I guess knew the song, we all sang while they danced,
"Whoa-oh-oh-oh. Whoa-oh-oh-oh. It's always a good time. Whoa-oh-oh-oh. Whoa-oh-oh-oh. We don't even have to try, it's always a good time." No more words popped up, but the band kept playing as little music notes flashed across the screen. I was moving to the rhythm of the music absentmindedly, actually entertained. I looked back down at the screen and readied myself as another part for me popped up.
"Freaked out dropped my phone in the pool again. Checked out of my room hit the ATM. Let's hang out if you're down to get down tonight. 'Cause it's always a good time."
"Good morning and good night."
"I'll wake up at twilight."
"It's gonna be alright," we both sang, "it's always a good time. Whoa-oh-oh-oh. Whoa-oh-oh-oh. It's always a good time. Whoa-oh-oh-oh. Whoa-oh-oh-oh. We don't even have to try, it's always a good time. Whoa-oh-oh-oh. Whoa-oh-oh-oh. We don't even have to try, it's always a good time."
The song ended then, and the place was deafening. And, to tell the truth, I liked it. I liked it a lot, being able to be up there and have fun, and maybe show off just a little bit. Now if only they had something like this at Hogwarts…things would be much more interesting.
A/N: Wow, I'm sooo sorry this is so late, guys! I've been extremely busy out of NOWHERE, therefore I hadn't had any time to put these chapters up, even though I had them written. Will you ever forgive me?
Also, I told you guys this book was going to have music and singing in it, so I already did warn you. Music tells a story, and I figured it would help me tell this one. If you don't agree or even like what music I've decided to use, I'm sorry. My taste in music, even with how diverse it is, will not match all of yours. So please don't stop reading if you don't like the music. Now with that being said, I didn't actually want to use this song as the first song Nike would've ever sang, but it was the only one I found that would work.
Alrighty! So my thank-you's:
Nacho5: More than more? Haha, hope this is enough! Thanks!
Eclipse Sundown: Ooo okay! After all, who doesn't like bunnies?
Elizabeth: Whoa. You don't know how much that means to me to hear that! Thank you SOO much! I'm so happy you think so! XD You don't have an account? Wow, I wouldn't be able to focus and keep track of all the stories I've been reading! Go you! Haha, hope you like these chappys!
JennLD: Haha thanks! I'm so glad you think so! I always thought they were pretty evenly matched, too! Your review made me smile. :) Thanks for the review, and I hope you like these chapters!
Okey-dokey-arty-chokey! R&R these chapters please, guys! I appreciate it!
Nike
