Chapter 8 - Is It the Beat or Sparks?

Author's Notes: I apologize for being late, my lovely readers. I had some personal things come up, as well as a friend needing my help. Both events combining left me without much of an avenue to write, but I'm back for this installment! I own nothing, but the storyline, typoes, Dahlia, and Amanda. The songs featured in this chapter are Counting Stars by OneRepublic and Promises (Radio Edit) by Andain.

After we were finished eating, both Dahlia and Amanda said it was imperative to then wash our food down insane amounts of sugary drinks while dancing off the calories we all just ingested by dancing our asses off. I was totally game for it, despite the fact that my dancing might be a little rusty, since the last time I'd gone out to a club was before Simon left back in tenth grade. And Simon himself was never one for the scene at all, but he was game enough to do it if I was.

One of the reasons I loved him dearly.

So, that's exactly what we all were doing, since this place seemed to be not just a bar, but also turned into a bit of a club after a certain hour, something I wasn't aware could happen, really. Currently, we were all dancing our asses off to some song none of us really heard of, namely because it was rap and none of us really listened to it, a conversation we'd gleaned over dinner, after the whole shoe incident. Amanda liked hip-hop ( a surprising fact for me) and anything she could really dance to, Dahlia liked anything she could dance to herself, and a lot of her song choices were more recent ones, Simon, the lovable dork he is, liked video game music, which prompted uncontrollable laughter from all of us, as well as ribbing that he actually pick something recent he liked, which ended up being Counting Stars by OneRepublic. I ended up pointing out that it was something I couldn't stop listening to, which is what prompted him to probably listen to it...and I ended up getting him hooked. He didn't deny it, making me feel even better.

Taking a quick sweep of our group, and the people surrounding us, I happened to notice something as I came out of my thoughts of my bwst friend and the new group we'd met. "Hey!" I called out over the music, causing Simon and Amanda to look over at me curiously. "Where's Dahlia?!"

"I don't know!" Amanda answered back, her voice heard easily over the din of the music.

"Bathroom!" Simon answered me, having to repeat himself when I didn't hear him the first time.

I accepted the answer as true, as we all continued to dance to the beat, in between all the other people doing the same, occasionally being shoved by someone going to or coming from the bar, but none of us really minded. After all, we had to do it when we tried to get a spot big enough to fit the four of us on the dance floor. I took note of Dahlia smoothly joining us, just as the song ended and a new one picked up.

"Lately, I've been, I've been losin' sleep..."

"You didn't?!" I asked my roommate excitedly, who had a complete shit-eating grin on her face, as she shrugged innocently...which screamed that she was behind this!

"Guilty, and you're welcome!" She told all of us and our happy faces, all of us slowly swaying to the music as it began.

"But, baby, I've been, I've been prayin' hard

Said no more countin' dollars

We'll be countin' stars

Yeah, we'll be countin' stars..."

All of us, even Simon, just jumped into it as the beat picked up, dancing like crazy fools, not that any of us cared. We were loosened up, out with new friends, and just completely enjoying ourselves. If were gonna be dancing crazily, tonight was going to be the night, and to one of our mutual favorites songs made it even better!

"Old, but I'm not that old! Young, but I'm not that bold!" Both Simon and I sang happily, at the tops of our voices.

"And I don't think the world is sold. On just doin' what we're told!" Dahlia and Amanda picked up after us, before we all just leapt into the chorus, taking turns dancing in the center of our little group. And when Simon's turn came to jump in the middle (last, of course) we all surrounded him, making him stumble a bit, but leading him to get into it, dancing with all of us at some point, starting with Dahlia, then going to Amanda, and saving me for last.

Dancing with Simon after so long felt indescribably good, and I didn't even notice anything we really did as a group. If I had, I would've noticed that he kept Dahlia and Amanda more at arms' length, but the second he turned to me, he gave me a twirl and pulled me in closer, the both of us laughing happily, relishing in the physical contact, absent from our friendship for so long. And he didn't really let me go, keeping an arm on me as we danced, but it wasn't anything different, just like how he and I usually did when we danced, but it garnered Dahlia and Amanda's attention, because I happened to noticed them both watching us...especially when Dahlia started cheering.

"You go, guys! Work it, Simon!"

The words made me laugh, because Simon wasn't the type to really 'work it.' He danced adequately, but nothing Jace or his sister Isabelle could pull off, commanding an entire roomful of people for their attention. But, he had mine, Amanda's and Dahlia's, and that seemed to be good enough for him. And, I had to admit, as the final chorus droned out and the song wound to a close, he DID get better than the last time I saw him.

All of us seemed to collectively calm down after the song was finished, especially during the few seconds of silence and then a...the only way to describe it could be mysterious intro opened up.

"We're going for drinks, guys!" Amanda informed the two of us, laughing happily as she went off in search of the bar.

"Yeah, this is a more slower song, meant for two...and we're not into each other!" Dahlia replied, with a laugh of her own...though she looked back at us before she left in the throng.

"Shall we?" Simon asked me, laughing himself, and giving me an amicable grin.

I smiled at him in return. "Let's."

We weren't really sure how to take this song, so we just ended up slowly swaying to the tinny beat, as the words started to play.

"Woke up today in casts of blue

And helplessly pretending we'll get better over time

Goodbyes will change the world anew

Always the same still under you..."

I hand't noticed, but Simon and I drifted closer together, his arms around my waist, his back to my front. It wasn't raunchy or anything, but it was definitely different than what we were usually used to.

And then the chorus started, the beat picking up, but still no less mysterious...or almost seductive.

"So please don't make more promises to me

And please don't take everything from me

And I will breathe in every word you mean

If you could please

Promise them to me..."

It was odd, as I turned around to face Simon, eyes boring into his behind his glasses, that we'd be dancing to something like this. It was almost our entire friendship in song form, almost literally. Except that there were parts of it that were about Jace, but most of it was about me and him. I t was creepy, how such a song like...well, like this could be about someone...or people, would be the case, like us. And who the heck suggested a song like this, even? Hell, who listens to music like this?

I couldn't even go off on a rambling thought process like I usually did and zone out like I normally did. It was like the song demanded my full attention, and Simon's eye never left me...or mine, because I wasn't zoning out. I was focusing on him, this song, our friendship, both past and present. What the heck was going on with me? Why was I thinking so much...about him?

Our arms were around each other, but I could barely feel it. All I could really, see, feel, was Simon's gaze boring into mine as we danced, even slow danced, because it wasn't like we were grinding on each other like some of the people I managed to barely see out of the corner of my eye. By the third cycke of the chorus, which was noticeably softer and almost quieter than the others, I was mouthing along with it, and Simon was singing along with it, too. We couldn't stop staring at each other, it was like the world was going away.

What. The Hell. Was. This?!

No words, no singing, Just music. Music that was almost hypnotic. Because it was like i was in a fucking trance.

Maybe Simon was in the same mood I was in, or something, because he never looked away from me once.

And then something I never expected, or even remotely considered, ended up happening.

Simon leaned in and kissed me.